Plugin Index

[Red ochre]

Type "archimedean" into the plugin browser!😉 - You'll see my 'Multispline 'Flourish' and MJW's 'Rectangle to Archiedean spiral' - as expected. The forum plugin index does not recognize these keyword phrases.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

4 hours ago, Red ochre said:

Type "archimedean" into the plugin browser!😉 - You'll see my 'Multispline 'Flourish' and MJW's 'Rectangle to Archiedean spiral' - as expected. The forum plugin index does not recognize these keyword phrases.

 

The Plugin Browser reads the keywords supplied by the author of the plugin. The Plugin Index parses the descriptions I've typed in and ignores the keywords because I've not included them in the data I capture.

 

Flourish: Keywords - Spirals, Archimedean, Spiral.

Hits for "archimedean" in Plugin Browser.

 

Flourish: Description - Create calligraphy-like spirals, swirls, flourishes and tendrils. Possibly mustaches too. Many options to control the shape.

No Hits for "archimedean" in Plugin Index.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

4 hours ago, Red ochre said:

MJW's 'Rectangle to Archiedean spiral'

 

Is still in Beta and located in the Developers Section. In other words, not released publically (yet). As such, I've not included it in the Index.

 

I'm not adhering 100% to this rule - I thought it highly likely the plugin would be released pubically once MJW was happy with it.

[Red ochre]

Ah! - I thought the forum plugin index search was somehow parsing the actual keywords included in the plugin, forgetting that a human being (I assume/hope😏), has to enter that data. I guess it's overkill to search and read the actual keywords? ... as the plugin browser does? ... completely understandable.
Could further automating the monthly updates be an advantage?... some way of sticking a new effect in an approved  'database' that can read the keywords? Far beyond me!

 

Reason for discovering this is that I actually included the term 'fishnet stockings' in Multispline (as a joke for TR) and was heartbroken-ish that it didn't return a result in the forum index - yet it does in the browser!
- re: a recent user enquiry.

 

Happy new year Scott and all forum people.

 

Nb. MJW's 'betas' are more stable than most stalwart effects - but I do respect the difference.

[Reptillian]

Stalwart? @Red ochre

Edited January 2, 2021 by Reptillian

[Red ochre]

Come on - surely a google search would inform you? - sorry for using English words?

 

Too confrontational? - it means a reliable, dependable resource.

[Reptillian]

27 minutes ago, Red ochre said:

Come on - surely a google search would inform you? - sorry for using English words?

 

Too confrontational? - it means a reliable, dependable resource.

I thought it wasn't an actual word at all. Got it.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

13 hours ago, Red ochre said:

I thought the forum plugin index search was somehow parsing the actual keywords included in the plugin, forgetting that a human being (I assume/hope😏), has to enter that data. I guess it's overkill to search and read the actual keywords? ... as the plugin browser does?

 

When I'm preparing a new entry, I don't see the keywords unless the author has provided them in the release post. I do try to give  sympathetic descriptions which reuses the authors own introduction to the plugin. I.e I plagiarize, paraphrase, rewrite and make new stuff up to try and accurately capture the flavor and function of the plugin in a couple of sentences 😊

 

Edit: Mostly human 😲

[Red ochre]

It's not always easy to briefly summarize all of an effect's uses. You do a good job!... for a mere human.😄

 

I was surprised that when the guidelines-for-publishing-plugins was updated there wasn't more on what should be included in the plugin thread.
Plenty of sensible rules of what a plugin should not do but little on how the new plugin should actually be presented to users.

Some suggestions:

Plugin authors are politely asked to consider the following when publishing new effects and adjustments (possibly relevant for filetypes too).

 

1. The thread title should include the effect name and date of the most recent download.
2. The first post in the thread should contain the most recent/current zip of the effect .dll or a link to where it can be downloaded.
3. Ideally include the original publishing date and the date and version number of the latest download.
   A brief note in the last post of a thread can inform users that a new version has been published in the first post.
4. Do include a brief description of what the effect/adjustment does. Ideally include a one sentence summary for the plugin index and a separate, more detailed description for interested users.
5. Do include an image showing the user interface (if there is one).
6. Do include which menu section the effect can be found under for example "Effects/Render".
7. Try to include images showing what the effect does. Before and after images are useful.
8. Hopefully your effect will include keywords and a sample image to be used by the plugin browser. It could be useful to show these when publishing.
   - A guide on how to include these in your effect can be found here.
9. Do mention any known issues for example if it is not compatible with certain versions of paint.net or if it may be slow for large selections.
10. If you wish to share your code, it is probably best to place this in a hidden code window and state any licence (license?) that applies.

 

Thoughts?

[Ego Eram Reputo]

4 hours ago, Red ochre said:

Thoughts?

 

Excellent!

[Djisves]

Ideally, for both publishers' and users' sake, there could be a template or form for the publishers to fill in. 

It could include details like @Red ochre suggests and it could look something like @Martin Osieka's posts (e.g. Chop Up and Save).

[Ladybug]

I believe this has been asked before and I don't know if this is the right place but since we are talking plugins. I would love it if prolific plugin creators like for example @toe_head2001,@Red ochre and @Ego Eram Reputo (to name a few) had a way to code a separate menu to group all their plugins together to make it easier to find all their cool plugins. I forget sometimes where some plugins are but thankfully the plugin browser is a good way to find it even if it is an extra step. 🙂 💻 🧸

[Djisves]

Plugin packs in the publishing forum are the best way to group plugins by the same author, in my opinion.

I don't think that grouping by author within the application would make any sense.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

8 hours ago, Ladybug said:

I would love it if prolific plugin creators like for example @toe_head2001,@Red ochre and @Ego Eram Reputo (to name a few) had a way to code a separate menu to group all their plugins together to make it easier to find all their cool plugins.

 

It makes sense to group them by function (which is the current system). It is easy to confuse who wrote Bevel Object vs Object Bevel.

 

The Plugin Index has a filter so you can search by author. Then the menu location is given in the Salmon/Orange tags. Using this feature you could make a list of the  plugins you use most often and their locations.

 

[Ladybug]

Ah ok! Thanks @Ego Eram Reputo, that is helpful.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Updated with Red's list above...

 

[null54]

Midora's ImAPNG plugin is incorrectly marked as supporting saving, it only supports loading.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Thank you @null54. I'll put in a fix for the next release.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

February Update.

 

Four new plugins this month, from three new authors! Welcome aboard people

 

Axis Streak Reptillian Streaks pixels along an axis. Options to change the streak direction and the exponential factor. It's not designed to work with non-transparent rgb images. Source code provided.

 

Deviation To Alpha felix-hilden Converts pixels to a single color and adjusts the alpha value based on deviation from that color. Essentially it's a grayscale to alpha converter, capable of extracting black or white objects from a background of the other color, but it could be used with other colors as well.

 

Tile Count HCGS Automates numbering of tiled or grid based images (e.g. spritesheets). Counts a 'tile' if at least one pixel exceeds the specified alpha threshold. Source code provided.

 

xBRZ Upscaling PNG Filetype Intrepidis The xBRZ upscaling routine is primarily designed to increase the resolution of pixel art. Used it to increase the resolution of an image while saving it as a *.PNG. NOTE: Transparency is treated as black. Source code available.

 

 

 

 

SodiumEnglish and I are having one or two issues with the Plugin Index database. Please bear with us while we get this sorted out. 👍

[Ego Eram Reputo]

Thanks to @SodiumEnglish we have resolved the issues with the PDF version of the Plugin Index.

 

A new version has been uploaded.

[Ego Eram Reputo]

March Update

 

Four new plugins this month (although one is still in development)

 

Black & White Only Intrepidis Select a level of grey. Any pixel which is darker is recolored black, otherwise the pixel is set to white. The resultant image will be either black and (possibly) white, with no grey at all.

 

Advanced Julia Fractal pascal Renders the Julia fractal to the canvas in grayscale. Many configurable options. Source code provided.

 

Channel Extraction Reptillian Pick a RGBA channel and convert it to gray, opaque or average RGB. Codelab source provided.

 

Make Palette geist_ Uses the current selection to create a palette file named UntitledPalette.txt in /Documents/paint.net User Files/Palettes. Each color is used only once in the palette. It also displays how many unique colors are in the palette. NOTE: is still in development.

[Reptillian]

@Ego Eram Reputo A request though it's up to you: I would like you to expand on how the colors are calculated on Tiled Form. It does use weighed average, but also z-convolution (I don't think users will understand that though you do know what z-convolution with volumetric images (3D raster images)).

[Ego Eram Reputo]

I'm always happy to improve on what I've written. At the moment Tiled Form uses these words:

 

"Create tiled shapes into the canvas. The colors are calculated by weighted average. Source code available. Note non-standard installation due to the requisite supporting GmicSharpNative files."

 

Feel free to make changes. I've never tried to quantify the way I write these things up. If I were to do so, I'd say something like  "limit yourself to five or six concise sentences".

[Reptillian]

I'll submit this changes:

 

Create tiled shape into the canvas. The colors are found utilizing volumetric image of weighted average, and z-convolution on the z-axis if applied (More details on thread). Source code available. Note non-standard installation due to requisite supporting GmicSharpNative files.

 

I will add more details on the algorithm to the thread soon.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Reptillian

[Ego Eram Reputo]

April Update

 

One new plugin and one new Plugin Pack this month. I've also updated the description of Tiled Form.

 

Archimedean Spiral MJW Transforms a rectangular region into an Archimedean spiral (a spiral which tightens towards its centre).

 

Remake's Plugin Pack ReMake Plugin pack containing Effects and Adjustments: Dynamic Contrast, Intensity RGB, Saturation RGB, Transparency RGB, Color Sketch, Dragan Effect, Linocut, Reticulation, Scratch Art, Sponge, Averaged Color Blur, Color Range, Eliminate Dark/Light, Lines/Grid, Emboss+, Neon Edges & Center Lines