HOW TO INSTALL PLUGINS/General Plugin Troubleshooting Thread

[victorvvv]

Na versão da Microsoft store, não sei aonde colar o arquivo dll.

[Rick Brewster]

18 minutes ago, victorvvv said:

Na versão da Microsoft store, não sei aonde colar o arquivo dll.

https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/InstallPlugins.html

 

Click on translator:

[tobi1509]

Hallo

habe mir den psd Plug in heruntergeladen kann es aber nicht installieren weil, der paint.net ordner fehlt wer kann helfen?

 

IchMännlic

 

"Hello I downloaded the psd plug in but can't install it because the paint.net folder is missing who can help? I..."

[Pixey]

You must look for the Effects Folder within paint.net.

 

Usually found:   This PC > OS(C:) > Program Files > paint.net >  Effects.

 

But for this PSD Plugin, it goes here:  Copy and paste PhotoShop.dll to: C:\Program Files\paint.net\FileType

[Ego Eram Reputo]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:25 PM, tobi1509 said:

because the paint.net folder is missing who can help

 

You might have a MS Store installation. In that case you will need to manually create the folders. See the instructions here: https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/InstallPlugins.html#4

[uvbogden]

 

 

 

I was just browsing before asking my questions and I saw a couple of issues that people were having that are Microsoft Windows issues that can make any installation problematic, issues I believe have nothing to do with the Paint.net app or plugins. If we can help people with these specific Windows issues, I think there may be fewer people with installation problems.

 

Part of the plugin installation involves creating various folders and at least one user was being told he didn't have Permissions to work with some folders. Windows Security usually decides which folders they want you to not mess with and which you can. They do this by assigning to some computer Users Ownership and/or Permissions and by denying the same to others. Usually it's the system and other similar files to which the actual owner of the computer is denied access, but sometimes Windows will try to lock you out of folders that need to be accessed. In this case, you may need to "Take Ownership" and grant yourself "Full Control" "Permissions" to access and use the folders in question.

 

Installation of plugins also involves working with zip files and there are a number of errors that are commonly made in using zip files that would make plugin installation difficult. Opening most files is done by double clicking the file, but if you make the mistake of thinking you're opening a zip file by double-clicking, you will see a depiction of what files are in the zip file, but what you're looking at is not the actual files--and trying to use these depictions as if they were the real files will just cause you grief. What must be remembered is that zip files must be "Extracted" and these are the files that you seek to use in setting up your plugins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[toe_head2001]

For our Newbies and Guests, we have an obnoxious banner at the top of every page within Plugins - Publishing ONLY.

 

"How could anyone possibly ignore this banner!?", I said when I added it.

[wolfwoman]

Hello,

I cross-posted this on the specific plugin page where I downloaded, per instructions. But I fear it's paint.net itself so I'm asking here as well. I was using our Admin's excellent jigsaw puzzle effect for the past year and it suddenly disappeared from the Effects/Render drop down menu. I downloaded the zip file, extracted it, and when I went to put it in the Effects folder, it was still there. I was baffled! 

 

Then it occurred to me that instead of just donating frequently, I bought pdn from the Microsoft store, which automatically does updates. I believe one of those updates caused some plugins to stop being accessible to me. I was right! I uninstalled pdn then grabbed the free version on the web, installed it, and the jigsaw puzzle plugin was back. 

 

Sharing this in case anyone else has such a problem. I read a lot on the how to install plugins page and it has an explanation about how to do it with the MS version, but my directory tree looked nothing like the example so I couldn't really use it. My solution seems easy and it worked - so I'll just go back to donating freely and forget the version I bought from MS.

[Pixey]

3 hours ago, wolfwoman said:

Sharing this in case anyone else has such a problem.

 

Hopefully other folks will read "Install Plugins" and see the difference between Store Bought and Classic.  Read about it here, half way down the page.

[Red ochre]

I notice the banner 'How to install plug-ins' disappears when you log into the forum, perhaps that's why @wolfwoman missed the difference in location?

 

Perhaps two permanent, prominent but small banners "Install plug-ins Store" and "Install plug-ins Classic", linked to the correct paragraph in the docs?
... or is that overkill!🙄😄

[toe_head2001]

2 hours ago, Red ochre said:

I notice the banner 'How to install plug-ins' disappears when you log into the forum

 

It only appears for Guests (people not logged in) and Newbies (members with 10 or less posts).

Everyone else should know better, so no need to bother them with an obnoxious banner.

[Panchdara]

2 hours ago, toe_head2001 said:

 

It only appears for Guests (people not logged in) and Newbies (members with 10 or less posts).

Everyone else should know better, so no need to bother them with an obnoxious banner.

This is my 99th post, obviously logged in as I'm posting, and the banner is still top of window.... until I close it. 🤔

Edited September 8, 2023 by Panchdara

[Pixey]

15 hours ago, Panchdara said:

logged in as I'm posting, and the banner is still top of window....

 

I don't see any "Banner" logged in or not logged in 🤷‍♀️    Sorry, now I see it ....... finally!  It blends in so well with the blue.

[Red ochre]

4 hours ago, toe_head2001 said:

so no need to bother them with an obnoxious banner.

Well - I agree but just thinking of ways to better inform new users.

I'm sure there are many better solutions. I'd consider going even smaller and a translucent background... just ideas!

Earlier there were 149 guests and one signed in user - so all are being directed to the top of the install documents page... and TLDR (as the youngsters say), so will only see the classic effects folder location.

@Pixey- you are a moderator so may not see what newer users do and  @Panchdara, possibly, If like me, you delete cookies and history, which keeps the browser more responsive but messes with some sites. It may be why you still see the banner when logged in?

And YES I'm trying to be light-hearted. If users are in the habit of installing things without checking what they are doing, then the risks are greater than non functioning plug-ins.

No wish to annoy anyone!🙂... and I realise altering anything is risky and a pain!

[Panchdara]

8 hours ago, Pixey said:

 

I don't see any "Banner" logged in or not logged in 🤷‍♀️

Yeah was still there... no worries at all. It  wasn't in the way.

[Pixey]

13 hours ago, Red ochre said:

ey- you are a moderator so may not see what newer users do

 

Yes, I see it now.  it's a case of "lazy eye'.  It's been there all the time, so I don't notice it anymore 🙄

[kristian1111]

Hi,

 

I've followed all the instructions to install the https://www.psdplugin.com/ having bought and installed paint.net from Microsoft Store. I've located my documents file on Windows 11 and have created the file + the three others inside it (Effects + FileTypes + Shapes) and have extracted the Winrar'ed files info the FileTypes file and yet I still can't open PSD files in paint.net - can somebody help please? Thanks!

[toe_head2001]

Please post a screenshot of your FileTypes folder.

[John Peter]

Thank you for all the previous advisories, but they all seem to be obsolete for me, a newbie to paint.net.      I just purchased paint.net (version 5.11.xxxx)    from the Microsoft store, and it automatically installed to ONE PROFILE only on my Windows 10 Pro computer that I call "CARBON."  Paint.net has an icon in the one profile's start menu and indeed the program runs and saves files and seems to operate OK.  But right-clicking on the icon yields no "properties" and no "location."  So I found it the old fashioned way... by global search using file explorer... and it is up the tree in AppData\Local\Packages\dotPDNLLC.paint.net_h55e3w7q8jbva     Inside that folder are many folders but no "Effects" folder.   Nor can I find any executable file.        Can anyone advise, on where to install a plugin dll for barrel distortion correction?   I have found an offering called "kb_lens.zip"    

Edited October 17, 2023 by John Peter

[toe_head2001]

15 minutes ago, John Peter said:

... I just purchased paint.net (version 5.11.xxxx)    from the Microsoft store ...       Can anyone advise, on where to install a plugin ...

 

Please follow these directions for Paint.NET installations from the Microsoft Store.

https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/InstallPlugins.html#4

[Rick Brewster]

@John Peter, the instructions are a little different for the Store version. This is all detailed in the first post in this thread. Just search (Ctrl+F) for "store".

[John Peter]

Thank you both for the prompt replies.    Shortly after posting my appeal for assistance, I found an fully packaged (with .exe installer) collection of plugins called BoltBaitPack69, intended for version 5 of paint.net.   That worked, and the numerous plugins are accessible in my paint.net (from Microsoft Store) application.   I later noticed that the act of installing BoltBaitPack69 created three folders under my Documents\paint.net App files folder:    Effects, Palettes, and Shapes.   ( I had manually created the Documents sub-folder paint.net App files 3 hours earlier.)   The BoltBaitPack69 installation process populated the Effects folder with 40 dlls, and they seem to work.  I copied the kb_lens.dll that I need into that same Effects folder and it is nowhere to be found in the paint.net (version 5.11.x) application.    There's no surprise in that as kb_lens.dll was written 16 years ago for an older paint.net (presumably version 4.x).    Moreover, there are now numerous references to paint.net in my registry, but none of them match the two registry entries mentioned in the guidelines you identified.  

Unfortunately, the only plugin related to fisheye correction, provided by BoltBaitPack69 seems to be "Bulge" and it seems inappropriate.     I'll try again soon, with that.

If you care to correct this newbie's opinion that there is an abyss between paint.net version 4 plugins and the new paint.net version 5.11.x, please advise.

[null54]

21 hours ago, John Peter said:

I copied the kb_lens.dll that I need into that same Effects folder and it is nowhere to be found in the paint.net (version 5.11.x) application. 

 

For reference the plugin @John Peter is referring to is: https://forums.getpaint.net/topic/7216-camera-lens-distortion-correction

 

It still works in Paint.NET 5.0.11. The installed plugin is located in the Effects menu under Photos >  Lens distortion.

 

21 hours ago, John Peter said:

There's no surprise in that as kb_lens.dll was written 16 years ago for an older paint.net (presumably version 4.x).

 

It was released on December 11, 2007, one day before Paint.NET 3.20. The fact that most older plugins continue to work shows how much effort @Rick Brewster puts into backwards compatibility.

[John Peter]

Hooray!   Thank you Null54 and you are correct on ALL points.   I moved the kb_lens.dll to a new subfolder I created called Photos.   (I slipped up and forgot to make Lens Distortion as a sub-folder of Photos   .   I didn't even have to re-boot or re-logon to my Windows 10 Pro computer.   I simply started photos.net and the desired plugin was found where you instructed.   I'll show some very early experimental results, from a highly distorted original drone photo of the skyscrapers of Hong Kong.    Three photos:  one with several minus compounded corrective applications; the original, and one with several plus compounded corrective applications.       And this forum is AWESOME.     The response rate is very, very encouraging to this newbie, and exciting.

Edited October 18, 2023 by John Peter
to add pictures; I'm a newbie! I can't seem to get 3 x <80kB JPGs to stick.

[AndrewDavid]

7 hours ago, John Peter said:

If you care to correct this newbie's opinion that there is an abyss between paint.net version 4 plugins and the new paint.net version 5.11.x, please advise.

 

In the past both the app and the plugins did not have access to the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)

 

 The CPU handles all the tasks required for all software on your computer to run correctly. A GPU, on the other hand, supports the CPU to perform concurrent calculations. A GPU can complete simple and repetitive tasks much faster because it can break the task down into smaller components and finish them in parallel.

 

 A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or colloquially GPU) is a computer expansion card that generates a feed of graphics output to a display device such as a monitor.

 

With the introduction of a few new base structures and the updated software environment we are in, Paint.Net is now running with better and faster performance. 

 

I understand exactly what you are saying.  

 

Unless you are building your own plugins as a user you should see no difference other than faster and better performance.

@Rick Brewster You didn't let me finish.

Hope this helps @John Peter

Edited October 18, 2023 by AndrewDavid
got kicked out editor when tick make his post or I hit tab that took me out.