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Drop Shadow and other effects, KrisVDM's Plugin Pack (updated 2024-03-23) v.5.0.5.0


KrisVDM

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No hard feelings I hope. :wink:
Absolutely not, on the contrary. I'm happy to hear you like the plug-ins.

In fact, you do have a point. Unfortunately, it's a little late to do something about the frequency of the popup for now; the code for the update check has been out in the wild for over a year. But I will go more easy on the reminders after the next update.

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I don't know, as I haven't received such a popup, but Goonfella's post implies it shows when you first start Paint.NET.
You must be using a very old version of these plug-ins then, or you don't have them installed at all. Feel free to try the new version.
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You really shouldn't be checking and prompting for updates in your constructor:

    [*:vrhj1duk]Plugins slow down Paint.NET's startup enough as it is.[*:vrhj1duk]It confuses users -- they may think it's Paint.NET prompting them to update.[*:vrhj1duk]Most users probably don't open Paint.NET every day, or even every month. So imagine if several other plugins prompted for updates like this. Every time Average Joe wanted to use Paint.NET, they'd get spammed with a dozen update prompts that had nothing to do with what he wanted to do, anyway. That would overwhelm and/or annoy the hell out of Paint.NET's users. Paint.NET's, not yours.[*:vrhj1duk]The user did not open Paint.NET to use your plugin. Wait until someone actually clicks on your plugin's name before assuming that the user has any desire to use your plugin ever. Because they might not. I have tons of plugins that I've only ever used once, if at all.

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[i write plugins and stuff]

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You really shouldn't be checking and prompting for updates in your constructor
I've posted a new update, version 3.5.1, that does the check only when an effect is actually run. Of course, this modification doesn't change the old versions that are already out there.

I haven't triggered the updater in the old versions, so those that have already installed 3.5.0 will not be notified that 3.5.1 is available.

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I have just re-installed the plugins again and have no luck.

I still get this message and if I choose no PDN freezes.

If I choose yes I am directed to the install webpage then I close the page. (and go back to PDN)

pdnerror.jpg

BTW yes I have Ver Version 3.3x, 3.5

Thanks

martelshiney300-1.pngbleeping12.png

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I really don't want a plugin folder full of phoning home Dlls.

The idea of auto-update-plugins may be interesting, especially for the developer, but as a user I reject it.

Besides the fact that it annoys me, it opens a new realm for bugs, freezes and crashes.

I suggest to drop the update-idea and -system, and I also request other plugin authors to not adapt the idea.

And as a side note, some pictures to show the effects in the first post would be nice and of use.

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If I choose yes I am directed to the install webpage then I close the page. (and go back to PDN)
The dialog asks "Do you want to download them now?" If you say yes, it opens the page where you can go and download them, so that you can install them later. In other words, if you close the download page, nothing will have happened. Im sorry about the confusion, I hope this clarifies things.
and if I choose no PDN freezes.
Can you provide some more information? Feel free to pm me if you prefer that.
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If I choose yes I am directed to the install webpage then I close the page. (and go back to PDN)

:oops:

I realize now that I was not installing the files correctly.

:roll:

I have resolved my issue by RDTP. (read the darn problem)

I downloaded the .zip

Unzipped

then chose install

Thanks for the help. :oops:

martelshiney300-1.pngbleeping12.png

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I really don't want a plugin folder full of phoning home Dlls.
I can understand that, but do know I'm not sending any information home. So in a way, it's more like "listening to the radio".
The idea of auto-update-plugins may be interesting, especially for the developer, but as a user I reject it.
To developers, it's a nightmare. More work, more testing, difficult testing actually. The reason why anyone, be it a plug-in developer or any other developer or software company, writes updaters, is that it helps users getting better software more quickly.
Besides the fact that it annoys me, it opens a new realm for bugs, freezes and crashes.
Other have mentioned the anoyance, and I've made changes to address that. Unfortunately, they will have an effect only after a next update. As for the bugs, one reason to put an update out and getting it into users hands, is to fix bugs. That assumes of course that the update mechanism itself is simple (as it is in my case, in fact it's not updating but merely notifying) and properly tested (as I hope it is...).
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HEYYYYY this is so cool i love it so so so so so so so muc!

:lol:

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm not sure whether this would be a better approach to offering both automatic and manual installation without putting everything in a ZIP file, but if you embed a ZIP file of the plugins in the installer as a resource, some programs such as 7-zip can extract it.

KaHuc.png
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I'm not sure whether this would be a better approach to offering both automatic and manual installation without putting everything in a ZIP file, but if you embed a ZIP file of the plugins in the installer as a resource, some programs such as 7-zip can extract it.
The plugins are embedded in the installer uncompressed, as the installer itself is compressed in a zip file anyway. Secondly, if I put them in compressed, the installer needs to have decompression logic, which makes it bigger (and slower) again. Finally, even uncompressed, some programs such as .NET Reflector can extract them, if you really want to do that.
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The plugins are embedded in the installer uncompressed, as the installer itself is compressed in a zip file anyway.

I assumed the reason they were in a ZIP file was to keep both in the same download.

Secondly, if I put them in compressed, the installer needs to have decompression logic, which makes it bigger (and slower) again.

The installer wouldn't necessarily have to use that copy.

Finally, even uncompressed, some programs such as .NET Reflector can extract them, if you really want to do that.

Opening it as a ZIP file would be easier.

KaHuc.png
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I assumed the reason they were in a ZIP file was to keep both in the same download.
Both? Are you referring to the Vandermotten.PaintDotNetEffects.Installer.dll? That's not the effects plugin; it's a helper file for the installer. It's only required in a very specific scenario though. Normally you can just open the zip file in Windows and double click Install.exe.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Is there a mirror somewhere for this site?

Direct download at http://users.telenet.be/krisvandermotten.

Work's IT department simply will not "unblock" Internet sites that are not .com or .net because of their higher virus content and low "for business" usage.

This is the forth time over the years that I've had to get this plugin (I guess it gets overwritten with Paint.NET updates or it isn't compatible with newer versions), and the only way I am ever able to get the file is to download it from home on my slow dial-up and bring it to work.

~Joe

Avoid Sears Home Improvement (click to read why)

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...

Kris, I am trying to write my own drop shadow effect (mainly for learning and my own project needs). Drawing the shadow itself is quite easy and I can do it really fast even for larger bitmaps with irregular shapes (in fact bitmap contents doesn't matter). But the real bottleneck is the "grow shadow" part. Users can achieve great results with it, but my algorithm is too damn slow. So, I was hoping to take a look at your "beautiful" source code but it seems that you don't provide it any more. Can you please at least share the idea behind your "grow shadow" routine?

My first approach was similar to the convolution filters. I was running second loop inside LockBits for the shadow bitmap and painted additional pixels if they were close enough to the source pixel. When I used the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the distance I got really nice, smooth edged expanded shadow (this way one pixel changes into round-shaped group of pixels). But It's too slow. So I decided to cheat and did the same thing you can do when you optimise the Gaussian filter, that is run the loop with two one-dimensional arrays (I'm sure you are familiar with that, so won't dwell into). That worked in terms of speed, but shape of the resulting shadows is rather poor - obviously I got squared edges. I'm able to compensate that a little when I make pixels a bit transparent if they are far from matrix centre. But that's still far away from perfectly shaped circles that I get with 2D matrix and Pythagorean theorem.

I know that I could probably speed things a little if I build my shadow map using byte array (shadow is in fact a transparency mask anyway) instead of bitmap, but I don't think that's going to get me closer to the speed you get :) So, is there any chance to see your code or at least have some guidelines?

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So, is there any chance to see your code or at least have some guidelines?

Hmm, it seems that if users selects "Keep original image", then you just skip invisible parts of the shadow - this speeds things dramatically. Is that correct?

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  • 2 weeks later...

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