Photoshop Plug-In directory localized...

Hello,



I want to build an installer that automatically finds the right destination directory for a plug-in. The only problem I have is that Adobe uses localized names for the ''Plug-Ins'' directory as well as its subdirectories (esp. ''Import/Export'' in my case).



Is there some official documentation on what these names are for the different languages (in versions CS2 and later). I couldn't find such a document online or in the SDK, but this surely must be available somewhere.



Thanks.
Photoshop Plug-In directory localized...
Hi Bernd,



I don't know any fool prove solution for this, nor a documentation for the plugin directoy names, but you can obtain some of the needed information from the registry. However if you do not know target version and/or language you can always put your plugin into photoshops root dir.

If you don't want this, you could implement a file/dir-browser that uses ps root path as starting point and let the user browse from there to the plugin dir. Another aproach would be to implement a file-searcher that searches for a plugin that allready came native with photoshop and returns the path to you.

See also: http://adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc4c525/0



Marc
Photoshop Plug-In directory localized...
Hi Marc,



thanks for your suggestion, but my problem really *starts* when I found the main Photoshop directory. I can find it no problem, but need the subdirectory as well. Putting plug-ins into the root of Photoshop is only a fallback option for me. And using the registry doesn't help as I need it to work on Macs too.



It's really hard to believe Adobe hasn't ever put out a technote listing those names. Not exactly good documentation practice. But if that's what it is I have to try to hunt down the names for the common languages at least.



Bernd

I absolutely agree with you one this one, it's simply a shame and sadly a common ''feature'' with some software products - I know at least two applications that change their root-directoy names or plugin-folders with every version change : (

I'm not sure of this, but didn't adobe even change the english name from ''plug-ins'' to ''plugins'' with some version change? I currently don't have an english version (or an old one) but somehow I have this in the back of my mind, but I could confuse this with a completely different software.

Anyway, to get you started, the german name is ''Zusatzmodule'' : )

Good luck with hunting down the other names, maybe you could post them here if you find them.

-Marc

One bit of lateral thinking: instead of trying to find out the plug-in

folder name, how about looking for the folder with the most things

that look like plug-ins?



Aandi Inston

Aandi, that sounds like a really different and interesting approach. I wonder if the default plug-ins shipped by Adobe are also localized in filename. But at least for my case of finding the ''Import/Export'' subfolder I should be on the safe side by looking for the TWAIN plugin. I would imagine that to be the same in all languages.

Bernd_Heller@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt; But at least for my case of finding the ''Import/Export'' subfolder I should be on the safe side by looking for the TWAIN plugin.



Or look for folders that contain files with the extensions that you're

interested in, e.g. *.8li, *.8ba.



-X

%26gt; Or look for folders that contain files with the extensions that you're

interested in, e.g. *.8li, *.8ba.



That will again only work on windows, because on Macs the file extension is always .plugin

Bernd_Heller@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt;

%26gt; That will again only work on windows, because on Macs the file extension is always .plugin



Yikes! Do the different plugin types have different Mac file types assigned to

them or is there no way to distinguish one plugin file type from another other

than by folder?



-X

xbytor@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt; Bernd_Heller@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt;%26gt; That will again only work on windows, because on Macs the file extension is always .plugin

%26gt;

%26gt; Yikes! Do the different plugin types have different Mac file types assigned to

%26gt; them or is there no way to distinguish one plugin file type from another other

%26gt; than by folder?



It does appear that you can determine the plugin type on the Mac by looking in

the *.plugin/Contents/Info.plist file. Not the most elegant solution, but it

should work.



-X

One other thought: the idea of an automatic installer which makes this

decision alarms me. It's very useful to pick a default before

presenting the user with a choice, but to just go ahead is surely

wrong.



I have seen plug-in installers that do this. The problem is that they

do not accommodate the case where you have more than one copy/version

of Photoshop installed. Where the installation is complex (more than

copying a file) it can make it difficult or impossible to use the

plug-in with those other installations.



How about

* Find the default Photoshop folder

* Put up a folder chooser window inviting people to choose their

plug-ins folder

* Normally this is just one folder within this Photoshop folder, but

people with more than one installation can choose

* If you can't find Photoshop, skip straight in at the prompt (with a

suitable message, as not everyone really understands system

requirements)



Aandi Inston

xbytor@adobeforums.com wrote:

%26gt; It does appear that you can determine the plugin type on the Mac by looking in

%26gt; the *.plugin/Contents/Info.plist file. Not the most elegant solution, but it

%26gt; should work.



Thanks xbytor, I think that should work, and I may do just that. But it's really way more effort than I wanted to put into something that should be very very simple indeed.



Aandi:

I see your point about too much automatism, but I always loathed installers incapable of finding photoshop plugin folders on their own. If there is one photoshop installed only, the installer has to ''just work''. And should there be more than one possible location, the user certainly should not have to delve into the depths of the photoshop folders. He should just have to say ''photoshop a'' or ''photoshop b'', and then it's back to my original problem of finding my way around inside the photoshop installation once I know where it starts.



Bernd