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John Nack on Adobe


Configurator is live!Yesterday

I'm extremely happy to say that Adobe Configurator 1.0 is now available for download from Adobe Labs.  Configurator is a simple drag-and-drop tool for creating panels that extend Photoshop CS4.  It's an important step in the process of making the Photoshop UI much more flexible--much better able to be "everything you need, nothing you don't."

 

For more info about Configurator, please see my previous post and video demo.  In this post's extended entry I've shared some additional odds & ends (read on).

 

  • A key idea here is to let smart people share their knowledge easily. To that end Configurator works hand-in-glove with Adobe Extension Manager (which is installed by default with Photoshop).  When you export a panel for use in Photoshop, Configurator also spits out a .MXI file.  Double clicking the MXI file will cause Extension Manager to launch & to prompt you to create an MXP file.  When you send someone the MXP file, they can double click it to have Extension Manager come up & put the contents into the right locations*.

 

  • Some sample panels:
Installer issue mini-updateNovember 18

On Thursday I said that I'd gather information from the Adobe installer team and post it here when it's ready.  On Friday and over the weekend, some senior Adobe folks involved in the installer effort started reaching out to Pierre (whose blog post occasioned the need for a response) and John C. Welch to talk through the details.

 

I appreciate that people are eager for more info, but it seemed only wise/courteous to try to learn more before posting a reply.  The timing just now is tough: many of us have been at Adobe MAX from 7AM-10PM since Sunday, so communication is taking a little longer than usual.  When I've had more time to pull together a proper post, I'll share it here.  (In the meantime, I'd love not to get crucified for trying to do the right thing.)

 

Thanks,

J.


Pixel Bender arrives in PhotoshopNovember 17

I'm delighted to announce that the Pixel Bender Gallery plug-in for Photoshop CS4 is now available for download from Adobe Labs.  Key points:

 

  • It runs filters really, really fast on your graphics card (GPU)
  • The plug-in is not one filter, but rather a harness into which you can drop Pixel Bender files (.PBK and .PBG)
  • Pixel Bender also runs cross-platform in After Effects CS4 & Flash Player 10
  • The filters people write for Flash will also work in Photoshop
  • We should therefore see an explosion in the number of new Photoshop filters becoming available

 

I recorded a quick (1 minute) demo movie of the plug-in in action.  The package includes great sample filters from developers Joa Ebert, Petri Leskinen, Frank Reitberger, Jerry Lin, and Allen Chou (thanks again, guys), and you can grab new ones from the Adobe Exchange & other developer blogs.  Simply drop the tiny PBK text

Tokidoki + Free MAX AccessNovember 17

I just got a quick heads-up from the Illustrator team:

 

Special Offer — Free Pass to Adobe MAX on 11/17 for tokidoki

 

Come see renowned illustrator Simone Legno from tokidoki at Adobe MAX in San Francisco Monday, 11/17

 

Space is limited to the first 200 who sign up. Register now at the website below and use the following promo code: CRC998

 

http://max.adobe.com/na/register/?secret=1&payment=1

 

Registration for Legno’s session will open at 4:00 pm on Monday, November 17. Registration is located at Moscone West, Level 1, 800 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA

 

Sounds great, and I hope to sneak into the session myself.

[Via Terry Hemphill]

Illustrated Miscellany: Obama, the Joker, & molten waxNovember 15

History & politics:

Packaging & Objects:

  • Veerle showcases some beautiful packaging.
  • Go Media sells PSD templates that can help you drop artwork onto various wrinkly shirts.
  • Virgil O. Stamps will print on just about any crazy material--duct tape, shredded targets, National Geographic pages, etc. [Via]

Cool Devices:

  • The notional Virtuo virtual palette "uses sensors and light to mix digital colour and apply it to a screen." [Via Jerry Harris]