Now Read This Blog From Right Inside Photoshop CS4!!!
OK gang, as promised, here’s the cool secret thing: Today I’m releasing a free custom Photoshop CS4 panel that lets you get the RSS feed for this blog, “The Photoshop Insider” right inside Photoshop CS4 in its own separate panel (so it’s just like any other panel [formerly known as palettes], inside Photoshop).
If you click on the graphic above, you’ll see the Photoshop Insider panel is right there alongside the Layers panel, Channels, Paths, etc. and you’ll see the headlines from my posts, along with the RSS feed of the beginning of each post. If you see one that interests you, just click on Read More…..
The ability to add your own custom panels to Photoshop is new in CS4, and it came in the form of a free utility called “The Configurator” which lets you customize and extend Photoshop in some amazing ways. In fact, at Photoshop World in Boston next week, we have a special “Extensibility Track” featuring in-depth classes on how to create panels and extend Photoshop (taught by Adobe’s own John Nack, Tom Ruark, and Jeff Tranberry from the Photoshop team). If you’re into this stuff, make sure you check out their sessions (open to all Photoshop World attendees).
Here’s the link to the download the free panel. Once you download it, just double-click on it, and the CS4 Extension Manger will automatically install it where it’s supposed to go, then all you have to do is Restart Photoshop, then go under the Window menu, under Extensions, and choose PS_Insider.
A big thanks to Jeff Tranberry and our friends on the Photoshop team for their advice and suggestions in helping us develop this panel.
Sweet! it’s going to be really interesting to see where this custom panel technology leads…
Doesn’t seem to work on an iMac; it is supposed to?
OS Tiger, with CS4
When I click on the PS_Insider.mxp, a dialogue box appears for a split second referring to Dreamweaver CS3 (even though I use CS4); would it have gone there?
You may have to delete the CS3 Extensions Manager in order for the CS4 Extensions Manager to work.
Dave’s correct. You should delete Extension Manager CS3, or open Extension Manager CS4 and open the .MXP file directly from Extension Manager CS4.
This is so cool!! I just got CS4 and this will be so helpful! Just added it… Thanks!!
Now, this is cool! Just added it, no problem!
I was thinking it would be cool, but since it just gives you a tease and then launches a browser to read the full article, it’s not very functional. If I could read the entire post within the panel, that would be cool. Otherwise, my google reader works a LOT better! Nice start…
I’m just not gettin’ it. Love your blog but it’s not exactly Photoshop tips & techniques heaven (thank you very much for that). I understand the power and potential of The Configurator. The CS4 panels are already large enough. I have a browser/RSS reader on my computer. Why do I need your blog in my CS4?
You wanna do something cool? Give me something like PhotoshopUserTv that actually _animates_ the tutorials in my CS4.
>You wanna do something cool? Give me something like PhotoshopUserTv that actually _animates_ the tutorials in my CS4.
That would be really useful for working on Photoshop while viewing a NAPP tutorial. But idea of using Photoshop (an application that cost a bit of money, hogs Ram like there’s no tomorrow, requires huge multiple display systems for all its palettes, I mean panels) to view RSS seems like overkill. Having video tutorials you could start and stop, while in Photoshop would be genius!
There’s no reason one couldn’t make a panel to view/play video tutorials or a video podcast right inside photoshop. Creating a panel view an RSS/blog feed was simple enough for Scott and company to get their feet wet and illustrate one use for panels in Photoshop. The possibilities are endless, really. We’ve tried to make panel extensibility as inclusive as possible through technologies like Configurator for the average user to build simple, useful, custom panels and the Panel Developer’s Guide for experienced Flash/Flex programmers to build more advanced panels.
Adobe Configurator
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/configurator/
Adobe Configurator Video Demo
http://www.russellbrown.com/Transfer/Configurator.mov
Adobe Configurator User Guide
http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/files/ConfiguratorUserGuide.pdf
Photoshop Developer Center
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop/
Adobe Photoshop CS4 SDK, Photoshop Panel Developer’s Guide, Tutorials: PatchPanels: Integrating your ExtendScript; PatchPanel: Flash panels for multiple CS applications
Amen to that!
Very cool indeed.
This is some smooth and creamy nerdy goodness.
Good work Scott, but hate to be the voice of reason. Why use a 258MB app(CS4) to read 4 lines of text when lots of free readers like NewsFire, NetNewsWire, Google Reader give people the choice grab RSS in a lightweight and snappy way. I can see the idea is cool but practicality…
GENIUS Scott! thanks!
Interesting and geeky new toys. I’m curious to know what else one can do with the Configurator now!
Think I’ll keep reading you through Firefox, but it does make you wonder what else we can do with Photoshop.
Yeah, something new and fun to play with!!!
Right on! Way to keep us on the cutting edge, Scott!
(:
I think it is neat. I think Scott was just doing this to let people know that Photoshop can do these kinds of things in CS4. After all isn’t this Photoshop Insider? These are the things that are inside Photoshop that I am sure not many people knew about before this article, I didn’t.
John:
You nailed it—that is exactly why we did it—-to show that the technology is there, and stuff like this can be done. That’s why we have added that track to Photoshop World—-I don’t think most folks realize how far they can extend Photoshop CS4, and hopefully out of this Photoshop World will come the next generation of panel and extensibility ideas.
I wish I had added that into my original post, but you said it better than I could have.
Many thanks,
-Scott
I’m a little confused…. what will I use this for? I love new stuff and I have loaded it, but in my day to day PS stuff, I wonder what I will do with it. is there more to come?
Doing stuff like this is cool if you like to utilize new technology and keep pushing things forward to see what’s possible, which in turn keeps this industry alive. From Scott’s “business stand point” I’d say this is good for him because it’s another way to market himself as a brand—if you’re using photoshop and install this panel you’ll see updates feeding in that you might otherwise not see because you haven’t been to the site in a few days. I think it’s a great example of building a brand.
Exactly what problem is this supposed to solve?
Scott, just wondering if you were still going to do the review on Nikon’s new 50mm f/1.4 lens. You had mentioned it back in January and I was looking at getting one so I thought I would remind you.
John Beyer
This is SO cool!
Whoa! What a great way to run your instructional DVDs and Google Webcam – Skype hogs far too many resources- (for detailed responses from my “Huh?” friend) and actually interact with training – memory can be allocated, BTW.
I don’t get why I would want to read the blog inside photoshop. It’s much easier to open it with RSS reader or firefox. I don’t get what the point of this is but I guess it’s cool that PS can even do this. I could see it being a lot more useful if it were to display step by steps so I can read and do it instead of juggling app windows.
Scott….man you had me going. On Thursday when you said something really cool was coming, and it was free, related to PS….I was really anxious to see what you had.
High expectations = disappointment
Don’t get me wrong, still love your stuff….but I don’t see the point in reading a blog in PS….but if others like it, then go for it!
>High expectations = disappointment
Initially yes but after reading Jeff’s post above, this appears to be a “proof of concept”. Getting a video tutorial inside of PS, with the ability to pause and restart it while you work would be pretty sweet. So let’s see that next. Then High expectations = High expectations. It would be far better than viewing a video in an application, then having to switch to Photoshop and back.
I’m under the impression this can be done in Bridge too???
Bridge doesn’t support Confugurator, but it does have it’s own SDK and it supports UI created in Flash in couple of ways.
Other uses of Configurator inside Photoshop include creating context for tools and commands. Take Russell Brown’s Lenticular Panel 1.02 which accelerates the process of creating 3D lenticular images through automation, and organization of tools and commands in a particular process:
http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
In terms of what is possible using Flex, take a look at the examples in the Photoshop Panel Developer’s Guide.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/photoshop/
There are several other proof of concepts:
color picker – Non-modal color picker. A user has already created a very sophisticated color picker like Photoshop’s right inside a panel: http://www.anastasiy.com/
filters preview – the ability to add and manipulate smart filters in a non-modal way
flickr search – the ability to browse assets from a web service
per layer metadata – the ability to add comments/metadata on a per layer basis
photoshop tv – the ability to play and pause a training video from right inside Photoshop
Now imagine you take those concepts and apply them to your process. Maybe in a design shop, assignments are pushed out to retouchers via a web service in a panel. Imagine the panel keeps track of when the file for retouching was opened and closed and sends that information back to the web service to help track billable hours. Inside the document, per layer metadata instructs the retoucher on what changes are needed to for layer and keeps track of when each layer was last modified. Would that be cool? Useful?
The idea here is that panels, through the use of easy to use scripting languages, allow users and developers outside the core Photoshop engineering to team to create custom processes and workflows right inside of Photoshop.
In other words, this extensibility framework allows the millions of web and Flash developers, *including the Flash geek in the corner of your office,* to make useful, specialized features that might not otherwise get implemented by the core Photoshop team.
Yes Jeff Tranberry I could see how this could be useful for watching tutorials like abode tv tutorials or from the napp site. Oh yea Andrew Rodney what if this feature was linked to the help section in PS.
>Oh yea Andrew Rodney what if this feature was linked to the help section in PS.
Great idea!
Why?
Great! ;] That`s very comfortable panel.
Doesn’t install fo me
I’m using Vista 64 – and all I get is that I don’t have permissions.
You need to close Extension Manager, then right-click on the Extension Manager CS4.exe and choose “Run as Administrator.” After Extension Manager CS4 launches, click “Install” from the top bar, or choose File>Install Extension and choose the PS-Insider.mxp file.
I want to know how to communicate with you Mr. Scott, I did not find the email or something like that because I want to inquire about some things, and thanks
I would love the The Photoshop Insider” right inside Photoshop CS4 in its own separate panel . Went to link download but it won’t install on My Photoshop CS4- help
It’s crashing Adobe Extension Manager for me, and it doesn’t end up installed. Every time I try to install it, Extension Manger comes up and immediately crashes.
Wish it would work for me! When I click on the installer it tries to load it in Dreamweaver and then the installer quits. Tried it in two computers and got the same problem. Anyone
else had this problem???
Dorothy and Eric. What OS you using and what version of Extension Manager is loading?
Try launching Extension Manager, make sure it’s version is CS4, and choose Install and open the MXP that way.
Crashes the installer.
Jeff,
Thanks for the response. But I had 2.1 installed. It crashed over and over. When I uninstalled Dr. Brown’s lenticular tutorial, it stopped crashing on startup. But I can’t do anything without it crashing. I’ve deleted some preferences and I’ve deleted Extension Manger itself and tried to re-install 2.0 and 2.1, but it keeps saying it’s already installed and to reinstall it with the program that originally installed it. But it doesn’t bother to say what installed it. (I have the download version of CS4 Design Premium.) What program originally installed it? DreamWeaver CS4?
If it was Extension Manager CS4 (version2.0), it gets installed with most of the CS4 apps or suites. It was probably installed with your Design Premium.
Did you try the standalone installer here?: http://www.adobe.com/exchange/em_download/
How were you able to delete the Dr. Brown panel if ExMan was crashing?
Sorry, forgot to mention OS X 10.5.6 on a Mac Pro.
WOW i like this tutorial very much
awesome and very easy to follow! Good job
maniacs
)
I think this all leads to where the future of Photoshop Interface is heading, photo “pains”..are slowing my workflow. Personally I’m not a fan the “Macromedia” look alike application ..there is nothing left in there to remind me about Adobe!
With Configurator..its nice to see some command at PS UI..though loading the panels are still pain for me..i don’t have an .MXP file i have an .MXI file ( I can see my panel inside PS but with instruction to close or restart, and I do and nothing happens).
Want something cool too..here’s some ideas
something like design-task guide panel starting from standard sizes, to design trends.
live help pane!
Internet links panel, I still miss the click at the top of the toolbox.
Hey Scott, You’re awesome but I have a gripe and it’s not about your tutorials!!!!! Can someone at Adobe please explain to me why a Photoshop teacher at a public high school in New York cannot get the same discount on software as a college student? I really need a copy of CS4 in order to keep up with my students, UGH!!!! (my school does not give copies of software to teachers, I know ridiculous but out of my hands) and I really can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars for the upgrade!!!! Please help or at least, explain!
Thanks, Nanci
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