reading the wishlist topic I saw that paint shop pro is not 100% compatible with the photoshop plugins and that this is also true for the photoshop file format (psd).
On this topic I'd like to focus only on photoshop files and plugins, not other things like brushes and so on.
So.. for what I've understood.. they changed the plugin sdk so that it is no longer possible to developer to make plugins that works with other "hosts" (read.. that works with psp too) and the photoshop files that can be opened with psp are all that files that doesn't contains settings that doesn't have an equivalent in psp like some layer styles and so on.
Now my question are:
- is the plugin thing still true? I've read this:
from here: http://www.thepluginsite.com/knowhow/tu ... uction.htmIn 2002 Adobe restricted access to the Photoshop SDK, which contains the specifications for Photoshop plugins, and also changed the license agreement of the Photoshop SDK. Luckily in 2006 Adobe gave up asking plugin developers a $195 fee for accessing the SDK. It seems the new license agreement does not legally allow to use newer versions of the Photoshop SDK to add support for Photoshop plugins in non-Adobe applications. So it is to be expected that incompatibilities with non-Adobe applications that support Photoshop plugins may increase.
..but from what I now, that all the new versions of the most famous ps plugins like Alien Skin's .. should work with psp too..
taking Alien Skin as an example: are the Alien Skin's developers still using the old sdk to allow compatibility with psp or what? ..some other examples of photoshop plugins that doesn't works in psp? ..and.. are there some other nice plugins that are for psp only?
- while, back to PSD files... if someone sends me a psd and I know I'll have to open it in psp.. what have I to say to him in order to get a compatible version?
Also.. I noticed that when I try to open an unsupported psd.. I only get the image with all layers flattened.. while if I try to open the same image with the gimp I saw it different from the original (like some styles missing, blend modes that gives different results and so on) .. but at least I can open all the layers so that I can take just one or hide some and so on.. so it would be nice if there were the option to "open as flattened image" or "open layers with supported features" ..
Photoshop compatibility is not a "must have" for me .. but with this topic I'd like to understand better what you can do and what you can't with psp as it is a bit confusing; if you search on the help the only result about the psd format is that you can "read/write" but there are no specific information about which versions of the format are supported and which are the limitations.
thanks.
bye,
Giovanni.