How to Extract Plugins for Photoshop
Photoshop, Adobe's graphic design and photo manipulation computer software program, allows the use of add-ons or plugins to expand the number of tools, filters and options available to users. These plugins can be added to Photoshop at any time, but if you wish to uninstall a plugin, to use the plugin in an upgraded installation or to provide it to a friend, you must first extract the plugin. Extraction is straightforward and is done outside Photoshop in your operating system's file explorer.
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Instructions
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Close and exit the Photoshop application. On Windows, press Alt+F4 to exit the program, saving any open projects. Press Cmd+Q on Mac OS X. Wait for the program to shut down completely before continuing.
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Access your operating system's file explorer. In Windows, this is called Windows Explorer (or simply Explorer), while on Mac OS X, it is called Finder.
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Find the plugins folder in the Photoshop installation. On a Windows PC, the folder will be located at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop\Plug-Ins, if you used the default installation location. In Mac OS X, the folder will be located at /Applications/Adobe Photoshop/Plug-Ins. Your folder may include a version number (such as "CS2") at the end of the folder named "Adobe Photoshop."
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Highlight the plugin or plugins you want to extract by clicking on them or by dragging a selection over them.
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Press the delete button to uninstall the plugin. Photoshop will automatically remove any reference to the plugin when it next restarts. To move the plugin to be added to a new Photoshop installation or to give to a friend, select "Cut" from the "Edit" menu and then choose "Paste" in the new folder you want to move the plugins to.
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Tips & Warnings
To reinstall plugins in a new Photoshop installation, extract your plugins to a new folder and move them back into the new Plug-Ins folder when the installation has completed.
Your friend can install the Photoshop plugin in his own Photoshop installation by moving the plugin files to his Plug-Ins folder. Photoshop will automatically install the plugin when he launches the program. However, some plugins require registration or log-in information the first time they are launched, so you cannot transfer paid plugins in this way.
Take caution when moving files in the file explorer. If you accidentally move the wrong files, it may cause the Photoshop application or your operating system to cease functioning normally.
