External Plug-ins

AliveColors is a powerful tool for editing and correcting photos.

You can extend the editor's functionality by adding external third-party plugins (except the Linux version).

Proceed as follows to add the plugins to AliveColors on Windows and Mac:

• Open the Preferences dialog box by clicking in the upper right corner of the AliveColors window or using the File -> Preferences... command.
• Go to the Filters & Plugins tab. In the Plugins Directory field, browse the folder with the plugins (the .8bf file on Windows, the plugin file on Mac). To add a new folder, click and select the desired directory.

  Actually, you can use any folder which contains the plugin files:

  • A folder created specifically for this purpose: for example, "My Plugins". Copy all the plugin files into this folder to make them appear in the effects list.
  • A native plugin folder. For example, on Windows, AKVIS plugins are installed into C:\Program Files\AKVIS.
  • A plugins folder of another graphics editor. You may need this option if you're using several graphic editors on the same machine.
    For example, to add the Photoshop CC plug-ins to AliveColors choose the folder:

    Windows: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\CC;
    Mac: Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-Ins/CC.

  You can choose several folders, all of them will be active. All selected paths are visible in the drop-down list. To remove the folder, select it in the list and click .

  Click OK to apply changes.

• Restart AliveColors and call the plug-in from the menu Effects.

List of compatible AKVIS plugins for Windows and Mac (some features are available in AliveColors):

AKVIS AirBrush — Airbrushing Techniques on Your Photos (the built-in AirBrush plugin is available).

AKVIS Artifact Remover AI — JPEG-Compressed Image Restoration (also available as the AI-powered filter in AliveColors: AI -> JPEG Artifact Remover).

AKVIS ArtSuite — Frames and Effects for Your Photos.

AKVIS ArtWork — Collection of Painting & Drawing Techniques.

AKVIS Chameleon — Photo Collage Creation.

AKVIS Charcoal — Charcoal & Chalk Drawings.

AKVIS Coloriage — Add Color to Black and White Photos.

AKVIS Decorator — Resurface and Recolor.

AKVIS Draw — Hand-made Pencil Drawing Effect.

AKVIS Enhancer — Bring Detail To Your Pictures (the built-in Enhancer plugin is available).

AKVIS Explosion — Fabulous Particle Explosion Effects.

AKVIS HDRFactory — High Dynamic Range Images: Brighter than Reality! (the built-in HDRFactory plugin is available).

AKVIS Inspire AI — Artistic Stylization of Images

AKVIS LightShop — Light and Star Effects (the built-in LightShop plugin is available).

AKVIS MakeUp — Retouch Your Portrait Photos! (the built-in MakeUp plugin is available).

AKVIS NatureArt — Bring Nature to Your Photos (the built-in NatureArt plugin is available).

AKVIS Neon — Glowing Drawings from Photos (the built-in Neon plugin is available).

AKVIS Noise Buster AI — Digital Noise Reduction (the traditional algorithm is accessible in the built-in Noise Buster plugin; the AI-based filter is available in AI -> Noise Removal).

AKVIS OilPaint — Oil Painting Effect.

AKVIS Pastel — Turn Photos into Pastel Paintings.

AKVIS Points — Apply Pointillism Effect to Your Photos (the built-in Points plugin is available).

AKVIS Refocus AI — Focus Improvement & Blur Effects (one of the options is available in AI -> Motion Deblur).

AKVIS Retoucher — Image Restoration Software.

AKVIS Sketch — Turn Your Photos into Pencil Sketches.

AKVIS SmartMask — Save Time on Complex Selections! (the built-in SmartMask plugin is available).

AKVIS Watercolor — Aquarelle Art from Photos.

List of other compatible third-party plugins:

Corel ParticleShop plugins (for Windows and Mac)

Auto FX Software plugins (for Windows and Mac)

Topaz Labs plugins (for Windows only)

Nik Collection plugins (for Windows only)

Exposure Software (ex Alien Skin Software) plugins: Exposure, Snap Art, Eye Candy (for Windows only)

Imagenomic plugins (for Windows only)

To get the information about the version and license status of any plugin, call the menu command Help -> About Plugins.