# No "remove" plugin button for some plugins in LR2.1



## MikeLeone (Oct 27, 2008)

I use LR 2.1 on WinXP. I have 2 plugins that are in the default Windows location for plugins (i.e., in C:\Doc and Settings\user\App Data\Adobe\Lightroom\Modules). These are the Export to Flickr plugin, and the LR2Mogrify plugin. I would like to move them to be with my default catalog (which is drive E: ). However, in Plugin Manager, I have no "Remove" button for these 2 plugins; it is grayed out. I can add new plugins from the E: location, and those plugins do have a "Remove" button. (I added the "Export to Facebook" plugin from drive E:, and it works as expected, and has a valid "Remove" button).

How can I uninstall these 2 plugins? Just deleting them from the OS level seems ... clumsy. 

Moved to appropriate thread by Moderator


----------



## MikeLeone (Oct 27, 2008)

Sorry about posting in the wrong forum. I did see the notice, but completely forgot to switch forums before posting.


----------



## Kiwigeoff (Oct 27, 2008)

MikeLeone said:


> Sorry about posting in the wrong forum. I did see the notice, but completely forgot to switch forums before posting.



That's ok Mike, maybe you could take a moment to upgrade your signature with 2.1 :lol::lol:


----------



## MikeLeone (Oct 27, 2008)

Kiwigeoff said:


> That's ok Mike, maybe you could take a moment to upgrade your signature with 2.1 :lol::lol:



A good point.  I only upgraded to 2.1 last night, after upping my memory the night before. I should be up to date now.


----------



## Kiwigeoff (Oct 27, 2008)

MikeLeone said:


> A good point.  I only upgraded to 2.1 last night, after upping my memory the night before. I should be up to date now.



Sweet, I use sleep to upgrade my memory !!:shock:


----------



## Brad Snyder (Oct 27, 2008)

Mike, it may be worthwhile to ask that question of the developers directly,
Jeffrey Friedl and Tim Armes, respectively. Google will hit them, first try.

I have seen a discussion somewhere where they both contributed, and it seems to me I remember that they were encountering install/remove issues, particularly with components placed in the modules folder. My memory's pretty vague on that point, I don't remember a specific version (probably 2.x, tho') or any actual resolution; just that the discussion occured.

Not to slight or offend some of our members here who definitely have some serious LR SDK chops, I doubt whether they  (or indeed, anybody outside Adobe) have a better handle on export plugin issues than these two gentlemen.


----------



## Sean McCormack (Oct 27, 2008)

Any plugin in the Modules folder is not removable by the manager.
There was a discussion about this amongst a few of us. Privately we decided that the best option was to create a folder called Plugins in the Lightroom folder, beside Modules. We place all plugins here so they use a single, easily locatable, folder.  From there they are added or removed from Lightroom via the Plugin Manager.


----------



## MikeLeone (Oct 27, 2008)

Sean McCormack said:


> Any plugin in the Modules folder is not removable by the manager.



Hrm. A bit non-intuitive. Be nice if they had a little notice on the Plugin Manager page ...



Sean McCormack said:


> There was a discussion about this amongst a few of us. Privately we decided that the best option was to create a folder called Plugins in the Lightroom folder, beside Modules. We place all plugins here so they use a single, easily locatable, folder.  From there they are added or removed from Lightroom via the Plugin Manager.



OK ... so do I just delete the folders at the OS level? And then re-add them from another location (in my case, on drive E: )? Should I disable them on the C: drive, and then re-add them from drive E: ?


----------



## Victoria Bampton (Oct 31, 2008)

Yeah, that got most of us Michael!

I'd just move the plugins from the Modules folder to the next location, and then re-open LR.  When you look in the plugins manager, they are likely to be gone, and then you can point it to the new location.


----------



## Rob Sylvan (Oct 31, 2008)

Victoria Bampton said:


> Yeah, that got most of us Michael!
> 
> I'd just move the plugins from the Modules folder to the next location, and then re-open LR.  When you look in the plugins manager, they are likely to be gone, and then you can point it to the new location.



Yeah, that should do it. 

My understanding has been that since the Remove button doesn't actually remove the plugin from the folder it is stored in (it just removes it from the Manager), and any plugin placed in the Modules folder will automatically be found by Lightroom that the remove button can't work by design when plugins are in the Modules folder (meaning if you used that button to remove it from the Manager it would just automatically be added back the next time you started Lightroom).

No matter where you store the plugins you always have to manually (outside of Lightroom) move a plugin to a new folder if you want to change its location on disk.

I think of the Add/Remove buttons as "Add to Manager" and "Remove from Manager". 

Since the Modules folder has the magical property of automagically adding any plugins placed inside of it to the Plug-in Manager those buttons become moot when plugins are placed in there.

Is it intuitive? Not at all.


----------



## kamalsofteng (Jan 22, 2009)

*Default Palugin folder*



Sean McCormack said:


> Any plugin in the Modules folder is not removable by the manager.
> There was a discussion about this amongst a few of us. Privately we decided that the best option was to create a folder called Plugins in the Lightroom folder, beside Modules. We place all plugins here so they use a single, easily locatable, folder.  From there they are added or removed from Lightroom via the Plugin Manager.



Just out of curiosity, is it possible for a user to change that default plug-in directory from Lightroom? I am not a LR user, but I am developing a pluin-g for an in-house application and would be relying on that fact hat I can enable/disable my plugin from my application by copying them over that location.

Reagards


----------



## Victoria Bampton (Jan 22, 2009)

The 'Modules' folder is there by default, and you can't move that.  Plugins in there can't be removed using the remove button.

But we recommend making a 'Plugins' folder next to it, and placing the plugins in there for safe keeping.  That folder could actually be anywhere, but it's just easy to find there.


----------

