Installing AlphaPlugins FireFor is very easy.

To install the plug-in using an image editing program other than Photoshop, please consult the plug-in installation section in the user manual for whichever editor you have chosen.

When installing the AlphaPlugins FireFor plug-in for Macintosh, our smart installer will locate the correct installation path for you — easily and automatically.

You will automatically receive the serial number for your copy of AlphaPlugins FireFor immediately following your purchase. There are two ways that you can register your copy of the AlphaPlugins FireFor plug-in: Online, and Offline.

If you are connected to the Internet, then Online registration is the simplest way to register your copy of plug-in. After launching AlphaPlugins FireFor, you will see a registration dialogue box. Just select the Online registration option; insert your name; enter the serial number you received; and, click the Register button. The AlphaPlugins FireFor plug-in will automatically connect with our registration server to complete the registration process, show you a confirmation message that the registration of your plug-in has been successful. Then, just click the Close button — registration is complete, and you are ready to use your new AlphaPlugins FireFor plug-in!

If you are currently operating with an Internet firewall in place, it is recommended that you switch it off temporarily during the registration process.

Even if you do not use an Internet connection with your computer, you can still register your AlphaPlugins FireFor plug-in. Contact us to obtain an offline answer (for the Offline registration process) if you cannot connect to the Internet — or if you are determined to keep your photo-editing computer isolated from any direct connection with the Internet. The Offline Registration Number is a numerical ID which will be valid for a few days: to complete your registration, just select the Offline option in the registration dialogue box; insert your Name, Serial Number, and Offline Answer; then click Register to complete the registration process, and Close the registration dialogue window.

Remember: Per one serial number You can register so number of plug-in instances as number of licenses you purchased. I will however allow an extra registration for each plug-in serial number, so that users can install AlphaPlugins FireFor on, for instance, both their desktop and laptop computers.

If you haven’t yet registered the plugin, please register it now. If you don’t register you can use the plugin in trial mode for several days.

AlphaPlugins FireFor Window

• or buttons below the preview pane
• Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) “+” and “-” keys
• Ctrl (Cmd) + “0” or “1” keys

Factory Preset Area

Plug-in Controls

• General – parameters for general effect usage
• Fire – parameters for fire
• Smoke – parameters for smoke effects

Parameter Values and Default Ranges

Note that some controls have blue digits, and some black (on Windows, all digits are black, but have blue or black borders on the sliders. Black digits/borders mean that the default ranges of the parameters are fixed. Blue digits/borders mean that you can alter the default ranges. Right click (or Ctrl + click on Mac) over the slider area and a special dialog box appears to allow you to alter the default parameter ranges.

When You’re Finished

All filter parameters are grouped into three tabbed windows for convenience.

General Tab

Source - Contains parameters for source of fire with three radio buttons: Path, Selection or Contours and Emitter. Path – lets to choose a Photoshop's custom paths as a fire source. If there is no path in the composition, this option is disabled. Selection or Contours – lets you choose a selection area or contours as a fire source. If the composition contains a selected mask, the fire will be generated by the contour of the selection area. If there is no selection mask in the composition, the plug-in will try to build all possible contours by the source picture. Emitter – defines an explicit emitter as the source of fire. Emitter Position – lets you pick a center of explicit emitter. Use your mouse to drag the center of the crosshair marker to the preview area, or enter the specific center coordinates in X Y fields. By Normal – if this checkbox is On, fire will be generated perpendicularly to paths or contours. If Off, fire will be generated accordingly to Fire Angle parameter Fire Angle – lets you set the fire direction. If By Normal checkbox is On, then this parameter will define additional angles to normal. Emitter Width – in case of explicit emitter, this parameter defines the width of the emitter. Contours Details – this parameter is involved in the process of building contours. Random Seed – defines an initial position of random generators. Also it defines a phase of flame in time. Show Emitter – shows the fire's source. Fire's emitter contours will be shown only in preview. This feature doesn’t affect the final result. Output - This group of radio buttons lets you define how the fire results mix with the original image. Fill Black – select if the work will be used on a black background. Transparent – select if the work will be used on a transparent background for use in Photoshop compositing. (if the original picture has a transparent channel) Mix with Original – select if the work will be blended with a source image. The blending modes can be found in dropdown menus for Fire Blending Mode and Smoke Blending Mode. Fire Blending Mode and Smoke Blending Mode – contain lists of blending modes for fire and smoke effects. Except for standard blending modes, these lists contain several specific modes for firing/smoking effects. Use Fire and Use Smoke – switch fire and smoke effects Off and On. Heat Haze – this unique feature lets you achieve additional realism with fire blending on any type of source picture. Glow - These parameters let you work with additional quick glow effects. Glow Blending – list of glow blending modes. Glow Value – defines glow intensity. Glow Size – size of glow. Glow Color – color of glow. TrueColor Glow – lets you use actual fire colors as a glow color.

Fire Tab

This tab contains parameters related to fire effects. Vector Geometry (General Shape) - Collects parameters for the shape of flames' tongues, defined by particle system. Density – density of particles flow. Height – height of fire depending on the source image size. Elements Size – sizes of particles elements. Turbulence – a dynamic characteristic of fire burning process. Chaotic – randomization of particles flow. Fade – defines dying particles during timelife. Raster Distortion (Middle Details) - These parameters control the middle level of flaming details using raster displacement algorithms. Displace Value – intensity of raster displacement. Displace Scale – size of turbulence displacement. Exhaustion – additional texturization of displacement. Fractal Noise (Small Details) - These parameters introduce additional fractal noise component. Noise Value – intensity of noise. Noise Scale – scale of noise pattern. Noise Proportion – proportion of noise elements. Noise Blend Mode – noise blending mode, not to be confused with the Fire Blending Mode. This parameter doesn’t mix the noise with the source picture, but defines how fractal noise pattern is mixed with flame. Colorization - This group contains the parameters of fire color and final tuning. Blur Value – particles system blurring. Motion Blur – additional motion blur for flames' tongues. Intensity – flame saturation. Color Gradient – this element lets you define the final flame coloring. It can be used as a standard Photoshop gradient control. You can define color key marks in bottom of this control, and transparency marks on top. Color and Opacity controls are enabled when a keymark is selected. To delete a keymark, just move this mark outside of control.

Samples of different fractal noise textures on fire.

Smoke Tab

This tab collects parameters related to the smoke features.

Vector Geometry (General Shape) - Parameters responsible for rough smoke plume form, defined by particles system. Density – smoke flow intensity. Height – height of smoke depending on source image size. Intensity – smoke saturation. Turbulence – smoke swirling. Chaotic – randomization of smoke particles flow. Fade – dilution smoke particles by timelife. Raster Distortion (Middle Details) - Parameters responsible for middle level of smoking details. Displace Value – intensity of raster displacement. Displace Scale – size of turbulence displacement. Exhaustion – additional texturization of displace algorithm. Smooth – distinguish between smooth smoke, or smoke with numerous small noise details. Fractal Noise (Small Details) - Parameters for additional fractal noise component. Noise Value – intensity of noise. Noise Scale – scale of noise pattern. Noise Proportion – proportion of noise elements. Noise Blend Mode – noise blending mode, not to be confused with the Smoke Blending Mode. This parameter doesn’t mix the noise with the source picture, but defines how fractal noise pattern is mixed with smoke. Colorization - Parameters for defining smoke color Color Gradient – lets you define a smoke color and can be used as a standard Photoshop gradient control. You can define color key marks in the bottom of this control, and transparency marks on top. Color and Opacity controls are enabled when a keymark is selected. To delete a keymark, just move this mark outside of control.