NIK plugins are not working in LR 4

[Andrehilkens]

I have been using the BETA version for some time and I did not see this problem until I installed the released version of LR 4

The problem is that I cannot edit the images using my plugis from NIK software. ( I bought the complete collection about 3 months ago)

In the Beta version it was still OK.

Only the export plugin works (HDR from nik)

Also when I try to install the plugin again it only shows that it is compatible with LR3.

I just bought LR4 (since it worked in the BETA version)

Hope they will fix this soon. I also sent a message to NIK software.

anyone else has seen this problem

regards

Andre

I use MAC OS-X 10.7.3

NIK plugins are the latest versions available.

[mwyvr]

Thanks Brett for updating us on the situation.

This minor problem aside, LR4 so far looks like a great release. Yay, a moire tool among other things.

[mwyvr]

To save time for new folks just joining the thread who are hopefully skipping to the end to cut to the chase, here's a link to the post by Brett (Adobe customer support) providing the workaround info for both Windows and OS X users.

http://forums.adobe.com/message/4264823#4264823

Brett N wrote:

Thank you all who have reported on this forum post. We are aware of the issue, we are working on a fix. We do not have a release date for this fix yet.

Having ready through every post, the conclusion is there are currently one workaround per OS:

Win:

Artificially create the registry keys required by Lightroom (Thank you justme06 and b_gossweiler):

1) Open Notepad

2) Copy and paste everything in bold below into Notepad

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Photoshop.exe]

"Path"="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\"

@="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\Photoshop.exe"

3) Go File > Save As

4) In "File Type" Select "All files"

5) Name it "LightroomPatch.reg" and save to your Desktop

6) Close notepad and double-click "LightroomPatch.reg".

7) When it asks if you trust the source, click "yes"

Mac:

Download and install the trial for Photoshop CS5

When the patch is released, I'll post an update here.

Mac OS X users note: Installing Photoshop Elements 10, on a trial or paid basis, will not resolve the problem. Installing Photoshop CS5 will. This workaround will continue to work even after the trial period expires.

At this point we'd be best serving newcomers to this thread if we keep pointing them to this information rather than engaging in verbal jousting.

[Ten312]

As an addendum to the redirect that awyvr posted above for those seeking the Windows and Mac fixes and in particular for those like Vincent earlier who are not fully au fait with computery things I'd just mention the following.

1. Windows users only need to apply the patch as copied to Notepad and linked above. However, Windows users who are not comfortable releasing a patch they don't understand on to their computer can instead download and install the CS5 trial software.

2. Mac users apparently can only sort the problem by downloading and installing the CS5 trial. The patch doesn't apply to Macs.

3. Both Windows and Mac users who decide to go the CS5 route only need to install the software NOT run it. In other words once the CS5 software trial is installed i.e. added to the list of programs on your computer you don't need to launch/open/run the program. Its presence on your computer is enough. This has the added advantage of not initiating the trial period so if an Adobe fix is not available before long the CS5 trial will continue to sort the Edit In problem without expiring.

Plenty of people have now got LR4 working using the above methods. The CS5 install is straightforward apart from the download time and risk free. The Windows patch is one of those things which tinkers with the fuel fods of your computer but so long as the very concise and simple instructions are followed it too is completely effective. Anyone wading this far through the thread and still not convinced LR4 can ever be worth the price paid please be reassured that these answers that other forum respondents have come up with do indeed do the trick.  

[MikeWaddell]

Justed triwed the work around(Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Photoshop.exe]

"Path"="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\"

@="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\Photoshop.exe")

When I het yes a error message came up telling me

"Cannot import C;\users\Mike\Documents\LightroomPatch.reg: The specified file is not a registry script. You can only import binary registry files from within the registry editor.

Followed the following:

Win:

Artificially create the registry keys required by Lightroom (Thank you justme06 and b_gossweiler):

1) Open Notepad

2) Copy and paste everything in bold below into Notepad

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Photoshop.exe]

"Path"="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\"

@="C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Photoshop CS5\\Photoshop.exe"

3) Go File > Save As

4) In "File Type" Select "All files"

5) Name it "LightroomPatch.reg" and save to your Desktop

6) Close notepad and double-click "LightroomPatch.reg".

7) When it asks if you trust the source, click "yes"

Whats up.

[cinerama]

And you included the line "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00" and the rest of the bolded text up to and including "...
Photoshop.exe "?

[rrr_hhh]

What kind of text editor did you use ?  You really need a very basic text editor, not one which would format your text a little. WordPad for instance could create problems.

Try creating the document again. Open NotePad and create a new document. Paste the text again. It was written in bold to make clear what the text to paste was. Make sure that you have only unformated text; if you are really in Notepad, you shouldn't see bold character anymore. If you see that, you are not in a basic text editor and this may be the cause of the problem.In order to be sure that you are saving only text and not any format, save your file as text only and keep the .txt suffix. Then rename the file second Brett's indications, after it has been correctly saved as text only.

Well, give it a try at least, this may be your problem, or may be not.. Good luck.

[leicabill]

"And you included the line "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00" and the rest of the bolded text up to and including "...
Photoshop.exe "?......

Yes, that is necessary.

[b_gossweiler]

I have uploaded the file PhotoshopCS5.reg for download. To use it, download it to your desktop, double click it and when it asks if you trust the source, click "yes" (possibly several times).

Beat

[MikeWaddell]

Thanks. It worked for both Nix and Topaz Labs.

[sohailmamdani]

Hiya Brett,

I tried installing the Photoshop CS5 trial. I already had Design Premium CS5 installed, as well as the CS6 trial. but I installed the Photoshop CS 5.1 trial anyway. No dice - Nik plugins still don't show up in the "Edit in..." menu. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Sohail

---

[mwyvr]

Had you already installed the updates for your Nik plugins? They came out with a minor update to make their products compatible with Lightroom 4.

http://www.niksoftware.com/downloads/usa/entry.php?view=software

[sohailmamdani]

Yep, tried that too. No dice

Wondering if the fact that I already had Design Premium installed, then installed Photoshop CS6, has anything to do with this?

[mr_nik]

Can someone explain how the registry edit for windows works, which appears to install photoshop CS5 references, for someone who has never had photoshop installed and doesn't use photoshop?

Does it actually work in this case?

[mr_nik]

I'd also like to respectfully remind those who have judged this bug to be a "minor inconvenience": please don't judge the impact on others by the impact on yourself.

It may well be that your workflow rarely relies on this feature. In contrast, mine totally relies on it.

Most of my projects (paying and non-paying) are stalled until this is fixed (by whatever means - will try the reg fix if I the answer to my previous question is positive).

That impact is not a "minor inconvenience" regardless of how brilliant LR4 is in every other feature/function. 

[7thsojourn]

Those people who want to treat this whole incident as a minor inconvenience fail to realize that there are many 

photographers out  there (pros included) who use these plug-ins, especially NIK plug-ins, on a daily basis 

as part of their normal work flow. Take the plug-ins away, and productivity come to a stand-still. I still want to 

explore all that's new about LR-4, but I can't do much with the upgrade until they fix this problem. Thank God

I have LR-3 to fall back on.

[mr_nik]

@7thsojourn - i think, unfortunately, there are some who confuse the complexity/nature of the problem/fix itself with the actual impact on a user. Or certainly give that impression. User experience often comes low down the food chain. Let's hope none such work for Adobe, who I'm sure are making double efforts to test a core fix.

A certain feature might seem simple and trivial, broken for a silly reason, fixed by a simple manual intervention. But that doesn't mean that while it is broken it doesn't have a large impact. It's a bit like saying that a missing a SAVE command is a small hiccup, because you can poke around the web and find a simple set of instructions to create a workaround. Meanwhile, until you have done so and the feature is unavailable to you, it is a big impact on your work. Missing that feature will always be a big impact. And so it is with the "edit in" feature in my own workflow.

It actually doesn't matter what anyone else *thinks* - it's you, or I, that determine what the impact/incovenience is to ourselves if the function is broken. The functionality is essential for me. Missing an essential fuction is more than inconvenient for the duration it is missing.

Thankfully, the hours wasted sorting it are reasonably small. But upgrading, downgrading, hacking around, installing stuff or whatever strategy one chooses - all takes time and effort, may or may not end up with the desired result (I fail to see how reverting versions "fixes" anything, it merely "avoids")  and it's down to ourselves to value that effort.

For the benefit of others: I applied the registry fix and it has indeed eliminated the parameter error generated by the "edit" function. In my case it was not NIK software, but all my other editors including Tiffen DFX, Topaz, various Corel...

[7thsojourn]

Shortly after writing my comment that you received, I got a note from someone more or less blasting me 

for begin so dependent on plug-ins, and not being flexible enough to proceed without them. I had tried to 

explain that many professional photographers use these plug-ins as part of their regular workflow when 

they're in the editing pictures. Regardless of the new features found in LR-4, if you need to use these 

plug-ns, then you can only proceed just so far in the upgrade and then, as in my case, transfer to LR-3 to 

use my NIK and Topaz plug-ins. 

Who knows, it could be that the guy who wrote me wasn't making a living as a photographer and, therefore, 

couldn't feel the sense of urgency that the rest of us feel. Meanwhile, I'm still not hearing of a fixes appearing 

on the horizon.   

[mwyvr]

7thsojourn wrote:

Regardless of the new features found in LR-4, if you need to use these

plug-ns, then you can only proceed just so far in the upgrade and then, as in my case, transfer to LR-3 to use my NIK and Topaz plug-ins.

But that's not true. If you want to use your plug-ins from within Lightroom 4, you *can*, right now, provided you follow the temporary workaround steps that have been clearly documented.

Instead you seem to be making a choice to make your workflow more complicated than it need be at this point. I'm honestly interested - what holds you back from following the appropriate workaround?

[MikeKPhoto]

There are many of us "photographers" that are not necessarily "registry savvvy" I am one and while it works it can be a very risky move if you do not know what you are doing and mess up. Also downloading another product to get LR to function as advertised is a step no one should have to do. You purchase software with an expectation it is going to work as advertised.

While I appreciate the dedicated folks on this forum for finding and testing the workarounds and doing Adobe's job for them. I do not have that luxury and spend most of my time in the field earning my living and not being a computer jock. I will stick with LR 3.6. By the way, this is not the only issue that is impacting many users - LR4 should go down in history - the public Beta worked better than the released version!!!

[mwyvr]

On the "Registry" boogeyman...

Adding a single key to the registry is less risky than allowing anyone, including a photographer, from using Windows Explorer (or Mac Finder) in the file system where one keystroke - the delete button - can, conceivably, wipe out an entire disk. Is that dangerous? Yes, you bet!

The Windows Registry seems all mysterious but at its core the Registry is a central database of information that Windows and programs running on Windows can use to gain access to configuration information. Adding a key (an entry in the database) with a value is somewhat akin to adding a contact in your email address book.

Sure, it is possible to horribly screw up. Theoretically possible. No doubt some do.

I've never seen it happen myself, and I've seen plenty. I have however seen the aftermath of people deleting files by accident, plenty of times. So which is more dangerous - performing a routine task (file manipulation) or performing what might be a once-ever task (updating the registry manually)?

Updating your registry by hand with the information provided is a relatively low risk activity. Further reducing the risk of an accident, a file containing the edits required has been created and distributed (see up thread) which will eliminate the possibility of user-driven keystroke mistakes fouling up the edit.That makes the fix simple and safe enough for the masse  - point and right-click and install. Done.

Warnings come along with such activity because it's just prudent to put the burden of responsibility on the user, not because the activity in this case is inherently dangerous.

I would not criticize your choice to say behind at v3.6, Mike, not at all. Staying with the prior version to LR4 was one of the options I outlined a few points above and is a perfectly valid approach that allows you maximum productivity using software you already know and the third party plugins you depend upon will continue to work with no effort on your part.

[7thsojourn]

Mike: some excellent points. Thanks for sharing.

[Vincent_Vincenzo]

Hello

I thought I pass on my expaerience.

Just loaded the AVG 2012 Internet Security S/W that comes with a PC tune-up..

The point is once installed and completed their scans, with me following prompts as they appeared. I went back to using my LR4 and Nik s/w.. Only to find that the famous

message returned: " Unexpected error performing command: bad argument #1 to `lower`(string expected,got nil) "

After panicing for a bit and swearing .  Came back to this forum.

Found on my computer the Lightroom Patch I had previously saved and right clicked it to re-save it.

All now works again, once I`d opened LR.

So for you this may be no great suprise, but as people will use AVG with its PC support alot of people may be suprised when they open their LR4 S/W.

Hope this helps / for-warns anyone.

Vince

[7thsojourn]

Vincent: 

I hadn't heard anything on this for quite a while, and was wondering if Adobe had come up with an answer to the software problem by now.

Guess not. Can't believe it's been such a long time since the problem originally came up. Have you, or anyone else, heard if NIK, Topaz, and others are 

working with Adobe to fix the problem - or is Adobe just going to forget about it and let us come up with our own solutions? Luckily for me, I still have

LR-3, and simply switch over to that when I need other software. Thanks for the note. Glad to hear some people are still concerned about this issue.

Fred  

[cinerama]

Yes, there is a "new" update....Lightroom 4.1 Release Candidate 2. And it works!

 It's somewhere on their Adobe site. (Don't expect to see an apology from Adobe, though )

Have fun. It's a really quick download. Dont forget to quit LR if you're running it...before you install.

[7thsojourn]

Excellent. Thanks, a million. And, yes, it does work. Everything's back to normal. And adobe treated it like nothing ever happened. Imagine that.