Installing the free Luminosity Masking Panel

Installing a extension panel is just a matter of copying a folder to the right location. The videos and instructions below will show you how to do that. Additionally, if you have an older version of Photoshop, you may need to install the Adobe "multi-plugin". If you have any issues not addressed below, please see the troubleshooting page for more assistance.

You can download and install the panel via the instructions below. Alternatively, the free panel is now also available on the Adobe Add-Ons site. 

Note: If you wish to remove this or any other panel, please see the uninstall page. This is not needed to upgrade the panel, nor is it necessary if you later install Lumenzia (though there is no benefit to keep it if you do install Lumenzia).

Note: The videos below show the installation process for my premium Lumenzia panel, which uses the same installation process (but you will see different pop up messages once the JSXBIN script is running). Once installed, the free panel should look like the image above (it has 3 buttons).

Requirements to use the panel:

  • The panel supports Photoshop CS6 and all versions of CC, on both Windows and OSX. If you are on an older version, you might wish to consider upgrading. I wrote this article discussing the benefits for photographers. However, users of older versions of Photoshop can still use my actions (in the same download ZIP). I have heard reports that the actions work in CS4 and CS5, and I suspect they would work on even older versions of Photoshop. To install the actions, please skip to that section below.
  • I have also received a report that Photoshop Elements users on Windows are able to successfully use my actions if they install the Elements XXL and Layers XXL plugins. I have not personally tried this, am not endorsing it, and cannot provide any support for anything other than Photoshop CS6 and CC.

Installation via JSXBIN script:

To install the panel:

  • Be sure to watch the video below, as it shows the process and covers nearly all the common problems encountered during installation.
  • Open Photoshop (Windows users: right-click and choose "run as administrator" or "run elevated", as this is often required to install on Windows).
  • Click File/Scripts/Browse within Photoshop, and change the filter from JSX to JSXBIN. Navigate to the “Install _______.jsxbin” file you extracted from the downloaded ZIP file and click Open. If you don't see the file, make sure you changed the filter as noted in the previous step. (OSX users: you may alternatively just drag and drop the JSXBIN file into Photoshop, but you must close any open images first or you will get an error about a "parser").
  • Restart Photoshop
  • Note that the script will create a ".log" file on your desktop. You may safely delete this file.
  • Follow the directions below to open the panel once you have installed it and restarted Photoshop.


 If you have any problems, please see the troubleshooting section below.

Installing on OSX:

Installing on Windows:

Manual Installation

The JSXBIN script above should work for nearly all users. However, if you encounter any issues, you may alternatively install the panel manually. Installing an extension panel is simply a matter of copying the com.______.ext folder to othe right location for your version of Photoshop. This process is shown towards the end of the videos above. 

The easiest way to find the target folder is by choosing clicking "show panel folder" in the JSXBIN installer (as shown at the end of the install videos). Or navigate to the folder for your version of Photoshop:  

OSX (Open Go/Go To Folder in Finder and you can paste in these destinations):  

  • Photoshop CS6: /Applications/Adobe PhotoshopCS6/Plug-ins/Panels/
  • Photoshop CC: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/  


Windows: (note that these are hidden folders on Windows, so best to copy and paste the destination into the top of the file browser)  

  • Photoshop CS6: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CS6ServiceManager\extensions\
  • Photoshop CC: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\

Opening the panel (after installation)

Using the panel the first time:

  • The panel will not automatically show the first time. Click on Window/Extensions to open panels. (Please note that the Extensions may be greyed out for the first couple seconds after Photoshop launches, just escape out the menu and look again).
  • You can click and drag the panel / panel icon to move it to a new location (just like any other panel). Double click the name tab to quickly minimize or open the panel.
  • See how to use the free panel.

Installing the actions

The actions are only for those using a version of Photoshop older than CS6, as that is the minimum required to install the panel (Note that the free actions are in the same ZIP download as the free panel, though the panel does not use the actions and vice versa):

  • Double-click the Actions/Free Luminosity Masks (Greg Benz).ATN file from the ZIP. This should install automatically. Look in Photoshop's Action panel (Window/Actions) for all actions.
  • If that does not get it done, go to the Actions panel in Photoshop (Window/Actions) and click on menu button at top right (look for four thin horizontal lines in the very top right). Choose "Load Actions", navigate to the ATN file and load it.


Un-installing the panel

See the uninstall instructions if you need to remove the panel. Note that this is generally not needed to upgrade.