Luminar FLEX is here
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1. What is the Luminar Flex plugin?
The Luminar Flex plugin helps photographers and designers of all skill levels create better-looking images in far less time. Thanks to its unique artificial intelligence and image-aware filters, great images are easier than ever.
The Luminar Flex plugin allows you to take advantage of our powerful photo enhancement and styling filters while still being able to use your existing photo software.
We know that there are plenty of Adobe and Apple users who want to use Luminar in their workflow. So we’ve come up with a solution that will provide the easiest way of using Luminar as a plugin to the most popular apps.
- What’s the difference between Luminar 3 and Luminar Flex?
Luminar 3 is meant to be used as a standalone application. It offers three different editing workflows:
- Library – Add folders that you want to track to your library for organizing and editing. Easily sync adjustments between multiple images.
- Quick Edit – The Quick Edit command is perfect to open individual images or a group of images for editing. You can work with these images without adding the parent folder to your library.
- Batch Processing – You can target multiple images or folders for quick batch processing. Easily apply smart Luminar Looks based on Accent AI for automatic image enhancement
If you ever want to use Luminar as a plugin, we recommend installing the Luminar Flex plugin. Luminar Flex is designed to work as a plugin with applications like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Apple Aperture and Photos for macOS.
Remember: If you have purchased Luminar 2018 or Luminar 3 before April 5, you get a free version of Luminar Flex, just check the My Software section in your Skylum account.
- I already own of Luminar 3/Luminar 2018, do I have to pay for Luminar Flex?
The Luminar Flex plugin will be delivered free of charge to all current owners of Luminar 3/Luminar 2018.
After the official Luminar Flex plugin release, new users will be able to choose the best option for their workflow
- Buy Luminar 3 with Libraries.
- Buy Luminar Flex and embed it into the host application of their choice.
- What’s new in Luminar Flex?
The goal of the Luminar Flex plugin is to help those who want easy integration with their current photo editing software. Here are the key benefits of Luminar Flex:
- An easier installer for plugins.
- An updated install path for improved compatibility with Adobe software.
- Support for Photoshop Elements on Windows.
- Support for re-editing smart objects and picking up where you left off.
- Support for Photoshop Actions.
- A faster workflow, optimized for plugin users.
- New Luminar looks
- New workspaces for designed for task-based workflows
- I use Luminar 3 as a plugin, should I switch to Luminar Flex?
You’ll see no major functionality differences between Luminar 3 and the Luminar Flex plugin when it comes to editing images. We do recommend adding the Luminar Flex workflow if you like to use Luminar as a plugin or extension.
- More host application support.
- A cleaner user interface without the Info and Library tabs.
- Performance optimized software that’s specifically made to run as a plugin or extension.
- Multiple benefits for Photoshop users with improved support for Photoshop Smart Objects and Actions.
We encourage you to use Luminar Flex for workflows that require a plugin.
However, you can still use Luminar 3 as a plugin as well.
Note: Any Luminar Looks you make in Luminar 3 or Luminar 2018 are compatible with Luminar Flex. You can install custom Looks packs, or manually copy items between the Luminar Looks folder.
To manage Looks for plugins, use the launch of the Luminar Flex application. This application is only provided to help you manage Looks and Workspaces and is not support for use as a standalone image editor.
Note: At this time, Luminar 3 with Libraries offers plugin options for popular photography software. With the next major version of Luminar, you’ll find plugins available only with the Luminar Flex plugin. The plugins workflow will be removed from Luminar with Libraries.
- I use Luminar 3 / Luminar 2018, how do I get Luminar Flex?
If you have purchased Luminar 2018 or Luminar 3 before April 5, you get a free version of Luminar Flex, just check the My Software section in your Skylum account.
- I can’t get Luminar Flex to install in Adobe Photoshop Elements.
If you’ve purchased Photoshop Elements from the Mac App store, it does not support the use of third-party plugins. Please contact Adobe and request to convert to the version of Photoshop Elements that they sell directly.
- How do I install and use the Luminar Flex Plugin?
Click here to see specific movies for your host application of choice:
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Photoshop – Windows
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Photoshop – macOS
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Lightroom Classic – Windows
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Lightroom Classic – macOS
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Photoshop Elements – Windows
- Luminar Flex for Adobe Photoshop Elements– macOS
- Luminar Flex for Photos for macOS
- Why are you releasing Luminar Flex?
We’re fully committed to our desktop editing and organizing platform in Luminar 3. But we’ve heard from many current customers and several others that they want just our editing tools for enhancing their images when working in other apps.
Our goal is to develop Luminar as a comprehensive platform which will become your go-to photography tool. We feel that Luminar is for every photographer. We’ve even heard that many graphic and web designers find the creative filters in Luminar Flex help them create better photos too!
Remember: If you have purchased Luminar 2018 or Luminar 3 before April 5, you get a free version of Luminar Flex, just check the My Software section in your Skylum account.
- Can I use Luminar Flex as a standalone application?
The Luminar Flex plugin is only meant to be used as a plugin. It is not meant to be used as a standalone application. The application is only provided so you can manage the configuration of Luminar Looks and workspaces. It can also be used to manually install or uninstall the plugin with additional hosts.
Please use Luminar 3 or Luminar 2018 if you desire a standalone application workflow. Luminar 3 supports three editing modes:
- Libraries
- Quick Edit
- Batch Processing.
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Well, I went to my account (My Software) and all my software (L18, L3, AHDR, etc.) has disappeared but Photolemur 2 and 3. Hopefully, you are just in the middle of updating to add Flex.
Update 1: Just checked again and my software is back, but I do not see Flex at this time. A download link would be appreciated.
Update 2: As of this morning on April 5th, US Eastern time, Flex in now showing in My Software. It uses the same license code as Luminar 3.
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I went to "My Software" and, while I see Luminar 3, I don't see Flex. Will I be able to download Flex at some point or do I have to download Luminar 3 again since it seems to be included with that?
I use ACDSee Ultimate 2019 which allows the use of external editors. I currently have Luminar 3 installed as an external editor and it works. Will I be able to do the same with Flex? I mentioned this in another thread and was told to stick with L3. However, it says that there will eventually be some divergence between the two products with each having features specific to the product. If I can't use Flex, I'll miss out on those features. -
If you search around, you can find a download link for Flex. I found this: https://skylum.com/luminar-flex#
I was able to install it - took several minutes - and activated it with my Luminar 3 activation code. It is basically Luminar 3 without the Library, which suits me fine I think the Library is a joke since it lacks most of the basic functions of all the other players.
The program does launch quickly, as it should without the added bulk of the Library. Thing is, and it's a very old story now, there is still no parity of the PC version with the Mac version. I'm just seeing Luminar 2018 with a new face and the same PC issues. I'm wondering if any of these things will be addressed within the next year - I'm not holding my breath, though.
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Alina,
Your opening post, item 10, said. "The Luminar Flex plugin is only meant to be used as a plugin. It is not meant to be used as a standalone application. The application is only provided so you can manage the configuration of Luminar Looks and workspaces."
Does this mean it can not be run in a standalone mode and save .lmnr project files? In earlier threads it was stated that project files would be supported by Flex.
More generally, what is the future of project files?
Thanks, Jerry
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The link to Luminar Flex provided by Tom Pickering above does indeed work. I downloaded and installed without issue. The downloaded file is just the installer. When you run it, it installs about 710MB. As Tom said, Flex is basically Luminar 3 without the library feature. I activated it using one of my Luminar 3 activation codes. By the way, as Tom indicated, Flex does work stand-a-lone and can save .lmnr files.
https://skylum.com/luminar-flex# <-- link provided by Tom
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Save as, not export, that's it.
Now it's perfect :) -
this is again one of the great announcements, (MySoftware) that do not work, the typical quality of Skylum :(
on the page https://skylum.com/en/luminar-flex# at the top of the menu
- with the mouse (no click) about Luminar
- right Luminar Flex Trial Download
- then install
- Call and activate with the Luminar Activation key Luminar 2018/3that's how it worked for me
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Initial impression of FLEX: I'm a Lightroom Classic and Photoshop user and like using Luminar as a plug-in. Luminar 3 (and previous version) did NOT work with Photoshop Smart Filters in Windows environment (I know, it worked on Mac only) and therefore I could not work non-destructively with Luminar. Flex actually works as Smart Filter in Photoshop for Windows!!! My basic workflow is: from Lightroom I "edit in" Photoshop. I convert the layer (in Photoshop) for Smart Filters. Then I apply the Luminar Flex filter--that takes me to Flex interface. I do my Flex editing then return to Photoshop ("Done" or "Apply" or whatever the command is on the Flex program interface at the top right). Flex edits are now in a Smart Filter in Photoshop. As advertised, I can go back to Flex from the Photoshop Smart Filter and my Flex edits are intact! That's a first. Now the downside--for other plug-ins (example On1), when I take a layer from Photoshop to the program as a Smart Filter and back again, the process takes seconds in each direction. Using Flex, I thought everything had crashed--it took a minute or more to open in Flex and a minute or more to save back to Photoshop. Something's not quite right with that. Secondly, the PSD is huge--my 36MB DNG file became a 1GB PSD file. I suspect that has as much to do with Photoshop Smart Filters as it does with Flex, but it still seems exceptionally larger than other plug-in PSD files. This may also be what is contributing to the excessive time going to Flex and back again as a Smart Filter. Lastly, the Save function in Flex is a bit quirky. It allows you to save a native lmnr file during the Smart Filter process while in Flex. However, when I went back to open the lmnr file in Flex, the file "...could not be opened. It may be damaged..." It won't open in any Luminar version. Interestingly, I opened a DNG file directly in "stand-alone" mode (I know, it's not a stand-alone program but it is), made edits, and saved to native lmnr file, and it re-opened just fine in Flex. It's also a smaller file than the original DNG! Some things in software will always be a mystery. I'm just glad that, for now, the Smart Filter function seems to work.
Addendum: regarding the round trip from Photoshop to Flex using Smart Filters, a day or so after I wrote this, the issue of taking a very long time going to Flex and back to Photoshop as a Smart Filter seems to have resolved spontaneously! Likewise, the huge 1 GB psd file returned to a more normal 300MB file. It appears that Photoshop was to blame (go figure!). Adobe had put out an ACR update on the same day, and just like on several of the past updates, it caused a problem in a configuration file for Photoshop that was causing some crash issues. Once I "fixed" Photoshop, the Smart Filter capability of Flex began working like a champ!
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@Bjame Winkler: Yes, you can. For instance, with Lightroom CC you can use the Plug-in Manager to disable or remove any plugin currently installed. In my case I have disabled the plugins for Luminar 2018, Luminar 3 and Aurora HDR 2018. This leaves me with only plugins for Aurora HDR 2019 and Luminar Flex.
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To my real supprise, Luminar Flex for Windows can run as a standalone app like Luminar 2018, but with the improvement of Luminar 3 and faster, more responsive and less resource hunger. My laptop has 8Gb RAM only so Flex just use 60% or it comparing to 85-90% of Luminar 3. So far I am happy with the Flex. DAM is a nice tool but I can wait. Keep up a good work Skylum. And please, update the Aurora 2019 for Windows to support the Nikon Z series. Tks
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