13.5. AppleScript Tricks

13.4. Plug-Ins and Add-Ons

On one thing, friends and foes of Apple can all agree: iPhoto is no Photoshop. iPhoto was deliberately designed to be simple and streamlined.

Yet Apple thoughtfully left the back door open . Other programmers are free to write add-ons and plug-ins ”software modules that contribute additional features, lend new flexibility, and goose up the power of iPhoto.

And yet, with great power comes great complexity ”in this case, power and complexity that Apple chose to omit. But at least this plug-in arrangement means that nobody can blame Apple for junking up iPhoto with extra features. After all, you're the one who installed them.

Some of the most important plug-ins and accessory programs are described in the relevant chapters of this book:

• BetterHTMLExport is designed to lend flexibility to the Web pages that iPhoto generates. (See page 237.)

• Portraits & Prints vastly expands iPhoto's printing features. It lets you create a multiple-photo layout on a single sheet of paper for printing. (See page 212.)

As the popularity of iPhoto grows, new add-ons and plug-ins will surely sprout up like roses in your macro lens. It's worthwhile to visit the Version Tracker Web site from time to time (www. versiontracker .com/macosx). Search for iPhoto; you'll be surprised at the number of goodies just waiting for you to try.