[drewprops]

A few months ago I learned that the website for CValley, maker of the Adobe Illustrator Plugin "FilterIT", had disappeared without a trace.

So far, my licensed copy continues to work.

However, when this software finally stops functioning with Illustrator, I will truly lose a quarter of my creative abilities.

When a software creator disappears, what happens to their product?

It can't possibly be legal to fork their code and move forward.

But what if they never come back?

Without the source code, this is all pedantic, I suppose.

If anybody has an "in" at Adobe, I badly need to bend their ear to add the tools that FilterIT provided.

Unless one of you is a mastermind.

In the meantime, I emailed the contact email address that was on the old website archive.

It was a "thank you" and "I hope you're okay".

If the creator has passed away or rage quit the company, they'll probably never see my email.



...

[psmith2.0]

This sounds so familiar, this product. Did I use it or try it at some point? What does it do? Maybe that’ll jog my (increasingly shaky) memory…

[drewprops]

It has quick tools for dynamically adjusting shapes. It's so flipping old that it's tough to find reviews.

Here's one:

The FILTERiT plugin is a suite of tools, filters, and effects for Adobe Illustrator that lets you create simple to complex images in a matter of seconds. Some results would simply be impossible to make without the plugin.

Live 3D Path Filters:

The Live 3D Path filters enable your object to transform into a sphere, spiral, donut, or cylinder:

Arc
Cylinder/Cone
Screw
Simple Rotation
Sphere
Spiral
Torus(Donut)
Twirl
Twist
Wave(Radial)
Wave(H/V)
Wave(Z)


Live Effects:

The Live Effects are fully editable objects, so any changes to the original object are reflected in the Live Effect applied. You can also use the Live Effects in conjunction with the Tools.

Live 3D Path
Live Border
Live Circle
Live Cutout
Live Emboss
Live Explosion
Live Frame
Live Galaxy
Live Generation
Live Neon
Live Reflections
Live Shadow
Live Symbol Path
Live Tiling
Live Trail


Tools:

The versatile tools cover everything from a simple alignment of anchor points to duplication, distortion of selected objects, and replication along a path while maintaining the space, angle, shape, and color of the copies.

Warp Tool
Wave Tool
Lens Tool
Craft Tool
Roughening Tool
Broom Tool


Here's a few more:

http://www.atpm.com/6.07/filterit.shtml

http://www.atpm.com/7.05/filterit.shtml

...

[psmith2.0]

I think I did use this, ages ago. That all sounds SO familiar. In fact, I think I got a copy and had to write a review for it on some old, long-gone Mac/Apple site in the early 2000's (possibly iMac2day.com?). I wouldn't swear to it in court, but the name and the features/functions just jump out at me, like some long-forgotten dream. I remember using a third-party filter set back in my Illustrator days that warped/wrapped shapes and text around spherical objects, did perspective stuff, all types of neat arch/arc stuff with live type, etc. If it wasn't this package, it was something quite similar. I bailed eventually because I prefer to run a tight, lean, first-party type of setup, hardware and software. I just never like keeping up with third-party drivers, plug-ins, updates, etc. or discontinuation/abandonment concerns.

Interesting. Funny how seeing/reading a word can instantly unlock a bunch of hazy, decades-old "hey, I think I had/used this!" memories.

[709]

Originally Posted by drewprops Here's a few more: http://www.atpm.com/6.07/filterit.shtml http://www.atpm.com/7.05/filterit.shtml ...

Those examples remind me of an app I used in the early '90s called TypeStyler. Pretty bare bones functionality compared to any modern app, but it was essential kit back in the day. Especially for the 'College Top', better known as 'the hoodie your hookup borrows but never returns' – you know the look, arched lettering with a school seal underneath, maybe some outlines and a shadow. Couldn't have done 'em (easily) back then without TypeStyler.

[drewprops]

I need to post some of the things that you can do with FilterIT. I need to bang on the window of John Adobe's house and wake him up to show him how important this is.


...

[Mac+]

Originally Posted by drewprops I need to post some of the things that you can do with FilterIT. I need to bang on the window of John Adobe's house and wake him up to show him how important this is. ...

You could be knocking for a long time. I don’t think “John Adobe” is waking up any time soon.