Why are photos transparent in PSP plugins?

Short Answer: There was a bug in PSP X3, X4 & X5.

There was a bug in Paint Shop Pro that was introduced in PSP X3 Patch 3, and still exists in PSP X4 and X5. If you use Photoshop Plugins on a layer, the preview will appear to be transparent, like this:

The effect still works if you click the OK button, but it won't look correct in the preview window. Unfortunately, due to this bug we can't recommend using Corel Paint Shop Pro X3, X4 or X5. (X9 and 2018 work great with plugins though!)

How to fix the PSP X3 - X5 bug?

Unfortunately, Corel needs to fix the bug to make old plugins start working again. The bug has since been fixed in newer versions of PSP.

You can workaround it by only using your plugins on a Background Layer of a photo, not on a layer with transparency / alpha.

The other option is to wait for the makers of your plugins to release new versions with a workaround (we're working on it!), or downgrade to Paint Shop Pro X2 which doesn't have the bugs. Or try another program like Photoshop Elements, perhaps.

Our latest version of Softener 2.11 includes a workaround for Paint Shop Pro, and we hope to include a similar workaround for Plaid Lite & Autochromatic soon as well.

PS We've seen Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 at Amazon.com for as low as $16, if you want to try buying an old copy there.