This is one GOTD I grabbed in case I want to try it someday… I have the very basics in the way of gear that I think will work, but not the motivation at the moment to go through all of the work to find out for sure.
Focus Projects 4 is a niche app best used with mid-range to high end photography gear – it’s quite possible to use it without that stuff, but, any improvement is likely to be so slight that many [most?] won’t feel that it’s near worth the effort. The purpose of the app is Focus Stacking -- wikipedia[.]org/wiki/Focus_stacking – which basically means combining a few or a dozen or more photos of the exact same thing, each with a Very Slightly different point of focus. For the more common Macro shots, you get those photos by starting with a regular first shot, then with lens focus locked, take a 2nd photo with the lens 1 or 2 mm closer, and then another, and another and so on. The idea is that if you have a [very] precise lens, each shot will capture a different part of the object [often flowers or insects] in superb focus and clarity. To take each shot without the camera moving off axis you obviously need a special rig… you can put something together for less than $50, though the relatively few photographers that get into focus stacking macro photography will more likely spend quite a bit more for a motorized automated gizmo. Focus stacking landscape pictures isn’t as common, but in a way it’s easier – each shot you focus on something that’s further away. I don't *think* a lot of cameras will allow you to focus on different parts in the picture without moving the camera itself however -- I could of course be wrong.
Focus Projects 4 for GOTD does not include any P/Shop compatible plugins, though it does come in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Older copies of the Microsoft C/C++ runtimes are installed as part of the setup routine. Running the Setup_Win.exe [included in the Zip file] brings up the dialog where you request and enter the ID & key – once you enter the key and start the setup, the real setup program can be found in the C:\ Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Local\ folder [I found it in “MIS9DE5.tmp]. Save that and any future installs will skip that registration dialog. Myself, I installed to a Win10 VM – copying the program’s folder to a regular Windows install and registering it there works fine, adding any necessary files &/or folders to the User folders, and avoiding a little bit of Windows file & registry bloat by skipping the C/C++ runtimes.