Plugins

The plugin interface in guiDesigner allows .NET developers to create plugins which interact with projects in guiDesigner.
This opens the doors for better integration with your favourite automation hardware, and custom workflow.

Note: Before installing any plugins, please make sure all instances of guiDesigner are closed!

There are two methods to install plugin into guiDesigner:

1. Automatically install from web browser
2. Download and unzip into the plugins folder

After downloading a plugin, you must simply need to unzip it to the 'plugins' folder of your guiDesigner installation.
By default, this is c:\Program Files\CommandFusion\plugins

Anyone can create a plugin for guiDesigner by implementing our Plugin Interface, CFPlugin.dll
Here is a short guide on creating a plugin in VB.NET:

1. Create a new project in Visual Studio (preferably using .NET 2.0 as that is what guiDesigner requires)
2. Select 'Class Library' project type and press OK
3. Delete the default class file that is automatically created, and instead add a new form to the project.
4. This form now has to implement our CFPlugin interface.
5. Add a reference to the CFPlugin.dll (grab it from our Google Code Repository)
6. Implement the dll in the newly added form (add “Implements CommandFusion.CFPlugin” after the class definition) and press enter
7. The code required for the plugin implementation should be automatically generated for you. See the demo video below for further details.

You can grab a copy of a Demo Plugin from our Google Code Repository.
NOTE: If you have problems building the solution, check the 'Build Events' in the project properties under the 'Compile' tab. Make sure it points to the plugin location where guiDesigner is installed on your machine.

Here is a video demonstrating how to create a guiDesigner plugin in VB.NET. It covers the basics you need to know to get started.

You can also download the original Quicktime video from the videos Vimeo page:
http://vimeo.com/8239148