Creating Scripted Plug-Ins

The Plug-in Manager displays three types of plug-ins:

●    Custom, unencrypted plug-ins that you create

●    Third-party plug-ins, purchased from developers (encrypted), and encrypted plug-ins you create

●    Built-in, encrypted plug-ins that are included with the Vectorworks program

Third-party plug-ins and built-in plug-ins, which are encrypted, may allow limited editing of the plug-in parameters and definition. Options that are not available for editing are grayed.

Custom, unencrypted plug-ins are created and edited from the Custom Plug-ins tab of the Plug-in Manager, where you can specify the plug-in type, category, parameters, options, and code for a new custom plug-in. Plug-ins are saved as described in Plug-in File Location.

To create a plug-in:

1. Select Tools > Plug-ins > Plug-in Manager.

The Plug-in Manager dialog box opens.

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Custom Plug-ins
Plug-ins list	Lists available custom plug-ins; the icon to the left of the plug-in name indicates the type of plug-in (see Plug-in Types)
New	Creates a new custom plug-in as described in this section
Edit Definition	Opens the Edit Plug-in Definition dialog box, to define or edit the properties of the currently selected custom plug-in (see Plug-in Definition)
Edit Script	Opens the Script Editor window, to create, rename, or edit the code that executes with the selected custom plug-in. See Specifying the Plug-in Script.
Duplicate	Creates a copy of the currently selected plug-in; specify a name for the copy in the Assign Name dialog box
Delete	Deletes the currently selected plug-in; this action cannot be undone
Third-party Plug-ins	Lists any third-party plug-ins, and allows third-party plug-ins to be installed, uninstalled, and customized as permitted. ●    Install: Select the installation files from the third-party script provider; they are automatically copied to your plug-ins folder. Vectorworks must be restarted before newly installed third-party plug-ins can be used. ●    Delete: Removes the plug-in from the Vectorworks program and deletes the plug-in files. This action cannot be undone. ●    Customize: When permitted by the third-party provider, a selected plug-in may allow limited customization. Options that are not available for editing are grayed.
Built-in Plug-ins	Lists the plug-ins available with the Vectorworks installation; some of these allow limited customization as permitted. Options that are not available for editing are grayed. An example of built-in plug-in customization is described in Customizing Size Settings for Plug-in Objects.

2. From the Custom Plug-ins tab, click New.

The Assign Name dialog box opens. Enter the name of the new plug-in item and select the type of the plug-in to create. Plug-in names are limited to 27 characters in length. The appropriate plug-in extension will be appended to the plug-in name. Plug-ins can contain a Python script for execution.

 

►    Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Name of the Script Plug-in	Specifies the name of the new plug-in; this is also the name of the plug-in file, automatically appended with the appropriate extension (.px, .vsm, .vst, or .vso)
The plug-in will be created in	Describes the location of the plug-in file; plug-ins are saved in the location indicated so that they are not overwritten when installing a new version of Vectorworks products; see Plug-in File Location
Plug-in type	Select the type of plug-in to create
Command	Menu command (.vsm) plug-ins can be used like any standard menu command item, performing operations on the active Vectorworks file. Menu commands can detect the view state of the active Vectorworks file, or can determine if a selection set exists upon which the menu command can act.
Tool	Tool item (.vst) plug-ins allow scripts to be added to a Vectorworks workspace as a tool palette item. Tools make use of the SmartCursor, and can respond to file state conditions such as selection status or view orientation.
Objects	Plug-in objects (.vso) allow the creation of complex objects such as standard architectural or mechanical elements, “smart” drawing components like callouts or drawing borders, or other flexible objects which streamline the design process. Plug-in objects support standard Vectorworks program core technologies such as snapping, classing, and advanced object editing; they can contain up to 32,767 parameters for defining and editing the object appearance.
Point Object	Point objects are defined by a single point click for placement
Linear Object	Linear objects require a user-defined line to create the basic geometry of the object
Rectangle Object	Rectangle objects utilize a user-defined rectangle to define and create the basic geometry of the object
2D/3D Path Object	Path objects define a user-defined polygonal path or NURBS curve to create the basic geometry of the object
Include File	Specifies an additional file (.vss or .px) to be included with a script

3. Click OK to create the plug-in item.

4. Define the plug-in properties as described in Specifying the Plug-in Definition.

5. Add the new plug-in to one or more workspaces with the Workspace Editor. See Customizing Workspaces. Once the item has been added to a workspace, it is available to any open file in Vectorworks without the need for importing the associated script into the active file.

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Specifying the Plug-in Definition

Concept: Scripted Plug-ins

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