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Procedure - Using the plugin in a CSI product
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Your project output directory should now contain your built plugin assembly ( CSiNET8PluginExample1.DLL ) and all of its dependencies, except CSiAPIv1.DLL . The steps below demonstrate how to call this plugin from within a CSI product. The screenshots below are of ETABS, but the steps are the same for every CSI product.
- From the Tools menu, select Add/Show Plugins
2. In the External Plugin Data form, click the Browse button.
3. In the file select dialog, navigate to your project output directory and select your plugin assembly ( CSiNET8PluginExample1.DLL )
4. Your plugin information is now displayed in the form.
- Plugin Name: This is the name of your plugin assembly and cannot be modified.
- Menu Text: A default menu text is assigned to your plugin. You can change this to any name you want, but it must not conflict with any other plugin.
- Plugin Path: The location of your plugin
Click the Add button to load your plugin.
5. You should now see your plugin in the list, with the status OK. If desired, you can click the Info button to see information about your plugin in a pop-up window.
6. Your plugin should now be available in the Tools menu. Clicking on it for the first time will bring up an info box before displaying the plugin form.
7. In the plugin form, you can enter any text you like, then click the button.
8. The CSI program will create a new model that displays your message with frame objects.
9. If you enter the text crash in the plugin textbox, a message box will appear with your chosen error code.
For download
Download the Visual Studio solution of this example, with an already built, ready-to-run plugin assembly: CSiNET8PluginExample1.zip
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