PluginPackager

PluginPackager is a program that is a component of the Dundas Dashboard installation. This utility is intended for packaging plugins. PluginPackager can be used to specify the version number of the plug in using version format A.B. or version format A.B.C.D.

PluginPackager creates one file with a .plugin extension. This is done in systematic manner that is easy to follow. Once the folder where the PluginPackager is placed the user has to double-click on the PluginPackager.exe. This starts the program. The main window of PluginPackager allows the user to do the following: save a plug in, create new ones, and open plugins that already exist. When using PluginPackager to save the plugin in the computer, a form needs to be filled out with information first.

The PluginPackager General tab has all the meta-information relevant to the plugin. The fields that are contained on the general tab are of various types. These are the options available to users under the Dundas Dashboard: DashboardControlPackage, DashboardExport, DataProviderClient, and DataProviderServer. The Plugin ID, which is a unique attribute of the plug-in is represented as GUID. Meanwhile, the Files tab lists all the required assemblies, which is advantageous to those who are using libraries, or other assemblies. The Dependencies tab contains the other plug-ins requires which is useful to those who are creating plug-ins that work only when there is another plug-in installed.