Modifying the configuration files that update the PCB Editor GUI Also note the new toolbar buttons positioned to the right of Help, in the main Menu. The AddOn project's menu items in the GUI.
What follows shows how to add new menu items in the PCB menu and their respective menu key shortcuts, and a new toolbar with two buttons.
In practice, the Add-on extension will add its process launchers in the PCB editor when the server is loaded in Altium Designer. These extension server processes are linked to the new resource items in the PCB editor. The commands can be invoked in the PCB Editor from a toolbar button, a menu item or a hot key. You can execute a server process from Altium Designer's Run Process dialog to launch the AddOn extension, but there is a better way. Setting up the processes in the PCB Editor This may not include an Addon.tlt file, however you can find an example in the Tools Layout File section below.
The full code is not provided here, but the completed files can be found in the \SDK\CPP\Examples\Addon Complete folder. Extending the AddOn project requires that the two new files, the resources and toolbar files, be modified or created.įiles for the resources and toolbar locations will be defined so that commands (as process launchers) can appear in the PCB editor's menu, and a floating toolbar containing two buttons will also appear in the PCB Editor's work space. The complete AddOn project is composed of at least four files – the server file (DLL) representing the functionality of the server itself, the resources file (RCS) which contains the process launchers and the structure of the server's user interface, the installation file (INS) with server settings and command names, and optionally, the toolbar locations file (TLT) representing the locations of panels for this server. The server's tool layout file which defines the locations of toolbars and panels (optional). The server's resources file which defines the process launchers for the graphical user interface in Altium Designer. The server installation file which defines the processes, types of documents and toolbars/menus/hotkeys used by this server. Once the three methods are completed to enhance the project, the following physical files will be included to interface with (plug in to) Altium Designer – note the addition of a *.tlt file: Addon project files
These process launchers are defined in the server resources file (with a. Note that a command in Altium Designer is a specific server process launcher linked to a menu item, a toolbar button or a hot key - one of the three resources. The commands linked to Altium Designer's GUI are the packaged process launchers which wrap around server processes and their parameters, if any. ins extension) and the functionality implemented in server source files. These process identifiers are stored in an installation file (with an. To recap, an extension server such as the AddOn example project for the PCB editor, has a set of processes. In effect, this process links the new resources into Altium Designer, or more specifically for the AddOn example project, into the PCB Editor itself. This is done by introducing additional server configuration files and modifying the existing files to implement suitable process launchers, menu items and toolbars. Beyond the concept of simply calling an installed extension project in Altium Designer using the Run Process function (as covered in the Altium C++ SDK page), its capabilities can be extended so that it functions as an integrated feature within Altium Designer.