Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer > Miscellaneous > Site Configuration > Plugins
7.4.1.0 Plugin Creator
The Plugin Creator, accessed through
the menu,
allows you to create new plugins.
Note: This is a new facility within the IDV and is a work in progress.
Some things, like reading in a plugin, have yet to be implemented.
A plugin is a Java JAR file that contains a set of resource
files. These resource files can include things like the color tables
you have created, projections, layout models, formulas, etc.
The plugin manager supports both adding in a whole file (e.g.,
all of the color tables you have created)
as well as adding in individual resource objects (e.g., a specific
color table you have created).
For a fuller explanation of the resources and how things fit together
please refer to the
workshop section.
Adding Resources
To add in a file use the menu.
The file dialog will come up listing the contents of
your local .unidata/idv directory. This is where all of the various resources
that are created are stored. For example, if you wanted to include all
of your color tables then add the colortables.xml file.
You can also add individual resources
through the menus.
You can also add resources through the various resource editors
(e.g., Jython Editor, Parameter Defaults,Parameter Aliases).
Typically this facility is available through the editor's
menu.
Resources List
Each file or resource that is added into the Plugin Creator is listed
under the Resource tab:
Image 1: Plugin Creator - Resource ListExcludes
The excludes tab allows you to exclude system default resources.
For example, in the below screen shot we are excluding color tables
and projections. When the plugin that is defined here is loaded into
the IDV the excludes will result in only the color tables and
projections that are defined in this plugin to be used.
Image 2: Plugin Creator - Exclude ListProperties
The Properties tab allows you to overwrite different properties the
IDV uses. This listing is broken up into three categories:
User Interface, Data and Miscellaneous.
Image 3: Plugin Creator - PropertiesWriting the Plugin
To write the plugin simply click on the Write Plugin button. If you
have not specified a plugin file name (i.e., a .jar file) you will be prompted.
If you also want to install the plugin to your local IDV plugins area
select the Install checkbox. Note: You will need to restart the IDV
for any installed plugins to take effect.
Unidata's Integrated Data Viewer > Miscellaneous > Site Configuration > Plugins