Section: 4.4.0 Plugin Manager

4.4.0 Plugin Manager

We're going to look at how to install and manage IDV plugins, a much easier way of sharing IDV configurations.

Bring up the Plugin Manager with the Tools→Plugin Manager menu.
Note the "Workshop IDV" plugin. Click on its button to view the contents.
Let's install some of these plugins
- Under "Displays" install the "User Interface Skins" plugin.
- Under "Color Tables" install the GEMPAK color tables.
- View the contents of the GEMPAK color tables. Find the gempak.rbi in the list and view its contents by clicking on its button.
- Shut down the IDV and restart.
- Go to the New Windows tab under Quicklinks. Note the new windows. These came from the skins plugin.
- Delete the User Interface Skins plugin.
The IDV has some support for multiple languages.
- In the Plugin Manager, click File > Install Plugin From URL, enter the Spanish plugin url
```
        "https://resources.unidata.ucar.edu/idv/plugins/language/es.pack"
        
```
  or French plugin url
```
        "https://resources.unidata.ucar.edu/idv/plugins/language/fr.pack"
        
```
  or Chinese plugin url
```
        "https://resources.unidata.ucar.edu/idv/plugins/language/zh.pack"
        
```
- Exit and restart the IDV.
- Exit and restart the IDV with the -noplugins argument.
- Uninstall the Language Pack plugin
We also have a simple IDV.
- Under "Customized IDVs" install the "Simple IDV"
- Exit, restart and note the changes.

In the next section, we will learn how to turn the resources you have created into a plugin.