Deploying Add-Ins

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After you have created a new application add-in or security adapter add-in, you must perform the following steps to deploy your new add-in to a server running the Windows Essential Business Server operating system:

  1. Create an .addin file, which provides the name and location of the application or security adapter add-in.
  2. Test the new add-in using the Windows Essential Business Server SDK Add-in Development Console.
  3. Deploy the add-in to a server.

To create an .addin file

  1. Open Notepad.exe.

  2. Add the following text to the new file:

    <addin name="addinName" type="fullyQualifiedTypeName, dllFileName" basedir="dllPath" />

    Replace the placeholders in the text. The following table lists the attributes in the file and the placeholders that must be replaced:

    Attribute Description

    name

    addinName represents the name of the add-in that will appear in the Manage Add-in dialog box in the Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.

    type

    fullyQualifiedTypeName represents the fully-qualified type name of the object that defines the add-in. dllFileName represents the name of the .dll file (without the .dll extension).

    basedir

    dllPath represents the path to .dll file. The basedir directive also defines the application domain in which the add-in will run. Any add-in that is run from the same basedir will run in the same application domain.

  3. (Optional) In the .addin file, you can provide the path to a file that can be used to initialize add-ins. You can use the cookie element to define an external file that contains information to initialize multiple instances of the same type of add-in. To reference a file in the .addin file, add the following element:

    <cookie>
externalFilePath
</cookie>
</addin>

    Replace externalFilePath with the path to the file that you want to reference.

  4. For an application add-in, save the file as addinName.addin in the %systemdrive%\Windows Essential Business Server SDK\Console\Registration\Tabs\BusinessApplications directory or the %systemdrive%\Windows Essential Business Server SDK\Console\Registration\Tabs\SystemApplications directory. For a security adapter add-in, save the file as addinName.addin in the %systemdrive%\Windows Essential Business Server SDK\Console\Registration\Tabs\Security\Adapters directory.

    Note

    The .addin file can be given any name, but it must have a .addin extension. It is recommended when naming an add-in that you use a namespace style, such as CompanyName.ProductName.AddinName, to avoid naming conflicts with other registered add-ins.

To test your new add-in

  1. Start AdminConsole.exe from the %systemdrive%\Windows Essential Business Server SDK\Console directory.

  2. If you are testing an application add-in, click the Business Applications tab or the System Applications tab, and then click the tab for the new add-in. If you are testing a security adapter add-in, click the Security tab.

  3. Verify that the add-in is functioning correctly.

To deploy the new add-in to a server

  1. If you are deploying an application add-in, copy the .addin file that you created earlier in this document to the %programfiles%\Windows Essential Business Server\Bin\Registration\Tabs\BusinessApplications directory or copy the .addin file to the %programfiles%\Windows Essential Business Server\Bin\Registration\Tabs\SystemApplications directory on the server.

    If you are deploying a security adapter add-in, copy the .addin file to the %programfiles%\Windows Essential Business Server\Bin\Registration\Tabs\Security\Adapters directory.

    Ensure that the .addin file contains the correct location for the .dll file of the add-in.

    Note

    If the basedir directive is not defined in the .addin file, the Administration Console will look for the .dll file in the %programfiles%\Windows Essential Business Server\Bin directory.

  2. (Optional) If you need to move the .dll file that contains the add-in to another location for use with your server, you must edit the .addin file and change the basedir path.

  3. (Optional) If you are creating an Windows Installer package to install your add-in, you can access the following registry entry to locate the Bin directory of the Windows Essential Business Server operating system:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WSSG\ProductBinDir

See Also

Concepts

Walkthrough: Creating an Application Add-In
Walkthrough: Creating a Security Adapter Add-In