Plugins

You can extend the capabilities of Source by adding new component models or data processing tools. Some of these "plugin" tools extend Source’s user interface, or add additional steps to the Geographic Wizard. Other plugins, especially those written by third parties, may look and operate differently from the normal user interface.

Plugins are files which have a .DLL or .EXE extension, and work with specific versions of Source. Plugins that are external to Source, and must be downloaded from the Internet, must be handled differently. Refer to Externally created plugins for more information..

Note: Many of the existing eWater CRC Toolkit tools (or components of these tools) can be used as Source plugins; however, you must ensure that the plugin version is compatible with the Source version. In other words, the plugin .dll files have been compiled against the Source version that the plugin is to be used with. Also note that plugins are compatible with different version of Source, provided that the first three digits of the Source version number are the same. For example, a plugin that is compatible with different versions of Source 3.7.0 will not be compatible with 3.5.0.

There are several plugins included with Source that have been verified by the Source development team. This documentation is only developed and maintained for these included plugins. Table 1 provides plugin file and location details of plugins that are discussed in more detail.

Table 1. Plugins

Plugin	Plugin file	Location in Source
Contributor	C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins\RiverSystem.Plugins.Contributor.dll	Tools » Plugins » Contributor » Contributor
GWLag Plugin	C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins\RiverSystem.Plugins.PerfectGWLag.dll	Tools » Plugins » <various related folders>
River Analysis Package	C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins\RiverSystem.Plugins.RAP.dll	Tools » Plugins » Ecology.RAP » <name of RAP tool>
Spatial data pre-processor	C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins\RiverSystem.Plugins.SpatialDataPreProcessor.dll	Tools » Plugins » RiverSystem.Plugins.SpatialDataPreProcessor

Working with the Plugin manager

The Plugin manager allows you to install, load and manage all plugins in Source. Available via Tools » Plugin Manager, this dialog (shown in Figure 1) shows:

Manually installed plugins; and
Online plugins - auto-populated from the online store hosted by eWater.

Note: Follow these rules when loading and unloading plugins:

- No projects must be open; and
- Restart Source.

Manually installed plugins

When installing plugins in Source, you must have administrator access on your computer. Plugins that are installed as part of Source are located in the following plugins folder:

C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins

where:

<Source version> refers to the version of Source currently in use.

To install a plugin, click Browse... to select the plugin and click OK. Source will automatically install it.

Figure 1. Plugin manager

Note: If a required plugin is not loaded, Source might have a problem running. In this instance, an error dialog appears (example in Figure 2), showing the name of the missing plugin.

Figure 2. Error without installed plugin

Upgrading plugins

The Details panel in the Plugin Manager shows the following:

Version - a four-digit number used to uniquely identify which version of Source the plugin was compiled against; and
Tags - the version of Source the plugin can be opened in.

To ensure that you have the latest plugin, in the Plugin Manager:

Ensure that the plugin in enabled;
Close, then restart Source; and
Reopen the Plugin Manager.

This will ensure that

Writing your own plugins

To write your own plugins using .NET and C#, refer to Source plugins.

When you install Source, instructions for writing your own plugins are included in the following location (depending on your operating system). It also contains a series of templates to help you get started.

Operating system	Standard plugin location
Windows XP	C:\Program Files\<Source version>\Plugins\ExamplePlugins.zip
Windows 7	C:\Program Files\eWater\<Source version>\Plugins\ExamplePlugins.zip

If you boot Windows from a different hard disk drive or have otherwise customised your installation, you should make the necessary adjustments.

Please consult your system administrator if local security policies prevent you from accessing this package.

Externally created plugins

For plugins that have been developed externally to Source (such as DERMTools), you must manually unblock them in Windows after downloading. By default, Windows blocks the execution of programs downloaded from the internet (including the .dlls used as Source plugins) in order to reduce the risk of the computer being infected by a virus or some other form of malicious software.

The use of the unblock option carries with it risk, in that it removes a key defence against malicious software. You should only use unblock a DLL or EXE when you are confident that the software in question does not contain malicious code.

Once downloaded, open as follows:

Right click on the dll file in Explorer and choose Properties; and
In the resulting dialog (shown in Figure 3), click Unblock at the bottom of the screen, then OK.

The plugin can then be loaded as normal in Source.