Installing and Removing a Design Editor Plugin

After you have registered the plugin, you can install or activate the plugin:

• Use deInstallPlugin in an application window. The application window in which a plugin is to be installed should be a tab window.
  For each session window, DE makes only one instance of a plugin. This means that if an instance of the plugin already exists in a tab window, deInstallPlugin returns the instance. And, if there exists an instance of a plugin in another tab of the same session window, deInstallPlugin uses the instance.
  
  If not already loaded, the class and superclass (from which this plugin is implemented) are auto-loaded when deInstallPlugin is applied to the appName or className if the autoloadClass property is defined on the className.

Once a plugin is installed in an application window, the plugin stays active as long as it is pluggable to the application. For example, a plugin, which is pluggable to schematic view type, remains active regardless of whether you launch a new schematic application in the window or open another schematic cellview in the same window.

However, deInstallPlugin issues a warning if any or all of the following conditions are true:

• The plugin is already installed in the given window.
• The given window is not a main design window.
• The plugin is not pluggable to the application running in the given window.
• The arguments are invalid.

To remove a plugin from a given application window:

• Call deRemovePlugin in an application window. You can specify either the plugin name, or the class name from which this plugin is implemented.
  The function returns t if the plugin is successfully removed from the specified application window. It returns nil if either the named plugin is not found in the specified window, its exit trigger has returned nil,or the arguments are invalid. If any of these condtions is true, Virtuoso does not remove the plugin and issues a warning.
  
  If the window argument given to deRemovePlugin is a session window, the plugin is removed from all tab windows associated with the session window.

Related Topics

deInstallPlugin

deRemovePlugin

Registering a Design Editor Plugin

Auto loading Your Classes