Managing Options

The .rsaddin file contains information that tells RobotStudio in which way the Add-In should be handled. Some of this information is mandatory, while other pieces of information can be omitted (and RobotStudio uses the default values). This topic shows how to create an .rsaddin file that makes use of the most common attributes.

Using all the attributes of an .rsaddin file

  1. On a new Add-In project, open the .rsaddin file.

  2. Enter the unique "ApplicationID" of Add-In. RobotStudio uses this unique ID to identify the Add-Ins, independently of their name. It is recommended to use the reversed domain name of the organization followed by the name of the Add-In to ensure uniqueness.

    <ApplicationId>com.mycompany.Powerpac</ApplicationId>

  3. "DisplayName" contains a string that will be shown to the user as the name of the Add-In.

    <DisplayName>Powerpac</DisplayName>

  4. The version of the Add-In can be specified with the "DisplayVersion" attribute. Keep this attribute in mind when Upgrading an Add-In, since RobotStudio always loads an Add-In with a higher version when it finds two or more with the same ID.

    <DisplayVersion>1.0.0.1</DisplayVersion>

  5. "Description", as the name implies, displays a description for the user.

    <Description>Powerpac description</Description>

  6. "Assembly" is a very important element that contains the information regarding the .dll file that is generated when the Add-In is compiled. Ultimately, this is the file that will be loaded and executed in RobotStudio. Inside this element you need to specify the "Filename" and the "Path" of the assembly. More than one Path can be specified if the .dll file is copied to several locations depending on the build settings (Debug, Release, etc). The path is only needed during development, and should be removed when distributing the Add-In.

    <Assembly>
  <FileName>Powerpac.dll</FileName>
  <!-- In a production scenario, change Path to
       the directory where your add-in is installed -->
  <Path>
    c:\users\USER_NAME\source\Repo\Powerpac\Powerpac\bin\Debug
  </Path>
  <Path>
    c:\users\USER_NAME\source\Repo\Powerpac\Powerpac\bin\Release
  </Path>
  <Entrypoint>Powerpac.Class1</Entrypoint>
</Assembly>

  7. Both a minimum and maximum version of RobotStudio can be specified with the "MinimumHostVersion" and "MaximumHostVersion" elements;

    <MinimumHostVersion>24.1</MinimumHostVersion>
<MaximumHostVersion>24.2</MaximumHostVersion>

  8. Specify which libraries are necessary to execute this Add-In with the "Dependencies" element.

    <Dependencies>Station</Dependencies>

  9. For Add-Ins that are targeted to a specific processor architecture, use the "Platform" element and specify between x86, x64, or Any.

    <Platform>Any</Platform>

  10. Adding the "StartPage" element will make RobotStudio display information about the Add-In on its start page.

    <StartPage/>

  11. Provide the path for an XML file with one or more qualified document providers that comply with the DocumentProviderSchema.

    <DocumentProviders>
  <Path>
    c:\Program Files (x86)\ABB\RobotStudio {version}\Bin\Addins\Powerpac\My_DocumentProviders.xml
  </Path>
</DocumentProviders>

  12. The "Image" element allows the developer to define an image to represent the Add-In on the GUI, for example, on a click able object to load it.

    <Image>Picture.png</Image>

See Also