ARES Commander provides a C++ plugin which lets you create third party Plugin Software for ARES Commander.

The CFx examples are in the following folder: \ARES Commander 20XX SDK\Samples\CFx\. Open the solution file CFxSamples.sln.

Follow the steps described in “How to Create a Sample C++ plugin and build,load the plugin”.

New Project

Add a new C++ Empty project using Visual Studio 2017 as SampleCommand in ‘\ARES Commander 20XX SDK\Samples\CFx’.

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Header Section

Create the following header files.          

SampleCommand.h

Creates the SampleCommand class with global and local command name.  

#include "FxCommand.h"
#include "FxCommandContext.h"
#include "FxUserIO.h"

class SampleCommand
{
public:
    /** Description:
        Sets non-localized version of the command name.
    */
    virtual const OdString globalName() const;
                   
    /** Description:
        Sets localized version of the command name.
    */
    virtual const OdString localName() const;

    ~SampleCommand(void);

protected:
    SampleCommand(void);
};

SampleCommandModule.h

Creates a new module for the SampleCommand class with initApp, uninitApp, and object that represents the command.

#include <RxModule.h>
#include <StaticRxObject.h>
#include "SampleCommand.h"

/** Description:
    Creates a new module for Sample command.
*/
class CHelloCommandModule : public OdRxModule
{
public:
    ~CHelloCommandModule() {}

protected:
    CHelloCommandModule() {}

    /** Description:
        Adds new command to the current module.
    */
    virtual void initApp();

    /** Description:
        Removes command from the current module.
    */
    virtual void uninitApp();

private:
    /** Description:
        Object from type sampleCommand is created. It represents the new command.
    */
    OdStaticRxObject<SampleCommand> m_SampleCommand;
};

stdafx.h

Includes all the standard system include files/project specific include files that are frequently used

#include <windows.h>
#include "OdaCommon.h"

Source File Section

Create the following CPP files.

SampleCommand.cpp

CPP file for creating commands that you can call from ARES commander.

#include "stdafx.h"
#include "SampleCommand.h"
#include "FxSystemServices.h"

SampleCommand::SampleCommand(void)
{
    GetFxSystemServices()->WriteLine(L"HI, This is a Sample command.");
}

SampleCommand::~SampleCommand(void)
{
}

const OdString SampleCommand::globalName() const
{
    // global command name to be called
    return("MYSAMPLE");
}

const OdString SampleCommand::localName() const
{
    // local command name to be called
    return("MYSAMPLE");
}

SampleCommandModule.cpp

Defines entry points for the dynamic library (TX = DLL).    

#include "stdafx.h"
#include "SampleCommandModule.h"
#include <RxDynamicModule.h>
#include "FxSystemServices.h"

#ifdef _MANAGED
#pragma managed(push, off)
#endif

ODRX_DEFINE_DYNAMIC_MODULE(CHelloCommandModule);

void CHelloCommandModule::initApp()
{
    GetFxSystemServices()->WriteLine(L"SampleCommandModule initApp");
}

void CHelloCommandModule::uninitApp()
{
    GetFxSystemServices()->WriteLine(L"SampleCommandModule uninitApp");
}

stdafx.cpp

Source file that includes just the standard include files.

#include "stdafx.h"

Project Settings

Do the following settings to make the C++ sample plugin to work.

1. Open SampleCommand Property Page and do the following settings:

   1. In Configuration: Release

   2. In Platform: Choose the appropriate platform (in this example, it is x64).
      

2. Specify Additional Include and Library Directories: Include libraries and include files from ARES Commander SDK folder.
   Include files can be found in C:\Program Files\Graebert GmbH\ARES Commander 20XX SDK\Include\*.
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3. Specify Additional Dependencies: Link appropriate libraries that implement ARES Commander plugin API. Libraries can be found in \Program Files\Graebert GmbH\ARES Commander 20XX SDK\Libraries\*.
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4. Change extension of output and other properties as in the image below:
   The name of the shared library containing the subclass of OdRxModule should be according to the rule: <application name>.tx.
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5. Define _TOOLKIT_IN_DLL macro:
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6. Open SampleCommand property page and set C/C++ → Language → Treat WChar_t As Built in Type to No (/Zc:wchar_t-).

7. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\Graebert GmbH\ARES Commander 20XX\BIN and find the files named TD_Db_*.dll:
   In our example, the file name is TD_Db_4.03_15.dll. Add the _4.03_15 suffix to your output .dll name to load it normally.
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Building  

Build the SampleCommand project, then Open ARES Commander and use the APPLOAD command to load your application:

In our example, we have SampleCommand_4.03_15.tx as result.

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If there are no errors, a confirmation message displays as successfully loaded with the output of the project

...