AutoCAD Plugin - Developer Symbols Registration

Question

I've developed a plug-in using the ObjectARX SDK, C# and the Autodesk plug-in templates for VS2010. The plug-in is loaded into AutoCAD at start-up via a registry entry as documented in the SDK files.

The plug-in itself is to be distributed privately and will not be submitted to the 'Marketplace' supplied by Autodesk for AutoCAD products.

I've noticed that there is a section on the AutoDesk website with regards to registering a custom prefix via the RDS scheme.

Code that differs from the default template is found within the following areas:

• Namespaces e.g. "MyNamespace.Utility"
• Custom Classes MyClass.cs
• Custom Functions e.g. LogData()
• Custom Commands e.g. "DEBUGDATA"

Based on the current implementation and intended usage/distribution method is symbol registration required? I ask as I am not sure what would happen if another plug-in used by the user has a "DEBUGDATA" command for example.

If symbol registration is required where can I find a clear example of it's implementation within code?

Many thanks

Answer 1

The way I try to avoid command name duplication is to use a really long command name, including my top namespace ("CadBloke" in my case) and then add a command alias to the acad.pgp file so the keyboard command is more sensible. Buttons on a toolbar etc don't care how long a command name is.

In your code, namespace clashes can certainly be an issue. I tend to make my top-level namespace pretty wordy, something like "CadBloke.CadTools.ToolName". You'd have to be pretty unlucky, or have annoyed someone, to get a clash with that sort of thing.

I saw your question on the Autodesk forum - that answer is basically the same as mine: try to make your namespace unique.

Hazy memory: I think some of the project wizards from Autodesk add your symbol to the namespace.

Here's a blog post with a link or 2 on symbol registration: http://adndevblog.typepad.com/autocad/2012/05/registered-developer-symbols.html (your link is dead, pretty typical of Autodesk as they move links around a lot). Follow that up and try & find some info on symbols. Good luck with that, I never found anything concrete. Me, I don't use it presently.