![]() If all went well, MyLispPlugin should display a command line message at startup alerting you to the fact that MYCOMMAND1 and MYCOMMAND2 are now available for use. After you’ve installed the MyPlugin sample, start the host application of your choice (the setup program configures all of them). Choose Project -> Compile.Īt this point you should have a new Output subfolder with MyLispPluginSetup.exe inside. Download my LspLoad freebie and extract the files into a new subfolder named LspLoad.Download my LispPluginSetup freebie and extract the files into a new folder somewhere.Download and install Unicode Inno Setup QuickStart Pack from the Inno Setup Downloads page.The best part: everything you need is free (as in beer)! In fact, if you follow these steps, in less than 10 minutes (5 minutes if you have a fast internet connection) you will have a working setup that installs a lisp plugin on any version of AutoCAD, Bricscad, or ZWCAD+. ![]() It turns out that after some initial work it’s actually not that hard to pull off a very professional looking setup program for a basic lisp plugin. This works great for my needs, but it is well beyond the ability of most lisp developers.Īfter several recent online discussions with lisp developers struggling to get a working setup program, I set out to find a solution to this vexing problem. For ManuSoft plugins, I use Visual Studio’s Setup and Deployment projects along with an extensive amount of custom C++ code to perform all the configuration necessary at install time. Autodesk has invented application bundles with the supposed benefit of making it easier to install and manage plugins, but these are not well documented and only work with recent versions of AutoCAD. How do you build a setup program for a lisp plugin? There are any number of free and low-cost installers available, but they are all designed for installing an executable program, not a plugin that must be configured to run inside a completely independent host application.Īt one time there was a package called AcadInstall that was designed for AutoCAD add-ons, but that tool is long defunct. There’s just one thing missing: an easy way to install a lisp plugin on an end user’s computer. This is a powerful combination, and given lisp’s low entry cost, it is not surprising to see lisp continuing to enjoy strong support in the developer community. Bricscad and ZWCAD both have excellent support for lisp plugins, so well-written lisp code is truly cross-platform and enjoys a large and growing audience. Unlike other languages, the vast majority of lisp code works unmodified on any hardware architecture, in any version of Windows, and inside any host application that supports it, including AutoCAD versions released more than a decade ago. On top of that, OpenDCL gives lisp developers the power of a modern event-driven user interface that can put their lisp plugins on the same playing field as plugins written in any other language.
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