Simple Add-ins Overview

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Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1

Simple add-ins can do one of the two things: call custom code or call a predefined action. They do not provide views to the Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) console. You can declare your add-in to perform one of the two predefined actions: display a web page in the console or run a program. Otherwise, the add-in will call custom code.

Predefined actions

Predefined action add-ins are defined in the manifest file. To configure an add-in to run a predefined action, set the ActionType attribute of the add-in to either URL or Application in the manifest file. The ActionParam attribute, which is typically optional, is now required. If you choose URL as the ActionType, then the ActionParam attribute should be set to the URL of webpage that you want to display. If you choose Application as the ActionType, then the ActionParam represents the file path of the application that you want to run.

Custom actions

To configure an add-in to run a custom code, set the ActionType attribute of the add-in to Code. The AssemblyName attribute, which is typically optional, is now required. The value of this attribute should be set to the file name of the assembly that contains the code for the add-in.

In the assembly that is identified by the AssemblyName attribute, you must apply a T:System.Addin.AddinAttribute attribute to a class that inherits from the ActionAddInBase base class. When this attribute is applied, it takes one parameter, the name of the add-in. This name must match the Name attribute of the add-in declaration in the manifest file. For more information about the ActionAddInBase class, see Base Classes

See Also

Creating a Simple Add-in
Scenario: Define an Add-in
Scenario: Build a Basic Action Add-in
Scenario: Create Managed Code Ribbon Actions