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As a default location, we’ll be using All user location to place the add-in manifest:

%programdata%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins

The plug-in files will be contained in a specific folder called “<your application name>.bundle” and a PackageContents.xml file (created by the installer we create for your app) will be stored within this .bundle folder together with the contents that you need for your application:

PackageContents.xml contains the following xml tag (among other tags that controls the information of about the installer), and further points to your .addin manifest within your bundle folder.

<ComponentEntry ModuleName="./Contents/ADNPlugin-FileUpgrader.addin"

Revit 2019/2020/2021/2022/2023/2024 looks into the contents of the .bundle folder, read the PackageContents.xml file and look for “ModuleName” or the location of .addin file that further defines Revit specific information about plug-ins.

As an example, if you place your .addin manifest and assembly dll under the Contents folder, your folder structure may look like this with the above xml tag:

To see how the installed app looks, you can download some of the free plug-ins already available on the Autodesk App Store and study their format.

Using ribbon elements for your application is requirement, but how you do this will depend on your plug-in design. As a minimum, every plug-in or family library must add a panel to the Add-Ins tab that either invokes the main command defined by the plug-in or displays a help file explaining how to use the family library.

However, if your plug-in defines more than one command, then you will have to create ribbon layout for your plug-in in a way that is most helpful to the user (for example, using large buttons for most frequently used commands and small buttons for lesser used commands).

• Plug-ins that installs a single panel should normally add that panel to the Add-Ins tab.
• Plug-ins that creates several ribbon bar panels may prefer to create a new tab specific to that Plug-In (and preferably with the tab name being the name of the plug-in).

Revit API supports Contextual or F1 Help. Please refer to the RibbonItem.SetContextualHelp() method and the ContextualHelp class in the Revit API documentation. The Autodesk Plug-in of the Month sample apps posted to Autodesk Apps Store demonstrate how to implement F1 help.

We encourage you to use a help mechanism that is consistent with the Revit help, such as tooltips and contextual help placed on a ribbon item. The options supported for contextual help include linking to an external URL, launching a locally installed help file, or linking to a topic on the Autodesk help wiki.

The installer that the ADN team creates for your app includes a button that allows the user to view the standard End User License Agreement (EULA) during the app installation.

Note: This EULA is not modifiable. If you wish to include your own EULA to your app, you can either:

• Reference your EULA from the standard HTM help file text, or
• Display your EULA when the app runs for the first time, and require the user to accept it before the app will work

If your app or content has any special requirements and the standard installer template cannot handle as is, please talk to us.

For example, if you have specific requirements for your app to be written to a single-user, we can create the installer that install only to the current user.

For any other special needs that require a custom installation, you can provide them in the form of Windows Installer Merge Modules (.msm) files. We will merge your .msm file with the Windows Installer (.msi) file that we create for your app. Examples of such a scenario would be: writing entries to the registry for a licensing system you are using, installing dependent components by other vendors, and running custom scripts. For additional information, please contact us at appsubmissions@autodesk.com.