Manifest

The manifest XML file describes the properties of a software module.

It is mandatory in order for the module to be recognized and used as such by WinGuard. For example, it contains information with regard to compatibility and the start of the module.

The file name of the manifest is always the name of the module (as defined in the manifest.xml itself) + “.manifest.xml”, e.g. “DemoPanel.manifest.xml”.

<Manifest>

Root Node of the XML file with the following attributes and sections:

<Identity>

This section describes the Extension and contains each of the following elements exactly once:

<Properties>

The properties consist of a name/value pair.

The flags provide information about which Functionality an Extension supports.

<Traits>

Traits are used to further specify a module’s behavior and available services.

Currently, the following Traits are defined:

<Skills>

Skills define which API functions and notifications are provided by the module. These can be module specific, custom APIs or one of the predefined Skills specified under Versioning.

Every Skill has a name, and a version. The same Skill can be provided in different version, e.g., adapter in version 1.0 and 2.0. The version number is used to distinguish between different versions of the same Skill and is not related to the version of the module itself.

<Compatibility>

This section defines which applications and their versions the module is compatible with. If the same element is specified multiple times, the module is compatible with all versions specified.

While being able to make a module dependent on specific WinGuard versions using the <X4> and <X5> elements, it is recommended to use the <Skill> element instead. This way, the module can be used with any WinGuard version that supports the specified Skill / version combination.

<Configurations>

This area is just a container for elements and lists all available configurations in which the module can run.

<Configuration>

A configuration contains each of the following sections exactly once:

<Definitions>

This section contains each of the following elements exactly once:

<Execution>

This area is a container for elements that describe which calls are made upon module startup.

<ShellExecute>

Specifies how the application should be started if started by WinGuard.

<LoadLibrary>

This section is only used by WinGuard X4 to load legacy DLL-based interfaces.

<X4ModuleAdapter>

This section is only used by WinGuard X5 to load legacy DLL-based interfaces written for WinGuard X4.

<Traits>

Configuration-dependent traits can be defined here. These will be applied in addition to the module traits.

Sample

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Manifest version="1">
  <Identity>
    <Code>demopanel</Code>
    <Type>mod</Type>
    <Name>DemoPanel</Name>
    <Description>Interface Module for DemoPanel</Description>
    <Description lng="de">Schnittstellenmodul für DemoPanel</Description>
    <Version>1.0-preview1</Version>
    <Author>Advancis Software &amp; Services GmbH</Author>
  </Identity>
  <Properties>
     <Property name="acceptlocalstates" value="1"/>
  </Properties>
  <Traits>
      <Trait name="adapter"/>
      <Trait name="browsable"/>
      <Trait name="settings"/>
  </Traits>
  <Skills>
      <Skill name="adapter" version="1.0"/>
  </Skills>
  <Compatibility>
      <X4 version="8.4.18.0"/>
      <X5 version="8.5.1.0"/>
      <Skill name="ext.adapter" version="1.0"/>
      <Skill name="ext.common" version="1.0"/>
  </Compatibility>
  <Configurations>
    <Configuration>
      <Definitions>
        <ModuleDef>DemoPanel.module.xml</ModuleDef>
        <AppDef>DemoPanel.app.xml</AppDef>
        <LegacyDef>DemoPanel.legacy.xml</LegacyDef>
        <LngFileBase>MyLngName</LngFileBase>
        <HelpFileBase>MySubfolder/MyHelpName</HelpFileBase>
      </Definitions>
      <Execution>
        <ShellExecute file="DemoPanel.exe" dir=".\" params="--id ${id} --host ${host}"/>
      </Execution>
    </Configuration>
    <Configuration>
      <Definitions>
        <ModuleDef>DemoPanel.module.xml</ModuleDef>
        <AppDef>DemoPanel.app.xml</AppDef>
        <LegacyDef>DemoPanel.legacy.xml</LegacyDef>
        <LngFileBase>MyLngName</LngFileBase>
        <HelpFileBase>MySubfolder/MyHelpName</HelpFileBase>
      </Definitions>
      <Execution>
        <ShellExecute file="DemoPanel.exe" dir=".\" params="--id ${id} --host ${host}"/>
      </Execution>
      <Traits>
        <Trait name="localobjects">
      </Traits>
    </Configuration>
  </Configurations>
</Manifest>