Plugin manager 1.1

This version fixes a bug in the Presets menu.

What is it?

Plugin Manager is a simple utility to set the plugin paths for a MAX session. It scans the MAX root directory for plugins and allows you to select from a list the plugins to be loaded.



To use PluginMgr, just run it, select or deselect paths from the list which appears. Click 'Cancel' to close without saving the changes, click 'OK' to save your changes and launch MAX.

When you run PluginMgr, it scans your MAX directories for plugins and puts paths containing plugins in the main listbox. It then reads the ini file and puts a check before each path in the listbox which it finds in 'plugin.ini'. If a path in 'plugin.ini' is not in the list, it DOES NOT add it to the list, and such paths will be not be written when it saves the file.

Installation:

Just put it anywhere and run it. Create a shortcut to it and place it with your MAX shortcut. You can use the Plugin manager to launch MAX when you need to adjust the plugin paths. Plugin manager is a VB executable, so you need the VB5 runtime dll.

Usage:

For the plugin manager to be effective, you must place your plugins in subdirectories. The subdirectories can be nested. If you examine the illustration above, you'll see that I have sorted some plugins according to their author and placed each plugin in a separate directory. I do this so that I can keep the readme's, tutorials, and other files for a plugin together for easy reference.



Root. The first time you run PluginMgr.exe, it queries the registry for your MAX path. If it fails to find it, the list will be empty, and you must point it to the MAX directory. Select 'Root...' from the menu and select the MAX directory.

Backup. The first time you run PluginMgr, you should back up your 'plugin.ini' file. Select 'Backup' from the menu. PluginMgr will copy the current file to 'plugin.bak'.

Restore. To restore your original 'plugin.ini' file, select 'Restore'. If a backup file exists, PluginMgr will copy it to 'plugin.ini'.

Save. You can run PluginMgr stand-alone or use it as a launcher for MAX. If you just want to edit 'plugin.ini', run PluginMgr, make your changes, then select 'Save', then exit.

Launch. Select 'Launch' to launch MAX.



The Presets menu allows you to create named selections of plugins. For example, you might want to create task-related presets or presets for specific projects.

Save. Select the plugins you want, then click 'Save'. You will be prompted for a name for the preset. Enter a name. The preset will be added to the menu. You can see in the illustration I have created 4 presets: 'All', '1', '2', '3'.

Delete. To delete a preset, first select it from the menu. Then click 'Delete'. You will be asked to confirm the deletion of the last preset you clicked. Click 'OK' to accept the deletion.

Notes.

1. PluginMgr excludes a hard coded list of 'standard' directories from its plugin scan. If you put plugins in 'maxroot/MESHES' or the like, it won't find them.

2. PluginMgr will find directories under the max root path such as 'maxroot/REM' but if you put plugins outside the MAX path, such as 'C:\PLUGINS', it probably won't find them.

3. PluginMgr may not work correctly if your MAX directory is on a server. If you have VB5, you can download the source code and make changes and customizations.

4. Some plugins have dlls and other files they are dependent upon. If you have an existing MAX installation, and all the plugins are in 'maxroot/PLUGINS', and you move plugins to subdirectories, be sure you move all the files. If you aren't sure which files go with which plugin, you may be better off to just reinstall each plugin to a subdirectory.

5. Some plugins may have path dependencies which prevent you from moving the plugin out of 'maxroot/PLUGINS' into a subdirectory. In this case, you'll have to move it back or it may not work.

6. At the present time, PluginMgr use the following hard-coded list of file extensions for recognizing a plugin:
"DLC", "DLE", "DLI", "DLM", "DLO", "DLR", "DLT"
"DLU", "DLX", "DGR", "FLT", "RLA", "STB", "STR"
I might have missed a couple.

7. Backup your plugin.ini file before using this software, but not to 'plugin.bak'! (PluginMgr will overwrite it if has this name, just use any other name.)

8. Please notify me any bugs. I think there are 3 or 4 commercial plugins which MUST be installed to 'maxroot/PLUGINS' and cannot be managed by this technique.

That's about it. This code is freeware. Use at your own risk.

The download includes this page as documentation.

Download PluginMgr.zip (68K)

READ THIS:
If you get an error about the wrong version of the VB runtime dll, you may need a newer version. Mine's dated 7/19/97. You can download it here:

MSVBVM50.DLL, zipped, ~ 700k

Here's the VB5 source code:

Download PluginMgrSrc.zip (68K)

Please send suggestions, bug reports, and such to: edx@hk.super.net