Introduction

Chapters

A Short Tutorial >>>

Contents

• 1.1 Introduction
• 1.2 Installation
• 1.3 PS/Workshop SDK directory structure
• 1.4 The PS/Workshop module wizard

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1.1 Introduction

This manual provides a complete guide for developers who want to write their own modules for use with PS/Workshop. It contains the following chapters:

• Chapter 1 (this chapter) introduces you to the manual, tells you how to install the PS/Workshop SDK, and introduces you to the PS/Workshop AppWizard that is installed with the SDK.
• Chapter 2, "A Short Tutorial", provides a step-by-step example that you can work through to gain a basic understanding of the processes involved in writing your own modules. It explains how to create a simple module using the PS/Workshop AppWizard.
• Chapter 3, "Using COM in PS/Workshop" provides a brief introduction to COM, and the way that it is used in PS/Workshop.
• Chapter 4, "Event Handling Within A Module" explains how events and messages are passed from PS/Workshop to a module, and how they should subsequently be handled by the module.
• Chapter 5, "Module Structure" describes the structure of the default classes and functions available in a module created using the PS/Workshop AppWizard.
• Chapter 6, "The PS/Workshop Interfaces" is an introduction to the COM interfaces in PS/Workshop that can be used by your module to access PS/Workshop functionality.
• Chapter 7, "Adding a New Menu Item to PS/Workshop" explains how you can add new menus and menu commands to the PS/Workshop menu bar, to give users access to the functionality in your module.
• Chapter 9, "The Draw List" explains how you can control which parts of a document are displayed, and what options are used to display them.
• Chapter 8, "Registering Handlers for Different Filetypes" describes how to modify PS/Workshop to load and save files in formats other than the default file formats supported by the core version of PS/Workshop itself.
• Appendix A, "Interface Functions" is a complete reference for the COM interfaces provided by PS/Workshop that you can use in a PS/Workshop module.
• Appendix B, "Known Issues" describes miscellaneous issues relevant to developing modules for use in PS/Workshop.

This manual assumes that you are familiar with the functionality in the core version of PS/Workshop, as well as the mechanism for loading and unloading PS/Workshop modules. For more details, see the PS/Workshop V2 User Guide.

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1.2 Installation

In order to develop PS/Workshop modules, you need to install the PS/Workshop SDK (Software Development Kit). This needs to be installed when you install PS/Workshop itself, by choosing the appropriate option in the installation wizard. The SDK is installed by default for the "Typical" configuration, so if you installed PS/Workshop with this configuration, you already have the SDK.

If you do not have the SDK installed, run the installation again and ensure that the option is checked.

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1.3 PS/Workshop SDK directory structure

The PS/Workshop SDK consists of the following files and folders:

<INSTALL_DIR> 

<INSTALL_DIR>\Help

<INSTALL_DIR>\Modules

<INSTALL_DIR>\Modules\Source

<INSTALL_DIR>\Modules\Source\
Edge Blend

<INSTALL_DIR>\Modules\Tutorial

The example modules provided were written and compiled using Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 6.0 with Service Pack 4.0 installed.

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1.4 The PS/Workshop module wizard

When you install the SDK, a module wizard is copied to the Visual Studio directory. This wizard produces a module that contains all the code for successfully initialising the module as well as adding a new menu and submenu to PS/Workshop. It also sets up and registers a stub function that is called from the menu.

The module wizard is shown as "PSWorkshop AppWizard" in the Projects tab of the New dialog in Visual Studio.

If you do not see this wizard, copy <INSTALL_DIR> \PSWorkshopAddonWizard.awx to \Common\MSDev98\Template under the Visual Studio directory.

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