Creating Menu Commands (C#)

This topic shows how to create a C# add-in that adds menu commands to the context-sensitive menus of Windows Explorer vault views.

NOTE: Because SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM cannot force a reload of add-ins if they are written in .NET, all client machines must be restarted to ensure that the latest version of the add-in is used.

1. Start Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.
    

2. Click File > New > Project > Visual C# > Class Library.
    

3. Select .NET Framework 2.0 in the dropdown at the top of the dialog.
    

4. Type a project name in Name.
    

5. Click Browse and navigate to the folder where to create the project.
    

6. Click OK.
    

7. Right-click the project name in the Solution Explorer and click Add Reference.
    

   1. Click COM in the left-side panel, click PDMWorks Enterprise nnnn Type Library, and click Add.
       

   2. Click Assemblies > Framework in the left-side panel, click Microsoft.VisualBasic,  and click Add.
       

   3. Click Close.
       

8. Right-click the project name in the Solution Explorer and click Properties.
    

   1. Click Application > Assembly Information.
       

   2. Click Make assembly COM-Visible.
       

   3. Click OK.

 

9. Double-click Class1.cs in the Solution Explorer to open the code window.
    

10. At the top of the code window, type:
     

    using EdmLib;
    using Microsoft.VisualBasic;
     

11. Replace:

    public class Class1

     with:
     

    public class Class1 : IEdmAddIn5
     

12. In the code, right-click IEdmAddIn5 and click Implement Interface > Implement Interface.
     

13. Replace the add-in's implementation of IEdmAddIn5::GetAddInInfo with the following code:

public void GetAddInInfo(ref EdmAddInInfo poInfo, IEdmVault5 poVault, IEdmCmdMgr5 poCmdMgr)
{
       //Specify information to display in the add-in's Properties dialog box 
       poInfo.mbsAddInName = "Menu command sample";
       poInfo.mbsCompany = "SOLIDWORKS Corporation";
       poInfo.mbsDescription = "Adds menu command items";
       poInfo.mlAddInVersion = 1;

       //Specify the minimum required version of SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM
       poInfo.mlRequiredVersionMajor = 5;
       poInfo.mlRequiredVersionMinor = 2;
 
       //Register menu commands; SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM passes command IDs, 1000 and 1001, 
       //to IEdmAddIn5::OnCmd to indicate which command the user selects
       poCmdMgr.AddCmd(1000, "First command", (int)EdmMenuFlags.EdmMenu_Nothing, "This is the first command", "First command", 0, 99);
       poCmdMgr.AddCmd(1001, "Second command", (int)EdmMenuFlags.EdmMenu_MustHaveSelection, "This is the second command", "Second command", 1, 99);
}

The flag EdmMenuFlags.EdmMenu_MustHaveSelection means that the second command is only available if the user has selected one or more files or folders.

14. IEdmAddIn5::OnCmd is called when a menu command is selected by the user. Replace the add-in's implementation of IEdmAddIn5::OnCmd with the following code:
     

      public void OnCmd(ref EdmCmd poCmd, ref Array ppoData)
      {
        //Handle the menu command
        {
                string CommandName = null;
                if (poCmd.mlCmdID == 1000)
                {
                    CommandName = "The first command.";
                }
                else
                {
                    CommandName = "The second command.";
                }
                //Retrieve the bounds of the array containing the selected files and folders 
                int index = 0;
                int last = 0;
                index = Information.LBound(ppoData);
                last = Information.UBound(ppoData);
                string StrID = null;
 
                //Create a message showing the names and IDs of all selected files and folders 
                string message = null;
                message = "You have selected the following files and folders: " + Constants.vbLf;
                while (index <= last)
                {
                    if (((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID1 == 0)
                    {
                        message = message + "Folder: (ID=";
                        StrID = ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID2.ToString();
                        message = message + StrID + ") ";
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        message = message + "File: (ID=";
                        StrID = ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID1.ToString();
                        message = message + StrID + ") ";
                    }
 
                    message = message + ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mbsStrData1 + Constants.vbLf;
                    index = index + 1;
                }
 
                //Display the message
                EdmVault5 v = default(EdmVault5);
                v = (EdmVault5)poCmd.mpoVault;
                v.MsgBox(poCmd.mlParentWnd, message, EdmMBoxType.EdmMbt_OKOnly, CommandName);
        }
      }

15. Click Build > Build Solution to build the add-in.

16. Install the add-in through the SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM Administration tool:
     
    1. Open the SOLIDWORKS Enterprise PDM Administration tool.
        
    2. Expand the vault where you want to install this add-in and log in as Admin.
        
    3. Right-click Add-ins and click New Add-in.
        
    4. Browse to project_path\project_name\project_name\bin\Debug, click project_name.dll and Interop.EdmLib.dll.
        
    5. Click Open.
        
    6. Click OK.
        
    7. Click OK.

    
     

17. Right-click inside a vault view in Windows Explorer. First command appears in the context-sensitive menu.
     

18. Right-click a file in the vault view and click Second command. The add-in displays a dialog similar to the following:

 

 

Complete Source Code

Class1.cs
 

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using EdmLib;
using Microsoft.VisualBasic;
 
 
namespace CreateMenuCommand_CSharp
{
    public class Class1 : IEdmAddIn5
    {
        #region IEdmAddIn5 Members
 
        public void GetAddInInfo(ref EdmAddInInfo poInfo, IEdmVault5 poVault, IEdmCmdMgr5 poCmdMgr)
        {
             
            poInfo.mbsAddInName = "Menu command sample";
            poInfo.mbsCompany = "SOLIDWORKS Corporation";
            poInfo.mbsDescription = "Adds menu command items";
            poInfo.mlAddInVersion = 1;
            poInfo.mlRequiredVersionMajor = 5;
            poInfo.mlRequiredVersionMinor = 2;
 
            
            poCmdMgr.AddCmd(1000, "First command", (int)EdmMenuFlags.EdmMenu_Nothing, "This is the first command", "First command", 0, 99);
            poCmdMgr.AddCmd(1001, "Second command", (int)EdmMenuFlags.EdmMenu_MustHaveSelection, "This is the second command", "Second command", 1, 99);
        }
 
        public void OnCmd(ref EdmCmd poCmd, ref Array ppoData)
        {
            
            {
                string CommandName = null;
                if (poCmd.mlCmdID == 1000)
                {
                    CommandName = "The first command.";
                }
                else
                {
                    CommandName = "The second command.";
                }
                 
                int index = 0;
                int last = 0;
                index = Information.LBound(ppoData);
                last = Information.UBound(ppoData);
                string StrID = null;
 
                 
                string message = null;
                message = "You have selected the following files and folders: " + Constants.vbLf;
                while (index <= last)
                {
                    if (((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID1 == 0)
                    {
                        message = message + "Folder: (ID=";
                        StrID = ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID2.ToString();
                        message = message + StrID + ") ";
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        message = message + "File: (ID=";
                        StrID = ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mlObjectID1.ToString();
                        message = message + StrID + ") ";
                    }
 
                    message = message + ((EdmCmdData)ppoData.GetValue(index)).mbsStrData1 + Constants.vbLf;
                    index = index + 1;
                }
 
                
                EdmVault5 v = default(EdmVault5);
                v = (EdmVault5)poCmd.mpoVault;
                v.MsgBox(poCmd.mlParentWnd, message, EdmMBoxType.EdmMbt_OKOnly, CommandName);
            }
        }
 
        #endregion
    }
}