Custom Revit addin Installation Questions

[ehall8CEK4]

Hello, I have a series of questions related to the installation of a custom revit addin on other computers.

1.  Could anyone explain how to make a custom installer to make this easier to install on other computers?

2.  When using Jeremy's revit addin, dozens of .dll files are copied to the /Addins folder alongside the custom plugin, including the RevitAPI.dll and RevitAPIUI.dll that I already referenced in the Revit installation folder.  Why do we need all of these .dll's?  How do I know which ones I can exclude from installation?

3.  For the .addin file, do I need to have both a "Command" and an "Application" addin type? Or will just "Application" be enough to make the plugin work?

[ricaun]

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@ehall8CEK4 wrote:

1.  Could anyone explain how to make a custom installer to make this easier to install on other computers?

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The simplest way to create an installation is to use the Inno Setup - https://jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php

Is free and easy to create an installation to put the files in the Addin folder.

I prefer to use the Autodesk App Bundle instead of putting the files in the Addin folder.

• Info about the AppBundle: https://ricaun.com/appbundle/
• Example with the Inno Setup using the AppBundle: https://github.com/ricaun/RevitLookup.Installation

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2.  When using Jeremy's revit addin, dozens of .dll files are copied to the /Addins folder alongside the custom plugin, including the RevitAPI.dll and RevitAPIUI.dll that I already referenced in the Revit installation folder.  Why do we need all of these .dll's?  How do I know which ones I can exclude from installation?

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You don't need to send the Revit files reference. If Revit already has that file reference you don't need to deploy it with your plugin.

3.  For the .addin file, do I need to have both a "Command" and an "Application" addin type? Or will just "Application" be enough to make the plugin work?

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Just the "Application" is enough, most of the time your application gonna create the panel with the "Command".

[ctm_mka]

To Expand a little bit on Ricaun's answer:

2. In whatever IDE (ex. Visual Studio) you are using to code, set the references to Copy Local = False, this prevents them from being copied when compiling.

2. In general, "IExternalCommand" is usable only when a project is open, and generally called from a toolbar button. "IExternalApplication" can be called with no project open, either from the "External Tool" drop down and on Add-Ins toolbar, or run when Revit starts. For example, if you wish to create a toolbar that hosts many other addins, the toolbar is an "IExternalApplication" and gets loaded with the "OnStartup" event. All the buttons on the toolbar are "IexternalCommand". Further, how the add in is defined in the .Addin file affects how it is loaded.