Installing Plugins and WCAs

Owned by Matthew Wagner
Last updated: Mar 16, 2021
2 min read

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This topic describes how to install plugins in XperienCentral. Once the development of a plugin is complete, you need to deploy it to XperienCentral. Plugins can be deployed as a standalone JAR file or several plugins can be archived in a WCA (WebManager Component Archive), which is simply a ZIP file containing multiple plugin JAR files. In XperienCentral, plugins can be deployed in two ways:

  • Using the Plugin Management Console
  • By copying the plugin JAR file or WCA compressed file to the <XperienCentral-root>/work/deploy directory.

Installing a Plugin or WCA Using the Plugin Management Console

To install or update plugins using the Plugin Management console, follow these steps:

  1. In XperienCentral, navigate to Configuration > Plugins.
  2. Click [Browse] to install or update a plugin.
  3. Browse to the plugin JAR file or WCA ZIP file, select it and click [Open].
  4. Click [Apply]. The plugin or plugins contained in the WCA are installed.
  5. Press [F5] to refresh the XperienCentral Workspace. You will now see the new plugin(s) in the list of plugins.

Installing a Plugin or WCA Using the work/deploy Directory

Plugins can be deployed to XperienCentral using the <XperienCentral-root>/work/deploy directory. When a plugin is deployed to this directory, it is immediately installed in XperienCentral. Once the plugin is installed, the JAR file(s) are deleted from this directory. To install or update a plugin using the <XperienCentral-root>/work/deploy directory:

  1. Copy the plugin JAR file or WCA ZIP file to the <XperienCentral-root>/work/deploy directory in your deployment. If XperienCentral is running, it will automatically install all standalone plugins and/or those contained within a WCA. If XperienCentral is not running, the plugin(s) will be installed the next time XperienCentral is started. Once installed, you can manage these plugins using the Plugin Management console.
  2. Press [F5] in any XperienCentral sessions that were running during the plugin installation(s). You should now see the new plugin(s) in the list of plugins in the Plugin Management console.