Installing Plugins and WCAs

In This Topic

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.