Plug-ins in Strange Eons

Strange Eons can be extended with plug-ins that allow you to add new card types, support new games, add tools, and more. This page describes how to find out what plug-ins are available, how to install and uninstall them, and what to do if you want to submit your own plug-ins for inclusion on this site.

The easiest way to get new plug-ins is by opening the plug-in catalogue using the Toolbox | Catalogue command. This command will download the current plug-in catalogue from this Web site and show you a list of the available plug-ins with descriptions. Then you simply check the plug-ins you want and press Download and Install. Strange Eons fetches the plug-ins and installs them for you. The next time you view the catalogue, Strange Eons will let you know if any of your installed plug-ins have updates available.

Use common sense when installing plug-ins or extensions from untrusted third parties. Treat these files as you would treat any other software that you download to your computer.

The Plug-in Catalogue

The plug-in catalogue, available with the Toolbox | Catalogue command, connect to this Web site and download a list of available plug-ins. You simply look through what is available, choose what you want to install by checking its entry in the catalogue list, and then press Download and Install to install your selections.

The catalogue will also tell you when an update is available for plug-ins that you have installed, and what plug-ins have been released since your last visit. The following icons are used to indicate the status of a catalogue listing:

	New: This plug-in is not installed, and is new or updated since your last visit.
	Not installed: This plug-in is not installed.
	Update Available: This plug-in is installed, but an updated version is available for download.
	Up to date: This plug-in is installed, and you are running the latest version.
	This plug-in is installed, and your version is newer than the one in the catalogue. You might see this is you are a plug-in developer, if the catalogue is out of date, or if the ID information in the plug-in or catalogue has been set incorrectly.

Tip for Developers: search tokens with an equals sign (=) match against keys in the catalogue listing: md5=2e4 matches listings whose md5 value contains 2e4. To view listing data, right click on the description area and choose Show Expert Information

When you first open the catalogue, it will automatically select plug-ins that have updates available. It will also select certain core components for installation if they are not already installed. (You can change this from the application's Preferences settings if you wish.) You can right click on the plug-in list to clear these selections, to select everything, or to select all core components.

To search the available plug-ins, enter your search terms in the field at the bottom of the listings. The search terms will be applied to the name, description, credits, catalogue ID, and other fields. Entries that don't match will be filtered out, leaving only the listings that match your request. To display all of the listings again, delete the text in the search field.

Installation

Once you have selected the plug-ins that you wish to install, press the Download and Install button to begin installation. Each plug-in that you requested will be downloaded to a temporary file, then installed. Installation of a plug-in can take a little while depending on the type of compression used to package the bundle. You may notice that the installer installs more plug-ins than the number you requested. This is because Strange Eons checks for dependencies: if a selected plug-in requires another plug-in to work correctly, that plug-in is also installed or updated if needed.

The catalogue will also warn you before you install if it knows that some of your selections will require a restart to take effect, but it can't always tell ahead of time. Either way, if a restart is required, a badge will appear at the bottom of the application window. You do not need to restart right away if don't wish to; you can just keep working (without the new plug-in, of course).

Third-party Catalogues

Plug-in authors can submit their plug-ins for inclusion in the catalogue. In addition, it is also possible for plug-in authors to set up third party catalogues on their own Web sites if they wish. To access such a catalogue, simply enter the catalogue's home URL into the Catalogue URL field and press Enter.

Core Component Plug-ins

Core Component Installation Dialog From time to time Strange Eons may open a window stating that a plug-in is required to continue. These required plug-ins are called core components. Core component plug-ins are used to split Strange Eons up into smaller pieces. That way you don't have to download as much when you want to update the program, because you will only need to download the pieces that are different.

By checking a box on the window that opens, you can tell Strange Eons to install any additional core plug-ins that may be needed automatically, without asking first. This is a convenient choice if you have an "always on" network connection (not dial-up).

When you first run Strange Eons, it will suggest that you check for core components and plug-in updates. If you choose to follow this advice, the catalogue will open and some of the most common core components will be preselected, so you can download them together. In addition, you can right click on the table and choose "Select All Core Components" to preinstall all core components in a single go.

Setting Up Automatic Updates

Strange Eons can be set to automatically check for updates from time to time. Initially, this feature is turned off: you will only find out about updates when you open the plug-in catalogue. To get Strange Eons to check for you, choose Toolbox | Updates and select the frequency with which you want to check. For most people, once a month is a good choice.

Once you turn on automatic update checks, you can also choose whether you want to be told when new plug-ins are available in the catalogue, and when a new version of Strange Eons is released.

When plug-in updates are detected, you can ask Strange Eons to do one of three things:

Tell you about them. A message window will pop up in the corner. The same window appears when a new version of Strange Eons is released or when new plug-ins are available, if you choose those options.
Open the catalogue. The plug-in catalogue will open, allowing you to choose which updates to install.
Immediately install the updates. Strange Eons will, without much fanfare, download and install the updates and then let you know if you need to restart for them to take effect.

Managing Installed Plug-ins

To manage installed plug-ins, choose Toolbox | Manage Plug-ins. This will open the plug-in manager, where you can see what plug-ins are installed, uninstall selected plug-ins, assign keyboard shortcuts, and more. If for some reason you ever need to access the installed plug-in bundle files, you can do this by pressing the Open Plug-in Folder button.

Installing Plug-ins "Manually"

Tip for plug-in developers: Sometimes it is convenient to directly install a plug-in script or a plug-in class on the class path. These advanced installation options are available by holding Shift while pressing the add (+) button on the Plug-in Manager window.

Plug-ins are packaged into special files called plug-in bundles. Sometimes you may download such a file and then have to install it yourself instead of doing this automatically through a catalogue page. For example, you might have downloaded a plug-in from a third-party Web site.

To install such plug-ins, you can simply drag-and-drop them from your download folder to the Strange Eons window, and Strange Eons will offer to install them. Alternatively, you can open the plug-in manager and press the big button, then choose the plug-in bundle file that you wish to install.

Uninstalling Plug-ins

Core components are not plug-ins in the usual sense as they are needed for the application to function properly. They are usually uninstalled only if the application is uninstalled. If you need to remove one manually, choose Open Plug-in Folder, exit Strange Eons, then delete the core-xxx.selibrary file.

To uninstall an installed plug-in, first open the plug-in manager by choosing Toolbox | Manage Plug-ins. Next, select the plug-in that you wish to uninstall and press the big button. Regular plug-ins are uninstalled immediately, but extensions will continue to work until you restart Strange Eons.

When you uninstall a plug-in, Strange Eons does not always delete the associated plug-in bundle right away. A plug-in bundle can contain multiple plug-ins, so the bundle won't be deleted until all of the plug-ins it contains are uninstalled. Even then, an unused bundle usually can't be deleted right away for technical reasons. In fact, Strange Eons often can't delete the bundle until the next time you start the application.

Writing Your Own Plug-ins

You can write your own plug-ins to add new features to Strange Eons. To get started, download the Plug-in Authoring Kit and look at the tutorials in Miriam's Basement.

Submitting a Plug-in to the Catalogue

If you have written a plug-in you can submit it for inclusion in the catalogue. I hope some day to set up a special page for doing this, but in the meantime you should just contact me via the feedback page and we'll go from there.

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May 15, 2008 — Updated January 01, 2011

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