Standalone addon modules

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to give you a general overview of the various methods availble to you for creating plugins.

Common types of plugins

Standalone addon modules

A standalone addon module is a plugin that is almost entirely self contained. As in, it doesn't really change anything; it just adds something.

Througout this section I'll be using ViaStep's Premium Gallery Module as example of a standalone addon module:

Standalone addons typically consist of three elements:

1. Button on the Main Menu - links to the plugin's management module
2. Management Module - Where you creates/edit stuff, set up the various config options for the plugin, etc. In the photo gallery example, this is where you create and edit your photo albums, upload new images to use, etc.
3. Page Editor Object - Draggable icon in the Page Editor that you drag-and-drop onto a site page. These typically have some sort of properties dialog that pops up when you drag the object onto a page so you can choose from various options related to exactly what you want to place on this particular page.
4. Website Display Element - This what displays on the actual website when you drop your plugin's Page Editor Object onto a site page and save/preview the page.

Step 2: Figure out how best to integrate your hacks

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