Project Provider Framework

The Project Provider Framework is an unsupported API used to extend LabVIEW in various ways, mostly relating to the project interface. While NI does not provide official support for Project Providers, nor guarantee their stability in future versions, they have provided some documentation as well as a community forum for the framework; this was originally only available to NI-approved developers but has since been opened to the general public.

Features

Things that can be done using Project Providers:

Add Menu Items (globally or per specific item types)
Add Toolbar Buttons
Add Items to the Project Tree
Add Right-Click (Popup or Context) Menu Items
Customize the Double-Click Behavior of an Item
Modify the Name or Icon of an Item in the Project Tree
Save More Information Related to an Item
Drag and Drop Items to and Within a Project

Primary vs Secondary Providers

Providers can be either a Primary or a Secondary Provider.

A Primary Provider puts one or more new item types into the project tree.
A Secondary Provider adds additional functionality to existing items, but is not responsible for creating or managing those items.

Therefore, a Secondary Provider does not cause new items to be displayed in the tree but attaches to items shown by other Primary Providers.

Project Provider INI File

A Project Provider is defined by an INI file located in the [LabVIEW 20xx]\resource\Framework\Providers\GProviders directory in the LabVIEW installation directory. This file contains paths to "interface VI's", which determine the locations of other VI's that implement the plugin's functionality.

[Provider]
SupportedType={D60740D6-F254-4BBC-5675-8858F35B810E}
GlobalItemInterfaceVI=..\SecondaryProviderExample1\SecondaryProviderExample1_Global_Interface.vi
ItemInterfaceVI=..\SecondaryProviderExample1\SecondaryProviderExample1_Item_Interface.vi
ProviderInterfaceVI=..\SecondaryProviderExample1\SecondaryProviderExample1_Provider_Interface.vi
IsPrimary=0
LicenseName=None
InterfaceVersion=1.0
Signature=J7W9927AAAAAA5TBNTSSTTLWR29CNT9X

The INI files can contain the following keys:

Keys	Description
SupportedInterface	Indicates which interfaces are supported by the provider.
SupportedType	Specifies a GUID that represents the type of project item type. (See ProjectItems) Must be formatted as follows: {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX} For a Secondary Provider, this can point to the Alias of the item type it wants to attach to instead of the GUID.
Alias	Is a unique string that like the GUID, is used to identify the project item type (applies to Primary Providers only).
IsPrimary	1 – Primary provider (defines a new item type in the project). 0 – Secondary provider (adds functionality to the existing item(s) in the project).
ItemInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “Item” interface.
ProviderInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “Provider” interface.
GlobalItemInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the ”Global” item interface.
CreateNewWizardInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “CreateNewWizard” interface.
SourceControlInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “SourceControl” interface.
DeployInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “Deploy” interface.
BuildInterfaceVI	Defines the VI that enumerates the “Build” interface.
CreateNewWizardHost	(Primary providers only) Defines which “New” menu to add to e.g., Source, Build.
InterfaceVersion	Specifies the interface version used by the provider. Currently, this must be set to 1.0.
Signature	Digital signature – generated by NI. (Or See Below)

Supported Types

The SupportedType key in a Primary Provider’s INI file acts as the type ID of the item it creates. If it is a new type this GUID must be in the form of: {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}

The SupportedType key in a Secondary Provider’s INI file defines which item type is supported (or Alias in the case of Primary Providers).

See ProjectItems for the list of LabVIEW Item Types.

Supported Interfaces

Primary Providers specify their supported interfaces by including them in their INI file. Secondary Providers specify their supported interfaces through:

Implicitly inheriting the Interfaces through the Primary Provider they support as defined by the SupportedType key
Explicitly defining the Interfaces through the regular keys in the INI file just as the Primary Provider does

Signature

For LabVIEW to load a project provider, its INI file must contain a valid "signature" consisting of an enciphered MD5 hash of certain other values in the INI file, generated using a signing tool provided by NI. This is an artifact from before the framework was officially made public, though the method of generating the signature had been reverse-engineered and was publicly known before that point.

Algorithm

What follows is an explanation of how the "signature" is determined. If you are using the official signing tool (or an unofficial one) you do not need to know this, but it might be useful for tool developers or anyone curious.

First, take the values (not the keys) in the INI file in order, and concatenate them. Only include the values for keys in this list (rule of thumb: string values, not Boolean or numeric values, and don't include the Signature key of course):

"InterfaceVersion"
"LicenseRestrictions"
"LicenseVersion"
"LicenseName"
"Alias"
"SupportedType"
"SupportedInterface"
"CreateNewWizardHost"
"BuildInterfaceVI"
"DeployInterfaceVI"
"SourceControlInterfaceVI"
"CreateNewWizardInterfaceVI"
"GlobalItemInterfaceVI"
"ProviderInterfaceVI"
"ItemInterfaceVI"

Do not include spaces or other delimiters between values in the concatenated string. Take the MD5 hash of this string, and apply the following substitution cipher to each of the digits:

Change: 0123456789ABCDEF
    To: T3C5K7W9SBNRJLX2

Finally, for each pair of two consecutive digits, switch them. For example, CRTTR3X7 would become RCTT3R7X.

Interface VIs

The framework specifies a list of interfaces that providers must implement. Each interface VI is a list of paths to dispatch VIs that point to each of the required methods that the providers must implement. Only the methods that the provider will provide need to be implemented. The VIs implementing these methods must conform to the particular Connector Pane but the contents can be completely customized. Once a provider-based event occurs the provider framework will run the appropriate VI if a method has been customized for that event in the provider. For example if Item.OnSelect has been implemented, it will be called when the project item is selected. The Interface VIs:

Build
CreateNewWizard
Global
Item
ProjectDeployItem
Provider
SourceControl

Build Interface Methods

Primary Providers Only Defines events that apply to builds, i.e. items under Build Specifications, in the project tree. These include:

Method	Definition
Invoke
Preview
IsRunnable
Run
On-Duplicate

CreateNewWizard Interface Methods

Primary Providers Only Defines events that occur while adding items of new types to the project tree.

Method	Definition
Finalize	Description: Called after the new item has been created. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard Item (ItemRef) - Reference to the newly created item Outputs: None
GetCreateNewWeight	Description: Called when the appropriate New menu is being constructed. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard Outputs: Weight (I32) - Controls the relative position of the entry in the New menu
GetNewItemInfo	Description: Called whenever right-clicked on an item that supports this New menu. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard Outputs: NewInfo (CreateNewInfo) - Unknown
IncludeItem	Description: Called when the appropriate New menu is being constructed. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard Outputs: IncludeItem (Boolean) - Controls inclusion of the item in the New menu based on some logic
Init	Description: Called to initialize the wizard. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard Outputs: Enable Next (Boolean) - Controls whether the CreateNewWizard_Invoke is called or not on creating a new item. Enable Finish (Boolean) - Unknown Label (String) - The text that shows up in the New pop-up menu
Invoke	Description: Called when an entry added to a New menu by this provider is selected. Inputs: Wizard (ItemRef) - Reference to the wizard New Item Parent (mxLvNIIM) - Item Moniker representing the parent of the item to be created Outputs: Canceled (Boolean) - Controls whether the framework should create the new item (false if done through VI Server)

Global Interface Methods

Defines global-level events that are not tied into a specific object type.

Method	Definition
Init	Description: Called every time the provider is loaded. This happens when LabVIEW.exe runs and whenever a project explorer window is created (open, new, etc.). It should be used to construct menus and do any other initialization tasks. If licensing is not integrated, the check should be performed here (in addition to any licensing-based initialization). Inputs: Object (ItemRef) - Reference to the global item Outputs: None
OnCommand	Description: Called when executing global menu and toolbar commands. Should be used to define or call button/menu behaviors. Inputs: Item (ItemRef) - Reference to the global item CommandID (String) - Menu tag of the command that was selected (defined when registered) Outputs: None
OnUpdateCommand	Description: Called during framework update operations. Building menus calls this for each customized menu item. When in the project window, this is called in a loop to make sure all the menus are in the most recent state. Inputs: Item (ItemRef) - Reference to the global item Menu Item (mxLvMenuItem) - In The menu item being updated Outputs: None
Exit	Description: Not currently called. Inputs: Item (ItemRef) - Reference to the global item Outputs: None

Item Interface Methods

Defines events that occur to individual items in the project tree.

ProjectDeployItem Interface Methods

Defines events that support deploying of an item in the project tree.

Provider Interface Methods

Defines events that occur to multiple items in the project tree.

SourceControl Interface Methods

Defines events that apply to source code control functionality.