Customizing the editor framework using add-ins

Summary This topic describes the types of editing customizations—and their respective deployment options—you can create using add-ins.

In this topic

Editor customizations and deployment options
Creating an editor command add-in
Creating an editor tool add-in
Creating an editor extension add-in

Editor customizations and deployment options

The editing framework can be customized to add your own commands, tools, tasks, extensions, shape constructors, and object inspectors. For an overview of these customizations, see ArcGIS Desktop editing for developers.

Many of these customizations can be built and deployed as add-ins, while others require development of custom components. For more information on customizing using add-ins, see Building add-ins for ArcGIS Desktop. For information on how to create editor customizations using components, see Editor framework customizations. For general information on components, see Extending ArcObjects.

Developing and deploying your customizations as add-ins is the preferred method.

The following table shows the various editor customization types and their supported customization methods:

Customization type	Add-in	Component
Commands	Yes*	Yes
Context menus	No	Yes
Tools	Yes**	Yes
Construction tools	No	Yes
Tasks	No	Yes
Extensions	Yes*	Yes
Shape constructors	No	Yes
Object inspectors	No	Yes
Snap agents	No	Yes
Edit sketch extensions	No	Yes

* Cannot implement additional interfaces.

** Cannot implement additional interfaces or use shape constructors.

Any editor customization that requires you to implement an interface outside the framework or that requires registering with an editor component category needs to be created as a Component Object Model (COM) component.

Creating an editor command add-in

Creating an editor command add-in follows the same workflow as creating a regular ArcGIS command add-in. A reference to the editor is obtained in the add-in constructor. To enable the command while editing, set the Enabled property in the OnUpdate method. See the following code example:

[C#]


        public class EditCommand: ESRI.ArcGIS.Desktop.AddIns.Button private IEditor3
    m_Editor;

public EditCommand()
{
    //Get the editor extension.
    UID uID = new UIDClass();
    uID.Value = "esriEditor.Editor";
    m_Editor = ArcMap.Application.FindExtensionByCLSID(uID)as IEditor3;
}

protected override void OnUpdate()
{
    Enabled = (m_Editor.EditState == esriEditState.esriStateEditing);
}

[VB.NET]


        Public Class Button1
    Inherits ESRI.ArcGIS.Desktop.AddIns.Button
    Dim m_Editor As IEditor3
    
    Public Sub New()
        'Get the editor extension.
        Dim editorUID As UID
        editorUID = New UID
        editorUID.Value = "esriEditor.Editor"
        m_Editor = (My.ArcMap.Application.FindExtensionByCLSID(editorUID))
    End Sub
    
    Protected Overrides Sub OnUpdate()
    Enabled = (m_Editor.EditState = esriEditState.esriStateEditing)
End Sub

The Curve conversion add-in is an example of an editor command add-in.

Creating an editor tool add-in

If you need a simple tool that provides its own feedback, geometry, or map selection, you can create your edit tool as an add-in. Add-ins cannot implement other interfaces nor can they be used to create construction tools.

For information on how to build a tool add-in, see Building custom UI elements using add-ins. As with command add-ins, you'll have to put the editor initialization in the tool add-in constructor and check for the edit state in the OnUpdate method.

Creating an editor extension add-in

For information on using add-ins to create editor extensions, see Building editor extensions using add-ins.