User Guide
DLL Component
Sharing
The main advantage of the DLL Component is that it allows you to create your own components without compromising on performance safe
in the knowledge that any trade secrets are kept hidden from the world. All you need to do is wrap your DLL Component in a module.
There are then two ways you can share your new modules with others.
Share the DLL Separately
Simply share the dll and your schematic with the module in it. Any recipient may need to modify the path to the dll inside the schematic to
match where they end up putting it. If they don't do this then the module will not work.
If you want to share the source code as well then this is the method of distribution you want to go for. It's also the route you'll have to take if
your dll uses any other external libraries.
Embed the Dll
If you're not distributing the source code and want to send the module as a kind of black box then you can embed the dll inside the DLL
component.
This is really easy. Go to your DLL component and set the Embed input to True:
That's it – your dll is now embedded in the DLL Component. You can copy and paste it and the dll will be retained. If you want to you can
delete the Dll path input value as it's not needed. You might do this if you wanted to hide where the dll was originally located but it's
completely up to you.
To share this simply send the module in a schematic.
Pros and Cons of Embedding
On most occasions embedding the dll will be the go to option However, there are some disadvantages of embedding that are worth noting.
We've listed the pros and cons below.
PROS
Easy to distribute – there is no separate dll file and no need to worry about file paths.
Independent Globals – you can create global variables to store persistent data that won't be shared.
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