Lasernet 10.

Adam McStravick
Revision 1
2021-06-18
Contents.
1 Introduction..............................................................................3
1.1 Who Should Use This Guide? ............................................3
2 Terms of Use. ...........................................................................4
3 Module SDK .............................................................................5
3.1 Introduction ........................................................................5
3.1.1 Input Module ................................................................. 5
3.1.2 Engine Module .............................................................. 5
3.1.3 Output Module .............................................................. 5
3.1.4 Modifier ......................................................................... 5
3.1.5 EFSTech.Lasernet.DLL ................................................. 5
3.1.6 Your Module ................................................................. 5
3.2 Learning by example ..........................................................6
3.2.1 File Input Module .......................................................... 6
3.2.2 File Output Module ...................................................... 11
3.2.3 Pass-Through Engine.................................................. 11
3.2.4 Base64 Modifier .......................................................... 11
3.3 Logging ............................................................................11
3.4 Licensing .........................................................................12
3.5 Third Party Module ...........................................................12
3.5.1 Information needed in module DLL for third party
module ............................................................................... 12
1 Introduction.

This manual is written for external developers who wish to create 3rd party modules for Lasernet in .NET. It is
intended primarily to show how to use the different classes and methods which are currently implemented and
supported. It also explains the purpose and operation of each module and modifier and how to use them to fit
your requirements.

Throughout the document the reader is addressed as you, where “you” means all the above-mentioned
persons.

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2 Terms of Use.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, or translated into any language in
any form by any means without the prior written permission of Formpipe Software. The information in this
manual is subject to change without notice. Any company names or data is fictive unless otherwise stated.

Formpipe Software shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from the use of this manual
and the information contained therein (including errors or omissions).

Trademarks of other companies mentioned in this document appear for identification purposes only and are
the property of their respective companies.

© 2021 Formpipe Software.

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3 Module SDK.

This manual shows how to extend Lasernet's connectivity and processing abilities to suit your specific needs.
Sometimes the standard modules do not fit your exact requirements when trying to connect to systems not
widely used. It is also possible that the standard engines or scripting functions do not give you the options
you need to fetch, transform or deliver your data. In Lasernet it is possible for any .NET developer to write
custom modules for Lasernet. Thus, the ability to extend Lasernet is almost limitless.

3.1.1 Input Module

Retrieve data from any system according to any schedule or options you like. You can even make the
module into a server which waits for other systems to connect and deliver data.

3.1.2 Engine Module

Process the data any way you like. An engine can create new Jobs.

3.1.3 Output Module

Deliver the data to any system - the way you want.

3.1.4 Modifier
Modify data in any way you wish. A modifier works on just one Job.

3.1.5 EFSTech.Lasernet.DLL
The EFSTech.Lasernet.DLL is the bridge between the world of Lasernet and your world. It contains all the
classes you need to make your own modules for Lasernet. A reference to EFSTech.Lasernet.DLL must be
added in your project:

3.1.6 Your Module

A Lasernet module is basically a DLL/Class Library that implements a number of classes and methods.
Depending on the functionality of your module you can reference the relevant modules and classes from the
EFSTech.Lasernet.DLL. The .NET Framework 4.8 is installed per standard by Lasernet and can be used for
your project if it is sufficient for your needs. To compile the DLL on a stand-alone computer without Lasernet
at least .NET Framework 4.8 must be installed.

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A good starting point is to run through a few simple examples. A File Input module, a Pass-Through module
and a File Output module are easy to make and simple to understand.

3.2.1 File Input Module

A simple File Input module needs a configuration page with a folder to look for files in and a scan mask to
specify the name(s) of the files. In our example we will just look for *.*.

A page inherits from a normal UserControl. It has a constructor and an ApplyChanges method where a
ConfigurationObject is passed. The ConfigurationObject makes it possible to read and write settings in the
Lasernet configuration.

A simple page could look like this:

And the code behind reading and writing the path:

The ConfigurationObject (inherited from Settings class) has functions for reading and writing different types
of data. In our example we write and read a String with a Key named "DirectoryPath" containing our path.
Look at the Settings class in the reference for more info on the different types.

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JobModuleUI
Now that we have our page, we need to implement a JobModuleUI. The JobModuleUI tells Lasernet what
the module can do (input, engine, output), constructs the page(s), sets up the properties for the Property
Editor and returns custom icons. NOTE: An icon is not required and an implementation of GetIcon can be
omitted.

NB! When you add the icon file to the project, you must mark the Build Action as an “Embedded Resource”
in the File Properties of the file – otherwise you will keep getting the default icon. Remember you need both
16x16px and 32x32px versions of the icon.

Every module in Lasernet needs a unique GUID. Create your own and use it throughout your code.

The first line in the code above is the construction of a ModuleAttribute for our UI class. It describes the type
name of the module, the module type and the GUID of the module.

In CreatePages we can see our settings page being created and given a name. In GetIcon a FileInput.ico is
returned which has been added as an Embedded Resource (build type) in our Class Library.

CanActAsInput might seem redundant but must be implemented and return true.

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Options:

• Scheduling. Implement the function 'IsSchedulable' and return bits for the type of module where scheduling
is enabled. typeInput = 2 and typeOutput = 4. If you want no scheduling enabled, return 0. If you want only
scheduling when module is working as an input module, then return 2. If both, return 6.
• Combining. Implement the function 'IsCombinable' in the same fashion as with scheduling above.
• Pausing. Implement 'IsPausable' and return false if you wish to turn this feature off.
• Deliverer. Implement 'deliveryControlEnabled' and return true to enable.
• Prevent spaces in module name by implementing 'allowSpaceInName' and return false.

The Lasernet Property Editor is supported and recommended but not required. Adding Properties to the
module is easy;

Implementing GetProperties is all which is needed. Here properties are added to the list;

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The following kinds of properties are supported; String, StringEncrypted, Integer, Boolean, DateTime,
Double, Enum, Color, Rectangle and File.

If properties need to be disabled based on some logic, EnableDisableProperties should be implemented.

Such an example exists in the CSharp File Input module where poll interval is disabled if polling is disabled.

Settings are automatically saved using the SettingName supplied with the property, however if special
handling is required then SetPropertyValues can be overridden for the loading of settings and the different
SetProperty handlers for each type can be overridden for saving. Remarked example exists in CSharp File
Input module.

Some of the pages in the Developer are able to show Details and Default Destination. To add this support to
a module the following two functions must be overridden;

JobModule
The code actually reading the files must be implemented in a JobModule. OnStartInputProcessing is called
when the module is booted and OnStopInputProcessing is called when it is shutdown. These methods are
only called once per configuration and not per instance of a module. This means that threads must be started
per instance of the module passing info about the configuration of the instance. It is a requirement that
OnStartInputProcessing returns, so spawning a thread is necessary.

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In the code above all instances of our File Input module are returned in a string array. For each of them we
spawn a thread where we tell it to perform the code in ThreadJob method, passing the configuration object
for the module as a parameter.

In the thread code (ThreadJob method), files are read from disk in the path specified in the configuration.
Data is put in a new Job. JobInfo's are added to the Job. A JobContext is created which is basically a group
of Jobs (in case more than one file was read). The Job is added to the JobContext. The Job is then passed
on to all destinations.

Files must be renamed, moved or deleted to prevent the module from picking up the file over and over. A
hash of the filenames could be stored in a database, if none of the above options are possible.

OnStopInputProcessing must wait for all threads to stop before returning.

An example of the whole JobModule can be found in the sample folder.

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3.2.2 File Output Module
An output module receives data in a JobContext in the OnJobsReceived handler. Based on the successful
delivery of the data to the output destination, the jobs are committed or failed. Jobs are not passed on since
output modules have no destinations.

Example of how all the jobs in the JobContext are delivered and committed:

In our example we use a JobInfo for the actual file name of the outputted files. In our File Input module
example, we set this same JobInfo with the actual filename of the input file. Therefore, if you use these
examples make sure you do not use the same input and output folder.

CanActAsOutput must return true;

3.2.3 Pass-Through Engine

An engine receives jobs just like an output module. It can both modify the data and pass it on to its
destinations or it can create any number of new jobs and commit the original job.

CanActAsEngine must return true;

3.2.4 Base64 Modifier

A simple modifier which either Base64 encodes JobData or Base64 decodes JobData. A modifier cannot
create other jobs like a module can.

Logs can be written via the method LogEvent. Different EventTypes can be specified. When spawning
threads, it's necessary to specify a ThreadModuleID. This is done by calling SetThreadModuleID before any
LogEvent calls, passing the Name of the instance of the module (ConfigurationObject.GetName).

Example of the thread code in the File Input module using SetThreadModuleID and logging the input
directory path:

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If your module needs specific licensing you can override IsLicensed in JobModule and implement your own
logic. However, this does not overrule the fact that you need a Module Developer license to be able to use
the module beyond the trial period.

3.5.1 Information needed in module DLL for third party module

In the properties of the DLL fill out information for:

Product name: Name of product. The first part of the module name must include the name of
your company, like Microsoft Fax module.

Product version: Version number for product.

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