Download an extension using CAST Extend website
Summary: This section provides information about how to download an official CAST AIP Extension or a custom extension built by a third-party (see What are extensions) using the CAST Extend website.
Searching for an extension
To find the extension you require enter a search string in the search field:
You can filter extension by contributor type:
Search results can also be ordered by release date and by name:
What to do once you have found the extension you require
When you have found the Extension you require, select it to view more information about it:
The extension will then be downloaded as a nupkg archive:
You now need to unblock the .nupkg archive file.
Unblock the .nupkg archive file
When downloaded, you may then need to unblock the file as follows:
- Right click the file
- Select Properties
- Tick the Unblock option and click OK
You now need to unpack the .nupkg archive file with the CAST Extension Downloader - this can be done via the GUI or via the CLI
Unpack the .nupkg archive file with the CAST Extension Downloader GUI
To unpack the .nupkg file, you can use the CAST Extension Downloader in GUI mode. It is located at the root of your CAST AIP installation folder. Double click this .exe file to launch the application:
In the CAST Extension Downloader, click the Preferences button
Click the New button to add a new “Server”:
Enter the address of the folder containing the downloaded .nupkg file (this is usually the default download location specified in your browser). You can use the following syntaxes to specify the path:
- *drive:\path_to_folder_containing_nupkg*
- *file://drive:\folder_containing_nupkg*
You also need to add a name (this can be anything):
Finally untick all other download “Servers” listed in the Preferences panel, but leave the newly added folder ticked:
Close the Preferences panel to return to the Extension Downloader main interface. You should now see an entry corresponding to the downloaded .nupkg file listed:
Note that you need to have selected the Available option on the left and depending on the extension release type you may need to toggle Latest versions only and/or Long term support only.
Now click the Download button to unpack the nupkg file in the default location as shown in the table below:
| AIP 8.x | %PROGRAMDATA%\CAST\CAST\Extensions
|
Once unpacked you may then need to install the extension before you can use it (this depends on the type of extension). This is explained in Install an extension.
Unpack the .nupkg archive file with the CAST Extension Downloader CLI
- CAST recommends using a batch script to run the CAST Extension Downloader in CLI mode.
- Please see here for details of all CLI options and commands.
To unpack the .nupkg file, you can use the CAST Extension Downloader in CLI mode. It is located at the root of your CAST AIP installation folder.
Use the following script to unpack the extension.
ExtensionDownloader.exe --server D:\USER_DATA\Downloads install com.castsoftware.entity
Set the:
- –server command to the location on disk where you have downloaded the .nupkg file (this is usually the default download location specified in your browser)
- set the install command to the ID of the extension you have downloaded as a .nupkg file (see Extension description file for more information about the ID)
The .nupkg file will be unpacked in the default location as shown in the table below:
| AIP 8.x | %PROGRAMDATA%\CAST\CAST\Extensions
|
Once unpacked you may then need to install the extension before you can use it (this depends on the type of extension). This is explained in Install an extension.