ShadowPluginLoader.WinUI

Plugin Resource Paths ​

The app needs to know which plugin owns an image before it can find it. Use ms-plugin://{assembly name}/{file path} to identify resources inside a plugin.

For example, Assets/th.jpg in Emoji becomes ms-plugin://ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji/Assets/th.jpg. Leave .dll off the assembly name.

Use a path in code ​

Once the plugin has loaded, call PluginPath() to turn the address into a resource URI WinUI understands:

csharp
using CustomExtensions.WinUI;

string original = "ms-plugin://ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji/Assets/th.jpg";
string resolved = original.PluginPath();

Pass the result to WinUI controls. For disk access with methods such as File.ReadAllText, use the file's actual filesystem path.

Use a path in XAML ​

Import CustomExtensions.WinUI, then choose the extension that matches your control's property:

xml
<UserControl
    x:Class="ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji.Controls.UserControl1"
    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
    xmlns:cw="using:CustomExtensions.WinUI">
    <StackPanel>
        <Image Source="{cw:PluginImageSource Source='ms-plugin://ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji/Assets/th.jpg'}" />
        <TextBlock Text="{cw:PluginPath Source='ms-plugin://ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji/Assets/th.jpg'}" />
        <BitmapIcon
            UriSource="{cw:PluginUri Source='ms-plugin://ShadowExample.Plugin.Emoji/Assets/th.jpg'}"
            ShowAsMonochrome="False" />
    </StackPanel>
</UserControl>
  • PluginImageSource works with image properties such as Image.Source.
  • PluginUri returns a Uri for properties such as BitmapIcon.UriSource.
  • PluginPath returns a string, useful for displaying the resource address.

Also update the control's constructor to use LoadComponent, as shown in Custom Controls.

Use a path with binding ​

For a bound address, use the matching converter. First add the converters to control or application resources:

xml
<UserControl.Resources>
    <cw:PluginPathConverter x:Key="PluginPathConverter" />
    <cw:PluginUriConverter x:Key="PluginUriConverter" />
    <cw:PluginImageSourceConverter x:Key="PluginImageSourceConverter" />
</UserControl.Resources>

If your control has a string ImagePath property, set the image's source to Source="{x:Bind ImagePath, Converter={StaticResource PluginImageSourceConverter}}".

The other two converters work the same way, returning a string or a Uri.