Quick Start

So you want to create a plugin?

First, make sure you can actually run an XPPython3 plugin – if X-Plane, Python, and XPPython3 aren’t set up correctly, you’ll get no where.

  • Your version of X-Plane is at least 11.50 (beta versions are okay)

  • You’ve installed XPPython3 as described in Plugin Installation.

  • You’ve successfully executed an XPPython3 plugin within X-Plane. If you need an example, download PI_HelloWorld1.py and place it in your Resources/plugins/PythonPlugins folder.

Once you have a running system, go through these basic examples:

  1. Skeleton: the required minimum code to do absolutely nothing.

  2. Hello World: a simple plugin with a popup window.

  3. Hello Widget: a simple plugin with a popup window using widgets.

Couple of quick points common to all XPPython3 plugins:

  • print() sends information to the XPPython3Log.txt. This is great for quick debugging. Remove these prior to deploying your plugin.

  • import logging: Using the standard python logging module sends information to stderr. Like stdout, stderr is also redirected to XPPython3Log.txt.

  • xp.log() sends to the XPPython3Log.txt, and automatically adds [<your plugin name>] to the text. This is better for “real” messages you want to keep in the python log that the end user might need to see to help you debug in the field.

  • xp.sys_log() sends to the main Log.txt, and automatically adds your plugin name. Use this sparingly (there’s enough stuff in Log.txt already) but this is most useful for initial configuration problems, as the user is most likely to provide you with a Log.txt file and say, “it doesn’t work.”

  • The python interface supports positional and keyword parameters. For many functions, some parameters are optional. See documentation for details. (Keyword parameters are only for the xp varient, e.g., xp.destroyWindow. XPLM varients, e.g., XPLMDisplay.XPLMDestroyWindow, support only positional parameters, and all parameters must be specified.:

    xp.destroyWindow(myWindowID)           # Works! Use positional parameters
xp.destroyWindow(windowID=myWindowID)  # Also Works!

  • In our examples, we freely mix traditional API with shortened xp API:

    # These two calls are equivalent:
# a) Using the simplified xp interface
import xp
xp.destroyWindow(myWindowID)

# b) Using the traditional interface
import XPLMDisplay
XPLMDisplay.XPLMDestroyWindow(myWindowID)

    The benefit of the xp interface is you don’t have to remember which module the function is defined in & if it’s XP… or XPLM… or XPUI… See xp module documentation. Plus, you can use optional and keyword parameters.

Code Examples: