File Format
An extension is a zip file having a name that ends on .oxt (formerly .uno.pkg or .zip). The file extension .oxt is associated with the MIME / media type vnd.openofficeorg.extension. An extension can contain UNO components, type libraries, configuration files, dialog or basic libraries, etc.
An extension should also contain a description.xml (see description.xml) and must contain a directory META-INF (all uppercase). The META-INF directory contains a manifest.xml which lists all items and their media-type.
Depending on the media-type the respective file needs to be treated particularly. For example a UNO component needs to be registered before it can be used. All media types which does not require a particular handling of the file are ignored currently (and actually need not be contained in the manifest.xml).
The media-type for a shared library UNO component is application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=native, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=native"
manifest:full-path="myComponent.uno.so"/>
When you implement a UNO native component, for example, a .dll or .so file, then this file is only deployable on that specific platform. It is often convenient to package a bundle for different platforms. For instance, you compile your component for x86 Linux, Solaris SPARC and Windows. You have to tell the Extension Manager which version of your component file corresponds to which platform via a platform attribute supplied with the media-type, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type= "application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=native;platform=Windows"
manifest:full-path="windows/mycomp.uno.dll"/>
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type= "application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=native;platform=Linux_x86"
manifest:full-path="linux/myComp.uno.so"/>
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type= "application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=native;platform=Solaris_SPARC"
manifest:full-path="solsparc/myComp.uno.so"/>
RDB Type Library
The media-type for a UNO RDB type library is application/vnd.sun.star.uno-typelibrary;type=RDB, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.uno-typelibrary;type=RDB"
manifest:full-path="myTypes.uno.rdb"/>
Jar Type Library
The media-type for a UNO Jar typelibrary is application/vnd.sun.star.uno-typelibrary;type=Java, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.uno-typelibrary;type=Java"
manifest:full-path="myTypes.uno.jar"/>
Keep in mind that the RDB variant of that type library must be deployed also. This is currently necessary, because your Java UNO types may be referenced from native UNO code.
Uno Jar Components
The media-type for a UNO Jar component is application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=Java, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=Java"
manifest:full-path="myComponent.uno.jar"/>
UNO Python Components
unopkg now supports registration of Python components (.py files). Those files are registered using the com.sun.star.loader.Python loader. For details concerning Python-UNO, please refer to http://udk.openoffice.org/python/python-bridge.html. The media-type for a UNO Python component is application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=Python, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.uno-component;type=Python"
manifest:full-path="myComponent.uno.py"/>
OpenOffice.org Basic Libraries
OpenOffice.org Basic libraries are linked to the basic library container files. Refer to OpenOffice.org Basic and Dialogs for additional information.The media-type for a OpenOffice.org Basic Library is "application/vnd.sun.star.basic-library", for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.basic-library"
manifest:full-path="myBasicLib/"/>
Dialog Libraries
Dialog libraries are linked to the basic dialog library container files. Refer to OpenOffice.org Basic and Dialogs for additional information.The media-type for a dialog library is application/vnd.sun.star.dialog-library, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.dialog-library"
manifest:full-path="myDialog/"/>
Configuration Data Files
The media-type for a configuration data file is application/vnd.sun.star.configuration-data, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.configuration-data"
manifest:full-path="myData.xcu"/>
Configuration Schema Files
The media-type for a configuration schema file is application/vnd.sun.star.configuration-schema, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.configuration-schema"
manifest:full-path="mySchema.xcs"/>
Be careful not to install schemata (.xcs files) which contain the same elements (oor:package, oor:name) but have different definitions.
Extension Tooltip Description
If you want to add a tooltip description (which shows up in the balloon help of a bundle node in the Extension Manager dialog), then you can do so by specifying localized UTF-8 files, for example,
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.package-bundle-description;locale=en"
manifest:full-path="readme.en" />
<manifest:file-entry manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.package-bundle-description;locale=de"
manifest:full-path="readme.de" />
manifest:media-type="application/vnd.sun.star.package-bundle-description"
manifest:full-path="readme.txt" />
The best matching locale (against the current installation's locale) is taken. The locale is of the form locale=language-country-variant.
All other contents of the extension are simply copied into the Extension Manager cache. You can, for instance, deploy an image for add-on menus within a package, or any other file needed by your component. The OpenOffice.org configuration is used to find out in which path this file is located in a particular installation. When you define a package containing additional files, include an .xcu configuration data file, which points to your files. Use a variable %origin% as a placeholder for the exact path where the file will be copied by the Extension Manager. When unopkg installs the data, it replaces the path with an URL containing a macro and writes into the configuration. This URL has to be expanded before it is a valid file URL. This can be done using the com.sun.star.util.MacroExpander service. The %origin% variable is, for instance, used by the ImageIdentifier property of add-on menus and toolbar items, which is described in the Configuration section.
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