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IGuiTool is the core interface every DevToys GUI extension must implement. It signals to the DevToys host that your class is a graphical tool, requires you to expose a root UIToolView that becomes the tool’s UI, and optionally lets Smart Detection route clipboard-detected data directly into your tool via OnDataReceived. Every implementation must be exported with MEF attributes that supply display metadata, icons, grouping, and optional platform restrictions. Namespace: DevToys.Api

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Interface Declaration

public interface IGuiTool
{
    UIToolView View { get; }

    void OnDataReceived(string dataTypeName, object? parsedData);
}

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Members

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View
UIToolView
required
Gets the root view for the tool. This property is called once when the user first navigates to your tool. Return a UIToolView instance that wraps your top-level IUIElement layout.Set IsScrollable = false on the returned UIToolView when your tool should fill the available window space rather than scroll (for example, a diff viewer or a canvas-based tool).
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OnDataReceived(string dataTypeName, object? parsedData)
void
Invoked when the app has detected clipboard data whose type is compatible with this tool and the user has navigated to the tool. The expected behavior is to push parsedData into the appropriate IUIElement that accepts it.
ParameterTypeDescription
dataTypeNamestringThe data type name as declared by [AcceptedDataTypeName] on this tool.
parsedDataobject?The parsed value returned by the matching IDataTypeDetector. May be null.
OnDataReceived is only called for data type names you explicitly declare on your tool class using [AcceptedDataTypeName("...")]. Without that attribute the method is never invoked.

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Full Example

The snippet below shows every optional attribute you can apply alongside the two required MEF attributes ([Export] and [Name]). 
[Export(typeof(IGuiTool))]
[Name("Base64 Encoder / Decoder")]
[ToolDisplayInformation(
    IconFontName = "FluentSystemIcons",
    IconGlyph = "\u0108",
    GroupName = "Encoders / Decoders",
    ResourceManagerAssemblyIdentifier = nameof(MyResourceManagerAssemblyIdentifier),  // see IResourceAssemblyIdentifier
    ResourceManagerBaseName = "MyProject.Strings",
    ShortDisplayTitleResourceName = nameof(MyProject.Strings.ShortDisplayTitle),
    LongDisplayTitleResourceName = nameof(MyProject.Strings.LongDisplayTitle),         // Optional
    DescriptionResourceName = nameof(MyProject.Strings.Description),                   // Optional
    AccessibleNameResourceName = nameof(MyProject.Strings.AccessibleName),             // Optional
    SearchKeywordsResourceName = nameof(MyProject.Strings.SearchKeywords))]            // Optional
[TargetPlatform(Platform.Windows)]   // Optional — restrict to specific platforms
[TargetPlatform(Platform.WASM)]      // Optional — stack multiple platforms as needed
[Order(Before = "Base64 Image Decoder")]  // Optional — relative ordering in the sidebar
[MenuPlacement(MenuPlacement.Footer)]     // Optional — pin to the footer menu
[NotSearchable]          // Optional — exclude from the search index
[NotFavorable]           // Optional — prevent user from favoriting this tool
[NoCompactOverlaySupport] // Optional — disable compact/overlay window mode
internal sealed class Base64GuiTool : IGuiTool
{
    public UIToolView View
        => new UIToolView(
               isScrollable: true,
               GUI.VerticalStack()
                   .WithChildren(/* your UI elements */));

    public void OnDataReceived(string dataTypeName, object? parsedData)
    {
        // Push parsedData into the relevant input element.
    }
}

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Implementation Notes

  • Resource assembly — The ResourceManagerAssemblyIdentifier property on [ToolDisplayInformation] must match the [Name] value of your exported IResourceAssemblyIdentifier. See IResourceAssemblyIdentifier for details.
  • UIToolView scrollability — Constructors new UIToolView(isScrollable, rootElement) let you opt out of scrolling. Tools like editors or split-pane viewers typically set isScrollable: false.
  • Smart Detection — To receive data, also decorate your tool with [AcceptedDataTypeName("your-type")]. The matching detector’s parsed result is passed as parsedData.
Prefer injecting ISettingsProvider via MEF [Import] inside your tool class to persist user preferences (encoding mode, line endings, etc.) across sessions. See ISettingsProvider.

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See Also

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