Plugins

Plugins enable you to integrate many third-party AV devices into your Q-SYS design and control those devices with separate, installable scripting components.

Note: Plugins use the Q-SYS Scripting Engine, which is a licensed feature on certain Cores manufactured with Q-SYS 7.0 and later. For more information, see Licensing.

Plugins are located within the Schematic Elements > Plugins section of the Q-SYS Designer interface. Installed plugins are stored in two category folders:

  • Asset Manager: This list includes any plugins that have been installed from Asset Manager.
  • User: This list includes any plugins that have been installed manually by the user (with .qplug files), and legacy plugins bundled with previous versions of Q-SYS Designer.

Note: For backward compatibility with designs using plugins bundled with previous Q-SYS Designer versions, legacy versions of these plugins are included in the User folder. However, QSC recommends that you use the Q-SYS Asset Manager to install the managed versions of these plugins and replace the legacy versions in your design.

Use Asset Manager to manage plugins.

Installing plugins

  1. Click to open Asset Manager.
  2. In the Browse tab, search for and select a plugin.
  3. Review the Description information, including any requirements.

    Note: For proper operation, some plugins require that mDNS is enabled. Check the plugin description to see if mDNS is required. Use Q-SYS Core Manager to enable mDNS. For more information, see Network Services.

  4. Click Install. When installation is complete, the plugin will appear in the Plugins category within the Schematic Elements section of Designer.

Updating Plugins

Whenever a plugin publisher (including QSC) posts an update to a plugin, that plugin appears in the Updates list. To update a plugin:

  1. Click to open Asset Manager.
  2. Click the Updates tab. If any installed plugins have a posted updated version, they will appear in this list.
  3. Select a plugin to update.
  4. Select a version, and then click Update.

Beginning with Q-SYS 8.2.0, QSC-authored plugins include a new component property, Is Managed. When set to 'Yes', this adds the plugin to your Inventory list, which makes the plugin's Status available for monitoring locally in Core Manager and remotely in Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager (with a subscription). Status changes (for example, 'OK' to 'FAULT') generate alerts that are displayed in the Event Log.

Note: Each managed plugin consumes a Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager Peripheral license. To check the remaining number of peripherals allowed by your Enterprise Manager subscription, go to the Organizations section within Enterprise Manager. For more information, see the Enterprise Manager Help.

To monitor a QSC-authored plugin in Enterprise Manager, you need:

  • Q-SYS 8.2.0 (minimum)
  • A Q-SYS Scripting Engine feature license. See Licensing.
  • A Q-SYS Reflect Enterprise Manager subscription. See the Enterprise Manager Help online.

All QSC-authored plugins have been updated in Asset Manager to include the Is Managed property and support for monitoring in Enterprise Manager. The new versions use separate UUIDs from their previous versions, meaning that older versions can coexist in your design with new versions. Previous versions are not automatically updated.

Note: You can install the new versions in pre-8.2 versions of Q-SYS Designer (as old as version 7.x), but without monitoring capability.

  1. Install the latest version of a QSC-authored plugin.
  2. Drag the plugin into your schematic.
  3. In the Properties pane, set Is Managed to 'Yes'.
  4. Update the Name property so it can easily be identified.

When you save and run your design to the Core, the plugin appears in the Status > Inventory list in Core Manager and Enterprise Manager.

These properties exist in Q-SYS 8.2.0 and later.

Is Managed

For QSC-authored plugins only, select 'Yes' to add the plugin to your Inventory list, which makes the plugin's Status available for monitoring in Core Manager and Enterprise Manager. When enabled, you can then specify a Name and Location for the plugin, as with any other Inventory item.

Show Debug

Select 'Yes' to show the Debug Output window. See Debug Output.

If a plugin includes a bundled help file, you can view the plugin help as with other Q-SYS Designer components: Drag the plugin into your schematic, select the plugin, and press F1.

Note: A plugin must be installed with Q-SYS Asset Manager to be able to view any bundled help. If you press F1 and see this page, either the plugin has not been installed with Q-SYS Asset Manager, or a bundled help file is not available.