This is a toolkit that will assist in the creation of extensions for the Moneydance personal finance application. Extensions can be created, packaged, and signed using a simple graphical interface. Extensions that you sign can only be used with Moneydance builds 248 and greater.
To begin creating an extension, run the extension packaging tool from the command line. You will need to put the mdextkit.jar file in your classpath. Once the mdextkit.jar file is in your classpath, run the following at the command line:
java com.moneydance.apps.exttool.Main
This should start the extension application. The first thing that appears should be a window asking for the data file to use. This data file contains information about the extension that you are working on. If you do not yet have an extension file you can provide a file name and one will be created for you. If you already have a data file, you can avoid this step by specifying its name as a commandline parameter:
java com.moneydance.apps.exttool.Main datafile
After your data file has been specified, press Next. You will now be prompted to enter your module ID. This name is important, as it must also be the name of your package. Inside of your java files, you must always have:
package com.moneydance.features.modules.YourModuleID;
You will also see an area for entering the name of your base directory. This is to be the directory that contains the com/moneydance/features/modules/YourModuleID directory as well as any files relevant to your extension. It is necessary that there be a file called Main.class in your com/moneydance/features/modules/YourModuleID before genearting your extension. It is possible for you to set your data file up before compiling your extension, but there should at least be a Main.java file present.
After clicking Next, you will be prompted for a password to use to generate keys with which to sign your module. You must remember this password in order to build your module. The keys will be generated and stored in your data file as well as separate files. The tool will tell you where these files are to be found. Your public key must be in your classpath in order to run your extension. Note: The generation of keys make take several seconds. Please be patient.
Upon clicking Next again, you will be prompted to enter meta data. This is basically a description of your extension to display to the user when they add it to Moneydance.
After clicking Next, you will be finished with your setting up your extension for building. Press finish to complete the dialog.
Now, you are presented with 3 options. You can edit your meta-data again, generate new keys, or build your extension. Building your extension will create a file called YourModuleID.mxt in the current directory. You can then use the Extensions->Add menu item to load the extension from the YourModuleID.mxt file.