Plug-ins

On This Page

Purpose

The Plug-ins page in the Admin Console page lists all plug-ins that are available in the environment.

Caution:

All plug-ins are use-at-your-own-risk, and their functionality is not guaranteed by Appian. All plug-ins should be tested thoroughly. Read our full disclaimer for more information.

For more details about individual plug-ins, visit the Appian AppMarket.

Access

To access the Plug-ins page, go to the Admin Console. Then, in the left navigation menu, under System, click Plug-ins.

Settings

In the Plug-ins page, you can:

Add a new plug-in to the environment.
Compare versions of a plug-in across environments.
Download plug-ins from the environment.
Enable or disable the Encryption Service for the plug-in.
View the dependents of a plug-in.
Update an AppMarket plug-in to the latest AppMarket version.
Revert an AppMarket plug-in to the previous version installed in this environment.
Delete a plug-in.
View the following details for each plug-in:
- Name: The name of the plug-in.
- Version: The version number of the plug-in. For more information, see the View version status section.
- Category: The category of the plug-in, Advanced or Standard. Learn more about Advanced Plug-ins.
- Description: The description of the plug-in as written by the plug-in creator.
- Installed On: The date that the current version of the plug-in was installed.
- Modules: The modules that are included in this plug-in. The name of each module is categorized by its type: Component, Connected System, Function, Function Category, Smart Service, Data Type, or Servlet.

This plug-in information is provided by the plug-in manifest file when you install a plug-in.

If a user changes the access to a plug-in, then there will be an audit log message that will track the username of the user making the change, the previous value, and the new value.

Tip: You can also view the plug-in list and compare plug-ins across environments in the Objects view in Appian Designer.

Add a new plug-in

For Appian Cloud and self-managed customers, System Administrators can deploy plug-ins to their environments.

Appian Cloud customers:

In the toolbar, click ADD NEW PLUG-INS.
- If adding a plug-in via direct upload, go to step 2.
- If using a plug-in from the AppMarket, go to step 4.
Select Direct Upload to upload a plug-in that has been approved according to the Cloud Deployment Guidelines.
Upload the plug-in from disk and select DEPLOY.
Select Appian AppMarket Plug-ins to deploy open source plug-ins that are approved by Appian for Cloud and self-managed customer use.
Enable the Hide unsupported plug-ins toggle to only view plug-ins available for your Appian Cloud site. Otherwise, you may see plug-ins that are not supported in your Appian Cloud site, with a message clarifying what minimum Appian site version is required for deployment.
In the Available Plug-ins list, select one or more plug-ins.
Click DEPLOY.

Self-managed customers:

In the toolbar, click ADD NEW PLUG-INS.
Select Direct Upload to upload a plug-in.
Upload the plug-in from disk and select DEPLOY.

Tip: Although self-managed customers cannot deploy plug-ins directly from the Appian AppMarket, they can download the plug-in file from a browser, and then use Direct Upload. Additionally, private plug-ins do not require any approval for deployment.

When you add a plug-in from the AppMarket or Direct Upload, it deploys immediately to your environment. If the plug-in fails to deploy, check the Application Server logs for more information.

View version status

For Appian Cloud customers, the system automatically verifies your installed plug-ins against the applications listed in the AppMarket. The system then displays the results of this verification as version status indicators in the Version column of the plug-ins list.

Version statuses include:

Version Status	Description	Indicator Icon
Not listed in AppMarket	The system could not find the plug-in listed in the AppMarket. This means that either the plug-in was removed from the AppMarket or it was custom built by your organization. If your organization did not build this plug-in, we recommend removing it from your environment.
Update available	The version installed in your environment is different than the latest version of the plug-in listed in the AppMarket. We recommend updating the plug-in to take advantage of security updates and enhancements.
Up-to-date	The version installed in your environment matches the latest version of the plug-in listed in the AppMarket.

To filter the plug-ins list by version status, use the VERSION STATUS filter in the toolbar.

Download plug-ins

To prepare for a deployment using the deployment APIs you may need to download plug-ins from your current environment. Select the plug-ins for the deployment and click DOWNLOAD SELECTED. This generates a ZIP file compatible with the native APIs to use for your deployment.

Enable or disable the Encryption Service

The Encryption Service allows the plug-in to encrypt or decrypt values of type Encrypted Text.

By default, no plug-ins are allowed to access the Encryption Service. An administrator must explicitly grant access to each plug-in.

To enable Encryption Service for a plug-in:

In the plug-ins list, select a plug-in.
In the toolbar, click ENABLE ENCRYPTION SERVICE or DISABLE ENCRYPTION SERVICE as appropriate.

Once access is granted, a shield icon displays next to the plug-in name, and all modules within the plug-in may use the Encryption Service.

To learn more about encryption, see Encrypted Text.

Compare a plug-in across environments

This option is only available if you have enabled connected environments.

To compare a plug-in across environments:

In the plug-ins list, select a plug-in.
In the toolbar, click COMPARE ACROSS ENVIRONMENTS.
Select another environment where you want to compare the plug-in. The comparison report opens in a new window or tab.

Learn more about comparing objects across environments.

Manage your plug-ins

We recommend managing your plug-ins carefully to take advantage of the latest enhancements, address security concerns, and keep your applications running smoothly. This can mean updating plug-ins to the latest AppMarket version, reverting plug-ins, or deleting plug-ins that are no longer used or supported.

To determine which the actions are needed to manage your plug-ins:

Create a list of plug-ins for which updates are available.

Prioritize the list as follows:

Priority	Update Criteria
First Priority	Plug-ins that communicate with other systems.
Second Priority	Plug-ins that interact with your most crucial applications.
Third Priority	Plug-ins with the fewest objects that depend on them.
Last Priority	Any other plug-in with an available update.

Determine whether to update or delete a plug-in, using the following logic:

Scroll or drag to pan · ⌘+/⌘− to zoom · Esc to close

Update an AppMarket plug-in

To update an AppMarket plug-in to the latest version:

In the plug-ins list, select an AppMarket plug-in.
In the toolbar, click UPDATE.

Make sure to regression test the updated plug-in with your application and environment. If you need to revert the AppMarket plug-in for any reason, you can do so within three months of the update.

Revert an AppMarket plug-in

You can only revert to the previously installed version of the AppMarket plug-in, and you can only revert within three months of updating the plug-in before the previous version is deleted.

To revert the plug-in to the previous version installed in this environment:

In the plug-ins list, select an AppMarket plug-in.
In the toolbar, click REVERT.

Delete a plug-in

To delete an AppMarket or directly uploaded plug-in:

In the plug-ins list, select a plug-in.
In the toolbar, click DELETE. The system identifies any design objects that depend on the plug-in you want to delete.
(Optional) Resolve object dependencies before continuing.
Click DELETE.

You can track deleted plug-ins in the deletions log.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?