Developing Add-in

You can create an original add-in for RootPro CAD using Visual Studio, a development tool by Microsoft.

Development tool Visual Studio

Download and use free Visual Studio Community or Visual Studio Express for Windows Desktop. You can also use Visual Studio Enterprise/Professional product version.
The following versions can be used.

  • Visual Studio 2026 (Enterprise/Professional/Community)
  • Visual Studio 2022 (Enterprise/Professional/Community)
  • Visual Studio 2019 (Enterprise/Professional/Community)

Visual Studio Community is a free version for personal developers and small- to medium-sized corporate users, having functions equivalent to Visual Studio Professional product version.

Check detailed use conditions before downloading software from the Microsoft website.
* The supported operating systems are as follows:
Visual Studio 2026 supports Windows 11, Visual Studio 2022 supports Windows 11 and Windows 10, and Visual Studio 2019 supports Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 (SP1).
Downloading Visual Studio Community

.NET Framework 4.6.2 development tools with the Visual Studio Installer.

The "Visual Studio Installer" allows you to install Visual Studio by selecting only the features you need.
.NET Framework 4.6.2 is used to develop the RootPro CAD add-in, so you will need to install the .NET Framework 4.6.2 Development Tool.
Launch the Visual Studio Installer and select ".NET desktop development" from the list of features and check the box.
".NET Framework 4.6.2-4.7.1 development tools" in the "Optional" section on the right side of the window and install it.

Development language

Add-ins for RootPro CAD can be developed by programming languages supporting .NET Framework 4.6.2 by Microsoft. Some of the programming languages supporting .NET Framework 4.6.2 as follows:

  • Visual C#
  • Visual Basic (VB)
  • Visual C++/CLI (VC)
Using RootPro CAD API in individual programming languages enables to access the core functions of RootPro CAD.
RootPro CAD Professional contains templates for add-in projects for Visual C# and Visual Basic to facilitate easy development.

Supplemental
▪ Add-ins are only used in RootPro CAD Professional. RootPro CAD Free cannot use these functions.
▪ Click [Launch Visual Studio] on [Add-ins] menu to start up Visual Studio. When Visual Studio is not installed, the Visual Studio website by Microsoft will be displayed, where Visual Studio Community is published for free. Download and install either of them.

Related topics