eplan-development

# EPLAN Electric P8 Development Comprehensive guide for developing with EPLAN Electric P8: scripting (C#), the EPLAN API, and remote automation. Distilled from working production code and curated examples. ## The three development models | Model | Runs | License | Use for | |---|---|---|---| | **Scripting** | Inside EPLAN (compiled on load, C# subset) | None extra | Automating actions, UI additions (ribbon), event hooks, file exports | | **API extension** | Inside EPLAN (compiled DLL) or offline app | API license | Deep data access: parts DB, project object model, pages, properties | | **Remote Client** | External process (WPF/console) driving a running EPLAN | RemoteClient DLLs | Orchestration apps, headless build pipelines, Cogineer generation | Note: scripts CAN use some API namespaces (e.g. `Eplan.EplApi.MasterData` for the parts database) directly from a `[Start]` method — see `references/api-data-access.md`. ## Reference files — read the one that matches the task - **`references/script-basics.md`** — Script structure, entry-point attributes (`[Start]`, `[DeclareAction]`, `[DeclareEventHandler]`, `[DeclareRegister]`), deployment, scripting limitations. - **`references/actions-reference.md`** — Executing actions with `CommandLineInterpreter` + `ActionCallingContext`; catalog of common actions (backup, export PDF, reports, labels, edit, selectionset…) with their parameters. - **`references/core-classes.md`** — `Progress`, `Decider`, `PathMap` variables, `Settings`, `...