How to create a Feature

This page explains how to create a Feature for one or more of your Plug-ins. A Feature is a bundle of Plug-ins. The main reasons for creating a Feature are:

1. Logically group together a number of plug-ins for distribution together
2. Group Plug-ins together for use with an update site
3. A Feature has (optional) [Branding] information associated with it, for example About information and Icons that appear in the Help>About ... Dialog

[Products] can be created from Plug-ins or Features, but if they are created from Features then an update site can be used to keep the product up-to-date. This cannot be done with out a Feature based product.

New Features can also be installed by the Eclipse update framework. If a Feature is added to an update site then any Eclipse based application can install the Feature using the Software Updater (usually under the Help menu).

Creating a Feature

1. Create a Feature Project. New->Project.
2. Select Feature Project in the Plug-in Development category
3. The naming convention is:
   1. Feature ID - An ID usually URI.featureName for example net.refractions.community.jody.visual
   2. Feature Project - the Feature ID with _feature appended to the end.
   3. Feature Name - Unimportant but should usually be translatable (%feature.name in the feature.xml and the key/value pair in the plugin.properties)
      
4. Press Finish
5. A nice editor for the Feature.xml is opened. In the Branding Plug-in Field enter the [Branding] plug-in you created for this feature (or enter the name of the [Branding] plug-in you are going to create).
6. Switch to the Plug-ins tab of the editor (tabs are across the bottom)
7. Press Add ...
8. Select the Plug-ins that will be part of the Feature
   

There is numerous other options for specifying what Features and Plug-ins the Feature depends on as well as what versions and how to install the Feature. This is all that is really required to make a Feature.

Exporting a Feature

1. Open the feature.xml file
2. Switch to the Overview tab
3. Press Export Wizard
4. Follow wizard's instructions

Here is a good link:

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