ThinkTool Add-in Manager

English | Tiếng Việt

ThinkTool Add-in Manager is a WPF development utility for loading, inspecting, and running external .NET CAD commands without repeatedly restarting the host application.

Supported hosts

• AutoCAD 2020–2026.
• VinaCAD 2026.07.x using the VinaCAD/Teigha .NET 8 API.
• ZWCAD 2021 and ZWCAD 2026 using the bundled ZRX.NET API.
• Separate autoload bundles are provided for AutoCAD and VinaCAD.

Commands

• ThinkToolManager — open the add-in manager.
• ThinkToolManagerRunLast — run the last selected command.
• ThinkToolManagerDockPanel — toggle the trace/debug palette.
• ThinkToolListLoadedDlls — display non-default loaded DLLs.
• InitThinkToolManager — recreate the ribbon tab.
• ThinkToolVinaCadTest — verify VinaCAD command registration.

Requirements

• Windows x64 and Visual Studio 2022 or newer.
• .NET Framework 4.8 Developer Pack for AutoCAD 2020–2024.
• .NET SDK 8.0 for AutoCAD 2025–2026 and VinaCAD 2026.
• VinaCAD 2026 with TD_Mgd_Net8_26.12_17.dll and VinaCADCoreMgd_Net8.dll for VinaCAD builds.

Install from a release

Close the target CAD application before installing or updating.

AutoCAD

Run ThinkToolAddinManager-<version>-setup.exe. The installer places the bundle in:

%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ThinkToolAddinManager.bundle

VinaCAD

Run ThinkToolAddinManager-VinaCAD-<version>-setup.exe. The installer places the bundle in:

%APPDATA%\VinaCAD\ApplicationPlugins\ThinkToolAddinManager.bundle

Restart the CAD host and run ThinkToolManager. Autoload bundles do not require NETLOAD.

For manual installation, extract the matching *-bundle.zip and copy the contained ThinkToolAddinManager.bundle directory into the corresponding ApplicationPlugins directory above.

Build configurations

Configuration	Host
Debug/Release A20	AutoCAD 2020
Debug/Release A21	AutoCAD 2021
Debug/Release A22	AutoCAD 2022
Debug/Release A23	AutoCAD 2023
Debug/Release A24	AutoCAD 2024
Debug/Release A25	AutoCAD 2025
Debug/Release A26	AutoCAD 2026
Debug/Release V26	VinaCAD 2026.07.x
Debug/Release Z21	ZWCAD 2021
Debug/Release Z26	ZWCAD 2026

Example:

dotnet restore ThinkToolAddinManager.sln --property:Configuration="Release A26"
dotnet build ThinkToolAddinManager.sln --configuration "Release A26" --no-restore

VinaCAD uses C:\Program Files\VinaCAD\VinaCAD 2026 by default. Override it when necessary:

dotnet build ThinkToolAddinManager.sln --configuration "Release V26" -p:VinaCadInstallDir="D:\VinaCAD 2026"

Local bundle deployment

# AutoCAD debug bundle
dotnet build ThinkToolAddinManager.sln --configuration "Debug A26" -p:DeployToAutoCAD=true

# VinaCAD release bundle
dotnet build ThinkToolAddinManager.sln --configuration "Release V26" -p:DeployToVinaCAD=true

Release packaging

Create all AutoCAD and VinaCAD ZIP/EXE packages:

.\tools\package-all.ps1 -Version v1.1.0

Individual packaging commands:

.\tools\package-release.ps1 -Version v1.1.0
.\tools\package-vinacad.ps1 -Version v1.1.0
.\tools\build-installer.ps1 -Version v1.1.0
.\tools\build-vinacad-installer.ps1 -Version v1.1.0

Outputs are written to artifacts/. The VinaCAD package must be built on a machine with the VinaCAD SDK installed; the public GitHub-hosted workflow continues to build the AutoCAD packages.

Project layout

src/ThinkToolAddinManager/
  Command/                       CAD command entry points
  Model/                         Add-in loading and utilities
  View/                          WPF views and controls
  ViewModel/                     UI state and commands
  PackageContents.xml            AutoCAD bundle manifest
  PackageContents.VinaCAD.xml    VinaCAD bundle manifest

Contributing and license

See CONTRIBUTING.md, CONTRIBUTING.vi.md, and License.md.