Softimage SDK Programmer's Guide > Customizing with the SDK > Building and Deploying Customizations >

# Resolving Plug-in Conflicts

Plug-in conflicts occur when Softimage finds multiple versions of the same self-installing plug-in. Softimage can resolve a plug-in conflict in either of two ways:

- Versioning: Softimage loads the most recent version of the plug-in.

- Origin Ordering: Softimage loads the plug-in from the location with the highest precedence.

By default, Softimage tries to load the most recent version of a self-installing plug-in. For example, if your User location contains version 1.2 of a plug-in, and a workgroup contains 1.3, then Softimage loads version 1.3. If all copies of a plug-in are the same version, then Softimage uses origin ordering to resolve the conflict.

You can change how Softimage resolves conflicts by setting the Plug-in Manager preference named Conflict Resolution.

For non-self-installing plug-ins and other customizations, Softimage uses origin ordering and loads the first copy of the plug-in that it finds.

When Softimage searches for plug-ins, it first searches custom locations, then the user path, then the workgroups, and finally the factory path:

1. Custom locations

   Custom locations are the paths specified by the XSI_PLUGINS environment variable.

2. User location

   Add-ons in the User location are loaded after any other plug-ins found in the User location (for example, plug-ins in %XSI_USERHOME%\Application\Plugins are loaded before plug-ins in %XSI_USERHOME%\Addons).

3. Workgroups

   Softimage searches workgroups in the order they are listed in the Plug-in Manager (so the first workgroup in the list takes precedence).

   Add-ons in a workgroup are loaded after any other plug-ins found in the workgroup (for example, plug-ins in MyWorkgroup\Application\Plugins are loaded before plug-ins in MyWorkgroup\Addons).

4. Factory location