Softimage SDK Programmer's Guide > Customizing Softimage using the SDK > Self-Installing Plug-ins >

# Naming Plug-in Items

Plug-in item names are used to name callback functions, so these names must be valid identifiers in your chosen programming language. The general rules for naming plug-in items are as follows:

- The first character cannot be a number.

- The first character should be a letter.

- In JScript, Python, C#, C++, the first character may also be an underscore (_).

- Subsequent characters can be letters, numbers or underscore (_) characters.

Important

You can also use spaces in a plug-in item name (for example, "Create Gravity"); however, you must remove the spaces in the callback function names after the wizard has generated the code (for example, "CreateGravity_Execute").

## Plug-in Names vs. Plug-in Item Names

In some cases you may be able to use a plug-in name that begins with a number if you use a different plug-in item name. For example, a company called 123GO may want to use their name to prefix their plug-ins for branding purposes. In this case they could create a plug-in called 123GO_PolyFix but the command must be called PolyFix or some other name beginning with a letter (or an underscore if the implementation language allows it).

Each wizard manages the relationship between the plug-in name and the plug-in item name slightly differently. Specific information is available on each wizard's help page.

## Naming Conventions for Custom Parameters

Parameters added to custom properties must follow the same naming convention as plug-in items, because parameter names are also used in callback function names. For example, CCmdWizard_ScriptingName_OnChanged is the OnChanged callback for the ScriptingName parameter of the CCmdWizard property.

#### Topics in this section

- Using Prefixes with Custom Properties