What is the difference between a plugin and a custom autorun in BrightAuthor?

Last Updated: September 11, 2014

There are two features that add custom functionality to a BrightSign player: plugins and custom autoruns:

• A custom autorun allows you to change the normal BrightAuthor behavior to support a special feature. It entails creating a complete BrightScript presentation file. A custom autorun is usually created by taking the standard BrightAuthor autorun and editing it (you can get the standard autorun by publishing a BrightAuthor project to local storage).  The BrightScript language is documented fully in the BrightScript section on the documentation website. Note that you must use a custom autorun that matches your BrightAuthor version. 
• A plugin allows you to add small modules of custom functionality to your BrightAuthor presentation. Plugins tend to be much easier to keep up-to-date with new versions of BrightAuthor and firmware than custom autoruns. Plugins are also written using BrightScript. See this FAQ for a more complete explanation of plugins.

Note: There are several syntax highlighters that make it more convenient to edit BrightScript files.

Adding Plugins and Custom Autoruns to a Presentation

To add a plugin or custom autorun to your BrightAuthor presentation, navigate to File > Presentation Properties > Autorun.

• To add a plugin, click Add Script plugin, then locate and select your .brs file.
• To add a custom autorun, choose Select custom Autorun, then locate and select your .brs file.

To use a custom autorun or plugin in your presentation, you have to publish it via the Publish tab (via Local Storage, BrightSign Network, Local Network, or Simple File Network).