Documentation / Navisworks publisher guidelines

Navisworks publisher guidelines

This guide covers the requirements and best practices for publishing Navisworks apps to the Design and Make Marketplace. Follow these guidelines to ensure your app passes review and works reliably for users.

Navisworks Manage and Navisworks Simulate support apps delivered through the Marketplace. You can add .NET API plugins and NWcreate plugins.

Testing your app: You can test locally by copying your deliverables to the correct location — no registration required. The final MSI installer is produced after you submit your app.

Requirements

Prerequisites

  • Visual Studio 2017 or later
  • .NET Framework 4.7 (Navisworks 2018+) or 4.8 (Navisworks 2024+)

Note: The .NET API is only compatible within one major version. If your app supports multiple releases, compile separate binaries for each version and package them together. See the bundle structure section below for how to specify which binary to load.

User privileges

Installers require elevated (admin) user privileges on Windows 10/11.

Ready to run

Your app must work immediately after installation — no manual file copying, registration, or settings changes required.

If your app uses licensing:

  • Activate automatically (e.g., online activation), or
  • Include a fully functional trial period long enough to deliver activation to the customer.

Folders and files

Location

Install to the shared Autodesk app folder (used by all Autodesk products):

%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins

Bundle structure

Your app lives in a .bundle folder containing:

  • PackageContents.xml (configuration file)
  • A Contents subfolder with your deliverables

Example structure:


%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\
└── ADSK.MyApp.bundle\
    ├── PackageContents.xml
    └── Contents\
        └── v22\
            └── ADSK.MyPlugin.dll

Version folders: Use v22 for Navisworks 2025 binaries, v23 for 2026, etc. This lets you package multiple versions in one bundle.

Naming requirements:

  • Replace ADSK with your unique ADN Developer ID (e.g., com.yourcompany).
  • Your bundle folder name must be unique across all Autodesk bundles.
  • Each DLL name must be unique within a Navisworks session — don't clash with Navisworks or other apps' DLLs.

Configuration

Additional configuration

NWcreate file loader support

To specify that your DLL is an NWcreate-style file loader, use AppType="NativeLoader" in your component entry.

F1 help support

To display custom help when users press F1, hook the F1 key using the Windows API and open your own help page.

Get help with publishing

Questions? Email appsubmissions@autodesk.com for support.

For more resources, visit the API documentation and the Developer Community Blog.