Share Marketplace Content

Last update: Edit

1 Introduction

The Mendix Marketplace is driven by contributions from members of the community who share the connectors, modules, and apps they have built with the Mendix Platform. This how-to shows how to add and update Marketplace content.

This how-to will teach you how to do the following:

  • Add new content and promotions to share in the Marketplace
  • Update existing Marketplace content

2 Prerequisites

Before starting this how-to, make sure you have completed the following prerequisites:

3 Marketplace Content Development Guidelines

This section presents guidelines for developing content that you will submit to the Mendix Marketplace.

3.1 General Guidelines

These are some general guidelines for creating new Marketplace content:

  • Set up a separate app to build and maintain your Marketplace component
  • Use a relatively recent Mendix version when creating the item, not only the latest Mendix version
  • Create multiple versions of your Marketplace component (for example, for Studio Pro 7 and 8 and Desktop Modeler 7)

You can add information the end-user should know to the component Documentation when you are adding the content to the Marketplace.

3.2 Widget Guidelines

To develop widgets and submit them to Marketplace, follow these guidelines:

  • The widget (and test app) must be based on the AppStoreBoilerplate
  • When writing variable and function names, use lowerCamelCase (for example, mySecondVariable)
  • Add code comments
  • Use descriptive variable and function names in both XML and JavaScript
  • Always add "use strict"; functions
  • A function may not be larger than 200 lines of code
  • A function may only do one thing, and it should do it properly
  • Internal variables should start with an underscore (_)
  • Using the Dojo Toolkit and its functionalities is preferred, but for external plugins you can use jQuery
  • Create test pages for mobile when content is mobile-supported

3.3 Module Guidelines

To develop modules and submit them to the Marketplace, follow these guidelines:

  • Create a folder named USE_ME and add the microflows and pages that are relevant for the user
  • Create an empty folder with the version number as its name, which will appear in Studio Pro’s App Explorer

  • If you add any userlib .jar files, make sure they are accompanied by a blank MyModule.RequiredLib file so that users know where the .jar files come from

  • Verify that the module’s Java actions compile correctly (the easiest way to check is to create a deployment package, as it will clean the deployment folder and rebuild the app; for more information, see Environments)

  • Reduce the use of layouts and use snippets instead, which will result in fewer module dependencies and will reduce the number of potential errors (for example, missing layouts)

  • Implement user roles and security

  • Creating a new release or module export should be done while the security level of the project containing the module is set to Production

  • The status must be Complete for the following:

    • Page access
    • Microflow access
    • OData access
    • Entity access
    • Dataset access

  • For example pages and microflows to be copied to another module, select the Exclude from project option for the document in order to encourage duplication and reduce dependency errors

  • Do not rename entities and attributes when creating new versions, as data in these entities will get lost (replacing an existing module is based on the entity names)

  • The module should include the English language

4 Adding New Marketplace Content

To add content to the Marketplace, follow these steps:

  1. Click Add content in the top-right corner of the Marketplace home screen:

  2. Select the type of content you would like to publish. The available types correspond to the content catalogs available on the Marketplace home page.

  3. Depending on the category you selected, you may be asked to select a sub-category for your component, for example:

  4. Select the location where you want to publish your component:

    • Public Marketplace (all Mendix users) – your component will be available to the Mendix community (this content will have to be reviewed and approved by Mendix before it is available)
    • Private Marketplace (your company only) – your content will receive the Company only label and be available only via your Company Content page; selected private content of a user group can also be made available to user group guests for download; this content will not be reviewed by Mendix

  5. The General page will open, where you need to provide information about your component. The information you entered above is pre-filled on this page. Enter the following details:
    a. Enter a Name for your component.
    b. Enter a Description of your component (for example, “Node control is an native Android app that gives a system administrator access to the Mendix Cloud nodes being administered. From the app, the status of the different environments within a node can be monitored and an environment can be started or stopped.”).
    c. Select the Studio Pro Version on which you built the content.
    d. Select the type of License you want applied to your app (if applicable):

  6. Click Upload an Image to upload an icon for the component.

  7. On each page of the upload flow, click one of the following buttons:

    • Save Draft to save the details you have entered so far to the Drafts page of your Marketplace (which you can access via the My Drafts button in the top-right of the page)
    • Save & Continue to go to the next page of the upload flow

  8. On the Package page, select your content source:

    • If you select Select from GitHub, follow the steps in the dialog box for copying the link of the release you want to import
      • To include the repo’s README.md file on the component’s Documentation tab, make sure you have checked the Import Documentation box
      • When you are finished, click OK
    • If you select Manual upload, follow the steps in the dialog box for uploading the package source file
      • When you are finished, click Save

  9. If this is the first version of the component you are uploading, the number in the Version section of the Package page will be automatically set to 1.0.0. Enter Release Notes for the component in the box provided describing what is new in that release.

  10. On the Enable page, you can enter details on requirements and configuration for your component in the Documentation. Note that this documentation option is only available when the Import Documentation box has not been checked (on the Package page above). Follow the template for the recommended content:

    • You must fill out the following sections in order to submit your component:
      • An extended Description of the component
      • The Typical usage scenario for the component
      • The Features and limitations of the component
    • These sections are optional:
      • Any Dependencies (for example, the required Studio Pro version, modules, images, and styles)
      • The Installation steps and details
      • The Configuration steps and details
      • Any Known bugs
      • Any Frequently Asked Questions

    The editor comes with a set of basic formatting tools, such as bold, bullet lists, and URL links.

    You can attach images to your documentation in one of two ways (uploaded images cannot be resized, but linked images can):

    • Drag the image from file explorer to the editor (this will upload your image)
    • Click the Image button in the editor tools and enter a URL which points to an image

  11. Click Add Screenshot to select images of the component (especially for configuration) from your computer and upload them (this is required for submitting a new component):

    You can also optionally add a Video and Demo.

  12. Finally, on the Publish page, you can review all the details of your component you entered so far and edit as necessary (via the Edit Section button) before clicking Publish Content.

After you click Publish Content, your draft will be reviewed by Mendix within approximately 5 working days before it is visible in the Marketplace.

5 Updating Existing Marketplace Content

To update content that has already been published, follow these steps:

  1. Find the component by clicking My Marketplace and selecting one of the following:

    • My Content
    • Company Content
    • User Groups (note that if an existing Marketplace component is assigned to a user group as specific user group content, you can only update the component if you are a member of that group)

  2. Click Manage next to the component you want to update.

  3. You can edit all component details, as described in the Adding New Marketplace Content section above.

  4. In the Version section of the Package page, update the Major, Minor, and Patch numbers so that the component is saved as a new version:

    • Major update – a large change (which will save the component from version 5.0 to version 6.0, for example)
    • Minor update – a medium-sized change (which will save the component from version 6.0.0 to version 6.1.0, for example)
    • Patch – a small change (which will save the component from 6.1.0 to 6.1.1, for example)

  5. On the Publish page, you can review all the details of your component you entered so far and edit as necessary (via the Edit Section button) before clicking Publish Content.

6 Read More

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