About AddOns
Purpose
To provide a brief primer on the three types of AddOns: plugins, skins and modules.
Introduction
JW Player AddOns come in three varieties: plugins, skins and modules. Though each type of AddOn serves a different function, they all perform the same fundamental purpose - to extend the functionality of the JW player.
CONTENTS
Plugin
A plugin is a bit of code, written in either JavaScript or ActionScript 3, that is loaded by the player and extends its built-in functionality. Put more simply, a plugin is a program that performs a very specific function for the host application. The scope of a plugin's function is really only limited mainly by a developer's imagination. Examples of plugins include statistics engines, visualizers, active playlists, sharing and networking plugins, video rotators and so on. And there's really so much more plugins can do. Video editors, games, webcam recorders.
For a list of all available plugins see our Addons site.
Also, please read through our documentation on Using JW Player Plugins if you're looking to use a plugin, or our JavaScript and Flash development guides if you'd like to build a new plugin.
Skin
A JW skin refers to the appearance of the player, its outward design. Technically, it is an element of the graphical user interface that can be changed to alter the look of the player. A skin can be added to any player with the addition of one simple Flash variable in the embed code - you simply need to upload it to a public directory on your web server. With the introduction of JW Player 5, there are now two types of skins available:
- XML/PNG skins: These skins consist of an XML file which contains settings and a bunch of PNG images. The files can be packed up in a zip, which improves the time it takes for them to load over the network. Building your own skin is extremely easy and can be done with any basic image and text editor. See Building Skins for more info.
- SWF skins (deprecated): These skins consist of a single swf file, built using Adobe Flash. This type of skins has been supported since the 4.0 player. Since swf skins can only be built using Flash (a $500+ package) and since this skinning model can easily break, swf skins are considered deprecated in favor of PNG skins.
For a list of all available skins see our Addons site.
You can find additional information on using skins in the Using JW Player Skins guide, and instructions for creating skins in the Building Skins guide.
Module
A module is a unique type of AddOn. It doesn't work within the JW Player the way a plugin and skin does. Rather, a module is more like a bridge between the JW Player and other applications, platforms, and CMSs. For instance, take one of any growing number of video-based extensions for popular content management systems like Joomla, Drupal and WordPress. Some of the most popular ones incorporate the JW Player into their platform. Thus, they become something that we consider an AddOn - extending the function and uses of the JW Player - what we choose to call modules.
The term module itself is a bit loose and covers a wide range of differing AddOns. So, when attempting to download a module from our site, please know that you will be redirected to the module's developer's website. This applies to any AddOn listed as a module, and we are not responsible for any issue that arises not directly affiliated with our site. We do, however, try our best to vet any module listed in our directory.
For a list of all available modules see our Addons site.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us, or head over to the Support Forums.