Configure external tools

Use the externaltools.conf file to run actions from external tools on selected objects.

If you configure actions, these actions appear in the submenu when you right-click and select Open in the following locations:

  • Controlled and private items in the Workspace Explorer tab.
  • The Pending Changes tab
  • The History view (Windows only)

The actions also appear as a new context menu item, External tools, in the following locations:

  • The Branches tab
  • The Changesets tab
  • The Labels tab
  • The History side panel (only GTK and macOS)

Create the externaltools.conf file

Create the externaltools.conf file in one of the following locations:

Note: The following locations are listed in order of precedence. For example, a configuration file in plastic-global-config overrides a configuration file in the plastic4 directory.

  • In the plastic-global-config repository under /externaltools/externaltools.conf so that all clients have the same settings by default.
  • In your client installation directory.
  • In the plastic4 directory:
    • Windows: under C:\Users\<em>user</em>\AppData\Local\plastic4
    • Linux or macOS: under $HOME/.plastic4

Syntax

Use the following syntax for the externaltools.conf file:

<objectType>[:<objectType>[...]] | <toolName> | <actionToRun> | <args>

Parameters

ParameterDescription
objectTypeThe name of the target object. The object can be an item, label, changeset, or branch. To combine objects, use : to separate them,
toolNameThe name of the tool you want the context menu to display.
actionToRunThe path or environment variable:
  • pathToExecutable: the absolute path to the target application.
  • %PATH_TO_TOOL_EXE%: the name of the environment variable that contains the path to the target application.
    You don’t need to escape or protect spaces.
argsThe arguments line to pass to the target application. There are three supported placeholders:
  • @object: replaces with the object name.
  • @repository: replaces with the repository of the object.
  • @wkpath: replaces with the current workspace path.
    If the replaced values contain blank spaces, you need to surround them with quotes.

externaltools.conf file example

Refer to the following example of a valid externaltools.conf file:

item | Open with sublime | C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 3\subl.exe | "@object"
label:changeset:branch | Create new code review... | /usr/bin/createcodereview | "@object@@repository" @wkpath
item | Preview with PhotoScape | %PHOTOSCAPE_PATH% | "@object"
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