Starting in AX-3.7, non-developers are able to create new synthetic modules, and customize those using the Synthetic Module File View (editor) in Workbench, as shown below in Figure 2 and Figure 3. When creating a new synthetic module, first you must navigate to a location under the My File System Sys Home node. Right-click select New->Synthetic Module.sjar from the popup menu. An empty synthetic module is created and saved in that location.

Synthetic modules can be created and edited from anywhere in the file system, however they must reside in the modules folder of the Niagara installation to be used by the station or Workbench. Also, Workbench uses the synthetic module icon () to distinguish synthetic modules from non-synthetic ones.

An alternative, for software developers who want more control or who want to manage their module build through the Workbench command line, is create to their own synthetic modules and types and then compress the files into an .sjar file format using the Build tool. For details refer to About creating synthetic modules with the Build tool.

The option for a new synthetic module is NOT found under theWorkbench Tools menu. This option, new in AX-3.7, displays under the “New” dropdown menu when you right-click in the SysHome node.

For more details on creating a new synthetic module, refer to that procedure in the section on Creating a new synthetic module.

As described earlier, after creating the new (empty) synthetic module you must customize it to make it usable. Double-clicking the file icon for the new synthetic module launches the Synthetic Module File View (editor) where you customize and save your changes, and restart Workbench or the station.