The easiest way to test a destination plugin is to create a test channel with LLP Listener as the source component and To Plugin as the destination component. You can then use the HL7 Simulator, included with your installation of Iguana, to send test messages through the channel and ensure that the plugin receives them properly.

To create the test channel:

• In the Dashboard Control Panel, click Add Channel. The Select Channel Components screen appears.
• From the Source list box, select LLP Listener.
• From the Destination list box, select To Plugin.
• Click Configure Channel.
• Click the Channel tab. The Channel screen appears:

• In the Channel name field, specify a name to identify the channel on the Dashboard and in the plugin.
• Click the Source tab, and make a note of the port that appears in the Port field. The HL7 Simulator will use this port to send the messages.
• Click the Destination tab. The From Plugin screen appears:

• Unselect the Iguana starts executable check box. You will notice that most of the fields on this screen have now disappeared. Leave the remaining fields unchanged.
• Click Add Channel to add the channel.

After you have created the channel, you can use the HL7 Simulator to test the plugin.

To test the plugin:

• Start the channel that you created.
• Open the HL7 Simulator application. (To access it, click Start, then Programs, iNTERFACEWARE, HL7 Analytical Tools and HL7 Simulator.)

• In the Host field, type localhost.
• In the Port field, type the port you specified for the LLP Listener source component of your channel.
• Create or locate the file that contains the test messages that you want to use.
• In the Message File field, type or browse for the location of the file containing the messages you want to use to test your plugin.

	If you have used plugin_receive_test.vmd to create a test file, you can use this test message to test your plugin: plugin_test.txt.

• Start the plugin. Your development environment may enable you to start the plugin from within the environment, or you can start the plugin manually from a command line prompt. When starting the plugin, you will need to provide three parameters: the hostname, the port, and the name of your channel.
• After you have started the plugin, in the HL7 Simulator, click Start to send the test message.

When the HL7 Simulator sends the test message, an OnMessageReceived event is triggered in the plugin. The event handler writes the test message to the plugin console window.

• In the Iguana Dashboard, click Stop to stop your channel. The application window indicates that Iguana has closed the connection.
• Press any key to close the plugin.
• In Iguana, examine the Dashboard to check whether any errors were detected while the channel was running.
• Click the Logs tab. If the message has been successfully sent to the plugin, the message and its acknowledgment message are displayed in the logs.

After you have successfully tested your plugin, you can create a production channel that processes the messages that are to be received by your plugin. This production channel can automatically start the plugin when the channel is started. For details on how to create this channel, see Creating a Channel For a Destination Plugin.