Extensions

''This is an article about the Game Maker feature. For the information about the part of a file name, see File Extensions.''

Extensions are an easy way to add additional functionality to Game Maker.

History
Game Maker has had the ability to use DLL files since Game Maker 4.0, but such methods were difficult for developers new to Game Maker. Game Maker 7.0 introduced extensions, which allowed even developers who couldn't code to download and install new functionality into Game Maker. With the release of Game Maker 7, YoYo Games also allowed developers to upload extension packages to their website.

Creation
To create extensions, developers need to download extension maker. Also, knowledge of Delphi, or another language that can compile DLL files is necessary. Developers build DLL files with the other programming language, and then load them into Extension Maker. They then create functions in GML that implement the DLL. When the extension is loaded into Game Maker, the GML functions can be used similarly to the functions that come default with Game Maker, and appear as suggestions in the code editor.

Libraries
Extension Maker also has the ability to include Libraries, which add more action panes to the side of the object window. These are useful for building extensions for developers who can't code.