These notes guide developers through the initial setup, authentication, API calling structure, and development tools available for integrating the Wilcom Embroidery Web API into web applications.

✅ Step 1: Sign up and get API credentials

1. Visit the Wilcom Developer Portal: 👉 https://developer.wilcom.com
   
2. Register your company and select an appropriate API plan.
3. Once approved, go to Applications in the Developer Portal to:
1. View your default Application ID.
2. Click View to retrieve your Application Key.
   
4. Optionally, restrict access via IP addresses or edit application metadata.
   

📖 Step 2: Read the documentation

After signing in, read the documentation carefully, starting with...

1. EWA API methods overview
   
2. EWA data packages overview
   
3. EWA design recipe

These documents explain API structure, supported operations, and expected XML formats.

🔐 Step 3: Authentication

Every API call must include:

These are passed as POST parameters or HTTP headers depending on the implementation.

🌍 Step 4: API endpoints

Base URLs

Common API methods

💡Step 5: Calling the API

Basic example with curl

curl -X POST "https://public.ewa.wilcomapps.com/api/designInfo" \
  -H "Authorization: AppKey YOUR_APP_KEY" \
  -d '<xml><design><filename>sample.emb</filename></design></xml>'

Response

The API returns an XML string with result metadata or an error block if something fails.

🧰 Step 6: .NET integration with RestSharp

Use the Wilcom-modified RestSharp library (for .NET 4)

1. Wilcom.EWAEntity.dll
2. Wilcom.GeneralEntity.dll
3. RestSharp.dll

If using a different .NET version, download the Visual Studio 2010 source and rebuild the solution.

Sample code snippet (C#)

XmlEWARecipe recipe = new XmlEWARecipe
{
    recipe = new XmlKioskDocument
    {
        decorations = new List<decoration>
        {
            new lettering
            {
                simple_lettering = new simple_lettering
                {
                    alphabet_name = "Block2",
                    text = "My Lettering",
                    height = 20f
                },
                thread = new thread
                {
                    color = Color.Red.R | Color.Red.G << 8 | Color.Red.B << 16
                }
            }
        },
        output = new output
        {
            trueview_file = "ResultImage.png"
        }
    }
};

string xmlString = StringXmlSerializer.FastSerialize<XmlEWARecipe>(recipe, StaticXmlSerializers.GetSerializer<XmlEWARecipe>(null));

var client = new RestClient("https://public.ewa.wilcomapps.com/");
var request = new RestRequest("api/newdesigntrueview", Method.POST);

request.AddParameter("appId", YOUR_APP_ID);
request.AddParameter("appKey", YOUR_APP_KEY);
request.AddParameter("RequestXml", xmlString);

var response = client.Execute(request);

if (response.StatusCode == HttpStatusCode.OK)
{
    XmlEWAResponse result = StringXmlSerializer.FastDeserialize<XmlEWAResponse>(
        response.Content, StaticXmlSerializers.GetSerializer<XmlEWAResponse>());
    
    byte[] imageBytes = Convert.FromBase64String(result.files[0].filecontents);
    File.WriteAllBytes("Result.png", imageBytes);
}