Extension/plugin development tools - integrated into the IDE or separate?

Part of our application is a fairly extensive plugin development kit allowing third parties to write extensions and add-ons that can be added to the product.

In addition to the standard libraries, project templates etc, there are a number of tools that are shipped that speed up development. For instance a custom resource editor that allows people to localize their plugins using the in-house resource framework.

Currently these tools are standalone applications that are installed as part of the PDK. We've had a suggestion to integrate them into the developm开发者_运维知识库ent environments that customers can use to write plugins, including Visual Studio and MonoDevelop.

As developers, what would your preference be? Would you prefer to stay within the IDE and have another window docked to the side allowing you manage resources, or an entirely separate application that doesn't require the IDE?