Developer’s Guide

Developing third-party FileMaker plug-ins 61
2. Click the Plug-Ins tab.
3. Select the plug-in in the list.
A plug-in will appear in the list if it’s installed in the correct folder
inside the FileMaker Developer application folder.
To configure a plug-in:
1. Select the plug-in in the Preferences dialog box.
2. Click Configure.
The Configure button is only available when the sixth character in the
option string of the selected plug-in is “Y.” See
“Option string
syntax” on page 65.
3. Follow instructions in the configuration dialog box to configure
the plug-in.
4. Click OK.
Description of the FMExample plug-in’s
external functions
The FMExample plug-in provided in the Microsoft Visual C++ and
CodeWarrior example projects adds the following external functions
to FileMaker
Pro, FileMaker Developer, and FileMaker Server.
Select a plug-in to enable it
Plug-in description
text is defined in a
resource string
Function’s name
and parameter Description of external function
XMpl_Add
(number1; number2)
Adds number1 and number2 together and returns
the result. The function is the same as the plus
operator in the calculation engine.
XMpl_Append
(textToAppend ...)
Takes a multiple list of parameters, concatenates
them, and returns the result. The function is the
same as the ampersand operator in the calculation
engine.
XMpl_Evaluate
(calcToEvaluate)
Takes a simple or complex calculation, evaluates
the calculation, and returns the result. Any
calculation supported by FileMaker can be passed
to this function. The function is identical to the
Evaluate function in the calculation engine.
XMpl_NumToWords
(number)
Returns a number in bank check format. For
example 44.345 returns Forty-Four Dollars and 34
Cents. All digits beyond the second decimal place
and any alphabetical characters are ignored.
XMpl_StartScript
(filename; scriptname)
Runs the script specified by the scriptname
parameter on the file specified by the filename
parameter.