Development Guide

Chapter 5
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Developing third-party FileMaker plug-ins 45
Installing, enabling, and configuring
the example plug-in
External function plug-in files must be installed in the appropriate
folder and enabled in FileMaker
Pro, FileMaker Pro Advanced,
FileMaker Server, or FileMaker Server Advanced before they can be
used. Some plug-ins must also be configured by the user.
Some plug-ins (and the libraries they reference) load only when the
process is executed by a user who is logged into the system; FileMaker
Server and FileMaker Server Advanced execute as a service, not as a
user process. Consequently, you need to write plug-ins differently to
work with FileMaker Server or FileMaker Server Advanced. Users
will need to see their operating system documentation to find which
libraries are typically available.
For information on installing web publishing plug-ins, see the
FileMaker Server Advanced
Web Publishing Installation Guide.
To install a plug-in, drag the plug-in file into the Extensions folder
inside the FileMaker
Pro 8 Advanced folder. In Windows, the plug-in
extension must be .fmx. In Mac OS
X, the plug-in extension must be
.fmplugin.
To enable a plug-in:
1. Open the Preferences dialog box.
Windows: Choose Edit menu > Preferences.
Mac OS X: Choose FileMaker Pro Advanced application menu >
Preferences.
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
Pro Advanced 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 49.
3. Follow instructions in the configuration dialog box to configure the
plug-in.
4. Click OK.
Select a plug-in to enable it
Plug-in description
text is defined in a
resource string