Development Guide

Chapter 5
Developing third-party FileMaker plug-ins
If you are a C or C++ programmer and familiar with calculations in
FileMaker
Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can create external
function plug-ins that extend the feature set of the applications. The
plug-ins can take advantage of recursion and looping or hook into
other programming interfaces. Users can enable your plug-ins in
FileMaker
Pro, FileMaker Pro Advanced, and FileMaker Server and
use your external functions in their calculation fields and scripts.
You can use FileMaker Server to ensure that FileMaker Pro clients
always have the most current plug-in software installed on their
computers. See FileMaker Server Guide to Updating Plug-Ins,
available on www.filemaker.com/downloads.
Note See Help for detailed, comprehensive information and step-by-
step procedures about using FileMaker Pro Advanced.
About external functions
The FileMaker Pro Advanced CD includes an example plug-in project
that you can modify to include your own external functions. Users can
access your plug-ins through the Specify Calculation dialog box.
Follow these general steps to prepare your custom plug-ins:
1. Edit the example plug-in files to add your custom
programming code.
2. Compile and test the customized plug-in.
3. Install the compiled plug-in file for your users.
To access your external functions, your users:
1. Enable your plug-in through the Preferences dialog box.
2. Configure your plug-in, if required.
3. Define or edit a calculation field.
4. In the Specify Calculation dialog box, choose
Function_Name(parameter 1 ...) as the calculation formula.
To see all external functions, select External functions from the View
drop-down list.
About the example plug-in
The example plug-in project is designed to illustrate what a complete
plug-in looks like. You can compile the example project files to create
a plug-in with several external functions that users can access through
the Specify Calculation dialog box. You can examine and modify the
source code of the example files in any text editor.
The plug-in example includes several external functions. See
“Description of the FMExample plug-in’s external functions” on
page 35.
The plug-in example files include all the source code required to
compile the plug-in for the Windows and Mac
OS X platforms. In
addition to the plug-in source code, FileMaker Pro Advanced includes
project files for Microsoft Visual Studio, and Apple Xcode.
The example plug-in files are located in the
English
Extras\Examples\FMExample folder on the FileMaker Pro
Advanced CD. The plug-in example source code files are located in
subfolders in the FMExample plug-in folder. The following tables
describe some of the folders and files.