Guide to Updating Plug-ins

8 FileMaker Server Guide to Updating Plug-ins
4. The string is searched for the version returned by the YourPlugIn_Version function. In this case, the
server plug-in version is newer than the client version, so the version on the server is greater than the
version of the plug-in on the client computer.
5. The external function FMSAUC_UpdatePlugIn places the required plug-in into the current user’s
FileMaker Extensions folder as follows:
The out-of-date plug-in is moved to the Extensions\Saved folder.
When starting, FileMaker Pro first loads the plug-ins stored in the current user’s FileMaker Extensions
folder. If a particular plug-in is not found in that folder, FileMaker Pro searches for that plug-in in the
Extensions folder for the FileMaker Pro application.
Preparing Mac OS plug-ins with resource forks for Auto Update
FileMaker Server on Mac OS temporarily converts an uncompressed Mac OS plug-in to the .tar format for
downloading to clients. However, this automatic conversion deletes any resource forks, which may make a
plug-in that contained a resource fork unusable by the client.
Mac OS plug-in files that contain a resource fork require special actions to work properly with Auto Update:
1 The plug-in must be manually compressed before being placed on FileMaker Server.
1 Any Mac OS FileMaker Pro client using Auto Update with this plug-in must have StuffIt Expander
installed to automatically decompress the plug-in.
To manually compress a plug-in containing a resource fork:
1. Use a third-party utility like StuffIt Standard to manually compress the entire Mac OS plug-in into a
single file such as a .sitx archive. You can use any utility that compresses files with resource forks, as
long as the output file can be automatically decompressed by StuffIt Expander.
2. Rename the compressed file with the .sitx or other extension to end with .tar. For example, if the plug-in
was named test.fmplugin, and the compressed file is named test.fmplugin.sitx, that
compressed file must be renamed to test.fmplugin.tar.
3. Place the compressed plug-in on the server computer in the appropriate folder. See “Where to store plug-
ins on FileMaker Server” on page 9.
Important StuffIt Expander must be installed on the Mac OS client computer to expand the specially
compressed plug-in. Auto Update automatically calls StuffIt Expander after downloading the plug-in.
On this operating
system: The plug-in is stored in this folder:
Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Local Settings\Application Data\FileMaker\Extensions\
Windows Vista C:\users\user_name\AppData\Local\FileMaker\Extensions\
Windows 7 C:\users\user_name\AppData\Local\FileMaker\Extensions\
Mac OS X Macintosh HD/Users/user_name/Library/Application Support/FileMaker/Extensions/