Guide to Updating Plug-ins

Updating plug-ins
This guide describes how to use the Auto Update feature in FileMaker
®
Server. Auto Update ensures that
FileMaker
Pro database clients have the most current plug-in software installed on their computers. You can
download plug-ins from FileMaker Server by including Auto Update functions in user defined scripts saved
with FileMaker Pro database files. The following describes the Auto Update feature, an example script, and
the Auto Update functions.
This guide assumes that you know how to define fields and scripts and use plug-ins in
FileMaker Pro database files.
For information about creating plug-ins, see “Developing third-party FileMaker plug-ins” in the
FileMaker
Pro Advanced Development Guide. The FileMaker Pro Advanced CD includes an example
plug-in project that you can modify to include your own external functions.
When you distribute FileMaker Pro databases in a server and client environment, any plug-ins required by
your database can be installed on each client computer that accesses the database. If you make a change to
a plug-in, the updated plug-in should be distributed to all client computers that access the database. In a large
organization, manually updating many client computers can be time consuming. You can use the Auto
Update feature, available in FileMaker Server, to download updated files automatically.
The following illustration shows one way to use Auto Update to check both the client and server computers
for the existence of a plug-in required by your database.
Error: Plug-in is
missing or disabled
Is the Auto Update
plug-in enabled on the
client computer?
Is the required
plug-in installed on the
client computer?
Is it the correct version
of the plug-in?
Is the required
plug-in installed on the
server computer?
Do nothing
Is it the version
of the plug-in required
by the database?
Download the plug-in to the
client computer and enable it
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Start
Error: Plug-in
is missing
Error: Plug-in
is missing
No