Development Guide

36 FileMaker Pro Advanced Development Guide
Installing plug-ins
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 executes as a service, not as a user process. Consequently, you
need to write plug-ins differently to work with FileMaker Server. 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 FileMaker Server Help.
To install a plug-in, drag the plug-in file into the FileMaker user’s Extensions folder as follows:
In Windows, the plug-in extension must be .fmx. In Mac OS X, the plug-in extension must be .fmplugin.
Enabling plug-ins
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 FileMaker 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.
On this
operating
system:
Store the plug-in in this folder:
Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Local Settings\Application Data\FileMaker\Extensions\
Windows Vista
or
Windows 7
C:\users\user_name\AppData\Local\FileMaker\Extensions\
Mac OS X Macintosh HD/Users/user_name/Library/Application Support/FileMaker/Extensions
Select a plug-in to enable it
Plug-in description
text is defined in a
resource string