This is a list of truly free plugins for FileMaker Pro. I don't
consider demo versions and trial versions free, so
if the developer doesn't provide a fully functional plugin that
that is completely free of charge, they are not included here.
- The
Protolight Plugins (several free plugins) are quite old now,
but some are still usable, even with FM8. The only free file manipulation
plugin I know of.
- MyFMButler.com has recently released the
DoScript plugin,
which allows you to trigger the execution of a script whenever a field or record
changes. Spiffy!
- Murray's
Freeware Plugin provides several kind of obscure but possibly useful functions.
Old, but might still be useful.
- TextFormation
Plugin from Hi-Voltage can format numbers and strings using
predefined masks, great if you need to standardize phone numbers,
for example. Nice!
- Jens Teich has made available a free plugin
for evaluating regular expressions. Cool!
- aUtils
Plugin from Peninsula Software does some fairly specialized string manipulations.
Not the most useful functions ever, but if you happen to need them, they're free.
- Datamatics offers two "free" plugins for
FileMaker, one that pops up a login prompt, and one that provides
a simple time selector for entering time values. Unfortunately,, they are free,
but not freely distributable, fee required for developer use. :(
- The Softwares 4
Humans EventScript plugin allows you to run a script when a
calculation is evaluated. Keen!
- Abstrakt
offers two simple but useful plugins. Shell plugin runs a shell
command and returns the output of the command. The Twain plugin
lets you scan from your default TWAIN scanner into a FM field.
Nifty! [Note: Abstrakt's site seems to be having issues, so I've mirrored
their plugin downloads.
Examples of Plugin Source Code
- Troi Automatisering does not really have any free plugins
anymore. They offer what they call sample plugin source code for download,
but it's only available in Code Warrior form, and it's of limited value due to
license restrictions. If you're interested, Troi's sample code is available here.
If you're looking for plugin source code to base your own project on, you're better off with
the 24U Plugin Template, which allows modification and redistribution. (see next item.)
- 24U offers a free plugin source code
template for developers. Very useful as a starting point for
creating your own custom plugins, better than FileMaker's own SDK
example IMHO. Muy bien!
- Another freebie from 24U, the evaluation version of their
SimpleHighlight plugin
now also includes free source code for a lite version of the plugin
- Here's something interesting... LISP source
code for the regular expression plugin listed above. Unfortunately,
the extraordinarily expensive LispWorks is required, which makes this of little
practical value to most folks.
Other potentially helpful links for prospective plugin developers...
Last updated 12-02-2006