FileMaker Plugin Developer: Fusion Plugins
Number of Plugins: 5 FileMaker Plugins
When did you first start using FileMaker?
A brief stint teaching in 1991, then I programmed in 4D for a few years before “switching” to FileMaker in 1996 which happily coincided with the release of v3, when the relational structure was introduced.
What made you start making FileMaker Plugins?
Need… we needed to do faxing and nothing much existed at the time.
Do you use any plugins created by other people? If so which ones?
Very rarely – occasionally something specific and esoteric… e.g.
Troi Serial. Our own plugins cover most everything else including Mail
sending and
receiving,
Reactor – pretty much any UI enhancement we want, and
TCPdirect for low level TCP communications – web services and the like.
Which of your own plugins do you feel is your best work?
Unquestionably Reactor!
Do you think making plugins cross-platform is important?
Absolutely – that’s part of the appeal of FileMaker itself. It’s a nuisance though because it creates a lot of extra work versus single paltform development, and it means you that if you leverage platform specific APIs you have to code the other platform completely differently.
What do you think of FileMaker adding features that come from Plugins? Such as Printing to PDF and Script Triggering?
I think that’s OK… when you build a plugin you’re mindful of that possibility, and you have a choice to either make your plugin added value – like Sendmail plugins still have quite an edge over the built in Send Mail script step because with a plugin you can send HTML and multiple attachments.
What do you think the next feature originally come from a plugin FileMaker will add will be?
I have no idea!
Do you think Free plugins harm companies who sell plugins?
I don’t think so – they could – but I don’t think that happens.
What features would make the next version FileMaker perfect?
Fundamentally I’d like to see FileMaker Advanced positioned as a real development tool for building solutions whereas FileMaker Pro should be the “Desktop Database”, albeit sitting above Bento. Um, so in the next version of FileMaker Advanced I’d love to see all the little convenience issues developers need addressed like custom function handling, more powerful script editing… and much better UI building tools with dynamic control over the UI.
Any tips for people who want to make a FileMaker Plugin themselves?
- Don’t do it for the money – the market is too small
- Do it for either your own need, or for the fun of it, or as a contribution to the community
- It’ll take much longer than you think
- Learn C first
