You can add custom functionality to FORMCYCLE by uploading custom plugins written in Java on the system plugin management page.
If the plugin manifest contains the attribute Build-Time or Build-Timestamp, the value of that attribute is shown next to the plugin version, provided it is a SNAPSHOT version. This is helpful when you develop plugins as it helps yuo to distinguish between different SNAPSHOT versions.
Plugins are downloaded via the web browser. If you encounter trouble when installing or downloading a plugin, please also check your network settings or contact an administrator.
Contents
Uploading a plugin
Click the browse button and select the JAR file to upload the plugin. The field plugin name will show the plugin name of the uploaded file. To apply changes to the plugin, the plugin configuration must be saved via the Save button.
While saving, the system will scan the JAR file for implementations of one of the above-mentioned interfaces that will then be available.
Should the JAR file not contain at least of FORMCYCLE's plugin interfaces, the plugin will be discarded and will not be available.
Update plugin
Plugins can be updated in two ways: manually by uploading a JAR file for an existing plugin and automatically by clicking the update button as soon as an update for a plugin is available.
Manual update
The manual update button allows you to update the selected plugin by uploading a JAR file from your own file system. To complete the manual update, the plugin must be saved to apply the changes.
Automatic update
The automatic update of the plugin can be done via one of the update buttons. The current version of the plugin is automatically downloaded from the update server and the selected plugin is updated. Whether the plugin is current or needs an update is indicated by the marking in the General Information next to the version. If the plugin is marked as unknown, it is not an official plugin from formcycle.
In addition, you can check at any time whether updates are available for the plugin. This check is also carried out automatically in the background on a regular basis. If updates are available for plugins, this is displayed in the notification area at the top right.
All possible updates for plug-ins are displayed here. A click on the link button leads directly to the plugin administration of the respective client. In addition, the notifications can be removed again if required.
Plugin store
In the plugin administration, the plugin store can be opened via the button at the bottom left. This contains all freely available plugins.
Click on the Install button to install the plugin automatically in the background. To get more details about the plugin, click on the Read more button. All relevant information such as the version history or important metadata of the plugin is displayed here.
If one of the plugins is already installed in the plugin store and a new version is available, the plugin can also be updated via the plugin store.
Deactivating a plugin
Use the button to deactivate the selected plugin and the button to activate it again. A deactivated plugin behaves as if it had been deleted. However, all configured settings of the plugin remain saved and the plugin may be activated again at any time.
Server limitation
8.1.0+
By default, plugins are available on all servers (provided that the plugin supports installation on a frontend server). Optionally, you can limit a plugin to only master or frontend servers. This is an advanced option that is needed only in some rare cases, such as for malware scanner plugins that require a certain operating system.
Version history
The version history contains a list of all existing versions of the installed plugin. New features, changes and corrections of the plugin are described in more detail. Certain versions of a plugin can make the plugin incompatible for older formcycle versions, making the plugin compatible only for higher formcycle versions.
Contained plugin
This table lists all the FORMCYCLE plugin interface implementation contained in this plugin bundle, as well as their type.
Properties
All global properties of the plugin bundle can be seen and modified here. New entries can be added, existing entries modified or removed.
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