Plug-in Area
Overview
A plug-in area is an area on the form that is completely controlled by a plug-in. The ability to incorporate plug-ins into forms gives you unlimited possibilities when creating custom applications. A plug-in can perform a simple task such as displaying a digital clock on a form, or a complex task such as providing full-featured word processing, spreadsheet, or graphics capabilities.
When opening a database, 4D creates an internal list of the plug-ins installed in your database. Once you have inserted a Plug-in Area in a form, you can assign a plug-in to the area directly in the Type list in the Property List:
Some plug-ins, such as 4D Internet Commands, cannot be used in forms or external windows. When a plug-in cannot be used in a form, it does not appear in the plug-in list of the Property List.
If you draw a plug-in area that is too small, 4D will display it as a button whose title is the name of the variable associated with the area. During execution, the user can click on this button in order to open a specific window displaying the plug-in.
Advanced properties
If advanced options are provided by the author of the plug-in, a Plug-in theme containing an Advanced Properties button may be enabled in the Property list. In this case, you can click this button to set these options, usually through a custom dialog box.
Installing plug-ins
To add a plug-in in your 4D environment, you first need to quit 4D. Plug-ins are loaded when you launch 4D. For more information about the installation of plug-ins, refer to Installing plugins or components.
Creating plug-ins
If you are interested in designing your own plug-ins, you can receive extensive information about writing and implementing plug-ins. 4D provides a complete kit (on github) to help you write custom plug-ins.
Supported Properties
Border Line Style - Bottom - Advanced Properties - Class - Draggable - Droppable - Expression Type - Focusable - Height - Horizontal Sizing - Left - Method - Object Name - Plug-in Kind - Right - Top - Type - Variable or Expression - Vertical Sizing - Visibilty - Width