What Is a Plugin
Plugins are tools to extend the basic functionality of Omeka. The core of Omeka has been designed to be powerful and flexible, offering a data model and architecture that's extensible. Plugins offer custom functions and features so that each user can tailor their Omeka site to their specific needs.
Example Plugins
The 1.1 release of Omeka is pre-packaged with 3 plugins that offer examples of how plugins work: COinS, ExhibitBuilder, & SimplePages. There are a few common uses for plugins in Omeka:
- altering the display of items and files in the archive (with flash wrapper, lightbox, etc)
- creating social features (bookmarking, commenting, favorites, rating)
- adding a new Element Set Metadata Schema and importing data into Omeka
Installing a Plugin
To install and activate a new plugin for your Omeka installation, do the following steps:
- Download and unzip the plugin.
- On your web server, add the directory you've unzipped into a directory named "plugins." You'll already see folders for the pre-packaged plugins in this directory.
- Log in to the admin panel, navigate to Settings > Plugins, and click the "install" button beside the plugin. When installing, your plugin will be simultaneously activated as well.
Creating a Plugin
For more information about developing your own plugins, refer to the Plugin Writing Best Practices, review Use Cases for Developing Plugins, and post your questions on the Developer Mailing List.
