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Visual Component Library

Reference
Delphi for Windows
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Copyright
Agreement

This manual is a reference for the Delphi Visual Component Library (VCL) and the
Delphi run-time library. Use it when you want to look up the details of a particular VCL
object, component, variable, property, method, event, routine, or type and find out how
to use it.
Note See online Help for documentation of the Object Pascal Language Definition and
Reference.

Manual conventions
The printed manuals for Delphi use the typefaces and symbols described in
Table Intro.1 to indicate special text.
Table Intro.1 Typefaces and symbols in these manuals
Typeface or symbol Meaning
Monospace type Monospaced text represents text as it appears onscreen or in Object Pascal code.
It also represents anything you must type.
Boldface Boldfaced words in text or code listings represent Object Pascal reserved words
or compiler directives.
Italics Italicized words in text represent Object Pascal identifiers, such as variable or
type names. Italics are also used to emphasize certain words, such as new terms.
Keycaps This typeface indicates a key on your keyboard. For example, “Press Esc to exit a
menu.”
This symbol indicates a key, or important property, method, or event.
This symbol indicates a run-time only property, method or event.

Contacting Borland
The Borland Assist program offers a range of technical support plans to fit the different
needs of individuals, consultants, large corporations, and developers. To receive help
with this product send in the registration card and select the Borland Assist plan that
best suits your needs. North American customers can register by phone 24 hours a day
by calling 1-800-845-0147. For additional details on these and other Borland services, see
the Borland Assist Support and Services Guide included with this product.

Introduction 1
Delphi Visual Component Library
The VCL is made up of objects, most of which are also components. Using the objects
and components of VCL, you are unlimited in the range of Windows programs you can
develop rapidly. Delphi itself was built using VCL.
Delphi objects contain both code and data. The data is stored in the fields and properties
of the objects, and the code is made up of methods that act upon the field and property
values. All objects descend from the ancestor object TObject.
Components are visual objects that you can manipulate at design time. All components
descend from the TComponent object. To program with a component, this is the model
you will use most frequently:
1 Select a component from Delphi’s Component palette and add it to a form.
2 Set property values of the component using the Object Inspector.
3 Respond to events that might occur to the component at run time. To respond to an
event, you write code within an event handler. Your code modifies property values
and calls methods.
For detailed information on how to perform these three steps, see the Delphi User’s
Guide.
You can create your own objects and components by deriving them from the existing
Delphi objects and components. For information about writing your own components,
see the Delphi Component Writer’s Guide.

Visual Component Library objects

Objects are the fundamental elements of the VCL. In fact, all components and controls
are based on objects.
Objects differ from controls in that you can access them only at run time. Unlike most
components, objects do not appear on the Component palette. Instead, a default
instance variable is declared in the unit of the object or you have to declare one yourself.
For example, the Clipboard variable is declared in the Clipbrd unit. To use a TClipboard
object, add the Clipbrd unit to the uses clause of the unit, then refer to the Clipboard
variable. However, to use a TBitmap object, add the Graphics unit to the uses clause of
the unit, then execute the following code at run time to declare an instance variable:
var
Bitmap1: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap1 := TBitmap.Create;
end;
Note The memory allocated for objects that you explicitly declare should be released when
you are finished with the object. For example, call the Free method of the bitmap:
Bitmap1.Free;

2 Delphi Visual Component Library

The properties, methods, and events that all objects have in common are inherited from
an abstract object type called TObject. You need to understand the internal details of
TObject only if you are creating a new object based on TObject.
The following is a list of all objects in the VCL that directly descend from TObject.:
Table Intro.2 VCL objects
TBitmap TGraphic TOutlineNode
TBlobStream TGraphicsObject TParam
TBrush TIcon TParams
TCanvas TIndexDef TPen
TClipboard TIndexDefs TPicture
TControlScrollBar TIniFile TPrinter
TFieldDef TList TStringList
TFieldDefs TMetafile TStrings
TFont TOLEDropNotify

Note In addition to these objects, all VCL components also descend from TObject, although
not directly.
The TObject object introduces the following methods that all objects and components
inherit:
Table Intro.3 Object methods
ClassName ClassType Destroy
ClassParent Create Free

Visual Component Library components

Components are the building blocks of Delphi applications. You build an application by
adding components to forms and using the properties, methods, and events of the
components.
The properties, methods, and events that all components have in common are inherited
from an abstract component type called TComponent. You need to understand the
internal details of TComponent only if you are writing a component based on
TComponent.
The following is a list of all components in the VCL:
Table Intro.4 VCL components
TApplication TDDEClientItem TOutline
TBatchMove TDDEServerConv TPaintBox
TBCDField TDDEServerItem TPanel
TBevel TDirectoryListBox TPopupMenu
TBitBtn TDrawGrid TPrintDialog
TBlobField TDriveComboBox TPrinterSetupDialog
TBooleanField TEdit TQuery

Introduction 3
Table Intro.4 VCL components (continued)
TButton TField TRadioButton
TBytesField TFileListBox TRadioGroup
TCheckBox TFilterComboBox TReplaceDialog
TColorDialog TFindDialog TReport
TComboBox TFloatField TSaveDialog
TCurrencyField TFontDialog TScreen
TDatabase TForm TScrollBar
TDataSource TGraphicField TScrollBox
TDateField TGroupBox TSession
TDateTimeField THeader TShape
TDBCheckBox TImage TSmallIntField
TDBComboBox TIntegerField TSpeedButton
TDBEdit TLabel TStoredProc
TDBGrid TListBox TStringField
TDBImage TMainMenu TStringGrid
TDBListBox TMaskEdit TTabbedNotebook
TDBLookupCombo TMediaPlayer TTable
TDBLookupList TMemo TTabSet
TDBMemo TMemoField TTimeField
TDBNavigator TMenuItem TTimer
TDBRadioGroup TNotebook TVarBytesField
TDBText TOLEContainer TWordField
TDDEClientConv TOpenDialog

Most components are available from the Component palette. You will not find the
following components on the Component palette, however:
Table Intro.5 Components not on the Component palette
TApplication TDateTimeField TScreen
TBCDField TField TSession
TBlobField TFloatField TSmallIntField
TBooleanField TGraphicField TStringField
TBytesField TIntegerField TTimeField
TCurrencyField TMemoField TVarBytesField
TDateField TMenuItem TWordField

The TComponent component introduces the following properties that all components
inherit:
Table Intro.6 Component properties
ComponentCount Components Owner
ComponentIndex Name Tag

4 Delphi Visual Component Library

In addition to the methods components inherit from the TObject object, the TComponent
component introduces the following:
Table Intro.7 Component methods
FindComponent InsertComponent RemoveComponent

Visual Component Library controls

Controls are visual components; that is, they are components you can see when your
application is running. All controls have properties in common that specify the visual
attributes of controls, such as Left, Top, Height, Width, Cursor, and Hint.
The properties, methods, and events that all controls have in common are inherited
from an abstract component type called TControl. You need to understand the internal
details of TControl only if you are writing a component based on TControl.
The following is a list of all controls in the VCL.
Table Intro.8 VCL controls
TBevel TDBText TNotebook
TBitBtn TDirectoryListBox TOLEContainer
TButton TDrawGrid TOutline
TCheckBox TDriveComboBox TPaintBox
TComboBox TEdit TPanel
TDBCheckBox TFileListBox TRadioButton
TDBComboBox TFilterComboBox TRadioGroup
TDBEdit TForm TScrollBar
TDBGrid TGroupBox TScrollBox
TDBImage THeader TShape
TDBListBox TImage TSpeedButton
TDBLookupCombo TLabel TStringGrid
TDBLookupList TListBox TTabbedNotebook
TDBMemo TMaskEdit TTabSet
TDBNavigator TMediaPlayer
TDBRadioGroup TMemo

In addition to the properties controls inherit from the TComponent component, the
TControl component introduces the following:
Table Intro.9 Control properties
Align Cursor ShowHint
BoundsRect Enabled Top
ClientHeight Height Visible
ClientOrigin Hint Width
ClientRect Left
ClientWidth Parent

Introduction 5
In addition to the methods controls inherit from the TComponent component, the
TControl component introduces the following methods:
Table Intro.10 Control methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf Repaint
BringToFront GetTextLen ScreenToClient
ClientToScreen Hide SetBounds
ControlAtPos Invalidate SetTextBuf
Dragging Refresh Show
EndDrag SendToBack Update

Visual Component Library windowed controls

Windowed controls are controls that:
• Can receive focus while your application is running
• Can contain other controls
• Have a window handle
All windowed controls have properties in common that specify their focus attributes,
such as HelpContext, TabStop, and TabOrder. Windowed controls also provide the
OnEnter and OnExit events.
The properties, methods, and events that all windowed controls have in common are
inherited from an abstract component type called TWinControl. You need to understand
the internal details of TWinControl only if you are writing a component based on
TWinControl.
The following is a list of all windowed controls in the VCL:
Table Intro.11 VCL windowed controls
TBitBtn TDBNavigator TMediaPlayer
TButton TDBRadioGroup TMemo
TCheckBox TDirectoryListBox TNotebook
TComboBox TDrawGrid TOLEContainer
TDBCheckBox TDriveComboBox TOutline
TDBComboBox TEdit TPanel
TDBEdit TFileListBox TRadioButton
TDBGrid TFilterComboBox TRadioGroup
TDBImage TForm TScrollBar
TDBListBox TGroupBox TScrollBox
TDBLookupCombo THeader TStringGrid
TDBLookupList TListBox TTabbedNotebook
TDBMemo TMaskEdit TTabSet

6 Delphi Visual Component Library

In addition to the properties windowed controls inherit from the TControl component,
the TWinControl component introduces the following properties:
Table Intro.12 Windowed control properties
Brush Handle TabOrder
Controls HelpContext TabStop
ControlCount Showing

In addition to the methods windowed controls inherit from the TControl component, the
TWinControl component introduces the following methods:
Table Intro.13 Windowed control methods
CanFocus Focused RemoveControl
ClientOrigin HandleAllocated ScaleBy
Create HandleNeeded ScrollBy
Destroy InsertControl SetFocus

The TWinControl component introduces the following events:

Table Intro.14 Windowed control events
OnEnter OnExit

Visual Component Library nonwindowed controls

Nonwindowed controls are controls that:
• Cannot receive focus while your application is running
• Cannot contain other controls
• Do not have a window handle
The properties, methods, and events that all windowed controls have in common are
inherited from an abstract component type called TGraphicControl. You need to
understand the internal details of TGraphicControl only if you are writing a component
based on TGraphicControl.
The following is a list of all nonwindowed controls in the VCL:
Table Intro.15 VCL nonwindowed controls
TBevel TLabel TSpeedButton
TDBText TPaintBox
TImage TShape

Visual Component Library procedures and functions

These procedures and functions are part of the VCL, but they aren’t methods of any
components or objects. They are categorized here by how they are used.

Introduction 7
The following routines are used to display messages in dialog boxes:
Table Intro.16 Message dialog box routines
InputBox MessageDlg
InputQuery MessageDlgPos

The following routines are used to define menu command short cuts.
Table Intro.17 Menu shortcut routines
ShortCut ShortCutToText
ShortCutToKey TextToShortCut

The following routines are used to determine the parent form of components:
Table Intro.18 Parent form routines
GetParentForm ValidParentForm

The following routines are used to create graphical points and rectangles:
Table Intro.19 Point and rectangle routines
Bounds Point Rect

The following routines are used to control Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
container applications:
Table Intro.20 OLE routines
BOLEMediumCalc LinksDlgEnabled ReleaseOLEInitInfo
ClearFormOLEDropFormats PasteSpecialDlg SetFormOLEDropFormats
InsertOLEObjectDlg PasteSpecialEnabled
LinksDlg RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget

Library reference
The alphabetical reference following the sample entry in the next section contains a
detailed description of the Delphi VCL objects, components, variables, properties,
methods, events, routines, and types you use to develop Windows applications. The
reference also contains the procedures, functions, types, variables, and constants that
make up the Delphi run-time library and are declared in the System and SysUtils units.
These procedures and functions are useful routines that exist outside of the objects of
VCL. They are presented here so that you only need to search one reference source for
the information you need about programming Delphi applications.
Each alphabetically listed entry contains the declaration format and a description of the
entry. If the entry is an object, component, routine, or type, the unit that contains the
entry is listed at the beginning of the entry. (The unit that corresponds to a variable,
property, method, or event is the unit that contains the object or component to which the
entry belongs.) If the entry applies to specific objects or components, they are listed. The

8 Delphi Visual Component Library

cross-referenced entries and examples provide additional information about how to use
the specified entry. The following sample illustrates this format.

Sample entry Unit it occupies (if applicable)

Applies to
Listing of the objects and components the entry applies to, if any.

Declaration
{ The declaration of the entry from the unit it occupies }
A description containing specific information about the entry.
Note Any special notes that apply to the entry

Example
A description of the example code that follows.
{ Example code which illustrates the use of the entry }

See also
Related entries that are also listed in the VCL Reference.

Introduction 9
10 Delphi Visual Component Library
Delphi Library Reference
Chapter 0

Abort method
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
procedure Abort;
The Abort procedure terminates the printing of a print job, dropping all unprinted data.
The device is then set for the next print job. Use Abort to terminate the print job before it
completes; otherwise, use the EndDoc method.
To use the Abort method, you must add the Printers unit to the uses clause of your unit.

Example
The following code aborts a print job if the user presses Esc. Note that you should set
KeyPreview to True to ensure that the OnKeyDown event handler of Form1 is called.
procedure TForm1.FormKeyDown(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;
Shift: TShiftState);
begin
if (Key=VK_ESCAPE) and Printer.Printing then
begin
Printer.Abort;
MessageDlg('Printing aborted', mtInformation, [mbOK],0);
end;
end;

See also
BeginDoc method, EndDoc method, Printer variable, Printing property

Abort procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure Abort;
The Abort procedure raises a special “silent exception” which operates like any other
exception, but does not display an error message to the end user.
Use Abort to escape from an execution path without reporting an error.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 11

Aborted property

Aborted property
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
property Aborted: Boolean;
Run-time and read-only. The Aborted property determines if the user aborted the print
job, thereby calling the Abort method. If Aborted is True, the print job was aborted. If it is
False, the user did not abort the print job.

Example
The following code displays a dialog box if the print job was aborted:
if Printer.Aborted then
MessageDlg(‘The print job did not finish printing’), mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

See also
Abort method, Printer variable, Printing property

AbortOnKeyViol property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property AbortOnKeyViol: Boolean;
If AbortOnKeyViol is True (the default) and an integrity (key) violation occurs during the
batch move operation, the Execute method will immediately terminate the operation. If
you prefer to have the operation continue, with all key violations posted to the key
violations table, set AbortOnKeyViol to False.
Note If you set AbortOnKeyViol to False, you should provide a KeyViolTableName to hold the
records with errors.

Example
BatchMove1.AbortOnKeyViol := False;

See also
KeyViolCount property, KeyViolTableName property

12 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AbortOnProblem property
A
AbortOnProblem property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property AbortOnProblem: Boolean;
If AbortOnProblem is True (the default) and it would be necessary to discard data from a
source record to place it into the Destination, the Execute method will immediately
terminate the batch move operation. If you prefer to have the operation continue, with
all problems posted to the problems table, set AbortOnProblem to False.
Note If you set AbortOnProblem to False, you should provide a ProblemTableName to hold the
records with problems.

Example
BatchMove1.AbortOnProblem := False;

See also
ProblemCount property, ProblemTableName property

Abs function System

Declaration
function Abs(X);
The Abs function returns the absolute value of the argument.
X is an integer-type or real-type expression.

Example
var
r: Real;
i: Integer;
begin
r := Abs(-2.3); { 2.3 }
i := Abs(-157); { 157 }
end;

Abstract procedure System

Declaration
procedure Abstract;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 13

Active property

A call to this procedure terminates the program with a run-time error.

When implementing an abstract object type, use calls to Abstract in virtual methods that
must be overridden in descendant types. This ensures that any attempt to use instances
of the abstract object type will fail.

Active property
Applies to
TOLEContainer, TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
property Active: Boolean;
Set the Active property to True to open a dataset and put it in Browse state. Set it to False
to close the dataset and put it in Inactive state. Changing the Active property is
equivalent to calling the Open or Close method.
For TQuery and TStoredProc, if the SQL statement or stored procedure does not return a
result set, then setting Active to True will raise an exception because Delphi expects to
get a cursor.
Note Post is not called implicitly by setting Active to False. Use the BeforeClose event to post any
pending edits explicitly.

Example
{ Close the dataset }
Table1.Active := False;
{ Open the dataset }
Table1.Active := True;

For OLE containers

Declaration
property Active: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Active property specifies whether the OLE object in an OLE
container is active. Set Active to True to activate the OLE object. Set Active to False to
deactivate the OLE object.
Note Setting Active to False only deactivates in-place active OLE objects. If the object is
activated within its own window, you must deactivate the object by executing a File |
Exit command (or its equivalent in the command structure) from the OLE server
application.

14 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ActiveControl property
A
Example
The following code activates OLEContainer1 if it contains an OLE object.
OLEContainer1.Active := OLEContainer1.OLEObjAllocated;

See also
AutoActivate property, InPlaceActive property, OnActivate event

ActiveControl property
Applies to
TForm, TScreen components

Declaration
property ActiveControl: TWinControl;
For forms, the ActiveControl property indicates which control has focus, or has focus
initially when the form becomes active. Your application can use the ActiveControl
property to access methods of the active control. Only one control, the active control, can
have focus at a given time in an application.
For the screen, ActiveControl is a read-only property. The value of ActiveControl is the
control that currently has focus on the screen.
Note When focus shifts to another control, the ActiveControl property is updated before the
OnExit event of the original control with focus occurs.

Example
The following event handler responds to timer events by moving the active control one
pixel to the right:
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
ActiveControl.Left := ActiveControl.Left + 1;
end;

See also
ActiveForm property, OnActiveControlChange event, OnEnter event, OnExit event

ActiveForm property
Applies to
TScreen component

Declaration
property ActiveForm: TForm;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 15

ActiveMDIChild property

Run-time and read only. The ActiveForm property indicates which form currently has
focus, or will have focus when the application becomes active again after another
Windows application has been active.

Example
This example changes the color of the current form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Screen.ActiveForm := clBlue;
end;

See also
ActiveControl property, ActiveMDIChild property, OnActivate event,
OnActiveFormChange event, Screen variable

ActiveMDIChild property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property ActiveMDIChild: TForm;
Run-time and read only. The value of the ActiveMDIChild property is the form that
currently has focus in an MDI application.

Example
This code uses a button on an MDI application. When the user clicks the button, the
active MDI child form turns blue.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
BlueForm: TForm;
begin
BlueForm := Form1.ActiveMDIChild;
BlueForm.Color := clBlue;
end;

See also
ActiveForm property, FormStyle property, MDIChildCount property, MDIChildren
property

16 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ActivePage property
A
ActivePage property
Applies to
TNotebook, TTabbedNotebook components

Declaration
property ActivePage: string;
The ActivePage property determines which page displays in the notebook or tabbed
notebook control. The value of ActivePage must be one of the strings contained in the
Pages property.

Example
This example uses a notebook control and a button on the form. The notebook has
multiple pages, including one called Graphics options. When the user clicks the button,
the Graphics options page displays in the notebook control.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Notebook1.ActivePage := 'Graphics options’;
end;

See also
PageIndex property, TTabSet component

Add method
Applies to
TFieldDefs, TIndexDefs, TList, TStringList, TStrings objects; TMenuItem, TOutline
components

For field definitions

Declaration
procedure Add(const Name: string; DataType: TFieldType; Size: Word; Required: Boolean);
The Add method creates a new TFieldDef object using the Name, DataType, and Size
parameters, and adds it to Items. Except for special purposes, you do not need to use this
method because the Items is filled for you when you open the dataset, or because Update
fills Items without opening the dataset.
The value of the Required parameter determines whether the newly added field
definition is a required field. If the Required parameter is True, the value of the Required
property of the TFieldDef object is also True. If the Required parameter is False, the value
of the Required property is also False.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 17

Add method

For index definitions

Declaration
procedure Add(const Name, Fields: string; Options: TIndexOptions);
The Add method creates a new TIndexDef object using the Name, Fields, and Options
parameters, and adds it to Items. Generally you will never need to use this method since
the dataset will have already filled Items for you when it is open, or the Update method
will fill Items without opening the dataset.

For list objects

Declaration
function Add(Item: Pointer): Integer;
The Add method adds a new item to the end of a list. Add returns the position of the item
in the list stored in the Items property; the first item in the list has a value of 0. Specify the
item you want added to the list as the value of the Item parameter.

Example
This example adds a new object to a list in a list object:
type
TMyClass = class
MyString: string;
constructor Create(S: string);
end;
constructor TMyClass.Create(S: string);
begin
MyString := S;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyList: TList;
MyObject, SameObject: TMyClass;
begin
MyList := TList.Create; { create the list }
try
MyObject := TMyClass.Create('Semper Fidelis!'); { create a class instance }
try
MyList.Add(MyObject); { add instance to list }
SameObject := TMyClass(MyList.Items[0]); { get first element in list }
MessageDlg(SameObject.MyString, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0); { show it }
finally
MyObject.Free;
end; { don't forget to clean up! }
finally
MyList.Free;

18 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
Add method
A
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyList: TList;
MyObject, SameObject: TMyClass;
begin
MyList := TList.Create; { create the list }
try
MyObject := TMyClass.Create('Semper Fidelis!'); { create a class instance }
try
MyList.Add(MyObject); { add instance to list }
SameObject := TMyClass(MyList.Items[0]); { get first element in list }
MessageDlg(SameObject.MyString, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0); { show it }
finally
MyObject.Free; { don't forget to clean up! }
finally
MyList.Free;
end;

See also
Capacity property, Clear method, Delete method, Expand method, First method, IndexOf
method, Insert method, Last method, Remove method

For string and string list objects

Declaration
function Add(const S: string): Integer;
The Add method adds a new string to a string list. The S parameter is the new string. Add
returns the position of the item in the list; the first item in the list has a value of 0.
For TStrings objects, such as the Items property of a list box, the new string is appended
to the end of the list unless the Sorted property of the list box or combo box is True. In
such a case the string is inserted into the list of strings so as to maintain the sort order.
For TStringList objects, the value of the Sorted property determines how a string is
added. If Sorted is False, the string is appended to the list. If Sorted is True, the new string
is inserted into the list of strings so as to maintain the sort order.

Example
This code uses a button and a list box on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
code adds a new string to a list box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('New string');
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 19

Add method

This code uses a list box, a button, and a label on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the code adds a new string to the list box and reports its position in the list box as
the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Position: Integer;
begin
Position:= ListBox1.Items.Add('New item');
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(Position);
end;

See also
AddObject method, AddStrings method, Clear method, Delete method, Duplicates
property, Exchange method, Insert method, Items property, Lines property, Move method,
Sorted property

For menu items

Declaration
procedure Add(Item: TMenuItem);
The Add method adds a menu item to the end of a menu. Specify the menu item you
want added as the value of the Item parameter.

Example
This code adds a menu item to a File menu:
procedure Form1.Button1Click(Sender: TSender);
var
NewItem: TMenuItem;
begin
NewItem := TMenuItem.Create(Self);
NewItem.Caption := ‘New item’;
File.Add(NewItem);
end;

20 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AddChild method

the Text property value of the new item. Add returns the Index property value of the
A
added item.
The added item is positioned in the outline as the last sibling of the outline item
specified by the Index parameter. The new item shares the same parent as the item
specified by the Index parameter. Outline items that appear after the added item are
moved down one row and reindexed with valid Index values. This is done automatically
unless BeginUpdate was called.
Note To add items to an empty outline, specify zero (0) as the Index parameter.

Example
The following code adds a new item at the top level of the outline. The new item is
identified by the text ‘New item’:
Outline1.Add(0, 'New item');

See also
AddChild method, AddChildObject method, AddObject method, Insert method, MoveTo
method

AddChild method
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
function AddChild(Index: LongInt; const Text: string): LongInt;
The AddChild method adds an outline item (TOutlineNode object) to an outline as a child
of an existing item. The value of the Index parameter specifies where to add the new
item. The Text parameter specifies the Text property value of the new item. AddChild
returns the Index property value of the added item.
The added item is positioned in the outline as the last child of the outline item specified
by the Index parameter. Outline items that appear after the added item are moved down
one row and reindexed with valid Index values. This is done automatically unless
BeginUpdate was called.
Note To add items to an empty outline, specify zero (0) as the Index parameter.

Example
The following code adds a new child to the selected item of the outline. The new item is
identified by the text ‘New child’:
Outline1.AddChild(Outline1.SelectedItem, 'New child');

See also
Add method, AddChildObject method, AddObject method, Insert method, MoveTo method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 21

AddChildObject method

AddChildObject method
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
function AddChildObject(Index: LongInt; const Text: string; const Data: Pointer): LongInt;
The AddChildObject method adds an outline item (TOutlineNode object) containing data
to an outline as a child of an existing item. The value of the Index parameter specifies
where to add the new item. The Text parameter specifies the Text property value of the
new item. The Data parameter specifies the Data property value of the new item.
AddChild returns the Index property value of the added item.
The added item is positioned in the outline as the last child of the outline item specified
by the Index parameter. Outline items that appear after the added item are moved down
one row and reindexed with valid Index values. This is done automatically unless
BeginUpdate was called.
Note To add items to an empty outline, specify zero (0) as the Index parameter.

Example
The following code adds a new child to the selected item of the outline. The new item is
identified by the text ‘New child’. The TBitmap object named Bitmap1 is attached to the
new item:
Outline1.AddChildObject(Outline1.SelectedItem, 'New child', Bitmap1);

See also
Add method, AddChild method, AddObject method, Insert method, MoveTo method

AddExitProc procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure AddExitProc(Proc: TProcedure);
AddExitProc adds the given procedure to the run-time library's exit procedure list. When
an application terminates, its exit procedures are executed in reverse order of definition,
i.e. the last procedure passed to AddExitProc is the first one to get executed upon
termination.

AddFieldDesc method
Applies to
TFieldDefs object

22 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AddIndex method
A
Declaration
procedure AddFieldDesc(FieldDesc: FLDDesc; FieldNo: Word);
AddFieldDesc creates a new TFieldDef object using the information provided by the
Borland Database Engine in the FieldDesc parameter, and adds it to Items. Except for
special purposes, you do not need to use this method because the Items is filled for you
when you open the dataset, or because Update fills Items without opening the dataset.

AddIndex method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure AddIndex(const Name, Fields: string; Options: TIndexOptions);
The AddIndex method creates a new index for the TTable. Name is the name of the new
index. Fields is a list of the fields to include in the index. Separate the field names by a
semicolon. Options is a set of values from the TIndexOptions type.

Example
Table1.AddIndex(‘NewIndex’, ‘CustNo;CustName’, [ixUnique, ixCaseInsensitive]);

See also
DeleteIndex method, IndexDefs property, IndexName property

AddObject method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects; TOutline component

For string and string list objects

Declaration
function AddObject(const S: string; AObject: TObject): Integer;
The AddObject method adds both a string and an object to a string or string list object.
The string and the object are appended to the list of strings. Specify the string to be
added as the value of the S parameter, and specify the object to be added as the value of
the AObject parameter.

Example
This code adds the string ‘Orange’ and a bitmap of an orange to an owner-draw list box:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 23

AddObject method

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TSender);

var
Icon: TIcon;
begin
Icon := TIcon.Create;
Icon.LoadFromFile(‘ORANGE.ICO’);
ListBox1.Items.AddObject(‘Orange’, Icon);
end;

See also
Add method, AddStrings method, IndexOf method, IndexOfObject method, InsertObject
method, Objects property, Strings property

For outlines
Declaration
function AddObject(Index: LongInt; const Text: string; const Data: Pointer): LongInt;
The AddObject method adds an outline item (TOutlineNode object) containing data to an
outline. The value of the Index parameter specifies where to add the new item. The Text
parameter specifies the Text property value of the new item. The Data parameter
specifies the Data property value of the new item. Add returns the Index property value
of the added item.
The added item is positioned in the outline as the last sibling of the outline item
specified by the Index parameter. The new item shares the same parent as the item
specified by the Index parameter. Outline items that appear after the added item are
moved down one row and reindexed with valid Index values. This is done automatically
unless BeginUpdate was called.
Note To add items to an empty outline, specify zero (0) as the Index parameter.

Example
The following code defines a record type of TMyRec and a record pointer type of
PMyRec.
type
PMyRec = ^TMyRec;
TMyRec = record
FName: string;
LName: string;
end;
Assuming these types are used, the following code adds an outline node to Outline1. A
TMyRec record is associated with the added item. The FName and LName fields are
obtained from edit boxes Edit1 and Edit2. The Index parameter is obtained from edit box
Edit3. The item is added only if the Index is a valid value.
var
MyRecPtr: PMyRec;
OutlineIndex: LongInt;

24 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
AddParam method
A
New(MyRecPtr);
MyRecPtr^.FName := Edit1.Text;
MyRecPtr^.LName := Edit2.Text;
OutlineIndex := StrToInt(Edit3.Text);
if (OutlineIndex <= Outline1.ItemCount) and (OutlineIndex >= 0) then
Outline1.AddObject(OutlineIndex, 'New item', MyRecPtr);
end;
After an item containing a TMyRec record has been added, the following code retrieves
the FName and LName values associated with the item and displays the values in labels.
Label4.Caption := PMyRec(Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].Data)^.FName;
Label5.Caption := PMyRec(Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].Data)^.LName;

See also
Add method, AddChild method, AddChildObject method, Insert method, MoveTo method

AddParam method
Applies to
TParams object

Declaration
procedure AddParam(Value: TParam);
AddParam adds Value as a new parameter to the Items property.

Example
{ Move all parameter info from Params2 to Params1 }
while Params2.Count <> 0 do
begin
{ Grab the first parameter from Params2 }
TempParam := Params2[0];
{ Remove it from Params2 }
Params2.RemoveParam(TempParam);
{ And add it to Params1 }
Params1.AddParam(TempParam);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 25

Addr function

Declaration
procedure AddPassword(const Password: string);
The AddPassword method is used to add a new password to the current TSession
component for use with Paradox tables. When an application opens a Paradox table that
requires a password, the user will be prompted to enter a password unless the Session
has a valid password for the table.

Example
Session.AddPassword(‘ASecret’);

See also
Session variable

Addr function System

Declaration
function Addr(X): pointer;
The Addr function returns the address of a specified object.
X is any variable, procedure or function identifier. The result is a pointer to X.
The result of Addr is of the predefined type Pointer, which means that it is assignment-
compatible with all pointer types but can’t be dereferenced directly without a typecast.

Example
var
P: Pointer;
begin
P := Addr(P); { Now points to itself }
end;

See also
Ofs function, Ptr function, Seg function

AddStrings method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects

Declaration
procedure AddStrings(Strings: TStrings);

26 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AfterCancel event

The AddStrings method adds a group of strings to the list of strings in a string or string
A
list object. The new strings are appended to the existing strings. Specify a string object
containing the list of strings you want added as the value of the Strings parameter.

Example
This code appends the contents of a file to the end of a memo control:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TSender);
var
Contents: TStringList;
begin
Contents.LoadFromFile(‘NEWSTUFF.TXT’);
Memo1.Lines.AddStrings(Contents);
finally
Contents.Free;
end;
This code adds the list of strings contained in ListBox1.Items to the end of the
ListBox2.Items list of strings:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox2.Items.AddStrings(ListBox1.Items);
end;

See also
Add method, AddObject method, Strings property

AfterCancel event
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property AfterCancel: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The AfterCancel event is activated when the dataset finishes a call to the Cancel method.
This event is the last action before Cancel returns to the caller. If the dataset is not in Edit
state or there are no changes pending, then Cancel will not activate the AfterCancel event.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 27

AfterClose event

AfterClose event
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property AfterClose: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The AfterClose event is activated after a dataset is closed, either by calling the Close
method or by setting the Active property to False. This event is the last action before Close
returns to the caller. Typically, the AfterClose event handler closes any private lookup
tables opened by the BeforeOpen event.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event.

28 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AfterInsert event
A
Declaration
property AfterEdit: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The AfterEdit event is activated when a dataset finishes a call to the Edit method. This
event is the last action before Edit returns to the caller.
Note The event occurs before any changes have been made to the current record.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 29

AfterPost event

30 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Align property
A
Align property
Applies to
At design time: TBevel, TDBGrid, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid,
TFileListBox, THeader, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook,
TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioGroup, TScrollBox, TStringGrid,
TTabbedNotebook, TTabSet components
At run time: All controls

Declaration
property Align: TAlign;
The Align property determines how the controls align within their container (or parent
control). These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
alNone The component remains where you place it in the form. This is the default value.
alTop The component moves to the top of the form and resizes to fill the width of the form. The
height of the component is not affected.
alBottom The component moves to the bottom of the form and resizes to fill the width of the form.
The height of the component is not affected.
alLeft The component moves to the left side of the form and resizes to fill the height of the form.
The width of the component is not affected.
alRight The component moves to the right side of the form and resizes to fill the height of the
form. The width of the component is not affected.
alClient The component resizes to fill the client area of a form. If a component already occupies
part of the client area, the component resizes to fit within the remaining client area.

If the form or a component containing other components is resized, the components

realign within the form or control.
Using the Align property is useful when you want a control to stay in one position on
the form, even if the size of the form changes. For example, you could use a panel
component with a various controls on it as a tool palette. By changing Align to alLeft, you
guarantee that the tool palette always remains on the left side of the form and always
equals the client height of the form.

Example
This example moves a panel control named Panel1 to the bottom of the form and resizes
it to fill the width of the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Panel1.Align := alBottom;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 31

Alignment property

Alignment property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBooleanField, TCheckBox, TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField,
TDBCheckBox, TDBMemo, TDBText, TFloatField, TIntegerField, TLabel, TMemo, TPanel,
TPopupMenu, TRadioButton, TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TWordField
components

For labels, memos, and panels

Declaration
property Alignment: TAlignment;
The Alignment property specifies how text is aligned within the component.
These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
taLeftJustify Align text to the left side of the control
taCenter Center text horizontally in the control
taRightJustify Align text to the right side of the control

Example
This code aligns text to the right side of a label named Label1 in response to a click on a
button named RightAlign:
procedure TForm1.RightAlignClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Alignment := taRightJustify;
end;

See also
Caption property, Text property

For check boxes and radio buttons

Declaration
property Alignment: TLeftRight;
For check boxes and radio buttons, the control’s caption is always left-aligned within the
text area. If the check box is two-dimensional (its Ctl3D property is False), Alignment
determines the placement of that caption area relative to the control’s check box or radio
button. If the check box is three dimensional (its Ctl3D property is True), the value of the
Alignment property has no effect on the check box.

32 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

These are the possible values:
Alignment property
A
Value Meaning
taLeftJustify The caption appears to the left of the check box or radio button.
taRightJustify The caption appears to the right of the check box or radio button.

Example
This code makes the check box two-dimensional and puts the check box on the left side
of the text:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
CheckBox1.Ctl3D := False;
CheckBox1.Alignment := taLeftJustify;
end;

For pop-up menus

Declaration
property Alignment: TPopupAlignment;
The Alignment property determines where the pop-up menu appears when the user
clicks the right mouse button. These are the possible values and their meanings:

Value Meaning
paLeft The pop-up menu appears with its top left corner under the mouse pointer.
paCenter The pop-up menu appears with the top center of the menu under the mouse pointer.
paRight The pop-up menu appears with its top right corner under the mouse pointer.

The default value is paLeft.

Example
This example uses a pop-up menu component and a button on a form. The code places
the top right corner of a pop-up menu under the mouse pointer when the menu
appears:
procedure TForm1.AlignPopupMenuClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
PopupMenu1.Alignment := paRight;
end;

See also
AutoPopup property, OnPopup event

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 33

AllocMem function

For field components

Declaration
property Alignment: TAlignment;
The Alignment property is used by some data-aware controls to center, left-, or right-
align the data in a field. Data-aware controls that support alignment include TDBGrid
and TDBEdit.

AllocMem function SysUtils

Declaration
function AllocMem(Size: Cardinal): Pointer;
AllocMem allocates a block of the given size on the heap. Each byte in the allocated
buffer is set to zero. To dispose the buffer, use the FreeMem standard procedure.

34 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AllowGrayed property

You can use AllowAllUp with a single bitmap button in its own group (with a
A
GroupIndex value greater than 0) so that the button can be selected and remain selected
until the user clicks the button again—at which time it becomes unselected. In other
words, the button can work much like a check box. To make a single speed button
behave this way, set its GroupIndex property to a value greater than 0 (but different from
any other GroupIndex value of any other speed buttons you have), and set AllowAllUp to
True.

Example
In this example, there are three speed buttons on a form. All three belong to the same
group as all three have a GroupIndex value of 1. This line of code changes the AllowAllUp
property to True for all three speed buttons, so it’s possible that all the speed buttons in
the group can be unselected at the same time:
SpeedButton3.AllowAllUp := True;

See also
Down property, Glyph property, GroupIndex property

AllowGrayed property
Applies to
TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox components

Declaration
property AllowGrayed: Boolean;
The value of the AllowGrayed property determines if a check box can have two or three
possible states. If AllowGrayed is False, the default value, clicking a check box alternately
checks and unchecks it. If AllowGrayed is True, clicking a check box either checks, grays,
or unchecks it.

Example
This example uses a check box on a form. When the application runs, the check box is
initially checked. When the user clicks it, the check box is unchecked. Clicking it again
grays the check box.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
CheckBox1.AllowGrayed := True;
CheckBox1.State := cbChecked;
end;

See also
Checked property, State property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 35

AllowInPlace property

AllowInPlace property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Declaration
property AllowInPlace: Boolean;
The AllowInPlace property specifies whether an OLE object can be activated in place. If
AllowInPlace is True, in-place activation is allowed. If AllowInPlace is False, in-place
activation is not allowed and the OLE object is activated in its own window (OLE 1.0-
style).
Note To support in-place activation, the OLE container application must include a
TMainMenu component.

Example
The following code sets AllowInPlace to False.
OLEContainer1.AllowInPlace := False;

36 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AnsiCompareStr function
A
AnsiCompareStr function SysUtils
Declaration
function AnsiCompareStr(const S1, S2: string): Integer;
AnsiCompareStr compares S1 to S2, with case sensitivity. The compare operation is
controlled by the currently installed language driver. The return value is the same as for
CompareStr.

AnsiCompareText function SysUtils

Declaration
function AnsiCompareText(const S1, S2: string): Integer;
AnsiCompareText compares S1 to S2, without case sensitivity. The compare operation is
controlled by the currently installed language driver. The return value is the same as for
CompareStr.

AnsiLowerCase function SysUtils

Declaration
function AnsiLowerCase(const S: string): string;
AnsiLowerCase converts all characters in the given string to lower case. The conversion
uses the currently installed language driver.

See also
AnsiUpperCase function, LowerCase function

AnsiToNative function DB
Declaration
function AnsiToNative(Locale: TLocale; const AnsiStr: string; NativeStr: PChar;
MaxLen: Word): PChar;
The AnsiToNative function translates the ANSI characters in AnsiStr (or the first MaxLen
characters) to the native character set according to Locale by calling DBIAnsiToNative.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 37

AnsiUpperCase function

The translated characters are returned in NativeStr with a null terminator. AnsiToNative
returns NativeStr.

AnsiUpperCase function SysUtils

Declaration
function AnsiUpperCase(const S: string): string;
AnsiUpperCase converts all characters in the given string to upper case. The conversion
uses the currently installed language driver.

See also
AnsiLowerCase function, UpperCase function

Append method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure Append;
The Append method moves the cursor to the end of the dataset, puts the dataset into
Insert state , and opens a new, empty record. When an application calls Post, the new
record will be inserted in the dataset in a position based on its index, if defined. To
discard the new record, use Cancel.
This method is valid only for datasets that return a live result set.
Note For indexed tables, the Append and Insert methods will both put the new record in the
correct location in the table, based on the table’s index. If no index is defined on the
underlying table, then the record will maintain its position—Append will add the record
to the end of the table, and Insert will insert it at the current cursor position. In either
case, posting a new record may cause rows displayed in a data grid to change as the
dataset follows the new row to its indexed position and then fetches data to fill the data
grid around it.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
Append;
FieldByName(‘CustNo’).AsString := ‘9999’;
{ Fill in other fields here }
if { you are sure you want to do this} then Post
else { if you changed your mind } Cancel;
end.

38 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Append procedure
A
See also
TField component

Append procedure System

Declaration
procedure Append(var f: Text);
The Append procedure opens an existing file with the name assigned to F, so that new
text can be added.
F is a text file variable and must be associated with an external file using AssignFile.
If no external file of the given name exists, an error occurs.
If F is already open, it is closed, then reopened. The current file position is set to the end
of the file.
If a Ctrl+Z (ASCII 26) is present in the last 128-byte block of the file, the current file
position is set so that the next character added to the file overwrites the first Ctrl+Z in the
block. In this way, text can be appended to a file that terminates with a Ctrl+Z.
If F was not assigned a name, then, after the call to Append, F refers to the standard
output file (standard handle number 1).
After calling Append, F is write-only, and the file pointer is at the end of the file.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var F: TextFile;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then { Bring up open file dialog }
begin
AssignFile(F, OpenDialog1.FileName);
{ Open file selected in dialog }
Append(F); { Add more text onto end }
Writeln(F, 'appended text');
CloseFile(F); { Close file, save changes }
end;
end;

See also
AssignFile procedure, FileClose procedure, Reset procedure, Rewrite procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 39

AppendRecord method

AppendRecord method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure AppendRecord(const Values: array of const);
The AppendRecord method appends a new record to the dataset using the field values
passed in the Values parameter. The assignment of the elements of Values to fields in the
record is sequential; the first element is assigned to the first field, the second to the
second, etc. The number of field values passed in Values may be fewer than the number
of actual fields in the record; any remaining fields are left unassigned and are NULL.
The type of each element of Values must be compatible with the type of the field in that
the field must be able to perform the assignment using AsString, AsInteger, and so on,
according the type of the Values element.
This method is valid only for datasets that return a live result set.
Note For indexed tables, the AppendRecord and InsertRecord methods will both put the new
record in the correct location in the table, based on the table’s index. If no index is
defined on the underlying table, then the record will maintain its position—
AppendRecord will add the record to the end of the table, and InsertRecord will insert it at
the current cursor position. In either case, posting a new record in a data grid may cause
all the rows before and after the new record to change as the dataset follows the new
row to its indexed position and then fetches data to fill the grid around it.

Example
Table1.AppendRecord([9999, ‘Doe‘, ‘John‘]);

AppendStr procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure AppendStr(var Dest: string; const S: string);
AppendStr appends S to the end of Dest. AppendStr corresponds to the statement "Dest :=
Dest + S", but is more efficient.

40 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Application variable
A
Application variable Forms
Declaration
Application: TApplication;
The Application variable declares an instance of your application for your project. By
default, when you create a new project, Delphi constructs an application object and
assigns it to Application. Application has several properties you can use to get information
about your application while it runs; see the TApplication component for the list of
properties.

Example
This code displays the name of your project in an edit box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Text := Application.Title;
end;

See also
Icon property, Run method, Title property

ApplyFilePath method
Applies to
TFileListBox component

Declaration
procedure ApplyFilePath(const EditText: string);
ApplyFileEditText is intended to be used in a dialog box that approximates the utility and
behavior of an Open dialog box. Such a dialog box would contain a file list box
(TFileListBox), a directory list box (TDirectoryListBox), a drive combo box
(TDriveComboBox), a filter combo box TFilterComboBox, a label, and an edit box where
the user can type a file name including a full directory path. When the user then chooses
the OK button, you would like all the controls to update with the information the user
entered in the edit box. For example, you would want the directory list box to change to
the directory specified in the path the user typed, and you want the drive combo box to
change to the correct drive if the path included a different drive letter.
If the file list box, directory list box, drive combo box, filter combo box, label, and edit
box are connected using the FileEdit, FileList, DirLabel, and DirList properties, your
application can call ApplyFilePath to update the controls with the text the user entered in
the edit box.
The user can enter any of these strings in the edit box: a file name, with or without a
path, a drive only, a drive and directory only, relative paths, or a file mask using
wildcard characters. In all cases, the ApplyFilePath method updates the controls as you

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 41

ApplyRange method

would expect. For example, if the user includes a directory name, the directory list box
makes that directory the current one.
The EditText parameter is the text within the edit box.

Example
This example uses a file list box, a directory list box, a filter combo box, a drive combo
box, a label, an edit box, and a button on a form. When the user runs the application and
enters a path or file name in the edit box, all the controls update:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.DirLabel := Label1;
DriveComboBox1.DirList := DirectoryListBox1;
Button1.Default := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.ApplyFilePath(Edit1.Text);
end;

See also
Directory property, Drive property

ApplyRange method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure ApplyRange;
The ApplyRange method is used to apply the start and end ranges established with the
SetRangeStart and SetRangeEnd methods or the EditRangeStart and EditRangeEnd
methods. This will filter the set of records from the database table accessible to the
application.
Note When comparing fields for range purposes, a NULL field is always less than any other
possible value.

Example
{ Limit the range from ‘Goleta’ to ‘Santa Barbara’}
with Table1 do
begin
EditRangeStart; { Set the beginning key }

42 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Goleta‘;
Arc method
A
EditRangeEnd; { Set the ending key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Santa Barbara‘;
ApplyRange; { Tell the dataset to establish the range }
end;

See also
CancelRange method, KeyExclusive property, KeyFieldCount property, SetRange method

Arc method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure Arc(X1, Y1, X2, Y2, X3, Y3, X4, Y4: Integer);
The Arc method draws an arc on the canvas along the perimeter of the ellipse bounded
by the specified rectangle. Coordinates (X1, Y1 and X2, Y2) define the enclosing
rectangle for the arc. The arc starts at the intersection of the ellipse edge and the line
from the center of the ellipse to the specified starting point (X3, Y3). The arc is drawn
counterclockwise until it reaches the position where the ellipse edge intersects the line
from the center of the ellipse to the specified ending point (X4, Y4).

Example
The following lines of code draw the top quarter of an arc bounded by the current
window:
TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
var
R: TRect;
begin
R := GetClientRect; {Gets the rectangular coordinates of the current window}
Canvas.Arc(R.Left, R.Top, R.Right, R.Bottom, R.Right, R.Top, R.Left, R.Top);
end;

See also
Chord method, Draw method, DrawFocusRect method, Ellipse method, Pie method

ArcTan function System

Declaration
function ArcTan(X: Real): Real;
The ArcTan function returns the resulting arctangent of the argument.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 43

ArrangeIcons method

You can calculate other trigonometric functions using Sin, Cos, and ArcTan in the
following expressions:
Tan(x) = Sin(x) / Cos(x)
ArcSin(x) = ArcTan (x/sqrt (1–sqr (x)))
ArcCos(x) = ArcTan (sqrt (1–sqr (x)) /x)

Example
var
R: Real;
begin
R := ArcTan(Pi);
end;

44 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AsBoolean property
A
Declaration
property AsBCD: Double;
Assigning a value to the AsBCD property sets the DataType property to ftBCD and saves
the value as the current data for the parameter.

See also
TFieldType type

AsBoolean property
Applies to
TParam object; TBooleanField, TStringField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
property AsBoolean: Boolean;
Assigning a value to the AsBoolean property sets the DataType property to ftBoolean and
saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsBoolean property
attempts to convert the current data to a Boolean value and returns that value.

For Boolean and string field components

Declaration
property AsBoolean: Boolean;
Run-time only. This is a conversion property. For a TBooleanField, AsBoolean can be used
to read or set the value of the field, but Value should be used for this purpose instead.
For a TStringField, AsBoolean returns True on reading the value of the field if its text
begins with the letters “Y”, “y”, “T” or “t” (for “Yes” or “True”), and False otherwise.
Using AsBoolean to write a TStringField’s value sets the string to ‘T’ or ‘F’.

Example
if Table1.FieldByName('BackOrdered').AsBoolean then ...

AsCurrency property
Applies to
TParam object

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 45

AsDate property

Declaration
property AsCurrency: Double;
Assigning a value to the AsCurrency property sets the DataType property to ftCurrency
and saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsCurrency
property attempts to convert the current data to a Double value and returns that value.

See also
TFieldType type

AsDate property
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
property AsDate: TDateTime;
Assigning a value to the AsDate property sets the DataType property to ftDate and saves
the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsDate property attempts
to convert the current data to a TDateTime value and returns that value.

See also
StrToDateTime function, TFieldType type

AsDateTime property
Applies to
TParam object; TDateField, TDateTimeField, TStringField, TTimeField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
property AsDateTime: TDateTime;
Assigning a value to the AsDateTime property sets the DataType property to ftDateTime
and saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsDateTime
property attempts to convert the current data to a TDateTime value and returns that
value.

See also
StrToDateTime function, TFieldType type

46 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AsFloat property
A
For date, date-time, time, and string field components
Declaration
property AsDateTime: TDateTime;
Run-time only. This is a conversion property. For TDateField, TDateTimeField or
TTimeField, AsDateTime can be used to read or set the value of the field, but Value should
be used for this purpose instead.
For a TStringField, AsDateTime converts a date to a string on assigning a value to the
string field, and converts a string to a date when reading from the field.

Example
The following statement converts a string to a date for insertion into a date field:
Table1.FieldByName(TimeStamp).AsDateTime := StrToDateTime(Now);

See also
DateToStr function, StrToDate function, StrToDateTime function, DateTimeToStr function,
TimeToStr function, StrToTime function, Value property

AsFloat property
Applies to
TParam object; TBCDField, TCurrencyField, TFloatField, TStringField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
property AsFloat: Double;
Assigning a value to the AsFloat property sets the DataType property to ftFloat and saves
the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsFloat property attempts
to convert the current data to a Double value and returns that value.

See also
TFieldType type

For field components

Declaration
property AsFloat: Double;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 47

AsInteger property

Run-time only. This is a conversion property. For a TFloatField, TBCDField or

TCurrencyField, AsFloat can be used to read or set the value of the field as a Double, but
Value should be used for this purpose instead.
For a TStringField, AsFloat converts a float to a string on assigning a value to the field,
and converts a string to a float when reading from the field.

See also
FloatToStr function, StrToFloat function

AsInteger property
Applies to
TParam object; TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TStringField, TWordField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
property AsInteger: LongInt;
Assigning a value to the AsInteger property sets the DataType property to ftInteger and
saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsInteger property
attempts to convert the current data to a Longint value and returns that value.

See also
TFieldType type

For field components

Declaration
property AsInteger: Longint;
Run-time only. This is a conversion property. For a TIntegerField, TSmallintField or
TWordField, AsInteger can be used to read or set the value of the field as a Longint, but
Value should be used for this purpose instead.
For a TStringField, AsInteger converts an integer to a string on assigning a value to the
field, and converts a string to an integer when reading from the field.

See also
Data Access Components Hierarchy, IntToStr function, StrToInt function, Value
property

48 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Assign method
A
Assign method
Applies to
TBitmap, TBrush, TClipboard, TControlScrollBar, TFieldDef, TFieldDefs, TFont, TIcon,
TIndexDef, TIndexDefs, TMetafile, TParam, TParams, TPen, TPicture, TStringList, TStrings
objects
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

For the Clipboard

Declaration:
procedure Assign(Source: TPersistent);
The Assign method assigns the object specified by the Source parameter to the Clipboard.
If the object is a TGraphic, TBitmap, TPicture or TMetafile, the image will be copied to the
Clipboard in the corresponding format (either CF_BITMAP or CF_METAFILE). For
example, the following code copies the bitmap from a bitmap object named Bitmap1 to
the Clipboard:
Clipboard.Assign(Bitmap1);
To retrieve an object from the Clipboard, simply use the Assign method of an
appropriate object. For example, if a bitmap is on the Clipboard, the following code
copies it to a bitmap object named Bitmap1:
Bitmap1.Assign(Clipboard);

Example
The following code copies the bitmap of a speed button named SpeedButton1 to the
Clipboard:
Clipboard.Assign(SpeedButton1.Glyph);

See also
AsText property, Clipboard variable, HasFormat property

For field definitions

Declaration
procedure Assign(FieldDefs: TFieldDefs);
Assign creates a new set of TFieldDef objects in Items from the FieldDefs parameter. Any
previously entries in Items are freed.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 49

Assign method

For index definitions

Declaration
procedure Assign(IndexDefs: TIndexDefs);
Assign creates a new set of TIndexDef objects in Items from the IndexDefs parameter. Any
previously entries in Items are freed.

For field components

Declaration
procedure Assign(Source: TPersistent);
Assign copies data from one field to another. Both fields must be valid and have the
same DataType and Size, and the DataSize of Source must be 255 bytes or less.
The restrictions on type compatibility and size do not apply to TBlobField, TBytesField,
TGraphicField, TMemoField, and TVarBytesField. For a TBlobField, TBytesField or
TVarBytesField, the source can be a TBlobField, TBytesField, TVarBytesField, TMemoField
component, TGraphicField component, TMemoField component, TStrings object, TPicture
or TGraphicField.

Examples
{ Copy one date-time field to another }
DateTimeField1.Assign(DateTimeField2);
{ Copy a graphic field to a blob field }
BlobField1.Assign(GraphicField1);
{Copy strings in a TMemo to a TMemoField}
MemoField1.Assign(Memo1.Lines);

See also
DataType property, Size property

For TParam objects

Declaration
procedure Assign(Param: TParam);
The Assign method transfers all of the data contained in the Param parameter to the
TParam object that calls it. If, however, you have specified a value for the ParamType
property of the TParam object that calls Assign, the data in the Param parameter will not
be assigned to the TParam object.

Example
{ Copy the CustNo parameter from Query1 to Query2 }

50 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Query2.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).Assign(Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’));
Assign method
A
See also
ParamType property, DataType property, AssignField method

For TParams objects

Declaration
procedure Assign(Source: TPersistent);
If Source is another TParams object, Assign discards any current parameter information
and replaces it with the information from Source. If Source is any other type of object,
Assign calls its inherited method. Use this method to save and restore a set of parameter
information or copy another object’s information.

Example
var SavedParams: TParams;
...
{ Initialize SavedParams }
SavedParams := TParams.Create;
{ Save the parameters for Query1 }
SavedParams.Assign(Query1.Parameters);
{ Do something with Query1 }
...
{ Restore the parameters to Query1 }
Query1.Parameters.Assign(SavedParams);
SavedParams.Free;

For other objects

Declaration
procedure Assign(Source: TPersistent);
The Assign method assigns one object to another. The general form of a call to Assign is
Destination.Assign(Source);
which tells the Destination object to assign the contents of the Source object to itself.
In general, the statement “Destination := Source” is not the same as the statement
“Destination.Assign(Source)”. The statement “Destination := Source” makes Destination
reference the same object as Source, whereas "Destination.Assign(Source)" copies the
contents of the object references by Source into the object referenced by Destination.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 51

AssignCrt procedure

If Destination is a property of some object, however, and that property is not a reference
to another object (such as the ActiveControl property of a form, or the DataSource
property of a data-aware control), then the statement "Destination := Source" is the same
as "Destination.Assign(Source)". Consider these statements:
Button1.Font := Button2.Font;
ListBox1.Items := Memo1.Lines;
Table1.Fields[0] := Query1.Fields[2];
They correspond to these statements:
Button1.Font.Assign(Button2.Font);
ListBox1.Items.Assign(Memo1.Lines);
Table1.Fields[0].Assign(Query1.Fields[2]);
The actions performed by Assign depend on the actual types of Destination and Source.
For example, if Destination and Source are string objects (TStrings), the strings contained
in Source are copied into Destination. Likewise, if Destination and Source are bitmaps
(TBitmap), the bitmap contained in Source is copied into Destination.
Although the compiler allows any two TPersistent objects to be used in a call to Assign,
the call succeeds at run time only if the objects involved "know" how to perform an
assignment. For example, if Destination is a button (TButton) and Source is an edit box
(TEdit), the call to Assign raises an EConvertError exception at run time.
An object of one type can always be assigned to another object of the same type. In
addition, Assign supports the following special cases:
• If Destination is of type TPicture then Source can be of type TBitmap, TIcon, or TMetafile.
• If Destination is of type TBitmap, TIcon, or TMetafile then Source can be of type TPicture
if the Graphic property of the picture is of the same type as Destination.
• If Destination is of type TBlobField then Source can be of type TBitmap, TPicture, or
TStrings.

Example
The following code changes the properties of a label’s font so that they match the
properties of the button’s font when the user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Font.Assign(Button1.Font);
end;

AssignCrt procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure AssignCrt(var f: Text);
The AssignCrt procedure associates a text file with the CRT window.

52 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Assigned function

AssignCrt works exactly like the Assign standard procedure except that no file name is
A
specified. Instead, the text file associates with the CRT window, which emulates a text-
based CRT in the Windows environment. Subsequent Write and Writeln operations on
the file write to the CRT window, and Read and Readln operations read from the CRT
window.
This allows faster output (and input) than would normally be possible using standard
output (or input).

See also
AssignFile procedure, Read procedure, Readln procedure, Write procedure, Writeln
procedure

Assigned function System

Declaration
function Assigned(var P): Boolean;
The Assigned function tests if a pointer or procedural variable is nil (unassigned).
P must be a variable reference of a pointer or procedural type. Assigned(P) corresponds
to the test P<> nil for a pointer variable, and @P <> nil for a procedural variable.
Assigned returns True if P is nil, False otherwise.
Note Assigned can’t detect a “stale” pointer—that is, one that isn’t nil but no longer points to
valid data. For example, in the following code, Assigned won’t detect the fact that P isn’t
valid.

Example
var P: Pointer;
begin
P := nil;
if Assigned (P) then Writeln ('You won''t see this');
P := @P;
if Assigned (P) then Writeln ('You''ll see this');
end;

AssignField method
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
procedure AssignField(Field: TField);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 53

AssignFile procedure

The AssignField method transfers the DataType value and Name from Field. Use
AssignField to set a parameter from a TField component.

Example
{ Copy the CustNo field value from Query1 to the CustNo parameter of Query2 }
Query2.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).AssignField(Query1.FieldNyName(‘CustNo’));

AssignFile procedure System

Declaration
procedure AssignFile(var F, String);
To avoid scope conflicts, AssignFile replaces Assign in Delphi. However, for backward
compatibility you can still use Assign.
The AssignFile procedure associates the name of an external file with a file variable.
F is a file variable of any file type, and string is a string-type expression or an expression
of type PChar if extended syntax is enabled. All further operations on F operate on the
external file name.
After calling AssignFile, F is associated with the external file until F is closed.
When the String parameter is empty, F associates with the standard input or standard
output file.
If assigned an empty name, after a call to Reset (F), F refers to the standard input file, and
after a call to Rewrite (F), F refers to the standard output file.
Do not use AssignFile on a file variable that is already open.
A file name consists of a path of zero or more directory names separated by backslashes,
followed by the actual file name:
Drive:\DirName\...\DirName\FileName
If the path begins with a backslash, it starts in the root directory; otherwise, it starts in
the current directory.
Drive is a disk drive identifier (A–Z). If Drive and the colon are omitted, the default drive
is used. \DirName\...\DirName is the root directory and subdirectory path to the file
name. FileName consists of a name of up to eight characters, optionally followed by a
period and an extension of up to three characters. The maximum length of the entire file
name is 79 characters.

Example
var
F: TextFile;
S: string;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then { Display Open dialog box }

54 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
AssignPrn procedure
A
AssignFile(F, OpenDialog1.FileName); { File selected in dialog box }
Reset(F);
Readln(F, S); { Read the first line out of the file }
Edit1.Text := S; { Put string in a TEdit control }
CloseFile(F);
end;
end;

See also
Append procedure, FileClose procedure, Reset procedure, Rewrite procedure

AssignPrn procedure Printers

Declaration
procedure AssignPrn(var F: Text);
The AssignPrn procedure assigns a text-file variable to the printer. After the variable is
assigned, your application must call the Rewrite procedure. Then any time an
application writes data to F, the text-file variable, the data is sent to the printer using the
pen and font of the Canvas property.

Example
This code prints a line of text on the printer when the user clicks the button on the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyFile: TextFile;
begin
AssignPrn(MyFile);
Rewrite(MyFile);
Writeln(MyFile, ‘Print this text’);
System.CloseFile(MyFile);
end;

AssignStr procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure AssignStr(var P: PString; const S: string);
AssignStr assigns a new dynamically allocated string to the given string pointer.
AssignStr corresponds to the statement DisposeStr(P) followed by the statement P :=
NewStr(S). Note that P must be NIL or contain a valid string pointer before calling
AssignStr. In other words, AssignStr cannot be used to initialize a string pointer variable.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 55

AssignValue method

Example
var
P: PString;
begin
P := NewStr('First string'); { Allocate and point to 'First string' }
AssignStr(P, 'Second string'); { Dispose of 'First string', allocate and point to }
{ 'Second string' }
DisposeStr(P); { Dispose of 'Second string' }
end;

56 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AsSmallInt property
A
Example
var SavedParams: TParams;
...
{ Initialize SavedParams }
SavedParams := TParams.Create;
{ Save the parameters for Query1 }
SavedParams.Assign(Query1.Parameters);
{ Do something with Query1 }
...
{ Restore the parameters to Query1 }
Query1.Parameters.AssignValues(SavedParams);
SavedParams.Free;

AsSmallInt property
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
procedure SetAsSmallInt(Value: Longint);
Assigning a value to the AsSmallInt property sets the DataType property to fsSmallInt
and save the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsSmallInt
property attempts to convert the current data to a SmallInt value and returns that value.

AsString property
Applies to
TParam object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField,
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField,
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
property AsString: string;
Assigning a value to the AsString property sets the DataType property to ftString and
saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsString property
attempts to convert the current data to a string value and returns that value.

See also
DateToStr function, DateTimeToStr function, FloatToStr function, IntToStr function,
TFieldType type, TimeToStr function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 57

AsText property

For field components

Declaration
property AsString: string;
Run-time only. This a conversion property. For a TStringField, AsString can be used to
read or set the value of the field as a string, but Value should be used for this purpose
instead.
For TBCDField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TIntegerField,
TSmallintField, TTimeField, and TWordField, AsString converts a string to the appropriate
type on inserting to or updating the field, and converts the type to a string when reading
from the field.
For TBooleanField, on insert or update AsString sets the value to True if the text begins
with the letter “Y”, “y”, “T” or “t” and to False otherwise. When reading from a Boolean
field, AsString returns ‘T’ or ‘F’.
For a TMemoField, AsString should only be used to read from the field. It sets the string
value to ‘(Memo)’. An exception is raised if AsString is used to write to a TMemoField.
For a TGraphicField, AsString should only be used to read from the field. It sets the string
value to ‘(Graphic)’. An exception is raised if AsString is used to write to a TGraphicField.
For a TBlobField, AsString should only be used to read from the field. It sets the string
value to ‘(Blob)’. An exception is raised if AsString is used to write to a TBlobField.
For a TBytesField, AsString should only be used to read from the field. It sets the string
value to ‘(Bytes)’. An exception is raised if AsString is used to write to a TBytesField.
For a TVarBytesField, AsString should only be used to read from the field. It sets the
string value to ‘(Var Bytes)’. An exception is raised if AsString is used to write to a
TVarBytesField.
Note When working with TMemoField, TGraphicField, or TBlobField, use the Assign,
LoadFromFile, or LoadFromStream methods to write to a field, and Assign, SaveToFile, or
SaveToStream methods to read from a field.

AsText property
Applies to
TClipboard object

Declaration
property AsText: String;
Run-time only. The AsText property returns the current contents of the Clipboard as a
string. The Clipboard must contain a string or an exception occurs.
You can also use the AsText property to place a copy of a string on the Clipboard. Assign
a string as the value of AsText.

58 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AsTime property

The string value of the AsText property is limited to 255 characters. If you need to set
A
and retrieve more than 255 characters, use the SetTextBuf and GetTextBuf Clipboard
methods.
If the Clipboard contains a string, this expression is True:
Clipboard.HasFormat(CF_TEXT)

Example
The following code retrieves the contents of the Clipboard as a string and displays the
value in a label:
begin
Label1.Caption := Clipboard.AsText;
end;

See also
Clipboard variable, HasFormat method

AsTime property
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
property AsTime: TDateTime;
Assigning a value to the AsTime property sets the DataType property to ftTime and saves
the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsTime property attempts
to convert the current data to a TDateTime value and returns that value.

See also
StrToDateTime function, TDateTime type, TFieldType type

AsWord property
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
property AsWord: Longint;
Assigning a value to the AsWord property sets the DataType property to ftWord and
saves the value as the current data for the parameter. Accessing the AsWord property
attempts to convert the current data to a Longint value and returns that value.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 59

AutoActivate property

See also
TFieldType type

AutoActivate property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Declaration
property AutoActivate: TAutoActivate;
AutoActivate determines how an object in an OLE container can be activated. These are
the possible values:

Value Meaning
aaManual The OLE object must be manually activated. To activate the OLE object manually,
set the Active property to True.
aaGetFocus The user activates the OLE object by clicking the OLE container or pressing Tab
until focus shifts to the OLE container. If the OLE container has a TabOrder of 0,
the OLE container initially receives focus but the OLE object won’t be activated.
aaDoubleClick The user activates the OLE object by double-clicking the OLE container, or
pressing Enter when the container has focus. An OnDblClick event is generated
immediately after the OLE server application is activated.

Example
The following code sets the activation method of OLEContainer1 to aaManual, then
activates OLEContainer1:
OLEContainer1.AutoActivate := aaManual;
OLEContainer1.Active := True;

60 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AutoDisplay property

If AutoCalcFields is True, OnCalcFields should not perform any actions that modify the
A
dataset (or the linked dataset if it is part of a master-detail relationship), because this can
lead to recursion. For example, if OnCalcFields performs a Post, and AutoCalcFields is
True, then OnCalcFields will be called again, leading to another Post, and so on.

AutoDisplay property
Applies to
TDBImage, TDBMemo component

Declaration
property AutoDisplay: Boolean;
The value of the AutoDisplay property determines whether to automatically display the
contents of a memo or graphic BLOB in a database memo (TDBMemo) or database
image (TDBImage) control.
If AutoDisplay is True (the default value), the control automatically displays new data
when the underlying BLOB field changes (such as when moving to a new record).
If AutoDisplay is False, the control clears whenever the underlying BLOB field changes.
To display the data, the user can double-click on the control or select it and press Enter.
In addition, by calling the LoadMemo method of a database memo or the LoadPicture
method of a database image you can ensure that the control is showing data.
You might want to change the value of AutoDisplay to False if the automatic loading of
BLOB fields seems to take too long.

Example
The following code displays the text BLOB in DBMemo1.
DBMemo1.AutoDisplay := True;

See also
LoadMemo method, LoadPicture method

AutoEdit property
Applies to
TDataSource component

Declaration
property AutoEdit: Boolean;
AutoEdit determines if data-aware controls connected to TDataSource automatically
place the current record into edit mode by calling the table’s Edit method when the user
begins typing within one of them. AutoEdit is True by default; set it to False to protect the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 61

AutoEnable property

data from being unintentionally modified. When AutoEdit is False, you can still call the
Edit method to modify a field.

AutoEnable property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property AutoEnable: Boolean;
The AutoEnable property determines whether the media player automatically enables
and disables individual buttons in the component.
If AutoEnable is True, the media player automatically enables or disables its control
buttons. The media player determines which buttons to enable or disable by the current
mode specified in the Mode property, and the current multimedia device type specified
in the DeviceType property.
AutoEnable overrides the EnabledButtons property. The buttons enabled or disabled
automatically by the media player supersede any buttons enabled or disabled with
EnabledButtons.
If AutoEnable is False, the media player does not enable or disable buttons. You must
enable or disable buttons with the EnabledButtons property.
The following table shows whether buttons are automatically enabled or disabled for
each device mode:

Button Play Record Pause Stop Not Open

Back Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Eject Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Next Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Pause Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled Disabled
Play Disabled Disabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Prev Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Record Disabled Disabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Step Enabled Enabled Enabled Enabled Disabled
Stop Enabled Enabled Disabled Disabled Disabled

Example
The following code causes all of the buttons of MediaPlayer1 to become disabled when a
bitmap button is clicked:
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
AutoEnable := False;

62 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EnabledButtons := [];
AutoMerge property
A
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 63

AutoOpen property

To run this example, you must add Unit2 to the uses clause of Unit1.

See also
GroupIndex property, Merge method, Unmerge method

AutoOpen property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property AutoOpen: Boolean;
The AutoOpen property determines if the media player is opened automatically when
the application is run. If AutoOpen is True, the media player attempts to open the
multimedia device specified by the DeviceType property (or FileName if DeviceType is
dtAutoSelect) when the form containing the media player component is created at run
time. If AutoOpen is False, the device must be opened with a call to the Open method.
AutoOpen defaults to True.
If an error occurs when opening the device, an exception of type EMCIDeviceError is
raised which contains the error message. Upon completion, a numerical error code is
stored in the Error property, and the corresponding error message is stored in the
ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before
opening the multimedia device. The Notify property determines whether opening the
device generates an OnNotify event.

Example
The following code opens MediaPlayer1 if AutoOpen was not set to True. This code
assumes that an appropriate value was specified for FileName at design time.
with MediaPlayer1 do
if not AutoOpen then
Open;

64 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AutoRewind property
A
Declaration
property AutoPopup: Boolean;
The AutoPopup property determines if the pop-up menu appears when the user clicks
the right mouse button on the component that has this menu specified as the value of its
PopupMenu property. If AutoPopup is True, a right click displays the pop-up menu. If
AutoPopup is False, the menu won’t appear when the user clicks the right mouse button.
The default value is True.
To display a pop-up menu when AutoPopup is False, you must use the Popup method.

Example
The following prevents the pop-up menu from appearing when the user clicks the right
mouse button:
PopupMenu1.AutoPopup := False;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 65

AutoScroll property

For tab set controls

Declaration
property AutoScroll: Boolean;
The AutoScroll property determines if scroll buttons automatically appear in a tab set
control if there isn’t room in the control to display all the tabs.
If AutoScroll is False, your application can still access tabs that aren’t visible by using the
FirstIndex or TabIndex properties at design time or run time, but the user can’t click on
the tabs with the mouse at run time.

Example
This code displays scroll buttons in the tab set control if all the tabs aren’t visible:
TabSet11.AutoScroll := True;

See also
FirstIndex property, TabIndex property

For forms and scroll boxes

Declaration
property AutoScroll: Boolean;
The AutoScroll property determines if scroll bars appear on the form when the form is
not large enough to display all the controls it contains. If AutoScroll is True, the scroll
bars appear automatically when necessary. For example, if the user resizes the form so
that it is smaller and some controls are partially obscured, scroll bars appear. If
AutoScroll is False, no scroll bars appear.

Example
This example uses a label on a form. When the form becomes active, the label displays a
message informing the user whether scroll bars will be available if the form is resized so
that not all controls are fully visible.
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin

66 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

if AutoScroll then
AutoSelect property
A
Label1.Caption := 'Scroll bars might appear!'
else
Label1.Caption := 'No scroll bars will appear';
end;

See also
HorzScrollBar property, ScrollInView method, VertScrollBar property

AutoSelect property
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBLookupCombo, TEdit, TMaskEdit components

Declaration
property AutoSelect: Boolean;
The value of the AutoSelect property determines if the text in the edit box or combo box
is automatically selected when the user tabs to the control. If AutoSelect is True, the text is
selected. If AutoSelect is False, the text is not selected.
The default value is True.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a check box on a form. Set the caption of the check
box to ‘AutoSelect text’. When the user checks the check box, text is automatically
selected each time the user tabs to the edit box. If the user unchecks the check box, text is
no longer selected automatically when the user tabs to the edit box.
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
Edit1.AutoSelect := True
else
Edit1.AutoSelect := False;
end;
end;

See also
AutoSize property, SelLength property, SelStart property, SelText property, Text property

AutoSize property
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBText, TEdit, TImage, TLabel, TMaskEdit, TOLEContainer components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 67

AutoSize property

The AutoSize property determines if the component automatically resizes to match the
size of its contents.

For images
Declaration
property AutoSize: Boolean;
When the AutoSize property is True, the image control resizes to accommodate the
image it contains (specified by the Picture property). When AutoSize is False, the image
control remains the same size, regardless of the size of the image. If the image control is
smaller than the image, only the portion of the picture that fits inside the image
component will be visible.
The default value is False.
Note You must remember to set the AutoSize property to True before loading the picture, or
AutoSize has no effect.
To resize the image to fill an image control completely when the control is larger than
the native size of the image, use the Stretch property.

Example
This example uses an image control and a button. Resize the image control so that it is
too small to display the entire bitmap. When the user clicks the button, the bitmap is
loaded into the image control, and the image control resizes to display the bitmap in its
entirety.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Image1.AutoSize := True;
Image1.Picture.LoadFromFile('c:\windows\arches.bmp');
end;

See also
LoadFromFile method, Stretch property

For edit boxes and database lookup combo boxes

Declaration
property AutoSize: Boolean;
When the AutoSize property is True, the height of the edit box changes to accommodate
font size changes to the text. When AutoSize is False, the edit box remains the same size,
regardless of any font changes. The default value is True.
If an edit box has no border, changing the value of AutoSize has no effect. In other
words, the BorderStyle property must have a value of bsSingle.

68 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

AutoSize property
A
Example
This example uses an edit box, a label, and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the font in the edit box enlarges, and the edit box enlarges also to accommodate
the larger font size.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.AutoSize := True;
Edit1.Font.Size := 20;
Label1.Caption := 'The edit box is bigger now';
end;

For label and database text components

Declaration
property AutoSize: Boolean;
When the AutoSize property is True, the label component resizes to the width and length
of the current string in the label’s Caption property. If you type text for a label while
AutoSize is True, the label grows for each character you type. If you change the font size
of the text, the label resizes to the new font size. When AutoSize is False, the size of the
label is not affected by the length of the string in its Caption property.
The default value of AutoSize is True.

Example
The following code keeps the size of the label control constant, even though the length
of the label’s caption changes. As a result, the caption of the label is probably too long to
display in the label when the user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.AutoSize := False;
Label1.Caption := 'This string is too long as the caption of this label';
end;

For OLE containers

Declaration
property AutoSize: Boolean;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 69

AutoTracking typed constant

Autosize determines whether the OLE container automatically resizes to the size of the
OLE object it contains.
If Autosize is True, the OLE container adopts the shape of the OLE object at run time. If
the user activates the object and changes its size, the OLE container resizes to the new
size. Setting Autosize to True may unintentionally cause the OLE container to resize to a
shape that exists outside the client area of the form or over other controls.
If Autosize is False, the shape of the OLE container remains constant. The picture of the
OLE object is clipped to fit in the shape of the OLE container when deactivated. This
clipping does not affect the OLE object itself, however. The user can still access the entire
OLE object when it is activated.

Example
The following code resizes OLEContainer1 automatically when activated:
OLEContainer1.AutoSize := True;

AutoTracking typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const AutoTracking: Boolean = True;
The AutoTracking typed constant controls automatic cursor tracking in the CRT window.
When AutoTracking is True, the CRT window automatically scrolls to ensure that the
cursor is visible after each Write and Writeln.
If AutoTracking is False, the CRT window will not scroll automatically, and text written
to the window might not be visible to the user.

AutoUnload property
Applies to
TReport component

Declaration
property AutoUnload: Boolean;
The AutoUnload property determines whether ReportSmith Runtime unloads from
memory when you have finished running a report.
If AutoUnload is True, ReportSmith Runtime unloads as soon as the report is finished
running.
If AutoUnload is False, ReportSmith Runtime remains in memory. For example, you can
create an application that includes a menu item that runs a report. After the report runs,
you want ReportSmith Runtime to stay in memory so the report can be quickly rerun

70 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Back method

again. To remove ReportSmith Runtime from memory when AutoUnload is False, you
+
must then call the CloseApplication method. B
Example
The following code sets AutoUnload to False, so that Report1 can be run twice using two
different variables. After the second run, ReportSmith is unloaded by a call to
CloseApplication.
Report1.AutoUnload := False;
if Report1.SetVariable(‘FName’, ‘Linda’) then
Report1.Run;
if Report1.SetVariable(‘LName’, ‘King’) then
Report1.Run;
Report1.CloseApplication(False);

Back method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure Back;
The Back method steps backward a number of frames (determined by the value of the
Frames property) in the currently loaded medium. Back is called when the Back button
on the media player control is clicked at run time.
Upon completion, Back stores a numerical error code in the Error property and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Back method has been completed. The Notify property determines whether Back
generates an OnNotify event.

Example
The following example lets the user pick an .AVI video file using OpenDialog1 and
opens that file in MediaPlayer1. Then, the Back button can be used to step backward
through the .AVI clip. You could use this to hide MediaPlayer1 and design your own
user interface for the media player.
procedure TForm1.OpenClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Filename := '*.*';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin
MediaPlayer1.Filename := OpenDialog1.Filename;
MediaPlayer1.Open;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 71

BackgroundColor property

procedure TForm1.BackClick(Sender: TObject);

begin
MediaPlayer1.Back;
end;

See also
Capabilities property, OnClick event, Rewind method, Step method

BackgroundColor property
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property BackgroundColor: TColor;
The BackgroundColor property determines the background color of the tab set control.
The background area of the tab set control is the area between the tabs and the border of
the control. For a list of possible color values, see the Color property.

Example
This code changes the background color of the tab set control:
TabSet1.BackgroundColor := clBackground;

72 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BeforeCancel event
+
See also
TBatchMove component B
BeforeCancel event
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property BeforeCancel: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The BeforeCancel event is activated at the beginning of a call to the Cancel method. This
event is the first action taken by Cancel. If the dataset is not in Edit state or there are no
changes pending, then Cancel will not activate the BeforeCancel event.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event. By raising an exception in this event handler, you can prevent the Cancel
operation from occurring.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 73

BeforeDelete event

BeforeDelete event
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property BeforeDelete: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The BeforeDelete event is activated when the dataset begins a call to Delete. This event is
the first action taken by the Delete method.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event. By raising an exception in this event handler, you can prevent the Delete
operation from occurring.

74 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BeforeOpen event

The BeforeInsert event is activated when the dataset begins a call to the Insert or Append
+
methods. This event is the first action taken by Insert or Append. B
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event. By raising an exception in this event handler, you can prevent the Insert operation
from occurring.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 75

BeginDoc method

By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event. By raising an exception in this event handler, you can prevent the Post operation
from occurring.

76 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BeginUpdate method

The BeginDrag method starts the dragging of a control. If the Immediate parameter is
+
True, the mouse pointer changes to the value of the DragCursor property and dragging
begins immediately. If Immediate is False, the mouse pointer doesn’t change to the value
B
of the DragCursor property and dragging doesn’t begin until the user moves the mouse
pointer a short distance (5 pixels). This allows the control to accept mouse clicks without
beginning a drag operation.
Your application needs to call the BeginDrag method to begin dragging only when the
DragMode property value for the control is dmManual.

Example
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Button1.DragMode = dmManual then
Button1.BeginDrag(True);
end;

See also
DragMode property, EndDrag method, OnDragDrop event, OnDragOver event,
OnEndDrag event

BeginUpdate method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects; TOutline component

Declaration
procedure BeginUpdate;
The BeginUpdate method prevents the updating of the outline or string object until the
EndUpdate method is called. For string objects, BeginUpdate prevents the screen from
being repainted when new strings are added. For outlines, BeginUpdate prevents the
screen from being repainted and prevents outline items from being reindexed when
new items are added, deleted, or inserted. Outline items affected by the changes will
have invalid Index values until EndUpdate is called.
For example, the Lines property of a memo component is of type TStrings. If your
application calls the AddStrings method to add several strings at once to the Lines
property, AddStrings calls BeginUpdate before the strings are added. After the strings are
added, AddStrings calls EndUpdate and the screen repaints, displaying the new list of
strings.
Use BeginUpdate to prevent screen repaints and to speed processing time while you are
rebuilding your list.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 77

BevelInner property

Example
BeginUpdate and EndUpdate should always be used in conjunction with a try...finally
statement to ensure that EndUpdate is called if an exception occurs. A block that uses
BeginUpdate and EndUpdate typically looks like this:
ListBox1.Items.BeginUpdate;
try
ListBox1.Items.Clear;
ListBox1.Items.Add(...);
...
ListBox1.Items.Add(...);
finally
ListBox1.Items.EndUpdate; { Executed even in case of an exception }
end;

78 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Align := alBottom;
BevelOuter property
+
BevelInner := bvLowered;
BevelOuter := bvRaised;
B
BorderWidth := 1;
BevelWidth := 1;
end;
end;

See also
BevelOuter property, BevelWidth property, BorderWidth property, TPanelBevel type

BevelOuter property
Applies to
TPanel component

Declaration
property BevelOuter: TPanelBevel;
A panel component has two bevels, an outer bevel drawn next to the border of the
control, and an inner bevel drawn inside the outer bevel. The width of the inner bevel is
specified in the BorderWidth property in pixels.
The BevelOuter property determines the style of the outer bevel of a panel component.
These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
bvNone No outer bevel exists.
bvLowered The outer bevel is lowered.
bvRaised The outer bevel is raised.

Example
This code creates a lowered frame 10 pixels wide around a panel component named
Panel1:
Panel1.BorderWidth := 10;
Panel1.BevelInner := bvRaised;
Panel1.BevelOuter := bvLowered;

See also
BevelInner property, BevelWidth property, BorderWidth property

BevelWidth property
Applies to
TPanel component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 79

Bitmap property

Declaration
property BevelWidth: TBevelWidth;
The BevelWidth property determines the width in pixels between the inner and the outer
bevels of a panel. The BevelInner property determines how the inner bevel appears, and
the BevelOuter property determines how the outer bevel appears. By changing these
properties, you change the appearance of the panel.

Example
This code alternately displays and hides the bevels of a panel when the user clicks the
Button1 button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with Panel1 do
begin
BevelInner := bvLowered;
BevelOuter := bvRaised;
if BevelWidth = 0 then
BevelWidth := 2
else
BevelWidth := 0;
end;
end;

80 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
BlockRead procedure
+
Form1.Canvas.Brush.Bitmap.LoadFromFile(‘MYBITMAP.BMP’);
end;
B
For pictures
Declaration
property Bitmap: TBitmap;
The Bitmap property specifies the contents of the TPicture object as a bitmap graphic
(.BMP file format). If Bitmap is referenced when the TPicture contains a Metafile or Icon
graphic, the graphic won’t be converted. Instead, the original contents of the TPicture are
discarded and Bitmap returns a new, blank bitmap.

Example
The following code copies the bitmap in Picture1 to the Glyph of BitBtn1.
BitBtn1.Glyph := Picture1.Bitmap;

BlockRead procedure System

Declaration
procedure BlockRead(var F: File; var Buf; Count: Word [; var Result: Word]);
The BlockRead procedure reads one or more records from an open file into a variable.
F is an untyped file variable, Buf is any variable, Count is an expression of type Word,
and Result is an optional variable of type Word.
BlockRead reads Count or fewer records from the file F into memory, starting at the first
byte occupied by Buf. The actual number of complete records read (less than or equal to
Count) is returned in Result.
The entire transferred block occupies at most Count * RecSize bytes. RecSize is the record
size specified when the file was opened (or 128 if the record size was not specified). An
error occurs if Count * RecSize is greater than 65,535 (64K). You can handle this error
using exceptions.
If the entire block was transferred, Result is equal to Count.
If Result is less than Count, ReadBlock reached the end of the file before the transfer was
complete. If the file’s record size is greater than 1, Result returns the number of complete
records read.
If Result isn’t specified, an I/O error occurs if the number of records read isn’t equal to
Count. You can use the EInOutError exception to handle this error.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 81

BlockWrite procedure

{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
FromF, ToF: file;
NumRead, NumWritten: Word;
Buf: array[1..2048] of Char;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then { Display Open dialog box }
begin
AssignFile(FromF, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Reset(FromF, 1); { Record size = 1 }
if SaveDialog1.Execute then { Display Save dialog box}
begin
AssignFile(ToF, SaveDialog1.FileName); { Open output file }
Rewrite(ToF, 1); { Record size = 1 }
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Copying ' + IntToStr(FileSize(FromF))
+ ' bytes...');
repeat
BlockRead(FromF, Buf, SizeOf(Buf), NumRead);
BlockWrite(ToF, Buf, NumRead, NumWritten);
until (NumRead = 0) or (NumWritten <> NumRead);
CloseFile(FromF);
CloseFile(ToF);
end;
end;
end;

BlockWrite procedure System

Declaration
procedure BlockWrite(var f: File; var Buf; Count: Word [; var Result: Word]);
The BlockWrite procedure writes one or more records from a variable to an open file.
F is an untyped file variable, Buf is any variable, Count is an expression of type Word,
and Result is an optional variable of type Word.
BlockWrite writes Count or fewer records to the file F from memory, starting at the first
byte occupied by Buf. The actual number of complete records written (less than or equal
to Count) is returned in Result.
The entire block transferred occupies at most Count * RecSize bytes. RecSize is the record
size specified when the file was opened (or 128 if the record size was unspecified). An

82 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BlockWrite procedure

error occurs if Count * RecSize is greater than 65,535 (64K). You can use the exception
+
handler EInOutError to deal with this error. B
If the entire block is transferred, Result is equal to Count on return.
If Result is less than Count, the disk became full before the transfer was complete. In this
case, if the file’s record size is greater than 1, Result returns the number of complete
records written.
The current file position is advanced by Result records as an effect of the BlockWrite.
If Result isn’t specified, an I/O error occurs if the number written isn’t equal to Count.
You can use exception handler EInOutError to deal this error.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
FromF, ToF: file;
NumRead, NumWritten: Word;
Buf: array[1..2048] of Char;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then { Display Open dialog box }
begin
AssignFile(FromF, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Reset(FromF, 1); { Record size = 1 }
if SaveDialog1.Execute then { Display Save dialog box }
begin
AssignFile(ToF, SaveDialog1.FileName); { Open output file }
Rewrite(ToF, 1); { Record size = 1 }
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Copying ' + IntToStr(FileSize(FromF))
+ ' bytes...');
repeat
BlockRead(FromF, Buf, SizeOf(Buf), NumRead);
BlockWrite(ToF, Buf, NumRead, NumWritten);
until (NumRead = 0) or (NumWritten <> NumRead);
CloseFile(FromF);
CloseFile(ToF);
end;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 83

BOF property

BOF property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property BOF: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. BOF is a Boolean property that indicates whether a dataset is
known to be at its first row. The BOF property returns a value of True only after:
• An application first opens a table
• A call to a table’s First method
• A call to a table’s Prior method fails

Example
Table1.Last;
while not Table1.BOF do
begin
{DoSomething}
Table1.Prior;
end;

BOLEFormat type BOLEDefs

Declaration
BOleFormat = Record
fmtId: Word;
fmtName: array [0..31] of char;
fmtResultName: array [0..31] of char;
fmtMedium: BOleMedium;
fmtIsLinkable: Bool;
end;
BOLEFormat registers a format that allows drag-and-drop of OLE objects and other
types onto a form. Pass an array of BOLEFormat as a parameter to the
ClearFormOLEDropFormats, RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget, and
SetFormOLEDropFormats procedures.
An array of BOLEFormat records is also used when pasting objects from the Clipboard
with the PasteSpecialDlg function. Each object type you want to be able to paste should
be registered as an element of the Fmts parameter of PasteSpecialDlg. To see if any objects
of a given type are on the Clipboard so that the Paste Special dialog box is enabled, pass
an array of BOLEFormats in the Fmts parameter of PasteSpecialEnabled.

84 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

These are the fields of BOLEFormat:
BOLEMedium type
+
Field Description
B
fmtId Windows Clipboard format ID. For non-OLE data, fmtId should be a standard
Clipboard format such as CF_TEXT for text or CF_BITMAP for bitmap graphics.
For OLE objects, you should register new Clipboard formats with the Windows
API function RegisterClipboardFormat.
fmtName Name to appear in the list box of Paste Special dialog box.
fmtResultName Name to appear in the Results box of the Paste Special dialog box.
fmtMedium Based on the Clipboard format ID specified in fmtId. For linked OLE objects,
fmtMedium should be BOLE_MED_STREAM. For embedded OLE objects,
fmtMedium should be BOLE_MED_STORAGE.
fmtIsLinkable True if the object is linkable, False if not. For linked OLE objects, fmtIsLinkable
should be set to True. For embedded OLE objects, fmtIsLinkable should be False.

BOLEMedium type BOLEDefs

Declaration
type BoleMedium = Integer;
const
BOLE_MED_NULL = 0;
BOLE_MED_HGLOBAL = 1; { used for most non-ole2 formats }
BOLE_MED_FILE = 2;
BOLE_MED_STREAM = 4; { used for ole2 linked objects }
BOLE_MED_STORAGE = 8; { used for ole2 embedded objects }
BOLE_MED_GDI = 16; { used for bitmaps and other gdi formats }
BOLE_MED_MFPICT = 32; { used for metafile format }
BOLEMedium is the type of the fmtMedium field of the BOLEFormat type. This is based
on the fmtId field in the same record. For linked OLE objects, the BOLEMedium should
be BOLE_MED_STREAM. For embedded OLE objects, the BOLEMedium should be
BOLE_MED_STORAGE. For other objects, the BOLEMedium should be one of the other
values, according to the comments in the declaration above. Use BOLEMediumCalc to
calculate the BOLEMedium for a given Clipboard format.

BOLEMediumCalc function Toctrl

Declaration
function BOleMediumCalc(fmtId: Word): BOleMedium;
The BOLEMediumCalc function returns the BOLEMedium value that should be used with
the Clipboard format ID passed in the fmtId parameter. BOLEMedium is the type of the
fmtMedium field of the BOLEFormat record.

Example
The following code calculates the BOLEMedium associated with CF_BITMAP and stores
it in the fmtMedium field of the first element of a BOLEFormat record array.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 85

BorderColor property

var
Fmts: array[0..2] of BOLEFormat;
begin
Fmts[0].fmtId := CF_BITMAP;
Fmts[0].fmtMedium := BOLEMediumCalc(CF_BITMAP);
Fmts[0].fmtIsLinkable := False;
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtName, '%s');
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtResultName, '%s');
end;

BorderColor property
Applies to
TShape component

Declaration
property BorderColor: TColor;
The BorderColor property is used to color the border of a shape component. For a
complete list of the values the BorderColor property can have, see the Color property.

Example
This example changes the border color of a shape component at run time:
Shape1.BorderColor := clBlack;

BorderIcons property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property BorderIcons: TBorderIcons;
The BorderIcons property is a set whose values determine which icons appear on the title
bar of a form. These are the possible values that the BorderIcons set can contain:

Value Meaning
biSystemMenu The form has a Control menu (also known as a System menu)
biMinimize The form has a Minimize button
biMaximize The form has a Maximize button

Example
The following code removes a form’s Maximize button when the user clicks a button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);

86 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
BorderStyle property
+
BorderIcons := BorderIcons - [biMaximize];
end;
B
See also
BorderStyle property

BorderStyle property
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList,
TDBMemo, TDrawGrid, TEdit, TForm, THeader, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo,
TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPanel, TScrollBox, TStringGrid components

For forms
Declaration
property BorderStyle: TFormBorderStyle;
The BorderStyle property for forms specifies both the appearance and the behavior of the
form border. You normally set BorderStyle at design time, but you can also change it at
run time.
BorderStyle can have any of the following values:

Value Meaning
bsDialog Not resizeable; standard dialog box border
bsSingle Not resizeable; single-line border
bsNone Not resizeable; no visible border line, Minimize or Maximize
buttons, or Control menu
bsSizeable Standard resizeable border

Changing the border style of an MDI child form to bsDialog or bsNone has no effect.

Example
This example creates a form with a single-line border that the user can’t resize:
Form1.BorderStyle := bsSingle;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 87

BorderWidth property

For controls
Declaration
property BorderStyle: TBorderStyle;
The BorderStyle property of edit boxes, list boxes, memo controls, grid controls, outlines,
and scroll boxes determines whether these components have a border. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
bsNone No visible border
bsSingle Single-line border

If you set the AutoSize property of an edit box to True, the edit box resizes automatically
when the font size of the text changes. You must set the value of the BorderStyle property
to fsSingle, or else AutoSize has no effect.

Example
The following example puts a single-line border around the edit box, Edit1.
Edit1.BorderStyle := bsSingle;

88 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BevelInner := bvLowered;
Bounds function
+
BevelOuter := bvRaised;
BorderWidth := 1;
B
BevelWidth := 1;
end;
end;

See also
BevelInner property, BevelOuter property, BevelWidth property

Bounds function Classes

Declaration
function Bounds(ALeft, ATop, AWidth, AHeight: Integer): TRect;
The Bounds function returns a rectangle with the given dimensions. The statement
R := Bounds(X, Y, W, H);
corresponds to
R := Rect(X, Y, X + W, Y + H);

Example
This example returns a TRect record that defines a rectangle that is 100 pixels long on
each side with the top left corner at coordinate 10, 10.
var
R: TRect;
begin
R := Bounds(10, 10, 100, 100);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 89

Break procedure

corresponds to
R.Left := Control.Left;
R.Top := Control.Top;
R.Right := Control.Left + Control.Width;
R.Bottom := Control.Top + Control.Height;

Example
This code resizes a button control to twice as wide and half as high:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyRect: TRect;
begin
MyRect := Button2.BoundsRect;
MyRect.Right := MyRect.Left + 2 * (MyRect.Right - MyRect.Left);
MyRect.Bottom := MyRect.Top + (MyRect.Bottom - MyRect.Top) div 2;
Button2.BoundsRect := MyRect;
end;

Break procedure System

Declaration
procedure Break;
The Break procedure causes the flow of control to exit a for, while, or repeat statement
and continue at the next statement following the loop statement.
The compiler reports an error if a call to Break isn’t in a for, while, or repeat statement.

Example
uses WinCRT;
var
S: string;
begin
while True do
begin
ReadLn(S);
if S = '' then Break;
WriteLn(S);
end;
end;

See also
Continue procedure, Exit procedure, Halt procedure

90 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Break property
+
Break property B
Applies to
TMenuItem component

Declaration
property Break: TMenuBreak;
The Break property lets you break a long menu into columns. These are the possible
values:

Value Meaning
mbNone No menu breaking occurs.
mbBarBreak The menu breaks into another column with the menu item appearing at the top of the
new column. A bar separates the new and the old columns.
mbBreak The menu breaks into another column with the menu item appearing at the top of the
new column. Only space separates the new and the old columns.

The default value is mbNone.

Example
This example uses a button and a main menu component with several subitems on it,
including one labeled Save As, so that Delphi automatically names that menu item
SaveAs1. When the user clicks the button on the form, the menu breaks so Save As
appears in a second column with a bar between the two columns. The change to the
menu is visible when the menu displays.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
SaveAs1.Break := mbBarBreak;
end;

See also
Checked property, Enabled property

BringToFront method
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Declaration
procedure BringToFront;
The BringToFront method puts the component or form in front of all other components
or forms within its parent component or form. BringToFront is especially useful for

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 91

Brush property

making certain that a form is visible. You can also use it to reorder overlapping
components within a form.
The order in which controls stack on top of each order (also called the Z order) depends
on whether the controls are windowed or non-windowed controls. For example, if you
put a label and an image on a form so that one is on top of the other, the one you placed
first on the form is the one on the bottom. Because both the label and the image are non-
windowed controls, they “stack” as you would expect them to. Suppose that the label is
on the bottom. If you call the BringToFront method for the label, the label then appears
on top of the image.
The stacking order of windowed controls is the same. For example, if you put a memo
on a form, then put a check box on top of it, the check box remains on top. If you call
BringToFront for the memo, the memo appears on top.
The stacking order of windowed and non-windowed controls cannot be mingled. For
example, if you put a memo, a windowed control, on a form, and then put a label, a non-
windowed control, on top of it, the label disappears behind the memo. Windowed
controls always stack on top of non-windowed controls. In this example, if you call the
BringToFront method of the label, it remains behind the memo.

Example
The following code uses two forms. Form1 has a button on it. The second form is used as
a tool palette. This code makes the palette form visible, and ensures it is the top form by
bringing it to the front.
To run this example, you must put Unit2 in the uses clause of your unit.
procedure TForm1.ShowPaletteButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Form2.Visible = False then Form2.Visible := True;
Form2.BringToFront;
end;

92 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

For controls, Brush is a read only and run-time only property.
BrushCopy method
+
Example
B
The following code sets the color of the brush used by Form1 to fill shapes drawn on it
with red:
procedure TForm1.MakeRedButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Canvas.Brush.Color := clRed;
end;
This code changes the shape, color, and pattern of a shape component:
procedure TForm1.ChangeShapeClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Shape1.Shape := stEllipse;
Shape1.Brush.Color := clMaroon;
Shape1.Brush.Style := bsFDiagonal;
end;

See also
BrushCopy method, Canvas property, Font property, Pen property, TCanvas object

BrushCopy method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure BrushCopy(const Dest: TRect; Bitmap: TBitmap; const Source: TRect; Color: TColor);
The BrushCopy method copies a portion of a bitmap onto a portion of a canvas, replacing
one of the colors of the bitmap with the brush of the destination canvas. Dest specifies
the rectangular portion of the destination canvas to copy to. Bitmap specifies the graphic
to copy from. Source specifies the rectangular area of the bitmap to copy. Color specifies
the color in Bitmap to replace with the brush of the canvas (specified in the Brush
property).
You could use BrushCopy to make the copied image partially transparent, for example.
To do this, you would specify the color of the surface being copied to (clBackground for
example) as the Color of the Brush property of the destination canvas, then call
BrushCopy.

Example
The following code illustrates the differences between CopyRect and BrushCopy. The
bitmap graphic ‘TARTAN.BMP’ is loaded into Bitmap and displayed on the Canvas of
Form1. BrushCopy replaces the color black in the graphic with the brush of the canvas,
while CopyRect leaves the colors intact.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 93

BtnClick method

var
Bitmap: TBitmap;
MyRect, MyOther: TRect;
begin
MyRect.Top := 10;
MyRect.Left := 10;
MyRect.Bottom := 100;
MyRect.Right := 100;
MyOther.Top := 111; {110}
MyOther.Left := 10;
MyOther.Bottom := 201; {210}
MyOther.Right := 100;
Bitmap := TBitmap.Create;
Bitmap.LoadFromFile('c:\windows\tartan.bmp');
Form1.Canvas.BrushCopy(MyRect,Bitmap, MyRect, clBlack);
Form1.Canvas.CopyRect(MyOther,Bitmap.Canvas,MyRect);
Bitmap.Free;
end;

See also
Brush property, CopyRect method

BtnClick method
Applies to
TDBNavigator component

Declaration
procedure BtnClick(Index: TNavigateBtn);
The BtnClick method simulates a button click on the database navigator, invoking the
action of the button. Specify which button BtnClick should operate on as the value of the
Index parameter.

Example
This line of code simulates the clicking of the Next button on a database navigator
control, which makes the next record in the dataset the current record:
DBNavigator1.BtnClick(nbNext);

Buttons property
Applies to
TDBRadioGroup, TRadioGroup components

94 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Calculated property
+
Declaration
property Buttons: TList; +
Run-time and read only. The Buttons property lets your application access the list of
radio buttons in the database radio button group box. Use the properties and methods
C
of a list object (TList) to manipulate the list of buttons.

Example
The following code disables the first button in DBRadioGroup1.
TRadioButton(DBRadioGroup1.Buttons.First).Enabled := False;

Calculated property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

Declaration
property Calculated: Boolean;
Calculated is True if the value of the field is calculated by the OnCalcFields event handler.
Calculated fields can be created with the Fields Editor, but are not stored in or retrieved
from the physical tables underlying a dataset. Instead they are calculated for each record
in the table by the dataset’s OnCalcFields event handler, which typically uses expressions
involving values from other fields in the record to generate a value for each calculated
field. For example, a table might have non-calculated fields for Quantity and UnitPrice,
and a calculated field for ExtendedPrice, which would be calculated by multiplying the
values of the Quantity and UnitPrice fields. Calculated fields are also useful for
performing lookups in other tables. For example, a part number can be used to retrieve a
part description for display in an invoice line item.

Cancel method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure Cancel;
The Cancel method returns the dataset to Browse state and discards any changes to the
current record.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 95

Cancel property

See also
Append method, Insert method, Post method

Cancel property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton components

Declaration
property Cancel: Boolean;
The Cancel property indicates whether a button or a bitmap button is a Cancel button. If
Cancel is True, any time the user presses Esc, the OnClick event handler for the button
executes. Although your application can have more than one button designated as a
Cancel button, the form calls the OnClick event handler only for the first button in the
tab order that is visible.

Example
The following code designates a button called Button1 as a Cancel button:
Button1.Cancel := True;

See also
Default property, OnClick event

CancelRange method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure CancelRange;
The CancelRange method removes any range limitations for the TTable which were
previously established by calling the ApplyRange or SetRange methods.

Example
Table1.CancelRange;

CanFocus method
Applies to
All controls

96 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CanModify property
+
Declaration
function CanFocus: Boolean; +
The CanFocus method determines whether a control can receive focus. CanFocus returns
True if both the control and its parent(s) have their Visible and Enabled properties set to
C
True. If all the Visible and Enabled properties of the control and the components from
which the control descends are not True, then CanFocus returns False.

Example
This example uses a group box, a label, and a button on a form. The group box contains
a check box. When the application runs, the group box is disabled (Enabled is set to
False). Because the group box is the parent of the check box, the user can never tab to the
check box. When the user clicks the button, the caption of the label reports that the check
box can not receive the input focus:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
GroupBox1.Enabled := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.CanFocus then
Label1.Caption := 'The check box can focus'
else
Label1.Caption := 'The check box cannot focus';
end;

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
property CanModify: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. CanModify specifies whether an application can modify the
data in a dataset. When CanModify is False, then the dataset is read-only, and cannot be

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 97

Canvas property

put into Edit or Insert state. When CanModify is True, the dataset can enter Edit or Insert
state.
Even if CanModify is True, it is not a guarantee that a user will be able to insert or update
records in a table. Other factors may come in to play, for example, SQL access privileges.
TTable has a ReadOnly property that requests write privileges when set to False. When
ReadOnly is True, CanModify will automatically be set to False. When ReadOnly is False,
CanModify will be True if the database allows read and write privileges for the dataset
and the underlying table.

Example
if Table1.CanModify then
{ Do this only if the dataset can be modified }
Table1.CustNo := 1234;

For field components

Declaration
property CanModify: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. Specifies if a field can be modified for any reason, such as
during a SetKey operation. CanModify is True if the value of the field can be modified. If
the ReadOnly property of the field is True, or the ReadOnly property of the dataset is True,
then CanModify is False.

For forms, images, and paint boxes

Declaration
property Canvas: TCanvas;

98 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Canvas property

Run-time only. The Canvas property gives you access to a drawing surface that you can
+
use when implementing a handler for the OnPaint event of a form, an image, or a paint
box.
+
The Canvas property of an image or a form is read only. C
Example
The following code sets the Color of the Pen of the Canvas of Bitmap1 to clBlue.
Bitmap1.Canvas.Pen.Color := clBlue;

See also
Search for Graphics in online Help and choose the topic Drawing Graphics at Run Time

For list boxes, combo boxes, and outlines

Declaration
property Canvas: TCanvas;
Run-time and read only. The Canvas property gives you access to a drawing surface that
you can use when implementing a handler for the OnDrawItem event of an owner-draw
list box, combo box, or outline control.

Example
The following code draws a graphic stored in the Objects property of the Items list of
ListBox1. This code should be attached to the OnDrawItem event handler of ListBox1, and
the Style property of ListBox1 should be lbOwnerDrawFixed.
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer;
Rect: TRect; State: TOwnerDrawState);
var
SourceRect: TRect;
begin
SourceRect.Top := 0;
SourceRect.Left := 0;
SourceRect.Bottom := TBitmap(ListBox1.Items.Objects[Index]).Height;
SourceRect.Right := TBitmap(ListBox1.Items.Objects[Index]).Width;
ListBox1.Canvas.CopyRect(Rect, TBitmap(ListBox1.Items.Objects[Index]).Canvas,
SourceRect);
end;
The following code draws a graphic stored in the Data property of the Items list of
Outline1. This code should be attached to the OnDrawItem event handler of Outline1,
and the Style property of Outline1 should be otOwnerDraw.
procedure TForm1.Outline1DrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer;
Rect: TRect; State: TOwnerDrawState);
var
SourceRect: TRect;
begin
SourceRect.Top := 0;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 99

Canvas property

SourceRect.Left := 0;
SourceRect.Bottom := TBitmap(Outline1.Items[Index].Data).Height;
SourceRect.Right := TBitmap(Outline1.Items[Index].Data).Width;
Outline1.Canvas.CopyRect(Rect, TBitmap(Outline1.Items[Index].Data).Canvas,
SourceRect);
end;

See also
ItemHeight property, OnDrawCell event, OnDrawDataCell event, OnDrawItem event,
OnPaint event

For grids
Declaration
property Canvas: TCanvas;
Run-time and read only. The Canvas property gives you access to a drawing surface that
you can use when implementing a handler for the OnDrawCell or OnDrawDataCell event
of a grid control.

For printer objects

Declaration
property Canvas: TCanvas;
Run-time only and read only. The Canvas property for a printer object represents the
surface of the currently printing page.
Note Some printers do not support graphics. Therefore, the Draw, StretchDraw, or CopyRect
methods might fail on these printers.

Example
The following code prints the text ‘Hello, world!’:
Printer.BeginDoc;
Printer.Canvas.TextOut(0, 0, 'Hello, world');
Pritner.EndDoc;

See also
Brush property, Font property, Pen property, TextOut method

For bitmap objects

Applies to
TBitmap object

100 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Capabilities property
+
Declaration
property Canvas: TCanvas; +
Run-time and read only. The Canvas property gives you access to a drawing surface that
represents the bitmap. When you draw on the canvas you are in effect modifying the
C
underlying bitmap.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 101

Capacity property

See also
Back method, Display property, Eject method, Play method, StartRecording method, Step
method

Capacity property
Applies to
TList object

Declaration
property Capacity: Integer;
Run time only. The Capacity property contains the allocated size of the array of pointers
maintained by a TList object. This is different from the Count property, which contains
the number of entries that are actually in use. The value of the Capacity property is
always greater than or equal to the value of the Count property.
When setting the Capacity property, an EListError exception occurs if the specified value
is less than the Count property or greater than 16380 (the maximum number of elements
a list object can contain). Also, an EOutOfMemory exception occurs if there is not enough
memory to expand the list to its new size.
When an element is added to a list whose Capacity and Count are equal (indicating that
all allocated entries are in use), the Capacity is automatically increased by 16 elements. In
situations where you are going to be adding a known number of elements to a list, you
can reduce memory reallocations by first increasing the list's capacity. For example,
List.Clear;
List.Capacity := Count;
for I := 1 to Count do List.Add(...);
The assignment to Capacity before the for loop ensures that each of the following Add
operations doesn’t cause the list to be reallocated, which in turn means that the Add
operations are guaranteed to never raise an exception.

Example
The following code sets the Capacity of List1 to 5.
List1.Capacity := 5;

See also
Count property, Expand method, Items property, Pack method

Caption property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBRadioGroup, TForm, TGroupBox, TLabel,
TMenuItem, TPanel, TRadioButton, TSpeedButton components

102 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

The Caption property specifies text that will appear in a component.
Caption property
+
+
For forms
C
Declaration
property Caption: string;
The Caption property is the text that appears in the form’s title bar; this text also appears
as the icon label when the form is minimized.

Example
The following code creates a caption that says “Hello, World!” on a form called MyForm:
MyForm.Caption := ‘Hello, World!’;

For all other components

Declaration
property Caption: string;
For components other than forms, the Caption property contains the text string that
labels the component. To underline a character in a string, include an ampersand (&)
before the character. This type of character is called an accelerator character. The user
can then select the control or menu item by pressing Alt while typing the underlined
character. The default value is the name of the component.
For menu items, you can use the Caption property to include a line that separates the
menu into parts. Specify a hyphen character (-) as the value of Caption for the menu
item.
The Caption property of a data grid is available at run time only.

Example
This code changes the caption of a group box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
GroupBox1.Caption := ’Fancy options’;
end;

See also
FocusControl property, ShowAccelChar property, Text property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 103

Cascade method

Cascade method
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
procedure Cascade;
The Cascade method rearranges the child forms in your application so they overlap. The
top of each form remains visible so that you can easily select one of the forms. The
Cascade method applies only to MDI parent forms (with a FormStyle property value of
fsMDIForm).

Example
This code arranges all MDI children of the current MDI parent form in a cascade pattern
when the user chooses the Cascade menu command:
procedure TForm1.Cascade1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Cascade;
end;

See also
ArrangeIcons method, Next method, Previous method, Tile method

CellRect method
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
function CellRect(ACol, ARow: Longint): TRect;
The CellRect method creates a rectangle of type TRect for the cell defined by the column
ACol and the row ARow. If the cell indicated by ACol and ARow is not visible, CellRect
returns an empty rectangle.

Example
This example uses a string grid, four labels, and a button on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the coordinates of the cell in the second column and first row appear in the
label captions:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Rectangle: TRect;
begin
Rectangle := StringGrid1.CellRect(3, 2);

104 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Label1.Caption := IntToStr(Rectangle.Top) + ' is the top';
Cells property
+
Label2.Caption
Label3.Caption
:=
:=
IntToStr(Rectangle.Bottom) + ' is the bottom';
IntToStr(Rectangle.Left) + ' is the left side';
+
Label4.Caption
end;
:= IntToStr(Rectangle.Right) + ' is the right side';
C
See also
MouseToCell method

Cells property
Applies to
TStringGrid component

Declaration
property Cells[ACol, ARow: Integer]: string;
Run-time only. The Cells property is an array of strings, one string for each cell in the
grid. Use the Cells property to access a string within a particular cell. ACol is the column
coordinate of the cell, and ARow is the row coordinate of the cell. The first row is row
zero, and the first column is column zero.
The ColCount and RowCount property values define the size of the array of strings.

Example
This code fills each cell of a grid with the same string.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I, J: Integer;
begin
with StringGrid1 do
for I := 0 to ColCount - 1 do
for J:= 0 to RowCount - 1 do
Cells[I,J] := 'Delphi';
end;

See also
Cols property, Objects property, Rows property

Center property
Applies to
TDBImage, TImage components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 105

ChangedCount property

Declaration
property Center: Boolean;
The Center property determines whether an image is centered in the image control. If
Center is True, the image is centered. If Center is False, the image aligns with the top left
corner of the control. The default value is True.

Example
The following code centers the image in Image1 when the user checks CheckBox1:
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Image1.Center := CheckBox1.Checked;
end;

See also
AutoSize property, Stretch property

ChangedCount property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property ChangedCount: Longint;
Run-time and read only. ChangedCount is the number of records added to the table
specified by ChangedTableName. If ChangedTableName is not specified, the count is still
valid.

Example
with BatchMove1 do
begin
Execute;
if ChangedCount <> Source.RecordCount then { something went wrong };
end;

106 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ChangeFileExt function
+
Declaration
property ChangedTableName: TFileName; +
ChangedTableName, if specified, creates a local (Paradox) table containing all records in
the destination table that changed as a result of the batch operation. The number of
C
records placed in the new table is reported in the ChangedCount property.

Example
BatchMove1.ChangedTableName := ‘oldrecs.db’;

ChangeFileExt function SysUtils

Declaration
function ChangeFileExt(const FileName, Extension: string): string;
The ChangeFileExt function takes the file name passed in FileName and changes the
extension of the file name to the extension passed in Extension.

Example
The following code generates the name of an .INI file based on the name of the program:
function INIFileName: string;
begin
Result := ChangeFileExt(ParamStr(0), '.INI');
end;

ChangeLevelBy method
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
procedure ChangeLevelBy(Value: TChangeRange);
The ChangeLevelBy method changes the level of an outline item. Specify a Value
parameter value of -1 to move up (toward the root) one level. Specify a Value parameter
value of 1 to move down (away from the root) one level.
When moving up one level, an item becomes the next sibling of its former parent. When
moving down one level, an item becomes the last child of its former prior sibling.
Therefore, you can not change the level of the first item in the outline, as it has no parent
or prior sibling. Also, you can not move items that are already on the first level up one
level.
ChangeLevelBy modifies the value of the Level property to reflect the new level. You can
only move an item up or down one level at a time.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 107

CharCase property

Example
Attach the following code to the OnClick event handlers of two buttons to allow the user
to move the selected outline item up or down. The code for UpBtn checks to see if the
selected item is not already on the first level before moving it up. The code for DownBtn
checks to see if the selected item has a prior sibling before moving it down.
procedure TForm1.UpBtnClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
with Outline1[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
if Level > 1 then ChangeLevelBy(-1);
end;

procedure TForm1.DownBtnClick(Sender: TObject);

begin
with Outline1[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
if Outline1[Parent.GetPrevChild(Index)] <> -1 then
ChangeLevelBy(1);
end;

108 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ChDir procedure

second radio button, the text in the edit box becomes uppercase, and any text the user
+
types in the edit box also appears in uppercase. When the user selects the third radio
button, the text in the edit box remains unchanged, but the user can type using either
+
upper- or lowercase characters:
procedure TForm1.RadioButton1Click(Sender: TObject);
C
begin
Edit1.CharCase := ecLowerCase;
end;
procedure TForm1.RadioButton2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.CharCase := ecUpperCase;
end;
procedure TForm1.RadioButton3Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.CharCase := ecNormal;
end;

ChDir procedure System

Declaration
procedure ChDir(S: string);
The ChDir procedure changes the current directory to the path specified by S.
If S specifies a drive letter, the current drive is also changed.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors. IOResult returns 0 if
the operation was successful; otherwise, it returns a nonzero error code.

Example
begin
{$I–}
{ Change to directory specified in Edit1 }
ChDir(Edit1.Text);
if IOResult <> 0 then
MessageDlg('Cannot find directory', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0);
end;

See also
GetDir procedure, MkDir procedure, RmDir procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 109

Check procedure

Check procedure DB
Declaration
procedure Check(Status: Integer);
The Check procedure tests Status for a nonzero value and calls DbiError passing Status.

CheckBreak typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const CheckBreak: Boolean = True;
The CheckBreak typed constant controls user termination of an application using the CRT
window.
When CheckBreak is True, the user can terminate the application at any time by
• Choosing the Close command on the CRT window’s Control menu
• Double-clicking the window's Control-menu box
• Pressing Alt+F4
• Pressing Ctrl+Break
The user can also press Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break at any time to halt the application and force
the CRT window into its inactive state.
All these features are disabled when CheckBreak is False.
At run time, Crt stores the old Ctrl+Break interrupt vector, $1B, in a global pointer called
SaveInt1B.

CheckBrowseMode method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure CheckBrowseMode;
The CheckBrowseMode method verifies that the dataset is open and has no pending
changes. If the dataset’s State property is dsEdit, dsInsert or dsSetKey, the Post method is
called to post any pending changes. If the dataset is closed, an EDataBaseError exception
will be raised.

110 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Checked property
+
Checked property +
Applies to
TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox, TMenuItem, TRadioButton components C
Declaration
property Checked: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Checked property determines whether an option is selected. These
are the possible values:

Component Value Meaning

Check box True A check mark appears in the check box, indicating the option is selected.
False No check mark appears, indicating the option is not selected. The value of
the Checked property is False if the State of the check box is cbGrayed (the
check box is grayed) or cbUnChecked (the check box is unchecked).
Radio button True A black circle appears in the radio button, indicating that the option is
selected.
False No black circle appears in the radio button, indicating the option is not
selected.
Menu item True A check mark appears next to the menu item in the menu, indicating the
item is selected.
False No check mark appears, indicating the item is not selected.

Example
This example fills in a radio button at run time:
RadioButton1.Checked := True;
This example uses a main menu component that contains a menu item named
SnapToGrid1 on a form. When the user chooses the Snap To Grid command, a check
mark appears next to the command. When the user chooses the Snap To Grid command
again, the check marks disappears:
procedure TForm1.SnapToGrid1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
SnapToGrid1.Checked := not SnapToGrid1.Checked;
end;

See also
AllowGrayed property, State property

CheckEOF typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const CheckEOF: Boolean = False;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 111

Chord method

The CheckEOF typed constant controls the end-of-file character checking in the CRT
window.
When CheckEOF is True, an end-of-file marker is generated when the user presses Ctrl+Z
while reading from a file assigned to the CRT window.
When CheckEOF is False, pressing Ctrl+Z has no effect.
CheckEOF is False by default.

Chord method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure Chord(X1, Y1, X2, Y2, X3, Y3, X4, Y4: Integer);
The Chord method draws a line on the canvas connecting two points on the ellipse
bounded by the specified rectangle. The screen pixel coordinates (X1, Y1) and (X2, Y2)
define the enclosing rectangle for the chord. (X3,Y3) is the starting point for the line, and
(X4, Y4) is the ending point.

Example
This code draws a chord on the top of an ellipse bounded by the current window:
var
R: TRect;
begin
R := GetClientRect; {Gets the rectangular coordinates of the current window}
Canvas.Chord(R.Left, R.Top, R.Right, R.Bottom, R.Right, R.Top, R.Left, R.Top);
end;

See also
Arc method, Draw method, Ellipse method, Pie method

Chr function System

Declaration
function Chr(X: Byte): Char;
The Chr function returns the character with the ordinal value (ASCII value) of the byte-
type expression, X.

Example
begin
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, Chr(65)); { The letter ‘A’}

112 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
ClassName method
+
See also
+
Ord function C
ClassName method
Applies to
All objects and components

Declaration
class function ClassName: string;
The ClassName function returns the name of an object or a class. For example,
TButton.ClassName returns the string ‘TButton’.
The name returned by ClassName is the name of the actual class of the object, as opposed
to the object’s declared class. For example, the following code assigns ’TButton’ to S, not
’TObject’:
var
MyObject: TObject;
S: string;
begin
MyObject := TButton.Create(Application);
S := MyObject.ClassName;
...
MyObject.Free;
end;

Example
This example uses a button, a label, a list box, a check box, and an edit box on a form.
When the user clicks one of the controls, the name of the control’s class appears in the
edit box.
procedure FindClassName(AControl:TObject);
begin
Form1.Edit1.Text := AControl.ClassName;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindClassName(Button1);
end;
procedure TForm1.Label1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindClassName(Label1);
end;
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 113

ClassParent method

begin
FindClassName(CheckBox1);
end;
procedure TForm1.ListBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindClassName(ListBox1);
end;

See also
ClassParent method, ClassType method

ClassParent method
Applies to
All objects and components

Declaration
class function ClassParent: TClass;
The ClassParent method returns the parent class of an object or a class. The returned
value is the immediate ancestor of the object or class. For example, TScrollBar.
ClassParent returns TWinControl as TScrollBar is derived from TWinControl.
Note that TObject.ClassParent returns nil because TObject has no parent.

Example
This code example uses a button and a list box on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the name of the button’s class and the names of its parent classes are added to
the list box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ClassRef: TClass;
begin
ListBox1.Clear;
ClassRef := Sender.ClassType;
while ClassRef <> nil do
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add(ClassRef.ClassName);
ClassRef := ClassRef.ClassParent;
end;
end;
The list box contains the following strings after clicking the button:
TButton
TButtonControl
TWinControl
TControl

114 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TComponent
ClassType method
+
TPersistent
TObject
+
See also
C
ClassName method, ClassType method

ClassType method
Applies to
All objects and components

Declaration
function ClassType: TClass;
The ClassType function returns the class of an object.

Example
This example uses a button and a label on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
type of the button component (TButton) appears in the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ButtonClassType: TClass;
begin
ButtonClassType := Button1.ClassType;
Label1.Caption := ButtonClassType.ClassName;
end;

See also
ClassName method, ClassParent method

Clear method
Applies to
TClipboard, TFieldDefs, TIndexDefs, TList, TParam, TParams, TStringList, TStrings objects;
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TComboBox, TDBComboBox,
TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField, TDBEdit, TDBListBox, TDBMemo,
TDirectoryListBox, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TFloatField,
TGraphicField, TIndexDefs, TIntegerField, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TMemoField,
TOutline, TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField
components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 115

Clear method

For TParams objects

Declaration
procedure Clear;
The Clear method deletes all parameter information from Items.

Example
Params1.Clear;

For TParam objects

Declaration
procedure Clear;
The Clear method sets the parameter to NULL, erasing all previously assigned data. The
Name, DataType and ParamType properties are not altered.

Example
{ Clear the CustNo parameter for Query 1 }
Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).Clear;

For TIndexDefs objects

Declaration
procedure Clear;
The Clear method frees all of the entries in the Items property.

For TFieldsDefs objects

Declaration
procedure Clear;
The Clear method frees all of the entries in the Items property, effectively removing all
TFieldDef objects from TFieldDefs.

For fields
Declaration
procedure Clear;
Clear sets the value of the field to NULL.

116 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ClearFields method
+
For other objects and components
+
Declaration
procedure Clear;
C
The Clear method deletes all text from the control, or, in the case of list and string objects
or outlines, deletes all items. For the Clipboard object, Clear deletes the contents of the
Clipboard; this happens automatically each time data is added to the Clipboard (cut and
copy operations).

Example
The following code removes the text from an edit box control called NameField:
NameField.Clear;
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. When the form is created, strings
are added to the list box. When the user clicks the button, all the strings contained in the
Items property, a TStrings object, are cleared.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('One');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Two');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Three');
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Clear;
end;

See also
CopyToClipboard method, CutToClipboard method, Items property, Pack method,
PasteFromClipboard method, Text property, Strings property

ClearFields method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure ClearFields;
The ClearFields method clears all fields of the current record to their default values
(normally NULL.) The dataset must be in Edit state or an EDatabaseError exception will
be raised.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 117

ClearFormOLEDropFormats procedure

See also
Edit method, State property, TField component

ClearFormOLEDropFormats procedure Toctrl

Declaration
procedure ClearFormOleDropFormats(Form: TForm);
ClearFormOLEDropFormats deletes the object formats that can be dropped on a form that
is registered for drag-and-drop by the RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure. If the
form is cleared of OLE drag-and-drop formats, no OLE objects can be dropped into a
TOLEContainer component.

Example
The following code clears Form1 of object formats:
ClearFormOLEDropFormats(Form1);

See also
SetFormOLEDropFormats procedure, TOLEDropNotify object

ClearSelection method
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
procedure ClearSelection;
The ClearSelection method deletes text selected in an edit box or memo control. If no text
is selected in the control when ClearSelection is called, nothing happens.

Example
This code uses a memo control named MyMemo and a button on a form. When the user
clicks the button, the text the user selected in the memo control is deleted.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MyMemo.ClearSelection;
end;

See also
Clear method, CopyToClipboard method, CutToClipboard method, PasteFromClipboard
method

118 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Click method
+
Click method +
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TDBNavigator, TMenuItem, TSpeedButton components C
For menu items and buttons
Declaration
procedure Click;
The Click method simulates a mouse click, as if the user had clicked a menu item or
button, executing any code attached to the OnClick event.

Example
This example uses a main menu component and a button named Print. The main menu
component has a Print1 menu item on it. When the user clicks the button, the code
attached to the OnClick event of the Print1 menu item runs.
procedure TForm1.PrintClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Print1.Click;
end;

For database navigator controls

Declaration
procedure Click(Button: TNavigateBtn);
The Click method simulates a mouse click, as if the user had clicked a button on the
database navigator, executing any code attached to the OnClick event. Specify which
button the Click method applies to using the Button parameter.

Example
The following code simulates a click on the Next button of DBNavigator1.
DBNavigator1.Click(nbNext);

ClientHandle property
Applies to
TForm component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 119

ClientHeight property

Declaration
property ClientHandle: HWND;
Read only. The ClientHandle property value is the handle to the internal MDI (Multiple
Document Interface) client window. The property value is meaningful only if the form
is an MDI parent form with its FormStyle property set to fsMDIForm.

ClientHeight property
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Declaration
property ClientHeight: Integer;
The ClientHeight property is the height of the control’s client area in pixels. For most
controls, ClientHeight is exactly the same as Height. For forms, however, ClientHeight
represents the height of the usable area inside the form’s frame.
ClientHeight is a run-time only property for all controls except forms.

Example
This example reduces the height of the form’s client area by half when the user clicks the
button on the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form1.ClientHeight := Form1.ClientHeight div 2;
end;
Note that only the client area is halved, not the entire form.

See also
ClientWidth property, Height property

ClientOrigin property
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Declaration
property ClientOrigin: TPoint;
Run-time and read only. The ClientOrigin property is used to determine the screen
coordinates (in pixels) of the top left corner of a control or form client area. ClientOrigin
returns X and Y coordinates in a record of type Point.

120 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ClientRect property
+
Example
This example displays the Y screen coordinate of the top right corner of the Button1
button client area:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); C
begin
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Button1.ClientOrigin.Y);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 121

ClientWidth property

The ClientToScreen method translates the given point from client area coordinates to
global screen coordinates. In client area coordinates (0, 0) corresponds to the upper left
corner of the control’s client area. In screen coordinates (0, 0) corresponds to the upper
left corner of the screen.
Using the ClientToScreen and ScreenToClient methods you can convert from one control’s
coordinate system to another control’s coordinate system. For example,
P := TargetControl.ScreenToClient(SourceControl.ClientToScreen(P));
which converts P from coordinates in SourceControl to coordinates in TargetControl.

Example
This example uses two edit boxes on a form. When the user clicks a point on the form,
the X screen coordinate appears in Edit1, and the Y screen coordinate appears in Edit2.
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var
P, Q : TPoint;
begin
P.X := X; { P is the TPoint record for the form}
P.Y := Y;
Q := ClientToScreen(P); { Q is the TPoint for the screen }
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Q.X) + ' is the X screen coordinate';
Edit2.Text := IntToStr(Q.Y) + ' is the Y screen coordinate';
end;

122 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
Clipboard variable
+
begin
Button1.ClientWidth := Button1.ClientWidth + 10;
+
end;
C
See also
ClientHeight property, Width property

Clipboard variable Clipbrd

Declaration
Clipboard: TClipboard;
The Clipboard variable declares an instance of the TClipboard object. Use Clipboard when
you want to use the TClipboard object.
Clipboard is declared in the Clipbrd unit. Whenever you use Clipboard and the TClipboard
object you must add Clipbrd to the uses clause of your unit.

ClipRect property
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
property ClipRect: TRect;
Read only. The ClipRect property specifies a bounding clipping rectangle. The rectangle
specified by ClipRect defines the outer boundaries of the drawing area of the canvas.
Any drawing that occurs at coordinates outside the ClipRect are clipped and don’t
appear onscreen. For example, the ClipRect of the canvas of a form is the same size as the
client area of the form.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 123

Close method

For forms
Declaration
procedure Close;
The Close method closes a form. Calling the Close method on a form corresponds to the
user selecting the Close menu item on the form’s System menu. The Close method first
calls the CloseQuery method to determine if the form can close. If CloseQuery returns
False, the close operation is aborted. Otherwise, if CloseQuery returns True, the code
attached to the OnClose event is executed. The CloseAction parameter of the OnClose
event controls how the form is actually closed.

Example
The following method closes a form when a button called Done is clicked:
procedure TForm1.DoneButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Close;
end;

For Clipboard objects

Declaration
procedure Close;
For Clipboard objects, Close closes the Clipboard if it is open. The Clipboard can be
opened with a call to Open multiple times before being closed. Because the Clipboard
object counts each time it is opened, your application must close it the same number of
times it was opened before the Clipboard is actually closed.

Example
The following code closes the Clipboard:
Clipboard.Close;

For media player controls

Declaration
procedure Close;

124 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

The Close method closes the open multimedia device.
Close procedure
+
Upon completion, Close stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the +
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
C
Close method is completed. The Notify property determines whether Close generates an
OnNotify event.
Close is called automatically when the application is terminated.

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
procedure Close;
The Close method closes the dataset, returning it to Inactive state. Calling Close is
equivalent to setting the Active property to False.
Note Post is not called implicitly by the Close method. Use the BeforeClose event to post any
pending edits explicitly.

For databases
Declaration
procedure Close;
The Close method closes the TDatabase component and all the dataset components
linked to it. This is the same as setting the Connected property to False.

Example
Database1.Close;

Close procedure System

Declaration
procedure Close(var F);
The Close procedure provides compatibility with existing Borland Pascal code. When
writing applications for Delphi, you should use CloseFile.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 125

CloseApplication method

The Close procedure terminates the association between the file variable and an external
disk file.
F is a file variable of any file type opened using Reset, Rewrite, or Append. The external
file associated with F is completely updated and then closed, freeing the file handle for
reuse.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
F: TextFile;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then { Bring up open file dialog }
begin
AssignFile(F, OpenDialog1.FileName);
{ File selected in dialog }
Reset(F);
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(FileSize(F);
{ Put file size string in a TEdit control }
CloseFile(F); { Close file }
end;
end;

See also
Append procedure, AssignFile procedure, Reset procedure, Rewrite procedure

CloseApplication method
Applies to
TReport component

Declaration
function CloseApplication(ShowDialogs: Boolean): Boolean;
The CloseApplication method stops ReportSmith Runtime, if it is running.
CloseApplication sends a DDE message to terminate ReportSmith Runtime and looks for
a DDE message from ReportSmith in return. If CloseApplication returns True, the
ReportSmith Runtime received the message to terminate successfully; if it returns False,
ReportSmith Runtime was not able to receive the message at the current time.
The value of the ShowDialogs parameter determines whether ReportSmith displays
dialog boxes prompting users to save the existing report before closing, and so on. If
ShowDialogs is True, the dialog boxes appear before ReportSmith closes. If the parameter
is False, no dialog boxes appear.

126 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CloseDatabase method
+
See also
CloseReport method +
CloseDatabase method
C
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure CloseDatabase(Database: TDatabase);
The CloseDatabase method closes a TDatabase component. The parameter Database
specifies the TDatabase component to close. Normally, this is handled automatically
when an application closes the last table in the database associated with a TDatabase
component. CloseDatabase decrements the Session’s reference count of the number of
open database connections.
You should always use CloseDatabase with OpenDatabase, typically in a try...finally block
to ensure that database connections are handled properly.

Example
Database := Session.OpenDatabase(‘DBDEMOS’);
try
begin
{Do Something}
finally
Session.CloseDatabase(‘DBDEMOS’);
end;

See also
Session variable

CloseDatasets method
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
procedure CloseDatasets;
The CloseDatasets method closes all of the dataset components linked to the TDatabase
component, but does not close the database connection itself.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 127

CloseDialog method

Example
Database1.CloseDatasets;

CloseFile procedure System

Declaration
procedure CloseFile(var F);
Due to naming conflicts, the CloseFile procedure replaces the Borland Pascal Close
procedure. Use the CloseFile procedure instead of Close to terminate the association
between the file variable and an external disk file.
F is a file variable of any file type opened using Reset, Rewrite, or Append. The external
file associated with F is completely updated and then closed, freeing the file handle for
reuse.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

CloseLink method
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
function CloseLink;

128 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CloseQuery method

The CloseLink method terminates an ongoing DDE conversation. After a link is closed,
+
no DDE communication can take place between the DDE client and server until another
link is opened.
+
Example
C
The following code terminates the DDE conversation.
DDEClientConv1.CloseLink;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 129

CloseReport method

See also
Close method, OnCloseQuery event

CloseReport method
Applies to
TReport component

Declaration
function CloseReport(ShowDialogs: Boolean): Boolean;
The CloseReport method determines whether the running of a ReportSmith report
terminates. CloseReport sends a DDE message to ReportSmith Runtime and looks for a
DDE message from ReportSmith Runtime in return. If CloseReport returns True,
ReportSmith Runtime received the message to terminate the report. If CloseReport
returns False, ReportSmith Runtime could not receive the DDE message at the current
time.
The ShowDialogs parameter determines whether dialog boxes that prompt the user
about saving the report appear before the report closes, and so on. If ShowDialogs is True,
the dialog boxes appear. If it is False, the dialog boxes are not shown.

Example
The following code terminates the running report if the user chooses Yes from a dialog
box:
if MessageDlg('Do you want to stop running ' + Report1.ReportName + ' ?',
mtConfirmation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
if Report1.CloseReport(False) then MessageDlg(Report1.ReportName + ' canceled.',
mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

130 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ClrEol procedure
+
ClrEol procedure WinCrt
+
Declaration
procedure ClrEol;
C
The ClrEol procedure clears all characters from the cursor position to the end of the line
without moving the cursor.
ClrEol sets all character positions to blanks with the currently defined text attributes.

Example
uses WinCrt;
begin
ClrScr;
Writeln('Hello there, how are you today?');
Writeln('Press <enter> key...');
Readln;
GotoXY(1,2);
ClrEol;
Writeln ('Glad to hear it!');
end;

ClrScr procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure ClrScr;
The ClrScr procedure clears the active windows and returns the cursor to the upper left
corner.
ClrScr sets all character positions to blanks with the currently defined text attributes.

Example
uses WinCrt;
begin
Writeln('Hello. Please the <enter> key...');
Readln;
ClrScr;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 131

CmdLine variable

CmdLine variable System

Declaration
var CmdLine: PChar;
In a program, the CmdLine variable contains a pointer to a null-terminated string that
contains the command-line arguments specified when the application was started.
In a library, CmdLine is nil.

CmdShow variable System

Declaration
var CmdShow: Integer;
In a program, the CmdShow variable contains the parameter value that Windows expects
to be passed to ShowWindow when the application creates its main window.
In a library, CmdShow is always zero.

Col property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property Col: Longint;
Run-time only. The value of the Col property indicates the current column of the cell that
has input focus. You can use the Col property along with the Row property to determine
which cell is selected at run time.

Example
This example uses a string grid with a label above it on a form. When the user clicks a
cell in the grid, the location of the cursor is displayed in the label caption.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'The cursor is in column ' + IntToStr(StringGrid1.Col + 1)
+ ', row ' + IntToStr(StringGrid1.Row + 1);
end;

See also
ColCount property, ColWidths property, DefaultColWidth property

132 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ColCount property
+
ColCount property +
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components C
Declaration
property ColCount: Longint;
Run-time only. The value of the ColCount property determines the number of columns
in the grid. The default value is 5.

Example
The following line of code adds one column to a string grid named MyStrngGrd:
MyStrngGrd.ColCount := MyStrngGrd.ColCount + 1;

See also
Col property, ColWidths property, RowCount property

Collapse method
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
procedure Collapse;
The Collapse method collapses an outline item by assigning False to its Expanded
property. When an outline item is collapsed, its sub-items are hidden and the plus
picture or closed picture might be displayed, depending on the outline style specified in
the OutlineStyle property of the TOutline component.

Example
The following code collapses the first outline item.
Outline1.Items[1].Collapse;

See also
Expand method, FullCollapse method, FullExpand method, PictureClosed property,
PicturePlus property

Collate property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 133

Color property

Declaration
property Collate: Boolean;
The Collate property determines if the Collate check box is checked and, therefore, if
collating is selected. Regardless of the initial setting of the Collate property, the user can
always check or uncheck the Collate check box (and change the Collate property) to
choose or not choose to collate the print job. The default setting is False.

Color property
Applies to
TBrush, TFont, TPen objects; TBitBtn, TCheckBox, TColorDialog, TComboBox,
TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox,
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup, TDBText,
TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TForm, TGroupBox,
TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel,
TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property Color: TColor;
For all components or objects except the Color dialog box, the Color property determines
the background color of a form or the color of a control or graphics object.
If a control’s ParentColor property is True, then changing the Color property of the
control’s parent automatically changes the Color property of the control. When you
assign a value to a control’s Color property, the control’s ParentColor property is
automatically set to False. These are the possible values of Color:

Value Meaning
clBlack Black
clMaroon Maroon
clGreen Green
clOlive Olive green
clNavy Navy blue
clPurple Purple
clTeal Teal
clGray Gray
clSilver Silver
clRed Red
clLime Lime green
clBlue Blue
clFuchsia Fuchsia
clAqua Aqua
clWhite White
clBackground Current color of your Windows background

134 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Color property
+
Value
clActiveCaption
Meaning
Current color of the title bar of the active window
+
clInactiveCaption
clMenu
Current color of the title bar of inactive windows
Current background color of menus
C
clWindow Current background color of windows
clWindowFrame Current color of window frames
clMenuText Current color of text on menus
clWindowText Current color of text in windows
clCaptionText Current color of the text on the title bar of the active window
clActiveBorder Current border color of the active window
clInactiveBorder Current border color of inactive windows
clAppWorkSpace Current color of the application workspace
clHighlight Current background color of selected text
clHightlightText Current color of selected text
clBtnFace Current color of a button face
clBtnShadow Current color of a shadow cast by a button
clGrayText Current color of text that is dimmed
clBtnText Current color of text on a button
clInactiveCaptionText Current color of the text on the title bar of an inactive window
clBtnHighlight Current color of the highlighting on a button

The second half of the colors listed here are Windows system colors. The color that
appears depends on the color scheme users are using for Windows. Users can change
these colors using the Control Panel in Program Manager. The actual color that appears
will vary from system to system. For example, the color fuchsia may appear more blue
on one system than another.

For the Color dialog box

When you use the Color dialog box to select a color, you are assigning a new color value
to the dialog box’s Color property. You can then use the value within the Color property
and assign it to the Color property of another control.

Example
This code colors a form red:
Form1.Color := clRed;
The following code changes the color of an edit box control using the Color dialog box.
The example displays the Color dialog box when the Button1 button is clicked, allowing
the user to select a color with the dialog box. The example then assigns the color value
selected with the dialog box to the Color property of the edit box control:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if ColorDialog1.Execute then

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 135

ColoredButtons property

Edit1.Color := ColorDialog1.Color;
end;

See also
ColorToRGB function, ParentColor property, TColorDialog component

ColoredButtons property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property ColoredButtons: TButtonSet;
The ColoredButtons property determines which of the buttons on the media player
control has color. If a button is not colored with ColoredButtons, it appears in black-and-
white when visible. All media player control buttons are colored by default.

Button Value Action

Play btPlay Plays the media player
Record btRecord Starts recording
Stop btStop Stops playing or recording
Next btNext Skips to the next track, or to the end if the medium doesn’t use
tracks
Prev btPrev Skips to the previous track, or to the beginning if the medium
doesn’t use tracks
Step btStep Moves forward a number of frames
Back btBack Moves backward a number of frames
Pause btPause Pauses playing or recording. If already paused when clicked,
resumes playing or recording.
Eject btEject Ejects the medium

Example
The following example displays all of the media player component’s buttons in color:
TMediaPlayer1.ColoredButtons := [btPlay, btPause, btStop, btNext, btPrev, btStep, btBack,
btRecord, btEject]

See also
EnabledButtons property, VisibleButtons property

ColorToRGB function Graphics

Declaration
function ColorToRGB(Color: TColor): Longint;

136 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Cols property

The ColorToRGB function returns the RGB value that Windows uses from a TColor type
+
used by Delphi. If the color represents a system color, the current RGB value for that
system color is returned.
+
Example
C
The following code converts the color of the current form, Form1, to a Windows RGB
value:
var
L : Longint;
begin
L := ColorToRGB(Form1.Color);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 137

ColWidths property

Declaration
property Columns: Longint;
The Columns property denotes the number of columns in the list box or radio group box.
Specify the number of columns you want for the list box or radio group box as the value
of Columns.

Example
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. Each time the user clicks the button,
the string ‘Hello’ is added to the list box. When the list box is filled, a new column is
created and subsequent new strings are added to the new column:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if ListBox1.Columns < 1 then
ListBox1.Columns := 1;
Listbox1.Items.Add('Hello');
if Listbox1.Height <= ((Listbox1.ItemHeight * Listbox1.Items.Count)
/ ListBox1.Columns) then
Listbox1.Columns := Listbox1.Columns + 1;
end;

ColWidths property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property ColWidths[Index: Longint]: Integer;
Run-time only. The ColWidths property determines the width in pixels of all the cells
within the column referenced by the Index parameter.
By default, all the columns are the same width, the value of the DefaultColWidth
property. To change the width of all columns within a grid, change the DefaultColWidth
property value.
To change the width of one column without affecting others, change the ColWidths
property. Specify the column you want to change as the value of the Index parameter.
Remember the first column always has an Index value of 0.

Example
The following code changes the width of column 0 in the string grid called StringGrid1
to twice the default value.
StringGrid1.ColWidths[0] := StringGrid1.DefaultColWidth * 2;

138 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Command property
+
Command property +
Applies to
TMenuItem component C
Declaration
property Command: Word;
Run-time and read only. The Command property value is the command number passed
to Windows and the number that arrives in the WM_COMMAND message sent by
Windows to the form when the user chooses this menu item on the menu. Command is
useful only if you are handling WM_COMMAND messages directly.

Example
The following procedure is a WM_COMMAND message handler. It checks the ItemID
field of Msg to see if the message was generated by a menu item called MenuThink. If so,
it displays a message dialog box. When writing message handlers, remember to call
Inherited afterward, if necessary, so Windows can perform default message processing.
procedure TForm1.WMCommand(var Msg: TWMCommand);
begin
if Msg.ItemID = MenuThink.Command then
MessageDlg(‘This is the Think command’, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
Inherited;
end;

Commit method
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
procedure Commit;
The Commit method commits the current transactions and thus all modifications made
to the database since the last call to StartTransaction. If no transaction is active, Delphi
will raise an exception. Use this method only when connected to a server database.

Example
with Database1 do
begin
StartTransaction;
{ Update one or more records in tables linked to Database1 }
...
Commit;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 139

CompareStr function

CompareStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function CompareStr(const S1, S2: string): Integer;
CompareStr compares S1 to S2, with case-sensitivity. The return value is less than 0 if S1
is less than S2, 0 if S1 equals S2, or greater than 0 if S1 is greater than S2. The compare
operation is based on the 8-bit ordinal value of each character and is not affected by the
currently installed language driver.

Example
The following code compares String1, 'STEVE', to String2, 'STEVe'. Note that CompareStr
returns a number less than 0 because the value of 'e' is greater than the value of 'E'.
var
String1, String2 : string;
I : integer;
begin
String1 := 'STEVE';
String2 := 'STEVe';
I := CompareStr(String1, String2); { the value of I is < 0 }
if I < 0 then
MessageDlg('The strings are not equal', mtWarning, [mbOK], 0)
end;

CompareText function SysUtils

Declaration
function CompareText(const S1, S2: string): Integer;
The CompareText function compares the strings S1 and S2 and returns 0 if they are equal.
If S1 is greater than S2, CompareText returns an integer greater than 0. If S1 is less than
S2, CompareText returns an integer less than 0. The CompareText function is not case
sensitive. For example, CompareText finds 'object pascal' and 'Object Pascal' to be equal.

Example
The following code compares String1, 'ABC, to String2, 'aaa'. Because CompareText is
case insensitive, String2 is larger.
var
String1, String2 : string;

140 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

I : integer;
ComponentCount property
+
begin
String1 := 'ABC';
+
String2 := 'aaa';
I := CompareStr(String1, String2); { the value of I is < 0 } C
if I < 0 then
MessageDlg('The strings are not equal', mtWarning, [mbOK], 0)
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 141

ComponentIndex property

ComponentIndex property
Applies to
All components

Declaration
property ComponentIndex: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The ComponentIndex property indicates the position of the
component in its owner’s Components property list. The first component in the list has a
ComponentIndex value of 0, the second has a value of 1, and so on.

Example
The following code uses a button and a wide edit box on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the edit box displays the index value of the button component:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Text := 'The index of the button is ' + IntToStr(Button1.ComponentIndex);
end;

See also
ComponentCount property, Components property

Components property
Applies to
All components

Declaration
property Components[Index: Integer]: TComponent;
Run-time and read only. The Components array property is a list of all components
owned by the component. You can use the Components property to access any of these
owned components, such as the controls owned by a form. The Components property is
most useful if you need to refer to owned components by number rather than name.
Don’t confuse the Components property with the Controls property. The Components
property lists all components that are owned by the component, whereas the Controls
property lists all the controls that are child windows of this control. All components on a
form are owned by the form, and therefore, they appear in the form’s Components
property list.
Consider this example. If you put a control in a group box, the form still owns the
control, but the control’s window parent is the group box control, and therefore, is listed
in the group box’s Controls property array.

142 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Concat function
+
Example
This code uses several controls on a form, including a button and an edit box. When the
user clicks the button, the code counts all the components on the form and displays the
+
number in the Edit1 edit box. While the components are being counted, each is
evaluated to see if it is a button component. If the component is a button, the code
C
changes the font on the button face.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to ComponentCount -1 do
if Components[I] is TButton then
TButton(Components[I]).Font.Name := 'Courier';
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(ComponentCount) + ' components';
end;

See also
ComponentCount property, ComponentIndex property, Owner property, Parent property,
TabOrder property

Concat function System

Declaration
function Concat(s1 [, s2,..., sn]: string): String;
The Concat function merges two or more strings into one large string.
Each parameter is a string-type expression. The result is the concatenation of all the
string parameters. If the resulting string is longer than 255 characters, it is truncated
after the 255th character.
Using the plus (+) operator has the same effect on two strings as using the Concat
function:
S := 'ABC' + 'DEF';

Example
var
S: string;
begin
S := Concat('ABC', 'DEF'); { 'ABCDE' }
end;

See also
Copy function, Delete procedure, Insert procedure, Length function, Pos function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 143

ConfirmDelete property

ConfirmDelete property
Applies to
TDBNavigator component

Declaration
property ConfirmDelete: Boolean;
The ConfirmDelete property determines whether a message box asking you to confirm
the deletion when the user uses the database navigator to delete the current record in
the dataset. If ConfirmDelete is True, a prompting message box appears and the record
isn’t deleted unless the user chooses the OK button. If ConfirmDelete is False, no message
box appears and the record is deleted.
The default value is True.

144 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ConnectMode property

connection to a database without opening a table. Set Connected to False to close a

+
database connection. +
The KeepConnection property of TDatabase specifies whether to maintain database
connections when no tables in the database are open. The KeepConnections property of C
TSession specifies whether to maintain database connections when there is no explicit
TDatabase component for the database.

Example
Database1.Connected := True;

ConnectMode property
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
property ConnectMode: TDataMode;
The ConnectMode property determines the type of connection to establish when
initiating a link with a DDE server application. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
ddeAutomatic The link is automatically established when the form containing the TDDEClient
component is created at run time. This is the default value.
ddeManual The link is established only when the OpenLink method is called.

Example
The following code sets the connect mode of DDEClientConv1 to manual.
DDEClientConv1.ConnectMode := ddeManual;

ContainsControl method
Applies to
All windowed controls

Declaration
function ContainsControl(Control: TControl): Boolean;
The ContainsControl method indicates whether a specified control exists within a control.
If the method returns True, the control specified as the value of the Control parameter
exists within the control. If the method returns False, the specified control is not within
the control.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 145

Continue procedure

Example
This example uses a label, a list box, and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the caption of the label reports that the form contains the list box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if ContainsControl(ListBox1) then
Label1.Caption := 'The form contains ListBox1';
end;

Continue procedure System

Declaration
procedure Continue;
The Continue procedure has the flow of control proceed to the next iteration of the
calling for, while, or repeat statement.
The compiler reports an error if a call to Continue isn’t enclosed by a for, while, or repeat
statement.

Example
var
F: File;
i: integer;
begin
for i := 0 to (FileListBox1.Items.Count – 1) do begin
if FileListBox1.Selected[i] then begin
if not FileExists(FileListBox1.Items.Strings[i]) then begin
MessageDlg('File: ' + FileListBox1.Items.Strings[i] +
' not found', mtError, [mbOk], 0);
Continue;
end;
AssignFile(F, FileListBox1.Items.Strings[i]);
Reset(F, 1);
ListBox1.Items.Add(IntToStr(FileSize(F)));
CloseFile(F);
end;
end;
end;

See also
Break procedure, Exit procedure, Halt procedure

146 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ControlAtPos method
+
ControlAtPos method +
Applies to
All windowed controls C
Declaration
function ControlAtPos(Pos: TPoint; AllowDisabled: Boolean): TControl;
The ControlAtPos method returns the windowed control’s child control (from those in
the Controls array property) located at the screen coordinates passed in Pos. If there is no
control at the specified position, ControlAtPos returns nil. The AllowDisabled parameter
controls whether the search for controls includes disabled controls.

ControlCount property
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
property ControlCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The ControlCount property indicates the number of controls
that are children of the control. The children are listed in the Controls property array.
Note The value of ControlCount is always 1 greater than the highest Controls index, because
the first Controls index is 0.

Example
This example uses a group box on a form, with several controls contained within the
group box. The form also has an edit box and a button outside of the group box. The
code counts each control’s child controls turning each of them invisible as they are
counted. The total number of controls counted appears in the edit box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I:= 0 to GroupBox1.ControlCount -1 do
GroupBox1.Controls[I].Visible := False;
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(GroupBox1.ControlCount) + ' controls';
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 147

Controls property

Controls property
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
property Controls[Index: Integer]: TControl;
Run-time and read only. The Controls property is an array of all controls that are
children of the control. The Controls property is most useful if you have a need to refer to
the children of a control by number rather than name.
Don’t confuse the Controls property with the Components property. The Components
property lists all components that are owned by the component, while the Controls
property lists all the controls that are child windows of the control. All components put
on a form are owned by the form, and therefore, they appear in the form’s Components
property list.
For example, if you put a control in a group box, the form still owns the control, but the
control’s window parent is the group box control, and therefore, is listed in the group
box’s Controls property array.

Example
This example uses a group box on a form, with several controls contained within the
group box. The form also has an edit box and a button outside of the group box. The
code counts each control’s child controls turning each of them invisible as they are
counted. The total number of controls counted displays in the edit box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I:= 0 to GroupBox1.ControlCount -1 do
GroupBox1.Controls[I].Visible := False;
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(GroupBox1.ControlCount) + ' controls';
end;

See also
ControlCount property, Owner property, Parent property

ConvertDlgHelp property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Declaration
property ConvertDlgHelp: THelpContext;

148 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Copies property

The ConvertDlgHelp property specifies the context-sensitive help identification number

+
for the Convert dialog box. If your application is programmed for online help, specify
an integer value for ConvertDlgHelp to identify the online help topic to be called when
+
the user chooses Help from the Convert dialog box. If the application is not
programmed for context-sensitive online Help, or if zero is specified for ConvertDlgHelp,
C
choosing Help from the Convert dialog box will have no effect.
The Convert dialog box enables the user to convert an OLE object to another object type.
To enable the Convert dialog box, a menu item but be designated the OLE object menu
item in the ObjectMenuItem property of a form. Then, when an OLE container containing
an OLE object is selected at run time, the OLE Object menu item will be available on the
menu bar of the form. If the OLE server application supports object conversion, choose
Convert from the OLE object menu item to display the Convert dialog box.
Note You don’t need to program your application to provide the functionality of the Convert
dialog box and the OLE object menu item. This functionality comes from the OLE server
application automatically when an OLE container has focus. The only step required is to
identify the name of a menu item in the ObjectMenuItem property.

Example
The following code assigns 531 to the context-sensitive Help identification number of
the OLE Convert dialog box.
OLEContainer1.ConvertDlgHelp := 531;

Copies property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Declaration
property Copies: Integer;
The value of the Copies property determines the number of copies of the print job to
print. If you change the value of Copies at design time, the value you specify is the
default value in the edit box control when the Print dialog box appears. The default
value is 0.

Example
The following code sets the default number of copies for the print dialog box,
PrintDialog1, to 3 before displaying the dialog box:
PrintDialog1.Copies := 3;
PrintDialog1.Execute;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 149

Copy function

Copy function System

Declaration
function Copy(S: string; Index, Count: Integer): string;
The Copy function returns a substring of a string.
S is a string-type expression. Index and Count are integer-type expressions. Copy returns
a string containing Count characters starting with at S[Index].
If Index is larger than the length of S, Copy returns an empty string.
If Count specifies more characters than are available, the only the characters from
S[Index] to the end of S are returned.

Example
var S: string;
begin
S := 'ABCDEF';
S := Copy(S, 2, 3); { 'BCD' }
end;

See also
Concat function, Delete procedure, Insert procedure, Length function, Pos function

CopyMode property
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
property CopyMode: TCopyMode;
The CopyMode property determines how a canvas treats an image copied from another
canvas. By default, CopyMode is cmSrcCopy, meaning that pixels from the other canvas
are copied to the canvas, overwriting any image already there. By changing CopyMode,
you can create many different effects. The following table shows possible values of
CopyMode and describes each:

Value Meaning
cmBlackness Turns all output black.
cmDstInvert Inverts the destination bitmap.
cmMergeCopy Combines the pattern and the source bitmap by using the Boolean AND operator.
cmMergePaint Combines the inverted source bitmap with the destination bitmap by using the
Boolean OR operator.
cmNotSrcCopy Copies the inverted source bitmap to the destination.

150 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CopyParams method
+
Value
cmNotSrcErase
Meaning
Inverts the result of combining the destination and source bitmaps by using the
+
cmPatCopy
Boolean OR operator.
Copies the pattern to the destination bitmap with the pattern by using the Boolean
XOR operator.
C
cmPatInvert Combines the destination bitmap with the pattern by using the Boolean XOR operator
cmPatPaint Combines the inverted source bitmap with the pattern by using the Boolean OR
operator. Combines the result of this operation with the destination bitmap by using
the Boolean OR operator.
cmSrcAnd Combines pixels from the destination and source bitmaps by using the Boolean AND
operator.
cmSrcCopy Copies the source bitmap to the destination bitmap.
cmSrcErase Inverts the destination bitmap and combines the result with the source bitmap by
using the Boolean AND operator.
cmSrcInvert Combines pixels from the destination and source bitmaps by using the Boolean XOR
operator.
cmSrcPaint Combines pixels from the destination and source bitmaps by using the Boolean OR
operator.
cmWhiteness Turns all output white.

Example
The following code copies the the inverted source bitmap to the Canvas of Form2:
Form2.Canvas.CopyMode := cmNotSrcCopy;
Form2.Canvas.CopyRect(ClientRect, Canvas, ClientRect);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 151

CopyRect method

CopyRect method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure CopyRect(Dest: TRect; Canvas: TCanvas; Source: TRect);
The CopyRect method copies part of an image from another canvas into the canvas
object. The Dest property specifies the destination rectangle on the destination canvas
where the image will be copied. The Canvas property specifies the source canvas. The
Source property specifies the source rectangle from the source canvas that will be copied.

Example
The following code copies the the inverted source bitmap to the Canvas of Form2:
Form2.Canvas.CopyMode := cmNotSrcCopy;
Form2.Canvas.CopyRect(ClientRect, Canvas, ClientRect);

For edit boxes and memos

Declaration
procedure CopyToClipboard;
The CopyToClipboard method copies the text selected in the control to the Clipboard,
replacing any text that exists there. If no text is selected, nothing is copied.

Example
The following method copies the selected text from the memo control named Memo1 to
the Clipboard and pastes it into an edit box named Edit1 when the user clicks the button
named Button1:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.CopyToClipboard;
Edit1.PasteFromClipboard;
end;

152 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CopyToClipboard method
+
See also
Clear method, ClearSelection method, CutToClipboard method, PasteFromClipboard
method
+
C
For OLE containers
Declaration
procedure CopyToClipboard(Clear: Boolean);
The CopyToClipboard method copies the OLE object contained in an OLE container to the
Clipboard, as well as OLE information. You can then create a link by activating an OLE
container application and executing an Edit|Paste Special command, or its equivalent in
the command structure of the OLE container application. To paste an object into a
TOLEContainer component, call the PasteSpecialDlg function.
For example, after your application calls the CopyToClipboard method of a OLE container
component, you can manually activate Quattro Pro for Windows. Select a location in the
worksheet and choose Paste Format from the Edit menu of Quattro Pro for Windows to
embed the OLE object in the worksheet.
If the Clear parameter is True, the prior contents of the Clipboard are deleted before
CopyToClipboard places its data on the Clipboard. If Clear is False, the Clipboard won’t be
cleared before the copy.

Example
The following code copies the OLE object in OLEContainer1 to the Clipboard without
clearing the contents first.
OLEContainer1.CopyToClipboard(False);

For DDE server items

Declaration
procedure CopyToClipboard;
The CopyToClipboard method copies the text data specified in the Text or Lines property
of a DDE server item component to the Windows Clipboard, as well as DDE link
information. You can then create a link by activating the DDE client application,
selecting the topic and item of the DDE conversation, and executing an Edit|Paste Link
command, or its equivalent in the command structure of the DDE client application.
CopyToClipboard can be used to create a DDE link at run-time only. To create a link at
design time, select the DDE server item component and choose Edit|Copy from the
menu. Then, activate the DDE server application and paste the link according to the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 153

Cos function

rules of the DDE server application. See the documentation for the DDE server
application for specific information about pasting the link.
If the Clear parameter is True, the prior contents of the Clipboard are deleted before
CopyToClipboard places its data on the Clipboard. If Clear is False, the Clipboard won’t be
cleared before the copy.

Example
The following code copies the DDE link information of DDEServerItem1 to the
Clipboard, clearing the contents of the Clipboard before the copy.
DDEServerItem1.CopyToClipboard;

For database images

Declaration
procedure CopyToClipboard;
The CopyToClipboard method copies the image of the database image component to the
Clipboard.

Example
The following code copies the contents of DBImage1 to the Clipboard without clearing
the contents of the Clipboard first.
DBImage1.CopyToClipboard(False);

See also
CutToClipboard method, PasteFromClipboard method

Cos function System

Declaration
function Cos(X: Real): Real;
The Cos function returns the cosine of the angle X, in radians.

Example
var R: Real;
begin
R := Cos(Pi);
end;

154 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Count property
+
See also
ArcTan function, Sin function +
Count property
C
Applies to
TIndexDefs, TFieldDefs, TList, TParams, TStringList, TStrings objects; TMenuItem
component

For lists and menu items

Declaration
property Count: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The Count property contains the number of items in a list or in
a menu item.
For string and string list objects, Count is the number of strings in the list of strings. For
list objects, Count is the number of items in the list.
For menu items, Count contains the number of subitems that belongs to a menu item.
Subitems can be the menu items in a drop-down or pop-up menu, or the items in a
submenu.
For example, if you have a File menu item on the main menu bar, but haven’t added any
commands to the File menu yet, the File menu’s Count property value is 0. If you add
New and Open commands to the File menu, the Count property value is 2. Because New
and Open are also menu items, they too have Count property values. Unless either of
these menu items have submenus, their Count property values are 0.

Example
The following code displays the number of items in a list box in the caption of a label
when the user clicks the CountItems button:
procedure TForm1.CountItemsClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'There are ' + IntToStr(ListBox1.Items.Count) +
' items in the listbox.';
end;
The following example assumes the form contains a main menu component, which
includes a File menu and a label. This code displays the number of menu items that
make up the File menu.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(FileMenu.Count):
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 155

Create method

See also
Items property, List property, Strings property

For TParams objects

Declaration
function Count: Integer;
The Count method returns the number of entries in Items.

Example
{ Assign 99999 to any integer parameter which does not have a value }
for I := 0 to Params.Count - 1 do
if (Params.Items[I].IsNull) and (Params.Items[I].DataType = ftInteger) then
{ Items is the default property, so you can omit its name }
Params[I].AsInteger := 99999;

For TFieldDefs objects

Declaration
property Count: Integer;
The Count property specifies the total number of TFieldDef objects in this TFieldDefs
object.

For TIndexDefs objects

Declaration
property Count: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The Count property holds the number of entries in the Items
property.

Create method
Applies to
All objects and components

156 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Create method
+
For TIniFile objects
+
Declaration
constructor Create(const FileName: string);
C
The Create method allocates memory to create a TIniFile object and passes it the file
name of the .INI file. Delphi looks for the specified .INI file in the Windows directory
unless you include a path in the file name.

Example
This code creates an .INI file object and passes it the name of the .INI file,
SUPERAPP.INI:
var
IniFile: TIniFile;
begin
IniFile := TIniFile.Create(‘SUPERAPP.INI’);
IniFile.Free;
end;

For outline nodes

Declaration
constructor Create(AOwner: TCustomOutline);
The Create method creates a new outline node owned by the outline passed in the
AOwner parameter. You shouldn’t need to call Create, as this is done for you when you
add a new subitem to the outline with the Add method.

For control scroll bars

Declaration
constructor Create(AControl: TScrollingWinControl; AKind: TScrollBarKind);
The Create method creates a new control scroll bar. AControl specifies the component
that owns the control scroll bar. AControl is of type TScrollingWinControl, which is
simply a base class for TForm and TScrollBox components. AKind specifies the type of
scroll bar, either sbHorizontal or sbVertical.

For TIndexDef objects

Declaration
constructor Create(Owner: TIndexDefs; const Name, Fields: string; Options: TIndexOptions);
The Create constructor creates a new TIndexDef object using the Name, Fields, and Options
parameters and adds it to the Items property of the Owner parameter.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 157

Create method

For TIndexDefs objects

Declaration
constructor Create(Table: TTable);
The Create constructor creates a new TIndexDefs object for the Table parameter.

For blob streams

Declaration
constructor Create(Field: TBlobField; Mode: TBlobStreamMode);
The Create method links a TBlobField, TBytesField or TVarBytesField to the TBlobStream.
Mode may be one of the following elements of TBlobStreamMode: bmRead to access existing
data in the field; bmWrite to clear the contents of the field and assign a new value; bmReadWrite
to modify an existing value

Example
{ Link BlobStream1 to MyBlobField for data access only }
BlobStream1 := TBlobStream.Create(MyBlobField, bmRead);

For all other components

Declaration
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent);
The Create method allocates memory to create the component and initializes its data as
needed. Each object can have a Create method customized to create that particular kind
of object. The owner of the created component is passed in the AOwner parameter.
Usually you don’t need to create objects manually. Objects you design in Delphi are
automatically created for you when you run the application and destroyed when you
close the application.
If you construct a component by calling Create, and give it an owner, the owner disposes
of the component when the owner is destroyed. If you don’t want another component to
own the created component, pass Self in the AOwner parameter.

Example
The following code creates a TButton and makes Form1 the owner.
var
Button1: TButton;
begin
Button1 := TButton.Create(Form1);
end;

158 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CreateField method
+
See also
Free method +
For all other objects C
Declaration
constructor Create;
The Create method allocates memory to create the object and initializes its data as
needed. Each object can have a Create method customized to create that particular kind
of object.

Example
The following code creates a TBitmap and loads the bitmap graphic file C:\WINDOWS\
256COLOR.BMP into it. Then, the bitmap is drawn in a paint box by the OnPaint event
handler of PaintBox1.
procedure TForm1.PaintBox1Paint(Sender: TObject);
var
Bitmap1: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap1 := TBitmap.Create;
Bitmap1.LoadFromFile('c:\windows\256color.bmp');
PaintBox1.Canvas.Draw(0, 0, Bitmap1);
Bitmap1.Free;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 159

CreateNew method

Declaration
procedure CreateForm(FormClass: TFormClass; var Reference);
The CreateForm method creates a new form of the type specified by the FormClass
parameter and assigns it to the variable given by the Reference parameter. The owner of
the new form is the Application object. The form created by the first call to CreateForm in a
project becomes the project's main form.
A Delphi project typically contains one or more calls to CreateForm in the project's main
statement part, but there is seldom any need for you to call CreateForm yourself.

Example
The following code creates Form1 of type TForm1.
Application.CreateForm(TForm1, Form1);

CreateNew method
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
constructor CreateNew(AOwner: TComponent);
The CreateNew method creates a new instance of the current form type.

CreateParam method
Applies to
TParams object

Declaration
function CreateParam(FldType: TFieldType; const ParamName: string;
ParamType: TParamType): TParam;
The CreateParam method attempts to create a new entry in Items, using the FieldType,
ParamName, and ParamType parameters.

Example
{ Create a new parameter for CustNo and assign a value of 999 to it }
with Params.CreateParam(ftInteger, ‘CustNo’, ptInput) do
AsInteger := 999;

160 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CreateTable method
+
CreateTable method +
Applies to
TTable component C
Declaration
procedure CreateTable;
The CreateTable method creates a new empty database table. Before calling this method,
the DatabaseName, TableName, TableType, FieldDefs and IndexDefs properties must be
assigned values.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
Active := False;
DatabaseName := ‘Delphi_Demos’;
TableName := ‘CustInfo’;
TableType := ttParadox;
with FieldDefs do
begin
Clear;
Add(‘Field1’, ftInteger, 0);
Add(‘Field2’, ftInteger, 0);
end;
with IndexDefs do
begin
Clear;
Add(‘Field1Index’, ‘Field1’, [ixPrimary, ixUnique]);
end;
CreateTable;
end;

CSeg function System

Declaration
function CSeg: Word;
The CSeg function returns the current value of the CS register.
The result is the segment address of the code segment that called CSeg.

Example
function MakeHexWord(w: Word): string;
const
hexChars: array [0..$F] of Char = '0123456789ABCDEF';
var

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 161

Ctl3D property

HexStr : string;
begin
HexStr := '';
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) and $F];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) and $F];
MakeHexWord := HexStr;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
i: Integer;
Y: Integer;
S: string;
begin
Y := 10;
S := 'The current code segment is $' + MakeHexWord(CSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
end;

162 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Currency and date/time formatting variables
+
Declaration
property Ctl3D: Boolean; +
The Ctl3D property determines whether a control has a three-dimensional (3-D) or two- C
dimensional look. If Ctl3D is True, the control has a 3-D appearance. If Ctl3D is False, the
control appears normal or flat. The default value of Ctl3D is True.
For dialog boxes, the value of Ctl3D affects the dialog box and all the controls it contains.
If a control's ParentCtl3D property is True, then changing in the Ctl3D property of the
control's parent automatically changes the Ctl3D property of the control. When you
assign a value directly to a control's Ctl3D property, the control's ParentCtl3D property
is automatically set to False.
Note For Ctl3D to work with radio buttons, check boxes, and any of the common dialog
boxes, the CTL3DV2.DLL dynamic-link library must be present on the path.

Example
The following code toggles the 3-D look of a memo control when the user clicks a button
named Toggle:
procedure TForm1.ToggleClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.Ctl3D := not Memo1.Ctl3D; {Toggles the Ctl3D property of Memo1}
end;

Currency and date/time formatting variables SysUtils

Declaration
CurrencyString: string[7];
CurrencyFormat: Byte;
NegCurrFormat: Byte;
ThousandSeparator: Char;
DecimalSeparator: Char;
CurrencyDecimals: Byte;
DateSeparator: Char;
ShortDateFormat: string[15];
LongDateFormat: string[31];
TimeSeparator: Char;
TimeAMString: string[7];

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 163

Currency and date/time formatting variables

TimePMString: string[7];
ShortTimeFormat: string[15];
LongTimeFormat: string[31];
ShortMonthNames: array[1..12] of string[3];
LongMonthNames: array[1..12] of string[15];
ShortDayNames: array[1..7] of string[3];
LongDayNames: array[1..7] of string[15];
The SysUtils unit includes a number of variables that are used by the date and time
routines. You can assign new values to these variables to change the formats of date and
time strings.

Typed constant Defines

CurrencyString The currency symbol used in floating-point to decimal conversions. The initial
value is fetched from the sCurrency variable in the [intl] section of WIN.INI.
CurrencyFormat The currency symbol placement and separation used in floating-point to decimal
conversions. Possible values are:
0 = '$1'
1 = '1$'
2 = '$ 1'
3 = '1 $'

The initial value is fetched from the iCurrency variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
NegCurrFormat The currency format for used in floating-point to decimal conversions of
negative numbers. Possible values are:
0 = ($1) 4 = (1$)
1 = -$1 5 = -1$
2 = $-1 6 = 1-$
3 = $1- 7 = 1$-

The initial value is fetched from the iNegCurr variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
ThousandSeparator The character used to separate thousands in numbers with more than three digits
to the left of the decimal separator. The initial value is fetched from the
sThousand variable in the [intl] section of WIN.INI.
DecimalSeparator The character used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a
number. The initial value is fetched from the sDecimal variable in the [intl]
section of WIN.INI.
CurrencyDecimals The number of digits to the right of the decimal point in a currency amount. The
initial value is fetched from the sCurrDigits variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
DateSeparator The character used to separate the year, month, and day parts of a date value.
The initial value is fetched from the sDate variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.

164 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Currency and date/time formatting variables
+
Typed constant
ShortDateFormat
Defines
The format string used to convert a date value to a short string suitable for
+
editing. For a complete description of date and time format strings, refer to the
documentation for the FormatDateTime function. The short date format should
only use the date separator character and the m, mm, d, dd, yy, and yyyy format
C
specifiers. The initial value is fetched from the sShortDate variable in the [intl]
section of WIN.INI.
LongDateFormat The format string used to convert a date value to a long string suitable for display
but not for editing. For a complete description of date and time format strings,
refer to the documentation for the FormatDateTime function. The initial value is
fetched from the sLongDate variable in the [intl] section of WIN.INI.
TimeSeparator The character used to separate the hour, minute, and second parts of a time
value. The initial value is fetched from the sTime variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
TimeAMString The suffix string used for time values between 00:00 and 11:59 in 12-hour clock
format. The initial value is fetched from the s1159 variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
TimePMString The suffix string used for time values between 12:00 and 23:59 in 12-hour clock
format. The initial value is fetched from the s2359 variable in the [intl] section of
WIN.INI.
ShortTimeFormat The format string used to convert a time value to a short string with only hours
and minutes. The default value is computed from the iTime and iTLZero
variables in the [intl] section of WIN.INI.
LongTimeFormat The format string used to convert a time value to a long string with hours,
minutes, and seconds. The default value is computed from the iTime and
iTLZero variables in the [intl] section of WIN.INI.
ShortMonthNames Array of strings containing short month names. The mmm format specifier in a
format string passed to FormatDateTime causes a short month name to be
substituted.
LongMonthNames Array of strings containing long month names. The mmmm format specifier in a
format string passed to FormatDateTime causes a long month name to be
substituted.
ShortDayNames Array of strings containing short day names. The ddd format specifier in a
format string passed to FormatDateTime causes a short day name to be
substituted.
LongDayNames Array of strings containing long day names. The dddd format specifier in a
format string passed to FormatDateTime causes a long day name to be
substituted.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current date displays in the caption of the label. Because some of the date variables are
assigned new values, the format of the date in the label changes. For example, if the date
is 9/15/94, the date displays as 15-09-1994.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DateOrder := doDMY;
DateSeparator := '-';
DateFullYear := True;
DateLeadZero := True;
Label1.Caption := DateToStr(Date);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 165

Currency property

Currency property
Applies to
TBCDField, TCurrencyField, TFloatField components

Declaration
property Currency: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Currency property is used to control the format of the value of a
TBCDField, TCurrencyField, and TFloatField when both DisplayFormat and EditFormat
properties are not assigned.
Currency is True by default for TCurrencyField and False for TFloatField and TBCDField.
When Currency is True formatting is performed by FloatToText using ffCurrency for
display text or ffFixed for editable text. When Currency is False, the formatting is
performed by FloatToTextFmt.

See also
DisplayFormat property, EditFormat property, FloatToText function, FloatToTextFmt
function

Cursor property
Applies to
All controls, TScreen component

For all controls

Declaration
property Cursor: TCursor;
The Cursor property is the image used when the mouse passes into the region covered
by the control. These are the possible images:

Value Image Value Image Value Image

crDefault crSizeNESW crHourglass

crArrow crSizeNS crDrag

crCross crSizeNWSE crNoDrop

166 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Cursor property
+
Value
crIBeam
Image Value
crSizeWE
Image Value
crHSplit
Image
+
crSize crUpArrow crVSplit
C
To learn how to make a custom cursor available to your application, see the Cursors
property.

Example
This line of code changes the display of the image to the cross cursor when the user
moves the mouse pointer over Button1:
Button1.Cursor := crCross;

See also
Cursors property, DragCursor property

For screen objects

Declaration
property Cursor: TCursor;
The Screen object's Cursor property controls the mouse cursor shape at a global level.
Assigning any value but crDefault to the Screen object's Cursor property sets the mouse
cursor shape for all windows belonging to the application. The global mouse cursor
shape remains in effect until you assign crDefault to the Screen object's Cursor property,
at which point normal cursor behavior is restored.
To see a list of possible cursor shapes, see the Cursor property for all controls.

Example
Assignments to the Screen object's cursor property are typically guarded by a
try...finally statement to ensure that normal cursor behavior is restored, for example:
Screen.Cursor := crHourglass; { Show hourglass cursor }
try
{ Do some lengthy operation }
finally
Screen.Cursor := crDefault; { Always restore to normal }
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 167

Cursor typed constant

Cursor typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const Cursor: TPoint = (X: 0; Y: 0);
The Cursor variable contains the current position of the cursor within the virtual screen.
The upper left corner corresponds to (0, 0). Cursor is a read-only variable; do not assign
values to it.

CursorPosChanged method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure CursorPosChanged;
The CursorPosChanged method is needed only if you use the Handle property to make
direct calls to the Borland Database Engine (BDE) API which cause the cursor position
to change. To notify the dataset that the underlying BDE cursor’s position has changed,
call CursorPosChanged after the direct calls to the BDE.

168 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CursorTo procedure

These are the cursor constants and their position in the Cursors property array:
+
Cursor Value Cursor Value
+
crDefault
crNone
0
–1
crSizeWE
crUpArrow
–9
–10
C
crArrow –2 crHourglass –11
crCross –3 crDrag –12
crIBeam –4 crNoDrop –13
crSize –5 crHSplit –14
crSizeNESW –6 crVSplit –15
crSizeNS –7 crMultiDrag –16
crSizeNWSE –8 crSQLWait –17

To make a custom cursor available to your application,

1 Create the cursor resource using a resource editor.
2 Declare a cursor constant with a value that does not conflict with an existing cursor
constant.
3 Use the WinAPI function LoadCursor to make your cursor available to your
application, specifying the newly declared cursor constant as the value of the Index
parameter for the Cursors property array.
Note You don’t need to call the WinAPI function DestroyCursor when you are finished using
the custom cursor; Delphi does this automatically.

Example
This example assumes you have created a cursor resource with the name NewCursor.
The code loads the new cursor into the Cursors property array and makes the newly
loaded cursor the cursor of the form:
const
crMyCursor = 5;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Screen.Cursors[crMyCursor] := LoadCursor(HInstance, 'NewCursor');
Cursor := crMyCursor;
end;

See also
Cursor property, DragCursor property

CursorTo procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure CursorTo(X, Y: Integer);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 169

CustomColors property

The CursorTo procedure moves the cursor to the given coordinates (X, Y) within the
virtual screen.
The coordinates of the upper left corner of the CRT window are (0, 0). CursorTo sets the
Cursor variable to (X, Y).

170 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

CutToClipboard method
+
CutToClipboard method +
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit, TMemo components C
Declaration
procedure CutToClipboard;
The CutToClipboard method deletes the text selected in the control and copies it to the
Clipboard, replacing any text that exists there. If no text is selected, nothing is copied.
For database images, CutToClipboard deletes the image in the control and copies it to the
Clipboard, replacing the contents of the Clipboard.

Example
The following method cuts the text the user selects in Memo1 to the Clipboard and
pastes it from the Clipboard in an edit box control when the user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.CutToClipboard;
Edit1.PasteFromClipboard;
end;

See also
Clear method, ClearSelection method, CopyToClipboard method, PasteFromClipboard
method

Data property
Applies to
TOutlineNode component

Declaration
property Data: Pointer;
Run-time only. The Data property specifies any data you want associated with an
outline item.

Example
The following code creates a TBitmap and adds it to the Data of the selected outline item.
var
Bitmap: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap := TBitmap.Create;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 171

Database property

Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].Data := Bitmap;
end;

See also
GetDataItem method, Text property

Database property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery component

Declaration
property Database: TDatabase;
Run-time and read only. Database specifies the database (TDatabase) component
associated with the dataset component. If you did not create a TDatabase at design time,
then Delphi will create one at run time. Use the Database property to reference the
properties and methods of the database.

Example
{ Do a transaction }
with Table1.Database do
begin
StartTransAction;
{ Post some records with Table1 }
Commit;
end;

DatabaseCount property
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
property DatabaseCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. DatabaseCount is the number of TDataBase components
currently attached to Session.

Example
{ Close all databases }
with Session do
while DatabaseCount <> 0 do
Databases[0].Close;

172 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DatabaseError procedure
+
See also
Databases property +
DatabaseError procedure DB
+
Declaration
D
procedure DatabaseError(const Message: string);
The DatabaseError procedure creates and raises the EDatabaseError exception object,
using Message as the text for the exception.

Example
{ Test for an error and raise an exception if so }
if { some error has occured } then DatabaseError(‘Some error has occured’);

DatabaseName property
Applies to
TDataBase, TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

For database components

Declaration
property DatabaseName: TFileName;
Set the DatabaseName property to define an application-specific alias. Dataset
components can reference this name instead of a BDE alias, directory path, or database
name. In other words, this is the name of an application-specific alias defined by the
dataset component that will show up in the DatabaseName drop-down list of TTable,
TQuery, and TStoredProc components.
If you try to set DatabaseName of a TDatabase for which Connected is True, Delphi will
raise an exception.

Example
Database1.DatabaseName := ‘Delphi_Demos’;

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
property DatabaseName: TFileName;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 173

Databases property

Set the DatabaseName property to specify the database to access. This property can
specify:
• A defined BDE alias,
• A directory path for desktop database files,
• A directory path and file name for a Local InterBase Server database,
• An application-specific alias defined by a TDatabase component
Note Use the Close method to put a dataset in Inactive state before changing DatabaseName.

Example
{ Close the DBDataSet }
Table1.Active := False;
try
{ First try to use an alias }
Table1.DatabaseName := ‘Delphi_Demos’;
Table1.Active := True;
except
on EDatabaseError do
{ If that fails, try to use the drive and directory }
Table1.DatabaseName := ‘c:\delphi\demos\database’;
Table1.Active := True;

174 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DataField property
+
DataField property +
Applies to
TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, +
TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup, TDBText components
D
Declaration
property DataField: string;
The DataField property identifies the field from which the data-aware control displays
data. The dataset the field is located in is specified in a data source component
(TDataSource). The DataSource property of the data-aware control specifies which data
source component.
If the DataField value of a database edit box (TDBEdit) is an integer or floating-point
value, only characters that are valid in such a field can be entered in the edit box.
Characters that are not legal are not accepted.

Example
The following code specifies that the DataField of DBEdit1 is ‘FNAME’.
DBEdit1.DataField := ‘FNAME’;

DataFormat property
Applies to
TOLEDropNotify object

Declaration
property DataFormat: Word;
The DataFormat property specifies the Clipboard format of data dropped on a form. The
form must be registered with the RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget function for a
TOLEDropNotify object to be the Source in an OnDragDrop event handler. If DataFormat
specifies an OLE object format, the PInitInfo property points to initialization information
for the dropped OLE object. If the dropped data is not an OLE object, DataFormat
specifies some other format (such as CF_BITMAP for bitmap graphic data) and PInitInfo
won’t point to valid OLE initialization information and can’t be used to initialize a
TOLEContainer component.

Example
The following code is the OnDragDrop event handler for a form that is registered as an
OLE drop target with RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget. If a text object is dropped, a label is
created to display the data. If a metafile object is dropped, an image is created to display
the data. Otherwise, it is assumed that an OLE object was dropped and an OLE
container is created to contain the object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 175

DataFormat property

procedure TXMdiX.DoDrop(DragTgt, DragSource: TObject; X, Y: Integer);

var
Ctrl : TOleContainer;
Image : TImage;
Pict : TPicture;
ClipPict : TPicture;
FLabel : TLabel;
Ptr : PChar;
Str : String;
Dropper : TOleDropNotify;
begin
if DragSource is TOleDropNotify then
begin
Dropper := TOleDropNotify (DragSource);
if Dropper.DataFormat = CF_TEXT then
begin
FLabel := TLabel.Create (TForm(DragTgt));
FLabel.Left := X;
FLabel.Top := Y;
FLabel.Width := 30;
FLabel.Height := 10;
Ptr := GlobalLock (Dropper.DataHandle);
Str := StrPas (Ptr);
GlobalUnlock (Dropper.DataHandle);
Str := Format('DropText = %s', [@Str]);
FLabel.Caption := Str;
GlobalFree (Dropper.DataHandle);
FLabel.visible := True;
FLabel.enabled := True;
TForm (DragTgt).InsertControl (FLabel);
end
else if Dropper.DataFormat = CF_METAFILEPICT then
begin
Image := TImage.Create (TForm(DragTgt));
Image.Left := X;
Image.Top := Y;
Image.Width := 30;
FLabel.Height := 10;
Pict := TPicture.Create;
Pict.LoadFromClipboardFormat(Dropper.DataFormat, Dropper.DataFormat, 0);
Image.Picture := Pict;
GlobalFree (Dropper.DataHandle);
Image.visible := True;
Image.enabled := True;
TForm (DragTgt).InsertControl (Image);
end;
else if Dropper.PInitInfo <> Nil then
begin
Ctrl := TOleContainer.Create (TForm(DragTgt));
Ctrl.top := Y;
Ctrl.left := X;
Ctrl.Width := 100;

176 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Ctrl.Height := 100;
DataHandle property
+
Ctrl.visible := True;
Ctrl.enabled := True;
+
Ctrl.AutoSize := True;
TForm (DragTgt).InsertControl (Ctrl); +
Ctrl.PInitInfo := Dropper.PInitInfo;
end;
end;
D
end;

For data source components

Declaration
property DataSet: TDataSet

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 177

DatasetCount property

DataSet specifies the dataset component (TTable, TQuery, and TStoredProc) that is
providing data to the data source. Usually you set DataSet at design time with the Object
Inspector, but you can also set it programmatically. The advantage of this interface
approach to connecting data components is that the dataset, data source, and data-
aware controls can be connected and disconnected from each other through the
TDataSource component. In addition, these components can belong to different forms.

Example
DataSource1.DataSet := Table1; {get data from this form’s Table1}
DataSource1.DataSet := Form2.Table1; {get data from Form2’s Table1}

For field components

Declaration
property DataSet: TDataSet;
Run-time only. DataSet identifies the dataset to which a TField component belongs. Only
assign a value to this property if you are programmatically creating TField component .

DatasetCount property
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
property DatasetCount: Integer;
DatasetCount is the number of dataset components (TTable, TQuery, and TStoredProc)
that are currently using the TDatabase component. Read-only and run time only.

Example
{ Check to see if any record associated with this database has pending updates }
Changed := False;
with Database1 do
for I := 0 to DatasetCount - 1 do
Changed := Changed or DataSets[I].Modified;

178 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Datasets property
+
Datasets property +
Applies to
TDataBase component +
Declaration D
property Datasets[Index: Integer]: TDBDataSet;
Run-time and read only. Datasets is the set of dataset components that are currently
sharing the TDatabase component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 179

DataSource property

DataSource property
Applies to
TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox,
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator, TQuery, TDBRadioGroup,
TDBText components

For data-aware controls

Declaration
property DataSource: TDataSource;
The DataSource property determines where the component obtains the data to display.
Specify the data source component that identifies the dataset the data is found in.

Example
The following code specifies DataSource1 to be the DataSource of DBGrid1.
DBGrid1.DataSource := DataSource1;

See also
DataField property, SQL property

For queries
Declaration
property DataSource: TDataSource;
Set the DataSource property to the name of a TDataSource component in the application
to assign values to parameters not bound to values programmatically with Params or
ParamByName. If the unbound parameter names match any column names in the
specified data source, Delphi binds the current values of those fields to the
corresponding parameters. This capability enables applications to have linked queries.

Example
The LINKQRY sample application illustrates the use of the DataSource property to link a
query in a master-detail form. The form contains a TQuery component (named Orders)
with the following in its SQL property:
SELECT Orders.CustNo, Orders.OrderNo, Orders.SaleDate
FROM Orders
WHERE Orders.CustNo = :CustNo
The form also contains:
• A TDataSource named OrdersSource, linked to Orders by its DataSet property.
• A TTable component (named Cust).

180 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

• A TDataSource named CustSource linked to Cust.
DataType property
+
• Two data grids; one linked to CustSource and the other to OrdersSource. +
Orders’ DataSource property is set to CustSource. Because the parameter :CustNo does
not have any value assigned to it, at run time Delphi will try to match it with a column +
name in CustSource, which gets its data from the Customer table through Cust. Because
there is a CustNo column in Cust, the current value of CustNo in the Cust table is
assigned to the parameter, and the two data grids are linked in a master-detail
D
relationship. Each time the Cust table moves to a different row, the Orders query
automatically re-executes to retrieve all the orders for the current customer.

For field definition objects

Declaration
property DataType: TFieldType;
Run-time and read only. Read DataType to determine a physical field’s type. Possible
values are those of the TFieldType type: ftUnknown, ftString, ftSmallint, ftInteger, ftWord,
ftBoolean, ftFloat, ftCurrency, ftBCD, ftDate, ftTime, ftDateTime, ftBytes, ftVarBytes, ftBlob,
ftMemo or ftGraphic.

For field definitions

Declaration
property DataType: TFieldType;
Run-time and read only. DataType identifies the data type of the TField. Possible values
are those of the TFieldType type: ftBoolean, ftBCD, ftBlob, ftBytes, ftCurrency, ftDate,
ftDateTime, ftFloat, ftGraphic, ftInteger, ftMemo, ftSmallint, ftString, ftTime, ftUnknown,
ftVarBytes, and ftWord.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 181

Date function

For TParam objects

Declaration
property DataType: TFieldType;
The DataType property is the type of the parameter. Possible values are those of the
TFieldType type: ftUnknown, ftString, ftSmallint, ftInteger, ftWord, ftBoolean, ftFloat,
ftCurrency, ftBCD, ftDate, ftTime, ftDateTime, ftBytes, ftVarBytes, ftBlob, ftMemo or
ftGraphic.

Example
with Query1.Parameters do
for I := 0 to Count - 1 do
if Params[I].DataType = ftUnknown then
MessageDlg(‘Parameter ‘ + IntToStr(I) + ‘ is undefined’, mtWarning, [mbOK], 0);

Date function SysUtils

Declaration
function Date: TDateTime;
The Date function returns the current date.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current date is displayed in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Today is ' + DateToStr(Date);
end;

See also
DateToStr function, DayOfWeek function, DecodeDate procedure, Now function, Time
function

DateTimeToFileDate function SysUtils

Declaration
function DateTimeToFileDate(DateTime: TDateTime): Longint;
DateTimeToFileDate converts a TDateTime value to a DOS date-and-time value. The
FileAge, FileGetDate, and FileSetDate routines operate on DOS date-and-time values, and
the Time field of a TSearchRec used by the FindFirst and FindNext functions contains a
DOS date-and-time value.

182 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DateTimeToString procedure
+
See also
FileDateToDateTime function +
DateTimeToString procedure SysUtils
+
Declaration
D
procedure DateTimeToString(var Result: string; const Format: string; DateTime: TDateTime);
DateTimeToString converts the date and time value given by DateTime using the format
string given by Format into the string variable given by Result. For further details, see the
description of the FormatDateTime function.

DateToStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function DateToStr(Date: TDateTime): string;
The DateToStr function converts a variable of type TDateTime to a string. The conversion
uses the format specified by the ShortDateFormat global variable.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current date is converted to a string and displayed as the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := DateToStr(Date);
end;

See also
Date function, DateTimeToStr function, StrToDate function, TimeToStr function

DateTimeToStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function DateTimeToStr(DateTime: TDateTime): string;
The DateTimeToStr function converts a variable of type TDateTime to a string. If DateTime
parameter does not contain a date value, the date displays as 00/00/00. If the DateTime
parameter does not contain a time value, the time displays as 00:00:00 AM. You can

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 183

DayOfWeek function

change how the string is formatted by changing some of the date and time typed
constants.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current date and time is converted to a string and displayed as the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := DateTimeToStr(Now);
end;

See also
Date function, DateToStr function, Now function, StrToDate function, Time function,
TimeToStr function

DayOfWeek function SysUtils

Declaration
function DayOfWeek(Date: TDateTime): Integer;
The DayOfWeek function returns the day of the week of the specified date as an integer
between 1 and 7. Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday is the seventh.

Example
This example uses a button, an edit box, and a label on a form. When the user enters a
date in the edit box using the Month/Day/Year format, the caption of the label reports
the day of the week for the specified date.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ADate: TDateTime;
begin
ADate := StrToDate(Edit1.Text);
Label1.Caption := 'Day ' + IntToStr(DayOfWeek(ADate)) + ' of the week';
end;

See also
Date function, EncodeDate function, Now function, StrToDate function, StrToDateTime
function

DBHandle property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

184 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DbiError procedure
+
Declaration
property DBHandle: HDBIDB; +
Run-time and read only. The DBHandle property enables an application to make direct
calls to the Borland Database Engine (BDE) API. Many BDE function calls require a
+
database handle. This property provides the requisite database handle.
Under most circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your
D
application requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

DbiError procedure DB
Declaration
procedure DbiError(ErrorCode: Integer);
The DbiError procedure creates an error message by querying the Borland Database
Engine for the last error number and text and calls DatabaseError passing the result.
ErrorCode is used to obtain a text message from the engine if the error has already been
cleared.

DBLocale property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property DBLocale: TLocale;
Run-time and read only. The DBLocale property allows you to make direct calls to the
Borland Database Engine using this specification of the language driver. Under most
circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your application
requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

DDEConv property
Applies to
TDDEClientItem component

Declaration
property DdeConv: TDdeClientConv;
The DDEConv property specifies the DDE client conversation component to associate
with the DDE client item component. The value of DDEConv is the name of the DDE
client conversation component that defines the DDE conversation.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 185

DDEItem property

Example
The following code specifies DDEClientConv1 as the conversation of DDEClientItem1.
DDEClientItem1.DDEConv := DDEClientConv1.

186 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DDETopic property
+
Declaration
property DDEService: string; +
The DDEService property specifies the DDE server application to be linked to a DDE
client. Typically, DDEService is the file name (and path, if necessary) of the DDE server
+
application’s main executable file without the .EXE extension. If the DDE server is an
Delphi application, DDEService is the project name without the .DPR or .EXE extension. D
For example, to link to a TDDEServerConv component in PROJ1.DPR, set DDEService to
‘PROJ1’.
See the documentation for the DDE server application for the specific information about
specifying DDEService.
At design time, you can specify DDEService either by typing the DDE server application
name in the object inspector or by choosing Paste Link in the DDE Info dialog box.

Example
The following code specifies a DDE service of ‘Project1’.
DDEClientConv1.DDEService := 'Project1';

See also
DDEItem property, DDETopic property

DDETopic property
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
property DDETopic: string;
The DDETopic property specifies the topic of a DDE conversation. Typically, DDETopic
is a file name (and path, if necessary) used by the application specified in DDEService. If
the DDE server is an Delphi application, by default DDETopic is the caption of the form
containing the linked component. For example, to link to a component on a form named
Form1, set DDETopic to ‘Form1’. However, if the DDE client is linked to a
TDDEServerConv component, DDETopic is the name of the server conversation
component instead of the form caption. For example, to link to DDEServerConv1, set
DDETopic to ‘DDEServerConv1’.
See the documentation for the DDE server application for the specific information about
specifying DDETopic.
At design time, you can specify DDETopic either by typing the DDE server application
name in the object inspector or by choosing Paste Link in the DDE Info dialog box.

Example
The following code spGecifies a DDE topic of ‘Form1’.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 187

Dec procedure

DDEClientConv1.DDETopic := 'Form1';

Dec procedure System

Declaration
procedure Dec(var X[ ; N: Longint]);
The Dec procedure subtracts one or N from a variable.
Dec(X) corresponds to X := X – 1, and Dec(X, N) corresponds to X := X – N.
X is an ordinal-type variable or a variable of type PChar if the extended syntax is
enabled, and N is an integer-type expression.
Dec generates optimized code and is especially useful in a tight loop.

Example
var
IntVar: Integer;
LongintVar: Longint;
begin
Intvar := 10;
LongintVar := 10;
Dec(IntVar); { IntVar := IntVar – 1 }
Dec(LongintVar, 5); { LongintVar := LongintVar – 5 }
end;

See also
Inc procedure, Pred function, Succ function

DecodeDate procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure DecodeDate(Date: TDateTime; var Year, Month, Day: Word);
The DecodeDate procedure breaks the value specified as the Date parameter into Year,
Month, and Day values. If the given TDateTime value is less than or equal to zero, the
year, month, and day return parameters are all set to zero.

188 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

var
DecodeTime procedure
+
Present: TDateTime;
Year, Month, Day, Hour, Min, Sec, MSec: Word;
+
begin
Present:= Now; +
DecodeDate(Present, Year, Month, Day);
Label1.Caption := 'Today is Day ' + IntToStr(Day) + ' of Month '
+ IntToStr(Month) + ' of Year ' + IntToStr(Year);
D
DecodeTime(Present, Hour, Min, Sec, MSec);
Label2.Caption := 'The time is Minute ' + IntToStr(Min) + ' of Hour '
+ IntToStr(Hour);
end;

DecodeTime procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure DecodeTime(Time: TDateTime; var Hour, Min, Sec, MSec: Word);
The DecodeTime procedure breaks the value specified as the Time parameter into hours,
minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.

Example
This example uses a button and two labels on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the current date and time are reported in the captions of the two labels.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Present: TDateTime;
Year, Month, Day, Hour, Min, Sec, MSec: Word;
begin
Present:= Now;
DecodeDate(Present, Year, Month, Day);
Label1.Caption := 'Today is Day ' + IntToStr(Day) + ' of Month '
+ IntToStr(Month) + ' of Year ' + IntToStr(Year);
DecodeTime(Present, Hour, Min, Sec, MSec);
Label2.Caption := 'The time is Minute ' + IntToStr(Min) + ' of Hour '
+ IntToStr(Hour);
end;

See also
DecodeDate procedure, EncodeTime function, Time function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 189

Default property

Default property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton components

Declaration
property Default: Boolean;
The Default property indicates whether a push or bitmap button is the default button. If
Default is True, any time the user presses Enter, the OnClick event handler for that button
runs. The only exception to this is if the user selects another button before pressing Enter,
in which case the OnClick event handler for that button runs. Although your application
can have more than one button designated as a default button, the form calls the OnClick
event handler for the first button in the tab order.
Whenever any button has focus, it becomes the default button temporarily. When the
focus moves to a control that isn’t a button, the button with its Default property set to
True becomes the default button once again.

Example
This example makes the button named OK the default button:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
OK.Default := True;
end;

190 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DefaultDrawing property
+
Example
The following line of code changes the default width of the columns in a string grid to
twice the original value:
+
StringGrid1.DefaultColWidth := StringGrid1.DefaultColWidth * 2; +
See also D
ColWidth property, DefaultRowHeight property

DefaultDrawing property
Applies to
TDBGrid, TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property DefaultDrawing: Boolean;
The DefaultDrawing property determines if the cell is painted and the item it contains is
drawn automatically. If True, the default drawing occurs. If False, your application must
handle all the drawing details in the OnDrawCell event handler, or in the
OnDrawDataCell event handler for the data grid.
When DefaultDrawing is True, the Paint method initializes the Canvas’ font and brush to
the control font and the cell color. The cell is prepainted in the cell color and a focused
TRect object is drawn in the cell. The state of the cell is returned. The possible states are a
fixed cell, a focused cell, or a cell within the area the user has selected.

Example
The following code sets DefaultDrawing to False for DrawGrid1.
DrawGrid1.DefaultDrawing := False;

See also
OnDrawCell event, OnDrawDataCell event

DefaultExt property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property DefaultExt: TFileExt;
The DefaultExt property specifies the extension that is added to the file name the user
types in the File Name edit box if the user doesn’t include a file-name extension in the
file name. If the user specifies an extension for the file name, the value of the DefaultExt

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 191

DefaultRowHeight property

property is ignored. If the DefaultExt value remains blank, no extension is added to the
file name entered in the File Name edit box.
Legal property values include strings up to 3 characters in length. Don’t include the
period (.) that divides the file name and its extension.

Example
This example sets the default file extension to TXT, displays the Open dialog box, then
assigns the file name the user selects with the dialog box to a variable the application can
use to open a file:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NameOfFile : TFileName;
begin
OpenDialog1.DefaultExt := ’TXT’;
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
NameOfFile := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;
When this code runs, if the user types a file name in the File Name edit box in the Open
dialog box, but doesn’t specify an extension, the TXT extension is added to the file name,
and the entire file name is saved in the NameOfFile variable. For example, if the user
types MYNOTES as the file name, the string saved in the NameOfFile variable is
MYNOTES.TXT.

See also
FileName property, TOpenDialog component, TSaveDialog component

DefaultRowHeight property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property DefaultRowHeight: Integer;
The DefaultRowHeight property determines the height of all the rows within the grid.
The default value is 24 pixels.
If you want to change the height of a single row within a grid without changing other
rows, use the RowHeights property during run time. If you change the DefaultRowHeight
property value after changing the height of specified rows, all the rows become the
height specified in the DefaultRowHeight property once again.

Example
The following line of code changes the default height of the rows in a string grid control
to 10 pixels more than the original value:

192 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StringGrid1.DefaultRowHeight := StringGrid1.DefaultRowHeight + 10;
Delete method
+
See also
+
DefaultColWidth property, RowHeights property +
Delete method D
Applies to
TList, TStringList, TStrings objects; TMenuItem, TOutline, TQuery, TTable components

For list and string objects and menu items

Declaration
procedure Delete(Index: Integer);
The Delete method removes the item specified with the Index parameter. The item can be
deleted from
• the list of a list object
• the strings and their associated objects of a string or string list object
• a menu
In all cases, the index is zero-based, so the first item has an Index value of 0, the second
item has an Index value of 1, and so on.
If a string is deleted from a string object, the reference to its associated object is also
deleted.
If the item deleted is a menu item that has a submenus, the submenus are also deleted.
If the item is deleted in a list object, the list contains a nil value in the item’s position in
the list.

Example
FileMenu in the following code is a menu that contains four menu items (menu
commands). They are New, Open, Save, and Save As, in that order. This event handler
deletes the Save command from the menu:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileMenu.Delete(2);
end;
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. When the form appears, five items
are in the list box. When the user clicks the button, the second item in the list box is
deleted:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 193

Delete method

begin
for I := 1 to 5 do
ListBox1.Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(I));
end;

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);

begin
ListBox1.Items.Delete(1);
end;

See also
Add method, Clear method, Insert method, Remove method

For outlines
Declaration
procedure Delete(Index: LongInt);
The Delete method removes the outline item with an Index property value equal to the
Index parameter from the list outline. If that item is has subitems, the subitems are also
deleted.
Outline items that appear after the deleted item are moved up and reindexed with valid
Index values. This is done automatically unless BeginUpdate has been called.

Example
The following code deletes the selected item from Outline1.
Outline1.Delete(Outline1.SelectedItem);

See also
Add method, AddChild method, Insert method

For queries and tables

Declaration
procedure Delete;
The Delete method deletes the current record from the dataset. The next record then
becomes the new current record. If the record deleted was the last record in the dataset,
then the previous record becomes the current record.
This method is valid only for datasets that return a live result set.

194 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Delete procedure
+
Delete procedure System
+
Declaration
procedure Delete(var S: string; Index, Count:Integer);
+
The Delete procedure removes a substring of Count characters from string S starting at D
S[Index].
S is a string-type variable. Index and Count are integer-type expressions.
If Index is larger than the length of S, no characters are deleted. If Count specifies more
characters than remain starting at the S[Index], Delete removes the rest of the string.

Example
var
s: string;
begin
s := 'Honest Abe Lincoln';
Delete(s,8,4);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, s); { 'Honest Lincoln' }
end;

See also
Concat function, Copy function, Insert procedure, Length function, Pos function

DeleteFile function SysUtils

Declaration
function DeleteFile(const FileName: string): Boolean;
The DeleteFile function erases the file named by FileName from the disk.
If the file cannot be deleted or does not exist, the function returns False but does not raise
an exception.

Example
The following code erases the file DELETE.ME in the current directory:
DeleteFile('DELETE.ME');

DeleteIndex method
Applies to
TTable component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 195

DeleteTable method

Declaration
procedure DeleteIndex(const Name: string);
The DeleteIndex method deletes a secondary index for a TTable. Name is the name of the
index. You must have opened the table with exclusive access (Exclusive = True).

Example
Table1.DeleteIndex(‘NewIndex’);

196 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Destination property

Otherwise, it returns False. Different servers may require additional information to

+
obtain the parameter information. If DescriptionsAvailable returns False, you will have to
specify parameters either with the Parameters Editor or with explicit code.
+
Example
+
if not StoredProc1.DescriptionsAvailable then
begin
D
{ Build the Parameters property explicitly }
end;

See also
Overload property, StoredProcName property

Destination property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property Destination: TTable;
Destination specifies a TTable component corresponding to the database table that will be
the destination of the batch move operation. The destination table may or may not
already exist.

Example
BatchMove1.Destination := Table1;

Destroy method
Applies to
All objects and components

Declaration
destructor Destroy;
The Destroy method destroys the object, component, or control and releases the memory
allocated to it.
You seldom need to call Destroy. Objects designed with Delphi create and destroy
themselves as needed, so you don’t have to worry about it. If you construct an object by
calling the Create method, you should call Free to release memory and dispose of the
object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 197

Device property

198 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DeviceType property

The value of DeviceID is determined when an device is opened with the Open method. If
+
no device is open, DeviceID is 0. +
Example
The following code opens MediaPlayer1 and displays the DeviceID in Edit1. If an
+
exception occurs, a message window displays the error number and string. D
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyErrorString: string;
begin
try
MediaPlayer1.Open;
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(MediaPlayer1.DeviceID);
except
MyErrorString := 'ErrorCode: ' + IntToStr(Error) + #13#10;
MessageDlg(MyErrorString + MediaPlayer1.ErrorMessage, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;

DeviceType property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property DeviceType: TMPDeviceTypes;
The DeviceType property specifies a multimedia device type to open with the Open
method. The default is dtAutoSelect. The valid values for DeviceType are dtAutoSelect,
dtAVIVideo, dtCDAudio, dtDAT, dtDigitalVideo, dtMMMovie, dtOther, dtOverlay,
dtScanner, dtSequencer, dtVCR, dtVideodisc, or dtWaveAudio.
If DeviceType is dtAutoSelect, the device type is determined by the file extension specified
in the FileName property. If no device type is associated with the extension, you must
explicitly specify the correct device type by setting DeviceType to a value other than
dtAutoSelect.
A multimedia device is typically associated with an appropriate file-name extension
when you install the device. Associations are specified in the [mci extensions] section of
the Windows WIN.INI file. See the documentation for your specific device for
instructions about how to associate file-name extensions with the device.

Example
The following code checks to make sure that a filename is specified for MediaPlayer1 if
the DeviceType is set to dtAutoSelect before opening the device.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 199

Directory property

with MediaPlayer1 do
if (DeviceType = dtAutoSelect) and (FileName = '') then
MessageDlg('You must specify a filename for the MediaPlayer', mtError, [mbOk], 0)
else
Open;
end;

Directory property
Applies to
TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox components

Declaration
property Directory: string;
The value of the Directory property determines the current directory for the file list box
and directory list box components. The file list box displays the files in the directory
specified in the Directory property. The directory list box displays the value of the
Directory property as the current directory in the list box.
Examine the example to see how a directory list box and a file list box can work together
through their Directory properties.

Example
If you have a file list box and a directory list box on a form, this code changes the current
directory in the directory list box and displays the files in that directory in the file list
box when the user changes directories using the directory list box:
procedure TForm1.DirectoryListBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.Directory := DirectoryListBox1.Directory;
end;

See also
DirLabel property, Drive property, FileList property

DirectoryExists function FileCtrl

Declaration
function DirectoryExists(Name: string): Boolean;
The DirectoryExists function determines whether the directory specified as the value of
the Name parameter exists. If the directory exists, the function returns True. If the
directory does not exist, the function returns False.

200 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DirLabel property

If only a directory name is entered as the value of Name, DirectoryExists searches for the
+
directory within the current directory. If a full path name is entered, DirectoryExists
searches for the directory along the designated path.
+
Example
+
This example uses an edit box, a label, and a button on a form. When the user enters a
directory name in the edit box and clicks the button, whether or not the directory exists
D
is reported in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if DirectoryExists(Edit1.Text) then
Label1.Caption := Edit1.Text + ' exists'
else
Label1.Caption := Edit1.Text + ' does not exist';
end;

See also
ForceDirectories procedure, SelectDirectory function

DirLabel property
Applies to
TDirectoryListBox component

Declaration
property DirLabel: TLabel;
The DirLabel property provides a simple way to display the current directory as the
caption of a label control. When the current directory changes in the directory list box,
the change is reflected in the caption of the label.
Specify the label you want updated with the current directory as the value of the
DirLabel property.

Example
This example uses a button, an edit box, a label, a drive combo box, a directory list box, a
file list box, and a filter combo box on a form. When the user clicks the button, the rest of
the controls of the form begin working together like the controls in an Open or Save
dialog box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DriveComboBox1.DirList := DirectoryListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.DirLabel := Label1;
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 201

DirList property

See also
Caption property, Directory property, DirList property, FileEdit property, FileList
property

DirList property
Applies to
TDriveComboBox component

Declaration
property DirList: TDirectoryListBox;
The DirList property provides a simple way to connect a drive combo box with a
directory list box. When a new drive is selected in the drive combo box, the specified
directory list box updates to display the directory structure and the current directory on
the new drive.
Specify the directory list box you want updated as the value of DirList.

Example
This example uses a button, an edit box, a label, a drive combo box, a directory list box, a
file list box, and a filter combo box on a form. When the user clicks the button, the rest of
the controls of the form begin working together as the controls in an open or save dialog
box do.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DriveComboBox1.DirList := DirectoryListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.DirLabel := Label1;
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
end;

See also
Directory property, DirLabel property, Drive property, FileEdit property, FileList property

DisableControls method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure DisableControls;

202 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DiskFree function

The DisableControls method temporarily disconnects the dataset from all TDataSource
+
components. While the data sources are disconnected, associated data-aware controls
will not reflect changes to datasets. When iterating over a dataset with Next or Prior
+
methods, calling DisableControls first will speed the process, eliminating the need to
update the screen each time.
+
Use EnableControls to restore the connection. The dataset maintains a count of the
number of calls to DisableControls and EnableControls, so only the last call to
D
EnableControls will actually update the data sources.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
DisableControls;
{ Move forward five records }
try
for I := 1 to 5 do Next;
finally
{ Update the controls to the current record }
EnableControls;
end;

DiskFree function SysUtils

Declaration
function DiskFree(Drive: Byte): Longint;
DiskFree returns the number of free bytes on the specified drive number, where 0 =
Current, 1 = A, 2 = B, and so on.
DiskFree returns -1 if the drive number is invalid.

Example
var
S: string;
begin
S := IntToStr(DiskFree(0) div 1024) + ' Kbytes free.';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 203

DiskSize function

DiskSize function SysUtils

Declaration
function DiskSize(Drive: Byte): Longint;
DiskSize returns the size in bytes of the specified drive number, where 0 = Current, 1 =
A, 2 = B, etc. DiskSize returns -1 if the drive number is invalid.

Example
var
S: string;
begin
S := IntToStr(DiskSize(0) div 1024) + ' Kbytes capacity.';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

204 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Open;
DisplayFormat property
+
Display := Form2;
Form2.Show;
+
Play;
except +
MessageDlg(MediaPlayer1.ErrorMessage, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;
D
end;

See also
Capabilities property, DeviceType property, DisplayRect property, Open method

DisplayFormat property
Applies to
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TTimeField, TWordField
components

Declaration
property DisplayFormat: string
The DisplayFormat property is used to format the value of the field for display purposes.
For TIntegerField, TSmallintField, and TWordField, formatting is performed by
FloatToTextFmt. If DisplayFormat is not assigned a string, the value is formatted by Str.
For TDateField, TDateTimeField, and TTimeField, formatting is performed by
DateTimeToStr. If DisplayFormat is not assigned a string, the value is formatted according
to the default Windows specifications in the [International] section of the WIN.INI file.
For TBCDField, TCurrencyField, and TFloatField, formatting is performed by
FloatToTextFmt. If DisplayFormat is not assigned a string, the value is formatted
according to the value of the Currency property.

See also
FmtStr procedure, Format function, FormatBuf function, FormatDateTime function,
FormatFloat function, StrFmt function, StrLFmt function

DisplayLabel property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 205

DisplayName property

Declaration
property DisplayLabel: string;
DisplayLabel contains the column heading for a field displayed by a TDBGrid
component. If DisplayLabel is null, the FieldName property is used to supply the column
heading.

DisplayName property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

Declaration
property DisplayName: Pstring;
Run-time and read only. DisplayName returns the name of the field for display purposes.
Use DisplayName in your code to use the same algorithm that other Delphi components
use when they need the DisplayLabel or FieldName of a field.

DisplayRect property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property DisplayRect: TRect;
Run-time only. The DisplayRect property specifies the rectangle area within the form
specified in the Display property used to display output from a multimedia device.
DisplayRect is ignored if Display is nil.
Assign a TRect record to DisplayRect to display output in a specific rectangle area on a
form. The Rect function can be used to create a TRect record.
Examples of multimedia devices that use a window to display output are Animation,
AVI Video, Digital Video, Overlay, and VCR.
Media that use a rectangle to display output usually perform best if the default
DisplayRect size is used. To set DisplayRect to the default size, use 0, 0 for the lower right
corner. Position the rectangle with the upper left corner.
Note You must set DisplayRect after the media device is opened.

206 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DisplayText property
+
Example
The following example positions the upper left corner of the display rectangle to 10, 10
and uses the default display size:
+
MediaPlayer1.DisplayRect := Rect(10, 10, 0, 0); +
See also D
Capabilities property, DeviceType property, Open method

DisplayText property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

Declaration
property DisplayText: string;
Run-time and read only. The string value for the field when it is displayed in a data-
aware control that is not in Edit mode. Data-aware controls such as TDBEdit rely on
DisplayText to provide the formatting for each field.
The default string depends on a field’s data type. You can control the strings returned
by DisplayText by specifying a DisplayFormat string or by providing an OnGetText event
handler.
For a TStringField, the contents of the field is formatted using the EditMask property.
For a TIntegerField, TSmallintField, or TWordField, if DisplayFormat has been assigned a
value, FloatToTextFmt is called with it; otherwise Str is called.
For a TFloatField or TBCDField, FloatToTextFmt is called with the DisplayFormat property.
For a TCurrencyField, if DisplayFormat has been assigned a value, FloatToTextFmt is called
with it; otherwise, FloatToTextFmt is called with the ffCurrency flag and CurrencyDecimals
variable.
For a TDateTimeField, DateTimeToStr is called with the DisplayFormat property. For a
TDateField, DateTimeToStr is called with the DisplayFormat property, except that the
ShortDateFormat variable will be substituted if DisplayFormat is unassigned. For a
TTimeField, DateTimeToStr is called with the DisplayFormat property, except that the
LongTimeFormat variable will be substituted if DisplayFormat is unassigned.

Example
{ Display a message that the current value is invalid }
MessageDlg(Field1.DisplayText + ‘ is invalid’, mtWarning, [mbOK], 0);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 207

DisplayValue property

DisplayValue property
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList components

Declaration
property DisplayValue : string;
Run-time only. The DisplayValue is the string that appears in the database lookup combo
box or database lookup list box. Its value is contained in the field specified as the
LookupDisplay field. The current value of the Value property, which determines the
current record in the lookup table, also determines which string is the DisplayValue
string.

Example
The following code makes the caption of a button equal to the DisplayValue of
DBLookupCombo1.
Button1.Caption := DBLookupCombo1.DisplayValue;

208 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DisplayWidth property
+
DisplayWidth property +
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, +
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components D
Declaration
property DisplayWidth: Integer;
DisplayWidth specifies the number of characters that should be used to display a field in
a TDBGrid control. For TStringField, DisplayWidth is the number of characters in the
field. For all other fields the default value is 10.

See also
DisplayLabel property, DisplayText property

Dispose procedure System

Declaration
procedure Dispose(var P: Pointer);
The Dispose procedure releases memory allocated for a dynamic variable.
After a call to Dispose, the value of P is undefined and it is an error to reference P. If {$I+},
you can use exceptions to handle this error. For more information on handling run-time
library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.

Example
type
Str18 = string[18];
var
P: ^Str18;
begin
New(P);
P^ := 'Now you see it...';
Dispose(P); { Now you don't... }
end;

See also
FreeMem procedure, GetMem procedure, New procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 209

DisposeStr procedure

DisposeStr procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure DisposeStr(P: PString);
The DisposeStr procedure disposes of the dynamically allocated string pointed to by P. P
must have been allocated previously with NewStr function. If the given pointer is nil or
points to an empty string, StrDispose does nothing.

Example
The following code allocates and frees heap space for a copy of string S pointed to by P,
then deallocates the heap space pointed to by P:
var
P: PString;
S: string;
begin
S := 'Ask me about Blaise';
P := NewStr(S);
DisposeStr(P):
end;

210 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

else
DoneWinCrt procedure
+
end;
TabSet1.DitherBackground := True; +
See also
+
Color property
D
DoneWinCrt procedure WinCrt
Declaration
procedure DoneWinCrt;
The DoneWinCrt procedure destroys the CRT window.
Calling DoneWinCrt before the program ends prevents the CRT window from entering
the inactive state.

Down property
Applies to
TSpeedButton component

Declaration
property Down: Boolean;
The Down property of a speed button determines if the button appears in an up
(unselected) or down (selected) state. Speed buttons are initially in their up (unselected)
state. This occurs because the default setting of the Down property is False.
To initially display a speed button in its down state, set the Down property to True. For
example, if you use a panel component with several speed buttons to create a tools
palette, you might want one of the speed buttons selected when the palette first appears.
Although you can use a group of speed buttons with the AllowAllUp property set to
False to make the tool palette buttons work as a group, you must set the Down property
for the button you want to be selected initially. You can also use the Down property at
run time any time you want to put a button in a down state without the user clicking it
first.

Example
This code displays the speed button in a down state:
SpeedButton1.Down := True;

See also
AllowAllUp property, GroupIndex property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 211

DragCursor property

DragCursor property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage,
TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator,
TDBRadioGroup, TDBText, TDirectoryListBox, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox,
TFilterComboBox, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TOutline,
TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TScrollBox, TShape, TNotebook controls

Declaration
property DragCursor: TCursor;
The DragCursor property determines the shape of the mouse pointer when the pointer is
over a component that will accept an object being dragged. These are the possible
images:

Value Image Value Image Value Image

crDefault crSizeNESW crHourglass

crArrow crSizeNS crDrag

crCross crSizeNWSE crNoDrop

crIBeam crSizeWE crHSplit

crSize crUpArrow crVSplit

Example
The following code changes the DragCursor of Memo1 to crIBeam.
Memo1.DragCursor := crIBeam;

See also
BeginDrag method, Cursor property, Cursors property, Dragging method, EndDrag
method, OnDragDrop event, OnDragOver event, OnEndDrag event

Dragging method
Applies to
All controls

212 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DragMode property
+
Declaration
function Dragging: Boolean; +
The Dragging method specifies whether a control is being dragged. If Dragging returns
True, the control is being dragged. If Dragging is False, the control is not being dragged.
+
Example
D
This example uses three check boxes on a form. When the user begins dragging one of
the check boxes, the color of the form changes:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
CheckBox1.DragMode := dmAutomatic;
CheckBox2.DragMode := dmAutomatic;
CheckBox3.DragMode := dmAutomatic;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormDragOver(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer;
State: TDragState; var Accept: Boolean);
begin
if CheckBox1.Dragging then
Color := clAqua;
if CheckBox2.Dragging then
Color := clYellow;
if CheckBox3.Dragging then
Color := clLime;
end;

See also
BeginDrag method, DragMode property, EndDrag method, OnDragDrop event,
OnDragOver event, TDragState type

DragMode property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit,
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBText, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList,
TDBMemo, TDBNavigator, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid,
TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel,
TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TRadioButton,
TScrollBar, TScrollBox, TShape, TStringGrid, TNotebook controls

Declaration
property DragMode: TDragMode;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 213

Draw method

The DragMode property determines the drag and drop behavior of a control. These are
the possible values:

Value Meaning
dmAutomatic If dmAutomatic is selected, the control is ready to be dragged; the user just
clicks and drags it.
dmManual If dmManual is selected, the control can’t be dragged until the application calls
the BeginDrag method.

If a control’s DragMode property value is dmAutomatic, the application can disable the
drag and drop capability at run time by changing the DragMode property value to
dmManual.

Example
This example determines whether the drag mode of the button on the form is manual. If
it is, the dragging the button becomes possible.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Button1.DragMode = dmManual then
Button1.BeginDrag(True);
end;

See also
BeginDrag method, EndDrag method

Draw method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure Draw(X, Y: Integer; Graphic: TGraphic);
The Draw method draws the graphic specified by the Graphic parameter on the canvas at
the location given in the screen pixel coordinates (X, Y). Graphics can be bitmaps, icons,
or metafiles.

Example
The following code draws the graphic in C:\WINDOWS\TARTAN.BMP centered in
Form1 when the user clicks Button1. Attach this code to the OnClick event handler of
Button1.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Bitmap1: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap1 := TBitmap.Create;

214 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Bitmap1.LoadFromFile('c:\windows\tartan.bmp');
DrawFocusRect method
+
Form1.Canvas.Draw((Form1.Width div 2)-(Bitmap1.Width div 2),
(Form1.Height div 2) - (Bitmap1.Height div 2), Bitmap1);
+
end;
+
See also
StretchDraw method, TBitmap object, TIcon object, TMetafile object D
DrawFocusRect method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure DrawFocusRect(const Rect: TRect);
The DrawFocusRect method draws a rectangle in the style used to indicate that the
rectangle has the focus. Because this is an XOR function, calling it a second time and
specifying the same rectangle removes the rectangle from the screen.
The rectangle this function draws cannot be scrolled. To scroll an area containing a
rectangle drawn by this function, call DrawFocusRect to remove the rectangle from the
screen, scroll the area, and then call DrawFocusRect to draw the rectangle in the new
position.

Example
This examples uses a radio button and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the code draws a rectangle around the radio button.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NewRect: TRect;
begin
NewRect := RadioButton1.BoundsRect;
with NewRect do
begin
Left := Left - 10;
Top := Top - 10;
Right := Right + 10;
Bottom := Bottom + 10;
end;
Form1.Canvas.DrawFocusRect(NewRect);
end;

See also
Arc method, Chord method, Ellipse method, FrameRect method, Pie method, Rectangle
method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 215

Drive property

Drive property
Applies to
TDirectoryListBox, TDriveComboBox, TFileListBox components

Declaration
property Drive: Char;
Run-time only. For the drive combo box, the Drive property determines which drive is
displayed in the edit control of the combo box. When the user uses the drive combo box
to select a new drive, the selected drive becomes the value of the Drive property. The
value of the Text property also changes to the new volume name when the Drive
property value changes.
For the directory list box, the Drive property determines which drive the list box
displays the directory structure on. When the value of Drive changes, the Directory value
changes also to the current directory on the specified drive.
For the file list box, the Drive property determines which drive the list box displayed the
files on. When the value of Drive changes, the Directory value also changes to the current
directory on the specified drive.

Example
The following example assumes that a drive combo box, a file list box, and a directory
list box are on a form. This code changes the drive displayed in the drive combo box,
displays the current directory of the selected drive in the directory list box, and displays
the files in the current directory of the selected drive in the file list box when the user
selects a drive in the drive combo box:
procedure TForm1.DriveComboBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
DirectoryListBox1.Drive := DriveComboBox1.Drive;
FileListBox1.Directory := DirectoryListBox1.Directory;
end;

See also
Directory property, DirList property, Text property

DriverName property
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
property DriverName: TSymbolStr;

216 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DropConnections method

DriverName is the name of a BDE driver, such as STANDARD (for dBASE and Paradox),
+
ORACLE, SYBASE, INFORMIX or INTERBASE. This property will be cleared if
AliasName is set, because an AliasName specifies a driver type. Conversely, setting this
+
property will clear AliasName. +
If you try to set DriverName of a TDatabase for which Connected is True, Delphi will raise
an exception. D
Example
Database1.DriverName := ‘STANDARD’;

DropConnections method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure DropConnections;
The DropConnections method drops all inactive database connections. By default,
temporary database components keep their connections to the server open even when
not in use so that they do not have to log in to the server each time a dataset component
is opened.

Example
Session.DropConnections;

See also
Session variable, Temporary property

DropDown method
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo component

Declaration
procedure DropDown;
The DropDown method opens or “drops down” the database lookup combo box so that
the user has a list of values to choose from.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 217

DropDownCount property

DropDownCount property
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBLookupCombo components

Declaration
property DropDownCount: Integer;
The DropDownCount property determines how long the drop-down list of a combo box
is. By default, the drop-down list is long enough to contain eight items without
requiring the user to scroll to see them all. If you would like the drop-down list to be
smaller or larger, specify a number larger or smaller than eight as the DropDownCount
value.
If the DropDownCount value is larger than the number of items in the drop-down list, the
drop-down list is just large enough to hold all the items and no larger. For example, if
the list contains three items, the drop-down list is only long enough to display the three
items, even if the DropDownCount is eight.

Example
The following code assigns three to the DropDownCount property of ComboBox1. To see
more than three items in the drop-down list, the user must scroll.
ComboBox1.DropDownCount := 3;

218 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DroppedDown property

box displays ten items at a time; therefore, the user must scroll to view the rest of the
+
items. The drop-down list is 600 pixels wide so all the fields fit in the drop-down list. +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
DBLookupCombo1.LookupDisplay := 'Company;City;Country';
+
DBLookupCombo1.Options := [loColLines,loTitles];
DBLookupCombo1.DropDownCount := 10;
D
DBLookupCombo1.DropDownWidth := 600;
end;

See also
DropDownCount property, LookupDisplay property, Options property

DroppedDown property
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox components

Declaration
property DroppedDown: Boolean;
Run-time only. The DroppedDown property determines whether the drop-down list of
the combo box is open or closed. If DroppedDown is True, the drop-down list is visible. If
DroppedDown is False, the drop-down list is closed. The default value is False.

DSeg function System

Declaration
function DSeg: Word;
The DSeg function returns the current value of the DS register.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 219

DSeg function

The result is the segment address of the data segment.

Example
function MakeHexWord(w: Word): string;
const
hexChars: array [0..$F] of Char = '0123456789ABCDEF';
var
HexStr : string;
begin
HexStr := '';
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) and $F];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) and $F];
MakeHexWord := HexStr;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
i: Integer;
Y: Integer;
S: string;
begin
Y := 10;
S := 'The current code segment is $' + MakeHexWord(CSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
end;

220 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Duplicates property
+
Duplicates property +
Applies to
TStringList object +
Declaration +
property Duplicates: TDuplicates; E
The Duplicates property determines whether duplicate strings are allowed in the sorted
list of strings of a string list object. If the list is not sorted, the value of Duplicates has no
effect. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
dupIgnore Attempts to add a duplicate string to a sorted string list are ignored
dupAccept Duplicate strings can be added to a sorted string list
dupError Adding a duplicate string results in an EListError exception

Example
The following code makes StringList1 ignore duplicate entries.
StringList1.Duplicates := dupIgnore;

EAbort object SysUtils

Declaration
EAbort = class(Exception)
The EAbort exception is Delphi’s “silent” exception. When it is raised, no message box
appears to inform the user. Your application can handle the exception without the user
ever knowing it occurred.

EBreakpoint object SysUtils

Declaration
EBreakpoint = class(EProcessorException);
The EBreakpoint exception is a hardware exception. It occurs when your application
generates a breakpoint interrupt. Usually Delphi’s integrated debugger handles
breakpoint exceptions.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 221

EClassNotFound object

EClassNotFound object Classes

Declaration
EClassNotFound = class(EFilerError);
The EClassNotFound exception is raised when a component exists on a form, but it has
been deleted from the type declaration. For example, this form type declaration includes
two panel components:
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Panel1: TPanel;
SpeedButton1: TSpeedButton;
SpeedButton2: TSpeedButton;
Panel2: TPanel;
private
{ Private declarations }
public
{ Public declarations }
end;
If you compile the application, then delete Panel2, for example, from the TForm1 type
declaration, the next time you attempt to run the application, the class not found
exception is raised.

EComponentError object Classes

Declaration
EComponentError = class(Exception);
The EComponentError exception is raised when an attempt is made to register a
component outside of the Register procedure. It is also raised when your application
changes the name of a component at run time so that it has the same name as another
component. It can also occur if the name of a component is changed to a name that is not
a valid Object Pascal identifier.

EConvertError object SysUtils

Declaration
EConvertError = class(Exception);
The EConvertError exception is raised when either the StrToInt or StrToFloat functions
are unable to convert the specified string to a valid integer or floating-point value,
respectively. For example, this code raises the convert error exception because 3.4 is not
a valid integer:

222 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

var
EDatabaseError object
+
X: Integer;
begin
+
X := StrToInt('3.4');
end; +
+
EDatabaseError object DB
E
Declaration
EDatabaseError = class(Exception);
The EDatabaseError type is the exception type raised when a database error is detected
by a component. Use EDatabaseError with an exception handling block or to create a
database exception. With an exception handling block, you can detect the condition and
handle it yourself. If something in your code encounters an error, you can create and
raise the exception yourself.
{ Try to open Tablel1 }
repeat { until successful or Cancel button is pressed }
try
Table1.Active := True; { See if it will open }
Break; { If no error, exit the loop }
except
on EDatabaseError do
{ Ask if it is OK to retry }
if MessageDlg(‘Could not open Table1 - check server’, mtError,
[mbOK, mbCancel], 0) <> mrOK then raise; { If not, reraise to abort }
{ Otherwise resume the repeat loop }
end;
until False;
{ Test for an error and raise an exception if so }
if { some error has occured } then
raise EDatabaseError.Create(‘Some error has occured’);

EDBEngineError object DB
EDBEngineError = class(EDatabaseError)
private
FErrors: TList;
function GetError(Index: Integer): TDBError;
function GetErrorCount: Integer;
public
constructor Create(ErrorCode: DBIResult);
destructor Destroy;
property ErrorCount: Integer;
property Errors[Index: Integer]: TDBError;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 223

EDBEditError object

Description
The EDBEngineError exception is raised whenever a BDE error occurs. The exception
contains two public properties of significance:

Property How used

Errors A list of the entire Borland Database Engine error stack. The first error has an index value
of 0.
ErrorCount The total number of errors contained in the Errors property.

The objects contained in the Errors property are of type TDBError, which is declared like
this:
TDBError = class
private
FErrorCode: DBIResult;
FNativeError: Longint;
FMessage: TMessageStr;
function GetCategory: Byte;
function GetSubCode: Byte;
public
constructor Create(Owner: EDBEngineError; ErrorCode: DBIResult;
NativeError: Longint; Message: PChar);
property Category: Byte;
property ErrorCode: DBIResult;
property SubCode: Byte;
property Message: TMessageStr;
property NativeError: Longint;
end;
These are the public properties of the TDBError object:

Property How used

ErrorCode The error code returned by the Borland Database Engine
Category The category of the error referenced by ErrorCode
SubCode The subcode of the error code
NativeError The remote error code returned from the server. If NativeError is 0, the error is not a
server error.
Message The server message for native errors, or the BDE message for non-server errors.

EDBEditError object Mask

Declaration
EDBEditError = class(Exception);
The EDBEditError exception is raised when the data is not compatible with the mask
specified for the field.

224 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EDDEError object
+
EDDEError object DDEMan
+
Declaration
EDDEError = class(Exception);
+
The EDDEError exception is raised when your application can’t find the specified server +
or conversation, or when a session is unexpectedly terminated.
E
Edit method
Applies to
TDataSource, TQuery, TTable components

For tables and queries

Declaration
procedure Edit;
The Edit method prepares the current record of the dataset for changes and puts the
dataset in Edit state, setting the State property to dsEdit. Data-aware controls cannot
modify existing records unless the dataset is in Edit state.
Calling this method for a dataset that cannot be modified raises an exception. The
CanModify property will be True for datasets that can be modified. This method is valid
only for datasets that return a live result set.

Example
Table1.Edit;

For datasource components

Declaration
procedure Edit;
Edit calls the dataset’s Edit method if AutoEdit is True and State is dsBrowse.

See also
DataSet property, Insert method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 225

EditFormat property

EditFormat property
Applies to
TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TWordField components

Declaration
property EditFormat: string;
EditFormat is used to format the value of the field for editing purposes.
For TIntegerField, TSmallintField, and TWordField, formatting is performed by
FloatToTextFmt. If EditFormat is not assigned a string, but DisplayFormat does have a
value, the DisplayFormat string is used. Otherwise, the value is formatted by to the
shortest possible string.
For TBCDField, TCurrencyField, and TFloatField, formatting is performed by
FloatToTextFmt. If EditFormat is not assigned a string but DisplayFormat does have a
value, the DisplayFormat string will be used. Otherwise, the value is formatted according
to the value of the Currency property.

EditKey method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure EditKey;
Use the EditKey method to modify the contents of the search key buffer. This method is
useful only when searching on multiple fields after calling SetKey. Call GotoKey to move
the cursor to the record with the corresponding key.
EditKey differs from SetKey in that the latter clears all the elements of the search key
buffer to the default values (or NULL). EditKey leaves the elements of the search key
buffer with their current values.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
EditKey;
FieldByName(‘State’).AsString := ‘CA‘;
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Santa Barbara‘;
GotoKey;
end;

226 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EditMask property
+
EditMask property +
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, +
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMaskEdit, TMemoField,
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components +
Declaration E
property EditMask: string;
The EditMask property is the mask that is used to limit the data that can be put into a
masked edit box or entered into a data field. A mask restricts the characters the user can
enter to valid characters and formats. If the user attempts to enter a character that is not
valid, the edit box does not accept the character. Validation is performed on a character-
by-character basis. Use an OnValidate event to validate the entire input.
For a TStringField, EditMask can be used to format output with the DisplayText property.
A mask consists of three fields with semicolons separating the fields. The first part of the
mask is the mask itself. The second part is the character that determines whether the
literal characters of a mask are saved as part of the data. The third part of the mask is the
character used to represent a blank in the mask.
These are the special characters used to create masks:

Character Meaning in mask

! If a ! character appears in the mask, leading blanks don’t appear in the data. If a ! character is
not present, trailing blanks don’t appear in the data.
> If a > character appears in the mask, all characters that follow are in uppercase until the end
of the mask or until a < character is encountered.
< If a < character appears in the mask, all characters that follow are in lowercase until the end
of the mask or until a > character is encountered.
<> If these two characters appear together in a mask, no case checking is done and the data is
formatted with the case the user uses to enter the data.
\ The character that follows a \ character is a literal character. Use this character when you
want to allow any of the mask special characters as a literal in the data.
L The L character requires only an alphabetic character only in this position. For the US, this is
A-Z, a-z.
l The l character permits only an alphabetic character in this position, but doesn’t require it.
A The A character requires an alphanumeric character only in this position. For the US, this is
A-Z, a-z, 0-9.
a The a character permits an alphanumeric character in this position, but doesn’t require it.
C The C character requires a character in this position.
c The c character permits a character in this position, but doesn’t require it.
0 The 0 character requires a numeric character only in this position.
9 The 9 character permits a numeric character in this position, but doesn’t require it.
# The # character permits a numeric character or a plus or minus sign in this position, but
doesn’t require it.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 227

EditMask property

Character Meaning in mask

: The : character is used to separate hours, minutes, and seconds in times. If the character that
separates hours, minutes, and seconds is different in the International settings of the Control
Panel utility on your computer system, that character is used instead of :.
/ The / character is used to separate months, days, and years in dates. If the character that
separates months, days, and years is different in the International settings of the Control
Panel utility on your computer system, that character is used instead of /.
; The ; character is used to separate masks.
_ The _ character automatically inserts a blank the edit box. When the user enters characters
in the field, the cursor skips the blank character. When using the EditMask property editor,
you can change the character used to represent blanks. You can also change this value
programmatically. See the following table.

These characters (already mentioned in previous table) are typed constants declared in
the Mask unit whose value you can change at run time, although the need for this should
be limited:

Typed constant Initial value Meaning

DefaultBlank _ Blanks in the mask are represented by the _ character
MaskFieldSeparator ; The ; character separates the fields of a mask.
MaskNoSave 0 The 0 character means that the mask is not saved as part of
the data. The 1 character means that the mask is saved as part
of the data.
For example, a telephone number could have parentheses
around the area code as part of the mask. If MaskNoSave is 0,
the parentheses do not become part of the data, making the
size of the field slightly smaller.

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Mask.MaskFieldSeparator := ',';
Mask.DefaultBlank := '@';
MaskEdit1.EditMask := '999-999,1,@';
end;

Example
This example assigns an edit mask to the masked edit box on the form. The edit mask
makes it easy to enter American telephone numbers in the edit box.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
MaskEdit1.EditMask := '!$999$000-0000;1;
MaskEdit1.Text := '';
MaskEdit1.AutoSelect := False;
end;

See also
OnGetEditMask event, EditText property, Text property

228 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EditMaskPtr property
+
EditMaskPtr property +
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, +
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components +
Declaration E
property EditMask: string;
Run-time and read only. EditMaskPtr is a pointer to the EditMask property of a string.

Example
Field1.EditMask := Field2.EditMaskPtr^;

EditorMode property
Applies to
TDBGrid, TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property EditorMode: Boolean;
Run-time only. The EditorMode property determines whether the grid is in automatic
Edit mode. When the grid is in automatic edit mode, the user can type in a cell without
having to press Enter or F2 first. If the Options property set includes the value
goAlwaysShowEditor (goAlwaysShowEditor is True), the grid is in automatic edit mode,
just as if EditorMode is True. While you are most likely to set the Options property values
at design time, the EditorMode property makes it easy to control when editing is
permitted at run time.
If EditorMode is True, the grid is in automatic edit mode as long as the Options property
set includes the value goEditing (or dgEditing for the data grid). If goEditing or dgEditing is
not in the Options set (goEditing or dgEditing is False), setting EditorMode to True has no
effect, and the user cannot edit the contents of a cell.
If EditorMode is False and the Options property set includes the value goEditing or
dgEditing, but not the value goAlwaysShowEditor (or dgAlwaysShowEditor for the data
grid), the user can enter edit mode by pressing either Enter or F2 before editing the
contents of each cell.

Example
The following code sets EditorMode to True for StringGrid1.
StringGrid1.EditorMode := True;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 229

EditRangeEnd method

230 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EditText property

EditRangeStart enables you to modify the lower key limit established with SetRangeStart.
+
Call ApplyRange to apply the new range and filter the dataset. +
EditRangeStart differs from SetRangeStart in that the latter clears all the elements of the
search key buffer to the default values (NULL). EditRangeStart leaves the elements of the +
search key buffer with their current values.
Note With Paradox or dBASE tables, these methods work only with indexed fields. With SQL +
databases, they can work with any columns specified in the IndexFieldNames property.
E
Example
{ Limit the range from ‘Goleta’ to ‘Santa Barbara’}
with Table1 do
begin
EditRangeStart; { Set the beginning key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Goleta‘;
EditRangeEnd; { Set the ending key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Santa Barbara‘;
ApplyRange; { Tell the dataset to establish the range }
end;

See also
KeyExclusive property, EditRangeEnd method, SetRange method, SetRangeEnd method

EditText property
Applies to
TDBEdit, TMaskEdit components

Declaration
property EditText: string;
Run-time only. The EditText property is the value of the Text property as it appears in
the edit box at run time with the mask specified in the EditMask property applied. If
literal mask characters are not saved and no character is substituted for blanks, the
values of EditText and Text are the same.
EditText is what the user actually sees in the edit box at run time.

See also
EditMask property, Text property

EDivByZero object SysUtils

Declaration
EDivByZero = class(EIntError);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 231

EFault object

The EDivByZero exception is an integer math exception. The exception occurs when
your application attempts to divide an integer type by zero. For example, this code
raises an EDivByZero exception:
var
X, Y: Integer;
begin
X := 0;
Y := 10;
Y := Y div X;
end;

EFault object SysUtils

Declaration
EFault = class(EProcessorException);
The EFault exception is the base exception object from which all other exception fault
objects descend. These are the fault exceptions:

Exception Meaning
EGPFault A general protect fault, which is usually caused by an uninitialized pointer or object.
EStackFault Illegal access to the processor’s stack segment.
EPageFault The Windows memory manager was unable to correctly use the Windows swap file.
EInvalidOpCode The processor encountered an undefined instruction. Usually this means the
processor was trying to execute data or uninitialized memory.

EFCreateError object Classes

Declaration
EFCreateError = class(EStreamError);
The EFCreateError exception is raised when an error occurs as a file is being created. For
example, the specified file might have an invalid file name, or the file can’t be recreated
because it is read only.

EFilerError object Classes

Declaration
EFilerError = class(EStreamError);

232 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EFOpenError object

The EFilerError is raised when an attempt is made to register the same class twice. It is
+
also the parent of these exceptions that occur when reading or writing streams: +
Exception
EReadError
Description
The ReadBuf method cannot read the specified number of bytes
+
EWriteError
EClassNotFound
The WriteBuf method cannot write the specified number of bytes
A component on the form has been deleted from the form type declaration
+
E
EFOpenError object Classes
Declaration
EFOpenError = class(EStreamError);
The EFOpenError exception is raised when an attempt is made to create a file stream
object and the specified file cannot be opened.

EGPFault object SysUtils

Declaration
EGPFault = class(EFault);
The EGPFault is a hardware exception that is raised when your application attempts to
access memory that isn’t legal for your application to access. These are the most
common causes of general protection faults (GPF):
1 Loading invalid values into segment registers
2 Accessing memory beyond a segment’s limit
3 Writing to read-only code segments
4 Attempting to access an uninitialized pointer or object
The most likely cause in Delphi programs is probably the fourth one: attempting to
access an uninitialized pointer or object.

EInOutError object SysUtils

Declaration
EInOutError = class(Exception)
public
ErrorCode: Integer;
end;
The EInOutError is raised any time an input/output MS-DOS error occurs. The resulting
error code is returned in the ErrorCode field.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 233

EIntError object

The $I+ directive must be in effect or input/output errors will not raise an exception. If
an I/O error occurs when your application is in the $I- state, your application must call
the IOResult function to clear the error.

EIntError object SysUtils

Declaration
EIntError = class(Exception);

Description
The EIntError exception is a generic integer math exception. Although it is never raised
in the run-time library, it is the base from which other integer math exceptions descend.
These are the integer math exceptions:

Exception Meaning
EDivByZero An attempt was made to divide by zero
ERangeError Number or expression out of range
EIntOverflow Integer operation overflowed

EIntOverflow object SysUtils

Declaration
EIntOverFlow = class(EIntError);

Description
The EIntOverFlow exception is an integer math exception. It occurs when a calculated
result is too large to fit within the register allocated for it and therefore, data is lost. For
example, this code results in an overflow condition as the calculation result overflows a
register:
var
SmallNumber: Shortint;
X, Y: Integer;
begin
X := 127;
Y := 127;
SmallNumber := X * Y * 100;
end;
The EIntOverFlow occurs only if range checking is turned on (your code includes the
$O+ directive or you set the Overflow-checking option using the Options|Project dialog
box).
See also the ERangeError exception.

234 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EInvalidCast object
+
EInvalidCast object SysUtils
+
Declaration
EInvalidCast = class(Exception);
+
The EInvalidCast exception occurs when your application tries to typecast an object into +
another type using the as operator, and the requested typecast is illegal. For example, an
invalid typecast exception is raised if in this expression AnObject is not of a type
compatible with TObjectType:
E
AnObject as TObjectType

EInvalidGraphic object Graphics

Declaration
EInvaldGraphic = class(Exception);
An EInvalidGraphic exception is raised when your application attempts to access a file
that is not a valid bitmap, icon, metafile, or user-defined graphic type when your
application expects it to be. For example, this code raises an invalid graphic exception:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Image1.Picture.LoadFromFile('README.TXT');
end;
Because the README.TXT file doesn’t contain a valid graphic, the exception is raised.

EInvalidGraphicOperation object Graphics

Declaration
EInvalidGraphicOperation = class(Exception);

Description
An EInvalidGraphicOperation is raised when an illegal operation is attempted on a
graphic. For example, if your application attempts to resize an icon, the invalid graphic
operation is raised:
var
AnIcon: TIcon;
begin
AnIcon := TIcon.Create;
AnIcon.LoadFromFile('C:\WINDOWS\DIRECTRY.ICO');
AnIcon.Width := 100; { an invalid graphic operation exception is raised }
...

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 235

EInvalidGridOperation object

EInvalidGridOperation object Grids

Declaration
EInvalidGridOperation = class(Exception);
An EInvalidGridOperation is raised when an illegal operation is attempted on a grid. For
example, your application might try to access a cell that does not exist within the grid.

EInvalidImage object Classes

Declaration
EInvalidImage = class(EFilerError);
The EInvalidImage exception is raised when your application attempts to read a resource
file and the specified file is not a resource file. When your application calls the
ReadComponentRes method, it must also use the corresponding WriteComponentRes
method to write to a resource file. Similarly, when you application calls the
ReadComponent method, it must use the corresponding WriteComponent method.

EInvalidOp object SysUtils

Declaration
EInvalidOp = class(EMathError);
The EInvalidOp exception is a floating-point math exception. It occurs whenever the
processor encounters an undefined instruction. For example, if your application uses an
opcode that is not available to the 80287 floating-point unit and you run the application
on a 80286 computer, the invalid opcode exception is raised.

EInvalidOpCode object SysUtils

Declaration
EInvalidOpCode = class(EFault);
The EInvalidOpCode exception is a hardware fault exception. It occurs when the
processor encounters an undefined instruction. Usually this means the processor was
attempting to execute data or uninitialized memory. It could also happen if your
application jumps to the middle of an instruction somehow. An invalid opcode
exception represents a serious failure in the operating environment. Your application
should encounter it rarely.

236 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EInvalidOperation object
+
EInvalidOperation object Controls
+
Declaration
EInvalidOperation = class(Exception);
+
Description
+
An EInvalidOperation exception is raised when your application does some operation E
that requires a window handle and your component does not have a parent (Parent =
nil). It can also occur if you try to perform drag and drop operations from the form such
as Form1.BeginDrag.

EInvalidPointer object SysUtils

Declaration
EInvalidPointer = class(Exception);
The EInvalidPointer exception is raised when your application attempts an invalid
pointer operation. For example, it can occur if your application tries to dispose of the
same pointer twice, or your application calls the Free method twice to destroy an object.

Eject method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure Eject;
The Eject method ejects the loaded medium from the open multimedia device. Eject is
called when the Eject button on the media player control is clicked at run time.
Upon completion, Eject stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Eject method has been completed. The Notify property determines whether Eject
generates an OnNotify event.

Example
This code ejects the CD from the CD-ROM player after 10 seconds. For the code to run
correctly, you must have your CD audio device installed correctly, and the device must
have software ejecting capabilities.
var
TimerOver: Word;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 237

EListError object

procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);

begin
MediaPlayer1.DeviceType := dtCDAudio;
MediaPlayer1.Open;
MediaPlayer1.Play;
end;
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
if TimeOver = 10 then
begin
MediaPlayer1.Eject;
MediaPlayer1.Close;
Timer1.Enabled := False;
end
else
Inc(TimeOver);
end;

EListError object Classes

Declaration
EListError = class(Exception);
The EListError is an exception that is raised when an error is made in a list, string, or
string list object. List error exceptions commonly occur when your application refers to
an item in a list that is out of the list’s range. For example, the following code is an event
handler that attempts to access an item in a list box that does not exist. The EListError is
raised and handled:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('First item'); { Items[0] }
ListBox1.Items.Add('Another item'); { Items{1] }
ListBox1.Items.Add('Still another item'); { Items[2] }
try
ListBox1.Items[3] := 'This item does not exist';
except
on EListError do
MessageDlg('List box contains fewer than 4 strings', mtWarning, [mbOK], 0);
end;
end;
Also, a list error occurs when your application tries to add a duplicate string to a string
list object when the value of the Duplicates property is dupError.

238 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Ellipse method

A list error exception is raised when you insert a string into a sorted string list, as the
+
string you insert at the specified position may put the string list out of sorted order. For
example, this code raises the list error exception:
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
+
I: Integer;
begin
+
for I := 1 to 5 do
ListBox1.Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(I)); E
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
try
ListBox1.Items.Insert(0, 'Try to insert here');
except
on EListError do
MessageDlg(‘Attempt to insert into a sorted list’, mtWarning, [mbOK], 0);
end;
end;

Ellipse method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure Ellipse(X1, Y1, X2, Y2: Integer);
The Ellipse method draws an ellipse defined by a bounding rectangle on the canvas. The
top left point of the bounding rectangle is at pixel coordinates (X1, Y1) and the bottom
right point is at (X2, Y2). If the points of the rectangle form a square, a circle is drawn.

Example
The following code draws an ellipse filling the background of a form:
procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
begin
Canvas.Ellipse(0, 0, ClientWidth, ClientHeight);
end;

See also
Arc method, Chord method, Draw method, DrawFocusRect method, Pie method,
StretchDraw method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 239

EMathError object

EMathError object SysUtils

Declaration
EMathError = class(Exception);
The EMathError exception is never raised on its own, but it provides a base exception
object from which all the specific floating-point math exceptions descend. These are the
floating-point math exceptions:

Exception Meaning
EInvalidOp Processor encountered an undefined instruction
EZeroDivide Attempt to divide by zero
EOverflow Floating-point operation overflowed
EUnderflow Floating-point operation underflowed

EMCIDeviceError object MPlayer

Declaration
EMCIDeviceError = class(Exception);

Description
The EMCIDeviceError exception is raised if an error occurs when accessing a multimedia
device. The most common cause for the exception is trying to access a multimedia
device before it has been opened with the Open method.

EMenuError object Menus

Declaration
EMenuError = class(Exception);
The EMenuError exception is raised if an error occurs when your application is working
with menu items. For example, if you application attempts to delete a menu item that
doesn’t exist, a menu error exception occurs.

EMPNotify type MPlayer

Declaration
EMPNotify = procedure (Sender: TObject; Button: TMPBtnType; var DoDefault: Boolean) of object;
The EMPNotify type is used for the OnClick event for TMediaPlayer components.

240 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EMPPostNotify type

The Button argument can be one of the following values: btBack, btEject, btNext, btPause,
+
btPlay, btPrev, btRecord, btStep, or btStop. +
The default value of the DoDefault argument is True. If DoDefault is True, the media
player control calls the method that corresponds to the clicked button. For example, if +
the user clicks the Play button (btPlay), the Play method is called.
If DoDefault is False, you must supply the code that executes when a media player +
control button is clicked in the OnClick event handler. The following table lists the
default methods corresponding to the media player control buttons: E
Control button Button value Method called
Play btPlay Play
Record btRecord StartRecording
Stop btStop Stop
Next btNext Next
Prev btPrev Previous
Step btStep Step
Back btBack Back
Pause btPause Pause
Eject btEject Eject

EMPPostNotify type MPlayer

Declaration
EMPPostNotify = procedure (Sender: TObject; Button: TMPBtnType) of object;
The EMPPostNotify type is used for the OnPostClick event for TMediaPlayer components.
The Button argument can be one of the following values: btBack, btEject, btNext, btPause,
btPlay, btPrev, btRecord, btStep, or btStop.

Empty property
Applies to
TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, TMetafile objects

Declaration
property Empty: Boolean;
Read-only. The Empty property specifies whether the graphics object contains a graphic.
If Empty is True, no graphic has been loaded into the graphics object. If Empty is False, a
graphic is contained by the graphics object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 241

EmptyStr constant

Example
The following loads a file into Graphic1 if it does not already contain a graphic.
if Graphic1.Empty then Graphic1.LoadFromFile('myfile.bmp');

EmptyStr constant SysUtils

Declaration
EmptyStr: string[1] = '';
EmptyStr declares an empty string.

EmptyTable method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure EmptyTable;
The EmptyTable method deletes all records from the database table specified by
TableName. Before calling this method, the DatabaseName, TableName and TableType
properties must be assigned values.
Note If the table is open, it must have been opened with the Exclusive property set to True.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
Active := False;
DatabaseName := ‘Delphi_Demos’;
TableName := ‘CustInfo’;
TableType := ttParadox;
EmptyTable;
end;

EnableControls method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

242 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Enabled property
+
Declaration
procedure EnableControls; +
The EnableControls method restores the connections from the dataset to all TDataSource
components that were disconnected by a call to the DisableControls method. While the
+
data sources are disconnected, changes in the active record will not be reflected in them.
The dataset maintains a count of the number of calls to DisableControls and +
EnableControls, so only the last call to EnableControls will actually update the data
sources. E
Example
with Table1 do
begin
DisableControls;
{ Move forward five records }
try
for I := 1 to 5 do Next;
finally
{ Update the controls to the current record }
EnableControls;
end;

For all controls, menu items, and timers

Declaration
property Enabled: Boolean;
The Enabled property controls whether the control responds to mouse, keyboard, and
timer events. If Enabled is True, the control responds normally. If Enabled is False, the
control ignores mouse and keyboard events, and in the case of a timer control, the
OnTimer event. Disabled controls appear dimmed.

Example
To disable a button called FormatDiskButton,

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 243

EnabledButtons property

FormatDiskButton.Enabled := False;
This code alternately dims or enables a menu command when a user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if OpenCommand.Enabled then
OpenCommand.Enabled := False
else
OpenCommand.Enabled := True;
end;

For data source components

Declaration
property Enabled: Boolean;

Description
Enabled specifies if the display in data-aware controls connected to TDataSource is
updated when the current record in the dataset changes. For example, when Enabled is
True and the Next method of a dataset component is called many times, each call
updates all controls. Setting Enabled to False allows the Next calls to be made without
performing updates to the controls. Once you reach the desired record, set Enabled to
True to update the controls to that record.
Note Setting Enabled to False clears the display in data-aware controls until you set it to True
again. If you want to leave the controls with their current contents while moving
through the table or query, call the DisableControls and EnableControls.

Example
DataSource1.Enabled := False;
while not DataSource1.DataSet.EOF do DataSource1.DataSet.Next;
DataSource1.Enabled := True;

EnabledButtons property
Declaration
property EnabledButtons: TButtonSet;
The EnabledButtons property determines which buttons on the media player are enabled.
An enabled button is colored and usable. A disabled button is dimmed and not usable.
If a button is not enabled with EnabledButtons, it is disabled. By default, all buttons are
enabled.

244 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EnableExceptionHandler procedure

If the AutoEnable property is True, AutoEnable supersedes EnabledButtons. The buttons

+
automatically enabled or disabled by the media player override any buttons enabled or
disabled with the EnabledButtons property.
+
Button Value Action
+
Play
Record
btPlay
btRecord
Plays the media player
Starts recording
+
Stop
Next
btStop
btNext
Stops playing or recording
Skips to the next track, or to the end if the medium doesn’t use
E
tracks
Prev btPrev Skips to the previous track, or to the beginning if the medium
doesn’t use tracks
Step btStep Moves forward a number of frames
Back btBack Moves backward a number of frames
Pause btPause Pauses playing or recording. If already paused when clicked,
resumes playing or recording.
Eject btEject Ejects the medium

Example
The following example enables all of the media player component’s buttons:
TMediaPlayer1.EnabledButtons := [btPlay, btPause, btStop, btNext, btPrev, btStep, btBack,
btRecord, btEject]

See also
ColoredButtons property, VisibleButtons property

EnableExceptionHandler procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure EnableExceptionHandler(Enable: Boolean);
The EnableExceptionHandler procedure enables or disables the standard processing of
hardware exceptions or language exceptions. This requires setting notification hooks
using the ToolHelp DLL. If you want to implement your own hardware exception
processing, you should disable the default exception handler.

ENavClick type DBCtrls

Declaration
ENavClick = procedure (Sender: TObject; Button: TNavigateBtn) of object;
The ENavClick type is the type of the OnClick event for a database navigator component
(TDBNavigator).

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 245

EncodeDate function

EncodeDate function SysUtils

Declaration
function EncodeDate(Year, Month, Day: Word): TDateTime;
The EncodeDate function returns a TDateTime type from the values specified as the Year,
Month, and Day parameters.
The year must be between 1 and 9999.
Valid Month values are 1 through 12.
Valid Day values are 1 through 28, 29, 30, or 31, depending on the Month value. For
example, the possible Day values for month 2 (February) are 1 through 28 or 1 through
29, depending on whether or not the Year value specifies a leap year.
If the specified values are not within range, an EConvertError exception is raised. The
resulting value is one plus the number of days between 1/1/0001 and the given date.

Example
This example uses a button and a label on a form. When the user clicks the button, a
specified date is encoded as a MyDate variable of type TDateTime. MyDate is then
displayed as a string in the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyDate: TDateTime;
begin
MyDate := EncodeDate(83, 12, 31);
Label1.Caption := DateToStr(MyDate);
end;

See also
DateToStr function, DecodeDate procedure, EncodeTime function

EncodeTime function SysUtils

Declaration
function EncodeTime(Hour, Min, Sec, MSec: Word): TDateTime;
The EncodeTime function returns a TDateTime type from the values specified as the Hour,
Min, Sec, and MSec parameters.
If the value of the Time24Hour typed constant is False, valid Hour values are 0 through
12. If the value of Time24Hour is True, valid Hour values are 0 through 23.
Valid Min and Sec values are 0 through 59. Valid MSec values are 0 through 999.
If the specified values are not within range, an EConvertError exception is raised. The
resulting value is a number between 0 (inclusive) and 1 (not inclusive) that indicates the

246 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EndDoc method

fractional part of a day given by the specified time. The value 0 corresponds to
+
midnight, 0.5 corresponds to noon, 0.75 corresponds to 6:00 pm, etc. +
Example +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyTime: TDateTime;
+
Hour, Min, Sec, MSec: Word;
begin
E
MyTime := EncodeTime(0, 45, 45, 7);
Label1.Caption := TimeToStr(MyTime);
Time24Hour := True;
Label2.Caption := TimeToStr(MyTime);
end;

See also
DecodeTime procedure, EncodeDate function

EndDoc method
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
procedure EndDoc;
The EndDoc method ends the current print job and closes the text file variable. After the
application calls EndDoc, the printer begins printing. Use EndDoc after successfully
sending a print job to the printer. If the print job isn’t successful, use the Abort method.
The Close procedure calls the EndDoc method.

Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks it, the event handler prints a
rectangle on the printer and displays a message on the form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with Printer do
begin
BeginDoc;
Canvas.Rectangle(20, 20, 400, 300);
EndDoc;
end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Printed');
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 247

EndDrag method

To use the EndDoc method, you must add the Printers unit to the uses clause of your
unit.

248 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EndPage property
+
Example
This example displays the tab set control so the tabs are no closer than 20 pixels from the
edge of the tab control on the left and from the scroll buttons on the right:
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
with TabSet1 do
begin
AutoScroll := True;
StartMargin := 20;
E
EndMargin := 20;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 249

EndUpdate method

Run-time only. The EndPos property specifies the position within the currently loaded
medium at which to stop playing or recording. EndPos is specified using the current
time format, which is specified in the TimeFormat property.
The EndPos property affects only the next Play or StartRecording method called after
setting EndPos. You must reset EndPos to affect any subsequent calls to Play or
StartRecording.

Example
The following procedure begins playing the .WAV audio file from the beginning of the
file to middle only.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
FileName := 'D:\WINAPPS\SOUNDS\CARTOON.WAV';
Open;
EndPos := TrackLength[1] div 2;
Play;
end;
end;

250 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ListBox1.Items.EndUpdate;
Eof function

{ Executed even in case of an exception }

+
end; +
See also
BeginUpdate method
+
+
Eof function System E
Declaration
Typed or untyped files:
function Eof(var F): Boolean;
Text files:
function Eof [ (var F: Text) ]: Boolean;
The Eof function tests whether or not the current file position is the end-of-file.
F is a text file variable. If F is omitted, the standard file variable Input is assumed.
Eof(F) returns True if the current file position is beyond the last character of the file or if
the file contains no components; otherwise, Eof(F) returns False.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
F1, F2: TextFile;
Ch: Char;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(F1, OpenDialog1.Filename);
Reset(F1);
if SaveDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(F2, OpenDialog1.Filename);
Rewrite(F2);
while not Eof(F1) do
begin
Read(F1, Ch);
Write(F2, Ch);
end;
CloseFile(F2);
end;
CloseFile(F1);
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 251

EOF property

See also
Eoln function, SeekEof function

EOF property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property EOF: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. EOF is a Boolean property that indicates whether a dataset is
known to be at its last row. The EOF property returns a value of True after:
• An application opens an empty dataset
• A call to a table’s Last method
• A call to a table’s Next fails because the cursor is on the last row

Example
Table1.First;
while not Table1.EOF do
begin
{Do Something}
Table1.Next;
end;

Eoln function System

Declaration
function Eoln [(var F: Text) ]: Boolean;
The Eoln function test whether the current file position is the end-of-line of a text file.
F, if specified, is a text file variable. If F is omitted, the standard file variable Input is
assumed.
Eoln(F) returns True if the current file position is at an end-of-line or if Eof(F) is True;
otherwise, Eoln(F) returns False.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

252 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EOutlineChange type
+
Example
uses WinCrt; +
begin
{ Tells program to wait for keyboard input }
+
WriteLn(Eoln);
end; +
See also E
Eof function, SeekEoln function

EOutlineChange type Outline

Declaration
EOutlineChange = procedure (Sender: TObject; Index: LongInt) of object;
EOutlineChange is the type of the events which occur when an item in a TOutline
component is changed by being expanded (OnExpand) or collapsed (OnCollapse). The
Index parameter specifies the Index property value of the changed item.

EOutlineError object Outline

Declaration
EOutlineError = class(Exception);
The EOutlineError exception is raised when an error occurs as your application works
with an outline component.

EOutOfMemory object SysUtils

Declaration
EOutOfMemory = class(Exception);
The EOutOfMemory exception is a heap exception. It occurs when your application
attempts to allocate dynamic memory, but there wasn’t enough free memory in the
system to complete the requested operation.

EOutOfResources object Controls

Declaration
EOutOfResources = class(Exception);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 253

EOverflow object

The EOutOfResources exception occurs when your application attempts to create a

Windows handle and Windows has no more handles to allocate.

EOverflow object SysUtils

Declaration
EOverflow = class(EMathError);

Description
The EOverflow exception is a floating-point math exception. It occurs when a calculated
result is too large to fit within the register allocated for it and therefore, data is lost. For
example, this code results in an overflow condition:
var
X, Y: Single;
begin
X := 3.3e37;
Y := 2.4e36;
X := X * Y;
end;

EPageFault object SysUtils

Declaration
EPageFault = class(EFault);
The EPageFault exception is a hardware fault exception. It occurs when the Windows
memory manager is unable to use the Windows swap file correctly. A page fault
exception indicates a serious failure in the operating environment. Your applications
should encounter it rarely.

EParserError object Classes

Declaration
EParser = class(Exception);
The EParserError is raised when your application attempts to read from a text form and
it is unable to read some part of it, due to a “syntax error.”

254 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EPrinter object
+
EPrinter object Printers
+
Declaration
EPrinter = class(Exception);
+
The EPrinter exception is raised when a printing error occurs. For example, if your +
application attempts to print to a printer that doesn’t exist, or if the print job can’t be sent
to the printer for some reason, a printer exception occurs. E
EProcessorException object
Declaration
EProcessorException = class(Exception);
The EProcessorException is a hardware exception. Although the EProcessorException is
never called by the run-time library, it provides a base from which specific hardware
exceptions descend. Hardware exception handling is not compiled into DLLs, only into
standalone applications. These are the descendants of EProcessorException:

Exception Meaning
EFault The base exception object from which all fault objects descend.
EGPFault A general protect fault, which is usually caused by an uninitialized pointer or object.
EStackFault Illegal access to the processor’s stack segment.
EPageFault The Windows memory manager was unable to correctly use the Windows swap file.
EInvalidOpCode The processor encountered an undefined instruction. Usually this means the
processor was trying to execute data or uninitialized memory.
EBreakpoint Your application generated a breakpoint interrupt.
ESingleStep Your application generated a single-step interrupt.

You should rarely encounter the fault exceptions, other than the general protection fault,
because they represent serious failures in the operating environment. The breakpoint
and single-step exceptions are usually handled by Delphi’s integrated debugger.

ERangeError object SysUtils

Declaration
ERangeError = class(EIntError);

Description
The ERangeError exception is an integer math exception. It occurs when an integer
expression evaluates to a value that exceeds the bounds of the specified integer type to
which it is assigned. For example, this code raises an ERangeError exception:
var

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 255

Erase procedure

SmallNumber: Shortint;
X, Y: Integer;
begin
X := 100;
Y := 75;
SmallNumber := X * Y;
end;
Attempting to access an item in an array with an index value that is not within the
defined array results in a range error exception. For example, this code attempts to
assign a value to Values[11] when the highest index of the Values array is 10:
var
Values: array{1..10] of Integer;
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 1 to 11 do
Values[I] := I; { on the last loop a range error exception is raised }
end;
The ERangeError exception is raised only if range checking is turned on (your code
includes the $R+ directive or you set the Range-checking option using the Options|
Project dialog box).

Erase procedure System

Declaration
procedure Erase(var F);
The Erase procedure deletes the external file associated with F.
F is a file variable of any file type.
Always close a file before erasing it.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
F: Textfile;
begin
OpenDialog1.Title := 'Delete File';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(F, OpenDialog1.FileName);
try
Reset(F);
if MessageDlg('Erase ' + OpenDialog1.FileName + '?',
mtConfirmation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then

256 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
EraseSection method
+
CloseFile(F);
Erase(F);
+
end;
except +
on EInOutError do

end;
MessageDlg('File I/O error.', mtError, [mbOk], 0); +
end;
end;
E
See also
Rename procedure

EraseSection method
Applies to
TIniFile object

Declaration
procedure EraseSection(const Section: string);
The EraseSection method erases an entire section of an .INI file.
The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file to erase. For example, the
WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section.

Example
This examples erases the SaveSettings section in the MYAPP.INI file when the user
clicks the button on the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyAppIni: TIniFile;
begin
MyAppIni := TIniFile.Create('MYAPPINI.INI');
MyAppIni.EraseSection('SaveSettings');
MyAppIni.Free;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 257

EReadError object

EReadError object Classes

Declaration
EReadError = class(EFilerError);
The EReadError is raised when your application attempts to read data from a stream by
calling the ReadBuffer method, but the number of bytes specified in the Count parameter
of the method cannot be read.
A read error exception can also occur if Delphi is unable to read a property.

EReportError object Report

Declaration
EReportError = class(Exception);
The EReportError exception is raised when the Connect method of a report component
(TReport) cannot connect the report to a database because the specified server is invalid.

EResNotFound object Classes

Declaration
EResNotFound = class(Exception);
The EResNotFound exception is raised when the ReadComponentRes method cannot find
the name of the specified resource in the resource file.

Error property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Error: Longint;
Run-time and read only. The Error property specifies the MCI error code returned by
the most recent media control method (Back, Close, Eject, Next, Open, Pause, PauseOnly,
Play, Previous, StartRecording, Resume, Rewind, Step, or Stop).
The error codes returned by media control methods are the same error codes returned
by the mciSendCommand function, which is documented in MMSYSTEM.HLP. The
message describing the error code is stored in the ErrorMessage property.

258 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ErrorAddr variable

The value of Error is zero if the most recent media control method didn’t cause an error.
+
If a method results in an error, a value other than zero is stored in Error. If the error
occurs during the opening of the device, an EMCIDeviceError exception occurs.
+
Example
+
The following code opens, closes, then plays MediaPlayer1. If an error occurs, a message
window displays the error number.
+
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
E
MyErrorString: String;
begin
MediaPlayer1.Open;
MediaPlayer1.Close;
MediaPlayer1.Play;
MyErrorString := 'ErrorCode: ' + IntToStr(Error);
MessageDlg(MyErrorString, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;

ErrorAddr variable System

Declaration
var ErrorAddr: Pointer;
The ErrorAddr variable contains the address of the statement causing a run-time error.
If a program terminates normally or stops due to a call to Halt, ErrorAddr is nil.
If a program ends because of a run-time error, ErrorAddr contains the address of the
statement in error.

See also
ExitCode variable, ExitProc variable

ErrorMessage property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property ErrorMessage: String;
Run-time and read only. The ErrorMessage property specifies the error message that
describes the error code returned from the most recent media control method (Back,
Close, Eject, Next, Open, Pause, PauseOnly, Play, Previous, StartRecording, Resume, Rewind,
Step, or Stop). The error code described by the message is stored in the Error property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 259

ErrorProc typed constant

Example
The following code opens MediaPlayer1. If an exception occurs, a message window
displays the error number and string.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
MyErrorString: String;
begin
try
MediaPlayer1.Open;
except
MyErrorString := 'ErrorCode: ' + IntToStr(Error) + #13#10;
MessageDlg(MyErrorString + MediaPlayer1.ErrorMessage, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;

ErrorProc typed constant System

Declaration
const ErrorProc: Pointer = nil;
ErrorProc is a procedure variable pointing to the RTL run-time error handler. The
standard RTL ErrorProc reports the run-time error and terminates the program.
However, if you use SysUtils in your program, it will force ErrorProc to its own routine
and convert the run-time error into an exception.

ESingleStep object SysUtils

Declaration
ESingleStep = class(EProcessorException);
The ESingleStep exception is a hardware exception. It occurs when your application
generates a single-step interrupt. Usually Delphi’s integrated debugger handles single-
step exceptions.

EStackFault object SysUtils

Declaration
EStackFault = class(EFault);

Description
The EStackFault exception is a hardware fault exception. It occurs when an illegal
attempt to access the processor’s stack is made. Usually a stack fault represents a serious
failure in the operating environment.

260 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

EStreamError object

If you have stack checking turned on {$S+}, you are not likely to reach a point where a
+
stack fault occurs because each procedure or function call checks to be sure there is
enough stack space for local variables before it runs. If stack checking is off {$S-}, this
+
checking does not occur, and the stack fault exception could be raised. +
EStreamError object Classes
+
Declaration
E
EStreamError = class(Exception);
The EStreamError exception is raised when an error occurs when a stream is read with
the LoadFromStream method. It also is the parent of these two stream exceptions:

Exception Description
EFCreateError An error occurred while creating a file
EFOpenError An error occurred while opening a file

EStringListError object Classes

Declaration
EStringListError = class(Exception);
The EStringListError exception occurs when an error is made in a string list object. String
list error exceptions commonly occur when your application refers to an item in a list
that is out of the string list’s range.

EUnderflow object SysUtils

Declaration
EUnderflow = class(EMathError);
The EUnderflow exception is a floating-point math exception. It occurs when the result of
a calculation is too small to be represented in the size register allocated for it. For
example, a 16-bit precision result that has a significant digit only in the 16th bit would
underflow a register that was expecting only a Byte value.

EWriteError object Classes

Declaration
EWriteError = class(EFilerError);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 261

Exception object

The EWriteError exception is raised when the WriteBuffer method of a stream object is
unable to write the number of bytes specified in its Count parameter.

Exception object SysUtils

Declaration
Exception = class(TObject)
private
FMessage: PString;
FHelpContext: Longint;
function GetMessage: string;
procedure SetMessage(const Value: string);
public
constructor Create(const Msg: string);
constructor CreateFmt(const Msg: string; const Args: array of const);
constructor CreateRes(Ident: Word);
constructor CreateResFmt(Ident: Word; const Args: array of const);
constructor CreateHelp(const Msg: string; AHelpContext: Longint);
constructor CreateFmtHelp(const Msg: string; const Args: array of const;
AHelpContext: Longint);
constructor CreateResHelp(Ident: Word; AHelpContext: Longint);
constructor CreateResFmtHelp(Ident: Word; const Args: array of const;
AHelpContext: Longint);
destructor Destroy; override;
property HelpContext: Longint
property Message: string;
property MessagePtr: PString;
end;
The Exception object is the base class for all exceptions. Therefore, all exceptions inherit
the methods and properties declared within Exception.
The Message property is the message displayed when the exception occurs.
The CreateFmt method allows you to create a formatted message as the value of Message.
The Msg constant is the string you specify, and the Args constant is an array of format
specifiers used to format the message. CreateFmt uses the Format function to format the
message.
The CreateRes method obtains the string that becomes the value of the Message property
from a resource file. Specify the string as the value of the Ident parameter.
The CreateResFmt method obtains the string that becomes the value of the Message
property and formats it using the Format function.
The CreateHelp method creates an exception object with an help context ID number.
The CreateFmtHelp method allows you to create a formatted message as the value of
Message with a context-sensitive ID help number. The Msg constant is the string you
specify, and the Args constant is an array of format specifiers used to format the
message. The AHelpContext parameter is the context- sensitive help ID number.
CreateFmt uses the Format function to format the message.

262 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Exchange method

The CreateResHelp method obtains the string that becomes the value of the Message
+
property from a resource file. Specify the string as the value of the Ident parameter. The
AHelpContext parameter is for a context-sensitive ID number.
+
The CreateResFmtHelp method obtains the string that becomes the value of the Message +
property and formats it using the Format function. The AHelpContext parameter is for a
context-sensitive ID number. +
Exchange method
E
Applies to
TList, TStringList, TStrings objects

Declaration
procedure Exchange(Index1, Index2: Integer);
The Exchange method exchanges the position of two items in the list of a list object, or in
the list of strings of a string or string list object. The items are specified with their index
values in the Index1 and Index2 parameters. Because the indexes are zero-based, the first
item in the list has an index value of 0,the second item has an index value of 1, and so on.
If a string in a string or string list object has an associated object, Exchange changes the
position of both the string and the object.

Example
This example uses a list box that contains several strings as the value of the Items
property, and a button. When the user clicks the button, the second and third items in
the list box switch places in the list box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Exchange(1, 2);
end;

See also
Add method, AddStrings method, Delete method, IndexOf method, Insert method, Move
method

Exclude procedure System

Declaration
procedure Exclude(var S: set of T;I:T);
The Exclude procedure removes element I from set S.
S is a set type variable, and I is an expression of a type compatible with the base type
of S.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 263

Exclusive property

The construct Exclude (S, I) corresponds to S := S – (I) but the Exclude procedure
generates more efficient code.

264 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ExecProc method
+
ExecProc method +
Applies to
TStoredProc component +
Declaration +
procedure ExecProc; E
The ExecProc method executes the stored procedure on the server.

Example
{ Execute the stored procedure }
StoredProc1.ExecProc;

ExecSQL method
Applies to
TQuery component

Declaration
procedure ExecSQL;
Use the ExecSQL method to execute an SQL statement assigned to the SQL property of a
TQuery if the statement does not return a result set. If the SQL statement is an INSERT,
UPDATE, DELETE, or any DDL statement, then use this method.
If the SQL statement is a SELECT statement, use Open instead.

Example
Query1.Close;
Query1.SQL.Clear;
Query1.SQL.Add(‘Delete from Country where Name = ‘Argentina’);
Query1.ExecSQL;

Execute method
Applies to
TBatchMove, TColorDialog, TFindDialog, TFontDialog, TOpenDialog, TPrintDialog,
TPrinterSetupDialog, TReplaceDialog, TSaveDialog components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 265

Execute method

For Color, Font, Open, Save, Print, Find, and Replace dialog boxes
Declaration
function Execute: Boolean;
The Execute method displays the dialog box in the application and returns True when it
is displayed. This allows your code to determine whether the user has displayed and
used the dialog box by choosing its OK button.

Example
This example uses a main menu component, a memo, an Open dialog box, and a Save
dialog box on a form. To use it, you need to create a File menu that includes an Open
command. This code is an event handler for the OnClick event of the Open command on
the File menu. If the user has selected a file name by choosing the Open dialog box’s OK
button, the code sets the Save dialog box Filename property to the same file name, and
displays the selected file name as the caption of the form.
procedure TForm1.Open1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin
Memo1.Lines.LoadfromFile(OpenDialog1.FileName);
SaveDialog1.Filename := OpenDialog1.FileName;
Caption := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;
end;

For Printer Setup dialog boxes

Declaration
procedure Execute;
The Execute method displays the Printer Setup dialog box.

Example
This code displays the Printer Setup dialog box when the user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
PrinterSetupDialog1.Execute;
end;

For batch move components

Declaration
procedure Execute;

266 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ExecuteMacro method

The Execute method performs the batch move operation specified by Mode from the
+
Source table to the Destination table. +
Example +
BatchMove1.Execute;
+
ExecuteMacro method E
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
function ExecuteMacro(Cmd: PChar; WaitFlg: Boolean): Boolean;
The ExecuteMacro method attempts to send a macro command string to a DDE server
application. ExecuteMacro returns True if the macro was successfully passed to the DDE
server application. If ExecuteMacro was unable to send a command string, ExecuteMacro
returns False.
Cmd is a null-terminated string that contains the macro to be executed by the DDE
server application. The actual value of Cmd depends on the DDE server application. See
the documentation of the DDE server application for the command strings it will accept.
WaitFlg determines if your application should wait until the DDE server application
finishes executing the macro before allowing another successful call to ExecuteMacro or
the ExecuteMacroLines, PokeData, or PokeDataLines methods. If WaitFlg is set to True,
subsequent calls to these methods before the DDE server application completes the first
macro do not send data to the DDE server and return False. If WaitFlg is set to False,
subsequent calls to these methods before the DDE server application completes the first
macro do attempt to send data to the DDE server.
If you need to send a macro command string list rather than a single string, use the
ExecuteMacroLines method.
Note Depending on the DDE server, attempting to execute a macro or poke data before the
DDE server application completes the first macro might cause the first macro to execute
unsuccessfully or produce unpredictable results. See the documentation of the DDE
server application for the results of sending command strings or poking data before
macro execution has completed.

Example
The following code executes the macro that is specified by the Text of Edit1. The macro
sets WaitFlg to True to wait until the server has completed macro execution.
var
TheMacro: PChar;
begin
StrPCopy(TheMacro, Edit1.Text);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 267

ExecuteMacroLines method

DDEClientConv1.ExecuteMacro(TheMacro, True);
end;

268 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ExceptionClass typed constant
+
Example
This code displays the current name of the application’s .EXE file in a label control when
the user clicks the button:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Label1.Caption := Application.ExeName;
end;
For example, if the application name is C:\DELPHI\WORK\MYAPP.EXE, that entire
string appears in the label control.
E
See also
Title property

ExceptionClass typed constant System

Declaration
const ExceptionClass: TClass = nil;
ExceptionClass is a class reference variable that determines what exception classes will be
reported by the debugger. ExceptionClass is set to Exception by default, so only objects
descended from Exception and raised in the Raise statement will be reported by the
debugger during a debug session.

ExceptProc typed constant System

Declaration
const ExceptProc: Pointer = nil;
ExceptProc is a pointer that points to the lowest-level RTL exception handler. Unhandled
exceptions are handled by ExceptProc. You can hook into ExceptProc to change how
unhandled exceptions are reported, much like hooking into ExitProc.

Exit procedure System

Declaration
procedure Exit;
The Exit procedure immediately passes control away from the current block.
If the current block is the main program, Exit causes the program to terminate.
If the current block is nested, Exit causes the next outer block to continue with the
statement immediately after the statement that passed control to the nested block.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 269

ExitCode variable

If the current block is a procedure or function, Exit causes the calling block to continue
with the statement after the point which the block was called.

Example
uses WinCrt;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
repeat
if Keypressed then Exit;
Write('Xx');
until False;
end;

ExitCode variable System

Declaration
var ExitCode: Integer;
The ExitCode variable contains the application's exit code.
An exit procedure can learn the cause of termination by examining ExitCode.
If the program terminates normally, ExitCode is zero.
If the program terminates due to a call to Halt, ExitCode contains the value passed to
Halt.
If the program terminates due to a run-time error, ExitCode contains the error code.

See also
ErrorAddr variable, ExitProc variable

ExitProc variable System

Declaration
var ExitProc: Pointer;
The ExitProc pointer variable enables you to install an exit procedure. The exit
procedure always gets called as part of a program's termination.
An exit procedure takes no parameters and must be compiled with a far procedure
directive to force it to use the far call model.

270 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Exp function

When implemented properly, an exit procedure actually becomes part of a chain of exit
+
procedures. The procedures on the exit chain get executed in reverse order of
installation.
+
To keep the exit chain intact, you need to save the current contents of ExitProc before +
changing it to the address of your own exit procedure.
The first statement in your exit procedure must reinstall the saved value of ExitProc. +
See also E
ErrorAddr variable, ExitCode variable

Exp function System

Declaration
function Exp(X: Real): Real;

Return Value
The Exp function returns the exponential of X.
The return value is e raised to the power of X, where e is the base of the natural
logarithms.

Example
var
S: string;
begin
S := ‘e = ‘ + IntToStr(Exp(1.0));
TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 271

Expanded property

The Expand method increases the maximum size of the list maintained by a list object,
creating more space to add new list items and incrementing the value of the Capacity
property. If the value of the Capacity property is greater than 8, the Expand method
increases the capacity of the list by 16. If the value of Capacity is greater than 4, but less
than 9, then the capacity of the list increases by 8. Finally if the value of Capacity is less
than 4, then the capacity of the list grows by 4.
The returned value is the expanded list.

Example
The following code expands List1.
List1.Expand;

For outline nodes

Declaration
procedure Expand;
The Expand method expands an outline item by assigning True to its Expanded property.
When an outline item is expanded, its sub-items are displayed and the minus picture or
open picture might be displayed, depending on the outline style specified in the
OutlineStyle property of the TOutline component.

Example
The following code expands the first child of the first outline item, if it has children.
with Outline1.Items[1] do
if HasItems then
Outline1.Items[GetFirstChild].Expand;

See also
Collapse method, FullCollapse method, FullExpand method, PictureMinus property,
PictureOpen property

Expanded property
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
property Expanded: Boolean;

272 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ExpandFileName function

Run-time only. The Expanded property specifies whether the outline item is expanded or
+
not. When an outline item is expanded, its subitems are displayed and the minus picture
or open picture might be displayed, depending on the outline style specified in the
+
OutlineStyle property of the TOutline component. +
Expanded is True if the item is expanded, False if it isn’t expanded.
+
Example
The following code toggles the state of the selected outline item. E
with Outline1 do
Items[SelectedItem].Expanded := not Items[SelectedItem].Expanded;

See also
Collapse method, Expand method, FullCollapse method, FullExpand method, PictureMinus
property, PictureOpen property

ExpandFileName function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExpandFileName(const FileName: string): string;
The ExpandFileName function returns a string containing a fully qualified path name for
the file passed in the FileName. A fully qualified path name includes the drive letter and
any directory and subdirectories in addition to the file name and extension.

Example
The following code converts a file name into a fully-expanded file name:
MyFileName := ExpandFileName(MyFileName);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 273

ExtendedSelect property

ExtendedSelect property
Applies to
TListBox component

Declaration
property ExtendedSelect: Boolean;
The ExtendedSelect property determines if the user can select an range of items in the list
box. ExtendedSelect works in conjunction with the MultiSelect property. If MultiSelect is
False, the setting of ExtendedSelect has no effect as the user will not be able to select more
than one item at a time in the list box.
If MultiSelect is True and ExtendedSelect is True, the user can select an item then hold
down the Shift key and select another and all the items in between the two selected items
also become selected. If the user doesn’t hold down the Shift or Ctrl key while selecting a
second item, the first selected item becomes unselected—in other words, the user must
use the Ctrl key to select multiple noncontiguous items, or the Shift key to select a range of
items. If ExtendedSelect is False, the user can select multiple items without using the Shift
or Ctrl key, but they can’t select a range of items in one operation.

ExtractFileExt function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExtractFileExt(const FileName string): string;
The ExtractFileExt function takes a fully qualified FileName and returns a string
containing the three-character extension.

Example
The following code returns the extension from a file name:
MyFilesExtension := ExtractFileExt(MyFileName);

ExtractFileName function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExtractFileName(const FileName: string): string;

274 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ExtractFilePath function

The ExtractFileName function takes a fully or partially qualified path name in FileName
+
and returns a string containing only the file name part, including the name and
extension.
+
Example
+
The following code changes the caption of Form1 to read "Editing <FileName>". +
E
Form1.Caption := 'Editing '+ ExtractFileName(FileName);

See also
ExpandFileName function, ExtractFilePath function

ExtractFilePath function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExtractFilePath(const FileName: string): string;
The ExtractFilePath function takes a fully or partially qualified path name in FileName
and returns a string containing only the path part (drive letter and directories).

Example
The following code changes the current directory to the location of FileName.
ChDir(ExtractFilePath(FileName));

ExceptObject function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExceptObject: TObject;
The ExceptObject function returns a reference to the current exception object — that is,
the object associated with the currently raised exception. If there is no current exception,
ExceptObject returns nil. In most cases, you do not need to call ExceptObject explicitly;
instead, you can use the language construct
on E: ExceptionType do
This constructs maps the identifier E onto the object instance of the current exception
statement that follows if the current exception is of ExceptionType. However, if you
create a default exception handler by using an else in your exception block, the only
way to access the current exception object is by calling ExceptObject.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 275

ExceptAddr function

ExceptAddr function SysUtils

Declaration
function ExceptAddr: Pointer;
The ExceptAddr function returns the address at which the current exception was raised.
If there is no current exception, ExceptAddr returns nil.

EZeroDivide object SysUtils

Declaration
EZeroDivide = class(EMathError);

Description
The EZeroDivide exception is a floating-point math exception. It occurs when your
application attempts to divide a floating-point value by zero. For example, this code
raises a EZeroDivide exception:
var
X, Y: Double;
begin
X := 0.0;
Y := 10.11111;
Y := Y / X;
end;

Fail procedure System

Declaration
procedure Fail;
The Fail procedure called from within a constructor causes the constructor to deallocate
a dynamic object it has just allocated.
Fail should be called only if one of the constructor operations fails. However, a better
way to handle a failed constructor operation is to use exception handling; see the Help
system for more information.

276 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Field property
+
Field property +
Applies to
TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBMemo, +
TDBRadioGroup, TDBText components
+
Declaration
property Field: TField;
+
Read and run-time only. The Field property returns the TField object the data-aware
control is linked to. Use the Field object when you want to change the value of the data in
F
the field programmatically.

FieldByName method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
function FieldByName(const FieldName: string): TField;
The FieldByName method returns the TField with the name passed as the argument in
FieldName. Using FieldByName protects your application from a change in the order of
the fields in the dataset. If the field can not be found, FieldByName raises an exception. If
you are not certain whether a field with the requested name exists, use the FindField
method.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
{ This is the safe way to change ‘CustNo’ field }
FieldByName(‘CustNo’).AsString := ‘1234’;
{ This is *not* the safe way to change ‘CustNo’ field }
Fields[0].AsString := ‘1234’;
end;

FieldClass property
Applies to
TFieldDef object

Declaration
property FieldClass: TFieldClass;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 277

FieldCount property

Run-time and read only. Read FieldClass to determine the type of the TField component
that corresponds to this TFieldDef object.

FieldCount property
Applies to
TDBGrid, TDBLookupList, TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

Declaration
property FieldCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The FieldCount property specifies the number of fields
(columns) in a dataset. It may not be the same as the number of fields in the underlying
database table, since you can add calculated fields and remove fields with the Fields
Designer.
For the data grid and database lookup list box, the value of the FieldCount property is the
number of fields in the dataset displayed in the control.

Example
The following code displays the number of fields in DBGrid1 in a label.
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(DBGrid1.FieldCount);

See also
Fields property, SelectedField property

FieldDefs property
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
property FieldDefs: TFieldDefs;
Run-time only. The FieldDefs property holds information about each TFieldDef in the
dataset. You can use this property to determine which fields are in the dataset, their
name, type, and size.

See also
Fields property, TField component

278 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FieldName property
+
FieldName property +
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, +
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components +
Declaration +
property FieldName: string;
FieldName is the name of the physical column in the underlying dataset to which a TField
F
component is bound. FieldName is used as a default column heading by the data grid
when the DisplayLabel property is null. For calculated fields, supply a FieldName when
you define the field. For non-calculated fields, an exception occurs if a FieldName is not a
column name in the physical table.

For TFieldDef objects

Declaration
property FieldNo: Integer;
Run-time and read only. FieldNo is the physical field number used by the Borland
Database Engine to reference the field.

Example
{ Display the field name and number }
with FieldDef1 do
MessageDlg(Name + ' is field ’ + IntToStr(FieldNo), mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 279

Fields property

For fields
Declaration
property FieldNo: Integer;
Run-time and read only. FieldNo is the ordinal of the TField component in its dataset.
This property is available for programs that make direct calls to the Borland Database
Engine.

Fields property
Applies to
TIndexDef object; TDBGrid, TDBLookupList, TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

For grids, lookup lists, queries, stored procedures, and tables

Declaration
property Fields[Index: Integer]: TField;
Run-time and read only. The Fields property returns a specific field in the dataset.
Specify the field using the Index parameter, with the first field in the dataset having an
Index value of 0.

Example
The following code left justifies the first field in DBGrid1.
DBGrid1.Fields[0].Alignment := taLeftJustify;

See also
FieldCount property, FieldDefs property, SelectedField property, SelectedIndex property

For index definitions

Declaration
property Fields: string;
Run-time and read only. Fields is a string consisting of the names or numbers of the
fields comprising the index, separated by semicolons (“;”). When numbers are used,
they are the physical field numbers in the table; for example, 1..N.

280 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

File mode constants
+
File mode constants SysUtils
+
Declaration
fmClosed = $D7B0;
+
fmInput
fmOutput
=
=
$D7B1;
$D7B2;
+
fmInOut = $D7B3;
Use the file mode constants when opening and closing disk files. The Mode field of
+
TFileRec and TTextRec will contain one of these values.
F
File open mode constants SysUtils
Declaration
fmOpenRead = $0000;
fmOpenWrite = $0001;
fmOpenReadWrite = $0002;
fmShareCompat = $0000;
fmShareExclusive = $0010;
fmShareDenyWrite = $0020;
fmShareDenyRead = $0030;
fmShareDenyNone = $0040;
The file open mode constants are used to control the shareability of a file or stream when
you open it.
TFileStream.Create has a Mode parameter that you can set to one of these constants:

Constant Definition
fmOpenRead Open for read access only.
fmOpenWrite Open for write access only.
fmOpenReadWrite Open for read and write access.
fmShareCompat Compatible with the way FCBs are opened.
fmShareExclusive Read and write access is denied.
fmShareDenyWrite Write access is denied.
fmShareDenyRead Read access is denied.
fmShareDenyNone Allows full access for others.

FileAge function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileAge(const FileName: string): Longint;
The FileAge function returns the age of the file named by FileName as a Longint.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 281

FileClose procedure

FileClose procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure FileClose(Handle: Integer);
The FileClose procedure closes the specified file.
The FileClose routine exists to prevent a name conflict between the standard Close
procedure and the Close method of an object.

Example
The following code closes a file opened with FileOpen:
FileClose(MyFileHandle);

See also
FileCreate function, FileOpen procedure

FileCreate function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileCreate(const FileName: string): Integer;
FileCreate creates a new file by the specified name. If the return value is positive, the
function was successful, and the value is the file handle of the new file. If the return
value is negative, an error occurred, and the value is a negative DOS error code.

Example
The following example creates a new file and assigns it to the identifier MyFileHandle.
MyFileHandle := FileCreate('NEWFILE.TXT');

See also
FileClose procedure, FileOpen procedure

FileEdit property
Applies to
TFileListBox component

Declaration
property FileEdit: TEdit;
The FileEdit property provides a simple way to display a file selected in a file list box as
the text of an edit box, as is commonly done in Open and Save dialog boxes. If no file is

282 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FileEditStyle property

selected in the file list box, the text of the edit box is the current value of the file list box’s
+
Mask property. +
Specify the edit box you want the mask or selected file to appear in as the value of the
FileEdit property. +
Example +
This example uses a button, an edit box, a label, a drive combo box, a directory list box, a
file list box, and a filter combo box on a form. When the user clicks the button, the rest of
the controls of the form begin working together like the controls in an Open or Save
+
dialog box. F
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DriveComboBox1.DirList := DirectoryListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.DirLabel := Label1;
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
end;

See also
DirLabel property, DirList property, FileList property, Mask property, Text property

FileEditStyle property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property FileEditStyle: TFileEditStyle;
The FileEditStyle property determines if the Open or Save dialog box contains an edit
box or combo box control for the user to enter a file name. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
fsEdit Edit box to enter a file name.
fsComboBox Drop-down combo box to enter a file name. The combo box can be used to display a
list of file names.

The default value is fsEdit.

If the FileEditStyle is fsComboBox, you can specify which files names appear in the combo
box. Use the List property to enter a list of file names, either during design time with the
Object Inspector, or at run time.
Your application can also keep a history list for the combo box, a list of previous file
names the user has entered. To implement a history list, follow these suggested steps:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 283

FileExists function

1 Add a TStringList object to your application to keep the list of file names the user
enters.
2 Before your application calls the Execute method to display the Open or Save dialog
box, assign the TStringList object to the HistoryList property. For example,
var
MyHistoryList: TStringList;
begin
OpenDialog1.HistoryList := MyHistoryList;
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
...
3 Use the returned FileName property value to update your history list. For example:
MyHistoryList.Insert(0, OpenDialog1.FileName);

Example
This examples uses a Save dialog box, an edit box, and a button on a form. When the
user clicks the button, the Save dialog box appears with a combo box control to allow
the user to type a file name, select a file name from the list box, or drop down a list to
choose a file name from a history list. For this example, no history list exists. Once the
user selects a file name, the selected name appears in the edit box on the form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
SaveDialog1.FileEditStyle := fsComboBox;
SaveDialog1.Filter := 'Text Files(*.TXT) | *.TXT';
if SaveDialog1.Execute then
Edit1.Text := SaveDialog1.FileName;
end;

See also
HistoryList property, TFilterComboBox component

FileExists function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileExists(const FileName: string): Boolean;
The FileExists function returns True if the file specified by FileName exists. If the file does
not exist, FileExists returns False.

Example
The following code prompts you for confirmation before deleting a file:
if FileExists(FileName) then
MsgBox('Do you really want to delete ' + ExtractFileName(FileName)
+ '?'), []) = IDYes then FileDelete(FileName);

284 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FileDateToDateTime function
+
See also
FileSearch function +
FileDateToDateTime function SysUtils
+
Declaration
+
function FileDateToDateTime(FileDate: Longint): TDateTime; +
FileDateToDateTime converts a DOS date-and-time value to a TDateTime value. The
FileAge, FileGetDate, and FileSetDate routines operate on DOS date-and-time values, and
F
the Time field of a TSearchRec used by the FindFirst and FindNext functions contains a
DOS date-and-time value.

FileGetAttr function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileGetAttr(const FileName: string): Integer;
FileGetAttr returns the file attributes of the file given by FileName. The attributes can be
examined by AND-ing with the faXXXX constants. If the return value is negative, an
error occurred and the value is a negative DOS error code.

FileGetDate function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileGetDate(Handle: Integer): Longint;
The FileGetDate function returns the date when a file was created or last modified in
DOS internal format.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 285

FileList property

FileList property
Applies to
TDirectoryListBox, TFilterComboBox components

Declaration
property FileList: TFileListBox;
The FileList property is used for two different purposes, depending on the type of
control it is a property of.
For directory list boxes, FileList provides a simple way to connect a directory list box
with a file list box. Once the two controls are connected and new directory is selected as
the current directory using a directory list box, the file list box displays the files in the
current directory. Specify the file list box in which you want to display the files in the
directory selected in the directory list box as the value of the FileList property.
For filter combo boxes, FileList provides a simple way to connect a filter combo box with
a file list box. Once the two controls are connected and a new filter is selected using a
filter combo box, the file list box displays the files that match the selected filter. Specify
the file list box you want to display the files matching the selected filter as the value of
the FileList property.

Example
This example uses a button, an edit box, a label, a drive combo box, a directory list box, a
file list box, and a filter combo box on a form. When the user clicks the button, the rest of
the controls on the form begin working together like the controls in an open or save
dialog box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DriveComboBox1.DirList := DirectoryListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
DirectoryListBox1.DirLabel := Label1;
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1;
end;

See also
DirLabel property, Directory property, DirList property, FileEdit property, FileList
property, Filter property, Mask property

FileMode variable System

Declaration
var FileMode: Byte;

286 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FileName property

The FileMode variable determines the access code to pass to DOS when typed and
+
untyped files (not text files) are opened using the Reset procedure. +
The default FileMode is 2. Assigning another value to FileMode causes all subsequent
Resets to use that mode. +
The range of valid FileMode values depends on the version of DOS in use. For all
versions, these modes are defined: +
0 Read only +
1
2
Write only
Read/Write F
DOS version 3.x and later defines additional modes, which are primarily concerned
with file sharing on networks.

For Open and Save dialog boxes

Declaration
property FileName: TFileName;
The FileName property specifies the file name that appears in the File Name edit box
when the dialog box opens. The user can then select that file name or specify any other.
Once the user specifies a file name and chooses OK, the value of the FileName property
becomes the name of the file the user selected.
The path name can include a path. For example, to open the file README.TXT in the
directory C:\TEMP, set FileName to C:\TEMP\README.TXT.
The FileName property can be set to the name of a file that doesn’t exist in the current
directory. In an Open dialog box, you can use this capability to let the user open a new
file, and in a Save dialog box, the user can save a file that hasn’t been saved before.

Example
This example displays an Open dialog box and suggests the file name LIST.PAS to the
user. Once the user selects a file name, the code displays that name in a label on the
form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 287

FileName property

OpenDialog1.FileName := ’LIST.PAS’;
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Caption := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;

For media player components

Declaration
property FileName: string;
The FileName property specifies the media file to be opened by the Open method, or the
file to save by the Save method. At design time, you can use a file open dialog box to
specify the FileName property by clicking the ellipses button (...) in the Object Inspector.

Example
The following code determines what type of media device to open from the results of an
Open dialog box, then opens the file.
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin
MediaPlayer1.DeviceType := dtAutoSelect;
MediaPlayer1.FileName := OpenDialog1.FileName;
MediaPlayer1.Open;
end;

For the file list boxes

Declaration
property FileName: string;
Run-time only. The FileName property contains the name of the selected file in the list
box, including the path name.

Example
This example uses a file list box and a label on a form. When the user selects a file in the
file list box, the name of the file appears as the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.FileListBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := FileListBox1.FileName;
end;

288 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FilePos function
+
For TIniFile objects
+
Declaration +
property FileName: string;
Run-time and read only. The FileName property contains the name of the .INI file the
+
TIniFile object encapsulates.
+
FilePos function System F
Declaration
function FilePos(var F): Longint;
The FilePos function returns the current file position within a file.
To use FilePos the file must be open and it can’t be used on a text file.
F is a file variable.

Position Result
Beginning of file FilePos(F) = 0
Middle of file FilePos(F) = current file position
End of file Eof(F) = True

Example
var
f: file of Byte;
size : Longint;
S: string;
y: integer;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(f, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Reset(f);
size := FileSize(f);
S := 'File size in bytes: ' + IntToStr(size);
y := 10;
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
y := y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'Seeking halfway into file...';
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
y := y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 289

FileRead function

Seek(f,size div 2);

S := 'Position is now ' + IntToStr(FilePos(f));
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
CloseFile(f);
end;
end;

See also
FileSize function, Seek procedure

FileRead function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileRead(Handle: Integer; var Buffer; Count: Longint): Longint;
The FileRead function reads Count bytes from the Handle into the buffer. The function
result is the actual number of bytes read, which may be less than Count.

Example
The following code fills a buffer from a file.
ActualRead := FileRead(MyFileHandle, Buffer, SizeOf(Buffer));

See also
FileSeek function, FileWrite function

Files property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property Files: TStrings;
Run-time and read only. The Files property value contains a list of all the file names
selected in the Open or Save dialog box including the path names.
To let users select multiple file names in the dialog box, include ofAllowMultiSelect in the
Options property set (set ofAllowMultiSelect to True).
The entire list of names is returned as the value of the FileName property. If the list of
names is long, FileName contains only the first 127 characters.

290 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FileSearch function
+
Example
This example uses an Open dialog box, a list box, and a button on a form. When the user
clicks the button, the Open dialog box appears. When the user selects files in the dialog
+
box and chooses the OK button, the list of selected files appears in the list box. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Options := [ofAllowMultiSelect];
+
OpenDialog1.Filter := 'All files (*.*)|*.*';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
+
end;
ListBox1.Items := OpenDialog1.Files;
F
See also
Filter property, Options property

FileSearch function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileSearch(const Name, DirList: string): string;
The FileSearch function searches through the directories passed in DirList for a file
named Name. DirList should be in the same format as a DOS path: directory names
separated by semicolons. If FileSearch locates a file matching Name, it returns a string
containing a fully-qualified path name for that file. If no matching file exists, FileSearch
returns an empty string.

Example
The following code searches for FINDME.DLL in a series of directories:
FoundIt := FileSearch('FINDME.DLL', MyAppDir+’\';'+WinDir+';'+WinDir+'\SYSTEM');

FileSeek function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileSeek(Handle: Integer; Offset: Longint; Origin: Integer): Longint;
The FileSeek function positions the current file pointer within a previously opened file.
Handle contains the file handle. Offset specifies the number of bytes from Origin where
the file pointer should be positioned. Origin is a code with three possible values,

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 291

FileSetAttr function

denoting the beginning of the file, the end of the file, and the current position of the file
pointer.

Origin Action
0 The file pointer is positioned Offset bytes from the beginning of the file.
1 The file pointer is positioned Offset bytes from its current position.
2 The file pointer is positioned Offset bytes from the end of the file.

If FileSeek is successful, it returns the new position of the file pointer; otherwise, it
returns the Windows constant HFILE_ERROR.

Example
The following code positions the file pointer at the end of a file:
if FileSeek(MyFileHandle,0,2) = HFILE_ERROR then
HandleFileError
else
AppendStuff;

See also
FileRead function, FileWrite function

FileSetAttr function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileSetAttr(const FileName: string; Attr: Integer): Integer;
FileSetAttr sets the file attributes of the file given by FileName to the value given by Attr.
The attribute value is formed by OR-ing the appropriate faXXXX constants. The return
value is zero if the function was successful. Otherwise the return value is a negative
DOS error code.

FileSetDate procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure FileSetDate(Handle: Integer; Age: Longint);
FileSetDate sets the DOS date-and-time stamp of the file given by Handle to the value
given by Age. The DateTimeToFileDate function can be used to convert a TDateTime value
to a DOS date-and-time stamp.

292 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FileSize function
+
See also
FileGetDate function +
FileSize function System
+
Declaration
+
function FileSize(var F): Longint; +
The FileSize function returns the size in bytes of file F. However, if F is a record file
FileSize will return the number of records in the file.
F
To use FileSize the file must be open and it can’t be used on a text file.
F is a file variable.
If the file is empty, FileSize(F) returns 0.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 293

FileType property

FileType property
Applies to
TFileListBox component

Declaration
property FileType: TFileType;
The FileType property determines which files are displayed in the file list box based on
the attributes of the files. Because FileType is of type TFileType, which is a set of file
attributes, FileType can contain multiple values. For example, if the value of FileType is a
set containing the values ftReadOnly and ftHidden, only files that have the read-only and
hidden attributes are displayed in the list box. These are the values that can occur in the
FileType property:

Value Meaning
ftReadOnly When ftReadOnly is True, the list box can display files with the read-only attribute.
ftHidden When ftHidden is True, the list box can display files with the hidden attribute.
ftSystem When ftSystem is True, the list box can display files with the system attribute.
ftVolumeID When ftVolumeID is True, the list box can display the volume name.
ftDirectory When ftDirectory is True, the list box can display directories.
ftArchive When ftArchive is True, the list box can display files with archive attribute.
ftNormal When ftNormal is True, the list box can display files with no attributes.

If you use the Object Inspector to change the value of FileType, click the FileType
property to see the attribute values. Then you can set each value to True or False, which
builds the FileType set.

Example
This example uses a file list box on a form. When the application runs, only read-only
files, directories, volume IDs, and files with no attributes appear in the list box.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.FileType := [ftReadOnly, ftDirectory, ftVolumeID, ftNormal];
end;

FileWrite function SysUtils

Declaration
function FileWrite(Handle: Integer; const Buffer; Count: Longint): Longint;

294 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

This is an internal routine, and you will not need to use it.
FillChar procedure
+
The FileWrite function writes Count bytes from Buffer to the file indicated by Handle. The +
actual number of bytes written is returned. If the return value is not equal to Count, it is
usually because the disk is full. +
Example +
if FileWrite(MyFileHandle, Buffer, SizeOf(Buffer)) <> SizeOf(Buffer) then
ErrorMsg('Disk full while writing to file!'); +
See also F
FileRead function, FileSeek function

FillChar procedure System

Declaration
procedure FillChar(var X; Count: Word; value);
The FillChar procedure fills Count number of contiguous bytes with a specified value
(can be type Byte or Char).
This function does not perform any range checking.

Example
var
S: string[80];
begin
{ Set a string to all spaces }
FillChar(S, SizeOf(S), ' ');
S[0] := #80; { Set length byte }
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 295

Filter property

Example
This code creates a rectangle on the form’s canvas and colors it red by changing the
canvas Brush property to clRed.
procedure TForm1.ColorRectangleClick(Sender: TObject);
var
NewRect: TRect;
begin
NewRect := Rect(20, 30, 50, 90);
Form1.Canvas.Brush.Color := clRed;
Form1.Canvas.FillRect(NewRect);
end;

For Open and Save dialog boxes

Declaration
property Filter: string;
The Filter property determines the file masks available to the user for use in determining
which files display in the dialog box’s list box.
A file mask or file filter is a file name that usually includes wildcard characters (*.PAS,
for example). Only files that match the selected file filter are displayed in the dialog
box’s list box, and the selected file filter appears in the File Name edit box. To specify a
file filter, assign a filter string as the value of Filter. To create the string, follow these
steps:
1 Type some meaningful text that indicates the type of file.
2 Type a | character (this is the “pipe” or “or” character).
3 Type the file filter.
Don’t put in any spaces around the | character in the string.
Here’s an example:
OpenDialog1.Filter := ’Text files|*.TXT’
If you entered the preceding example as the Filter of an Open or Save dialog box, the
string “Text files” appears in the List Files of Type drop-down list box when the dialog
box appears in your application, the file filter appears in the File Name edit box, and
only .TXT files appear in the list box. You can specify multiple file filters so that a list of
filters appears in the List Files of Type drop-down list box or in the filter combo box.

296 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Filter property

This allows the user to select from a number of file filters and determine which files are
+
displayed in the list box. +
To specify multiple file filters,
1 Create a file filter string as previously shown.
+
2 Type another file filter in the same way, but separate the second file filter from the
first with the | character.
+
3 Continue adding as many file filters as you like, separating them with the | character. +
The string can be up to 255 characters.
Here’s an example of three file filters specified as the value of the Filter property:
F
’Text files (*.TXT)|*.TXT|Pascal files (*.PAS)|*.PAS|Quattro Pro files (*.WB1)|*.WB1’
Now when the dialog box appears, the user can choose from three file filters that appear
in the List Files of Type drop-down list box.
Note that the previous example includes the file filters in parentheses in the text parts.
This isn’t required, but it’s a common convention that helps users understand what to
expect when they select a file filter.
You can string multiple wildcard file filters together if you separate them with
semicolons:
OpenDialog1.Filter := ’All files|*.TXT;*.PAS;*.WB1’;

Example
This code sets the value of the Filter property, displays the dialog box, and assigns the
file name the user selects to a variable:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NameOfFile : TFileName;
begin
OpenDialog1.Filter := 'Text files (*.TXT)|*.TXT|Pascal files (*.PAS)' +
‘|*.PAS|Quattro Pro files (*.WB1)|*.WB1';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
NameOfFile := OpenDialog1.FileName;
...
end;

See also
FileName property, FilterIndex property

For filter combo boxes

Declaration
property Filter: string;
The Filter property determines the file masks displayed in the filter combo box.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 297

Filter property

A file mask or file filter is a file name that usually includes wildcard characters (*.PAS,
for example). When your application runs, the file filter the user selects in the filter
combo box becomes the value of the Mask property. To specify a file filter, assign a filter
string as the value of Filter. To create the string, follow these steps:
1 Type some meaningful text to indicate the type of file.
2 Type a | character (this is the “pipe” or “or” character).
3 Type the file filter.
Don’t put in any spaces around the | character in the string.
Here’s an example:
FilterComboBox1.Filter := ’Text files|*.TXT’;
If you entered this string, the string “Text files” appears in the filter combo box.
You can specify multiple file filters so that a list of filters appears in the filter combo box
from which the user can select. To specify multiple file filters,
1 Type a file filter as shown previously.
2 Type another file filter in the same way, but separate the second file filter from the
first with the | character.
3 Continue adding as many file filters as you like, separating them with the | character.
The string can be up to 255 characters.
Here’s an example of three file filters specified as the value of the Filter property:
’Text files (*.TXT)|*.TXT|Pascal files (*.PAS)|*.PAS|Quattro Pro files (*.WB1)|*.WB1’
Note that the previous example includes the file filters in parentheses in the text parts.
This isn’t required, but it’s a common convention that helps users understand what to
expect when they select a file filter.
You can string multiple wildcard file filters together if you separate them with
semicolons:
FilterComboBox1.Filter := ’All files|*.TXT;*.PAS;*.WB1’;

Examples
This example uses a filter combo box on a form. When the application runs, three filters
appear in the filter combo box:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FilterComboBox1.Filter := 'Text files (*.TXT)|*.TXT|Pascal files (*.PAS)' +
'|*.PAS|Quattro Pro files (*.WB1)|*.WB1';
end;
This example uses a filter combo box, a file list box, and an edit box on a form. The code
connects the three controls through the FileList and FileEdit properties. When the user
selects a filter in the filter combo box, the filter is applied to the files in the list box so the
list box displays only the files that match the filter. The filter in effect on the file list box
appears in the edit box. When the user selects a file in the file list box, the selected file
appears in the edit box.

298 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
FilterIndex property
+
begin
FilterComboBox1.Filter := 'All files (*.*)|*.*|Pascal files (*.pas)|' +
+
'*.PAS|DLLs (*.dll)|*.DLL';
FilterComboBox1.FileList := FileListBox1; +
FileListBox1.FileEdit := Edit1;
end; +
See also
FileList property, FileName property, Mask property
+
F
FilterIndex property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property FilterIndex: Integer;
The FilterIndex property determines which file filter specified in the Filter property
appears as the default file filter in the List Files of Type drop-down list box. For
example, if you set the FilterIndex value to 2, the second file filter listed in the Filter
property becomes the default filter when the dialog box appears. The default FilterIndex
value is 1. If you specify a value greater than the number of file filters in the Filter
property, the first filter is chosen.
The default value is 1.

Example
This code specifies three file filters as the value of the Filter property, sets the FilterIndex
to 2 so that the second file filter is the default file filter, and displays the Open dialog
box. Once the user selects a file with the dialog box and chooses OK, the file name the
user selected appears in a label on the form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Filter := 'Text files (*.TXT)|*.TXT|Pascal files (*.PAS)' +
‘|*.PAS|dBASE program files (*.PRG)|*.PRG';
OpenDialog1.FilterIndex := 2;
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Caption := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;

See also
Filter property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 299

Find method

Find method
Applies to
TFieldDefs, TStringList objects

For string list objects

Declaration
function Find(const S: string; var Index: Integer): Boolean;
The Find method searches for a specified string in the list of strings kept in a string list
object. If the string specified as the value of the S parameter is found, Find returns True
and the position of the string in the string list is stored as the value of the Index
parameter. Because the index is zero-based, the first string in the string list has an index
value of 0, the second string has an index value of 1, and so on.
Find returns False if the specified string is not found.

Example
This example uses a list box and a label on a form. When the application runs, a string
list object is created and three strings are added to it. The Find method searches the
strings to look for a match with the string ’Flowers’. If the string is found, all the strings
in the string list are added to the list box, and the index value of the ’Flowers’ string
appears in the caption of the label control.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
MyList: TStringList;
Index: Integer;
begin
MyList := TStringList.Create;
MyList.Add('Animals');
MyList.Add('Flowers');
MyList.Add('Cars');
if MyList.Find('Flowers', Index) then
begin
ListBox1.Items.AddStrings(MyList);
Label1.Caption := 'Flowers has an index value of ' + IntToStr(Index);
end;
MyList.Free;
end;

See also
Add method, Clear method, IndexOf method, Strings property

300 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FindClose procedure
+
For TFieldDefs objects
+
Declaration
function Find(const Name: string): TFieldDef;
+
The Find method returns a pointer to an entry in the Items property whose Name
property matches the Name parameter. Use this method to obtain information about a
+
particular TFieldDef object. +
Example F
{ Display the field name and number }
MessageDlg('CustNo is field ' + IntToStr(FieldDefs.Find('CustNo').FieldNo),
mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

FindClose procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure FindClose(var SearchRec: TSearchRec);
FindClose terminates a FindFirst/FindNext sequence. FindClose does nothing in the 16-bit
version of Windows, but is required in the 32-bit version, so for maximum portability
every FindFirst/FindNext sequence should end with a call to FindClose.

See also
FindFirst function, FindNext function

FindComponent method
Applies to
All components

Declaration
function FindComponent(const AName: string): TComponent;
The FindComponent method returns the component in the Components array property
with the name that matches the string in the AName parameter. FindComponent is not
case sensitive.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 301

FindDatabase method

Example
To set up this example, place several components on a form, including an edit box and a
button. When the user clicks the button, the code displays the value of the
ComponentIndex of the edit box in the edit box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
TheComponent: TComponent;
begin
TheComponent := FindComponent('Edit1');
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(TheComponent.ComponentIndex);
end;

See also
ComponentCount property, ComponentIndex property, Components property

FindDatabase method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
function FindDatabase(const DatabaseName: string): TDatabase;
The FindDatabase method attempts to find a TDatabase component in the Databases
collection with a DatabaseName property which matches the DatabaseName parameter. If
there is no such database, FindDatabase returns nil.

Example
MyDatabase := Session.FindDatabase(‘MYDB’);

See also
Session variable

FindField method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
function FindField(const FieldName: string): TField;
The FindField method returns the field with the name passed in FieldName. While calling
FindField is slightly slower than a direct reference to the Fields property, using FindField

302 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FindFirst function

protects your application from a change in the order of the fields in the component. If
+
the field can not be found, FindField returns nil. +
Example +
with Table1 do
begin
{ This is the safe way to change ‘CustNo’ field }
+
FindField(‘CustNo’).AsString := ‘1234’;
{ This is *not* the safe way to change ‘CustNo’ field }
+
Fields[0].AsString := ‘1234’;
end; F
See also
FieldByName method

FindFirst function SysUtils

Declaration
function FindFirst(const Path: string; Attr: Word; var F: TSearchRec): Integer;
The FindFirst function searches the specified directory for the first entry matching the
specified file name and set of attributes.
The Path constant parameter is the directory and file name mask, including wildcard
characters. For example, 'c:\test\*.*' specifies all files in the C:\TEST directory).
The Attr parameter specifies the special files to include in addition to all normal files.
Choose from these file attribute constants when specifying the Attr parameter:

Constant Value Description

faReadOnly $01 Read-only files
faHidden $02 Hidden files
faSysFile $04 System files
faVolumeID $08 Volume ID files
faDirectory $10 Directory files
faArchive $20 Archive files
faAnyFile $3F Any file

You can combine attributes by adding their constants or values. For example, to search
for read-only and hidden files in addition to normal files, pass (faReadOnly + faHidden)
the Attr parameter.
FindFirst returns the results of the directory search in the search record you specify in
the F parameter. You can then use the fields of the search record to extract the
information you want.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 303

FindIndexForFields method

The return value is zero if the function was successful. Otherwise the return value is a
negative DOS error code; a value of -18 indicates that there are no more files matching
the search criteria.

Example
This example uses a label and a button named Search on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the first file in the specified path is found and the name and number of bytes
in the file appear in the label's caption:
var
SearchRec: TSearchRec;
procedure TForm1.SearchClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindFirst('c:\delphi\bin\*.*', faAnyFile, SearchRec);
Label1.Caption := SearchRec.Name + ' is ' + IntToStr(SearchRec.Size) +
' bytes in size';
end;

304 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FindKey method

The FindItem method returns the menu item owned by the menu that has either a menu
+
handle, menu command, or menu shortcut matching the value of the Value parameter.
The Kind parameter can be any of these values:
+
Value Meaning
+
fkCommand
fkHandle
Menu command number used by Windows WM_COMMAND message
Menu handle
+
fkShortCut Menu shortcut +
Example
This example uses a label, a button, and a main menu component. The menu is a File
F
menu that contains Open, Save, and Close commands. Delphi automatically names the
menu items that are the commands, Open1, Save1, and Close1. The Open1 menu item has
a ShortCut value of F3. The code locates the menu item that has the specified shortcut
and reports the name of the menu item in the caption of the label. Note that the shortcut
is specified as a virtual key code. You can find a list of virtual key codes in the Help
system. Search for the Virtual Key Codes topic.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ItemName: TMenuItem;
begin
ItemName := MainMenu1.FindItem(VK_F3, fkShortCut);
Label1.Caption := ItemName.Name;
end;

See also
Command property, ShortCut property, TMenuItem component

FindKey method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
function FindKey(const KeyValues: array of const): Boolean;
The FindKey method searches the database table to find a record whose index fields match
those passed in KeyValues. FindKey takes a comma-delimited array of values as its
argument, where each value corresponds to a index column in the underlying table. The
values can be literals, variables, null, or nil. If the number of values supplied is less than
the number of columns in the database table, then the remaining values are assumed to
be null. FindKey will search for values specified in the array in the current index.
FindKey does the following:
• Puts the TTable in SetKey state.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 305

FindNearest method

• Finds the record in the table that matches the specified values. If a matching record is
found, it moves the cursor there, and returns True.
• If a matching record is not found, it does not move the cursor, and returns False.

Example
{ Search for CustNo = ‘1234’ }
if Table1.FindKey([‘1234’]) then
ShowMessage(‘Customer Found’);

See also
FindNearest method, GotoKey method

FindNearest method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure FindNearest(const KeyValues: array of const);
The FindNearest method moves the cursor to the first record whose index fields’ values
are greater than or equal to those passed in KeyValues. The search begins at the first
record, not at the current cursor position. This method can be used to match columns of
string data type only. If you do not supply values for each field in the index key, any
unassigned fields will use a null value.
FindNearest works by default on the primary index column. To search the table for
values in other indexes, you must specify the field name in the table’s IndexFieldNames
property or the name of the index in the IndexName property.
The KeyExclusive property indicates whether a search will position the cursor on or after
the specified record being searched for.
Note With Paradox or dBASE tables, FindNearest works only with indexed fields. With SQL
databases, it can work with any columns specified in the IndexFieldNames property.

Example
{ Search for CustNo >= ‘1234’ }
Table1.FindNearest([‘1234’]);

See also
FindKey method, GotoKey method, GotoNearest method, TField component

306 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FindNext function
+
FindNext function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function FindNext(var F: TSearchRec): Integer;
+
The FindNext function returns the next entry that matches the name and attributes +
specified in the previous call to the FindFirst function.
The search record must be the same one you passed to the FindFirst function. +
The return value is zero if the function was successful. Otherwise the return value is a
negative DOS error code; a value of -18 indicates that there are no more files matching
F
the search criteria.

Example
This example uses a label, a button named Search, and a button named Again on a form.
When the user clicks the Search button, the first file in the specified path is found, and
the name and the number of bytes in the file appear in the label's caption. Each time the
user clicks the Again button, the next matching file name and size is displayed in the
label:
var
SearchRec: TSearchRec;
procedure TForm1.SearchClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindFirst('c:\delphi\bin\*.*', faAnyFile, SearchRec);
Label1.Caption := SearchRec.Name + ' is ' + IntToStr(SearchRec.Size) +
' bytes in size';
end;
procedure TForm1.AgainClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
FindNext(SearchRec);
Label1.Caption := SearchRec.Name + ' is ' + IntToStr(SearchRec.Size) +
' bytes in size';
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 307

First method

The FindText property contains the string your application can search for if it uses the
Find dialog box.
You can specify a FindText value before the user displays the Find dialog box so that
when it appears, the FindText value appears in the Find What edit box. The user can
then either accept or change the FindText value before choosing the Find Next button in
the dialog box.

Example
The following OnFind event handler searches a memo component for the text specified
in the FindText property of a find dialog component. If found, the first occurrence of the
text in Memo1 is selected. The code uses the Pos function to compare strings, and stores
the number of characters to skip when determining the selection position in the
SkipChars variable. Because there is no handling of case, whole word, or search direction
in this algorithm, it is assumed that the Options property of FindDialog1 was set to
[frHideMatchCase, frHideWholeWord, frHideUpDown].
procedure TForm1.FindDialog1Find(Sender: TObject);
var
I, J, PosReturn, SkipChars: Integer;
begin
For I := 0 to Memo1.Lines.Count do
begin
PosReturn := Pos(FindDialog1.FindText,Memo1.Lines[I]);
if PosReturn <> 0 then {found!}
begin
Skipchars := 0;
for J := 0 to I - 1 do
Skipchars := Skipchars + Length(Memo1.Lines[J]);
SkipChars := SkipChars + (I*2);
SkipChars := SkipChars + PosReturn - 1;
Memo1.SetFocus;
Memo1.SelStart := SkipChars;
Memo1.SelLength := Length(FindDialog1.FindText);
end;
end;
end;

308 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FirstIndex property
+
For list objects
+
Declaration
function First: Pointer;
+
The First method returns a pointer that points to the first item referenced in the List
property, which is indexed by Items[0].
+
Example
+
The following code assumes that the items in MyList are objects that have a text field
named Desc. If the Desc of the first item in the list is ’Blue’, the following code changes it
F
to ’Green’.
if MyList.First.Desc = ’Blue’ then MyList.First.Desc := ’Green’;

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
procedure First;
The First method moves the cursor to the first record in the active range of records of the
dataset. The active range of records is affected by the filter established with ApplyRange.
If the dataset is in Edit or Insert state, First will perform an implicit Post of any pending
data.

See also
Last method, MoveBy method, Next method, Prior method, SetRange method,
SetRangeStart method

FirstIndex property
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property FirstIndex: Integer;
Run-time only. The value of the FirstIndex property is the tab that appears in the leftmost
visible position in the tab set control. Any tabs with a lower value in the FirstIndex
property scroll to the left in the tab set control and don’t appear until the user scrolls the
tabs.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 309

FixedColor property

The default value of FirstIndex is 0 indicating that the tab with an index of 0 is in the
leftmost position. For example, if you have three tabs labeled First, Second, and Third
with TabIndex values of 0, 1, and 2, respectively, First appears first, by default, because it
has an index value of 0. If you want to shift the tabs so the Second or Third tab appears
leftmost in the tab set control, change the FirstIndex value to 1 or 2.

Example
This example uses a tab set control, a label, and a button on a form.
This code in an event handler creates 20 tabs labeled Tab 1 through Tab 20 when Form1
is created:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to 19 do
TabSet11.Tabs.Add('Tab ' + IntToStr(I));
end;
Users can scroll through the tabs. When they click the button, the caption of the first tab
visible in the tab set control is displayed in the label control.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(TabSet11.FirstIndex);
end;

See also
TabIndex property, Tabs property

FixedColor property
Applies to
TDBGrid, TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property FixedColor: TColor;
The value of the FixedColor property determines the color of nonscrolling or fixed
columns and rows within the grid. Refer to the Color property for a list of the possible
values for FixedColor.
The default color is clBtnFace, the color of the face of a button.

Example
This example uses a draw grid and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the color of the nonscrolling (fixed) rows and columns of the draw grid changes color.

310 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
FixedCols property
+
begin
if DrawGrid1.FixedColor = clBlue then
+
DrawGrid1.FixedColor := clLime
else +
end;
DrawGrid1.FixedColor := clMaroon;
+
See also
Color property, FixedCols property, FixedRows property
+
F
FixedCols property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property FixedCols: Integer;
The FixedCols property determines the number of nonscrolling columns within a grid.
The default value is 1. Nonscrolling columns remain fixed at the far left of the grid, even
when the user scrolls the other columns. Nonscrolling columns are useful for displaying
row titles that need to remain visible in the grid at all times.
Each grid must have a least one column that isn’t fixed. In other words, the value of the
FixedCols property must always be at least one less than the value of the ColCount
property, which contains the number of columns in the grid.

Example
This example uses a string grid and a button. When the user clicks the button, a message
dialog box appears informing the user that a fixed column number of 2 is
recommended. The dialog box also offers the user an opportunity to accept the
recommended number if the number of fixed columns isn’t already 2. If the user
chooses Yes, the number of fixed columns changes to 2.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Check: Integer;
begin
if StringGrid1.FixedCols <> 2 then
begin
Check := MessageDlg('2 fixed columns are recommended! Change?',
mtWarning, mbYesNoCancel, 0);
if Check = IdYes then
StringGrid1.FixedCols := 2;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 311

FixedRows property

See also
FixedColor property, FixedRows property, LeftCol property

FixedRows property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property FixedRows: Integer;
The FixedRows property determines the number of nonscrolling rows within a grid. The
default value is 1. Nonscrolling rows remain fixed at top of the grid, even when the user
scrolls the other rows. Nonscrolling rows are useful for displaying column titles that
need to remain visible in the grid at all times.
Each grid must have a least one row that isn’t fixed. In other words, the value of the
FixedRows property must always be at least one less than the value of the RowCount
property, which contains the number of rows in the grid.

Example
This example uses a string grid and three radio buttons on a form. With the Object
Inspector, specify the following event handler for all OnClick events of the three radio
buttons. As the user selects different radio buttons, the number of fixed rows in the
string grid changes.
procedure TForm1.RadioButton1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if RadioButton1.Checked then
StringGrid1.FixedRows := 1
else if RadioButton2.Checked then
StringGrid1.FixedRows := 2
else if RadioButton3.Checked then
StringGrid1.FixedRows := 3;
end;

See also
FixedColor property, FixedCols property, TopRow property

FloatToDecimal procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure FloatToDecimal(var Result: TFloatRec; Value: Extended; Precision, Decimals:
Integer);
FloatToDecimal converts a floating-point value to a decimal representation that is suited
for further formatting.

312 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FloatToStr function

The Precision parameter specifies the requested number of significant digits in the
+
result—the allowed range is 1..18. +
The Decimals parameter specifies the requested maximum number of digits to the left of
the decimal point in the result. +
Precision and Decimals together control how the result is rounded. To produce a result
that always has a given number of significant digits regardless of the magnitude of the +
number, specify 9999 for the Decimals parameter.
The result of the conversion is stored in the specified TFloatRec record as follows:
+
Field Value
F
Exponent Contains the magnitude of the number, i.e. the number of significant digits to the right of
the decimal point. The Exponent field is negative if the absolute value of the number is
less than one. If the number is a NAN (not-a-number), Exponent is set to -32768. If the
number is INF or -INF (positive or negative infinity), Exponent is set to 32767.
Negative True if the number is negative, False if the number is zero or positive.
Digits Contains up to 18 significant digits followed by a null terminator. The implied decimal
point (if any) is not stored in Digits. Trailing zeros are removed, and if the resulting
number is zero, NAN, or INF, Digits contains nothing but the null terminator.

FloatToStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function FloatToStr(Value: Extended): string;
FloatToStr converts the floating-point value given by Value to its string representation.
The conversion uses general number format with 15 significant digits.
For further details, see the description of the FloatToStrF function.

FloatToStrF function SysUtils

Declaration
function FloatToStrF(Value: Extended; Format: TFloatFormat; Precision,
Digits: Integer): string;
FloatToStrF converts the floating-point value given by Value to its string representation.
The Format parameter controls the format of the resulting string.
The Precision parameter specifies the precision of the given value. It should be 7 or less
for values of type Single, 15 or less for values of type Double, and 18 or less for values of
type Extended.
The meaning of the Digits parameter depends on the particular format selected.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 313

FloatToText function

The possible values of the Format parameter, and the meaning of each, are described
below.

Value Meaning
ffGeneral General number format. The value is converted to the shortest possible decimal string
using fixed or scientific format. Trailing zeros are removed from the resulting string, and a
decimal point appears only if necessary. The resulting string uses fixed point format if the
number of digits to the left of the decimal point in the value is less than or equal to the
specified precision, and if the value is greater than or equal to 0.00001. Otherwise the
resulting string uses scientific format, and the Digits parameter specifies the minimum
number of digits in the exponent (between 0 and 4).
ffExponent Scientific format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-d.ddd...E+dddd". The
resulting string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative, and one digit always
precedes the decimal point. The total number of digits in the resulting string (including
the one before the decimal point) is given by the Precision parameter. The "E" exponent
character in the resulting string is always followed by a plus or minus sign and up to four
digits. The Digits parameter specifies the minimum number of digits in the exponent
(between 0 and 4).
ffFixed Fixed point format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-ddd.ddd...". The
resulting string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative, and at least one digit
always precedes the decimal point. The number of digits after the decimal point is given
by the Digits parameter—it must be between 0 and 18. If the number of digits to the left of
the decimal point is greater than the specified precision, the resulting value will use
scientific format.
ffNumber Number format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-d,ddd,ddd.ddd...". The
ffNumber format corresponds to the ffFixed format, except that the resulting string contains
thousand separators taken from WIN.INI.
ffCurrency Currency format. The value is converted to a string that represents a currency amount.
The conversion is controlled by the CurrencyString, CurrencyFormat, NegCurrFormat,
ThousandSeparator, and DecimalSeparator global variables, all of which are initialized from
the Currency Format in the International section of the Windows Control Panel and
WIN.INI. The number of digits after the decimal point is given by the Digits parameter—it
must be between 0 and 18.

For all formats, the actual characters used as decimal and thousand separators are
obtained from the DecimalSeparator and ThousandSeparator global variables.
If the given value is a NAN (not-a-number), the resulting string is 'NAN'. If the given
value is positive infinity, the resulting string is 'INF'. If the given value is negative
infinity, the resulting string is '-INF'.

FloatToText function SysUtils

Declaration
function FloatToText(Buffer: PChar; Value: Extended; Format: TFloatFormat;
Precision, Digits: Integer): Integer;
FloatToText converts the given floating-point value to its decimal representation using
the specified format, precision, and digits. The resulting string of characters is stored in
the given buffer, and the returned value is the number of characters stored. The
resulting string is not null-terminated.
For further details, see the description of the FloatToStrF function.

314 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FloatToTextFmt function
+
FloatToTextFmt function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function FloatToTextFmt(Buffer: PChar; Value: Extended; Format: PChar): Integer;
+
FloatToTextFmt converts the given floating-point value to its decimal representation +
using the specified format. The resulting string of characters is stored in the given
buffer, and the returned value is the number of characters stored. The resulting string is
not null-terminated.
+
For further details, see the description of the FormatFloat function. F
FloodFill method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure FloodFill(X, Y: Integer; Color: TColor; FillStyle: TFillStyle);
The FloodFill method fills an area of the screen surface using the current brush specified
by the Brush property. The FloodFill method begins at the point at coordinates (X, Y) and
continues in all directions to the color boundary.
The way in which the area is filled is determined by the FillStyle parameter. If FillStyle is
fsBorder, the area fills until a border of the color specified by the Color parameter is
encountered. If FillStyle is fsSurface, the area fills as long as the color specified by the
Color parameter is encountered. fsSurface fills are useful to fill an area with a
multicolored border.

Example
The following code floodfills from the center point of Form1’s client area until the color
black is encountered.
Form1.Canvas.FloodFill(ClientWidth/2, ClientHeight/2, clBlack, fsBorder);

See also
Ellipse method, FillRect method, Polygon method, Rectangle method

Flush procedure System

Declaration
procedure Flush(var F: Text);
The Flush procedure clears the buffer of a text file open for output.

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FmtLoadStr function

F is a text file variable.

When a text file is opened for output using Rewrite or Append, Flush empties the file’s
buffer. This guarantees that all characters written to the file at that time have actually
been written to the external file. Flush has no effect on files opened for input.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
f: TextFile;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin { open a text file }
AssignFile(f, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Append(f);
Writeln(f, 'I am appending some stuff to the end of the file.');
Flush(f); { ensures that the text was actually written to file }
CloseFile(f);
end;
end;

FmtLoadStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function FmtLoadStr(Ident: Word; const Args: array of const): string;
FmtLoadStr loads a string from a program's resource string table and uses that string,
plus the Args array, as a parameter to Format. Ident is the string resource ID of the
desired format string. Result is the output of Format.

FmtStr procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure FmtStr(var Result: string; const Format: string; const Args: array of const);
This function formats the series of arguments in the open array Args. Formatting is
controlled by the Pascal format string Format; the results are returned in the parameter
Result.
For information on the format strings, see Format Strings.

316 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FocusControl method
+
See also
FormatBu f function, StrFmt function, StrLFmt function +
FocusControl method
+
Applies to
+
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
+
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components F
Declaration
function FocusControl;
Sets a form’s focus to the first data-aware component associated with a TField. Use this
method when doing record-oriented validation (for example, in the BeforePost event)
since a field may be validated whether its associated data-aware components have
focus.

Example
{ Set focus to first data-aware component associated with Field1 }
Field1.FocusControl;

FocusControl property
Applies to
TLabel component

Declaration
property FocusControl: TWinControl;
The FocusControl links the label control with another control on the form. If the Caption
of a label includes an accelerator key, the control specified as the value of the
FocusControl property becomes the focused control when the user uses the accelerator
key.
The caption of a label often identifies the purpose of another control on the form, or
directs the user to interact with it. For example, a label placed right above an edit box
might have the caption ’File Name’, indicating the user should type a file name in the
edit box. In this case, making that edit box the value of the label’s FocusControl property
gives the edit box the focus when the user presses Alt+F.

Example
This code displays a line of text in a label on the form and associates the label with an
edit box control. Note that the label caption includes an accelerator key. When the user
presses Alt+N, the edit box control receives the focus:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 317

Focused method

Label1.Caption := ‘&Name';
Label1.FocusControl := Edit1;
For this example, you need to place the label and edit box control close together to make
sure that users understand that they should enter text in the edit box.

See also
ShowAccelChar property, TabStop property

Focused method
Applies to
All windowed controls

Declaration
function Focused: Boolean;
The Focused method is used to determine whether a windowed control has the focus and
is therefore is the ActiveControl.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a memo on a form. When the user switches the focus
between the two controls, the control that currently has the focus becomes red:
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Edit1: TEdit;
Memo1: TMemo;
Button1: TButton;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Private declarations }
public
procedure ColorControl(Sender: TObject);
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.ColorControl(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Edit1.Focused then
Edit1.Color := clRed
else
Edit1.Color := clWindow;
if Memo1.Focused then
Memo1.Color := clRed

318 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

else
Font property
+
Memo1.Color := clWindow; +
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Screen.OnActiveControlChange := ColorControl;
end;
+
See also
ActiveControl property, OnActiveControlChange event, SetFocus method
+
F
Font property
Applies to
TCanvas object; TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox,
TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList,
TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup, TDBText, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox,
TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TFontDialog, TForm, TGroupBox, THeader, TLabel,
TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton,
TScrollBox, TSpeedButton, TStringGrid, TTabbedNotebook, TTabSet components

Declaration
property Font: TFont;
The Font property is a font object that controls the attributes of text written on or in the
component or object or sent to the printer. To modify a font, you change the value of the
Color, Name, Size, or Style properties of the font object.

Example
This code changes color of text in a memo control to dark blue:
Memo1.Font.Color := clNavy;

For Font dialog boxes

Declaration
property Font: TFont;
The Font property is the font the Font dialog box returns when the user uses the Font
dialog box. Your application can then use this returned Font value for further
processing.
You can also specify a default font before displaying the Font dialog box; the font name
then appears selected in the Font combo box. Use the Object Inspector to specify a Font

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 319

Fonts property

property, or assign a value to Font before using the Execute method to display the dialog
box.

Example
This example uses a button, a Font dialog box, and a label on a form. When the user
clicks the button, the Font dialog box appears. If the user uses the dialog box to change
the font and chooses OK, the caption of the label changes to reflect the user’s font
selection.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FontDialog1.Font.Name := 'System';
FontDialog1.Font.Size := 10;
if FontDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Font := FontDialog1.Font;
end;

See also
Color property, Name property, Size property

Fonts property
Applies to
TPrinter object; TScreen component

Declaration
property Fonts: TStrings;
Run-time and read only. The Fonts property for the screen component returns a list of
fonts supported by the screen.
The Fonts property for a printer object holds a list of fonts supported by the printer. The
list contains TrueType fonts even if the printer doesn’t support them natively because
the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) can draw TrueType fonts accurately
when a print job uses them.

Example
This code displays the fonts supported by the screen in a FontList list box when the user
clicks the ListFonts button:
procedure TForm1.ListFontsClick(Sender: TObject);
var
FontIndex: Integer;
begin
FontList.Clear;
FontList.Sorted := True;
FontList.Items := Screen.Fonts;
end;

320 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ForceDirectories procedure
+
See also
Canvas property, Screen variable, Printer variable +
ForceDirectories procedure FileCtrl
+
Declaration
+
procedure ForceDirectories(Dir: string); +
Whenever you create directories using DOS and Windows, you must create one at a
time. For example, if you want to create the C:\APPS\SALES\LOCAL directory, the
F
APPS and SALES directories must exist before you can create the LOCAL directory.
The ForceDirectories can create all the directories specified along a directory path all at
once if they don’t exist. If the first directories in the path do exist, but the latter ones
don’t, ForceDirectories creates just the ones that don’t exist.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, all the
directories along the specified path that don’t exist are created. The results are reported
in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Dir: string;
begin
Dir := 'C:\APPS\SALES\LOCAL';
ForceDirectories(Dir);
if DirectoryExists(Dir) then
Label1.Caption := Dir + ' was created'
end;

See also
DirectoryExists function, SelectDirectory function

Format function SysUtils

Declaration
function Format(const Format: string; const Args: array of const): string;
This function formats the series of arguments in the open array Args. Formatting is
controlled by the Object Pascal format string Format; the results are returned in the
function result as a Pascal string.
For information on the format strings, see Format Strings.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 321

Format strings

Format strings
Format strings passed to the string formatting routines contain two types of objects—
plain characters and format specifiers. Plain characters are copied verbatim to the
resulting string. Format specifiers fetch arguments from the argument list and apply
formatting to them.
Format specifiers have the following form:
"%" [index ":"] ["-"] [width] ["." prec] type
A format specifier begins with a % character. After the % come the following, in this
order:
• An optional argument index specifier, [index ":"]
• An optional left justification indicator, ["-"]
• An optional width specifier, [width]
• An optional precision specifier, ["." prec]
• The conversion type character, type
The following table summarizes the possible values for type:

Value What it specifies

d Decimal. The argument must be an integer value. The value is converted to a string of
decimal digits. If the format string contains a precision specifier, it indicates that the
resulting string must contain at least the specified number of digits; if the value has less
digits, the resulting string is left-padded with zeros.
e Scientific. The argument must be a floating-point value. The value is converted to a string
of the form "-d.ddd...E+ddd". The resulting string starts with a minus sign if the number is
negative. One digit always precedes the decimal point.
The total number of digits in the resulting string (including the one before the decimal
point) is given by the precision specifer in the format string—a default precision of 15 is
assumed if no precision specifer is present. The "E" exponent character in the resulting
string is always followed by a plus or minus sign and at least three digits.
f Fixed. The argument must be a floating-point value. The value is converted to a string of
the form "-ddd.ddd...". The resulting string starts with a minus sign if the number is
negative.
The number of digits after the decimal point is given by the precision specifier in the format
string—a default of 2 decimal digits is assumed if no precision specifier is present.
g General. The argument must be a floating-point value. The value is converted to the
shortest possible decimal string using fixed or scientific format. The number of significant
digits in the resulting string is given by the precision specifier in the format string—a
default precision of 15 is assumed if no precision specifier is present.
Trailing zeros are removed from the resulting string, and a decimal point appears only if
necessary. The resulting string uses fixed point format if the number of digits to the left of
the decimal point in the value is less than or equal to the specified precision, and if the
value is greater than or equal to 0.00001. Otherwise the resulting string uses scientific
format.
n Number. The argument must be a floating-point value. The value is converted to a string of
the form "-d,ddd,ddd.ddd...". The "n" format corresponds to the "f" format, except that the
resulting string contains thousand separators.

322 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Format strings
+
Value
m
What it specifies
Money. The argument must be a floating-point value. The value is converted to a string
+
that represents a currency amount. The conversion is controlled by the CurrencyString,
CurrencyFormat, NegCurrFormat, ThousandSeparator, DecimalSeparator, and CurrencyDecimals
global variables, all of which are initialized from the Currency Format in the International
+
p
section of the Windows Control Panel. If the format string contains a precision specifier, it
overrides the value given by the CurrencyDecimals global variable.
Pointer. The argument must be a pointer value. The value is converted to a string of the
+
form "XXXX:YYYY" where XXXX and YYYY are the segment and offset parts of the pointer
expressed as four hexadecimal digits. +
s String. The argument must be a character, a string, or a PChar value. The string or character
is inserted in place of the format specifier. The precision specifier, if present in the format
string, specifies the maximum length of the resulting string. If the argument is a string that
F
is longer than this maximum, the string is truncated.
x Hexadecimal. The argument must be an integer value. The value is converted to a string of
hexadecimal digits. If the format string contains a precision specifier, it indicates that the
resulting string must contain at least the specified number of digits; if the value has fewer
digits, the resulting string is left-padded with zeros.

Conversion characters may be specified in upper case as well as in lower case—both

produce the same results.
For all floating-point formats, the actual characters used as decimal and thousand
separators are obtained from the DecimalSeparator and ThousandSeparator global
variables.
Index, width, and precision specifiers can be specified directly using decimal digit string
(for example "%10d"), or indirectly using an asterisk character (for example "%*.*f").
When using an asterisk, the next argument in the argument list (which must be an
integer value) becomes the value that is actually used. For example,
Format('%*.*f', [8, 2, 123.456])
is the same as
Format('%8.2f', [123.456]).
A width specifier sets the minimum field width for a conversion. If the resulting string is
shorter than the minimum field width, it is padded with blanks to increase the field
width. The default is to right-justify the result by adding blanks in front of the value, but
if the format specifier contains a left-justification indicator (a "-" character preceding the
width specifier), the result is left-justified by adding blanks after the value.
An index specifier sets the current argument list index to the specified value. The index
of the first argument in the argument list is 0. Using index specifiers, it is possible to
format the same argument multiple times. For example "Format('%d %d %0:d %d', [10,
20])" produces the string '10 20 10 20'.
The format strings are used by the following routines:
Format function
FormatBuf function
FmtStr procedure
StrFmt function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 323

FormatBuf function

StrLFmt function

FormatBuf function SysUtils

Declaration
function FormatBuf(var Buffer; BufLen: Word; const Format; FmtLen: Word; const Args: array
of const): Word;
This function formats the series of arguments in the open array Args. Formatting is
controlled by the format string Format (whose length is given by FmtLen); the results are
returned in Buffer (whose length is given by BufLen). The function result contains the
number of bytes in the Result buffer.
For information on the format strings, see Format Strings.

FormatChars property
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
property FormatChars: Boolean;
The FormatChars property determines if certain characters are filtered out of text data
transferred from a DDE server application. Some DDE server applications transfer
backspaces, linefeeds, carriage returns, and tabs with the text data. Sometimes, this can
cause incorrect spacing, line breaks, or characters in the DDE client data. If this is the
case, the characters should be filtered. The default value of FormatChars is False.
If False, all text characters of the linked data from the DDE server appear in the linked
data in the DDE client. If True, ASCII characters 8 (backspace), 9 (tab), 10 (linefeed), and
13 (carriage return) are filtered out and won’t appear in the DDE client data.

Example
The following code formats characters if the DDE service name is “SuperWrd”.
if DDEClientConv.DDEService = ’SuperWrd’ then
DDEClientConv.FormatChars := True;

FormatCount property
Applies to
TClipboard object

324 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FormatDateTime function
+
Declaration
property FormatCount: Integer; +
Run-time and read only. The FormatCount property value is the number of formats
contained in the Formats array property of a Clipboard object.
+
Example
+
The following code adds each format on the Clipboard to ListBox1 when Button1 is
clicked: +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
F
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Clipboard.FormatCount-1 do
ListBox1.Items.Add(IntToStr(Clipboard.Formats[I]));
end;

See also
Assign method, AsText property, Clipboard variable, GetComponent method, HasFormat
method, SetComponent method

FormatDateTime function SysUtils

Declaration
function FormatDateTime(const Format: string; DateTime: TDateTime): string;
FormatDateTime formats the date-and-time value given by DateTime using the format
given by Format. The following format specifiers are supported:

Specifier Displays
c Displays the date using the format given by the ShortDateFormat global variable, followed
by the time using the format given by the LongTimeFormat global variable. The time is not
displayed if the fractional part of the DateTime value is zero.
d Displays the day as a number without a leading zero (1-31).
dd Displays the day as a number with a leading zero (01-31).
ddd Displays the day as an abbreviation (Sun-Sat) using the strings given by the
ShortDayNames global variable.
dddd Displays the day as a full name (Sunday-Saturday) using the strings given by the
LongDayNames global variable.
ddddd Displays the date using the format given by the ShortDateFormat global variable.
dddddd Displays the date using the format given by the LongDateFormat global variable.
m Displays the month as a number without a leading zero (1-12). If the m specifier
immediately follows an h or hh specifier, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
mm Displays the month as a number with a leading zero (01-12). If the mm specifier
immediately follows an h or hh specifier, the minute rather than the month is displayed.
mmm Displays the month as an abbreviation (Jan-Dec) using the strings given by the
ShortMonthNames global variable.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 325

FormatFloat function

Specifier Displays
mmmm Displays the month as a full name (January-December) using the strings given by the
LongMonthNames global variable.
yy Displays the year as a two-digit number (00-99).
yyyy Displays the year as a four-digit number (0000-9999).
h Displays the hour without a leading zero (0-23).
hh Displays the hour with a leading zero (00-23).
n Displays the minute without a leading zero (0-59).
nn Displays the minute with a leading zero (00-59).
s Displays the second without a leading zero (0-59).
ss Displays the second with a leading zero (00-59).
t Displays the time using the format given by the ShortTimeFormat global variable.
tt Displays the time using the format given by the LongTimeFormat global variable.
am/pm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'am' for any hour
before noon, and 'pm' for any hour after noon. The am/pm specifier can use lower, upper,
or mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly.
a/p Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays 'a' for any hour
before noon, and 'p' for any hour after noon. The a/p specifier can use lower, upper, or
mixed case, and the result is displayed accordingly.
ampm Uses the 12-hour clock for the preceding h or hh specifier, and displays the contents of the
TimeAMString global variable for any hour before noon, and the contents of the
TimePMString global variable for any hour after noon.
/ Displays the date separator character given by the DateSeparator global variable.
: Displays the time separator character given by the TimeSeparator global variable.
'xx'/"xx" Characters enclosed in single or double quotes are displayed as-is, and do not affect
formatting.

Format specifiers may be written in upper case as well as in lower case letters—both
produce the same result.
If the string given by the Format parameter is empty, the date and time value is
formatted as if a 'c' format specifier had been given.

Example
The following example assigns 'The meeting is on Wednesday, February 15, 1995 at
10:30 AM' to the string variable S.
S := FormatDateTime('"The meeting is on" dddd, mmmm d, yyyy, ' +
'"at" hh:mm AM/PM', StrToDateTime('2/15/95 10:30am'));

FormatFloat function SysUtils

Declaration
function FormatFloat(const Format: string; Value: Extended): string;

326 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FormatFloat function

FormatFloat formats the floating-point value given by Value using the format string
+
given by Format. The following format specifiers are supported in the format string: +
Specifier
0
Represents
Digit placeholder. If the value being formatted has a digit in the position where the '0'
+
appears in the format string, then that digit is copied to the output string. Otherwise, a '0'
is stored in that position in the output string. +
# Digit placeholder. If the value being formatted has a digit in the position where the '#'
appears in the format string, then that digit is copied to the output string. Otherwise,
nothing is stored in that position in the output string.
+
. Decimal point. The first '.' character in the format string determines the location of the
decimal separator in the formatted value; any additional '.' characters are ignored. The F
actual character used as a the decimal separator in the output string is determined by the
DecimalSeparator global variable. The default value of DecimalSeparator is specified in the
Number Format of the International section in the Windows Control Panel.
, Thousand separator. If the format string contains one or more ',' characters, the output
will have thousand separators inserted between each group of three digits to the left of the
decimal point. The placement and number of ',' characters in the format string does not
affect the output, except to indicate that thousand separators are wanted. The actual
character used as a the thousand separator in the output is determined by the
ThousandSeparator global variable. The default value of ThousandSeparator is specified in
the Number Format of the International section in the Windows Control Panel.
E+ Scientific notation. If any of the strings 'E+', 'E-', 'e+', or 'e-' are contained in the format
string, the number is formatted using scientific notation. A group of up to four '0'
characters can immediately follow the 'E+', 'E-', 'e+', or 'e-' to determine the minimum
number of digits in the exponent. The 'E+' and 'e+' formats cause a plus sign to be output
for positive exponents and a minus sign to be output for negative exponents. The 'E-' and
'e-' formats output a sign character only for negative exponents.
'xx'/"xx" Characters enclosed in single or double quotes are output as-is, and do not affect
formatting.
; Separates sections for positive, negative, and zero numbers in the format string.

The locations of the leftmost '0' before the decimal point in the format string and the
rightmost '0' after the decimal point in the format string determine the range of digits
that are always present in the output string.
The number being formatted is always rounded to as many decimal places as there are
digit placeholders ('0' or '#') to the right of the decimal point. If the format string contains
no decimal point, the value being formatted is rounded to the nearest whole number.
If the number being formatted has more digits to the left of the decimal separator than
there are digit placeholders to the left of the '.' character in the format string, the extra
digits are output before the first digit placeholder.
To allow different formats for positive, negative, and zero values, the format string can
contain between one and three sections separated by semicolons.
• One section: The format string applies to all values.
• Two sections: The first section applies to positive values and zeros, and the second
section applies to negative values.
• Three sections: The first section applies to positive values, the second applies to
negative values, and the third applies to zeros.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 327

Formats property

If the section for negative values or the section for zero values is empty, that is if there is
nothing between the semicolons that delimit the section, the section for positive values
is used instead.
If the section for positive values is empty, or if the entire format string is empty, the
value is formatted using general floating-point formatting with 15 significant digits,
corresponding to a call to FloatToStrF with the ffGeneral format. General floating-point
formatting is also used if the value has more than 18 digits to the left of the decimal
point and the format string does not specify scientific notation.

Example
The following table shows some sample formats and the results produced when the
formats are applied to different values:

Format string– 1234 –1234 0.5 0

1234 –1234 0.5 0
0 1234 –1234 1 0
0.00 1234.00 –1234.00 0.50 0.00
#.## 1234 –1234 .5
#,##0.00 1,234.00 –1,234.00 0.50 0.00
#,##0.00;(#,##0.00) 1,234.00 (1,234.00) 0.50 0.00
#,##0.00;;Zero 1,234.00 –1,234.00 0.50 Zero
0.000E+00 1.234E+03 –1.234E+03 5.000E–01 0.000E+00
#.###E–0 1.234E3 –1.234E3 5E–1 0E0

Formats property
Applies to
TClipboard object

Declaration
property Formats[Index: Integer]: Word;
Run-time and read only. The Formats property array contains a list of all the formats the
Clipboard contains. Usually when an application copies or cuts something to the
Clipboard, it places it there in multiple formats.
Your application can place items of a particular format on the Clipboard and retrieve
items with a particular format from the Clipboard if the format is in the Formats array.
You can find out if a particular format is available on the Clipboard with the HasFormat
method.
The Index parameter of the Formats property lets you access a format by its position in
the array.

328 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FormCount property
+
Example
The following code adds each format on the Clipboard to ListBox1 when Button1 is
clicked:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Clipboard.FormatCount-1 do
ListBox1.Items.Add(IntToStr(Clipboard.Formats[I]));
+
end;
F
See also
Assign method, AsText property, Clipboard variable, FormatCount property, HasFormat
method

FormCount property
Applies to
TScreen component

Declaration
property FormCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The FormCount property value contains the number of forms
displayed on the screen.

Example
The following code adds the name of all forms on the screen to ListBox1 when Button1 is
clicked.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
For I := 0 to Screen.FormCount-1 do
ListBox1.Items.Add(Screen.Forms[I].Name);
end;

See also
Forms property, Screen variable

Forms property
Applies to
TScreen component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 329

FormStyle property

Declaration
property Forms[Index: Integer]: TForm;

Description
Run-time and read only. The Forms property lets you access a form on the screen by
specifying its position in the list of forms kept by the TScreen component using its Index
value. The first form has an index value of 0, the second has an index value of 1, and so
on.

See also
FormCount property, Screen variable

FormStyle property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property FormStyle: TFormStyle;
The FormStyle property determines the style of the form. These are the possible values
and their meanings:

Value Meaning
fsNormal The form is neither an MDI parent window nor an MDI child window.
fsMDIChild The form is an MDI child window.
fsMDIForm The form is an MDI parent window.
fsStayOnTop This form remains on top of other forms in the project, except any others that also have
FormStyle set to fsStayOnTop.

The default value is fsNormal.

All MDI (Multiple Document Interface) applications must have the FormStyle property
of the main form set to fsMDIForm. All forms specified as MDI child forms display as

330 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Frac function

forms contained within the MDI parent form. You must use the Object Inspector to set
+
the child form’s Visible property to True or your child form won’t appear. You can have
as many child forms as you like.
+
Example
+
This example ensures the main form of the application is an MDI parent form: +
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
if FormStyle <> fsMDIForm then
FormStyle := fsMDIForm;
if FormStyle = fsMDIForm then F
Edit1.Text := 'MDI form'
else
Edit1.Text := 'Not an MDI form'; {This line never runs}
end;

See also
CreateForm method, MainForm property, Visible property

Frac function System

Declaration
function Frac(X: Real): Real;
The Frac function returns the fractional part of the argument X.
X is a real-type expression. The result is the fractional part of X; that is,
Frac(X) = X – Int(X).

Example
var
R: Real;
begin
R := Frac(123.456); { 0.456 }
R := Frac(–123.456); { –0.456 }
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 331

Frames property

Declaration
procedure FrameRect(const Rect: TRect);
The FrameRect method draws a rectangle using the Brush of the canvas to draw the
border. FrameRect does not fill the interior of the rectangle with the Brush pattern.

Example
The following code displays the text “Hello, world!” in a rectangle defined by the
coordinates (10, 10) and (100, 100). After displaying the text with the TextRect method,
the code draws a black, vertical line frame around the rectangle.
var
TheRect: TRect;
begin
Form1.Canvas.Brush.Color := clBlack;
Form1.Canvas.Brush.Style := bsVertical;
TheRect.Top := 10;
TheRect.Left := 10;
TheRect.Bottom := 100;
TheRect.Right := 100;
Form1.Canvas.TextRect(TheRect,10,10,'Hello, world!');
Form1.Canvas.FrameRect(TheRect);
end;

See also
Brush property, Rect function, TextRect method

Frames property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Frames: Longint;
Run-time-only. The Frames property specifies the number of frames the Step method
steps forward or the Back method steps backward.
Frames defaults to ten percent of the length of the currently loaded medium, which is
specified by the Length property.
Note The definition of frame varies by multimedia device. For display media, a frame is one
still image.

332 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Free method
+
Free method +
Applies to
All objects and components +
Declaration +
procedure Free; +
The Free method destroys the object and frees its associated memory. If you created the
object yourself using the Create method, you should use Free to destroy and release
memory. Free is successful even if the object is nil, so if the object was never initialized,
F
for example, calling Free won’t result in an error.
Delphi automatically destroys Visual Component Library objects and frees memory
allocated to them.
You should never explicitly free a component within one of its own event handlers, nor
should you free a component from an event handler of a component the component
owns or contains. For example, you should avoid freeing a button in its OnClick event
handler. Nor should you free the form that owns the button from the button’s OnClick
event.
If you want to free the form, call the Release method, which destroys the form and
releases the memory allocated for it after all its event handlers and those of the
components it contains are through executing.

Example
The following code frees an object called MyObject:
MyObject.Free;

Free procedure System

Declaration
procedure Free;
The Free procedure tests whether or not the instance of the caller is nil.
If it isn’t nil, Free calls Destroy.
If it is nil, the Free call is ignored.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 333

FreeBookmark method

FreeBookmark method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure FreeBookmark(Bookmark: TBookmark);
Use the FreeBookmark method in combination with the GetBookmark and GotoBookmark
methods. FreeBookmark releases the system resources reserved during a call to
GetBookmark.

Example
var MyBookmark: TBookmark;
...
with Table1 do
begin
{ Save the current record position in MyBookmark }
MyBookmark := GetBookmark;
... { Other code here }
{ Return to the record associated with MyBookmark }
GotoBookmark(MyBookmark);
{ Release the resources for MyBookmark }
FreeBookmark(MyBookmark);
end;

FreeMem procedure System

Declaration
procedure FreeMem(var P: Pointer; Size: Word);
The FreeMem procedure disposes of a dynamic variable of a given size.
P is a variable of any pointer type previously assigned by the GetMem procedure or
assigned a meaningful value using an assignment statement.
Size specifies the size in bytes of the dynamic variable to dispose of; it must be exactly
the number of bytes previously allocated to that variable by GetMem.
FreeMem destroys the variable referenced by P and returns its memory to the heap. If P
does not point to memory in the heap, a run-time error occurs.
After calling FreeMem, the value of P is undefined, and an error occurs if you
subsequently reference P^. You can use the exceptions to handle this error. For more
information on handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in
the Help system.

334 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FromPage property
+
Example
type +
TFriendRec = record
Name: string[30];
Age : Byte;
+
end; +
+
var
p: pointer;
begin
if MaxAvail < SizeOf(TFriendRec) then
MessageDlg('Not enough memory', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0); F
else
begin
{ Allocate memory on heap }
GetMem(p, SizeOf(TFriendRec));
{ ...}
{ ...Use the memory... }
{ ...}
{ then free it when done }
FreeMem(p, SizeOf(TFriendRec));
end;
end;

See also
Dispose procedure, GetMem procedure, New procedure

FromPage property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Declaration
property FromPage: Integer;
The value of the FromPage property determines on which page the print job begins. The
default value is 0.

Example
This example uses a Print dialog box on a form. These lines set up the Print dialog box so
that when it appears, the default values of 1 and 1 are the default starting and ending
values for the Pages From and To edit boxes.
PrintDialog1.Options := [poPageNums];
PrintDialog1.FromPage := 1;
PrintDialog1.ToPage := 1;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 335

FullCollapse method

336 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

FullPath property
+
Example
The following code expands the outline if the selected item is not visible: +
if not Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].IsVisible then
Outline1.FullExpand; +
See also +
Collapse method, Expand method, FullCollapse method, OnExpand event, PictureMinus
property, PictureOpen property +
FullPath property
F
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
property FullPath: string;
Run-time and read only. The FullPath property specifies the path of outline items from
the top item on level 1 to the item contained by the TOutlineNode. The path consists of
the values of the Text properties of the outline items separated by the string specified in
the ItemSeparator property of the TOutline component.

Example
The following code displays the full path of the selected outline item in Label1:
Label1.Caption := Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].FullPath;

See also
Items property, SelectedItem property

GetAliasNames method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetAliasNames(List: TStrings);
The GetAliasNames method clears the parameter List and adds to it the names of all
defined BDE aliases. Application-specific aliases are not included.

Example
Session.GetAliasNames(MyStringList);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 337

GetAliasParams method

See also
GetDataBaseNames method, Session variable

GetAliasParams method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetAliasParams(const AliasName: string; List: TStrings);
The GetAliasParams method clears List and adds to it the parameters associated with the
BDE alias passed in AliasName.

Example
Session.GetAliasParams(MyStringList);

See also
Session variable

GetAsHandle method
Applies to
TClipboard object

Declaration
function GetAsHandle (Format: Word): THandle;
The GetAsHandle method returns the data from the Clipboard in a Windows handle for
the format specified in the Format parameter. See the Windows API Help file for
information about the available formats.
Your application doesn’t own the handle, so it should copy the data before using it.

Example
The following code locks the memory for text on the Clipboard, then converts the text to
a Pascal-style string.
var
TheClipboard: TClipboard;
MyHandle: THandle;
TextPtr: PChar;
MyString: string;
begin
MyHandle := TheClipboard.GetAsHandle(CF_TEXT);

338 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TextPtr := GlobalLock(MyHandle);
GetBookmark method
+
MyString := StrPas(TextPtr);
GlobalUnlock(MyHandle);
+
end;
+
See also
FormatCount property, Formats property, HasFormat method, SetAsHandle method +
+
GetBookmark method
+
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components G
Declaration
function GetBookmark: TBookmark;
The GetBookmark method saves the current record information of the dataset to allow you
to return to that record with a later call to the GotoBookmark method. The bookmark
should be eventually be passed to the FreeBookmark method to release the resources
reserved during the call to GetBookmark. If the dataset is empty or not in Browse state,
GetBookmark will return nil.
Note All bookmarks are invalidated when a dataset is closed and when a table’s index is
changed.

GetComponent method
Applies to
TClipboard object

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 339

GetData method

Declaration
function GetComponent(Owner, Parent: TComponent): TComponent;
The GetComponent method retrieves a component from the Clipboard and places it
according to the value of the Owner and Parent parameters. With Owner, specify the
component that becomes the owner of the retrieved component—usually this is a form.
With Parent, specify the component that becomes the parent of the component. Both
Owner and Parent can be nil.

Example
This example uses a button and a group box on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the button is copied to the Clipboard and then retrieved from the Clipboard and placed
in the new parent of the button, the group box. The name of the original button is
changed to an empty string to avoid having two components with the same name at the
same time.
implementation
uses Clipbrd;
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Clipboard.SetComponent(Button1); { copies button to the Clipboard }
Button1.Name := ''; { prevents having two components with the same name }
Clipboard.GetComponent(Self, GroupBox1); { retrieves button from Clipboard and }
end; { places it in the group box }
initialization
RegisterClasses([TButton]); { registers the TButton class }
end.

See also
AsText property, Owner property, Parent property, SetComponent method

GetData method
Applies to
TParam object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField,
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField,
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

For fields
Declaration
function GetData(Buffer: Pointer): Boolean;

340 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetDatabaseNames method

GetData is the method used to obtain “raw” data from the field. Unlike the AsString,
+
DisplayText, and Text properties, GetData performs no translation or interpretation of the
data. Buffer must have sufficient space allocated for the data. Use the DataSize property
+
to determine the space required. If the data is NULL, GetData returns False and no data
is transferred to Buffer. Otherwise, it returns True.
+
Example
+
{ Retrieve the “raw” data from Field1 }
with Field1 do
+
begin
{ Allocate space } +
GetMem(Buffer, DataSize);
if not Field1.GetData(Buffer) then
MessageDlg(FieldName + ' is NULL’, mtInformation, [mbOK], 0)
G
else { Do something with the data };
{ Free the space }
FreeMem(Buffer, DataSize);
end;

For Tparam objects

Declaration
procedure GetData(Buffer: Pointer);
The GetData method copies the current value of the parameter in native format to Buffer.
Buffer must have enough space to hold the information; use the GetDataSize method to
determine the requirement.

Example
var Buffer: Pointer;
{ Allocate enough space to hold the CustNo data }
GetMem(Buffer, Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).GetDataSize);
{ Retrieve the data }
Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).GetData(Buffer);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 341

GetDataItem method

The GetDatabaseNames method clears List and adds to it the names of all BDE aliases and
application-specific aliases.

Example
Session.GetDatabaseNames(MyStringList);

See also
GetAliasNames method, Session variable

GetDataItem method
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
function GetDataItem(Value: Pointer): Longint;
The GetDataItem method returns the Index value of the first outline item that contains the
data specified in the Value parameter in its Data property. Use GetDataItem when you
have a pointer to data and you want to know which outline item contains the data.

Example
The following code displays the Text of the outline item that points to the variable P3 in
its Data property. The text is displayed in a label.
Label1.Caption := Outline1.Items[GetDataItem(p3)].Text;

See also
GetItem method, GetTextItem method

GetDataSize method
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
function GetDataSize: Word;
The GetDataSize method returns the number of bytes required to hold the parameter’s
value. Use GetDataSize in conjunction with the GetData method to allocate memory for
the parameter’s data.

Example
var Buffer: Pointer;

342 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

{ Allocate enough space to hold the CustNo data }
GetDir procedure
+
GetMem(Buffer, Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).GetDataSize);
{ Retrieve the data }
+
Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).GetData(Buffer);
+
GetDir procedure System +
Declaration +
procedure GetDir(D: Byte; var S: string);
+
The GetDir procedure returns the current directory of a specified drive.
D can be set to any of the following values: G
Value Drive
0 Default
1 A
2 B
3 C

Performs no error checking. If the drive specified by D is invalid, S returns X:\ as if it

were the root directory of the invalid drive.

Example
var
s : string;
begin
GetDir(0,s); { 0 = Current drive }
MessageDlg('Current drive and directory: ' + s, mtInformation, [mbOk] , 0);
end;

See also
ChDir function, MkDir procedure, RmDir procedure

GetDriverNames method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetDriverNames(List: TStrings);
The GetDriverNames method clears List and adds to it the names of all BDE drivers
currently installed. This will not include ‘PARADOX’ or ‘DBASE’, since these databases
are handled by the driver named ‘STANDARD’.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 343

GetDriverParams method

Example
Session.GetDriverNames(MyStringList);

See also
Session variable

GetDriverParams method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetDriverParams(const DriverName: string; List: TStrings);
The GetDriverParams method clears List and adds to it the default parameters for the
driver named in DriverName parameter. The driver named ‘STANDARD’ (used for
Paradox and dBASE tables) has only one parameter, ‘PATH=’. SQL drivers will have
varying parameters.

Example
Session.GetDriverParams(MyStringList);

See also
Session variable

GetFieldNames method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure GetFieldNames(List: TStrings);
The GetFieldNames method clears the TStrings argument, List, and then adds the name of
each field in the dataset to it.

Example
var FieldNames: TStringList;
...
{ Initialize FieldNames to hold the names }
FieldNames := TStringList.Create;
{ Get the names }
Table1.GetFieldNames(FieldNames);

344 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

{ Do something with them }
GetFirstChild method
+
...
{ Free the TStringList }
+
FieldNames.Free;
+
GetFirstChild method +
Applies to +
TOutlineNode object
+
Declaration
function GetFirstChild: Longint;
G
The GetFirstChild method returns the Index value of the first subitem in an outline item.
If the item has no subitems, GetFirstChild returns -1.

Example
The following code expands the selected outline item if it has children and then selects
the first child.
with Outline1 do
if Items[SelectedItem].HasItems then
begin
Items[SelectedItem].Expanded := True;
SelectedItem := Items[Items[SelectedItem].GetFirstChild];
end;

See also
GetLastChild method, GetNextChild method, GetPrevChild method

GetFormatSettings procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure GetFormatSettings;
GetFormatSettings reloads all the date and number format preferences stored in the
WIN.INI file's International section. When a program, such as Control Panel, modifies
the WIN.INI file, it should notify other running applications by broadcasting a
WM_WININIFILEChanged message. Your application should call GetFormatSettings
when you receive this message.

GetFormImage method
Applies to
TForm component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 345

GetHelpContext method

Declaration
function GetFormImage: TBitmap;
The GetFormImage returns a bitmap of the form as it appears when printed.

Example
This example uses an image, a button, and a shape component on a form. When the user
clicks the button, an image of the form is stored in the FormImage variable and copied to
the Clipboard. Then image of the form in then copied back to the image component,
producing an interesting result, especially if the button is clicked multiple times.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
FormImage: TBitmap;
begin
FormImage := GetFormImage;
Clipboard.Assign(FormImage);
Image1.Picture.Assign(Clipboard);
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Shape1.Shape := stEllipse;
Shape1.Brush.Color := clLime;
Image1.Stretch := True;
end;

346 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetIndexNames method
+
Declaration
function GetIndexForPage(const PageName: string): Integer; +
The GetIndexForPage method returns the PageIndex value of the specified page. The
PageIndex property value is determined by the page’s position in the Pages property
+
array. Specify the name of the page as the value of the PageName parameter. The name
you specify must be one of the strings in the Pages property. +
Example +
This example uses a tabbed notebook and a label on a form. When the form is created,
pages are added to the tabbed notebook. The PageIndex value of the Preferences page +
appears in the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
G
begin
with TabbedNotebook1 do
begin
Pages.Clear;
Pages.Add('Styles');
Pages.Add('Fonts');
Pages.Add('Preferences');
end;
Label1.Caption := 'The Preferences page has an index of ' +
IntToStr(TabbedNotebook1.GetIndexForPage('Preferences'));
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 347

GetItem method

MyList.Free;

348 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Label1.Caption := DirectoryListBox1.GetItemPath(1);
GetLastChild method
+
end; +
See also
Directory property, Drive property, OpenCurrent method
+
+
GetLastChild method +
Applies to
TOutlineNode object
+
Declaration
G
function GetLastChild: Longint;
The GetLastChild method returns the Index value of the last subitem in an outline item. If
the item has no subitems, GetLastChild returns -1.

Example
The following code expands the selected outline item if it has children and then selects
the last child.
with Outline1 do
if Items[SelectedItem].HasItems then
begin
Items[SelectedItem].Expanded := True;
SelectedItem := Items[Items[SelectedItem].GetLastChild];
end;

See also
GetFirstChild method, GetNextChild method, GetPrevChild method

GetLongHint function Controls

Declaration
function GetLongHint(const Hint: string): string;
The GetLongHint function returns the second part of the two-part string specified as the
value of the Hint property. The second part of the string is the text following the |
character. If the Hint string value is not separated into two parts, GetLongHint returns
the entire Hint string.

Example
This code assigns a two-part string as to the Hint property of an edit box and then
displays the “long” or second part of the string as the text of the edit box:
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 349

GetMem procedure

begin
Edit1.Hint := 'Name|Enter full name';
Edit1.Text := GetLongHint(Edit1.Hint);
end;

See also
GetShortHint function, OnHint event, ShowHint property

GetMem procedure System

Declaration
procedure GetMem(var P: Pointer; Size: Word);
The GetMem procedure creates a dynamic variable of the specified size and puts the
address of the block in a pointer variable.
P is a variable of any pointer type. Size is an expression specifying the size in bytes of the
dynamic variable to allocate. You should reference the newly created variable as P^.
If there isn’t enough free space in the heap to allocate the new variable, a run-time error
occurs. When {$I+}, you can use the exceptions to handle the error. For more
information on handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in
the Help system.
The largest single block that can be safely allocated on the heap at one time is 65,528
bytes.

Example
type
TFriendRec = record
Name: string[30];
Age : Byte;
end;
var
p: pointer;
begin
if MaxAvail < SizeOf(TFriendRec) then
MessageDlg('Not enough memory', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0);
else
begin
{ Allocate memory on heap }
GetMem(p, SizeOf(TFriendRec));
{ ...}
{ ...Use the memory... }
{ ...}
{ then free it when done }
FreeMem(p, SizeOf(TFriendRec));
end;
end;

350 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetNextChild method
+
See also
Dispose procedure, FreeMem procedure, New procedure +
GetNextChild method
+
Applies to
+
TOutlineNode object +
Declaration +
function GetNextChild(Value: Longint): Longint;
The GetNextChild method returns the Index value of the next outline item that shares the
G
same parent item as the item that has an Index value equal to the Value parameter. This is
useful when the item indexed by Value has subitems, thus the index of its next sibling is
not simply one more than Value. If the item indexed by Value has no next sibling,
GetNextChild returns -1.

Example
The following code selects the next sibling of the selected item.
with Outline1 do
SelectedItem := Items[SelectedItem].GetNextChild(SelectedItem);

See also
GetFirstChild method, GetLastChild method, GetPrevChild method

GetParentForm function Forms

Declaration
function GetParentForm(Control: TControl): TForm;
The GetParentForm function returns the form that contains the control specified in the
Control parameter. If the specified control is not on a form, GetParentForm returns nil.
If you’d rather have the function return an exception when the specified control is not
on a form, use the ValidParentForm function.

Example
The following code shows the form that contains Button2:
GetParentForm(Button2).Show;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 351

GetPassword method

GetPassword method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
function GetPassword: Boolean;
The GetPassword method invokes the OnPassword event (if any) or displays the default
password dialog box. It then returns True if the user chose the OK button and False if the
user chose the Cancel button.

Example
Session.GetPassword;

See also
Session variable

GetPrevChild method
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
function GetPrevChild(Value: Longint): Longint;
The GetPrevChild method returns the Index value of the previous outline item that shares
the same parent item as the item that has an Index value equal to the Value parameter.
This is useful when the previous sibling has subitems, thus its index is not simply one
less than Value. If the item indexed by Value has no previous sibling, GetPrevChild
returns -1.

Example
The following code tests to determine if the selected item has a previous sibling. The
results are displayed in a label.
with Outline1 do
if (Items[SelectedItem].GetPrevChild > -1) then
Label1.Caption := ’Has a prior sibling’
else
Label1.Caption := ’Has no prior sibling’;

See also
GetFirstChild method, GetLastChild method, GetNextChild method

352 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetPrinter method
+
GetPrinter method +
Applies to
TPrinter object +
Declaration +
procedure GetPrinter (ADevice, ADriver, APort: PChar; var ADeviceMode: THandle); +
The GetPrinter method retrieves the current printer. You should rarely need to call this
method and should instead access the printer you want in the Printers property array.
For more information, see the Windows API CreateDC function.
+
See also
G
SetPrinter method

GetProfileChar function SysUtils

Declaration
function GetProfileChar(Section, Entry: PChar; Default: Char): Char;
GetProfileChar loads a single character from the given section and item of WIN.INI.

GetProfileStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function GetProfileStr(Section, Entry: PChar; const Default: string): string;
GetProfileStr loads a string value from the given section and item of WIN.INI. This
function is used by GetFormatSettings.

GetResults method
Applies to
TParam object

Declaration
procedure GetResults;
You only need to call this method with a Sybase stored procedure that returns a result
set. GetResults returns the output parameter values from the stored procedure. Usually,
TStoredProc does this automatically, but Sybase stored procedures do not return the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 353

GetSelTextBuf method

values until the cursor reaches the end of the result set, so you must call GetResults
explicitly.

Example
StoredProc1.Open
while not EOF do
begin
StoredProc1.Next;
{Do Something}
end;
StoredProc1.GetResults;
Edit1.Text := StoredProc1.ParamByName(‘Output’);

GetSelTextBuf method
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
function GetSelTextBuf(Buffer: PChar; BufSize: Integer): Integer;
The GetSelTextBuf method copies the selected text from the edit box or memo control
into the buffer pointed to by Buffer, up to a maximum of BufSize characters, and returns
the number of characters copied.
You should need to use the GetSelTextBuf method only if you are working with strings
longer than 255 characters. Because an Object Pascal style string has a limit of 255
characters, such properties as Text for an edit box, Items for a list box, and Lines for a
memo control do not allow you to work with strings longer than 255 characters.
GetSelTextBuf and the corresponding SetSelTextBuf methods use null-terminated strings
that can be up to 64K in length.

Example
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Buffer: PChar;
Size: Integer;
begin
Size := Edit1.SelLength; {Get length of selected text in Edit1}
Inc(Size); {Add room for null character}
GetMem(Buffer, Size); {Creates Buffer dynamic variable}
Edit1.GetSelTextBuf(Buffer,Size); {Puts Edit1.Text into Buffer}
Edit2.Text := StrPas(Buffer); {Converts string in Buffer into Pascal-style string}
FreeMem(Buffer, Size); {Frees memory allocated to Buffer}
end;

354 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetShortHint function
+
See also
GetTextBuf method, SelText property, SetSelTextBuf method +
GetShortHint function Controls
+
Declaration
+
function GetShortHint(const Hint: string): string; +
The GetShortHint function returns the first part of the two-part string specified as the
value of the Hint property. The first part of the string is the text following the |
+
character. If the Hint string value is not separated into two parts, GetShortHint returns
the entire Hint string. G
Example
This code assigns a two-part string as the Hint property of an edit box and then displays
the “short” or first part of the string as the text of the edit box:
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Hint := 'Name|Enter full name';
Edit1.Text := GetShortHint(Edit1.Hint);
end;

See also
GetLongHint function, OnHint event, ShowHint property

GetStoredProcNames method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetStoredProcNames(const DatabaseName: string; List: TStrings);
GetStoredProcNames returns a list of all stored procedures defined for the specified SQL
database. This method is not valid for Paradox or dBASE databases.

Example
Session.GetStoredProcNames(‘IB_EMPLOYEE’, MyStringList);

See also
Session variable

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 355

GetTableNames method

GetTableNames method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure GetTableNames(const DatabaseName, Pattern: string;
Extensions, SystemTables: Boolean; List: TStrings);
The GetTableNames method clears List and then adds to it the names of all the tables in
the database referenced by DatabaseName. The Pattern parameter will limit the table
names to those matching Pattern.
For SQL servers, set SystemTables to True to obtain system tables in addition to user
tables. For desktop (non-SQL) databases, set Extensions to True to include file-name
extensions in the table names.

Example
Session.GetTableNames(‘DBDEMOS‘, False, False, MyStringList);

See also
Session variable

GetText method
Applies to
TStrings, TStringList objects
Declaration
function GetText: PChar;
The GetText method returns a string list as a null-terminated string. GetText is useful
when working with components that contain blocks of text made up of more than one
string. For example, a memo component (TMemo) can contain multiple strings. When
you want to return the entire list of strings in a memo component all at once, use the
GetText method.

Example
The following code returns the text in the items of an outline to one variable called
MyVar.
MyVar := Outline1.Lines.GetText;

356 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GetTextBuf method
+
GetTextBuf method +
Applies to
All controls; TClipboard object +
Declaration +
function GetTextBuf(Buffer: PChar; BufSize: Integer): Integer; +
The GetTextBuf method retrieves the control’s text and copies it into the buffer pointed
to by Buffer, up to the number of characters given by BufSize, and returns the number of
characters copied.
+
The resulting text in Buffer is a null-terminated string. G
To find out how many characters the buffer needs to hold the entire text, you can call the
GetTextLen method before calling GetTextBuf.
Usually you need to use GetTextBuf and the corresponding SetTextBuf only when
working with strings longer than 255 characters. Because Object Pascal strings have a
limit of 255 characters, such properties as Text for an edit box, Items for a list box, and
Lines for a memo control only allow you to work with strings up to 255 characters.
GetTextBuf and SetTextBuf use null-terminated strings that can be up to 64K in length.

Example
This example copies the text in an edit box into a null-terminated string, and puts this
string in another edit box when the user clicks the button on the form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Buffer: PChar;
Size: Byte;
begin
Size := Edit1.GetTextLen; {Get length of string in Edit1}
Inc(Size); {Add room for null character}
GetMem(Buffer, Size); {Creates Buffer dynamic variable}
Edit1.GetTextBuf(Buffer,Size); {Puts Edit1.Text into Buffer}
Edit2.Text := StrPas(Buffer); {Converts Buffer to a Pascal-style string]
FreeMem(Buffer, Size); {Frees memory allocated to Buffer}
end;

See also
GetSelTextBuf method, SetTextBuf method

GetTextItem method
Applies to
TOutline component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 357

GetTextLen method

Declaration
function GetTextItem(Value: string): Longint;
The GetTextItem method returns the Index value of the first outline item that contains the
string specified in the Value parameter in its Text property. Use GetTextItem when you
want to know which outline item is identified by a string.

Example
The following code returns the index of the outline item that contains the text ’Perry’ to
a variable called PerryIndex.
PerryIndex := Outline1.GetTextItem(’Perry’);

See also
GetDataItem method, GetItem method

GetTextLen method
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
function GetTextLen: Integer;
The GetTextLen method returns the length of the control’s text. The most common use of
GetTextLen is to find the size needed for a text buffer in the GetTextBuf method.

Example
This example uses two edit boxes and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the length of the text in the Edit1 is displayed in Edit2.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Size: Integer;
begin
Size := Edit1.GetTextLen;
Edit2.Text := ('Edit1 has ' + IntToStr(Size) + 'characters in it');
end;

358 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Glyph property
+
Declaration
property Glyph: TBitmap; +
The Glyph property specifies the bitmap that appears on the selected bitmap button or
on a speed button. Use the Open dialog box that appears as an editor in the Object
+
Inspector to choose a bitmap file (with a .BMP extension) to use on the button, or specify
a bitmap file at run time. +
You can provide up to four images on a bitmap button or speed button with a single
bitmap. Delphi then displays one of these images depending on the state of the button.
+
Image position
+
in bitmap
First
Button state
Up
Description
This image appears when the button is unselected. If no other
G
images exist in the bitmap, Delphi also uses this image for all
other images.
Second Disabled This image usually appears dimmed to indicate that the button
can’t be selected.
Third Down This image appears when a button is clicked. The up state image
reappears when the user releases the mouse button.
Fourth Stay down This image appears when a button stays down indicating that it
remains selected. (This fourth state applies only to speed
buttons.)

If only one image is present, Delphi attempts to represent the other states by altering the
image slightly for the different states, although the stay down state is always the same as
the up state. If you aren’t satisfied with the results, you can provide one or more
additional images in the bitmap.
If you have multiple images in a bitmap, you must specify the number of images that
are in the bitmap with the NumGlyphs property. All images must be the same size and
next to each other in a horizontal row.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form. When the application runs and the form is
created, a bitmap is placed on the bitmap button.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
BitBtn1.Glyph.LoadFromFile('TARTAN.BMP');
end;
These lines of code load a four-image bitmap into the Glyph property of a speed button,
and specify the appropriate value for the NumGlyphs property:
SpeedButton1.Glyph.LoadFromFile(‘MYBITMAP.BMP’);
SpeedButton1.NumGlyphs := 4;

See also
Kind property, Layout property, Margin property, ModalResult property, NumGlyphs
property, Spacing property, TBitmap object

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 359

GotoBookmark method

GotoBookmark method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure GotoBookmark(Bookmark: TBookmark);
The GotoBookmark method moves the cursor to the record corresponding to the
bookmark obtained through a call to GetBookmark. While you must eventually call the
FreeBookmark method to release the resources reserved during the call to GetBookmark,
you are free to make as many calls to GotoBookmark as you wish before calling
FreeBookmark. If the Bookmark parameter is nil, GotoBookmark does nothing.

Example
var MyBookmark: TBookmark;
...
with Table1 do
begin
{ Save the current record position in MyBookmark }
MyBookmark := GetBookMark;
... { Other code here }
{ Return to the record associated with MyBookmark }
GotoBookMark(MyBookMark);
{ Release the resources for MyBookmark }
FreeBookmark(MyBookmark);
end;

GotoCurrent method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure GotoCurrent(Table: TTable);
Use the GotoCurrent method to synchronize the positions of two TTable components that
use the same database table. GotoCurrent changes the position of the table to match that
of the Table parameter.
Note Both tables must have the same DatabaseName and TableName or a “table mismatch”
exception will be raised.

Example
Table1.GotoCurrent(Table2);

360 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GotoKey method
+
GotoKey method +
Applies to
TTable component +
Declaration +
function GotoKey: Boolean; +
The GotoKey method is used with the SetKey or EditKey method to move to a specific
record in a TTable. Call SetKey to put the table in SetKey state. In SetKey state,
assignments to fields indicate values to search for in indexed fields. GoToKey then moves
+
the cursor to the first row in the table that matches those field values. G
GoToKey is a Boolean function that moves the cursor and returns True if the search is
successful. If the search is unsuccessful, it returns False and does not change the position
of the cursor.
Note If you want to search on a subset of fields in a multiple-field key, you must set the
KeyFieldCount property to the number of fields on which you want to search.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
EditKey;
FieldByName(‘CustNo’).AsFloat := 610;
GotoKey;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 361

GotoXY procedure

Note You do not have to assign a value for each field in the index key. Any unassigned field
will use a NULL value.
The search begins at the first record in the table, not at the current cursor position.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
SetKey;
FieldByName(‘State’).AsString := ‘CA‘;
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Santa‘;
GotoNearest;
end;

See also
GotoKey method, KeyFieldCount property, SetKey method

GotoXY procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure GotoXY(X, Y: Byte);
The GotoXY procedure moves the cursor to specified coordinates (X,Y) within the
virtual screen.
The upper left corner of the virtual screen corresponds to (1, 1).
Use CursorTo instead of GotoXY when developing new applications.

Example
uses WinCrt;
var
C: PChar;
begin
GotoXY(10,10);
Writeln('Hello');
end;

See also
CursorTo procedure, WhereX function, WhereY function

Graphic property
Applies to
TPicture object

362 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GraphicExtension function
+
Declaration
property Graphic: TGraphic; +
The Graphic property specifies the graphic that the picture contains. The graphic can be a
bitmap, icon, or metafile.
+
Example
+
The following code draws the graphic in Picture1 in the top-left corner of the canvas of
Form1. +
Form1.Canvas.Draw(0,0 Picture1.Graphic); +
See also
Bitmap property, Icon property, Metafile property
G
GraphicExtension function Graphics
Declaration
function GraphicExtension(GraphicClass: TGraphicClass): string;
The GraphicExtension function returns the file-name extension of the graphics object
specified by the GraphicClass parameter. The TGraphicClass type is simply a container
class for the TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, and TMetafile objects. These are the file extensions
returned for each graphics class:

Graphic class File extension returned

TGraphic .BMP, .ICO, or .WFM
TBitmap .BMP
TIcon .ICO
TMetafile .WFM

Example
The following code tests to determine if the graphic in Picture1 is an icon. If so, the
minimized icon of Form1 is set to the graphic.
if GraphicExtension(Picture1.Graphic)=’.ICO’ then
Form1.Icon := Picture1.Graphic;

GraphicFilter function Graphics

Declaration
function GraphicFilter(GraphicClass: TGraphicClass): string;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 363

GridHeight property

The GraphicFilter function returns a filter string compatible with the Filter property value
of an Open or Save dialog box. The GraphicClass parameter can be one of these values:
TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, or TMetafile. These are the strings that are returned for each
class:

Graphic class Filter string returned

Example
This code displays an Open dialog box with the TBitmap filter string in the List Files of
Type combo box:
OpenDialog1.DefaultExt := GraphicExtension(TBitmap);
OpenDialog1.Filter := GraphicFilter(TBitmap);
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
...

See also
GraphicExtension function, TOpenDialog component, TSaveDialog component

GridHeight property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property GridHeight: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The GridHeight property is the height of the grid in pixels. If the
grid is too tall to be fully displayed causing the user to scroll to see its entire contents, the
value of GridHeight is the same as the ClientHeight property value for the grid.

Example
This example uses a string grid and a label on a form. The height of the grid appears in
the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
ARow, ACol: Integer;
begin
with StringGrid1 do
begin
for ARow := 1 to RowCount - 1 do

364 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

for ACol := 1 to ColCount - 1 do
GridLineWidth property
+
end;
Cells[ARow, ACol] := 'Delphi'; +
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(StringGrid1.GridHeight) + ' pixels';
end; +
See also +
GridWidth property
+
GridLineWidth property +
Applies to G
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property GridLineWidth: Integer;
The GridLineWidth property determines the width of the lines between the cells in the
grid. The default value is 1 pixel. Larger values create heavier lines.

Example
This example includes a draw grid on a form. When the application runs and the form is
created, the width of the lines on the draw grid changes if the default column width of
the grid is over 90 pixels wide:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with DrawGrid1 do
begin
if DefaultColWidth > 90 then
GridLineWidth := 2
else
GridLineWidth := 1;
end;
end;

See also
ColWidths property, DefaultColWidth property, GridHeight property, GridWidth property,
RowHeights property

GridWidth property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 365

GroupIndex property

Declaration
property GridWidth: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The GridWidth property is the width of the grid in pixels. If the
grid is too wide to be fully displayed causing the user to scroll it to see its entire
contents, the value of GridWidth is the same as the ClientWidth property value for the
grid.

Example
This example uses a string grid and a label on a form. The label reports the width of the
grid.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
ARow, ACol: Integer;
begin
with StringGrid1 do
begin
for ARow := 1 to RowCount - 1 do
for ACol := 1 to ColCount - 1 do
Cells[ARow, ACol] := 'Pascal';
end;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(StringGrid1.GridWidth) + ' pixels';
end;

For speed button controls

Declaration
property GroupIndex: Integer;
The GroupIndex property determines which speed buttons work together as a group.
By default, speed buttons have a GroupIndex property value of 0, indicating that they do
not belong to a group. When the user clicks such a speed button, the button appears
“pressed,” or in its down state, then the button returns to its normal up state when the
user releases the mouse button.
Speed buttons with the same GroupIndex property value (other than 0), work together as
a group. When the user clicks one of these speed buttons, it remains “pressed,” or in its

366 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GroupIndex property

down state, until the user clicks another speed button belonging to the same group.
+
Speed buttons used in this way can present mutually exclusive choices to the user. +
Example
This code assures that the three speed buttons work together as a group:
+
SpeedButton1.GroupIndex := 1; +
+
SpeedButton2.GroupIndex := 1;
SpeedButton3.GroupIndex := 1;

See also
AllowAllUp property, Down property
+
G
For menu items
Declaration
property GroupIndex: Byte;
If your application has multiple forms, you’ll probably want your application’s main
menu to change as different forms become active. The alternative is for each form to
display its own menu within itself. MDI applications always merge the menus of child
windows with the main menu of the parent window. By using the GroupIndex property
for menu items, you can determine how menus are merged. You can choose to replace
or insert menu items in a menu bar.
Each menu item has a GroupIndex property value. By default, all menu items in a menu
bar have the same GroupIndex value, unless you explicitly change them. Each successive
menu item in a menu bar must have a GroupIndex value equal to or greater than the
previous menu item.

Replacing menu items in a menu bar

If a menu item in a menu bar on a form other than the main form has the same
GroupIndex value as a menu item in a menu bar on the main form, the menu item
replaces the menu item in the menu bar of the main form when that form becomes
active.
If multiple menu items in the menu bar on the main form have the same GroupIndex
value, and all menu items of another form also have the same GroupIndex value, then the
other form’s menu items replace all menu items on the menu bar on the main form.
For example, imagine that the menu bar on Form1 has three items: One, Two, and Three,
and all have a GroupIndex value of 0. If Form2 has a menu bar with one menu item, Four,
with a GroupIndex value of 0, when Form2 becomes active, only the menu item Four
appears in the menu bar on Form1.

Inserting menu items in a menu bar

If one or more menu items in a menu bar on a form that isn’t the main form have a
GroupIndex value greater than a menu item in the menu bar on the main form, those
menu items are inserted into the menu bar on the main form when the menus merge. If

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 367

Halt procedure

the item’s GroupIndex value is greater than all other GroupIndex values in the main
form’s menu bar, the item appears at the end of the menu. If the GroupIndex value is
between other GroupIndex values in the menu bar on the main form, the menu item
appears between other menu items, depending on the value.
For example, an item with a GroupIndex value of 2 would be inserted between items
with GroupIndex values of 1 and 3. An item with a GroupIndex value of 4 would appear
after all the other items.
Note The GroupIndex value must be different from all others in the menu bar on the main
form, or else the new menu item will replace one or more menu items with the same
GroupIndex value, which you may or may not want to do.

OLE application menus

When you activate an object created by an OLE 2.0 server application, the server might
try to merge its menus with the menus of your container application, depending on the
OLE server application. The GroupIndex property of each of the container application’s
menus determines where the merging menu items appear in the container’s menu bar.
Merged menu items from the OLE server might replace those on the main menu bar, or
they might be inserted beside existing container application menu items.
Note See the documentation for the OLE server for information about whether it attempts
menu merge during in-place activation.
The OLE server can merge up to three groups of menu items. Each group is
distinguished by a unique group index and can contain any number of menu
commands. The following table summarizes the menu item groups that the OLE server
application can merge:

Group Index Description

Edit 1 Menu item(s) from the server for editing the active OLE object
View 3 Menu item(s) from the server for modifying the view of the OLE object.
Help 5 Menu item(s) from the server for accessing the server’s online Help

Any menu items in your container application with values of 1, 3, or 5 for their
GroupIndex properties are replaced by menu items with corresponding index values
from the OLE server application. The menu items from your OLE container with a
GroupIndex value other than 1, 3, or 5 won’t be replaced by menus from the server.

See also
AutoMerge property, FormStyle property

Halt procedure System

Declaration
procedure Halt [ ( Exitcode: Word ) ];

368 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Handle property

The Halt procedure stops the program and returns to the operating system. Exitcode is
+
an optional expression that specifies the exit code of your program. +
Example +
begin
if 1 = 1 then
begin
+
if 2 = 2 then
begin
+
if 3 = 3 then
begin +
end;
Halt(1); { Halt right here! }
end; +
end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'This will not be executed');
H
end;

See also
Exit procedure, RunError procedure

Handle property
Applies to
All windowed controls; TApplication, TBitmap, TBrush, TCanvas, TFont, TIcon, TMetafile,
TPen, TPrinter objects; TDatabase, TFindDialog, TMainMenu, TMenuItem, TPopupMenu,
TQuery, TSession, TStoredProc, TTable components

For graphics objects

Declaration
property Handle: HBitmap; {for TBitmap objects}
property Handle: HBrush; {for TBrush objects}
property Handle: HDC; {for TCanvas objects}
property Handle: HFont; {for TFont objects}
property Handle: HIcon; {for TIcon objects}
property Handle: HMetafile; {for TMetafile objects}
property Handle: HPen; {for TPen objects}
The Handle property lets you access the Windows GDI object handle, so you can access
the GDI object. If you need to use a Windows API function that requires the handle of a
pen object, you could pass the handle from the Handle property of a TPen object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 369

Handle property

For applications, Find and Replace dialog boxes, windowed controls

Declaration
property Handle: HWND;
Read and run-time only. The Handle property gives you access to window handle of the
application, the Find and Replace dialog boxes, and all controls in case you need to call a
Windows API function that requires a handle.

Example
The following code uses the Windows API function ShowWindow to display Form2 as an
icon, but does not activate it.
ShowWindow(Form2.Handle, SW_SHOWWINMINNOACTIVE);

See also
HandleAllocated method, HandleNeeded method

For menu items, main menus, and pop-up menus

Declaration
property Handle: HMENU;
Read and run-time only. The Handle property lets you access the menu or menu item’s
window handle, so you can call a Windows API function that requires a menu handle.

Example
The following code uses the Windows API function HiliteMenuItem to highlight the first
menu item in MainMenu1 on Form1.
HiliteMenuItem(Form1.Handle, MainMenu1.Handle, 0, MF_BYPOSITION+MF_HILITE);

For printer objects

Declaration
property Handle: HDC;
Read and run-time only. The Handle property give you access to the handle of the
printer object.

For sessions
Declaration
property Handle: HDBISES;

370 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HandleAllocated method

Run-time and read only. The Handle property allows you to make direct calls to the
+
Borland Database Engine using this handle to the session (TSession). Under most
circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your application
+
requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL. +
For tables, queries, and stored procedures +
Declaration +
property Handle: HDBICur;
Run-time and read only. The Handle property enables an application to make direct calls
+
to the Borland Database Engine API using this handle of a dataset component. +
Under most circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your
application requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL. H
For databases
Declaration
property Handle: HDBIDB;
Run-time and read only. Use the Handle property to make direct calls to the Borland
Database Engine (BDE) API that require a database handle. Under most circumstances
you should not need to use this property, unless your application requires some
functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

HandleAllocated method
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
function HandleAllocated: Boolean;
The HandleAllocated method returns True if a window handle for the control exists. If no
window handle exists, HandleAllocated returns False. If you query the Handle property of
a control directly, a handle is automatically created if it didn’t previously exist.
Therefore, you should call the HandleAllocated method if you don’t want a handle
created automatically for the control, but simply want to know if one exists.

Example
The following code displays the value of the handle of GroupBox1 if it exists. If not, it
displays a message.
var
TheValue: string;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 371

HandleException method

begin
if GroupBox1.HandleAllocated then
TheValue := IntToStr(GroupBox1.Handle)
else TheValue := ’Handle not allocated.’;
Label1.Caption := TheValue;
end;

372 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HasFormat method

The HandleNeeded method creates a window handle for the control if one doesn’t
+
already exist. +
Example
The following code creates a window handle for Button1:
+
Button1.HandleNeeded; +
See also +
Handle property, HandleAllocated method
+
HasFormat method +
Applies to
TClipboard object
H
Declaration
procedure HasFormat(Format: Word): Boolean;
The HasFormat method determines if the Clipboard object contains a particular format.
If HasFormat is True, the format is present; if False, the format is absent. The Clipboard
object keeps a list of available formats in the Formats array property.
These are the possible values of the Format parameter:

Value Meaning
CF_TEXT Text with each line ending with a CR-LF combination. A null character identifies
the end of the text.
CF_BITMAP A Windows bitmap graphic.
CF_METAFILE A Windows metafile graphic.
CF_PICTURE An object of type TPicture.
CF_OBJECT Any persistent object.

Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message box
appears if there is no text on the Clipboard; otherwise, you don’t see anything happen.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if not Clipboard.HasFormat(CF_TEXT) then
MessageDlg('There is no text on the Clipboard', mtInformation,
[mbOK],0);
end;

See also
Assign method, FormatCount property, Formats property, GetComponent method,
SetComponent method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 373

HasItems property

HasItems property
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
property HasItems: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. The HasItems property determines if an outline item has any
subitems. Subitems appear below and indented from their parent item when the parent
is expanded. The Index value of the parent item is one less than the Index value of its first
subitem. HasItems is True if the item has subitems, or False if the item has no subitems.

Example
The following code expands the selected item of Outline1 if it has subitems:
with Outline1[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
if HasItems then Expand;

See also
GetFirstChild method, GetLastChild method, GetNextChild method, GetPrevChild method

Heap variables System

Declaration
var HeapAllocFlags: Word;
var HeapBlock: Word;
var HearLimit: Word;
var HeapError: Pointer;
var HeapCheck: Pointer;
The heap manager uses the variables HeapList, HeapLimit, HeapBlock, HeapError,
HeapCheck to implement dynamic memory allocation routines.

Heap variable Description

HeapAllocFlags Defines the attribute flags passed to GlobalAlloc when the heap manager allocates
global blocks. Used with gmem_Moveable.
HeapError Contains the address of a heap-error function that is called whenever the heap
manager cannot complete an allocation request.
HeapLimit Defines the threshold between small and large heap blocks. The default value is
1024.

374 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Height property
+
Heap variable
HeapBlock
Description
Defines the size the heap manager uses when allocating blocks assigned to the sub-
+
HeapCheck
allocator. The default value is 8192.
Contains the address of the heap integrity checking hook. If this pointer is non-nil,
the allocator/deallocator will call this each time a block is allocated and a block is
+
freed. It is called before the actual allocation or deallocation occurs.
+
You should have no reason to change the values of HeapLimit and HeapBlock, but should
you decide to do so, make sure that HeapBlock is at least 4 times the size of HeapLimit. +
HeapError is a pointer that points to a function with this header:
function HeapFunc (Size: Word): Integer; far;
+
Install the heap-error function by assigning its address to the HeapError variable as +
follows:
HeapError := @HeapFunc;
H
The heap-error function gets called whenever a call to New or GetMem cannot complete
the request.
The Size parameter contains the size of the block that could not be allocated, and the
heap error function should attempt to free a block of a least that size.
Before calling the heap-error function, the heap manager attempts to allocate the block
within its sub-allocation free space as well as through a direct call to the Windows
GlobalAlloc function.
The HeapError function returns
• 0 to indicate failure, and causes a run-time error to occur immediately
• 1 to indicate failure, and causes New or GetMem to return a nil pointer
• 2 to indicate success, and causes a retry (which could also cause another call to the
heap error function)

See also
GlobalAlloc function, GlobalLock function

Height property
Applies to
All controls; TBitmap, TFont, TGraphic, TIcon, TMetafile, TPicture objects; TForm, TScreen
components

Declaration
property Height: Integer;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 375

Height property

For controls, forms, and graphics

The Height property of a control is the vertical size of the control, form, or graphic in
pixels.

Example
The following code doubles the height of a list box control:
ListBox1.Height := ListBox1.Height * 2;

See also
ClientHeight property, SetBounds method, Width property

For the screen

Read and run-time only. The Height property of a screen component contains the
vertical size of the screen device in pixels.

Example
To following code sets a form’s height to half the height of the screen:
Form1.Height := Screen.Height div 2;

See also
Screen variable, Width property

For fonts
The Height property is the height of the font in pixels. It is the size of the font plus the
font’s internal leading. If you are concerned with the size of the font on the screen—the
number of pixels the font needs—use the Height property. If you want to specify a font‘s
size using points, use the Size property instead.
Delphi calculates Height using this formula:
Font.Height = -Font.Size * Font.PixelsPerInch / 72
Therefore, whenever you enter a point size in the Height property, you’ll notice the Size
property changes to a negative value. Conversely, if you enter a positive Size value, the
Height property value changes to a negative value.

Example
This example uses button and a label on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
height of the font changes to 36 pixels on the screen:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Font.Height := 36;
end;

376 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HelpCommand method
+
See also
Font property, PixelsPerInch property, Size property +
HelpCommand method
+
Applies to
+
TApplication component +
Declaration +
function HelpCommand(Command: Word; Data: Longint): Boolean;
The HelpCommand method gives you quick access to any of the Help commands in the
+
WinHelp API (application programming interface). For information about the
commands you can call and the data passed to them, see the WinHelp topic in the Help H
system.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the Help
contents screen of the specified Help file appears.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.HelpFile := 'MYHELP.HLP';
Application.HelpCommand(HELP_CONTENTS, 0);
end;

See also
Application variable, HelpContext method, HelpContext property, HelpFile property,
HelpJump method

HelpContext method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
function HelpContext(Context: THelpContext): Boolean;
The HelpContext method calls WinHelp, the Windows Help system program, if the
HelpFile property is assigned a file to use for Help. HelpContext passes the file name
contained in HelpFile and the context number passed in Context parameter. For example,
if you specify the Context value as 714, the HelpContext method displays the screen with
the context help ID of 714 in the Help file.
HelpContext returns False if HelpFile is an empty string, meaning the application has no
Help file assigned. In all other cases, HelpContext returns True.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 377

HelpContext property

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
screen with the context number of 714 in the DATA.HLP Help file appears:
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.HelpFile := 'DATA.HLP';
Application.HelpContext(714);
end;

See also
Application variable, HelpFile property, OnHelp event

HelpContext property
Applies to
All controls; Exception, TColorDialog, TFindDialog, TFontDialog, TMenuItem, TPopupMenu,
TOpenDialog, TPrintDialog, TPrinterSetupDialog, TReplaceDialog, TSaveDialog
components

Declaration
property HelpContext: THelpContext;
The HelpContext property provides a context number for use in calling context-sensitive
online Help. Each screen in the Help system should have a unique context number.
When a component is selected in the application, pressing F1 displays a Help screen.
Which Help screen appears depends on the value of the HelpContext property.

Example
The following code associates a Help file with the application, and makes the screen
with a context number of 7 the context-sensitive Help screen for the Edit1 edit box:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.HelpFile := ’MYHELP.HLP’;
Edit1.HelpContext := 7;
end;

See also
HelpContext method, HelpFile property, HelpJump method, OnHelp event

HelpFile property
Applies to
TApplication component

378 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HelpJump method
+
Declaration
property HelpFile: string; +
Run-time only. The HelpFile property holds the name of the file the application uses to
display online Help. By default, HelpFile is a null string, and the application’s Help
+
method ignores attempts to display Help. If HelpFile contains anything, the HelpContext
method passes it to the Windows Help system as the name of the file to use for Help. +
Example +
To specify the MYHELP.HLP file as the Help file for your application, use this line of
code: +
Application.HelpFile := ‘MYHELP.HLP';
+
See also
HelpContext method
H
HelpJump method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
function HelpJump(const JumpID: string): Boolean;
The HelpJump method calls WinHelp, the Windows Help system program, if the HelpFile
property is assigned a file to use for Help. HelpJump passes the file name contained in
HelpFile and the context string specified in the JumpID parameter. For example, if you
specify the JumpID value as ‘vclDefaultProperty', the HelpJump method displays the
screen in the Help file that has the context string ‘vclDefaultProperty'.
HelpJump returns False if HelpFile is an empty string, meaning the application has no
Help file assigned. In all other cases, HelpJump returns True.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the Help
screen describing the Default property in the DELPHI.HLP file appears, because the
Default property screen has the a JumpID string of ‘vclDefaultProperty'.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.HelpFile := 'DELPHI.HLP';
Application.HelpJump('vclDefaultProperty');
end;

See also
Application variable, HelpCommand method, HelpContext method, HelpContext property,
HelpFile property, OnHelp event

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 379

Hi function

Hi function System
Declaration
function Hi(X): Byte;
The Hi function returns the high-order byte of X as an unsigned value. X is an
expression of type Integer or Word.

Example
var B: Byte;
begin
B := Hi($1234); { $12 }
end;

380 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HideSelection property
+
See also
Close method, Show method, ShowModal method +
HideSelection property
+
Applies to
+
TEdit, TMemo components +
Declaration +
property HideSelection: Boolean;
The HideSelection property determines whether text that is selected in an edit or memo
+
remains selected when the focus shifts to another control. If True, the text is no longer
selected until the focus returns to the control. If False, the text remains selected. The H
default value is True.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a memo on a form. When the user jumps from one
control to the other, selected text remains selected in the memo, but not in the edit box.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.HideSelection := True;
Memo1.HideSelection := False;
end;

High function System

Declaration
function High(X);
The High function returns the highest value in the range of the argument.
The result type is X, or the index type of X.
X is either a type identifier or a variable reference. The type denoted by X, or the type of
the variable denoted by X, must be one of the following types.

For this type High returns

Ordinal type The highest value in the range of the type
Array type The highest value within the range of the index type of the array
String type The declared size of the string

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 381

HInstance and HPrevInst variables

For this type High returns

Open array The value, of type Word, giving the number of elements in the actual parameter
minus one
String parameter The value, of type Word, giving the number of elements in the actual parameter
minus one

Example
function Sum( var X: array of Double): Double;
var
I: Word;
S: Double;
begin
S := 0; { Note that open array index range is always zero-based. }
for I := 0 to High(X) do S := S + X[I];
Sum := S;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
List1: array[0..3] of Double;
List2: array[5..17] of Double;
X: Word;
S, TempStr: string;
begin
for X := Low(List1) to High(List1) do
List1[X] := X * 3.4;
for X := Low(List2) to High(List2) do
List2[X] := X * 0.0123;
Str(Sum(List1):4:2, S);
S := 'Sum of List1: ' + S + #13#10;
S := S + 'Sum of List2: ';
Str(Sum(List2):4:2, TempStr);
S := S + TempStr;
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

HInstance and HPrevInst variables System

Declaration
var HInstance: Word;
The HInstance variable contains the instance handle of the application or library as
provided by the Windows environment.

382 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Hint property
+
Hint property +
Applies to
All controls; TApplication, TMenuItem components +
Declaration +
property Hint: string; +
Description +
The Hint property is the text string that can appear when the OnHint event occurs,
which happens when the user moves the mouse pointer over a control or menu item.
The code within the OnHint event handler determines how the string is displayed. A
+
common use of an OnHint event handler is to display the hint as the caption of a panel
component that is being used as a status bar.
H
You can have a Help Hint, a box containing help text, appear for a control when the user
moves the mouse pointer over the control and pauses momentarily. This is how:
1 Specify a Hint value for each control you want a Help Hint to appear for.
2 Set the ShowHint property of each control to True.
3 At run time, set the value of application’s ShowHint property to True.
You can specify a hint to be used for both for a Help Hint box and in an OnHint handler
(as the application’s Hint property value) by specifying two values separated by a |
character (the “or” or “pipe” symbol). For example,
Edit1.Hint := ’Name|Enter Name in the edit box’;
The ’Name’ string appears in the Help Hint box, and the ’Enter full name’ string appears
as specified in the OnHint event handler.
If you specify just one value, it can be used both as a Help Hint and as the Hint property
of the application. If the application’s ShowHint property is False, the Help Hint won’t
appear, but the other hint still will.
If a control has no Hint value specified, but its parent control does, the control uses the
Hint value of the parent control as long as the control’s ShowHint property is True.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a list box on a form. Items are added to the list box
and a Help Hint is assigned to both controls. The last statement enables the Help Hints
for the entire application.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
Edit1.Hint := 'Enter your name';
Edit1.ShowHint := True;
with ListBox1 do
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 383

HintColor property

for I := 1 to 10 do
Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(I));
Hint := 'Select an item';
ShowHint := True;
end;
Application.ShowHint := True;
end;
To see a example that displays the hints of controls in some place other than in a Help
Hint box, see the OnHint example.

See also
GetLongHint function, GetShortHint function, HintColor property, HintPause property,
ShowHint property for controls, ShowHint property for the application

HintColor property
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property HintColor: TColor

Description
Run time only. The HintColor property determines the color of the hint boxes for the
Help Hints of the controls in the application. For a table of possible color values, see the
Color property.

Example
This example includes an control that has a Hint property value and has its ShowHint
property value set to True. When the application runs and the user places the mouse
cursor over the control, a Help Hint appears for the control in an aqua hint box after a
delay of 1000 milliseconds:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.ShowHint := True;
Application.HintColor := clAqua;
Application.HintPause := 1000;
end;

See also
Application variable, Hint property, HintPause property, ShowHint property, TColor type

384 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

HintPause property
+
HintPause property +
Applies to
TApplication component +
Declaration +
property HintPause: Integer; +
The HintPause property determines the time interval that passes when the user places
the mouse pointer on a control before the control’s Help Hint specified in its Hint
property appears. The interval is in milliseconds. The default value is 800 milliseconds.
+
Example
+
This example includes an control that has a Hint property value and has its ShowHint
property value set to True. When the application runs and the user places the mouse
H
cursor over the control, a Help Hint appears for the control in an aqua hint box after a
delay of 1000 milliseconds:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.ShowHint := True;
Application.HintColor := clAqua;
Application.HintPause := 1000;
end;

See also
Application variable, Hint property, HintColor property, ShowHint property

Hints property
Applies to
TDBNavigator component

Declaration
property Hints: TStrings;
The Hints property allows you to customize the Help Hints for the buttons on the
database navigator. Each hint is a string. The first string in the string object becomes the
Help Hint for the first button on the navigator. The seventh hint becomes the Help Hint
for the seventh button (the Edit button).
If you don’t want to change the Help Hint for every button, enter an empty string (‘’) for
the Help Hint you want to stay the same, or simply leave the line blank if you are using
the string list property editor of the Object Inspector for the Hints property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 385

HistoryList property

Example
This example uses a database navigator and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the Help Hints for the navigator are modified.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NewStrings: TStringList;
begin
NewStrings := TStringList.Create;
with NewStrings do
begin
Add('Beginning of dataset');
Add('Previous record');
Add('');
Add('End of dataset');
end;
DBNavigator1.Hints := NewStrings;
DBNavigator1.ShowHint := True;
end;

See also
Hint property, HintColor property, HintPause property

HistoryList property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property HistoryList: TStrings ;
The HistoryList property contains strings that appear in the File Name drop-down
combo box of an Open or Save dialog box when the user opens it. Because only a File
Name combo box can have a value for the HistoryList property, the FileEditStyle
property value of the dialog box must be fsComboBox. If the FileEditStyle property value
is fsEdit, the strings in the HistoryList property aren’t used by the dialog box.
Your application can use the HistoryList property to create a list of previous files names
opened or saved with the dialog box. Use a TStringList object to keep a list of file names,
and assign this object to the HistoryList property.
Note When an Open or Save dialog box is open, your application won’t be able to access the
HistoryList property. Therefore, your application must work with HistoryList before the
dialog box opens or after it closes.

Example
This example uses an Open dialog box and a button. The code creates a string list object
and stores each file the user selects in the Open dialog box in it. Each time the clicks the
button to open the dialog box, the string list is assigned to the HistoryList property.

386 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

var
HMetafile type
+
OldFiles: TStringList; +
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
SelectedFile: string;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
+
SelectedFile := OpenDialog1.FileName;
OldFiles.Add(SelectedFile); +
+
OpenDialog1.HistoryList := OldFiles;
end;
initialization
OldFiles := TStringList.Create;
end.
+
H
HMetafile type Graphics
Declaration
HMETAFILE = THandle;
HMetafile is the handle of a TMetafile object.

HorzScrollBar property
Applies to
TForm, TScrollBox components

Declaration
property HorzScrollBar: TControlScrollBar;
The HorzScrollBar property is the form’s or scroll box’s horizontal scroll bar. The values
of HorzScrollBar’s nested properties determines how the horizontal scroll bar behaves.
To make a horizontal scroll bar appear on a form or scroll box, the nested properties of
HorzScrollBar must be set like this:
• Visible must be True.
• The value of the Range property must be greater than the value of the ClientWidth
property of the form or the Width property of the scroll box.

Example
This example implements a horizontal scroll bar on the form. The scroll bar scrolls the
form 100 pixels more than the form width:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 387

HPrevInst variable

ClientWidth := 300;
with HorzScrollBar do
begin
Increment := 4;
Position := 0;
Range := ClientWidth + 100; {Range must be greater than the form’s client width}
Visible := True;
end;
end;

See also
AutoScroll property, Increment property, Position property, Range property, ScrollPos
property, VertScrollBar property, Visible property

HPrevInst variable System

Declaration
var HPrevInst: Word;
In a program, the HPrevInst variable contains the handle of the previous instance of the
application, or 0 if there are no previous instances. In a library, HPrevInst is always zero.

Icon property
Applies to
TPicture object; TApplication, TForm components

For forms
Declaration
property Icon: TIcon
The Icon property determines the icon that is displayed when the window or form is
minimized. If you don’t assign a specific icon to Icon, the form uses the application’s
icon.

Example
This code assigns an icon to a form when the form is created:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Icon.LoadFromFile('MYICON.ICO');
end;

388 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Icon property
+
See also
LoadFromFile method, SaveToFile method +
For picture objects +
Declaration
+
property Icon: TIcon +
The Icon property specifies the contents of the TPicture object as an icon graphic (.ICO
file format). If Icon is referenced when the TPicture contains a Bitmap or Metafile graphic,
the graphic won’t be converted. Instead, the original contents of the TPicture are
+
discarded and Icon returns a new, blank icon. +
Example
The following code allows the user to use a dialog box to redefine the icon for the
+
application at run time. When the user clicks Button1, OpenDialog1 executes and the user
specifies an icon file name. The file is loaded into the Icon property of the TheIcon picture
I
object. Then, the Icon of TheIcon is assigned to the Icon of Form1.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var TheIcon: TPicture;
begin
OpenDialog1.FileName := '*.ICO';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin
TheIcon := TPicture.Create;
TheIcon.LoadFromFile(OpenDialog1.FileName);
Form1.Icon := TheIcon.Icon;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 389

InactiveTitle typed constant

See also
Application variable, LoadFromFile method, Minimize method, SaveToFile method

InactiveTitle typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const InactiveTitle: PChar = '(Inactive %s)';
The InactiveTitle typed constant points to a null-terminated string to use when
constructing the title of an inactive CRT window.
The string is used as the format-control parameter of a call to the Windows WVSPrintF
function. The %s specifier, if present, indicates where to insert the existing window title.

Inc procedure System

Declaration
procedure Inc(var X [ ; N: Longint ] );
The Inc procedure adds one or N to the variable X.
X is an ordinal-type variable or a variable of type PChar if the extended syntax is
enabled and N is an integer-type expression.
X increments by 1, or by N if N is specified; that is, Inc(X) corresponds to the statement
X := X + 1, and Inc(X, N) corresponds to the statement X := X + N.
Inc generates optimized code and is especially useful in tight loops.

Example
var
IntVar: Integer;
LongintVar: Longint;
begin
Inc(IntVar); { IntVar := IntVar + 1 }
Inc(LongintVar, 5); { LongintVar := LongintVar + 5 }
end;

See also
Dec procedure, Pred function, Succ function

Inch property
Applies to
TMetafile object

390 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Include procedure
+
Declaration
property Inch: Word; +
The Inch property value is the number of pixels per inch that are used for the metafile’s
coordinate mapping. For example, if the metafile was created in a Twips coordinate
+
system (using MM_TWIPS mapping), the value of Inch is 1440.
+
Include procedure System +
Declaration +
procedure Include(var S: set of T; I:T); +
The Include procedure adds the element I to the set S.
S is a set type variable, and I is an expression of a type compatible with the base
+
type of S.
The construct Include(S,I) corresponds to S := S + (I) but the Include procedure
I
generates more efficient code.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 391

Index property

Visible := True;
end;
end;

See also
HorzScrollBar property, Position property, Range property, ScrollPos property,
VertScrollBar property

Index property
Applies to
TOutlineNode object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField,
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField,
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

For outline nodes

Declaration
property Index: Longint;
The Index property uniquely identifies each item of an outline. The first outline item has
an Index value of 1, and subsequent items are indexed sequentially. If an item has
subitems, the Index value of the parent item is one less than the Index value of its first
subitem.
The value of the Index property corresponds to the index in the Items property array of
the TOutline component. When an item is added, inserted, or deleted from the outline,
the values of the Index properties of all subsequent items must be recalculated to be
valid. This happens automatically, unless the BeginUpdate method has been called.

Example
The following code tests to determine if the selected item is the top item in the outline.
with Outline1 do
if Items[SelectedItem].Index = 1 then
{ The selected item is the top item }
else
{ The selected item is not the top item };

See also
Add method, Delete method, EndUpdate method, Insert method

392 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IndexDefs property
+
For fields
+
Declaration
property Index: Integer;
+
Index is a field’s index number into the Fields property of the dataset. It corresponds to +
the order of the field in the dataset. You can change the order of a field’s position in the
dataset by changing its Index property. A better way to change field order, however, is
by dragging and dropping fields in the Fields Editor at design time.
+
+
IndexDefs property +
Applies to
TTable component
+
Declaration
I
property IndexDefs: TIndexDefs;
Run-time and read only. The IndexDefs property holds information about all the indexes
for the TTable.
Note The IndexDefs property may not always reflect the current set of indexes. Before
examining any property of IndexDefs, call its Update method to ensure that it has the
most recent set of information.

Example
{ Get the current available indicies }
Table1.IndexDefs.Update;
{ Find one which combines Customer Number (‘CustNo’) and Order Number (‘OrderNo’) }
for I := 0 to Table1.IndexDefs.Count - 1 do
if Table1.IndexDefs.Items[I].Fields = ‘CustNo;OrderNo’ then

IndexFieldCount property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property IndexFieldCount: Integer;
Run-time only. The IndexFieldCount property is the number of actual fields for the
current index. If you are using the primary index for the component, this value will be
one. If the component is not Active, the value of IndexFieldCount will be zero.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 393

IndexFieldNames property

Example
TotalLen := 0;
with Table1 do
{ Calculate the total length of the index }
for I := 0 to IndexFieldCount - 1 do
Inc(TotalLen, IndexFields[I].FieldDef.DataSize);

IndexFieldNames property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property IndexFieldNames: string;
The IndexFieldNames property is used with an SQL server to identify the columns to be
used as an index for the TTable. Separate the column names with semicolon characters
(“;”). If you have too many column names or the names are too long to fit within the 255
character limit, use column numbers instead of names.
Note IndexFieldNames and IndexName are mutually exclusive. Setting one will clear the other.

Example
Query1.IndexFieldNames := ‘CustNo;OrderNo’;

IndexFields property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property IndexFields[Index: Integer]: TField;
Run-time only. The IndexFields property gives you access to information about each field
of the current index for the dataset. The Active property must be True or the information
will not be valid.

Example
S := '';
with Table1 do
{ Create a composite string with the index’s names separated by “@” }
for I := 0 to IndexFieldCount - 1 do
S := S + '@' + IndexFields[I].FieldName;

394 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IndexName property
+
See also
IndexFieldCount property +
IndexName property
+
Applies to
+
TTable component +
Declaration +
property IndexName: string;
The IndexName property identifies a secondary index for the TTable. If no value is
+
assigned to IndexName, the table’s primary index will be used to order the records.
For dBASE tables, the index must reside in the table’s master index file. The master
+
index file is determined by taking the TableName property and replacing any file
extension with “MDX”. Non-maintained indexes are not supported.
I
Note IndexFieldNames and IndexName are mutually exclusive. Setting one will clear the other.

Example
Table1.IndexName := ‘CustNoIndex’;

See also
MasterFields property, MasterSource property

IndexOf method
Applies to
TList, TStringList, TStrings objects; TFieldDefs, TIndexDefs, TMenuItem components

For menu items

Declaration
function IndexOf(Item: TMenuItem): Integer;
The IndexOf method returns the position of a menu item within a menu. The first
position in a menu is 0. If a menu item is not in the menu, IndexOf returns -1.

Example
This example uses a main menu named File1, a button, and a label on a form. The File1
menu contains three menu commands, Open, Save, and Close. Delphi automatically
names these menu items Open1, Save1, and Close1. This code returns the position of the
Close command in the File menu and reports it as the caption of the label.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 395

IndexOf method

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);

begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(File1.IndexOf(Close1));
end;
The label displays the number 2, indicating that Close is the third menu command in the
File menu. The first menu item, Open, has an index value of 0.

For list objects

Declaration
function IndexOf(Item: Pointer): Integer;
The IndexOf method returns the position of an item in a list kept by the List property.
The first position in a list is 0. If an item is not in the list, IndexOf returns -1.

Example
The following code adds an object to MyList if it isn’t already in the list.
if MyList.IndexOf(MyObject)=-1 then MyList.Add(MyObject);

For string objects

Declaration
function IndexOf(const S: string): Integer;
The IndexOf method returns the position of a string in a list of strings in a string or string
list object. Specify the string you want to locate as the value of the S parameter. The first
position in the list of strings is 0. If the string is not in the string list, IndexOf returns -1.

Example
This example uses a combo box that contains five strings (enter them as the value of the
Items property with the Object Inspector) and a label. When the user selects a string in
the combo box, the index of the selected string appears as the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.ComboBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(ComboBox1.Items.IndexOf(ComboBox1.SelText));
end;
This example uses a file list box, a directory list box, and a label on a form. When the
user uses the directory list box to change directories, a message appears and the color of

396 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IndexOfObject method

the form changes if the file AUTOEXEC.BAT is in the new directory. The code is written
+
in the OnChange event of the directory list box: +
procedure TForm1.DirectoryListBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.Directory := DirectoryListBox1.Directory;
+
if FileListBox1.Items.IndexOf('AUTOEXEC.BAT') > -1 then
begin
+
Color := clYellow;
Label1.Caption := 'You are in the root directory!'; +
end;
end; +
See also
IndexOfObject method, Strings property
+
+
For TIndexDefs objects
I
Declaration
function IndexOf(const Name: string): Integer;
The IndexOf method returns the index of the entry in Items whose Name property
matches the Name parameter.

For TFieldDefs objects

Declaration
function IndexOf(const Name: string): Integer;
The IndexOf method returns the index number of the entry in Items whose Name
property matches the Name parameter.

IndexOfObject method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects

Declaration
function IndexOfObject(AObject: TObject): Integer;
The IndexOfObject method returns the position of an object stored in the Objects property
of a string object. Specify the object you want to locate as the value of the AObject
parameter. The first position in the list of objects is 0. If the object is not in the list of
objects, IndexOfObject returns -1.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 397

InitialDir property

Example
The following code determines if MyObject is the first object in MyStringList.
if MyStringList.IndexOfObject(MyObject)=0 then
{ MyObject is the first object in the list };

See also
AddObject method, IndexOf method, InsertObject method

InitialDir property
Applies to
TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components

Declaration
property InitialDir: string;
The InitialDir property determines the current directory when the dialog box first
appears and value of the InitialDir property is shown as the current directory in the
directory tree. Only files in the current directory appear in the dialog box’s list box of file
names. After the dialog box appears, users can then use the directory tree to change to
another directory if they want.
When specifying the initial directory, include the full path name. For example,
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
If no initial directory is specified, the directory that is current when the dialog box
appears remains the current directory. The same is true if you specify a directory that
does not exist.

Example
This code specifies C:\WINDOWS as the initial directory when the dialog box appears,
displays the dialog box, and displays the name of the file the user selects with the dialog
box in a label on the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.InitialDir := 'C:\WINDOWS';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Caption := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;

See also
Filter property

398 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

InitialValues property
+
InitialValues property +
Applies to
TReport component +
Declaration +
property InitialValues: TStrings; +
The InitialValues property is a list of report variable strings the specified report uses to
run. By specifying these initial values, your application can bypass the dialog boxes that
prompt you for these values when the report runs.
+
Example
+
The following code adds two report variable values and runs the report. +
Report1.InitialValues.Add('@Report1=<35>');
Report1.InitialValues.Add('@Report2=<test>');
Report1.Run;
I
See also
SetVariable method, SetVariableLines method

InitWinCrt procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure InitWinCrt;
The InitWinCrt procedure creates a WinCRT window.
If you do not explicitly call InitWinCrt, it is automatically called when you use Read,
Readln, Write, or Writeln on a file assigned to the CRT.
InitWinCrt uses the WindowOrg, WindowSize, and ScreenSize constants, and the
WindowTitle variable to determine the characteristics of the CRT window.

See also
ScreenSize typed constant, WindowOrg typed constant, WindowSize typed constant,
WindowTitle variable

InOutRes variable System

Declaration
var InOutRes: Integer;
The built-in I/O routines use the InOutRes variable to store the value that the next call to
the IOResult standard function will return.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 399

InPlaceActive property

InOutRes is used by the built-in I/O functions.

InPlaceActive property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Declaration
property InPlaceActive: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. The InPlaceActive property specifies whether the OLE object in
an OLE container is active in-place. If so, the value of InPlaceActive is True. If the object is
deactivated, or activated in its own window (not in place), the value of InPlaceActive is
False.
When an OLE object is active in-place, the OLE server application controls the editing of
the OLE object from within the OLE container application. The OLE server might
replace menu items and the status bar of the OLE container.

Example
The following code waits until an OLE object is activated in place before unlocking
Panel1. Attach this code to the OnActivate event handler of OLEContainer1.
procedure TForm1.OleContainer1Activate(Sender: TObject, Activating:Boolean);
begin
if OLEContainer1.InPlaceActive then
Panel1.Locked := False;
end;

See also
Active property, GroupIndex property

Input variable System

Declaration
var Input: Text;
The Input variable is a read-only file associated with the operating system's standard
input device, which is usually the keyboard.
In many of Delphi's standard file-handling routines, the file variable parameter can be
omitted. Instead the routine operates on the Input or Output file variable. The following
standard file-handling routines operate on the Input file when no file parameter is
specified:
• Eof
• Eoln

400 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

• Read
InputBox function
+
•
•
Readln
SeekEof
+
• SeekEoln +
Since Windows does not support text-oriented input and output, Input and Output files
are unassigned by default in a Windows application. Any attempt to read or write to
them will produce an I/O error.
+
If the application uses the WinCrt unit, Input and Output will refer to a scrollable text +
window.
+
See also
Output variable, TextFile type +
+
InputBox function Dialogs
I
Declaration
function InputBox(const ACaption, APrompt, ADefault: string): string;
The InputBox function displays an input dialog box ready for the user to enter a string in
its edit box. The ACaption parameter is the caption of the dialog box, the APrompt
parameter is the text that prompts the user to enter input in the edit box, and the
ADefault parameter is the string that appears in the edit box when the dialog box first
appears.
If the user chooses the Cancel button, the default string is the value returned. If the user
chooses the OK button, the string in the edit box is the value returned.
Use the InputBox function when it doesn’t matter if the user chooses either the OK
button or the Cancel button (or presses Esc) to exit the dialog box. When your
application needs to know if the user chooses OK or Cancel (or presses Esc), use the
InputQuery function.

Example
This example displays an input dialog box when the user clicks the button on the form.
The input dialog box includes a prompt string and a default string. The string the user
enters in the dialog box is stored in the InputString variable.
uses Dialogs;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
InputString: string;
begin
InputString:= InputBox('Input Box', 'Prompt', 'Default string');
end;

See also
MessageDlg function, MessageDlgPos function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 401

InputQuery function

InputQuery function Dialogs

Declaration
function InputQuery(const ACaption, APrompt: string; var Value: string): Boolean;
The InputQuery function displays an input dialog box ready for the user to enter a string
in its edit box. The ACaption parameter is the caption of the dialog box, the APrompt
parameter is the text that prompts the user to enter input in the edit box, and the Value
parameter is the string that appears in the edit box when the dialog box first appears. If
the user enters a string in the edit box and chooses OK, the Value parameter changes to
the new value.
The InputQuery function returns True if the user chooses OK, and False if the user
chooses Cancel or presses the Esc key.
If your application doesn’t need to know whether the user chooses OK or Cancel, use
the InputBox function.

Example
This example uses a button and a label on the form. When the user clicks the button, a
the input box displays. If the user chooses OK, the string that appears in the edit box of
the dialog box displays as the caption of the label on the form. If the user chooses
Cancel, the dialog box closes and the caption of the label remains unchanged.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NewString: string;
ClickedOK: Boolean;
begin
NewString := 'Default String';
Label1.Caption := NewString;
ClickedOK := InputQuery('Input Box', 'Prompt', NewString);
if ClickedOK then { NewString contains new input string }
Label1.Caption := 'The new string is ''' + NewString + '''';
end;

See also
MessageDlg function, MessageDlgPos function

Insert method
Applies to
TList, TMenuItem, TStringList, TStrings objects; TOutline, TTable, TQuery components

402 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Insert method
+
For list objects
+
Declaration
procedure Insert(Index: Integer; Item: Pointer);
+
The Insert method inserts an item into the list of items stored in the List property of a list +
object. Specify the item to insert as the value of the Item parameter. Specify the position
in the list where you want the item inserted as the value of the Index parameter. The
index is zero-based, so the first position in the list has an index value of 0.
+
If your application calls Insert when the list of items is sorted, an EListError exception is +
raised.
+
Example
The following code inserts MyObject into MyList at the position immediately following
the position of MyOtherObject.
+
MyList.Insert(IndexOf(MyOtherObject)+1, MyObject); I
See also
Add method, Clear method, Count property, Delete method, First method, IndexOf
method, Last method

For string objects

Declaration
procedure Insert(Index: Integer; const S: string);
The Insert method inserts a string into the list of strings in a string or string list object.
The string S is inserted into the position in the list indicated by the value of Index. The
index is zero-based, so the first position in the list has an index value of 0.

Example
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. When the form appears, it contains
five items. When the user clicks the button, another string is inserted at the top of the list
of items:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 1 to 5 do
ListBox1.Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(I));
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 403

Insert method

ListBox1.Items.Insert(0, 'Inserted here');

end;

See also
Add method, AddStrings method, Clear method, Delete method, IndexOf method,
InsertObject method

For menu items

Declaration
procedure Insert(Index: Integer; Item: TMenuItem);
The Insert method inserts a menu item in a menu at the position indicated by the value
of Index.

Example
This example inserts a new menu item after the first item in a menu named FileMenu:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NewItem: TMenuItem;
begin
NewItem := TMenuItem.Create(FileMenu);
NewItem.Caption := 'Do this';
FileMenu.Insert(1, NewItem);
end;

See also
Add method, Count property, Delete method

For outlines
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
function Insert(Index: Longint; const Text: string): Longint;

Description
The Insert method inserts an outline item (TOutlineNode object) into an outline. The
value of the Index and Text parameters are stored in the Index and Text properties of the
inserted item. Insert returns the Index property value of the inserted item.
The inserted item appears in the outline position determined by the Index parameter. It
is inserted at the same level as the item that previously resided at this position.
Therefore, the inserted item and the original item are siblings and share the same parent.

404 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Insert method

The original item and all other outline items that appear after the inserted item are
+
moved down one row and are reindexed with valid Index values. This happens
automatically unless the BeginUpdate method was called.
+
Note To insert an item as the last top-level item in an outline, pass zero (0) in the Index
parameter.
+
Example
+
The following code inserts an item as a sibling of the selected item. +
begin
Outline1.Insert(Outline1.SelectedItem, 'New item');
end;
+
See also
+
Add method, AddChild method, AddChildObject method, InsertObject method, MoveTo
method
+
I
For tables and queries
Declaration
procedure Insert;
The Insert method puts the dataset into Insert state and opens a new, empty record at the
current cursor location. When an application calls Post, the new record will be inserted
in the dataset in a position based on its index, if defined. To discard the new record, use
Cancel.
This method is valid only for datasets that return a live result set.
Note For indexed tables, the Append and Insert methods will both put the new record in the
correct location in the table, based on the table’s index. If no index is defined on the
underlying table, then the record will maintain its position—Append will add the record
to the end of the table, and Insert will insert it at the current cursor position. In either
case, posting a new record may cause rows displayed in a data grid to change as the
dataset follows the new row to its indexed position and then fetches data to fill the data
grid around it.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
{ Move to the end ot the component }
Last;
Insert;
FieldByName(‘CustNo’).AsString := ‘9999’;
{ Fill in other fields here }
if { you are sure you want to do this} then Post
else { if you changed your mind } Cancel;
end.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 405

Insert procedure

Insert procedure System

Declaration
procedure Insert(Source: string; var S: string; Index: Integer);
The Insert procedure merges a substring into a string beginning at a specified point.
Source is a string-type expression. S is a string-type variable of any length. Index is an
integer-type expression.
Insert merges Source into S at the position S[index]. If the resulting string is longer than
255 characters, it is truncated after the 255th character.

Example
var
S: string;
begin
S := 'Honest Lincoln';
Insert('Abe ', S, 8); { 'Honest Abe Lincoln' }
end;

See also
Concat function, Copy function, Delete procedure, Length function, Pos function

InsertComponent method
Applies to
All components

Declaration
procedure InsertComponent(AComponent: TComponent);
The InsertComponent method makes the component own the component passed in the
AComponent parameter. The component is added to the end of the Components array
property. The inserted component must have no name (no specified Name property
value), or the name must be unique among all others in the Components list.
When the owning component is destroyed, AComponent is destroyed also.

Example
The following code inserts NewButton into the Components array of Form1.
Form1.InsertComponent(NewButton);

406 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

InsertControl method
+
InsertControl method +
Applies to
All controls +
Declaration +
procedure InsertControl(AControl: TControl); +
The InsertControl method inserts a control within the Controls property of a windowed
control, making the inserted control a child, and the containing control the parent. The
inserted control is the value of the AControl parameter.
+
Example
+
This example uses a button placed next to a group box. When the user clicks the button,
the group box becomes the parent of the button, so the button moves inside the group
+
box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
I
begin
RemoveControl(Button1);
GroupBox1.InsertControl(Button1);
end;
Note that it was necessary to remove the button from the Controls property of the form
before the button actually moves into the group box.
This code accomplishes the same thing:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Parent := GroupBox1;
end;

See also
Parent property, RemoveControl method

InsertObject method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects, TOutline component

For string and string list objects

Declaration
procedure InsertObject(Index: Integer; const S: string; AObject: TObject);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 407

InsertObject method

The InsertObject method inserts a string into the list of strings and an object into the list
of objects in a string or string list object. Specify the string you want to insert as the value
of the S parameter, and the object you want to insert as the value of the AObject
parameter. The Index parameter identifies the position of the string and object in their
respective string and object lists. Because the index is zero-based, the first position in
each list has an Index value of 0.
If your application calls InsertObject when the list of items is sorted, an EListError
exception is raised.

Example
The following code inserts the components of Form1 into the first position of the Lines
list of Memo1.
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Form1.ComponentCount-1 do
begin
with Form1.Components[i] as TComponent do
Memo1.lines.InsertObject(0, Name, Self);
end;
end;

See also
AddObject method, IndexOfObject method, Insert method, Objects property, Strings
property

For outlines
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
function InsertObject(Index: Longint; const Text: string; const Data: Pointer): Longint;

Description
The InsertObject method inserts an outline item (TOutlineNode object) containing data
into an outline. The value of the Index and Text parameters are stored in the Index and
Text properties of the inserted item. The Data parameter specifies the Data property
value of the new item. Insert returns the Index property value of the inserted item.
The inserted item appears in the outline position determined by the Index parameter. It
will be inserted at the same level as the item that previously resided at this position.
Therefore, the inserted item and the original item will be siblings and share the same
parent. The original item and all other outline items that appear after the inserted item
are moved down one row and are reindexed with valid Index values. This is done
automatically unless the BeginUpdate method was called.

408 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Note
InsertOLEObjectDlg function

To insert an item as the last top-level item in an outline, pass zero (0) in the Index
+
parameter. +
Example
The following code creates a bitmap object named Bitmap1 and inserts an outline item
+
containing Bitmap1 into the first level of Outline1. +
+
var
Bitmap1: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap1 := TBitmap.Create;
Outline1.InsertObject(1, 'New item', Bitmap1); +
end;
+
See Also
Add method, AddChild method, AddChildObject method, Insert method, MoveTo method +
InsertOLEObjectDlg function
I
Toctrl
Declaration
function InsertOleObjectDlg(Form: TForm; HelpContext: THelpContext;
var PInitInfo: Pointer): Boolean;
InsertOLEObjectDlg displays the Insert Object dialog box. Use this function to allow the
user to specify the OLE object initialization information by using the Insert Object dialog
box.
InsertOLEObjectDlg returns True if the user specifies an OLE object and chooses OK from
the Insert Object dialog box. InsertOLEObjectDlg returns False if the user doesn’t specify
an OLE object or chooses Cancel in the dialog box.
These are the parameters of InsertOLEObjectDlg:

Field Description
Form The form that owns the Insert Object dialog box.
HelpContext A Help context identification number that is used if the user chooses Help from within
the Insert Object dialog box. If you pass 0 for HelpContext, no Help button appears in
the Insert Object dialog box. Pass a number other than 0 if you want to provide
context-sensitive online Help.
PInitInfo If InsertOLEObject returns True, InsertOLEObjectDlg modifies the PInitInfo pointer
parameter to point to OLE initialization information. Initialize the OLE object by
assigning this pointer to the PInitInfo property. When your application is finished with
the PInitInfo pointer, it should be released with ReleaseOLEInitInfo.

Example
The following code displays the Insert Object dialog box. If the user specifies an object
and chooses OK, OLEContainer1 is initialized. After initialization, the OLE information is
released.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 409

InsertRecord method

var
Info: Pointer;
begin
if InsertOLEObjectDlg(Form1, 0, Info) then
begin
OLEContainer1.PInitInfo := Info;
ReleaseOLEInitInfo(Info);
end;
end;

See also
LinksDlg function, PasteSpecialDlg function

InsertRecord method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery components

Declaration
procedure InsertRecord(const Values: array of const);
The InsertRecord method inserts a new record into the dataset using the field values
passed in the Values parameter. The assignment of the elements of Values to fields in the
record is sequential; the first element is assigned to the first field, the second to the
second, etc. The number of field values passed in Values may be fewer than the number
of actual fields in the record; any remaining fields are left unassigned and are NULL.
The type of each element of Values must be compatible with the type of the field in that
the field must be able to perform the assignment using AsString, AsInteger, etc.,
according the type of the Values element.
This method is valid only for datasets that return a live result set.
Note For indexed tables, the AppendRecord and InsertRecord methods will both put the new
record in the correct location in the table, based on the table’s index. If no index is
defined on the underlying table, then the record will maintain its position—
AppendRecord will add the record to the end of the table, and InsertRecord will insert it at
the current cursor position. In either case, posting a new record in a data grid may cause
all the rows before and after the new record to change as the dataset follows the new
row to its indexed position and then fetches data to fill the grid around it.

Example
Table1.InsertRecord([9998, ‘Lesh’, ‘Phil’]);

410 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Int function
+
Int function System
+
Declaration
function Int(X: Real): Real;
+
The Int function returns the integer part of the argument. +
X is a real-type expression. The result is the integer part of X; that is, X rounded toward
zero. +
Example +
var
R: Real;
+
begin
R := Int(123.456); { 123.0 } +
R := Int(–123.456);
end;
{ –123.0 }
I
See also
Frac function, Round function, Trunc function

IntegralHeight property
Applies to
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox component

Declaration
property IntegralHeight: Boolean;
The IntegralHeight property controls the way the list box represents itself on the form. If
IntegralHeight is True, the list box shows only entries that fit completely in the vertical
space, and the bottom of the list box moves up to the bottom of the last completely
drawn item in the list. If IntegralHeight is False, the bottom of the list box is at the location
determined by its ItemHeight property, and the bottom item visible in the list might not
be complete.
If the list box has a Style property value of lbOwerDrawVariable, setting the IntegralHeight
property to True has no effect.
If the Style property value of the list box is lsOwnerDrawFixed, the height of the list box at
design time is always an increment of the ItemHeight value.

Example
This example uses a list box on a form. To try it, enter as many strings in the Items
property as you like using the Object Inspector. When the application runs, the list box
displays only entries that fit completely in the vertical space, and the bottom of the list

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 411

Interval property

box moves up to the bottom of the last string in the list box if the form is less than 300
pixels in height:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Height < 300 then
ListBox1.IntegralHeight := True
else
ListBox1.IntegralHeight := False;
end;

See also
ItemHeight property, Items property

Interval property
Applies to
TTimer component

Declaration
property Interval: Word;
The Interval property determines in milliseconds the amount of time that passes before
the timer component initiates another OnTimer event.
You can specify any value between 0 and 65,535 as the interval value, but the timer
component won’t call an OnTimer event if the value is 0. The default value is 1000 (one
second).

Example
The code in this OnTimer event handler moves a ball, the shape component (TShape)
slowly across a form.
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
Timer1.Interval := 100;
Shape1.Shape := stCircle;
Shape1.Left := Shape1.Left + 1;
end;

IntToHex function SysUtils

Declaration
function IntToHex(Value: Longint; Digits: Integer): string;
The IntToHex function converts a number into a string containing the number's
hexadecimal (base 16) representation with a specific number of digits.

412 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IntToStr function
+
Example
When the user clicks the button on the form, this code converts the number entered in
Edit1 to a hexadecimal string. The string displays in Edit2.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Edit2.Text := IntToHex(StrToInt(Edit1.Text), 6);
end;

See also
+
IntToStr function
+
IntToStr function SysUtils +
Declaration
+
function IntToStr(Value: Longint): string; I
The IntToStr function converts an integer into a string containing the decimal
representation of that number.

Example
This example uses a button and an edit box on a form. The code assigns a value to the
Value variable and displays the string representation of the Value variable in the edit
box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Value: Integer;
begin
Value := 1234;
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Value);
end;

See also
IntToHex function, StrToInt function

Invalidate method
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Declaration
procedure Invalidate;
The Invalidate method forces a control to repaint as soon as possible.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 413

IOResult function

Example
The following code invalidates Form1.
Form1.Invalidate;

IOResult function System

Declaration
function IOResult: Integer;
The IOResult function returns the status of the last I/O operation performed.
I/O-checking must be off—{$I–}—to trap I/O errors using IOResult.
If an I/O error occurs and I/O-checking is off, all subsequent I/O operations are
ignored until a call is made to IOResult. Calling IOResult clears the internal error flag.
An alternative way to handle I/O errors is to use exception handling. For more
information on handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in
the Help system.

Example
var
F: file of Byte;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(F, OpenDialog1.FileName);
{$I–}
Reset(F);
{$I+}
if IOResult = 0 then
MessageDlg('File size in bytes: ' + IntToStr(FileSize(F)),
mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
else
MessageDlg('File access error', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;

IsIndexField property
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

414 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IsMasked property
+
Declaration
property IsIndexField: Boolean; +
Run-time and read only. The IsIndexField property specifies whether or not a field is
indexed. If True, a field is indexed.
+
+
IsMasked property +
Applies to
TDBEdit, TMaskEdit components
+
Declaration +
property IsMasked: Boolean; +
The IsMasked property determines if a mask exists (the EditMask property has a value)
for the data displayed in the database edit box or mask edit box. If IsMasked is True, a
mask exists. If IsMasked is False, no mask exists.
I
Example
This example tests the masked edit box to determine if it has an edit mask. If it doesn’t
an edit mask is assigned. The edit mask is one for dates in the MM/DD/YY format:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if not MaskEdit1.IsMasked then
MaskEdit1.EditMask := '!99/99/00;1;_';
end;

For TParam objects

Declaration
property IsNull: Boolean;
IsNull is a read only property that returns True if the parameter has no data assigned to
it. This should only occur if an application has called:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 415

IsSQLBased property

• Assign with another parameter that has no data assigned.

• AssignField with a TField whose data is null.
• The Clear method.

Example
{ Set the CustNo parameter to 999 if it is null }
with Params.ParamByName(‘CustNo’) do
if IsNull then AsInteger := 999;

For fields
Declaration
property IsNull: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. IsNull returns True if the value of the field is NULL.

416 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IsValidIdent function

and ‘0’ to ‘9’. TBCDField and TFloatField also allow ‘E’, ‘e’, and the DecimalSeparator
+
character. All other fields accept all characters. +
See also
DecimalSeparator variable
+
+
IsValidIdent function SysUtils +
Declaration +
function IsValidIdent(const Ident: string): Boolean;
IsValidIdent returns True if the given string is a valid identifier. An identifier is defined as +
a character from the set ['A'..'Z', 'a'..'z', '_'] followed by zero or more characters from the
set ['A'..'Z', 'a'..'z', '0..'9', '_']. +
Note All component names must be valid Object Pascal identifiers.
I
IsVisible property
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
property IsVisible: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. The IsVisible property indicates whether the outline item is
visible within the TOutline component. An item is visible if it is on level 1 or if all its
parents are expanded.

Example
The following code expands the branch of the selected outline item if it isn’t visible.
with Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
if not IsVisible then FullExpand;

See also
Expanded property, Level property

ItemAtPos method
Applies to
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox, TTabSet components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 417

ItemAtPos method

For list boxes

Applies to
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox components

Declaration
function ItemAtPos(Pos: TPoint; Existing: Boolean): Integer;
The ItemAtPos method returns the index of the list box indicated by the coordinates of a
point on the control. The Pos parameter is the point in the control in window
coordinates.
If Pos is beyond the last item in the list box, the value of the Existing variable determines
the returned value. If you set Existing to True, ItemAtPos returns -1, indicating that no
item exists at that point. If you set Existing to False, ItemAtPos returns the position of the
last item in the list box.
ItemAtPos is useful for detecting if an item exists at a particular point in the control.

Example
This example uses a list box, and edit box, and a button on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the index value of the item in the list box which contains the point specified
in the code appears in the edit box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Value: Integer;
APoint: TPoint;
begin
APoint.X := 30;
APoint.Y := 50;
Value := ListBox1.ItemAtPos(APoint, False);
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Value);
end;

See also
ItemIndex property, Items property

For tab sets

Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
function ItemAtPos(Pos: TPoint): Integer;
The ItemAtPos method returns the index of the tab indicated by the coordinates of a
point on the control. The Pos parameter is the point in the control in window

418 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ItemCount property

coordinates. If the returned index is 0, the tab is the first tab in the tab set, if the index is
+
1, the tab is the second tab, and so on. +
ItemAtPos is useful for determining which tab is located at a particular position in the tab
set control. +
Example +
The following code selects the tab that is at client coordinates (100, 10) in TabSet1.
TabSet1.TabIndex := TabSet1.ItemAtPos(Point(100, 10);
+
See also +
TabIndex property, Tabs property
+
ItemCount property +
Applies to I
TOutline component

Declaration
property ItemCount: Longint;
Run-time and read only. The ItemCount property specifies the total number of items in
an outline.

Example
The following code turns off automatic reindexing before inserting a new item into the
index if the index includes more than 100 items. Otherwise, automatic reindexing
remains active.
Outline1.SetUpdateState(Outline1.ItemCount > 100)
Outline1.Insert(1, ’NewItem’, MyData);
Outline1.EndUpdate

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 419

ItemIndex property

For list boxes, the ItemHeight property is the height of an item in the list box in pixels
when the list box’s Style property is lsOwnerDrawFixed. If the Style property is lsStandard
or lsOwnerDrawVariable, the value of ItemHeight is ignored. You can control the height of
an item in a fixed owner-draw list box by changing the height of ItemHeight.
For combo boxes, the ItemHeight property is the height of an item in the combo box list
in pixels when the combo box’s Style property is csOwnerDrawFixed. If the Style property
is any other setting, the value of ItemHeight is ignored. You can control the height of an
item in a fixed owner-draw combo box by changing the height of ItemHeight.
For outlines, the ItemHeight property is the height of an item in the outline in pixels
when the outline’s Style property is osOwnerDraw. If the Style property is osStandard, the
value of ItemHeight is ignored. You can control the height of an item in an owner-draw
outline by changing the height of ItemHeight.

Example
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. Enter as many strings in the list box
as you like using the property editor of the Items property in the Object Inspector. When
the user clicks the button on the form, the amount of vertical space allotted to each item
in the list box changes.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Style := lbOwnerDrawFixed;
ListBox1.ItemHeight := 30;
end;

See also
Items property, IntegralHeight property, OnDrawItem event

ItemIndex property
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDriveComboBox,
TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TListBox, TRadioGroup components

Declaration
property ItemIndex: Integer;
Run-time only. The value of the ItemIndex property is the ordinal number of the selected
item in the control’s item list. If no item is selected, the value is -1, which is the default
value unless MultiSelect is True. To select an item at run time, set the value of ItemIndex
to the index of the item in the list you want selected, with 0 being the first item in the list.
For list boxes and combo boxes, if the value of the MultiSelect property is True and the
user selects more than one item in the list box or combo box, the ItemIndex value is the
index of the selected item that has focus. If MultiSelect is True, ItemIndex defaults to 0.

420 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ItemRect method
+
Example
This example uses a drive combo box on a form. When the user selects a drive in the
combo box, the index value of the selected item appears in the caption of the label:
+
procedure TForm1.DriveComboBox1Change(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Index value ' + IntToStr(DriveComboBox1.ItemIndex);
end;

See also
+
Items property
+
ItemRect method +
Applies to
+
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TFileListBox, TListBox, TStringGrid, TTabSet
components I
Declaration
function ItemRect(Item: Integer): TRect;
The ItemRect method returns the rectangle that surrounds the item specified in the Item
parameter.

Example
This example uses a list box and four labels on a form. When the application runs, three
strings are added to the list box. When the user selects one of the strings in the list box,
the coordinates of the rectangle taken up by the selected string appear in the four labels:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with ListBox1 do
begin
Items.Add('Hello');
Items.Add('New');
Items.Add('World');
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.ListBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ListBoxItem: TRect;
begin
ListBoxItem := ListBox1.ItemRect(ListBox1.ItemIndex);
Label1.Caption := ’Left ’ + IntToStr(ListBoxItem.Left);
Label2.Caption := 'Top ' + IntToStr(ListBoxItem.Top);
Label3.Caption := 'Right ' + IntToStr(ListBoxItem.Right);
Label4.Caption := 'Bottom ' + IntToStr(ListBoxItem.Bottom);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 421

Items property

For list boxes, combo boxes, and radio group boxes

Declaration
property Items: TStrings;
The Items property contains the strings that appear in the list box or combo box, or as
radio buttons in a radio group box. Because Items is an object of type TStrings, you can
add, delete, insert, and move items using the Add, Delete, Insert, Exchange, and Move
methods of the TStrings object.
The ItemIndex property determines which item is selected, if any.
To determine if a particular item in the list of strings that makes up the Items property
for a list box or combo box is selected, use the Selected property.

Example
This example uses an edit box, a list box, and a button on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the text in the edit box is added to the list box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add(Edit1.Text);
end;

See also
Add method, Delete, method, Exchange method, Insert method, ItemIndex property, Move
method, Selected property

For menu items, main menus, and pop-up menus

Declaration
property Items[Index: Integer]: TMenuItem;
Read-only property.
For menu items, the Items array property provides access to a subitem of a menu item
(TMenuItem) by its position in the list of subitems. The value of Index is the position of

422 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Items property

the subitem within the Items array. For example, if an application has a File drop-down
+
menu that contains the menu items New, Open, and Save, in that order,
FileMenu.Items[2] refers to the Save command. For menu items, Items is run-time only
+
property. +
For main menus, the Items property provides access to a menu item on the main menu
bar, and is available at both design time and run time. +
For pop-up menus, the Items property provides access to a menu item on the pop-up
menu, and is available at both design time and run time. +
Example +
The following code disables all the subitems of MenuItem1.
var
+
I: Integer;
begin +
I
for I := 0 to MenuItem1.ItemCount-1 do
MenuItem1.Items[I].Enabled := False;
end;

For list objects

Declaration
property Items[Index: Integer]: Pointer;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 423

Items property

Run-time only. The Items array property lets you access a specific pointer kept in the List
property of a list object. Using the Index parameter of Items you can access a list item by
its position in the list.

Example
This example creates a list object and inserts two records into it. The value of the record
fields are written on the form:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
type
PMyList = ^AList;
AList = record
I: Integer;
C: Char;
end;
var
MyList: TList;
ARecord: PMyList;
B: Byte;
Y: Word;
begin
MyList := TList.Create;
New(ARecord);
ARecord^.I := 100;
ARecord^.C := 'Z';
MyList.Add(ARecord); {Add integer 100 and character Z to list}
New(ARecord);
ARecord^.I := 200;
ARecord^.C := 'X';
MyList.Add(ARecord); {Add integer 200 and character X to list}
Y := 10; {Variable used in TextOut function}
{Go through the list until the end is reached}
for B := 0 to (MyList.Count - 1) do
begin
Y := Y + 30; {Increment Y Value}
ARecord := MyList.Items[B];
Canvas.TextOut(10, Y, IntToStr(ARecord^.I)); {Display I}
Y := Y + 30; {Increment Y Value again}
Canvas.TextOut(10, Y, ARecord^.C); {Display C}
end;
MyList.Free;
end;

See also
Add method, Expand method, First method, IndexOf method, Last method, Remove
method

424 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ItemSeparator property
+
For TIndexDefs objects
+
Declaration
property Items[Index: Integer]: TIndexDef;
+
Run-time and read only. Items holds the TIndexDef objects that describe each index of the +
dataset. The number of entries is given by the Count property; there will be one entry for
each index of the dataset. +
For TParams objects +
Declaration +
property Items[Index: Word]: TParam; +
Read and run-time only. The Items array property holds the parameters (TParam
objects). Use this property when you want to work with the entire set. While you can
use Items to reference a particular parameter by its index, the ParamByName method is
I
recommended to avoid depending on the order of the parameters.

For TFieldDefs objects

Declaration
property Items[Index: Integer]: TFieldDef;
Items is an array of pointers to the TFieldDef objects that describe each field in the dataset.
There is one pointer for each component in the dataset.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 425

KeepConnection property

Declaration
property ItemSeparator: string;
The ItemSeparator property determines the separator string used between the outline
item Text values in the FullPath property of the TOutlineNode object. The default value of
ItemSeparator is ’\’.
For example, if the top-level outline item has a Text value of ’Animals’ and a child item
with the Text value of ’Dogs’, the FullPath property of the ’Dogs’ item would have the
value ’Animals\Dogs’ by default. If the string ’->’ were assigned to the ItemSeparator
property, the FullPath property of the ’Dogs’ item would be ’Animals->Dogs’.

Example
The following code changes the item separator to ’:’.
Outline1.ItemSeparator := ’:’;

See also
FullPath property, Text property, TOutlineNode object

KeepConnection property
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
property KeepConnection: Boolean;
The KeepConnection property specifies whether an application remains connected to a
database server even when no tables are open. If an application needs to open and close
several tables in a single database, it will be more efficient to set KeepConnection to True.
That way, the application will remain connected to the database even when it does not
have any tables open. It can then open and close tables repeatedly without incurring the
overhead of connecting to the database each time. If KeepConnection is False, the database
must repeat the login process to the server each time the Connected property is set to
True.
The TSession component has an application-wide KeepConnections property that
determines the initial state of the KeepConnection property for temporary (automatically-
created) TDatabase components.

Example
Database1.KeepConnection := False;

426 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

KeepConnections property
+
KeepConnections property +
Applies to
TSession component +
Declaration +
property KeepConnections: Boolean; +
Run-time only. KeepConnections specifies whether virtual TDatabase components will
maintain database connections even if no tables in the database are open. Databases that
have an explicit TDatabase component will use TDatabase’s KeepConnection property
+
instead to determine if connections are persistent. +
If KeepConnections is True (the default), the application will maintain database
connections until the application exits or calls the DropConnections method. If
KeepConnections is False, then the application will disconnect from the database when all
+
datasets connected to tables in the database are closed. +
Note KeepConnections has no effect on connections to databases for which an application has
an explicit TDatabase component. K
Example
Session.KeepConnections := False;

See also
Session variable

KeyExclusive property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property KeyExclusive: Boolean;
The KeyExclusive property indicates whether range and search functions will exclude
the matching records specified by the functions. KeyExclusive is False by default.
For the SetRangeStart and SetRangeEnd methods, KeyExclusive determines whether the
filtered range excludes the range boundaries. The default is False, which means rows
will be in the filtered range if they are greater than or equal to the start range specified
and less than or equal to the end range specified. If KeyExclusive is True, the methods
will filter strictly greater than and less than the specified values.
For the GotoNearest and FindNearest methods, KeyExclusive indicates whether a search
will position the cursor on or after the record being searched for. If KeyExclusive is False,
then GoToNearest and FindNearest will move the cursor to the record that matches the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 427

KeyFieldCount property

specified values, if found. If True, then the methods will go the record immediately
following the matching record, if found.

Example
{ Limit the range from 1351 to 1356, excluding both 1351 and 1356 }
with Table1 do
begin
{ Set the beginning key }
EditRangeStart;
IndexFields[0].AsString := '1351';
{ Exclude 1351 itself }
KeyExclusive := True;
{ Set the ending key }
EditRangeEnd;
IndexFields[0].AsString := '1356';
{ Exclude 1356 itself }
KeyExclusive := True;
{ Tell the dataset to establish the range }
ApplyRange;
end;

See also
ApplyRange method, EditRangeStart method, EditRangeEnd method, KeyFieldCount
property

KeyFieldCount property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property KeyFieldCount: Integer;
KeyFieldCount specifies the number of key fields to use with search functions (GotoKey,
FindKey, EditKey, and so on) if you don’t want to search on all the fields in the key.

See also
GotoKey method, GotoNearest method, EditKey method, FindKey method, FindNearest
method, SetKey method

KeyPressed function WinCrt

Declaration
function KeyPressed: Boolean;

428 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

KeyPreview property

The KeyPressed function returns True if a key has been pressed on the keyboard
+
The key can be read using the ReadKey function. +
Example +
uses WinCrt; +
+
begin
repeat
Write('Xx');
until KeyPressed;
end; +
See also +
ReadKey function
+
KeyPreview property +
Applies to K
TForm component

Declaration
property KeyPreview: Boolean;
When the KeyPreview property is True, most key events (OnKeyDown event, OnKeyUp
event, and OnKeyPress event) go to the form first, regardless of which control is selected
on the form. This allows your application to determine how to process key events. After
going to the form, key events are then passed to the control selected on the form. When
KeyPreview is False, the key events go directly to the controls. The default value is False.
The exceptions are the navigation keys, such as Tab, BackTab, the arrow keys, and so on.
If the selected control processes such keys, you can use KeyPreview to intercept them;
otherwise, you can’t.
If KeyPreview is False, all key events go to the selected control.

Example
This example changes a form’s color to aqua when the user presses a key, even when a
control on the form has the focus. When the user releases the key, the form returns to its
original color.
var
FormColor: TColor;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
KeyPreview := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormKeyDown(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 429

KeyViolCount property

Shift: TShiftState);
begin
FormColor := Form1.Color;
Form1.Color := clAqua;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormKeyUp(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;
Shift: TShiftState);
begin
Form1.Color := FormColor;
end;

KeyViolCount property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property KeyViolCount: Longint;
Run-time and read only. KeyViolCount reports the number of records which could not be
replaced, added, or deleted from Destination because of an integrity (key) violations. If
AbortOnKeyViol is True, KeyViolCount will never be greater than one, since the first
violation will cause the move to terminate.

Example
with BatchMove1 do
begin
Execute;
if KeyViolCount <> 0 then { something went wrong };
end;

KeyViolTableName property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property KeyViolTableName: TFileName;
KeyViolTableName, if specified, creates a local (Paradox) table containing all records from
the source table that caused an integrity violation (such as a key violation) as a result of
the batch operation.
If AbortOnKeyViol is True, then there will be at most one record in this table since the
operation will be aborted with that first record. KeyViolCount will have the number of
records placed in the new table.

430 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Kind property
+
Example
BatchMove1.KeyViolTableName := ‘KeyViol’; +
See also +
Destination property
+
Kind property +
Applies to +
TBitBtn, TScrollBar components
The Kind property specifies the style or type of component.
+
+
For bitmap buttons +
Declaration K
property Kind: TBitBtnKind;
The Kind property determines the kind of bitmap button. These are the possible values
and their meanings:

Value Meaning
bkCustom You indicate which bitmap you want the bitmap button to have by setting the value of
the Glyph property to the bitmap of your choice. Like push buttons, you can either
select a ModalResult for the button, or you can supply the code to respond to an
OnClick event.
bkOK A green check mark and the text “OK” appears on the button face. The button
becomes the default button (the Default property is automatically set to True). When
the user chooses the button, the dialog box closes. The resulting ModalResult value of
the bitmap button is mrOK.
bkCancel A red X and the text “Cancel” appears on the button face. The button becomes the
Cancel button (the Cancel property is automatically set to True). When the user
chooses the button, the dialog box closes. The resulting ModalResult value of the
bitmap button is mrCancel.
bkYes A green check mark and the text “Yes” appears on the button face. The button
becomes the default button (the Default property is automatically set to True). When
the user chooses the button, any changes the user made in the dialog box are accepted
and the dialog box closes. The resulting ModalResult value of the bitmap button is
mrYes.
bkNo A red no symbol and the text “No” appears on the button face. The button becomes
the Cancel button (the Cancel property is automatically set to True). When the user
chooses the button, any changes the user made in the dialog box are canceled and the
dialog box closes. The resulting ModalResult value of the bitmap button is mrNo.
bkHelp A cyan question mark and the text “Help” appears on the button face. When the user
chooses the button, a Help screen in the application’s Help file appears. The Help file
that appears is the file specified as the value of the application’s HelpFile property. The
value of the HelpContext property of the button specifies which Help screen in the
Help file appears.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 431

Kind property

Value Meaning
bkClose A door with a green exit sign over it (use your imagination) and the text “Close”
appear on the button face. When the user chooses the button, the form closes. The
Default property of the button is True.
bkAbort A red X and the text “Abort” appears on the button face. The Cancel property of the
button is automatically set to True.
bkRetry A green circular arrow and the text “Retry” appear on the button face.
bkIgnore A green man walking away and the text “Ignore” appears on the button face. Use it to
allow the user to continue after an error has occurred.
bkAll A double green check mark and the text “Yes to All” appears on the button face. The
Default property of the button is automatically set to True.

Example
This example uses three bitmap buttons on a form. When the application runs, the Kind
property for each bitmap button is set, and the BitBtn1 button (the OK button) becomes
the default button.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
BitBtn1.Kind := bkOK;
BitBtn2.Kind := bkCancel;
BitBtn3.Kind := bkHelp;
end;

See also
Cancel property, Default property, ModalResult property

For scroll bars

Declaration
property Kind: TScrollBarKind ;
The Kind property determines if a scroll bar is horizontal or vertical. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
sbHorizontal Scroll bar is horizontal
sbVertical Scroll bar is vertical

For scroll bars of type TControlScrollBar (form and scroll box scroll bars accessed
through the HorzScrollBar and VertScrollBar properties), Kind is a read- and run-time-
only property.

Example
This example uses a radio group box and a scroll bar on a form. When the user selects
one of the radio buttons, the scroll bar changes orientation accordingly.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

432 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
LargeChange property
+
RadioGroup1.Items.Add('Vertical');
RadioGroup1.Items.Add('Horizontal');
+
RadioGroup1.ItemIndex := 2;
end; +
procedure TForm1.RadioGroup1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
if RadioGroup1.Items[RadioGroup1.ItemIndex] = 'Vertical' then
ScrollBar1.Kind := sbVertical; +
+
if RadioGroup1.Items[RadioGroup1.ItemIndex] = 'Horizontal' then
ScrollBar1.Kind := sbHorizontal;
end;
+
LargeChange property +
Applies to
TScrollBar component
+
Declaration +
property LargeChange: TScrollBarInc; L
The LargeChange property determines how far the scroll box moves when the user clicks
the scroll bar on either side of the scroll box or presses PgUp or PgDn. The default value is
1 position.
For example, if the LargeChange property setting is 1000, each time the user clicks the
scroll bar, the scroll box moves 1000 positions. How big the change from one position to
another depends on the difference between the Max property value and the Min
property value. If Max is 3000 and Min is 0, the user needs to click the scroll bar three
times to move the scroll box from one end of the scroll bar to the other.

Example
This code determines that when the user clicks the scroll bar on either side of the scroll
box, the scroll box moves 100 positions on the scroll bar:
ScrollBar1.LargeChange := 100;

See also
Max property, Min property, Position property, SmallChange property

Last method
Applies to
TList object; TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 433

Last method

For list objects

Declaration
function Last: Pointer;
The Last method returns a pointer that points to the last item referenced in the List
property of a list object.

Example
This example inserts two records into a list object and displays the contents of the last
record in the list on the form:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
type
PMyList = ^AList;
AList = record
I: Integer;
C: Char;
end;
var
MyList: TList;
ARecord: PMyList;
begin
MyList := TList.Create;
New(ARecord);
ARecord^.I := 100;
ARecord^.C := 'Z';
MyList.Add(ARecord); {Add integer 100 and character Z to list}
New(ARecord);
ARecord^.I := 200;
ARecord^.C := 'X';
MyList.Add(ARecord); {Add integer 200 and character X to list}
ARecord := MyList.Last;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, IntToStr(ARecord^.I)); {Display I}
Canvas.TextOut(10, 40, ARecord^.C); {Display C}
MyList.Free;
end;

See also
Capacity property, First method, IndexOf method, Items property

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
procedure Last;
The Last method moves the cursor to the last record in the active range of records of the
dataset. The active range of records is affected by the filter established with SetRangeEnd.

434 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Layout property

If the dataset is in Insert or Edit state, Last will perform an implicit Post of any pending
+
data. +
Example +
Table1.Last;
+
See also
First method, MoveBy method, Next method, Prior method, SetRangeEnd method +
Layout property
+
+
Applies to
TBitBtn, TSpeedButton components +
Declaration +
property Layout: TButtonLayout;
The Layout property determines where the image appears on the bitmap button or a
+
speed button. These are the possible values:
L
Value Meaning
blGlyphLeft The image appears near the left side of the button.
blGlyphRight The image appears near the right side of the button.
blGlyphTop The image appears near the top of the button.
blGlyphBottom The image appears near the bottom of the button.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form that has a bitmap specified as the value of
its Glyph property. When the user clicks the bitmap button, the bitmap randomly
changes its position on the button:
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Randomize;
case Random(4) of
0: BitBtn1.Layout := blGlyphLeft;
1: BitBtn1.Layout := blGlyphRight;
2: BitBtn1.Layout := blGlyphTop;
3: BitBtn1.Layout := blGlyphBottom;
end;
end;

See also
Margin property, Spacing property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 435

Left property

Left property
Applies to
All controls; TFindDialog, TReplaceDialog components

Declaration
property Left: Integer;
The Left property determines the horizontal coordinate of the left edge of a component
relative to the form in pixels. For forms, the value of the Left property is relative to the
screen in pixels. The default value is -1.
The Left property for the Find and Replace dialog boxes is available at run-time only.

Example
The following example moves the button 10 pixels to the right each time a user clicks it:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Left := Button1.Left + 10;
end;

436 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Length function
+
Length function System
+
Declaration
function Length(S: string): Integer;
+
The Length function returns the dynamic length of the string S. +
Example +
var
S: string; +
begin
S := 'The Black Knight';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'String Length = ' + IntToStr(Length(S)));
+
end; +
See also
Concat function, Copy function, Delete procedure, Insert procedure, Pos function
+
+
Length property L
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Length: Longint;
Run-time and read only. The Length property specifies the length of the medium in the
open multimedia device. Length is specified using the current time format, which is
specified by the TimeFormat property.

Example
The following code sets Wait to False if the Length of the media is over 10,000. If
TimeFormat is tfMilliseconds, Wait is set to False if the media is over 10 seconds long.
MediaPlayer1.Wait := (MediaPlayer1.Lenth > 10000);

See also
Position property, Start property, TrackLength property

Level property
Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 437

Lines property

Declaration
property Level: Word;
Run-time and read only. The Level property indicates the level of indentation of an item
within the TOutline component. The value of Level is 1 for items on the top level. The
value of Level is 2 for their children, and so on.

Example
The following code tests to determine if the fifth outline item is on the same level as the
selected outline item.
if Outline1.Items[5].Level = Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].Level then
{ The selected item is on the same level as the fifth item };

See also
ChangeLevelBy method, TopItem property

Lines property
Applies to
TDBMemo, TDDEClientItem, TDDEServerItem, TMemo, TOutline components

Lines property for memos

Declaration
property Lines: TStrings;
The Lines property contains the text lines in a memo component.
For a database memo control, the Lines property is a run-time property only.

Example
This example uses a button and a memo control on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the contents of the system’s AUTOEXEC.BAT file is loaded into the memo, and
the sixth line of the file is written across the top of the form.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.Lines.LoadFromFile('C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT');
Writeln('The 6th line of AUTOEXEC.BAT is: ', Memo1.Lines[5]);
end;

See also
GetTextBuf method, SetTextBuf method, Text property

438 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Lines property
+
Lines property for outlines
+
Declaration +
property Lines: TStrings;
The Lines property contains the Text property values of the individual items in an
+
outline.
If the Lines property is of an outline component, each line becomes an outline item in a
+
TOutlineNode object. Leading tabs and spaces are converted into levels of the outline.
Text without any leading tabs or spaces become level 1 items. For example, to create a
+
level 2 item, lead the text of the item with one tab or space.
The Lines property of outlines is primarily useful for stuffing an outline with items at
+
design time. While you can access the individual items with the Lines property at run
time, it is much quicker to access an item with the Items property.
+
Example
+
The following two lines of code each produce the same result. In the first line, Lines is
used to access the Strings value of the third outline node. In the second line, Items is used
+
to access the Text value of the third outline node. Note that the index used with Items is
one more than the index used with Lines.Strings. L
Edit1.text := Outline1.Lines.Strings[2];
Edit2.Text := Outline1.Items[3].Text;

Lines property for DDE items

Declaration
property Lines: TStrings;
The Lines property contains the text data to exchange in a DDE conversation. For
TDDEClientItem components, Lines specifies the text that is updated by the DDE server
application. For TDDEServerItem components, Lines specifies the text that is sent to any
DDE clients when the value of Lines changes or when a client requests to be updated.
When Lines is changed, an OnChange event occurs.
Lines corresponds to the Text property. Whenever the value of Lines or Text is changed,
the other is updated so that the first line of Lines is always equal to Text. Use Lines to
contain text values longer than 255 characters (which is the limit of the Text property).
For shorter strings, use the Text property.
If the Lines property is of a TDDEClientItem component, you can also send the text in
Lines directly to the DDE server by poking data with the PokeDataLines method.
If the Lines property is of a TDDEServerItem component, the DDE client can change Lines
by poking data. The poked data replaces the contents of Lines and an OnChange event
occurs.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 439

LineTo method

Example
The following code assigns the value to the Lines property of DDEClientItem1 to the
Lines of Memo1. This code is executed in the OnChange event handler of
DDEClientItem1, so whenever the client is updated, the new data from the server is
displayed.
procedure TForm1.DdeClientItem1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.Lines := DDEClientItem1.Lines
end;

LineTo method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure LineTo(X, Y: Integer);
The LineTo method draws a line on the canvas from the current drawing position
(specified by the PenPos property) to the point specified by X and Y and sets the pen
position to (X, Y).

Example
The following code draws a line from the upper left corner of a form to the point clicked
with the mouse.
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Canvas.MoveTo(0, 0);
Canvas.LineTo(X, Y);
end;

LinksDlg procedure Toctrl

Declaration
procedure LinksDlg(Form: TForm; HelpContext: THelpContext);

440 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

LinksDlgEnabled function

LinksDlg displays the Links dialog box. Use the Links dialog box to view and edit the
+
current OLE links in your application. These are the parameters of LinksDlg: +
Field
Form
Description
The form that owns the Links dialog box.
+
HelpContext A Help context ID number to be used if the user chooses Help from within the Links
dialog box. If you pass 0 for HelpContext, no Help button appears in the Links dialog
+
box. Pass a number other than 0 if you want to provide context-sensitive online Help.
+
Example
The following code activates the Links dialog with a context-sensitive Help ID number +
of 1000.
LinksDlg(Form1, 1000);
+
See also +
InsertOLEObjectDlg function, LinksDlgEnabled function, PasteSpecialDlg function
+
LinksDlgEnabled function Toctrl +
Declaration L
function LinksDlgEnabled(Form: TForm): Boolean;
LinksDlgEnabled determines if the Links dialog box is enabled. If so, LinksDlgEnabled
returns True and LinksDlg can be successfully called. If not, LinksDlgEnabled returns False
and nothing happens if you call LinksDlg.
The Form parameter specifies the form that owns the Links dialog box.

Example
The following code activates the Links dialog box if it is enabled.
if LinksDlgEnabled(Form1) then LinksDlg(Form1, 0);

List property
Applies to
TList object

Declaration
property List: PPointerList;
Run-time and read only. The List property stores a list of pointers that reference objects
of any type. The declaration of PPointerList is
PPointerList = ^TPointerList;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 441

Ln function

The declaration of TPointerList is

TPointerList = array[0..MaxListSize-1] of Pointer;
The elements of the TPointerList array each point to an item of the list.

Example
The following code creates List1 and Object1, then adds Object1 to List1. If the first item
in the List property List1 differs from the first item of the Items property of List1 (which
shouldn’t happen), a message is displayed.
var
List1: TList;
Object1: TObject;
begin
List1 := TList.Create;
Object1 := TObject.Create;
List1.Add(Object1);
if List1.List^[0]<>List1.Items[0] then
MessageDlg('Something is wrong here', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
List1.Free;
Object1.Free;
end;

See also
FileEditStyle property, TStrings object

Ln function System
Declaration
function Ln(X: Real): Real;
The Ln function returns the natural logarithm (Ln(e) = n) of the real-type expression X.

Example
var
e : real;
S : string;
begin
e := Exp(1.0);
Str(ln(e):3:2, S);
S := 'ln(e) = ' + S;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

442 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Lo function
+
Lo function System
+
Declaration
function Lo(X): Byte;
+
The Lo function returns the low-order Byte of the argument X as an unsigned value. X is +
an expression of type Integer or Word.
+
Example
var B: Byte; +
begin
B := Lo($1234);
end;
{ $34 } +
See also
+
Hi function, Swap function +
LoadFromFile method +
Applies to
L
TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, TMetafile, TPicture, TStringList, TStrings objects; TBlobField,
TGraphicField, TMemoField, TOLEContainer, TOutline components

For graphics objects and outlines

Declaration
procedure LoadFromFile(const FileName: string);
The LoadFromFile method reads the file specified in FileName and loads the data into the
object or component. The graphics objects load graphics, the OLE container loads an
OLE object, and the outline and string objects load text.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button on a form. When the application runs and the form is
created, a bitmap is placed on the bitmap button:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
BitBtn1.Glyph.LoadFromFile('TARTAN.BMP');
end;

See also
SaveToFile method, Strings property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 443

LoadFromStream method

For blob, graphic, and memo fields

Declaration
procedure LoadFromFile(const FileName: string);
The LoadFromFile method reads a file with the name passed in FileName and loads the
contents in TBlobField, TMemoField, or TGraphicField.
Note For TMemoField and TGraphicField, the file should have been created by the SaveToFile or
SaveToStream method.

Example
{ Load a blob field with the contents of autoexec.bat }
BlobField1.LoadFromFile(‘c:\autoexec.bat’);

LoadFromStream method
Applies to
TBlobField, TGraphicField, TMemoField components

Declaration
procedure LoadFromStream(Stream: TStream);
The LoadFromStream method reads Stream and stores the contents in TBlobField,
TMemoField or TGraphicField.
Note For a TMemoField or TGraphicField, the file should have been created by the SaveToFile or
SaveToStream method.

Example
{ Load a blob field from an existing STream1 }
BlobField1.LoadFromStream(Stream1);

See also
LoadFromFile method, SaveToStream method

LoadMemo method
Applies to
TDBMemo component

Declaration
procedure LoadMemo;

444 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

LoadPicture method

The LoadMemo method loads a text BLOB into the database memo control. If the value of
+
the AutoDisplay property is False, the text of a memo is not automatically loaded. If
AutoDisplay is False, you can control when the text is loaded at run time by calling
+
LoadMemo when you want the text to appear in the control. +
Example
This example uses a database memo that is connected to a BLOB text field in the dataset.
+
It also contains a button. When the user clicks the button, the BLOB loads into the
memo. +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
DBMemo1.AutoDisplay := False;
end; +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
DBMemo1.LoadMemo;
end; +
See also
LoadPicture method
+
L
LoadPicture method
Applies to
TDBImage component

Declaration
procedure LoadPicture;
The LoadPicture method loads the image specified as the value of the Picture property
into the database image control.
If the value of the AutoDisplay property is False, the image of a database image control is
not automatically loaded. If AutoDisplay is False, you can control when the image is
loaded at run time by calling LoadPicture when you want the image to appear in the
control.

Example
The following code loads the picture into DBImage1.
DBImage1.LoadPicture;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 445

LoadStr function

LoadStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function LoadStr(Ident: Word): string;
LoadStr loads the string resource given by Ident from the application's executable file. If
the string resource does not exist, an empty string is returned.
Moving display strings into string resources makes your application easier to localize
without rewriting your program.

Local property
Applies to
TQuery component

Declaration
property Local: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. The Local property specifies if the table referenced by the
TQuery is a local dBASE or Paradox table or an SQL server table. If Local is True, then the
table is a dBASE or Paradox table. If Local is False, the table is a SQL table.
For remote SQL tables, some operations (such as record counts) may take longer than
for local tables, owing to network constraints.

Example
{ If the table is local, allow the data-aware controls to display the changes }
DataSource1.Enabled := Query1.Local;

Locale property
Applies to
TDataBase, TTable, TQuery, TSession, TStoredProc components

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
property Locale: TLocale;
Run-time and read only. The Locale property identifies the language driver used with
the dataset for use with direct calls to the Borland Database Engine API.
Under most circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your
application requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

446 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Locked property
+
For sessions
+
Declaration
property Locale: TLocale;
+
Run-time and read only. The Locale property identifies the language driver used with
the TSession component. It enables you to reference the language driver when making
+
direct calls to the Borland Database Engine API. Under most circumstances you should
not need to use this property, unless your application requires some functionality not
+
encapsulated in the VCL.
+
See also
Session variable
+
For database components
+
Declaration
+
property Locale: TLocale; +
Run-time and read only. The Locale property identifies the language driver used with
the TDatabase component. It allows you to make direct calls to the Borland Database
L
Engine API. Under most circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless
your application requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

Locked property
Applies to
TPanel component

Declaration
property Locked: Boolean;
The Locked property determines whether a panel is replaced by an in-place active OLE
object. If Locked is False, the OLE server can replace the panel. If Locked is True and the
panel is aligned to one of the edges of the form (its Align property is alTop, alBottom,
alLeft, or alRight), then the panel remains when an OLE object in a TOLEContainer
component is activated in place.
Use Locked to prevent status bars and the like from being replaced.

Example
The following code sets Locked to True for a panel named StatusBar.
StatusBar.Locked := True;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 447

LoginPrompt property

448 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

LookupDisplay property
+
LookupDisplay property +
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList components +
Declaration +
property LookupDisplay : string; +
The LookupDisplay property determines which field in the lookup table displays in the
database lookup combo box or database lookup list box. Before you specify a
LookupDisplay field, link the two datasets using the LookupField property.
+
You can choose to display multiple fields from the lookup dataset. Each field appears in +
a separate column. To specify more than one field to display, separate each field name
with a semicolon. For example, this line of code displays three columns in the drop-
down list of a database lookup combo box. Column 1 is the name of the company,
+
column 2 is the city where the company is located, and column 3 is the country. +
DBLookupCombo1.LookupDisplay := ’Company;City;Country’;
You can choose to include titles for the field columns and you can choose to have lines
+
between the rows and columns using the Options property.
L
Example
The following code specifies that the ’Company’ field is displayed in DBLookupCombo1.
DBLookupCombo1.LookupDisplay := ’Company’;

See also
LookupField property, Options property

LookupField property
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList components

Declaration
property LookupField: string;
The LookupField property links the dataset the database lookup combo box or database
lookup list box uses to “look up” data to the primary dataset you are working with.
Although the name of the field specified as the LookupField does not have to be the same
as the name of the field specified as the DataField, the two fields must contain the same
values. For example, the LookupField value can be CustomerNumber and the DataField
value can be CustNo, as along as both fields use the same number to identify a particular
customer. When you specify a LookupField, the current value of that field appears in the
control, if the Active property of both datasets is True.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 449

LookupSource property

After you specify a LookupField field, you can choose which field you prefer to display in
the control with the LookupDisplay property.

Example
The following code designates that DBLookupCombo1 looks up data in the
’CustomerNumber’ field.
DBLookupCombo1.LookupField := ’CustomerNumber’;

See also
DataSource property, LookupSource property

LookupSource property
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList components

Declaration
property LookupSource: TDataSource;
The LookupSource of a database lookup combo box or lookup list box is the data source
component (TDataSource) that identifies the dataset you want the control to use to “look
up” the information you want displayed in the control.

Example
The following code specifies that DataSource1 is the lookup source for DBLookupCombo1.
DBLookupCombo1.LookupSource := DataSource1;

See also
LookupDisplay property, LookupField property

Low function System

Declaration
function Low(X);
The Low function returns the lowest value in the range of the argument.
Result type is X, or the index type of X where X is either a type identifier or a variable
reference.

Type Low returns

Ordinal type The lowest value in the range of the type
Array type The lowest value within the range of the index type of the array

450 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

LowerCase function
+
Type
String type
Low returns
Returns 0
+
Open array
String parameter
Returns 0
Returns 0
+
Example +
function Sum( var X: array of Double): Double;
var
+
I: Word;
S: Real; +
+
begin
S := 0; { Note that open array index range is always zero-based. }
for I := 0 to High(X) do S := S + X[I];
Sum := S;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
+
List1: array[0..3] of Double;
List2: array[5..17] of Double; +
L
X: Word;
S, TempStr: string;
begin
for X := Low(List1) to High(List1) do
List1[X] := X * 3.4;
for X := Low(List2) to High(List2) do
List2[X] := X * 0.0123;
Str(Sum(List1):4:2, S);
S := 'Sum of List1: ' + S + #13#10;
S := S + 'Sum of List2: ';
Str(Sum(List2):4:2, TempStr);
S := S + TempStr;
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

LowerCase function SysUtils

Declaration
function LowerCase(const S: string): string;
The LowerCase function returns a string with the same text as the string passed in S, but
with all letters converted to lowercase. The conversion affects only 7-bit ASCII
characters between 'A' and 'Z'. To convert 8-bit international characters, use
AnsiLowerCase.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 451

MainForm property

Example
This example uses two edit boxes and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the text in the Edit1 edit box displays in the Edit2 edit box in lowercase letters.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit2.Text := LowerCase(Edit1.Text);
end;

See also
AnsiLowerCase function, UpperCase function

MainForm property
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property MainForm: TForm;
Run-time and read only. The MainForm property identifies which form in the
application is the main form, which is the form that is always created first. When the
main form closes, the application terminates.
When you create a new project, Form1 automatically becomes the value of the MainForm
property. If you want to make another form become the main form, use the Forms page
of the Options|Project Options dialog box.

See also
Application variable, CreateForm method, Run method

Mappings property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property Mappings: TStrings;
By default TBatchMove matches columns based on their position in the source and
destination tables. That is, the first column in the source is matched with the first column
in the destination, and so on.
To override the default column mappings, use the Mappings property. This is a list of
column mappings (one per line) in one of two forms. To map the column ColName in
the source table to the column of the same name in the destination table use:

452 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ColName
Margin property
+
Or, to map the column named SourceColName in the source table to the column named +
DestColName in the destination table:
DestColName = SourceColName
+
If source and destination column data types are not the same, TBatchMove will perform
a “best fit”. It will trim character data types, if necessary, and attempt to perform a
+
limited amount of conversion if possible. For example, mapping a CHAR(10) column to
a CHAR(5) column will result in trimming the last five characters from the source
+
column.
As an example of conversion, if a source column of character data type is mapped to a
+
destination of integer type, TBatchMove will convert a character value of ‘5’ to the
corresponding integer value. Values that cannot be converted will generate errors.
+
Fields in Destination which have no entry in Mappings will be set to NULL. +
Example +
var Maps: TStringList;
...
with Maps do
+
begin
Clear;
+
{ Map the CustomerNum field to CustNo }
Add(‘CustNo=CustomerNum’); M
end;
MatchMove1.Mappings := Maps;

For bitmap buttons and speed buttons

Declaration
property Margin: Integer;
The Margin property determines the number of pixels between the edge of the image
(specified in the Glyph property) and the edge of the button. The edges that the margin
separates depends on the layout of the image and text (specified in the Layout property).
For example, if Layout is blGlyphLeft, the margin appears between the left edge of the
image and the left edge of the button. If Margin is 3, three pixels separates the image and

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 453

Margin property

the button edges. If Margin is 0, no distance in pixels separates the image and the button
edges.
If Margin is -1 (which it is by default), then the image and text (specified in the Caption
property) are centered. The number of pixels between the image and button edge is
equal to the number of pixels between the opposite edge of the button and the text.

Example
This example uses a moderately large bitmap button on a form. When the application
runs, a bitmap (or glyph) is loaded on to the button, the bitmap appears on the right side
of the button, and bitmap is placed 30 pixels from the right edge of the bitmap button.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with BitBtn1 do
begin
Glyph.LoadFromFile('C:WINDOWS\CARS.BMP');
Layout := blGlyphRight;
Margin := 30;
end;
end;

See also
Caption property, Glyph property, Layout property

For form and scroll box scroll bars

Applies to
TControlScrollBar component

Declaration
procedure Margin: Word;
The Margin property value is the minimum number of pixels you want controls on a
form or in a scroll box to be from the edge of the form or scroll box. This number is
automatically added to the Range value to ensure that the user has a scroll bar whenever
the distance from a control and the edge of the form or scroll box becomes less than the
Margin value.
The default value is 0.

Example
This example uses a button and a label on a form. Place the label near the left side of the
form, and place the button somewhere near the middle of the form. When the user runs
the application, a horizontal scroll bar does not appear, because no control on the form is
close enough to the right edge. Each time the user clicks the button, the button moves 25
pixels to the right, and the calculated Range value is reported in the caption of the label.
Repeatedly clicking the button eventually moves the button close enough to the edge of
the form (within the Margin amount) so that a horizontal scroll bar appears:

454 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
Mask property
+
begin
with HorzScrollBar do
+
begin
Margin:= 25; +
Increment := 10;
end;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Button1.Left := Button1.Left + 25;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(HorzScrollBar.Range);
end;
+
See also
Align property, HorzScrollBar property, Range property, VertScrollBar property +
+
Mask property
+
Applies to
TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox components +
Declaration M
property Mask: string

For filter combo boxes

Declaration
property Mask: string
Run-time and read only. The Mask property value is the string selected as the filter in the
filter combo box.

Example
This example uses a filter combo box and a label on a form. When the user selects a filter
in the filter combo box, the selected mask appears in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.FilterComboBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'The selected mask is ' + FilterComboBox1.Mask;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FilterComboBox1.Filter := 'All files (*.*)|*.*| Pascal files (*.pas)|*.pas';
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 455

MasterFields property

See also
Filter property

For file list boxes

property Mask: string
The Mask property determines which files are displayed in the file list box. A file mask
or file filter is a file name that usually includes wildcard characters (*.PAS, for example).
Only files that match the mask are displayed in list box. The file mask *.* displays all
files, which is the default value.
You can specify multiple file masks. Separate the file mask specifications with
semicolons. For example, *.PAS; *.EXE.

Example
This example uses a file list box on a form. When the application runs, the list box
displays only files with a .PAS file extension:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FileListBox1.Mask := '*.PAS';
end;

See also
Filter property

MasterFields property
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
property MasterFields: string;
Use the MasterFields property to specify the column(s) to link a detail table with a master
table that is specified by the MasterSource property. MasterFields is a string consisting of
one or more column names that join the two tables. Separate multiple column names
with semicolons. Each time the current record in the master table changes, the new
values in those fields are used to select corresponding records from the detail table for
display. At design time, use the Field Link Designer to set this property.

Example
Suppose you have a master table named Customer that contains a CustNo field, and you
also have a detail table named Orders that also has a CustNo field. To display only those
records in Orders that have the same CustNo value as the current record in Customer,
write this code:

456 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Customer.MasterFields := ‘CustNo’;
MasterSource property
+
If you want to display only the records in the detail table that match more than one field +
value in the master table, specify each field and separate them with a semicolon.
Customer.MasterFields := ‘CustNo;SaleDate’;
+
See also +
IndexName property
+
MasterSource property +
Applies to +
TTable component
+
Declaration
property MasterSource: TDataSource;
+
When linking a detail table to a master table, use the MasterSource property to specify
the TDataSource from which the TTable will get data for the master table.
+
Example
+
Table2.MasterSource := DataSource1; M
See also
IndexName property, MasterFields property

Max property
Applies to
TScrollBar component

Declaration
property Max: Integer;
The Max property along with the Min property determines the number of possible
positions the scroll box can have on the scroll bar. The LargeChange and SmallChange
properties use the number of positions to determine how far to move the scroll box
when the user uses the scroll bar.
For example, if Max is 30000 and Min is 0, the scroll box can assume 30,000 positions on
a horizontal scroll bar. If the LargeChange property setting is 10000 and the scroll box
position is at the far left of the scroll bar (Position is 0), the user can click the scroll bar
three times to the right of the scroll box before the scroll box is moved all the way to the
right of the scroll bar (30000/10000 = 3).

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 457

MaxAvail function

If you want to change the Min, Max, and Position values all at once at run time, call the
SetParams method.

Example
This code changes the maximum position of the scroll bar from 100, the default value, to
30000:
ScrollBar1.Max := 30000;

See also
LargeChange property, Min property, Position property, SetParams method, SmallChange
property

MaxAvail function System

Declaration
function MaxAvail: Longint;
The MaxAvail function returns the size of the largest contiguous free block in the heap.
MaxAvail returns the larger of:
• The largest free blocks within the heap manager's sub-allocation space
• The Windows global heap
The value corresponds to the size of the largest dynamic variable that can be allocated at
that time.
To find the total amount of free memory in the heap, call MemAvail.

Example
uses Dialogs;
type
FriendRec = record
Name: string[30];
Age: Byte;
end;
var
P: Pointer;
begin
if MaxAvail < SizeOf(FriendRec) then
MessageDlg('Not enough memory', mtWarning, [mtOk], 0)
else
begin
{ Allocate memory on heap }
GetMem(P, SizeOf(FriendRec));
{ ... }
end;
end;

458 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MaxFontSize property
+
See also
MemAvail function +
MaxFontSize property
+
Applies to
+
TFontDialog component +
Declaration +
property MaxFontSize: Integer;
The MaxFontSize property determines the largest font size available in the Font dialog
+
box. Use the MaxFontSize property when you want to limit the font sizes available to the
user. To limit the font sizes available, the Options set property of the Font dialog box +
must also contain the value fdLimitSize. If fdLimitSize is False, setting the MaxFontSize
property has no affect on number of fonts available in the Font dialog box. +
The default value is 0, which means there is no maximum font size specified.
+
Example
This example uses a Font dialog box, a button, and a label on a form. When the user +
clicks the button, the Font dialog box appears. The font sizes available are within the
range of 10 to 14. When the user chooses OK, the selected font is applied to the caption M
of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FontDialog1.Options := [fdLimitSize];
FontDialog1.MaxFontSize := 14;
FontDialog1.MinFontSize := 10;
if FontDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Font := FontDialog1.Font;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 459

MaxPage property

The MaxLength property specifies the maximum number of characters the user can enter
in an edit box, memo, or combo box. The default setting for MaxLength is 0, which
means that there is no limit on the number of characters the control can contain. Any
other number limits the number of characters the control accepts.

Example
The following example sets the maximum number of characters for an edit box to 80:
Edit1.MaxLength := 80;

MaxPage property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Declaration
property MaxPage: Integer;
The MaxPage property determines the greatest page number the user can use when
specifying pages to print. If the user specifies a number greater than the value in
MaxPage, a warning message appears and the user must enter a valid number or close
the dialog box. The default value is 0.
Note The user can specify pages numbers only if the Options property set includes the value
poPageNums.

Example
This example uses a button and a Print dialog box on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the code makes page four the highest page number the user can select in the
Print dialog box and displays the dialog box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender:TObject);
begin
PrintDialog1.Options := [poPageNums];
PrintDialog1.ToPage := 4;
PrintDialog1.MaxPage := 4;
if PrintDialog1.Execute then
...;
end;

460 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MaxTabNameLen constant
+
Declaration
property MaxRecords: Word; +
The value of the MaxRecords property is the number of database records you want to use
to create the report. For example, if you just want to see a sample report and your
+
database contains 50,000 records, you can specify a MaxRecords value that limits the
number of records in the report to a much smaller number. +
Example +
The following code sets the maximum number of records to be used by Report1 to 3.
Report1.MaxRecords := 3;
+
+
MaxTabNameLen constant +
Declaration
MaxTabNameLen = 20;
+
The MaxTabNameLen constant specifies that the longest string that can be displayed on a +
tab set control (TTabSet) is 20 characters.
+
MaxValue property M
Applies to
TCurrencyField, TFloatField, TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TWordField component

Declaration
property MaxValue: Longint;
The MaxValue property limits the maximum value in the field. Assigning a value greater
than MaxValue raises an exception.

Example
{ Limit a field to 1 to 10}
Field1.MaxValue := 10;
Field1.MinValue := 1;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 461

MDIChildren property

Declaration
property MDIChildCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The value of the MDIChildCount property is the number of
child windows open in an MDI application.

Example
The following code closes Form1 if it has no MDI children open.
if Form1.MDIChildCount = 0 then Form1.Close;

See also
ActiveMDIChild property, FormStyle property, MDIChildren property

MDIChildren property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property MDIChildren[I: Integer]: TForm;
Run-time and read only. The MDIChildren property array provides access to a child
window or form in an MDI application through an index value, I. The value of I is
determined by the order in which the window was created. For example, the first MDI
child window has an I value of 0.

Example
The following code closes all the MDI children of Form1.
var
I: Integer;
begin
with Form1 do
for I := 0 to MDIChildCount-1 do
MDIChildren[I].Close;
end;

See also
FormStyle property, MDIChildCount property

MemAvail function System

Declaration
function MemAvail: Longint;

462 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

The MemAvail function returns the amount of all free memory in the heap.
Menu property
+
Note that a contiguous block of storage the size of the returned value is unlikely to be +
available due to fragmentation of the heap. To find the largest free block, call MaxAvail.
+
Example
var
+
S: string;
begin +
S := IntToStr(MemAvail) + ' bytes available' + #13#10;
S := S + 'Largest free block is ' + IntToStr(MaxAvail) + ' bytes';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
+
end;
+
See also
MaxAvail function
+
+
Menu property
+
Applies to
TForm component +
Declaration M
property Menu: TMainMenu;
The Menu property designates the menu bar for the form.

Example
This code displays a new menu named NewMenu when the user clicks the button
ChangeMenu button.
procedure TForm1.ChangeMenuClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Menu := NewMenu;
end;

Merge method
Applies to
TMainMenu component

Declaration
procedure Merge(Menu: TMainMenu);
The Merge method merges a main menu of one form with a main menu of another for
non-MDI applications. For example, when your application uses the main menu of the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 463

MessageBox method

first form as the main menu for the application, and your application displays a second
form, you can call Merge to merge the main menu on the second form with the main
menu of the application.
Specify the menu you want merged with this menu as the Menu parameter.
Depending on the value of the GroupIndex property of menu items on the main menu,
the merged menu items can replace menu items on the menu bar, or add or insert menu
items into the menu bar. See GroupIndex for information on how to do these things.
It you want merging and unmerging to occur automatically when another form is
displayed, change the value of the AutoMerge property to True.

Example
This example uses two forms, each containing a main menu created with the Menu
Designer. It also uses a button on Form1. When the user clicks the button, Form2 appears
and the main menu of Form2 merges with that of Form1.
Before running this example, add Unit2 to the uses clause of Unit1.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form2.Show;
MainMenu1.Merge(Form2.MainMenu1);
end;

See also
AutoMerge property, Unmerge method

MessageBox method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
function MessageBox(Text, Caption: PChar; Flags: Word): Integer;
The MessageBox method is an encapsulation of the Windows API MessageBox function
except that you don’t need to supply a window handle.
The MessageBox method displays a generic dialog box that displays a message and one
or more buttons. The value of the Text parameter is the message, which can be longer
than 255 characters if necessary. Long messages are automatically wrapped in the
message box. The value of the Caption property is the caption that appears in the title bar
of the dialog box. Captions can be longer than 255 characters, but they don’t wrap. A
long caption results in a wide message box.
To see the possible values of the Flags parameter, see the MessageBox function in the
Windows API Help file (WinAPI.HLP). The corresponding parameter on that Help
screen is called TextType. The values determine the buttons that appear in the message

464 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MessageDlg function

box and the behavior of the message box. The values can be combined to obtain the
+
effect your want. +
The return value of the MessageBox method is 0, if there wasn’t enough memory to
create the message box, or one of these values:. +
Value Numeric value Meaning +
IDABORT
IDCANCEL
3
2
The user chose the Abort button
The user chose the Cancel button +
IDIGNORE
IDNO
5
7
The user chose the Ignore button
The user chose the No button +
IDOK
IDRETRY
1
4
The user chose the OK button
The user chose the Retry button +
IDYES 6 The user chose the Yes button
+
Example
This example uses a button and a label on a form. When the user clicks the button, a +
message box appears. When the user responds to the message box, the button selected is
reported in the caption of the label: +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
Button: Integer;
+
begin
Button := Application.MessageBox('Welcome to Delphi!', 'Message Box', mb_OKCancel +
M
mb_DefButton1);
if Button = IDOK then
Label1.Caption := 'You chose OK';
if Button = IDCANCEL then
Label1.Caption := 'You chose Cancel';
end;

See also
MessageDlg function, MessageDlgPos function, ShowMessage procedure, ShowMessagePos
procedure

MessageDlg function Dialogs

Declaration
function MessageDlg(const Msg: string; AType: TMsgDlgType; AButtons: TMsgDlgButtons;
HelpCtx: Longint): Word;
The MessageDlg function displays a message dialog box for your application in the
center of your screen. The message box displays the value of the Msg string constant.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 465

MessageDlg function

The AType parameter determines the type of message box that appears. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
mtWarning A message box containing a yellow exclamation point symbol.
mtError A message box containing a red stop sign.
mtInformation A message box containing a blue “i”.
mtConfirmation A message box containing a green question mark.
mtCustom A message box containing no bitmap. The caption of the message box is the name of
the application’s executable file.

The AButtons parameter determines which buttons appear in the message box. AButtons
is of type TMsgDlgBtns, which is a set, so you can include multiple buttons within the
set. These are the values you can include in the set:

Value Meaning
mbYes A button with a green check mark and the text ‘Yes’ on its face
mbNo A button with a red circle and slash mark through the circle and the text ‘No’ on its face
mbOK A button with a green check mark and the text ‘OK’ on its face
mbCancel A button with a red X and the text ‘Cancel’ on its face
mbHelp A button with a cyan question mark and the text ‘Help’ on its face
mbAbort A button with a red check mark and the text ‘Abort’ on its face
mbRetry A button with two green circular arrows and the text ‘Retry’ on its face
mbIgnore A button with a green man walking away and the text ‘Ignore’ on its face
mbAll A button with a green double check marks and the text ‘All’ on its face

In addition to the individual set values, VCL defines three constants that are predefined
sets that include common button combinations:

Value Meaning
mbYesNoCancel A set that puts the Yes, No, and Cancel buttons in the message box
mbOkCancel A set that puts the OK and Cancel buttons in the message box
mbAbortRetryIgnore A set that puts an Abort, Retry, and Ignore buttons in the message box

When using these constants, remember not to add the brackets [ ] to define the set. These
constants are already predefined sets.
The HelpCtx parameter determines which Help screen is available for the message box.
For more information about Help context values, see the HelpContext property.
The function returns the value of the button the user selected. These are the possible
return values:

466 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MessageDlg function
+
Return values
mrNone mrAbort mrYes
+
mrOk
mrCancel
mrRetry
mrIgnore
mrNo
mrAll
+
The MsgDlgButtonStyle typed constant in the Dialogs unit is declared like this: +
MsgDlgButtonStyle: TButtonStyle = bsAutoDetect;
This ensures that the style of the buttons matches the style used by the operating
+
environment your application is running under. If you prefer to always use a particular
style, change the value of the MsgDlgButtonStyle. See the Style property for bitmap
+
buttons for the possible values and their meanings.
The MsgDlgGlyphs typed constant in the Dialogs unit is declared like this:
+
MsgDlgGlyphs: Boolean = True; +
This declaration ensures that bitmaps (or glyphs) appear on the message dialog box
buttons. If you prefer that the bitmaps are not present, change the value of
+
MsgDlgButtonStyle to False.
+
Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message box +
appears, asking if the user wants to exit the application. If the user chooses Yes, another
dialog box appears informing the user the application is about to end. When user M
chooses OK, the application ends.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if MessageDlg('Welcome to my Object Pascal application. Exit now?',
mtInformation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
begin
MessageDlg('Exiting the Object Pascal application.', mtInformation,
[mbOk], 0);
Close;
end;
end;
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message box
appears with a Yes, No, and Cancel button on it:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MessageDlg('Are you there?', mtConfirmation, mbYesNoCancel, 0);
end;

See also
Kind property, MessageDlgPos function, ModalResult property, MessageBox method,
ModalResult property, ShowMessage procedure, ShowMessagePos procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 467

MessageDlgPos function

MessageDlgPos function Dialogs

Declaration
function MessageDlgPos(const Msg: string; AType: TMsgDlgType;
AButtons: TMsgDlgButtons; HelpCtx: Longint; X, Y: Integer): Word;
The MessageDlg function displays a message dialog box in your application at the
position you specify. The message box displays the value of the Msg string constant.
The AType parameter determines the type of message box that appears. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
mtWarning A message box containing yellow exclamation point symbol.
mtError A message box containing a red stop sign.
mtInformation A message box containing a blue “i”.
mtConfirmation A message box containing a green question mark.
mtCustom A message box containing no bitmap. The caption of the message box is the
name of the application’s executable file.

Value Meaning
mbYes A button with a green check mark and the text ‘Yes’ on its button face
mbNo A button with a red circle and slash mark through the circle and the text ‘No’ on its button
face
mbOK A button with a green check mark and the text ‘OK’ on its button face
mbCancel A button with a red X and the text ‘Cancel’ on its button face
mbHelp A button with a cyan question mark and the text ‘Help’ on its button face
mbAbort A button with a red check mark and the text ‘Abort’ on its face
mbRetry A button with two green circular arrows and the text ‘Retry’ on its face
mbIgnore A button with a green man walking away and the text ‘Ignore’ on its face
mbAll A button with a green double check marks and the text ‘All’ on its face

In addition to the individual set values, VCL defines three constants that are predefined
sets which include common button combinations:

When using these constants, remember not to add the brackets [ ] to define the set. These
constants are already predefined sets.

468 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MessageDlgPos function

The HelpCtx parameter determines which Help screen is available for the message box.
+
For more information about Help context values, see the HelpContext property. +
The X and Y integer parameters are the screen coordinates in pixels where the top left
corner of the message box appears. +
The function returns the value of the button the user selected. These are the possible
return values: +
Return values +
mrNone
mrOk
mrAbort
mrRetry
mrYes
mrNo
+
mrCancel mrIgnore mrAll
+
The MsgDlgButtonStyle constant in the Dialogs unit is declared like this:
MsgDlgButtonStyle: TButtonStyle = bsAutoDetect;
+
This ensures that the style of the buttons matches the style used by the operating
environment your application is running under. If you prefer to always use a particular
+
style, change the value of the MsgDlgButtonStyle. See the Style property for bitmap
buttons for the possible values and their meanings.
+
The MsgDlgGlyphs typed constant in the Dialogs unit is declared like this: +
MsgDlgGlyphs: Boolean = True;
This declaration ensures that bitmaps (or glyphs) appear on the message dialog box
M
buttons. If you prefer that the bitmaps are not present, change the value of
MsgDlgButtonStyle to False.

Example
This example displays a confirmation style message box at screen coordinates 125, 25
that asks users if they want to color the form green. If the user chooses Yes, the form
turns bright green:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ButtonSelected: Word;
begin
if MessageDlgPos(‘Color the form green?', mtConfirmation,
[mbYes, mbNo], 0, 125, 25) := mrYes then
Color := clLime;
end;
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message box
appears with a Yes, No, and Cancel button on it:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MessageDlgPos('Are you there?', mtConfirmation, mbYesNoCancel, 0, 200, 200);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 469

Metafile property

See also
Kind property, MessageBox method, MessageDlg function, ModalResult property,
ShowMessage procedure, ShowMessagePos procedure

Metafile property
Applies to
TPicture object

Declaration
property Metafile: TMetafile
The Metafile property specifies the contents of the TPicture object as a Windows metafile
graphic (.WMF file format). If Metafile is referenced when the TPicture contains a Bitmap
or Icon graphic, the graphic won’t be converted. Instead, the original contents of the
TPicture are discarded and Metafile returns a new, blank metafile.

Example
The following line of code displays the pixels-per-inch of the coordinate mapping of a
metafile. The Inch property of the metafile stored in the MyGraphic is converted to text
and assigned to the Caption of Label1.
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(MyGraphic.Metafile.Inch);

470 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MinFontSize property

If you want to change the Min, Max, and Position values all at run time, call the
+
SetParams method. +
Example
The following code sets the minimum position to the value specified in an edit box, and
+
sets the maximum position to 1000 more than the minimum position. +
+
ScrollBar1.Min := StrToInt(Edit1.Text);
ScrollBar1.Max := ScrollBar1.Min + 1000;

See also
LargeChange property, Max property, Position property, SetParams method, SmallChange
+
property +
MinFontSize property +
Applies to
+
TFontDialog component
+
Declaration
property MinFontSize: Integer;
+
The MinFontSize property determines the smallest font size available in the Font dialog M
box. Use the MinFontSize property when you want to limit the font sizes available to the
user. To limit the font sizes available, the Options set property of the Font dialog box
must also contain the value fdLimitSize. If fdLimitSize is False, setting the MinFontSize
property has no affect on number of fonts available in the Font dialog box.
The default value is 0, which means there is no minimum font size specified.

Example
This example uses a Font dialog box, a button, and a label on a form. When the user
clicks the button, the Font dialog box appears. The font sizes available are within the
range of 10 to 14. When the user chooses OK, the selected font is applied to the caption
of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FontDialog1.Options := [fdLimitSize];
FontDialog1.MaxFontSize := 14;
FontDialog1.MinFontSize := 10;
if FontDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Font := FontDialog1.Font;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 471

Minimize method

Minimize method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
procedure Minimize;
The Minimize method shrinks your application into an icon on your Windows desktop.

Example
This example uses a button named Shrink on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
application minimizes to an icon:
procedure TForm1.ShrinkClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.Minimize;
end;

See also
Application variable, Icon property

MinPage property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Declaration
property MinPage: Integer;
The MinPage property determines the smallest page number the user can use when
specifying pages to print. If the user specifies a number less than the value of MinPage, a
warning message appears and the user must enter a valid number or close the dialog
box. The default value is 0.
Note The user can specify pages numbers only if the Options property set includes the value
poPageNums.

Example
This example uses a button and a Print dialog on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the code sets the lowest and the highest possible page numbers the user can
select and displays the dialog box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with PrintDialog1 do
begin

472 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Options := [poPageNums];
MinValue property
+
MinPage := 2;
FromPage := 2;
+
ToPage := 10;
MaxPage := 10; +
PrintRange := prPageNums;
Execute;
end;
+
end; +
See also
MaxPage property
+
+
MinValue property +
Applies to
TCurrencyField, TFloatField, TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TWordField component +
Declaration +
property MinValue: Longint; +
The MinValue property limits the minimum value in the field. Assigning a value less
than MinValue raises an exception. M
Example
{ Limit the field to 1 to 10}
Field1.MaxValue := 10;
Field1.MinValue := 1;

MkDir procedure System

Declaration
procedure MkDir(S: string);
The MkDir procedure creates a new subdirectory with the path specified by string S.
The last item in the path cannot be an existing file name.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for an I/O error.
CreateDir performs the same function as MkDir, but it takes a null-terminated string
rather than a Pascal-style string.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 473

ModalResult property

Example
uses Dialogs;
begin
{$I–}
{ Get directory name from TEdit control }
MkDir(Edit1.Text);
if IOResult <> 0 then
MessageDlg('Cannot create directory', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0)
else
MessageDlg('New directory created', mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

See also
ChDir procedure, GetDir procedure, RmDir procedure

ModalResult property
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TForm components

Declaration
property ModalResult: TModalResult;
Run-time only. The ModalResult property for forms is used to terminate a modal form.
By default, ModalResult is 0. Setting ModalResult to any nonzero value ends the form’s
modal state. When the user chooses to close a modal form, the button click sets
ModalResult to close the form. The value assigned to ModalResult becomes the return
value of the ShowModal function call which displayed the modal form.
Button controls have a ModalResult property also that is read only. Use a button’s
ModalResult property when you want a click of the button to close a modal form. For
example, if you create a dialog box with two buttons, OK and Cancel, set the
ModalResult property to mrOK for the OK button and mrCancel for the Cancel button.
When the user chooses either of these two buttons, the dialog box’s modal state ends
because ModalResult is greater than mrNone and the dialog box disappears. Using
ModalResult, you don’t have to write an event handler just to close the dialog box.
These constants are possible ModalResult values:

Constant Value
mrNone 0
mrOk idOK
mrCancel idCancel
mrAbort idAbort
mrRetry idRetry
mrIgnore idIgnore

474 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Mode property
+
Constant
mrYes
Value
idYes
+
mrNo
mrAll
idNo
mrNo + 1
+
Example +
The following methods in a form are used as a modal dialog box. The methods cause the
dialog box to terminate when the user clicks either the OK or Cancel button, returning +
mrOK or mrCancel from ShowModal, respectively:
procedure TMyDialogBox.OKButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ModalResult := mrOK; +
+
end;

procedure TMyDialogBox.CancelButtonClick(Sender: TObject);

begin
ModalResult := mrCancel; +
end;
You could also set the ModalResult value to mrOK for the OK button and mrCancel for
+
the Cancel button to accomplish the same thing. When the user clicks either button, the
dialog box closes. +
See also M
Kind property, ShowModal method

Mode property
Applies to
TPen object; TMediaPlayer component

For pen objects

Declaration
property Mode: TPenMode;
The Mode property determines how the pen draws lines on the canvas. The following
table describes the behavior for each pen mode.

Mode Pixel color

pmBlack Always black.
pmWhite Always white.
pmNop Unchanged.
pmNot Inverse of screen color.
pmCopy Pen color specified in Color property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 475

Mode property

Mode Pixel color

pmNotCopy Inverse of pen color.
pmMergePenNot Combination of pen color and inverse of screen color.
pmMaskPenNot Combination of colors common to both pen and inverse of screen.
pmMergeNotPen Combination of screen color and inverse of pen color.
pmMaskNotPen Combination of colors common to both screen and inverse of pen.
pmMerge Combination of pen color and screen color.
pmNotMerge Inverse of pmMerge combination of pen color and screen color.
pmMask Combination of colors common to both pen and screen.
pmNotMask Inverse of pmMask combination of colors common to both pen and screen.
pmXor Combination of colors in either pen or screen, but not both.
pmNotXor Inverse of pmXor combination of colors in either pen or screen, but not both.

Example
The following code sets the mode of the pen of the Canvas of Form1 to the inverse of the
pen Color.
Form1.Canvas.Pen.Mode := pmNotCopy;

For media player controls

Declaration
property Mode: TMPModes;
Run-time and read only. The Mode property specifies the mode of the currently open
multimedia device. The following table lists the possible values for Mode:

Value Mode
mpNotReady Not ready
mpStopped Stopped
mpPlaying Playing
mpRecording Recording
mpSeeking Seeking
mpPaused Paused
mpOpen Open

Example
The following code declares an array of strings named ModeStr, indexed by the
TMPModes type. The Caption of a form is then set to the string describing the current
mode of the device:
const

476 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Modified property

ModeStr: array[TMPModes] of string[10] = (‘Not ready', ‘Stopped', ‘Playing',

+
‘Recording', ‘Seeking', ‘Paused', ‘Open');
{Later in your code}
+
Caption := ModeStr[MediaPlayer1.Mode];
+
For batch move components +
Declaration +
property Mode: TBatchMode;
The Mode property specifies what the TBatchMove object will do:
+
Property Purpose
+
batAppend Append records to the destination table. The destination table must already exist.
This is the default mode. +
batUpdate Update records in the destination table with matching records from the source table.
The destination table must exist and must have an index defined to match records. +
+
batAppendUpdate If a matching record exists in the destination table, update it. Otherwise, append
records to the destination table. The destination table must exist and must have an
index defined to match records.
batCopy Create the destination table based on the structure of the source table. The
destination table must not already exist—if it does, the operation will delete it. +
M
batDelete Delete records in the destination table that match records in the source table. The
destination table must already exist and must have an index defined.

Example
BatchMove1.Mode := batAppendUpdate;

Modified property
Applies to
TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, TMetafile objects, TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit,
TMemo, TOLEContainer, TQuery, TStoredProc, TTable components

For graphics objects

Declaration
property Modified: Boolean;
The Modified property specifies if the graphics object has been changed or edited. If
Modified is True, the graphics object has changed. If Modified is False, the graphics object
is in the same state as when the object was loaded.
Note The Modified property only indicates if bitmap objects have been modified. Modified is
not True if the graphics object contains an icon or metafile graphic.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 477

Modified property

If the graphics object was modified, you can save the changes to a file with the
SaveToFile method. The next time the application is run, the object can be loaded from
the file with the LoadFromFile method.

Example
The following code saves the bitmap object in Graphic1 to a file if it was modified.
if Graphic1.Modified then Graphic1.SaveToFile('myfile.bmp');

For OLE containers

Declaration
property Modified: Boolean;
The Modified property specifies if the OLE object in an OLE container component was
changed or edited since the OLE container was initialized. If Modified is True, the OLE
object was changed. If Modified is False, the OLE object is in the same state as when the
OLE container was initialized.
If the OLE object was modified, changes to the object are lost when the OLE container
application is closed unless the object is saved to a file with the SaveToFile method. The
next time the OLE container application is run, the object should be loaded from the file
with the LoadFromFile method.

Example
The following code saves the object in OLEContainer1 to the file OBJ.OLE if it was
modified.
if OLEContainer1.Modified then OLEContainer1.SaveToFile('OBL.OLE');

For edit boxes and memos

Declaration
property Modified: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Modified property determines whether the text of an edit box or
memo control was changed since it was created or since the last time the Modified
property was set to False. If Modified is True, the text was changed. If Modified is False, the
text was not changed.

Example
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Edit1.Modified = True then
begin
MessageDlg('Edit box text was modified',
mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

478 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Edit1.Modified := False;
Monochrome property
+
end
else
+
MessageDlg('Edit box text was not modified',
mtInformation, [mbOK], 0); +
end;
+
See also
Text property +
For tables, queries, and stored procedures +
Declaration
+
property Modified: Boolean; +
Run-time and read only. The Modified property is True if a field in the current record has
been changed. It is reset to False when the record is updated through a call to the Cancel +
or Post methods.
+
See also
UpdateRecord method +
Monochrome property
M
Applies to
TBitmap object

Declaration
property Monochrome: Boolean;
The Monochrome property determines if the bitmap displays in monochrome. If True, the
bitmap is monochrome. If False, the bitmap displays in color.

Example
The following code create Bitmap1 and sets its Monochrome property to True.
var
Bitmap1: TBitmap;
begin
Bitmap1 := TBitmap.Create;
Bitmap1.Monochrome := True;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 479

MouseToCell method

MouseToCell method
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
procedure MouseToCell(X, Y: Integer; var ACol, ARow: Longint);
The MouseToCell method returns the column and row of the cell the mouse pointer is
positioned on. The X and Y parameters are the screen coordinates of the mouse pointer.
The ACol parameter is the number of the column where the mouse pointer is positioned,
and the ARow parameter is the number of the row.
Usually the MouseToCell method is used in a mouse event handler, which supplies the
mouse coordinates to the method call.

Example
This example uses a string grid on a form. When the user selects a cell in the grid and
releases the mouse button, the column and row coordinates for the cell appear in the
cell. The code for displaying the coordinates is written in the OnMouseUp event handler:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
StringGrid1.DefaultColWidth := 100;
end;
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1MouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var
Column, Row: Longint;
begin
StringGrid1.MouseToCell(X, Y, Column, Row);
StringGrid1.Cells[Column, Row] := 'Col ' + IntToStr(Column) +
',Row ' + IntToStr(Row);
end;

See also
CellRect method, OnMouseDown event, OnMouseMove event, OnMouseUp event

Move method
Applies to
TList, TStringList, TStrings objects

Declaration
procedure Move(CurIndex, NewIndex: Integer);

480 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Move procedure

The Move method changes the position of an item in the list of a list object or in a list of
+
strings in a string object by giving the item a new index value. The CurIndex parameter is
the item’s current index, and the NewIndex parameter is the item’s new index value.
+
If a string in a string object has an associated object in the Objects property, Move moves +
both the string and the object.
+
Example
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. The list box contains items when
the form appears. When the user clicks the button, the fifth item in the list box is moved
+
to the top of the list box: +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
+
begin
for I := 1 to 5 do
+
end;
ListBox1.Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(I));
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
ListBox1.Items.Move(4, 0);
end; +
See also
Add method, Delete method, Exchange method, Objects property, Strings property
M
Move procedure System
Declaration
procedure Move(var Source, Dest; Count: Word);
The Move procedure copies Count bytes from a Source to Dest. No range-checking is
performed.
When the segment parts of Source and Dest are equal, Move compensates for overlaps
between the source and destination blocks. If the source and destination overlap but
their segment parts are not equal, Move will not compensate for overlaps and there is a
50% chance that Move will not work correctly. Borland Pascal’s static and dynamic
(heap) memory allocation schemes never create overlapping variables whose addresses
have different segment parts, so this problem can only occur if the addresses of Source
and Dest are modified or normalized by your program, or if they are provided by an
external source.
Whenever possible, use SizeOf to determine the count.

Example
var

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 481

MoveBy method

A: array[1..4] of Char;
B: Longint;
begin
Move(A, B, SizeOf(A)); { SizeOf = safety! }
end;

See also
FillChar procedure, SizeOf function

MoveBy method
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components

Declaration
procedure MoveBy(Distance: Integer);
The MoveBy method moves the dataset cursor by Distance records. If Distance is
negative, the move is backward. If Distance is positive, the movement is forward. If
Distance is zero, no move is done.
If the dataset is in Insert or Edit state, MoveBy will perform an implicit Post of any
pending data.

Example
{ Skip three records forward }
Table1.MoveBy(3);

See also
First method, Last method, Next method, Prior method

MovedCount property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property MovedCount: Longint;
Run-time and read only. MovedCount is the number of records which were actually
processed by the Execute method. This includes any records which had integrity or data
size problems.

482 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MoveTo method
+
Example
with BatchMove1 do +
begin
Execute;
MessageDlg(IntToStr(MoveCount) + ‘ records read’, mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
+
end; +
See also
ChangedCount property, KeyViolCount property, ProblemCount property, RecordCount
+
property
+
MoveTo method +
Applies to +
TCanvas, TOutlineNode objects
+
For canvases +
Applies to
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
M
procedure MoveTo(X, Y: Integer);
The MoveTo method changes the current drawing position to the coordinates passed in
X and Y. The current position is given by the PenPos property. You should use MoveTo
to set the current position rather than setting PenPos directly.

Example
The following code draws a line from the upper-eft corner of a form to the point clicked
with the mouse:
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Canvas.MoveTo(0, 0);
Canvas.LineTo(X, Y);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 483

MoveTo method

For outline nodes

Applies to
TOutlineNode object

Declaration
procedure MoveTo(Destination: Longint; AttachMode: TAttachMode);

Description
The MoveTo method moves an outline item from one location to another within an
outline (TOutline component). The Destination parameter determines where to move the
item. Pass the Index value of another outline item in the Destination parameter. The
AttachMode parameter specifies how you want to attach the item to the destination
position. These are the possible values of AttachMode:

Value Meaning
oaAdd The item is attached as if added with the Add method. The moved item becomes the last
sibling of the item specified by the Destination parameter. The moved item will share the
same parent as the Destination item.
oaAddChild The item is attached as if added with the AddChild method. The moved item becomes the
last child of the item specified by the Destination parameter. The Destination item will
become the parent of the moved item.
oaInsert The item is attached as if inserted with the Insert method. The moved item replaces the
Destination item in the outline, while the Destination item and all other following items are
moved down one row.

MoveTo returns the new Index value of the moved item.

Note When an item is moved, all its subitems move with it.
When an item (and any subitems) is moved, the other items in the outline are reindexed
to obtain new valid Index values. This happens automatically unless BeginUpdate has
been called.

Example
The following code moves the selected item to become the first item in the outline.
with Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
MoveTo(0, oaInsert);

484 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MSecsPerDay constant
+
MSecsPerDay constant SysUtils
+
Declaration
MSecsPerDay = 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
+
MSecsPerDay declares the number of milliseconds per day. +
MultiSelect property
+
+
Applies to
TListBox, TFileListBox components +
Declaration +
property MultiSelect: Boolean;
The MultiSelect property determines whether the user can select more than one element
+
at a time from the list. If MultiSelect is True, the user can select multiple items. If
MultiSelect if False, multiple items can be selected in the list box at the same time. The
+
default value is False.
+
Example
This line of code ensures that the user can select multiple items in a list box: +
ListBox1.MultiSelect := True;
N
See also
ExtendedSelect property, Selected property

Name property
Applies to
All components; TFieldDef, TFieldDefs, TIndexDef, TIndexDefs, TFont, TParam, TParams
objects

For components

Declaration
property Name: TComponentName;
The Name property contains the name of the component as referenced by other
components. By default, Delphi assigns sequential names based on the type of the
component, such as ‘Button1’, ‘Button2’, and so on. You may change these to suit your
needs.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 485

Name property

Note Change component names only at design time.

Example
The following code lists the names of all the components of Form1 in a list box.
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Form1.ComponentCount-1 do
ListBox1.Items.Add(Form1.Components[I].Name);
end;

For font objects

Declaration
property Name: TFontName;
The Name property of a font object determines the name of the font contained within the
font object.

Example
This code sets the font for all text that appears on the form to Times New Roman. If the
controls on the form have their ParentFont property set to True, text on these controls
will also be in Times New Roman.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Font.Name := 'Times New Roman';
end;

For TIndexDef objects

Declaration
property Name: string;
Run-time and read only. Name is the name of the index.

For TParam objects

Declaration
property Name: string;
The Name property is the name of the parameter.

486 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

NativeToAnsi procedure
+
Example
{ Change the name of the first parameter column to ‘CustNo’ } +
Params[0].Name := ‘CustNo’;
+
For TFieldDef objects +
Declaration
property Name: string;
+
Run-time and read only. Name is the name of the physical field within the table. +
Example +
{ Display the field name and number }
with FieldDef1 do
+
MessageDlg(Name + ' is field ’ + IntToStr(FieldNo), mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
+
See also
TField component +
NativeToAnsi procedure
+
DB
+
Declaration
procedure NativeToAnsi(Locale: TLocale; NativeStr: PChar; var AnsiStr: string);
N
The NativeToAnsi procedure translates native characters in NativeStr to the ANSI
character set according to Locale. NativeToAnsi returns the translated string in AnsiStr.

NetFileDir property
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
property NetFileDir: string;
Run-time only. The NetFileDir property specifies the directory that contains the BDE
network control file, PDOXUSRS.NET. This property enables multiple users to share
Paradox tables on network drives. NetFileDir overrides the specification defined for the
Paradox driver in the BDE Configuration Utility.
All applications that need to share the same Paradox database must specify the same
directory, and all must have read/write/create rights for the directory.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 487

New procedure

See also
Session variable

New procedure System

Declaration
procedure New(var P: Pointer);
function New( <pointer type> ): Pointer;
The New procedure creates a new dynamic variable and sets a pointer variable to point
to it. Reference the newly created variable as P^.
If there is not enough space available in the heap to allocate to the new variable a run-
time error occurs. However, {$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For
more information on handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL
Exceptions in the Help system.
The New function returns a pointer value and applies to all data types, not just object
types.
The parameter passed to New is the type of pointer pointing to the object, rather than the
pointer variable itself.

Example
type
Str18 = string[18];
var
P: ^Str18;
begin
New(P);
P^ := 'Now you see it...';
Dispose(P); { Now you don't... }
end;

See also
Dispose procedure, FreeMem procedure, GetMem procedure

NewPage method
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
procedure NewPage;

488 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

NewStr function

The NewPage method forces the current print job to begin printing on a new page in the
+
printer. It also increments the value of the PageNumber property and resets the value of
the Pen property of the Canvas back to (0, 0).
+
Example
+
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a rectangle is
printed twice, one per page.
+
To run this example successfully, you must add the Printers unit to the uses clause of
your unit.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
with Printer do
begin
BeginDoc;
Canvas.Rectangle(10, 10, 200, 200); +
NewPage;
Canvas.Rectangle(10, 10, 200, 200);
EndDoc;
+
end;
end;
+
See also
+
BeginDoc method, EndDoc method, Printer variable
+
NewStr function SysUtils N
Declaration
function NewStr(const S: string): PString;
The NewStr function allocates a copy of the string S on the heap and returns a pointer to
the newly allocated string. When your application finishes using the allocated string,
you should use DisposeStr to dispose of the string on the heap.
Do not change the length of strings allocated with NewStr. Increasing the length of the
string overwrites other variables on the heap. Decreasing the length of the string
prevents some of the memory from being deallocated.

Example
The following code allocates space for and places the string ‘New String’ in memory.
The pointer S points to the new string:
var
S: PString;
begin
S := NewStr('New String');
.
.
DisposeStr(S);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 489

Next method

For media player controls

Declaration
procedure Next;
The Next method goes to the beginning of the next track of the currently loaded
medium. If the current position is at the last track when Next is called, Next makes the
current position the beginning of the last track. If the multimedia device doesn’t use
tracks, Next goes to the end of the medium. Next is called when the Next button on the
media player control is clicked at run time.
Upon completion, Next stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.

490 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

NormalizeTopMosts method

The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
+
Next method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Next generates an
OnNotify event.
+
Example
+
The following code opens a WAV audio file and fast-forwards to the end of the
medium.
+
MediaPlayer1.DeviceType := dtWAVAudio;
MediaPlayer1.FileName := ’c:\chimes.wav’;
+
MediaPlayer1.Open;
MediaPlayer1.Next;
+
See also +
Position property, Previous method, Tracks property
+
For tables, queries, and stored procedures +
Declaration +
procedure Next;
The Next method moves the cursor forward by one record. If the cursor is already on the
+
last record, it does not move. If the dataset is in Insert or Edit state, Next will perform an
implicit Post of any pending data. +
Example N
{ Move to the next record }
Table1.Next;
if Table1.Eof then { No more records };

See also
First method, Last method, MoveBy method, Prior method

NormalizeTopMosts method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
procedure NormalizeTopMosts;
The NormalizeTopMosts method makes forms that have been designated as topmost
forms (their FormStyle is fsStayOnTop) behave as if they were not topmost forms. You’ll
find this method convenient to use if you want a message box or dialog box to appear
on top of a topmost form.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 491

Notify property

For example, while you do not have to call NormalizeTopMosts to use the Delphi
methods and functions that display message boxes (such as MessageBox and
MessageDlg), you should call it if you want to call Windows API functions directly to
display a message box. If you neglect to call NormalizeTopMosts, the message box won’t
display on top of the form, but the form remains on top. Any time you call Windows
API functions to display a window on top of a form, call NormalizeTopMosts first.
To return the forms designated as fsStayOnTop to be topmost again, call
RestoreTopMosts.

Example
The following code normalizes topmost forms before calling the MessageBox function in
the WinProcs unit. After the message box is closed, the topmost forms are restored.
begin
Application.NormalizeTopMosts;
MessageBox(Form1.Handle, 'This should be on top.', 'Message Box', MB_OK);
Application.RestoreTopMosts;
end;

See also
FormStyle property, RestoreTopMosts method

Notify property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Notify: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Notify property determines whether the next call to a media control
method (Back, Close, Eject, Next, Open, Pause, PauseOnly, Play, Previous, StartRecording,
Resume, Rewind, Step, or Stop) generates an OnNotify event when the method has
completed.
If Notify is True, the next media control method generates OnNotify event upon
completion and stores the notification message in the NotifyValue property. If Notify is
False, the method does not generate an OnNotify event and NotifyValue remains
unchanged.
Notify affects only the next call to a media control method. After an OnNotify event,
Notify must be reset to affect any subsequent media control methods.
By default, Play and StartRecording function as if Notify is True. You must set Notify to
False before calling Play or StartRecording to prevent an OnNotify event from being
generated when playing or recording has finished. By default, all other media control
methods function as if Notify is False.

492 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Note
NotifyValue property

Set Notify to True if the next media control is expected to take a long time, so your
+
application is notified when the media control method has completed. If you set Notify
to True, you might want to set Wait to False so that control returns to the application
+
Note
before the media control method is finished.
If you try to resume a device that doesn’t support Resume, the device is resumed as if
+
you called the Play method. If you have assigned True to Notify before calling Resume (or
any other media control method), Notify doesn’t affect the call to Resume. Resume does
+
not generate an OnNotify event upon completion, and NotifyValue remains unchanged.
+
Example
The following code sets Notify to True after opening and playing the Microsoft Video for
+
the Windows file named DUCK.AVI. When the Play method is completed, an OnNotify
event occurs, which displays a message. +
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
FileName := 'duck.avi'; +
+
Open;
Play;
Notify := True;
end;
end; +
procedure TForm1.MediaPlayer1Notify(Sender: TObject);
begin
if MediaPlayer1.NotifyValue=nvSuccessful then
+
end;
MessageDlg('Done playing video.', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0); N
NotifyValue property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property NotifyValue: TMPNotifyValues;
Run-time and read only. The NotifyValue property reports the result of the last media
control method (Back, Close, Eject, Next, Open, Pause, PauseOnly, Play, Previous,
StartRecording, Resume, Rewind, Step, or Stop) that requested a notification. Set Notify to
True before calling a media control method to request notification.
The following table lists the possible values for NotifyValue.

Value Result
nvSuccessful Command completed successfully
nvSuperseded Command was superseded by another command

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 493

Now function

Value Result
nvAborted Command was aborted by the user
nvFailure Command failed

Example
This example uses a media player component named MediaPlayer1. When the
application runs, the code attempts to play a CD in the CD audio device, and displays a
message dialog box indicating whether the attempt to play the CD was successful.
Before you can run this example, you must have a CD audio device installed correctly.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
DeviceType := dtCDAudio;
Open;
Play;
if NotifyValue <> nvSuccessful then
MessageDlg('Error playing CD audio', mtError, [mbOk], 0)
else
MessageDlg('Playing CD audio', mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
Visible := False;
end;
end;

Now function SysUtils

Declaration
function Now: TDateTime;
The Now function returns the current date and time, corresponding to Date + Time.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current date and time appear as the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'The date and time is ' + DateTimeToStr(Now);
end;

See also
Date function, DateTimeToStr function, Time function

494 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

NullStr constant
+
NullStr constant SysUtils
+
Declaration
NullStr: PString = @EmptyStr;
+
NullStr declares a pointer to EmptyStr. +
NullStr is the return value for many string handling routines when the string is empty.
+
NumGlyphs property +
Applies to +
TBitBtn, TSpeedButton components
+
Declaration
property NumGlyphs: TNumGlyphs;
+
The NumGlyphs property indicates the number of images that are in the graphic
specified in the Glyph property for use on a bitmap button or speed button.
+
If you have multiple images in a bitmap, you must specify the number of images that +
are in the bitmap with the NumGlyphs property. All images must be the same size and
next to each other in a row. Valid NumGlyphs values are 1 to 4. The default value is 1. +
You can provide up to four images on a bitmap button or speed button with a single
bitmap. Delphi then displays one of these images depending on the state of the button. N
Only one image is required in a bitmap.

Image position Speed button

in bitmap state Description
First Up This image appears when the button is unselected. If no other
images exist in the bitmap, Delphi uses this image for all other
images.
Second Disabled This image usually appears dimmed and indicates that the
button can’t be selected.
Third Down This image appears when a button is clicked. The up state image
then reappears when the user releases the mouse button.
Fourth Stay down This image appears when a button stays down indicating that it
remains selected.

Example
This example uses a speed button and a label on a form. When the example runs, the
number of images in the specified bitmap appears as the caption of the label.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 495

ObjClass property

procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);

begin
SpeedButton1.Glyph.LoadFromFile('C:\WINDOWS\CARS.BMP');
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(SpeedButton1.NumGlyphs) + ' image(s)';
end;

496 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ObjectMenuItem property

Specify the OLE document of an object in the ObjDoc property. The document of an
+
object is typically the name of the file containing the OLE information. See the OLE
server documentation for specific information about its OLE documents.
+
At design time, specifying the ObjDoc property displays the Insert Object dialog box and +
initializes the OLE object. At run time, the ObjDoc property is specified automatically
when you initialize the OLE object with the PInitInfo property, if the object is linked to
data in a file.
+
Example
+
The following code tests to determine if ‘c:\windows\256color.bmp’ is the object
document. If so, a message is displayed in Label1 when Button1 is clicked.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
if OLEContainer1.ObjDoc = 'c:\windows\256color.bmp' then
Label1.Caption := 'The object document is c:\windows\256color.bmp';
+
end;
+
See also
ObjClass property, ObjItem property +
+
ObjectMenuItem property
+
Applies to
TForm component +
Declaration O
property ObjectMenuItem: TMenuItem;
ObjectMenuItem is used to specify the OLE object menu item. If you create a menu item
and specify it as the OLE object menu item with the ObjectMenuItem property, the item is
automatically enabled when an OLE object in an OLE container is selected.
The OLE object menu item can be used to activate or convert the selected object. All you
need to do is specify the menu item in the ObjectMenuItem component. The processing
of activating or converting the object is handled by the OLE server application.

Example
The following code assigns MyObject1 to the ObjectMenuItem property of Form1. When
an OLE container that contains an object is selected, the caption of the MyObject1 menu
item can be modified by the OLE server and the functionality of MyObject1 will be
handled by the server.
Form1.ObjectMenuItem := MyObject1;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 497

Objects property

Objects property
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects; TStringGrid component

For string objects

Declaration
property Objects[Index: Integer]: TObject;
Run-time only. The Objects property gives you access to an object in the list of objects
associated with the list of strings. Each string in the list of strings can have an associated
object.
The most common use of objects in a string and string list objects is to associate bitmaps
with strings so that you can use the bitmaps in owner-draw controls. For example, if
you have an owner-draw list box, you can add a string ‘Banana’ and a bitmap of a
banana to the Items property of the list box using the AddObject method. You can then
access the ‘Banana’ string using the Strings property or the bitmap using the Objects
property.
Specify the object you want to access with its position in the list as the value of the Index
parameter. The index is zero-based, so the first object in the list of objects has a value of
0, the second object has a value of 1, and so on.
To associate an object with an existing string, assign the object to the Objects property
using the same index as that of the existing string in the Strings property. For example, if
a string object named Fruits contains the string ‘Banana’ and an existing bitmap of a
banana called BananaBitmap, you could make the following assignment:
Fruits.Objects[Fruits.IndexOf(‘Banana’)] := BananaBitmap;

Example
The following code allows the user to specify a bitmap file with the OpenDialog1 open
dialog box component when Form1 is created. Then, the bitmap file specified is added to
the Items list of ListBox1.
If ListBox1 is an owner-draw control (specified by a Style property of lbOwnerDrawFixed
or lbOwnerDrawVariable), the second procedure is the OnDrawItem event handler for
ListBox1. The bitmap in the Object property and the text of an item are retrieved and
displayed in Listbox1.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
TheBitmap: TBitmap;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
begin
TheBitmap := TBitmap.Create;
TheBitmap.LoadFromFile(OpenDialog1.FileName);

498 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ListBox1.Items.AddObject(OpenDialog1.FileName, TheBitmap);
ObjItem property
+
end;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer;
Rect: TRect; State: TOwnerDrawState);
+
var
DrawBitmap: TBitmap;
+
begin
DrawBitmap := TBitmap(ListBox1.Items.Objects[Index]); +
+
with ListBox1.Canvas do
begin
Draw(Rect.Left, Rect.Top + 4, DrawBitmap);
TextOut(Rect.Left + 2 + DrawBitmap.Width, Rect.Top + 2, ListBox1.Items[Index]);
end; +
end;
+
See also
AddObject method, InsertObject method, IndexOf method, IndexOfObject method +
For string grids +
Declaration
+
property Objects[ACol, ARow: Integer]: TObject; +
Run-time only. The Objects property is an array of objects, one for each cell in the grid.
The ColCount and RowCount values define the size of the array of objects. Use the Objects
property to access an object within a particular cell. ACol is the column coordinate of the
+
cell, and ARow is the row coordinate of the cell. O
If you put an object into the Objects array, the object will still exist even if the string grid
is destroyed. You must destroy the object explicitly.

Example
The following code stores a TBitmap object called MyBitmap in row 3, column 10 of
StringGrid1.
StringGrid1.Objects[10, 3] := MyBitmap;

See also
Cells property, Cols property, Free method, Rows property

ObjItem property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 499

Odd function

Declaration
property ObjItem: string;
Specify the OLE item of an object in the ObjItem property. The item of an object is a
discrete unit of data within the OLE document containing the OLE information. See the
OLE server documentation for specific information about its OLE documents.
At design time, specifying the ObjItem property displays the Paste Special dialog box
and initializes the OLE object. At run time, the ObjItem property is specified
automatically when you initialize the OLE object with the PInitInfo property, if the
object linked is a more specific piece of data than is specified by the ObjDoc property.

Example
The following code tests to determine if “29 8 337 96” is the object item (this could be the
item if you copied a portion of a Paintbrush picture to the Clipboard and wanted to link
to the bitmap defined by the coordinates (29, 8) and (337, 96)). If so, a message is
displayed in Label1 when Button1 is clicked.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if OLEContainer1.ObjDoc = '29 8 337 96' then
Label1.Caption := 'The object item is 29 8 337 96';
end;

Odd function System

Declaration
function Odd(X: Longint): Boolean;
The Odd function tests if the argument is an odd number.
Odd returns True if X is an odd number.

Example
begin
if Odd(5) then
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, '5 is odd.')
else
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Something is odd!');
end;

500 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OEMConvert property
+
OEMConvert property +
Applies to
TEdit, TMemo components +
Declaration +
property OEMConvert: Boolean; +
Description +
The OEMConvert property determines whether the text in the control is converted to
OEM characters. If True, the text is converted. If False, the characters remain as ANSI
characters. The default value is False. You should have the text converted to OEM
+
characters if the text consists of file names. +
Ofs function System
+
Declaration
+
function Ofs(X): Word; +
The Ofs function returns the offset of a specified object.
X is any variable, or a procedure or function identifier. The result of type Word is the
+
offset part of the address of X.
+
Example
function MakeHexWord(w: Word): string;
O
const
hexChars: array [0..$F] of Char ='0123456789ABCDEF';
var
HexStr : string;
begin
HexStr := '';
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) and $F];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) and $F];
MakeHexWord := HexStr;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
i: Integer;
Y: Integer;
S: string;
begin
Y := 10;
S := 'The current code segment is $' + MakeHexWord(CSeg);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 501

OLEObjAllocated method

Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
end;

502 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnActivate event
+
For forms
+
Declaration +
property OnActivate: TNotifyEvent;
The OnActivate event for a form occurs when the form becomes active. A form becomes
+
active when focus is transferred to it (when the user clicks on the form, for example).
For MDI child windows (forms with FormStyle property values of fsMDIChild),
+
OnActivate occurs only when focus is shifted from one child to another. If focus is shifted
from a non-MDI child window to an MDI child, the OnActivate event occurs for the MDI
+
Note
parent form.
The OnActivate event of the application (TApplication), not the form, occurs when
+
Windows switches control from another application to your application. +
Example
The following code adds the caption of Form2 to a list box in Form1 when a Form2 is
+
activated. To refer to Form1 in Form2’s OnActivate event handler you must include the
name of the unit in which Form1 is declared to a uses clause in Form2’s unit. To avoid a +
circular unit reference (if Form2 is already referenced by Form1’s uses clause), put the
new uses clause in the implementation section of Form2’s unit. +
procedure TForm2.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Form1.ListBox1.Items.Add(Screen.ActiveForm.Caption);
end; +
See also
ActiveForm property, Show method, ShowModal method
O
For OLE containers

Declaration
property OnActivate: TNotifyEvent;
The OnActivate event for an OLE container occurs when the OLE object is activated as
specified by the AutoActivate property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 503

OnActivate event

Example
The following code displays the number of times an OLE container has been activated in
Label1. The code assumes that TimesActivated is an Integer field of Form1 that is initialized
to 0 in the OnCreate event of Form1.
procedure TForm1.OleContainer1Activate(Sender: TObject);
begin
TimesActivated := TimesActivated + 1;
Form1.Label1.Caption := 'Times activated: '+IntToStr(TimesActivated);
end;

For an application

Declaration
property OnActivate: TNotifyEvent;
The OnActivate event for an application occurs when the application becomes active.
Your application becomes active when it is initially run or when focus is shifted from
another Windows application to your application.
Note Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
event handlers for application events.

Example
The following code is the entire unit which assigns the ApplicationActivate procedure to
the OnActivate event of the application. Note that ApplicationActivate is declared as a
method of Form1. The code that you add is notes with comments. The rest of the code is
generated by Delphi.
unit Unit1;
interface
uses
SysUtils, WinTypes, WinProcs, Messages, Classes, Graphics, Controls,
Forms, Dialogs;
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure ApplicationActivate(Sender: TObject); {Add this declaration line}
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Private declarations }
public
{ Public declarations }
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;

504 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

implementation
OnActiveControlChange event
+
{$R *.DFM} +
procedure TForm1.ApplicationActivate(Sender: TObject); {Write this procedure}
begin +
{Put code for your Application.OnActivate here}
end; +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
Application.OnActivate := ApplicationActivate; {Write this line of code}
end;
end.
+
See also
Application variable, OnDeactivate event +
OnActiveControlChange event
+
Applies to
+
TScreen component +
Declaration +
property OnActiveControlChange: TNotifyEvent;
The OnActiveControlChange event occurs when the focus on the screen shifts from one
+
control to another. This change in focus means that a new control is now the value of the
ActiveControl property of the screen. Use the OnActiveControlChange event to specify O
special processing you want to occur just before the new control becomes the active
control.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 505

OnActiveFormChange event

implementation
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.ColorControl(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Edit1.Focused then
Edit1.Color := clRed
else
Edit1.Color := clWindow;
if Memo1.Focused then
Memo1.Color := clRed
else
Memo1.Color := clWindow;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Screen.OnActiveControlChange := ColorControl;
end;

See also
ActiveControl property, ActiveForm property, OnActiveFormChange event

OnActiveFormChange event
Applies to
TScreen component

Declaration
property OnActiveFormChange: TNotifyEvent;
The OnActiveFormChange event occurs when a new form becomes the active form on the
screen (the form becomes the value of the ActiveForm property). Use the
OnActiveFormChange event to specify any special processing to occur just before a new
form becomes the active form.

Example
This example uses a two forms with a button on the first form. When the user clicks the
button, the second form appears. As the user switches between forms, the form that is
active is colored aqua:
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Button1: TButton;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Private declarations }
public
procedure ColorForm(Sender: TObject);

506 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
OnApply event
+
var +
+
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
uses Unit2;
+
procedure TForm1.ColorForm(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Color := clBtnFace;
Form2.Color := clBtnFace;
Screen.ActiveForm.Color := clAqua;
end; +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Screen.OnActiveFormChange := ColorForm;
end; +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Form2.Show;
end; +
See also
ActiveForm property, OnActiveControlChange event
+
+
OnApply event O
Applies to
TFontDialog component

Declaration
property OnApply: TFDApplyEvent
The OnApply event occurs when the user clicks the Apply button in the Font dialog box.
The Apply button won’t appear in the Font dialog box unless the form has an OnApply
event handler. The user can use the Apply button to apply the font selected in the dialog
box to a component immediately before the dialog box is closed.

Example
This code displays the Font dialog box and puts an Apply button in it. When the user
clicks the Apply button, the font selected in the dialog box is applied to the Button1
button while the dialog box is still open.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FontDialog1.Execute;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 507

OnCalcFields event

end;
procedure TForm1.FontDialog1Apply(Sender: TObject; Wnd: Word);
begin
Button1.Font := FontDialog1.Font;
end;

508 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnChange event
+
For tab set controls
+
Declaration
property OnChange: TTabChangeEvent;
+
The OnChange event occurs just before a new tab is selected (the TabIndex value is about
to change). To prevent the TabIndex value from changing, you need to write code in the
+
OnChange event handler to stop it from doing so. +
Example
The following code uses a check box and a tab set control on a form. If the check box is
+
checked, another tab on the tab set can’t be selected. +
+
procedure TForm1.TabSet1Change(Sender: TObject; NewTab: Integer;
var AllowChange: Boolean);
begin
AllowChange := not CheckBox1.Checked;
end; +
For DDE client item and DDE server item controls
+
Declaration
+
property OnChange: TNotifyEvent; +
An OnChange event occurs when the value of the Value property of a DDE client item or
DDE server item component changes. +
If the value changed is that of a DDE client item component, the DDE server application
continuously updates the Value property of the DDE client item component.
O
If the value changed is that of a DDE server item component, your application can
change the Value property of the DDE server item component by assigning a new value
to it. The DDE client can change Value by poking data (transferring data from the DDE
client to the DDE server). See the documentation of the DDE client application for
information about how data is poked. Delphi DDE client applications poke data using
the PokeData method.

Example
The following code updates the contents of an edit box with the linked text from a DDE
server when the data is updated.
procedure TForm1.DdeClientItem1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Text := DDEClientItem1.Text;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 509

OnChange event

For data-aware components

Declaration
property OnChange: TNotifyEvent;
The OnChange event for data-aware controls occurs when the contents of the field the
control is accessing changes. Specify any special processing you want to occur at that
time in the OnChange event handler

Example
The following code displays a message if the data accessed by DBMemo1 changes.
procedure TForm1.DBMemo1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
MessageDlg('Data has changed',mtInformation,[mbOK],0);
end;

For fields
Declaration
property OnChange: TFieldNotifyEvent;
OnChange is activated when the contents of the field are modified. If a data-aware
control is linked to the field, OnChange is not activated until the control attempts to store
the changes into the current record.
You can take any special actions required by the event by assigning a method to this
property.

Example
Field1.OnChange := CapitalizeFirstLetter;

For other components and objects

Declaration
property OnChange: TNotifyEvent;
The OnChange event specifies which event handler should execute when the contents of
a component or object changes.
For graphics objects, OnChange occurs when the specific graphics item encapsulated by
the object changes. For example, the OnChange event for a pen occurs when the Color,
Mode, Style, or Width properties of the TPen object are modified.
For components, OnChange occurs when the main value or values of the component are
modified. For example, OnChange occurs when the Text property of an edit box is
modified.

510 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnChanging event

For combo boxes, the OnChange event also occurs when an item is selected in the drop
+
down list. +
For string list objects, the OnChange event occurs when a change to a string stored in the
list of strings changes. +
Example +
This example uses a color grid on a form. The color grid is a component on the Samples
page of the Component palette. When the user clicks a color rectangle or drags the
mouse cursor across the color grid, the color of the form changes.
+
procedure TForm1.ColorGrid1Change(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Color := ColorGrid1.ForegroundColor;
end;

See also
+
OnChanging event
+
OnChanging event +
Applies to
+
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
property OnChanging: TNotifyEvent;
+
An OnChanging event occurs immediately before the graphic contained in the canvas is
modified.
O
OnClick event
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit,
TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator,
TDBRadioGroup, TDBText, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TFileListBox,
TFilterComboBox, TForm, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMediaPlayer,
TMemo, TMenuItem, TNotebook, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBar,
TScrollBox, TSpeedButton, TStringGrid, TTabSet components

For the media player components

Declaration
property OnClick: EMPNotify;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 511

OnClick event

An OnClick event occurs when the user presses and releases the mouse button when the
mouse pointer is over one of the control buttons of the media player control, or when
the user presses Spacebar when the media player control has focus. When the media
player control has focus, the user can select which control button to click when the
Spacebar is pressed with the Left Arrow or Right Arrow keys.

Example
This example uses a label and a media player on a form. When the user clicks one of the
media player buttons, the caption of the label indicates which button was clicked. For
this example to run successfully, you must have a CD audio device installed correctly.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
MediaPlayer1.DeviceType := dtCDAudio;
MediaPlayer1.Open;
MediaPlayer1.Left := 20;
MediaPlayer1.Top := 12;
Label1.Top := 44;
Label1.Left := 20;
Label1.Color := clYellow;
Label1.Font.Name := 'Arial';
Label1.Caption := 'Click Me';
end;
procedure TForm1.MediaPlayer1Click(Sender: TObject; Button: TMPBtnType;
var DoDefault: Boolean);
begin
case Button of
btPlay :
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Playing';
Label1.Left := 20;
end;
btPause:
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Paused';
Label1.Left := 48;
end;
btStop:
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Stopped';
Label1.Left := 76;
end;
btNext:
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Next';
Label1.Left := 104;
end;
btPrev:
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Previous';
Label1.Left := 132;

512 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
OnClick event
+
btEject:
begin
+
Label1.Caption := 'Eject';
Label1.Left := 244; +
end;
end;
end;
+
See also
+
OnPostClick event +
For database navigators +
Declaration +
property OnClick: ENavClick;
The OnClick event occurs when the user presses and releases the mouse button with the
+
mouse pointer over one of the database navigator control buttons, or when the user
presses Spacebar while the database navigator has focus. Calling the Click method also
+
triggers OnClick.
+
Example
The following code determines which database navigator button was clicked and
+
displays a message identifying the name of the button.
procedure TForm1.DBNavigator1Click(Sender: TObject; Button: TNavigateBtn);
+
var
BtnName: string; O
begin
case Button of
nbFirst : BtnName := 'nbFirst';
nbPrior : BtnName := 'nbPrior';
nbNext : BtnName := 'nbNext';
nbLast : BtnName := 'nbLast';
nbInsert : BtnName := 'nbInsert';
nbDelete : BtnName := 'nbDelete';
nbEdit : BtnName := 'nbEdit';
nbPost : BtnName := 'nbPost';
nbCancel : BtnName := 'nbCancel';
nbRefresh: BtnName := 'nbRefresh';
end;
MessageDlg(BtnName + ' button clicked.', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 513

OnClose event

For forms and other components

Declaration
property OnClick: TNotifyEvent;
The OnClick event occurs when the user clicks the component. Typically, this is when
the user presses and releases the primary mouse button with the mouse pointer over the
component. This event can also occur when
• The user selects an item in a grid, outline, list, or combo box by pressing an arrow
key.
• The user presses Spacebar while a button or check box has focus.
• The user presses Enter when the active form has a default button (specified by the
Default property).
• The user presses Esc when the active form has a cancel button (specified by the Cancel
property).
• The user presses the accelerator key for a button or check box. For example, if the
value of the Caption property of a check box is ‘&Bold’, the B is underlined at run time
and the OnClick event of the check box is triggered when the user presses Alt+B.
• The Checked property of a radio button is set to True.
• The value of the Checked property of a check box is changed.
• The Click method of a menu item is called.
The user presses the accelerator key for a button or check boxFor a form, an OnClick
event occurs when the user clicks a blank area of the form or on a disabled component.

Example
The form in this example changes color each time the user clicks it:
procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Randomize;
Color := Random(65535);
end;

514 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnClose event
+
For forms
+
Declaration
property OnClose: TCloseEvent;
+
The OnClose event specifies which event handler to call when a form is about to close.
The handler specified by OnClose might, for example, test to make sure all fields in a
+
data-entry form have valid contents before allowing the form to close. +
A form is closed by the Close method or when the user chooses Close from the form’s
system menu. +
The TCloseEvent type of OnClose has an Action parameter. The value of Action
determines whether the form can actually close. These are the possible values of Action: +
Value Meaning +
caNone
caHide
The form is not allowed to close, so nothing happens.
The form is not closed, but just hidden. Your application can still access a hidden form.
+
caFree
caMinimize
The form is closed and all allocated memory for the form is freed.
The form is minimized, rather than closed. This is the default action for MDI child forms. +
Example +
This example displays a message dialog box when the user attempts to close the form. If
the user clicks the Yes button, the form closes; otherwise, the form remains open. +
procedure TForm1.FormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction);
begin
+
if MessageDlg('Close application ?', mtConfirmation,
[mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
Action := caFree
O
else
Action := caNone;
end;

See also
OnCloseQuery event, OnOpen event

For DDE components

Declaration
property OnClose: TNotifyEvent;
An OnClose event occurs when a DDE conversation is terminated. A conversation is
terminated when one of the applications involved is closed, or when the CloseLink
method is called.

Example
The following code displays a message when a conversation is closed.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 515

OnCloseQuery event

procedure TForm1.DdeClientConv1Close(Sender: TObject);

begin
MessageDlg('This conversation is finished!', mtInformation, [mbOK],0);
end;

OnCloseQuery event
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property OnCloseQuery: TCloseQueryEvent;
The OnCloseQuery event occurs when an action to close the form takes place (when the
Close method is called or when the user chooses Close from the form’s System menu).
An OnCloseQuery event handler contains a Boolean CanClose variable that determines
whether a form is allowed to close. It’s default value is True. See the TCloseQueryEvent
type for more information about CanClose.
You can use an OnCloseQuery event handler to ask users if they are sure they really want
the form closed immediately. For example, you can use the handler to display a message
box that prompts the user to save a file before closing the form.

Example
When the user attempts to close the form in this example, a message dialog appears that
asks the user if it is OK to close the form. If the user chooses the OK button, the form
closes. If the user chooses Cancel, the form doesn’t close.
procedure TForm1.FormCloseQuery(Sender: TObject; var CanClose: Boolean);
begin
if MessageDlg('Close the form?', mtConfirmation,
[mbOk, mbCancel], 0) = mrCancel then
CanClose := False;
end;

516 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnColExit event

The OnColEnter event occurs when the user clicks a cell in a column or moves to a
+
column with the Tab key within the data grid. Use the OnColEnter event to specify any
processing you want to occur as soon as a column is entered.
+
Example
+
The following code concatenates an asterisk to the display label of a field when the
column is entered.
+
procedure TForm1.DBGrid1ColEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
with DBGrid1.SelectedField do
DisplayLabel := '* ' + DisplayLabel;
+
end;
+
See also
OnColExit event +
OnColExit event
+
+
Applies to
TDBGrid component +
Declaration +
property OnColExit: TNotifyEvent;
The OnColExit event occurs when the user uses the Tab key to move out of a column or
+
clicks a cell in another column. Use the OnColExit event to specify any special processing
you want to occur when exiting the column. O
Example
The following code deletes the first two characters from the display label of the selected
field when exiting a column. Note that FirstTime is a Boolean field that prevents
characters from being deleted the first time a column is exited. Use this code in
conjunction with code in the example of OnColEnter to modify the appearance of the
display label of columns while they are entered.
procedure TForm1.DBGrid1ColExit(Sender: TObject);
var
TheLabel: string;
begin
if FirstTime then
FirstTime := False
else
begin
with DBGrid1.SelectedField do
begin
TheLabel := DisplayLabel;
Delete(TheLabel, 1, 2);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 517

OnCollapse event

DisplayLabel := TheLabel;
end;
end;
end;

518 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnCreate event

The OnColumnMoved event occurs when the user moves a column using the mouse. The
+
user can move a column only if the Options property set includes the value goColMoving. +
Example
The following code permits one column to be moved (assuming [goColMoving] is
+
specified for the Options property at design time), then locks the columns by preventing
any more moves.
+
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1ColumnMoved(Sender: TObject; FromIndex, ToIndex: Longint);
begin
+
StringGrid1.Options := StringGrid1.Options - [goColMoving];
end;
+
See also +
OnRowMoved event
+
OnCreate event +
Applies to +
TForm component
+
Declaration
property OnCreate: TNotifyEvent;
+
The OnCreate event specifies which event handler to call when the form is first created.
You can write code in the event handler that sets initial values for properties and does
+
any processing you want to occur before the user begins interacting with the form.
Delphi creates a form when the application is run by calling the Create method.
O
Note When writing code in an OnCreate event handler, don’t fully qualify a component
reference by including the name of the form in the reference. For example, if the form is
named Form1 and contains an Edit1 edit box control, don’t refer to the edit box control
with the Form1.Edit1 name. Because Form1 doesn’t yet exist when this code executes,
your application would crash if you used the fully qualified name. Instead, simply use
the name Edit1.
When a form is being created and its Visible property is True, the following events occur
in the order listed:
• OnActivate
• OnShow
• OnCreate
• OnPaint

Example
This very simple OnCreate event handler assures that the form is the same color as the
Windows system color of your application workspace:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 519

OnDataChange event

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Color := clAppWorkSpace;
end;
Note The Color property in this example is not prefaced with the name of the form. If you
write the statement like this,
Form1.Color := clAppWorkSpace;
the application won’t run without error, because Form1 does not yet exist at the time this
code is executed.

See also
OnActivate event, OnDestroy event, OnPaint event

OnDataChange event
Applies to
TDataSource component

Declaration
property OnDataChange: TDataChangeEvent;
The OnDataChange occurs when the State property changes from dsInactive, or when a
data-aware control notifies the TDataSource that something has changed.
Notification occurs when the following items change because of field modification or
scrolling to a new record: field component, record, dataset component, content, and
layout. The Field parameter to the method may be nil if more than one of the fields
changed simultaneously (as in a move to a different record). Otherwise, Field is the field
which changed.

See also
OnStateChange event, State property

OnDblClick event
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox,
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator, TDBText,
TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox,
TForm, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook,
TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TSpeedButton,
TStringGrid components

520 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnDeactivate event
+
Declaration
property OnDblClick: TNotifyEvent; +
The OnDblClick event occurs when the user double-clicks the mouse button while the
mouse pointer is over the component.
+
Example
+
This example notifies the user that the form was double-clicked.
procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
MessageDlg('You double-clicked the form', mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
+
end;
+
See also
OnClick event +
+
OnDeactivate event
+
Applies to
TApplication component +
Declaration +
property OnDeactivate: TNotifyEvent;
The OnDeactivate event occurs when the user switches from your application to another
+
Windows application. Use the OnDeactive event to do any special processing you want
to occur before your application is deactivated.
O
Note Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
event handlers for application events.

Example
The following code minimizes an application when it’s deactivated. Note that
AppDeactivate should be declared a method of TForm1.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.OnDeactivate := AppDeactivate;
end;
procedure TForm1.AppDeactivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.Minimize;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 521

OnDestroy event

OnDestroy event
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property OnDestroy: TNotifyEvent;
The OnDestroy event occurs when a form is about to be destroyed. A form is destroyed
by the Destroy, Free, or Release methods, or when the main form of the application is
closed.

Example
The following code explicitly allocates memory for a a pointer in the OnCreate event of
Form1, then releases the memory in the OnDestroy event. Assume that MyPtr is a Pointer
type field of TForm1.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
New(MyPtr);
end;
procedure TForm1.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
begin
Dispose(MyPtr);
end;

522 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnDragOver event
+
Example
This code comes from an application that contains a list box and three labels, each with a
different font and color. The user can select a label and drag it to a list box and drop it.
+
When the label is dropped, the items in the list box assume the color and font of the
dropped label. This is the OnDragDrop event handler.
+
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DragDrop(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer);
begin
+
if (Sender is TListBox) and (Source is TLabel) then
begin
+
(Sender as TListBox).Font := (Source as TLabel).Font;
end; +
+
end;
The Source in this example is the label, and the Sender is the list box.

See also +
DragCursor property, DragMode property, OnDragOver event, OnEndDrag event
+
OnDragOver event +
Applies to +
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit,
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo,
TDBNavigator, TDBText, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid,
+
TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TForm, TGroupBox, TImage,
TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel,
+
TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TScrollBox, TShape, TStringGrid, TTabSet components
O
Declaration
property OnDragOver: TDragOverEvent;
The OnDragOver event occurs when the user drags an object over a component. Usually
you’ll use an OnDragOver event to accept an object so the user can drop it.
The OnDragOver event accepts an object when its Accept parameter is True.
Usually, you will want the cursor to change shape, indicating that the control can accept
the dragged object if the user drops it. You can change the shape of the cursor by
changing the value of the DragCursor property for the control at either design or run
time before an OnDragOver event occurs.

Example
This OnDragOver event handler permits the list box to accept a dropped label:
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DragOver(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer;
State: TDragState; var Accept: Boolean);
begin
Accept := Source is TLabel;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 523

OnDrawCell event

The Source parameter identifies what is being dragged. The Sender is the control being
dragged over.
This code permits the list box to accept any dropped control:
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DragOver(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer;
State: TDragState; var Accept: Boolean);
begin
Accept := True;
end;

See also
DragMode property, OnDragDrop event, OnEndDrag event, TDragState type

OnDrawCell event
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property OnDrawCell: TDrawCellEvent;
The OnDrawCell event occurs whenever the contents of a grid cell need to be
redisplayed. For example, it occurs when the user selects a cell or scrolls the grid. How a
cell is redrawn depends on the value of the DefaultDrawing property.
If DefaultDrawing is False, you must write the code that handles all drawing within the
cell in the OnDrawCell event handler.

Example
The following code draws a focus rectangle around each of the cells of StringGrid1.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1DrawCell(Sender: TObject; Col, Row: Longint;
Rect: TRect; State: TGridDrawState);
begin
StringGrid1.Canvas.DrawFocusRect(Rect);
end;

OnDrawDataCell event
Applies to
TDBGrid component

Declaration
property OnDrawDataCell: TDrawDataCellEvent;

524 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnDrawItem event

The OnDrawDataCell event occurs whenever the contents of a data grid cell need to be
+
redisplayed. For example, it occurs when the user selects a cell or scrolls the grid. How a
cell is redrawn depends on the value of the DefaultDrawing property.
+
If DefaultDrawing is False, you must write the code that handles all the drawing within +
the cell in the OnDrawDataCell event handler.
+
Example
The following code fills the cells of DBGrid1 with the pattern defined by the Brush of the
Canvas of DBGrid1.
+
procedure TForm1.DBGrid1.DrawDataCell(Sender: TObject; Rect: TRect; Field: TField; +
+
State: TGridDrawState)
begin
DBGrid1.Canvas.FillRect(Rect);
end;
+
OnDrawItem event +
Applies to +
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBListBox, TListBox, TOutline components
+
Declaration
property OnDrawItem: TDrawItemEvent;
+
The OnDrawItem event occurs whenever an item in an owner-draw outline, list box, or
combo box needs to be redisplayed. For example, it occurs when the user selects an item
+
or scrolls the outline, list box, or combo box. OnDrawItem events occur only for outlines
with the Style value osOwnerDraw, list boxes with the Style values lbOwnerDrawFixed or
O
lbOwnerDrawVariable, and for combo boxes with the Style values csOwnerDrawFixed or
csOwnerDrawVariable.
OnDrawItem passes four parameters to its handler describing the item to be drawn:
• a reference to the control containing the item
• the index of the item in that control
• a rectangle in which to draw
• the state of the item (selected, focused, and so on)
The size of the rectangle that contains the item is determined either by the ItemHeight
property for fixed owner-draw controls or by the response to the OnMeasureItem event
for variable owner-draw controls.

Example
Here is a typical handler for an OnDrawItem event. In the example, a list box with the
lbOwnerDrawFixed style draws a bitmap to the left of each string.
procedure TForm1.ListBox1DrawItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer; Rect: TRect;
State: TOwnerDrawState);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 525

OnDrawTab event

var
Bitmap: TBitmap; { temporary variable for the item’s bitmap }
Offset: Integer; { text offset width }
begin
with (Control as TListBox).Canvas do { draw on the control canvas, not on the form }
begin
FillRect(Rect); { clear the rectangle }
Offset := 2; { provide default offset }
Bitmap := TBitmap(Items.Objects[Index]); { get the bitmap for this item }
if Bitmap <> nil then
begin
BrushCopy(Bounds(Rect.Left + 2, Rect.Top, Bitmap.Width, Bitmap.Height), Bitmap,
Bounds(0, 0, Bitmap.Width, Bitmap.Height), clRed); { render the bitmap }
Offset := Bitmap.width + 6; { add four pixels between bitmap and text }
end;
TextOut(Rect.Left + Offset, Rect.Top, Items[Index]) { display the text }
end;
end;
Note that the Rect parameter automatically provides the proper location of the item
within the control’s canvas.

See also
ItemHeight property, OnMeasureItem event

OnDrawTab event
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property OnDrawTab: TDrawTabEvent;
The OnDrawTab event occurs when a tab needs to redisplay only for tab set controls that
have the Style property value of tsOwnerDraw. For example, it happens when the user
selects a tab or scrolls the tabs using an owner-draw tab set control.
You must write the code in the OnDrawTab event handler to draw the tab.
OnDrawTab occurs just after the OnMeasureTab event, which contains the code to
calculate the width of the tab needed. The height of the tab is determined by the value of
the TabHeight property of the tab set control. The code you write in the OnDrawTab
event handler, therefore, must use the width determined with the OnMeasureTab event
to draw the tab.

Example
The following code loads a bitmap from the Objects property of the Tabs list of the
DriveTabSet tab set component. This bitmap is then drawn on the tab, along with the text
from the Tabs list.

526 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnDropDown event

procedure TFMForm.DriveTabSetDrawTab(Sender: TObject; TabCanvas: TCanvas;

+
R: TRect; Index: Integer; Selected: Boolean);
var
+
Bitmap: TBitmap;
begin +
Bitmap := TBitmap(DriveTabSet.Tabs.Objects[Index]);
with TabCanvas do
begin
+
Draw(R.Left, R.Top + 4, Bitmap);
TextOut(R.Left + 2 + Bitmap.Width, R.Top + 2, DriveTabSet.Tabs[Index]);
+
end;
end; +
See also +
OnMeasureTab event, TabHeight property
+
OnDropDown event +
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBListBox, TDBComboBox, TDBLookupCombo, TListBox components
+
Declaration
+
property OnDropDown: TNotifyEvent; +
The OnDropDown event occurs when the user opens (drops down) a combo box or list
box.
+
Example O
The following code doesn’t sort the items in a combo box until the user opens it.
procedure TForm1.ComboBox1DropDown(Sender: TObject);
begin
ComboBox1.Sorted := True;
end;

OnEndDrag event
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit,
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator,
TDBText, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit,
TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TGroupBox, TImage, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo,
TNotebook, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TScrollBox,
TShape, TStringGrid, TTabSet components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 527

OnEnter event

Declaration
property OnEndDrag: TEndDragEvent;
The OnEndDrag event occurs whenever the dragging of an object ends, either by
dropping the object or by canceling the dragging. Use the OnEndDrag event handler to
specify any special processing you want to occur when dragging stops. If the dragged
object was dropped and accepted by the control, the Target parameter of the OnEndDrag
event is True. If the object was not dropped successfully, the value of Target is nil.

Example
This code displays a message in a label named Status. The message displayed depends
on whether or not the dragged label control was dropped into and accepted by a list box
control successfully:
procedure TForm1.LabelEndDrag(Sender, Target: TObject; X, Y: Integer);
var
S: string;
begin
S := (Sender as TLabel).Name + ' was dropped... and ';
if Target <> nil then S := S + 'accepted!'
else S := S + 'rejected!';
Status.Caption := S;
end;
The Target parameter is the list box and Sender is the label.

See also
EndDrag method, OnDragDrop event

OnEnter event
Applies to
All windowed controls

Declaration
property OnEnter: TNotifyEvent;
The OnEnter event occurs when a component becomes active. Use the OnEnter event
handler to specify any special processing you want to occur when a component
becomes active.
Note The OnEnter event does not occur when switching between forms or between another
Windows application and your application.
Note The OnEnter event for a TPanel or THeader component never occurs as panels and
headers never receive focus.

528 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnException event
+
Example
This example uses an edit box and a memo control on a form. When either the edit box
or the memo is the active control, it is colored yellow. When the active control becomes
+
inactive, the color of the control returns to the Windows system color for a window. +
procedure TForm1.Edit1Enter(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Color := clYellow;
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Edit1Exit(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Edit1.Color := clWindow;
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Memo1Enter(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Memo1.Color := clYellow; +
end;
procedure TForm1.Memo1Exit(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Memo1.Color := clWindow; +
+
end;

See also
ActiveControl property, OnActivate event, OnExit event +
OnException event
+
Applies to
O
TApplication component

Declaration
property OnException: TExceptionEvent;
The OnException event occurs when an unhandled exception occurs in your application.
By default, the HandleException method calls the OnException event handler, which calls
ShowException to display a message dialog box appears indicating an error occurred.
You can change this behavior by specifying what processing you want to occur in the
OnException event handler.
Note Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
event handlers for application events.

Example
The following code defines the default exception handling of the application, assuming
AppException is declared a method of TForm1.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 529

OnExecuteMacro event

Application.OnException := AppException;
end;
procedure TForm1.AppException(Sender: TObject; E: Exception);
begin
Application.ShowException
end;

OnExecuteMacro event
Applies to
TDDEServerConv component

Declaration
property OnExecuteMacro : TMacroEvent;
The OnExecuteMacro event occurs when a DDE client application sends a macro to a
DDE server conversation component. Write code to process the macro in the
OnExecuteMacro event handler. See the DDE client application documentation for
information about how it sends macros. If the DDE client is a Delphi application, a
macro is sent with the ExecuteMacro method of the TDDEClientConv component.

Example
The following code clears the contents of a memo in the server application if the
appropriate message is sent from the client application.
procedure TForm1.DdeServerConv1ExecuteMacro(Sender: TObject; Msg: TStrings);
begin
if Msg.Strings[0] = 'Edit|Clear' then
Memo1.Clear;
end;

OnExit event
Applies to
All windowed controls

Declaration
property OnExit: TNotifyEvent;
The OnExit event occurs when the input focus shifts away from one control to another.
Use the OnExit event handler when you want special processing to occur when this
control ceases to be active.
Note The OnExit event does not occur when switching between forms or between another
Windows application and your application.
Note The OnExit event for a TPanel or THeader component never occurs as panels and headers
never receive focus.

530 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Note The ActiveControl property is updated before an OnExit event occurs.
OnExpand event
+
Example
+
This example uses an edit box and a memo control on a form. When either the edit box
or the memo is the active control, it is colored yellow. When the active control becomes
+
inactive, the color of the control returns to the Windows system color for a window. +
+
procedure TForm1.Edit1Enter(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Color := clYellow;
end;
procedure TForm1.Edit1Exit(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Edit1.Color := clWindow;
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Memo1Enter(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Memo1.Color := clYellow; +
end;
procedure TForm1.Memo1Exit(Sender: TObject); +
begin
Memo1.Color := clWindow;
end;
+
See also
+
OnEnter event +
OnExpand event O
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
property OnExpand: EOutlineChange;
An OnExpand event occurs when a collapsed outline item having subitems is expanded.
A collapsed outline item is expanded when the user double-clicks on it at run time,
when its Expanded property is set to True, or when the FullExpand method of the
TOutlineNode object is called. When expanded, the subitems appear in the outline and
the minus picture or open picture for the parent item is displayed if the appropriate
OutlineStyle has been selected.

Example
The following code displays the text from a collapsed outline item in a message dialog
box.
procedure TForm1.Outline1Expand(Sender: TObject; Index: Longint);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 531

OnFind event

var
TheStr: string;
begin
TheStr := Outline1.Items[Index].Text;
MessageDlg(TheStr+' has expanded.', mtInformation, [mbOK],0);
end;

See also
OnCollapse event, PictureMinus property, PictureOpen property

OnFind event
Applies to
TFindDialog, TReplaceDialog components

Declaration
property OnFind: TNotifyEvent;
The OnFind event occurs whenever the user chooses the Find Next button in the Find or
Replace dialog box. Use the OnFind event to specify what you want to happen when the
user chooses the Find Next button.

Example
The following text compares the FindText to the Text of the Items of Outline1. If the string
is found, a message is displayed and I-1 specifies the index of the matching item.
procedure TForm1.FindDialog1Find(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
Found: Boolean;
begin
I := 1;
Found := False;
repeat
if Outline1.Items[I].Text = FindDialog1.FindText then
begin
MessageDlg('Found!', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
Found := True;
end;
I := I+1;
until (I > Outline1.ItemCount) or (Found);
end;

532 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnGetEditMask event
+
OnGetEditMask event +
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components +
Declaration +
property OnGetEditMask: TGetEditEvent; +
The OnGetEditMask event occurs when the Options property set contains the value
goEditing and the grid needs to redisplay the text of a cell in the grid using a specified
edit mask. For example, the grid needs to redisplay the text when the user scrolls the
+
grid or the user changes the data. +
You write the code to specify the edit mask for the cell in the OnGetEditMask event
handler. +
Example
This example specifies an edit mask commonly used to display American telephone
+
numbers for the cell in column 2, row 3 of the string grid: +
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1GetEditMask(Sender: TObject; ACol,
ARow: Longint; var Value: OpenString);
begin
+
if ACol = 2 then
if ARow = 3 then
+
end;
Value := '!$999$000-0000;1';
+
See also O
EditMask property, OnGetEditText event

OnGetEditText event
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property OnGetEditText: TGetEditEvent;
The OnGetEditText event occurs when the Options property set contains the value
goEditing and the grid needs to redisplay the text of a cell in the grid. For example, the
grid needs to redisplay the text when the user scrolls the grid or the user changes the
data.
You write the code to retrieve the text of the cell in the OnGetEditText event handler.
When the user edits data in a grid, the OnSetEditText event occurs to change the actual
data, then the OnGetEditText event occurs to display the changed data in the grid.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 533

OnGetText event

Example
The following code appends ‘My ‘ to any text entered in StringGrid1.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1GetEditText(Sender: TObject; ACol,
ARow: Longint; var Value: OpenString);
begin
Value := 'My ' + Value;
end;

See also
OnGetEditMask event, OnSetEditText event

OnGetText event
Applies to
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

Declaration
property OnGetText: TFieldGetTextEvent;
The OnGetText event is activated when the DisplayText or Text properties are referenced.
The DisplayText parameter indicates if the event should supply the text in display
format or in edit format for the Text property. If OnGetText has been assigned a method,
the default processing for DisplayText or Text does not occur; the event handler is
expected to perform any conversion required to display the value.
By assigning a method to this property, you can take any special actions required by the
event.

Example
Field1.OnGetText := MyFormatMethod;

OnHide event
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property OnHide: TNotifyEvent;
The OnHide event occurs just before the form is hidden on the screen. Use the OnHide
event to specify any special processing you want to happen just before the form
disappears.

534 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnHide event

A form that is an MDI child form (FormStyle is fsMDIChild) loses its window handle
+
when it is hidden. If your application performs some operation that causes the window
handle to come back, such as adding items to a list box on the form, an exception is
+
raised. +
Example
This example uses two forms, each with a label and a button. When the user clicks a
+
button, the other form appears and the current form disappears. Also, a message
appears in the label of the form that is showing, indicating that the other form is hidden. +
This is the implementation section of Unit1:
implementation
+
{$R *.DFM} +
uses Unit2;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Form2.Show; +
+
Hide;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormHide(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form2.Label1.Caption := 'Form1 is hiding';
+
end;
end.
+
This is the implementation section of Unit2: +
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
O
uses Unit1;
procedure TForm2.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form1.Show;
Hide;
end;
procedure TForm2.FormHide(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form1.Label1.Caption := 'Form2 is hiding';
end;
end.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 535

OnHelp event

OnHelp event
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property OnHelp: THelpEvent;
The OnHelp event occurs when your application receives a request for help. Use the
OnHelp event handler to specify any special processing you want to occur when help is
requested.
The HelpContext and the HelpJump methods automatically trigger the OnHelp event.
Note Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
event handlers for application events.

Example
The following code changes the Help file for the application to the results of the Open
dialog component. AppHelp should be assigned to the OnHelp event handler of
Application in the OnCreate event of Form1.
function TForm1.AppHelp(Command: Word; Data: Longint): Boolean;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Application.HelpFile := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;

See also
HelpCommand method, HelpContext property, HelpFile property, THelpEvent type

OnHint event
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property OnHint: TNotifyEvent;
The OnHint event occurs when the user positions the mouse pointer over a control with
a Hint property value other than an empty string (‘’). Use the OnHint event handler to
perform any special processing you want to happen when the OnHint event occurs.
A common use of the OnHint event is to display the value of a control or menu item’s
Hint property as the caption of a panel control (TPanel), thereby using the panel as a
status bar. Using the Hint property, you can specify a Help Hint and a usually longer
hint that appears elsewhere when the OnHint event occurs.

536 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Note
OnHint event

Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
+
event handlers for application events. +
Example
This example uses a panel component, a menu, and an edit box on a form. You can
+
design the menu as you want, but remember to include a value for the Hint property for
each menu item in the menu. Also, specify a value for the Hint property of the edit box.
+
Align the panel at the bottom of the form (choose alBottom as the value of the Align
property), and left justify the caption of the panel (choose taLeftJustify as the value of the +
Alignment property).
The OnHint event is an event of the TApplication component. You can’t use the Object
+
Inspector to generate an empty event handler for TApplication, so you will need to write
your own OnHint event handler. To accomplish this, you create a method of the TForm1 +
object and give it an appropriate name, such as DisplayHint. You write the method in the
implementation part of the unit, but you must also remember to declare the method in +
the TForm1 type declaration in the public section.
In the DisplayHint method, you assign the Hint property of the application to the Caption +
property of the panel component.
One task remains. The OnHint event is an event of TApplication, so you must assign the
+
new method you created as the method used by the OnHint event. You can do this in
the form’s OnCreate event handler.
+
This code shows the complete type declaration, the new method, and the OnCreate event
handler. When the user runs the application and positions the cursor over the edit box
+
or a menu item on the menu, the specified hint appears as the caption of the panel at the
bottom of the form:
+
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
O
Button1: TButton;
Panel1: TPanel;
Edit1: TEdit;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Private declarations }
public
procedure DisplayHint(Sender: TObject);
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.FRM}
procedure TForm1.DisplayHint(Sender: TObject);
begin
Panel1.Caption := Application.Hint;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 537

OnIdle event

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Application.OnHint := DisplayHint;
end;

procedure TForm1.AppIdle(Sender: TObject; var Done: Boolean);

begin
Done := True;
end;

538 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnKeyDown event
+
OnKeyDown event +
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, +
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBMemo, TDirectoryListBox,
TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TForm, TListBox, +
TMaskEdit, TMemo, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TStringGrid
components +
Declaration +
property OnKeyDown: TKeyEvent;
The OnKeyDown event occurs when a user presses any key while the control has focus.
+
Use the OnKeyDown event handler to specify special processing to occur when a key is
pressed. The OnKeyDown handler can respond to all keyboard keys including function +
keys and keys combined with the Shift, Alt, and Ctrl keys and pressed mouse buttons. The
Key parameter of the OnKeyDown event handler is of type Word; therefore, you must use +
virtual key codes to determine the key pressed. You can find a table of virtual key codes
in the Help system; search for the topic Virtual Key Codes. +
Example
This event handler displays a message dialog when the user presses Alt+F10:
+
procedure TForm1.FormKeyDown(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word; +
+
Shift: TShiftState);
begin
if ((Shift = [ssAlt]) and (Key = VK_F10)) then

end;
MessageDlg('Alt+F10 pressed down', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
O
See also
KeyPreview property, OnKeyPress event, OnKeyUp event

OnKeyPress event
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit,
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBMemo, TDirectoryListBox,
TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, TForm, TListBox,
TMaskEdit, TMemo, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TStringGrid
components

Declaration
property OnKeyPress: TKeyPressEvent;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 539

OnKeyUp event

The OnKeyPress event occurs when a user presses a single character key. Use the
OnKeyPress event handler when you want something to happen as a result of pressing a
single key.
The Key parameter in the OnKeyPress event handler is of type Char; therefore, the
OnKeyPress event registers the ASCII character of the key pressed. Keys that don’t
correspond to an ASCII Char value (Shift or F1, for example) don’t generate an
OnKeyPress event. Key combinations (such as Shift+A), generate only one OnKeyPress
event (for this example, Shift+A results in a Key value of “A” if Caps Lock is off). If you
want to respond to non-ASCII keys or key combinations, use the OnKeyDown or
OnKeyUp event handlers.

Example
This event handler displays a message dialog box specifying which key was pressed:
procedure TForm1.FormKeyPress(Sender: TObject; var Key: Char);
begin
MessageDlg(Key + ' has been pressed', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0)
end;

540 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

{In the declarations section of the form}
OnLogin event
+
var
FormColor: TColor;
+
(OnKeyDown event handler}
procedure TForm1.FormKeyDown(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;
+
Shift: TShiftState);
begin
+
FormColor := Form1.Color;
Form1.Color := clAqua; +
+
end;
{OnKeyUp event handler}
procedure TForm1.FormKeyUp(Sender: TObject; var Key: Word;
Shift: TShiftState);
begin
+
Form1.Color := FormColor;
end;
+
See also +
KeyPreview property, OnKeyDown event, OnKeyPress event
+
OnLogin event +
Applies to +
TDataBase component
+
Declaration
property OnLogin: TLoginEvent;
O
The OnLogin event is activated whenever a TDatabase component assigned to an SQL
database is opened and the LoginPrompt property is True. Use the OnLogin event to set
login parameters. The OnLogin event gets a copy of the TDatabase's login parameters
array, Params. Use the Values property to change these parameters:
LoginParams.Values['SERVER NAME'] := 'MYSERVERNAME';
LoginParams.Values['USER NAME'] := 'MYUSERNAME';
LoginParams.Values['PASSWORD'] := 'MYPASSWORD';
When control returns from your OnLogin event handler, these parameters will be used
to establish a connection.
Note For Paradox, dBASE, and ASCII databases, the only possible parameter is PATH, so the
OnLogin event will not be activated.

OnMeasureItem event
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBListBox, TListBox components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 541

OnMeasureTab event

Declaration
property OnMeasureItem: TMeasureItemEvent;
The OnMeasureItem event occurs whenever an application needs to redisplay an item in
an owner-draw list box or combo box with a variable style. That is, for a list box, the
Style property is lbOwnerDrawVariable, or for a combo box, the Style property is
csOwnerDrawVariable.
The OnMeasureItem event passes three parameters to its handler describing the item to
measure:
• The control containing the item
• The index of the item in the control
• The height of the item
The OnMeasureItem event handler should specify the height in pixels that the given item
will occupy in the control. The Height parameter is a var parameter, which initially
contains the default height of the item or the height of the item text in the control’s font.
The handler can set Height to a value appropriate to the contents of the item, such as the
height of a graphical image to be displayed within the item.
After the OnMeasureItem event occurs, the OnDrawItem event occurs, rendering the item
with the measured size.

Example
Here is a typical handler for an OnMeasureItem event. The example assumes that a
variable owner-draw list box already has bitmaps associated with each of its strings. It
sets the height of the item to the height of the associated bitmap if that height is greater
than the default height.
procedure TForm1.ListBox1MeasureItem(Control: TWinControl; Index: Integer;
var Height: Integer);
var
Bitmap: TBitmap;
begin
with Control as TListBox do
begin
Bitmap := TBitmap(Items.Objects[Index]);
if Bitmap <> nil then
if Bitmap.Height > Height then Height := Bitmap.Height;
end;
end;

OnMeasureTab event
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property OnMeasureTab: TMeasureTabEvent;

542 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnMessage event

The OnMeasureTab event occurs when the Style property of the tab set control is
+
tsOwnerDraw and an application needs to redisplay a tab in a tab set control. In the
OnMeasureTab event handler, you write the code to calculate the width needed to draw
+
the tab. After the OnMeasureTab event occurs, the OnDrawTab event occurs. You write
the code to draw the tab using the width calculated in OnMeasureTab in the OnDrawTab
+
event handler.
The Index parameter of the TMeasureTabEvent method pointer is the position of the tab in
+
the tab set control. The TabWidth parameter is the width of the tab. +
Example
The following code measures the width of a bitmap stored in the Objects property of the
+
Tabs list of the DriveTabSet tab set component. It then makes the width of the tab two
pixels wider than the bitmap width. +
procedure TFMForm.DriveTabSetMeasureTab(Sender: TObject; Index: Integer;
var TabWidth: Integer);
+
var
BitmapWidth: Integer; +
begin
BitmapWidth := TBitmap(DriveTabSet.Tabs.Objects[Index]).Width;
Inc(TabWidth, 2 + BitmapWidth);
+
end;
+
OnMessage event +
Applies to
+
TApplication component
O
Declaration
property OnMessage: TMessageEvent;
The OnMessage event occurs when your application receives a Windows message. By
creating an OnMessage event handler in your application, you can call other handlers
that respond to the message. If your application doesn’t have a specific handler for an
incoming message, the message is dispatched and Windows handles the message. An
OnMessage event handler lets your application trap a Windows message before
Windows itself processes it.
Note Search Help for “Handling Application Events” for more information about creating
event handlers for application events.

Example
The following code displays the time of the most recently received Windows message in
the Caption of Label1. AppMessage should be declared a method of TForm1.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.OnMessage := AppMessage;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 543

OnMinimize event

end;

procedure TForm1.AppMessage(var Msg: TMsg; var Handled: Boolean);

begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(Msg.Time);
end;

544 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnMouseMove event
+
Example
The following code creates and displays a label when a mouse button is pressed. If you
attach this event handler to the OnMouseDown event of a form, a label specifying the
+
coordinates of the mouse pointer appears when the user clicks the mouse button. Note
that the StdCtrls unit must be added to the uses clause of the interface section of the
+
form’s unit to be able to create labels dynamically.
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
+
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var
+
NewLabel: TLabel;
begin +
NewLabel := TLabel.Create(Form1);
NewLabel.Parent := Self;
NewLabel.Left := X;
+
NewLabel.Top := Y;
NewLabel.Caption := '(' + IntToStr(X) + ',' + IntToStr(Y) + ')';
+
NewLabel.Visible := True;
end; +
See also +
OnMouseMove event, OnMouseUp event
+
OnMouseMove event +
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBListBox,
+
TDBLookupCombo, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TEdit,
TFileListBox, TForm, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook,
O
TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TShape,
TSpeedButton, TStringGrid, TTabSet components

Declaration
property OnMouseMove: TMouseMoveEvent;
The OnMouseMove occurs when the user moves the mouse pointer when the mouse
pointer is over a control. Use the OnMouseMove event handler when you want
something to happen when the mouse pointer moves within the control.
By using the Shift parameter of the OnMouseDown event handler, you can respond to the
state of the mouse buttons and shift keys. Shift keys are the Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys.

Example
The following code updates two labels when the mouse pointer is moved. The code
assumes you have two labels on the form, lblHorz and lblVert. If you attach this code to
the OnMouseMove event of a form, lblHorz continually displays the horizontal position
of the mouse pointer, and lblVert continually displays the vertical position of the mouse
pointer while the pointer is over the form.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 545

OnMouseUp event

procedure TForm1.FormMouseMove(Sender: TObject; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);

begin
lblHorz.Caption := IntToStr(X);
lblVert.Caption := IntToStr(Y);
end;

See also
OnMouseDown event, OnMouseUp event

OnMouseUp event
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBListBox,
TDBLookupCombo, TDBMemo, TDBNavigator, TDBText, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid,
TEdit, TFileListBox, TForm, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo,
TNotebook, TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBox,
TShape, TSpeedButton, TStringGrid, TTabSet components

Declaration
property OnMouseUp: TMouseEvent;
The OnMouseUp event occurs when the user releases a mouse button that was pressed
with the mouse pointer over a component. Use the OnMouseUp event handler when you
want processing to occur when the user releases a mouse button.
The OnMouseUp event handler can respond to left, right, or center mouse button presses
and shift key plus mouse button combinations. Shift keys are the Shift, Ctrl, and Alt keys.

Example
The following code draws a rectangle when the user presses a mouse button, moves the
mouse, and releases the mouse button. When the mouse button is released, the rectangle
appears on the form’s canvas. Its top-left and bottom-right corners are defined by the
location of the mouse pointer when the user pressed and released the mouse button.
var
StartX, StartY: Integer; {Declare in interface section of form’s unit}
{Use this code as the OnMouseDown event handler of the form:}
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
StartX := X;
StartY := Y;
end;
{Use this code as the OnMouseUp event handler of the form:}
procedure TForm1.FormMouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Form1.Canvas.Rectangle(StartX, StartY, X, Y);

546 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
OnNewRecord event
+
See also
+
OnMouseDown event, OnMouseMove event +
OnNewRecord event +
Applies to
+
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components +
Declaration +
+
property OnNewRecord: TDataSetNotifyEvent;
The OnNewRecord event is activated whenever a new record is added to the dataset. The
event occurs after the BeforeInsert event and before the AfterInsert event. OnNewRecord
enables you to initialize any fields of the record without marking the record as Modified. +
Any changes to the record after this event will cause Modified to be set.
+
See also
Append method, Insert method +
OnNotify event
+
Applies to
+
TMediaPlayer component O
Declaration
property OnNotify: TNotifyEvent;
An OnNotify event occurs upon the completion of a media control method (Back, Close,
Eject, Next, Open, Pause, PauseOnly, Play, Previous, Resume, Rewind, StartRecording, Step,
or Stop) when the Notify property is set to True before the call to the media control
method. After an OnNotify event, the Notify property must be reset to True for the next
OnNotify event to occur.

Example
Attach the following code to the OnNotify event handler of a media player named
MediaPlayer1. If the Notify property of MediaPlayer1 is set to True, this code displays the
value of the NotifyValue property in a message dialog box.
procedure TForm1.MediaPlayer1Notify(Sender: TObject);
var
MyString: string;
begin
case MediaPlayer1.NotifyValue of
nvSuccessful : MyString := 'Success!';

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 547

OnOpen event

nvSuperseded : MyString := 'Superseded!';

nvAborted : MyString := 'Aborted!';
nvFailure : MyString := 'Failure!';
end;
MessageDlg('Notify value indicates: ' + MyString, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0)
end;

See also
NotifyValue property, Wait property

OnOpen event
Applies to
TDDEClientConv, TDDEServerConv components

Declaration
property OnOpen: TNotifyEvent;
An OnOpen event occurs when a DDE conversation is opened. A DDE conversation can
be initiated automatically or manually. Automatically open a conversation by setting
the value of the ConnectMode property to ddeAutomatic. When the form containing the
DDE client conversation component is created at run time, the DDE conversation opens.
Manually open a conversation by setting the value of ConnectMode to ddeManual and
calling the OpenLink method.

Example
The following code sends a macro to the server and closes the link immediately after
opening it.
procedure TForm1.DdeClientConv1Open(Sender: TObject);
begin
with DDEClientConv1 do
begin
ExecuteMacro('File|New', False);
CloseLink;
end;
end;

548 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnPaint event
+
Declaration
property OnPageChanged: TNotifyEvent; +
The OnPageChanged event occurs just after a new page becomes the active page. Use the
OnPageChanged event handler to specify special processing you want to happen at that
+
time.
+
Example
This example changes the color notebook page each time the OnPageChanged event +
occurs. To set up the example, add pages to the notebook with the Object Inspector
using the Pages property. +
var
NewColor: TColor; +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
TabSet1.Tabs := Notebook1.Pages;
end; +
procedure TForm1.TabSet1Change(Sender: TObject; NewTab: Integer;
var AllowChange: Boolean); +
begin
Notebook1.PageIndex := TabSet1.TabIndex;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.Notebook1PageChanged(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
NewColor := Notebook1.Color + 3475;
Notebook1.Color := NewColor;
+
end;
O
See also
ActivePage property, Pages property

OnPaint event
Applies to
TForm, TPaintBox component

Declaration
property OnPaint: TNotifyEvent;
The OnPaint event occurs when Windows requires the form or paint box to paint, such
as when the form or paint box receives focus or becomes visible when it wasn’t
previously. Your application can use this event to draw on the canvas of the form or
paint box.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 549

OnPassword event

Example
The following code is an entire unit that loads a background bitmap onto the Canvas of
the main form in the OnPaint event handler.
unit Unit1;
interface
uses
SysUtils, WinTypes, WinProcs, Messages, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs;
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
TheGraphic: TBitmap; { Add this declaration for the graphic}
public
{ Public declarations }
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject); { OnPaint event handler}
begin
Form1.Canvas.Draw(0, 0, TheGraphic); { Draw the graphic on the Canvas }
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); { OnCreate event handler }
begin
TheGraphic := TBitmap.Create; { Create the bitmap object }
TheGraphic.LoadFromFile('C:\APP\BKGRND.BMP'); { Load the bitmap from a file}
end;
end.

550 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnPokeData event

Run-time only. The OnPassword event is activated whenever a Paradox table is opened
+
and the Borland Database Engine reports that the application does not have sufficient
access rights. The value of Sender is the Session component. Continue determines whether
+
the caller will make another attempt to access the database. The procedure should add
any available additional passwords and set Continue to True. If there are no additional
+
passwords available, set Continue to False.
If no OnPassword event is defined, Session will create a default dialog box for the user to
+
enter a new password. +
OnPokeData event +
Applies to
+
TDDEServerItem component
+
Declaration
property OnPokeData: TNotifyEvent
+
The OnPokeData event occurs when the DDE client application pokes data to your DDE +
server application. When a client pokes data, it sends text to the linked DDE server. The
Text and Lines properties will be updated to contain the poked data, then the
OnPokeData event occurs.
+
If the DDE client is a Delphi application that uses a TDDEClientConv component, data is +
poked when the PokeData or PokeDataLines method is called.
+
Example
The following code uses a Boolean variable FInPoke to protect poked data from being
lost by a DDE server application. DoOnPoke is the OnPokeData event handler for the
O
DDE server item component named DDETestItem. When data is poked, FInPoke is set to
True, the poked data is stored in the Lines property of Memo2, and FInPoke is set back to
False.
The data should be protected because the server data is updated when the Lines of
Memo1 are updated by the user. DoOnChange, the OnChange event handler for Memo1,
tests FInPoke before updating the server data in DDETestItem. Otherwise, data poked
from the client could be lost when Memo1.Lines is changed.
var
FInPoke: Boolean;
.
.
.
procedure TDdeSrvrForm.doOnPoke(Sender: TObject);
begin
FInPoke := True;
Memo2.Lines := DdeTestItem.Lines;
FInPoke := False;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 551

OnPopup event

procedure TDdeSrvrForm.doOnChange(Sender: TObject);

begin
if not FInPoke then
DdeTestItem.Lines := Memo1.Lines;
end;

552 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnReplace event

application before completion of the OnClick code; therefore, the OnPostClick event may
+
occur before the actions initiated by the OnClick event have completed. +
For example, if the user clicks the Play button and the DoDefault parameter of the
OnClick event handler for the media player is True, the media is played. If the media is +
long enough, it will still be playing when the OnPostClick event is generated if Wait is
True. If Wait is False, however, OnPostClick won’t occur until the media has finished
playing.
+
See also
+
OnClick event +
OnReplace event +
Applies to
+
TReplaceDialog components
+
Declaration +
+
property OnReplace: TNotifyEvent;
The OnReplace event occurs whenever the user chooses either the Replace or the Replace
All button in the Replace dialog box. Use the OnReplace event to specify the processing
that replaces text. +
Because the OnReplace event occurs when the user chooses either the Replace or Replace
All button, the code you write in the OnReplace event handler should determine which +
button was chosen and supply the appropriate logic. Use the frReplace and frReplaceAll
values in the Options set to determine which button was chosen. O
Example
The following code calls the user-defined routine DoReplace if the Replace button was
clicked, or calls the user-defined routine DoReplaceAll if the ReplaceAll button was
clicked.
procedure TForm1.ReplaceDialog1Replace(Sender: TObject);
begin
if (ReplaceDialog1.Options*[frReplace])=[frReplace] then DoReplace
else if (ReplaceDialog1.Options*[frReplaceAll])=[frReplaceAll] then DoReplaceAll;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 553

OnRestore event

Declaration
property OnResize: TNotifyEvent;
The OnResize event occurs whenever the form is resized while an application is running.
Use the OnResize event handler when you want something to happen in your
application when the form is resized.

Example
The following code keeps the right edge on Button1 against the right edge of Form1
when Form1 is resized.
procedure TForm1.FormResize(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Left := (Form1.Width)-Button1.Width;
end;

OnRestore event
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property OnRestore: TNotifyEvent;
The OnRestore event occurs when the previously minimized application is restored to its
normal size, either because the user restores the application, or because the application
calls the Restore method. Use the OnRestore event handler to put code that performs any
special processing you want to happen as the application is restored.

See also
Minimize method, OnMinimize event

OnRowMoved event
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property OnRowMoved: TMovedEvent;
The OnRowMoved event occurs when the user moves a row using the mouse. The user
can move a row only if the Options property set includes the value goRowMoving.

Example
The following code displays the number of rows a row was moved in a label.

554 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnScroll event

procedure TForm1.StringGrid1RowMoved(Sender: TObject; FromIndex, ToIndex: Longint);

+
begin
Label1 := IntToStr(Abs(FromIndex-ToIndex));
+
end;
+
See also
OnColumnMoved event +
+
OnScroll event
+
Applies to
TScrollBar component +
Declaration +
property OnScroll: TScrollEvent;
The OnScroll event occurs whenever the user uses the scroll bar control. Use the OnScroll
+
event handler if you want something to happen when the user uses the scroll bar
control. Within the handler, write the code that responds to the user using the scroll bar.
+
Example
+
was pressed, the box moves up only one. If Page Down was pressed, the box moves down +
The following code repositions the thumb tab position by varying amounts. If Page Up

10. This shows how you can use the OnScroll event handler to move the thumb tab by
different increments than specified by the LargeChange and SmallChange properties. +
procedure TForm1.ScrollBar1Scroll(Sender: TObject; ScrollCode: TScrollCode;
var ScrollPos: Integer); O
begin
if ScrollCode = scPageUp then ScrollPos := ScrollPos - 1
else if ScrollCode = scPageDown then ScrollPos := ScrollPos + 10;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(ScrollPos);
end;

OnSelectCell event
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid component

Declaration
property OnSelectCell: TSelectCellEvent;
The OnSelectCell event occurs when the user selects a cell in a draw grid or string grid.
Use the OnSelectCell event handler to write the code that handles the selecting of a cell.
Using the CanSelect parameter of the event handler type, your code can determine
whether the user can select a cell or not.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 555

OnSetEditText event

Example
The following code determines that the user cannot select a cell containing the text ‘No’.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1SelectCell(Sender: TObject; Col, Row: Longint;
var CanSelect: Boolean);
begin
CanSelect := not (StringGrid1.Cells[Col,Row]='No')
end;

OnSetEditText event
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid component

Declaration
property OnSetEditText: TSetEditTextEvent;
The OnSetEditText event occurs when the user edits the text in the grid. The user can edit
the text only if the Options property set contains the value goEditing. The OnSetEditText
event makes the actual changes to the data. Use the OnSetEditText event handler to write
the code to handle the changes to the text within a cell of the grid.
When the user edits data in a grid, the OnSetEditText event occurs to change the actual
data, then the OnGetEditText event occurs to display the changed data in the grid.

556 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnShow event
+
OnShow event +
Applies to
TForm component +
Declaration +
property OnShow: TNotifyEvent; +
The OnShow event occurs just before a form becomes visible. Use the OnShow event to
specify any special processing you want to happen before the form appears. +
Example
This example colors the form and changes its caption when it becomes visible:
+
procedure TForm1.FormShow(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Color := clLime;
Caption := 'I am showing';
end;
+
See also
OnHide event
+
+
OnShowHint event
+
Applies to
TApplication component O
Declaration
property OnShowHint: TShowHintEvent;
The OnShowHint event occurs when the application is about to display a hint window
for a Help Hint for a particular control. By writing an event handler for OnShowHint,
you can change the appearance and behavior of the Help Hint. Use the HintStr,
CanShow, and HintInfo parameters of the TShowHintEvent method pointer to modify the
Help Hint and its window. The HintInfo parameter is of type THintInfo, a record.

Example
This example uses three speed buttons on a panel. The code changes the color, width,
and position of the text in the Help Hint for the third speed button.
You must declare the DoShow method in the type declaration of the form. Once it is
declared, write the code for the DoShow method in the implementation part of the unit.
Finally, in the OnCreate event handler for the form, assign the method to the
OnShowHint event of the application.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 557

OnSized event

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Panel1: TPanel;
SpeedButton1: TSpeedButton;
SpeedButton2: TSpeedButton;
SpeedButton3: TSpeedButton;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
{ Private declarations }
public
procedure DoShowHint(var HintStr: string; var CanShow: Boolean;
var HintInfo: THintInfo;
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.DoShowHint(var HintStr: string; var CanShow: Boolean;
var HintInfo: THintInfo);
begin
if HintInfo.HintControl = SpeedButton3 then
begin
with HintInfo do
begin
HintColor := clAqua; { Changes only for this hint }
MaxHintWidth := 120; {Hint text word wraps if width is greater than 120 }
Inc(HintPos.X, SpeedButton3.Width); { Move hint to right edge }
end;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.OnShowHint := DoShowHint;
end;
end.

See also
Hint property, OnHint event, ParentShowHint property, ShowHint property

OnSized event
Applies to
THeader component

Declaration
property OnSized: TSectionEvent;

558 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnSizing event

An OnSized event is generated when a sizing operation of a header is complete. A user

+
can resize the header section at run time if the AllowResize property is set to True. Your
application can resize the header section at run time by assigning a new value to the
+
SectionWidth property. +
Example
The following code displays the new width of the sized header section in a label.
+
procedure TForm1.Header1Sized(Sender: TObject; ASection, AWidth: Integer);
begin
+
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(AWidth);
end;
+
See also +
OnSizing event
+
OnSizing event +
Applies to +
THeader component
+
Declaration
property OnSizing: TSectionEvent;
+
An OnSizing event is generated for each mouse movement when a user is resizing a
header by clicking and dragging at run time.
+
Example
O
The following code displays the width of the header section that is being resized. As the
user drags the mouse pointer, the label is continuously updated.
procedure TForm1.Header1Sized(Sender: TObject; ASection, AWidth: Integer);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(AWidth);
end;

See also
AllowResize property, OnSized event

OnStateChange event
Applies to
TDataSource component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 559

OnStatusLineEvent event

Declaration
property OnStateChange: TNotifyEvent;
OnStateChange is activated when the State property changes.
By assigning a method to this property, you can react programmatically to state
changes. For example, this event is useful for enabling or disabling buttons (for
example, enabling an edit button only when a table is in edit mode), or displaying
processing messages.
Note OnChangeState can occur even for nil datasets, so it is important to protect any reference
to the DataSet property with a nil test:
if DataSource1.Dataset <> nil then
ƒ

560 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnTopLeftChanged event

The OnTimer event is used to execute code at regular intervals. Place the code you want
+
to execute within the OnTimer event handler. +
The Interval property of a timer component determines how frequently the OnTimer
event occurs. Each time the specified interval passes, the OnTimer event occurs. +
Example +
Here is an example of an OnTimer event handler that moves a ball slowly across the
screen: +
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
Timer1.Interval := 100;
Shape1.Left := Shape1.Left + 1;
end;

See also
+
Interval property
+
OnTopLeftChanged event +
Applies to
+
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components
+
Declaration
property OnTopLeftChanged: TNotifyEvent;
+
The OnTopLeftChanged event occurs whenever the value of either the TopRow property
or LeftCol property changes.
O
Example
The following code displays the latest top row and left column of StringGrid1.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1TopLeftChanged(Sender: TObject);
begin
with StringGrid1 do
MessageDlg('The top row is now '+IntToStr(TopRow)+
' and the left col is now '+IntToStr(LeftCol), mtInformation, [mbOK],0);
end;

OnUpdateData event
Applies to
TDataSource component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 561

OnValidate event

Declaration
property OnUpdateData: TNotifyEvent;
OnUpdateData is activated by the Post or UpdateRecord method of a dataset component
when the current record is about to be updated in the database. It causes all data-aware
controls connected to the data source to be notified of the pending update, allowing
them to change their associated fields to the current values in the controls. By assigning
a method to this property, you can react programmatically to updates.

For the Clipboard

Declaration
procedure Open;
The Open method opens the Clipboard and prevents other applications from changing
its contents until the Clipboard is closed. If you are adding a single item to the

562 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Open method

Clipboard, your application doesn’t have to call Open. If you want to add a series of
+
items to the Clipboard, however, Open prevents the contents from being overwritten
with each addition.
+
When your application has added all items to the Clipboard, it should call the Close +
method.
+
Example
The following code opens a Clipboard object before two items (text from an edit box and
an OLE object from an OLE container) are copied to the Clipboard. Then the Clipboard
+
is closed. +
Clipboard.Open;
Edit1.CopyToClipboard;
OLEContainer1.CopyToClipboard;
+
Clipboard.Close;
+
See also
Clear method, Clipboard variable, Close method
+
For media player controls
+
+
Declaration
procedure Open; +
The Open method opens a multimedia device. The multimedia device type must be
specified in the DeviceType property before you can open a device.
+
Upon completion, Open stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
O
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Open method is completed. The Notify property determines whether Open generates an
OnNotify event.

Example
This example begins playing an audio CD when the application begins running. When
the application is closed, the CD automatically stops playing. For this example to run
successfully, you must have an audio CD device installed correctly.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
DeviceType := dtCDAudio;
Visible := False;
Open;
Play;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 563

OpenCurrent method

See also
AutoOpen property, Close method

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
procedure Open;
The Open method opens the dataset, putting it in Browse state. It is equivalent to setting the
Active property to True.
For TQuery, Open executes the SELECT statement in the SQL property. If the statement
does not return a result set (for example, an INSERT or UPDATE statement), then use
ExecSQL instead of Open.
For TStoredProc, use Open to execute the stored procedure if the procedure returns a
result set. If the stored procedure returns a single row, use ExecProc instead.

Example
try
Table1.Open;
except
on EDataBaseError do { The dataset could not be opened };
end;

564 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OpenDatabase method
+
Declaration
procedure OpenCurrent; +
The OpenCurrent method opens the directory selected in the directory list box, as if the
user had double-clicked the directory.
+
Example
+
This example uses a directory list box, a button, and a label on a form. When the user
selects a directory in the directory list box and clicks the button, the selected directory +
opens, and the path of the second directory displayed in the list box appears as the
caption of the label. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
DirectoryListBox1.OpenCurrent;
Label1.Caption := DirectoryListBox1.GetItemPath(1);
end;
+
+
OpenDatabase method +
Applies to
TSession component
+
Declaration
+
function OpenDatabase(const DatabaseName: string): TDatabase; +
The OpenDatabase method attempts to find a TDatabase component with a DatabaseName
property matching the DatabaseName parameter by calling the FindDatabase method. If O
no such database can be found, it creates a new database component. OpenDatabase
returns either the found database component or the one created. The database returned
will be opened during this process. OpenDatabase increments the Session’s reference
count of the number of open database connections.
Use OpenDatabase with CloseDatabase in a try...finally block to ensure that database
connections are handled properly.

Example
Database := Session.OpenDatabase(‘DBDEMOS’);
try
begin
{Do Something}
finally
Session.CloseDatabase(‘DBDEMOS’);
end;

See also
Session variable

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 565

OpenLink method

OpenLink method
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
function OpenLink: Boolean;
The OpenLink method initiates a new DDE conversation. If the conversation was
successfully opened, an OnOpen event occurs and OpenLink returns True. If the
conversation wasn’t successfully opened, OpenLink returns False.

Example
The following code requests data if a link is open.
if OpenLink then DDEClientConv1.RequestData(DDEClientItem1.DDEItem);

For Color dialog boxes

Declaration
property Options: TColorDialogOptions;
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set:

Value Meaning
cdFullOpen Displays the custom coloring options when the Color dialog opens
cdPreventFullOpen Disables the Create Custom Colors button in the Color dialog box so the user cannot
create their own custom colors.
cdShowHelp Adds a Help button to the Color dialog box.

566 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Options property

The default value is [ ], the empty set, meaning all of these values are False and none of
+
the options are in effect. +
Example
This example displays the Color dialog box with a Help button and the Create Custom
+
Colors button dimmed. The form is colored whatever color the user chooses. +
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ColorDialog1.Options := [cdPreventFullOpen, cdShowHelp];
if ColorDialog1.Execute then
Color := ColorDialog1.Color; +
end;
+
See also
Color property, CustomColors property +
For Font dialog boxes +
Declaration
+
property Options: TFontDialogOptions; +
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set for the Fonts dialog
box: +
Value Meaning +
fdAnsiOnly If True, the user can select fonts that use the Windows character set only; that is, the
user can’t choose a font that contains only symbols because they aren’t displayed in
the Font combo box.
O
fdEffects If True, the Effects check boxes and the Color list box appear in the Font dialog box.
The user uses the Effects check boxes to specify strikeout or underlined text and the
Color list box to select a color for the selected font. If fdEffects is False, the Effects check
boxes and Color list box don’t appear in the Font dialog box.
fdFixedPitchOnly If True, only monospaced fonts are displayed in the Font combo box.
fdForceFontExist If True and the user enters a font name in the Font combo box and chooses OK, a
message dialog box appears informing the user the font name is invalid.
fdLimitSize If True, the MinFontSize and MaxFontSize properties can limit the number of fonts
available in the dialog box.
fdNoFaceSel If True, when the dialog box appears, no font name is selected in the Font combo box.
fdNoOEMFonts If True, only fonts that aren’t vector fonts are displayed in the Font combo box.
fdScalableOnly If True, only fonts that can be scaled are displayed in the Font combo box.
fdNoSimulations If True, only fonts that aren’t GDI font simulations are displayed in the Font combo
box.
fdNoSizeSel If True, when the dialog box appears, no size is selected in the Size combo box.
fdNoStyleSel If True, when the dialog box appears, no style is selected in the Style combo box.
fdNoVectorFonts Same as fdNoOEMFonts.
fdShowHelp If True, a Help button appears in the dialog box.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 567

Options property

Value Meaning
fdTrueTypeOnly If True, only TrueType fonts are displayed in the Font list box.
fdWysiwyg If True, only fonts that are available to both the printer and the screen appear in the
Font combo box.

The default value is [fdEffects], meaning that only the fdEffects option is in effect.

Example
This example sets the options of the Font dialog box so that when the dialog box
displays, only TrueType fonts show in the list of fonts and no font size is selected:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FontDialog1.Options := [fdTrueTypeOnly, fdNoSizeSel];
if FontDialog1.Execute then
Memo1.Font := FontDialog1.Font;
end;

For Print dialog boxes

Declaration
property Options: TPrintDialogOptions;
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set for the Print dialog
box:

Value Meaning
poHelp If True, a Help button appears in the dialog box.
poPageNums If True, the Pages radio button is enabled and the user can specify a range of pages
to print.
poPrintToFile If True, a Print to File check box appears in the dialog box, giving the user the option
to print to a file rather than to a printer.
poSelection If True, the Selection radio button is enabled and the user can choose to print
selected text.
poWarning If True and if no printer is installed, a warning message appears when the user
chooses OK.
poDisablePrintToFile If True and poPrintToFile is True, the Print to File check box is dimmed when the
dialog box appears. If poPrintToFile is False, setting poDisablePrintToFile to True has
no effect because the dialog box won’t have a Print to File check box.

The default value is [ ], the empty set, meaning that none of the possible options are in
effect.

568 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Options property
+
Example
This example displays the Printer dialog box that includes a Help button. If users try to
print when no printer is installed, they will see a warning message.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
PrinterDialog1.Options := [poHelp, poWarning];
if PrinterDialog1.Execute then

end;
...
+
See also +
PrintRange property, PrintToFile property
+
For Open and Save dialog boxes +
Declaration +
+
property Options: TOpenOptions;
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set for the Open and
Save dialog boxes:
+
Value
ofAllowMultiSelect
Meaning
When True, this option allows users to select more than one file in the File Name
list box.
+
ofCreatePrompt When True, this option displays a dialog box with a message if the user enters a
file name that doesn’t exist in the File Name edit box and chooses OK. The
+
ofExtensionDifferent
message tells the user the file doesn’t exist and asks if the user wants to create a
new file with that name.
This option is set when the file name returned from the dialog box has an
O
extension that differs from the default file extension, the value in the DefaultExt
property. Your application can then use this information. Setting an
ofExtensionDifferent value with the Object Inspector has no meaning.
ofFileMustExist If True, this option displays a dialog box with a message if the user enters a file
that doesn’t exist in the File Name edit box and chooses OK. The message informs
the user the file can’t be found and asks the user to make sure they entered the
correct path and file name.
ofHideReadOnly If True, this option hides the Read Only check box in the dialog box.
ofNoChangeDir If True, this option sets the current directory to whatever the current directory
was when the dialog box first appeared and ignores any directory changes the
user made while using the dialog box.
ofNoReadOnlyReturn If True, a message box appears informing the user if the selected file is read-only.
ofNoTestFileCreate This option applies only when the user wants to save a file on a create-no-modify
network share point, which can’t be opened again once it has been opened. If
ofNoTestFileCreate is True, your application won’t check for write protection, a full
disk, an open drive door, or network protection when saving the file because
doing so creates a test file. Your application will then have to handle file
operations carefully so that a file isn’t closed until you really want it to be.
ofNoValidate If True, this option doesn’t prevent the user from entering invalid characters in a
file name. If ofNoValidate is False and the user enters invalid characters for a file
name in the File Name edit box, a message dialog box appears informing the user
the file name contains invalid characters.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 569

Options property

Value Meaning
ofOverwritePrompt If True, this option displays a message dialog box if the user attempts to save a file
that already exists. The message informs the user the file exists and lets the user
choose to overwrite the existing file or not.
ofReadOnly If True, the Read Only check box is checked when the dialog box is displayed.
ofPathMustExist If this option is True, the user can type only existing path names as part of the file
name in the File Name edit box. If the user enters a path name that doesn’t exist, a
message box appears informing the user that the path name is invalid.
ofShareAware If True, the dialog box ignores all sharing errors and returns the name of the
selected file even though a sharing violation occurred. If ofShareAware is False, a
sharing violation results in a message box informing the user of the problem.
ofShowHelp If True, this option displays a Help button in the dialog box.

The default value is [ ], the empty set, meaning that none of the options are in effect.

Example
This example uses an Open dialog box and a button on a form. The code forces the user
to enter valid file name characters, prevents the read-only check box from appearing in
the dialog box, and let’s the user choose to overwrite a file if the user selects a file that
doesn’t exist; the selected file name appears in a label on the form:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Options := [ofNoValidate, ofHideReadOnly, ofCreatePrompt];
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Label1.Caption := OpenDialog1.FileName;
end;

For Find and Replace dialog boxes

Declaration
property Options: TFindOptions
The value of the Options property is the selected set of options that determine how the
Find and Replace dialog boxes appear and behave. These are the possible values that
can be contained in the Options set:

Value Meaning
frDisableMatchCase When True, the Match Case check box is dimmed and users cannot check it. When
it is False, users can check the Match Case check box.
frDisableUpDown When True, the Direction Up and Down buttons are dimmed and the user cannot
select either of them. When it is False, users can select one of the Direction Up and
Down buttons.
frDisableWholeWord When True, the Match Whole Word check box is dimmed and user cannot select it.
When it is False, users can check the check box.
frDown When True, the Down button is selected in the dialog box and the search direction
is down. When frDown is False, the Up button is selected, and the search direction
is up. frDown can be set a design time, or users can change its value at run time
when they use the dialog box.

570 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Options property
+
Value
frFindNext
Meaning
This is a flag that is set when the user chooses the Find Next button. When
+
frHideMatchCase
frFindNext is True, your application should search for the string in the FindText
property.
When True, the Match Case check box is not visible in the dialog box. When it is
+
frHideWholeWord
False, the Match Case check box is visible.
When True, the Match Whole Word check box is not visible in the dialog box.
+
frHideUpDown
When it is False, the Match Whole Word check box is visible.
When True, the Direction Up and Down buttons are not visible in the dialog box.
When it is False, the Direction Up and Down buttons are visible.
+
frMatchCase When True, the Match Case check box is checked. When it is False, the Match Case
check box is unchecked. You can set frMatchCase at design time, or users can
+
frReplace
change the value at run time.
frReplace is a flag set by the system that indicates your application should replace
the current occurrence of the FindText string with the ReplaceText string. frReplace
+
frReplaceAll
applies only to the Replace dialog box.
frReplaceAll is a flag set by the system that indicates your application should
+
frShowHelp
replace all occurrences of the FindText string with the ReplaceText string.
frReplaceAll applies only to the Replace dialog box.
When True, a Help button appears in the dialog box when the dialog box displays.
+
frWholeWord
When frShowHelp is False, no Help button is present.
When True, the Match Whole Word check box is checked in the dialog box. You
+
can set frWholeWord at design time, or users can change its value at run time as
they use the dialog box. +
The default value is [frDown], meaning that only the frDown option is in effect. +
Example
The following code calls the user-defined routine SearchDown if the Down button is
+
selected in FindDialog1 or it calls the user-defined routine SearchUp if the Up button is
selected.
O
if (FindDialog1.Options*[frDown])=[frDown] then SearchDown
else SearchUp;

For outlines
Declaration
property Options: TOutlineOptions;
The Options property determines how the items in an outline are drawn. These are the
possible values that can be contained in the Options set:

Value Meaning
ooDrawTreeRoot The first item (Index value of 1) is connected to the root item by the outline tree.
This means that the tree will extend from the top of the outline to all the first level
items. Without ooDrawTreeRoot, all first level items appear leftmost in the outline,
not connected by the tree.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 571

Options property

Value Meaning
ooDrawFocusRect The outline draws a focus rectangle around the selected item.
ooStretchBitmaps The outline stretches the standard bitmaps (PictureLeaf, PictureOpen, PictureClosed,
PicturePlus, PictureMinus) to fit in the size of the item, determined by the size of the
Font of the Text. Without ooStretchBitmap, the bitmaps won’t be stretched. They will
be cropped if larger than the height of the item text, or won’t fill up the entire item
space if smaller than the text.

Example
The following code draws the tree of the outline to the root (extending from the first
level items to the top of the outline).
Outline1.Options := [ooDrawTreeRoot];

See also
OutlineStyle property, Style property

For draw and string grids

Declaration
property Options: TGridOptions;
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set for the draw and
string grid controls:

Value Meaning
goFixedHorzLine When True, horizontal lines appear between the rows within nonscrolling regions.
goFixedVertLine When True, vertical lines appear between the columns within nonscrolling
regions.
goHorzLine When True, horizontal lines appear between the rows.
goVertLine When True, vertical lines appear between the columns.
goRangeSelect When True, the user can select a range of cells at one time. When goEditing is True,
the user can no longer select a range of cells.
goDrawFocusSelected When True, the cell with the focus is colored the same as other cells in a selected
block are colored. When False, the cell with the focus remains the color of all
unselected cells, the color specified with the grid Color property.
goRowSizing When True, rows can be resized individually except for fixed or nonscrolling rows.
goColSizing When True, columns can be resized individually except for fixed or nonscrolling
columns.
goRowMoving When True, the user can move a row to a new location in the grid using the mouse.
goColMoving When True, the user can move a column to a new location in the grid using the
mouse.
goEditing When True, the user can edit the text in the grid. When goEditing is True, the user
cannot select a range of cells at one time.
goAlwaysShowEditor When True, the grid is in automatic edit mode if goEditing is also True. When the
grid is in automatic edit mode, the user does not have to press Enter or F2 before
editing the contents of a cell. When goAlwaysShowEditor is False and goEditing is
True, the user must press Enter or F2 before editing the contents of a cell. If
goEditing is False, setting goAlwaysShowEditor to True has no effect.

572 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

+
Options property

Value
goTabs
Meaning
+
When True, the user can use the Tab and Shift-Tab keys to move from column to

goRowSelect
column in the grid.
+
When True, the user can select only whole rows at a time instead of individual
cells.
goThumbTracking +
When True, the contents of the grid scrolls while the user is moving the thumb tab
of the grid scroll bar. When False, the contents of the grid doesn’t scroll until the
user releases the thumb tab in its new position.
+
This code changes the look of the grid; only horizontal lines appear in both the body of +
Example

the grid and in the nonscrolling regions when the user clicks the ChangeGridStyle button:
procedure TForm1.ChangeGridStyleClick(Sender: TObject); +
begin
DrawGrid1.Options := [goFixedHorzLine, goHorzLine];
end;
+
+
For data grids
+
Declaration
property Options: TDBGridOptions;
+
These are the possible values that can be included in the Options set for the data grid
control:
+
Value Meaning
+
dgEditing O
When True, allows the user to edit data in the data grid. When the ReadOnly
property is True and dgEditing is True, users can still use the Insert key to insert a
blank row, or press the Down Arrow key when positioned at the bottom of the grid
to append a blank row, although they won’t be able to enter text in the new row.
dgAlwaysShowEditor When True, the grid is in automatic edit mode as long as gdEditing is also True.
When the grid is in automatic edit mode, the user does not have to press Enter or
F2 before editing the contents of a cell. When gdAlwaysShowEditor is False and
gdEditing is True, the user must press Enter or F2 before editing the contents of a
cell. If gdEditing is False, setting gdAlwaysShowEditor to True has no effect.
dgTitles When True, the column titles are visible.
dgIndicator When True, a small pointer is visible that indicates which column is the current
one.
dgColumnResize When True, the columns can be resized. A column can’t be resized, however, until
its field has been added to the grid. To add a field to the grid, choose Add from
the Fields editor.
dgColLines When True, lines between the columns appear.
dgRowLines When True, lines between the rows appear.
dgTabs When True, users press the Tab key and the Shift-Tab keys to move among the
columns of the data grid.
dgRowSelect When True, the user can select whole rows only instead of individual cells.
dgAlwaysShowSelection When True, the cell selected in the grid continues to display as selected even if the
data grid doesn’t have the focus.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 573

Options property

Value Meaning
dgConfirmDelete When True, a message box appears if the user uses Ctrl+Delete to delete a row in
the grid. The message box asks for confirmation that the row should really be
deleted.
dgCancelOnExit When True, if an insert is pending and no modifications were made by the user,
the insert will be cancelled when the user exits the grid. This prevents the
inadvertent posting of partial or blank records.

Example
This line of code displays column titles, makes the column indicator visible, and permits
the user to edit the data displayed in the data grid:
procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
DBGrid1.Options := [dgIndicator, dgEditing, dgTitles];
end;

For database lookup combo boxes and list boxes

Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList components

Declaration
property Options: TDBLookupListOptions;
The Options property determines how multiple columns in database lookup combo
boxes and database lookup list boxes appear. These are the possible values that can be
part of the Options set:

Value Meaning
loColLines When True, lines separate the columns displayed in the control. When False, no lines appear
between the columns.
loRowLines When True, lines separate the rows displayed in the control. When False, no lines appear
between the rows.
loTitles When True, the field names appear as titles above the columns in the control. When False,
no titles appear.

To display multiple columns, use the LookupDisplay property.

Example
This code displays three fields in a database lookup list box, displays the field names as
titles for the columns, and separates the columns with lines:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
DBLookupList1.LookupDisplay := 'Company;City;Country';

574 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DBLookupList1.Options := [loColLines,loTitles];
Ord function
+
end; +
See also
LookupDisplay property
+
+
For TIndexDef objects
+
Declaration
property Options: TIndexOptions;
+
Run-time and read only. Options is the set of characteristics of the index. Possible
elements are those of the TIndexOptions type: ixPrimary, ixUnique, ixDescending,
+
ixNonMaintained, and ixCaseInsensitive.
+
Ord function System +
Declaration
+
function Ord(X): Longint; +
The Ord function returns the ordinal value of an ordinal-type expression.
X is an ordinal-type expression. The result is of type Longint, and its value is the ordinal
+
position of X.
+
Example
uses Dialogs;
O
type
Colors = (RED,BLUE,GREEN);
var
S: string;
begin
S := 'BLUE has an ordinal value of ' + IntToStr(Ord(BLUE)) + #13#10;
S := 'The ASCII code for "c" is ' + IntToStr(Ord('c')) + ' decimal';
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 575

Origin typed constant

Declaration
property Orientation: TPrinterOrientation;
Run-time only. The value of the Orientation property determines if the print job prints
vertically or horizontally on a page. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
poPortrait The print job prints vertically on the page.
poLandscape The print job prints horizontally on the page.

Example
This example uses two radio buttons on a form named Landscape and Portrait. The form
also includes a button. When the user selects an orientation by clicking one of the radio
buttons and then clicks the button to print one line of text, the print job prints using the
selected orientation:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Printer.BeginDoc;
Printer.Canvas.TextOut(100,100,'Hi there');
Printer.EndDoc;
end;
procedure TForm1.PortraitClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Printer.Orientation := poPortrait;
end;
procedure TForm1.LandscapeClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Printer.Orientation := poLandscape;
end;

Origin typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const Origin: TPoint = (X: 0; Y: 0);
The Origin typed constant contains the virtual screen coordinates of the character cell
displayed in the upper left corner of the CRT window.
Origin is a read-only variable; do not assign values to it.

576 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OutlineStyle property
+
OutlineStyle property +
Applies to
TOutline component +
Declaration +
property OutlineStyle: TOutlineStyle; +
The OutlineStyle property determines how the outline structure is displayed within the
TOutline component. The following table describes the outline styles. +
Style
osPictureText
Description
Displays open picture (specified in PictureOpen), closed picture (specified in
+
PictureClosed), leaf picture (specified in PictureLeaf) and item text (specified in
Text). +
osPlusMinusPictureText Displays plus picture (specified in PicturePlus), minus picture (specified in
PictureMinus), open picture, closed picture, leaf picture, and item text. +
+
osPlusMinusText Displays plus picture, minus picture, and item text.
osText Displays item text.

+
osTreePictureText Displays outline tree, open picture, closed picture, leaf picture, and item text.
osTreeText Displays outline tree and item text.

Example
The following code displays pictures only if they are monochrome. The first choice is
+
Open and Closed pictures. If they aren’t monochrome, the code tests Plus and Minus
pictures. The final resort is to simply display text.
+
with Outline1 do
if (PictureOpen.Monochrome and PictureClosed.Monochrome) then
O
OutlineStyle := osPictureText
else if (PicturePlus.Monochrome and PictureMinus.Monochrome) then
OutlineStyle := osPlusMinusText
else OutlineStyle := osText;

OutOfMemoryError procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure OutOfMemoryError;
OutOfMemoryError raises the EOutOfMemory exception.

Output variable System

Declaration
var Output: TextFile;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 577

Overload property

The Output variable is a write-only file associated with the operating system’s standard
output file, which is usually the display.
In many of Delphi's standard file-handling routines, the file variable parameter can be
omitted. Instead the routine operates on the Input or Output file variable. The following
standard file-handling routines operate on the Output file when no file parameter is
specified:
• Write
• Writeln
Since Windows does not support text-oriented input and output, Input and Output files
are unassigned by default in a Windows application. Any attempt to read or write to
them will produce an I/O error.
If the application uses the WinCrt unit, Input and Output will refer to a scrollable text
window.

578 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Run-time and read only. The Owner property indicates which component owns the
Pack method
+
component. +
The form owns all components that are on it. In turn, the form is owned by the
application. +
When one component is owned by another, the memory for the owned component is
freed when its owner’s memory is freed. This means that when a form is destroyed, all +
the components on the form are destroyed also. Finally, when the memory for the
application itself is freed, the memory for the form (and all its owned components) is +
also freed.
Don’t confuse ownership of a component with being the parent of a component. A
+
parent is a windowed control that contains a child window. The parent and the owner
of a windowed component can be different components. +
Example +
The example assumes there are two edit box controls on the form. When the form
displays, the code inserts the name of the Edit1 control’s owner (TForm1) into Edit1 itself,
and displays the size of the owner in bytes in the second edit box (Edit2).
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); +
var
TC: TComponent;
Size: Word;
+
SizeStr: string;
begin
+
TC := Edit1.Owner;
Edit1.Text := TC.ClassName;
+
Size := TC.InstanceSize;
Str(Size, SizeStr); +
Edit2.Text := SizeStr;
end; P
See also
Components property, Destroy method, Free method, Parent property

Pack method
Applies to
TList object

Declaration
procedure Pack;
The Pack method deletes all nil items from the list of pointers kept by the List property of
a list object. Items become nil when the Delete or Remove’ method has been called to
delete them from the list.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 579

PageHeight property

Example
This example assumes there are two edit box controls on the form. The code creates a list
object and adds two strings to it. The second string in the list is a nil string. The code
counts the number of strings in the list and displays the number in the Edit1 control. The
code then packs the list, removing the nil string, and counts the strings in the list again.
The second count displays in the Edit2 control:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
MyList: TList;
I: Integer;
Buffer: string;
begin
MyList := TList.Create; {Create a list of TList}
MyList.Add(PChar('Another string')); {Add a string}
MyList.Add(PChar(NIL)); {Add a Nil string}
Str(MyList.Count, Buffer);
Edit1.Text := Buffer; {Put count into Edit1}
Mylist.Pack; {Pack the list.}
Str(MyList.Count, Buffer);
Edit2.Text := Buffer; {Put count into Edit2}
MyList.Free; {Free memory for list}
end;

See also
Expand method, Remove method, Capacity property

PageHeight property
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
property PageHeight: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The PageHeight property contains the height of the currently
printing page in pixels.

Example
This code displays the page height of the currently printing page in an edit box.
To run this code successfully, you must add Printers to the uses clause of your unit.
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Printer.PageHeight);

See also
PageNumber property, PageWidth property, Printer variable

580 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PageIndex property
+
PageIndex property +
Applies to
TNotebook, TTabbedNotebook components +
Declaration +
property PageIndex: Integer; +
The value of the PageIndex property determines which page displays in the notebook or
tabbed notebook component. Changing the PageIndex value changes the page in the
control.
+
Each string in the Pages property is automatically assigned a PageIndex value when the +
page is created. The first page receives a value of 0, the second has a value of 1, and so
on. If you delete a string from the Pages property, the PageIndex values are reassigned so
that the values always begin with 0 and continue to increase without any gaps between
+
values. +
Example
This example assumes that a notebook component and a tab set component are on a
+
form. It demonstrates how you can use the tab set and notebook component together to
allow the user to click on a tab to access a page in the notebook component.
+
This code assigns the strings in the Pages property of the notebook component to the
Tabs property of the tab set component. Because the code is in the OnCreate event
+
handler when the form first appears, the tab set component has one tab for each page in
the notebook component.
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
TabSet1.Tabs := Notebook1.Pages;
end; P
Changing the PageIndex value of a notebook or component changes the page displayed.
This code assigns the TabIndex value of the tab the user clicks on to the PageIndex
property of the notebook component. When the user clicks the tab labeled with a page
name, that page is displayed in the notebook component.
procedure TForm1.TabSet1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Notebook1.PageIndex := TabSet1.TabIndex;
end;

See also
ActivePage property, TTabSet component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 581

PageNumber property

PageNumber property
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
property PageNumber: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The PageNumber property contains the number of the current
page. Each time an application calls the NewPage method, NewPage increments the value
of PageNumber.

Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, one line of text is
printed on six separate pages. As each page is printed, a message indicating the number
of the page being printed appears on the form.
To run this example successfully, you must add Printers to the uses clause of your unit.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I, X, Y: Integer;
begin
Printer.BeginDoc;
X := 10;
Y := 10;
for I := 1 to 6 do
begin
Printer.Canvas.TextOut(100, 100, 'Object Pascal is great');
Canvas.TextOut(X, Y, 'Printing page ' + IntToStr(Printer.PageNumber));
Printer.NewPage;
Y := Y + 20;
end;
Printer.EndDoc;
end;

See also
NewPage method, Printer variable

Pages property
Applies to
TNotebook, TTabbedNotebook components

Declaration
property Pages: TStrings;

582 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PageWidth property

The Pages property contains the strings that identify the individual pages of the
+
notebook or tabbed notebook control. Both these controls create a separate page for each
string in the Pages property. For example, if Pages contains three strings, First, Second,
+
and Third, the control has three separate pages. +
You can access the various pages in a notebook or tabbed notebook control with either
the ActivePage or PageIndex property. +
Example
The following code ensures that the Pages of Notebook1 correspond with the value of the
+
Tabs property of TabSet1. +
Notebook1.Pages := TabSet1.Tabs;
+
See also
TTabSet component +
PageWidth property
+
Applies to
+
TPrinter object +
Declaration +
property PageWidth: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The PageWidth property contains the value of width of the
+
currently printing page in pixels.
+
Example
The code uses an edit box on a form. The code creates a printer object and displays the P
current width of a page in pixels in the edit box when the form first appears.
To run this example, you must add the Printers unit to the uses clause of your unit.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Printer.PageWidth) + ' pixels';
end;

See also
PageHeight property, PageNumber property, Printer variable

Palette property
Applies to
TBitmap object

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 583

ParamBindMode property

Declaration
property Palette: HPalette;
The Palette property controls a bitmap’s color mapping. The Palette of a bitmap contains
up to 256 colors that can be used to display the bitmap onscreen.
If the bitmap is drawn by an application running in the foreground, as many colors of
Palette as will be added to the Windows system palette. Any additional colors will be
mapped to the existing colors of the system palette. If the bitmap is drawn by an
application running in the background and another application has loaded the system
palette with its own colors, the bitmap’s colors will be mapped to the system palette.

Example
The following code selects the Palette from Form1 for Form2.
SelectPalette(Form2.Canvas.Handle, Form1.Canvas.Palette, True);

ParamBindMode property
Applies to
TStoredProc component

Declaration
property ParamBindMode; TParamBindMode;
ParamBindMode determines how the elements of the Params array will be matched with
stored procedure parameters. If ParamBindMode is set to pbByName (the default),
parameters will be bound based on their names in the stored procedure. If
ParamBindMode is set to pbByNumber, parameters will be bound based on the order in
which they are defined in the stored procedure. Use this setting if you are building your
parameters list, and you don’t want to use the parameter names defined in the stored
procedure.

Example
ParamBindMode := pbByName;

ParamByName method
Applies to
TParams object; TQuery, TStoredProc component

584 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ParamCount function
+
For TParam objects
+
Declaration
function ParamByName(const Value: string): TParam;
+
The ParamByName method finds a parameter with the name passed in Value. If a match
is found, ParamByName returns the parameter. Otherwise, an exception is raised. Use
+
this method rather than a direct reference to the Items property if you need to get a
specific parameter to avoid depending on the order of the entries.
+
Example
+
try
{ Assign a value of 999 to the CustNo parameter }
+
Params.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).AsInteger := 999;
except
+
{ If it doesn’t exist, then }
on EDatabaseError do +
+
{ Create a new parameter for CustNo and assign a value of 999 to it }
with Params.CreateParam(ftInteger, ‘CustNo’, ptInput) do
AsInteger := 999;
end;
+
For queries and stored procedures +
Declaration +
function ParamByName(const Value: string): TParam;
The ParamByName method returns the element of the Params property whose Name
+
property matches Value. Use it to assign values to parameters in a dynamic query by
name. P
Example
Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).AsString := ‘1231’;

ParamCount function System

Declaration
function ParamCount: Word;
The ParamCount function returns the number of parameters passed to the program on
the command line. Separate parameters with spaces or tabs.

Example
begin
if ParamCount = 0 then

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 585

ParamCount property

Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'No parameters on command line')

else
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, IntToStr(ParamCount) + ' parameter(s)');
end;

For query components

Declaration
property ParamCount: Word;
Run-time and read only. The ParamCount property specifies how many entries the
TQuery has in its Params array, that is, how many parameters the query has. Adding a
new item to Params will automatically increase the value; removing an item will
automatically decrease the value.

Example
for I := 0 to Query1.ParamCount - 1 do
Query1.Params[I].AsInteger := I;

For stored procedures

Declaration
property ParamCount: Word;
Run-time and read only. ParamCount specifies the total number of input and output
parameters to the stored procedure, and is automatically maintained by changes to the
Params property. Use ParamCount to iterate over the Params.

Example
{ Set all parameters to an empty string }
with StoredProc1 do
for I := 0 to ParamCount - 1 do
Param[I].AsString := ‘’;

586 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Params property
+
Params property +
Applies to
TDatabase, TQuery, TStoredProc component +
For stored procedures
+
Declaration
+
property Params: TParams; +
The Params property holds the parameters to be passed to the stored procedure.
+
Example
{ Copy all parameters from StoredProc1 to StoredProc2 }
+
StoredProc1.CopyParams(StoredProc2.Params); +
See also
CopyParams method, ParamCount property
+
For queries
+
+
Declaration
property Params[Index: Word]: TParam; +
When you enter a query, Delphi creates a Params array for the parameters of a dynamic
SQL statement. Params is a zero-based array of TParam objects with an element for each
+
parameter in the query; that is, the first parameter is Params[0], the second Params[1],
and so on. The number of parameters is specified by ParamCount. Read-only and run P
time only.
Note Use the ParamByName method instead of Params to avoid dependencies on the order of
the parameters.

Example
For example, suppose a TQuery component named Query2 has the following statement
for its SQL property:
INSERT
INTO COUNTRY (NAME, CAPITAL, POPULATION)
VALUES (:Name, :Capital, :Population)
An application could use Params to specify the values of the parameters as follows:
Query2.Params[0].AsString := 'Lichtenstein';
Query2.Params[1].AsString := 'Vaduz';
Query2.Params[2].AsInteger := 420000;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 587

ParamStr function

These statements would bind the value “Lichtenstein” to the :Name parameter,
“Vaduz” to the :Capital parameter, and 420000 to the :Population parameter.

For database components

Declaration
property Params: TStrings;
The Params property holds the parameters required to open a database on an SQL
server. By default, these parameters are specified in the BDE Configuration Utility. You
can customize these parameters for an application-specific alias with the Database
Parameters Editor.
For desktop databases, Params will specify only the directory path for the database. For
server databases, Params will specify a variety of parameters, including the server name,
database name, user name, and password.

ParamStr function System

Declaration
function ParamStr(Index): string;
The ParamStr function returns a specified command-line parameter.
Index is an expression of type Word. ParamStr returns the parameter from the command
line that corresponds to Index, or an empty string if Index is greater than ParamCount. For
example, an Index value of 2 returns the second command-line parameter.
ParamStr(0) returns the path and file name of the executing program (for example, C:\
BP\MYPROG.EXE).

Example
var
I: Word;
Y: Integer;
begin
Y := 10;
for I := 1 to ParamCount do begin
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, ParamStr(I));
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(ParamStr(I)) + 5;
end;
end;

588 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ParamType property
+
ParamType property +
Applies to
TParam object +
Declaration +
property ParamType: TParamType; +
ParamType is used to identify the type of the parameter for a stored procedure. Possible
values are those of the TParamType type: ptUnknown, ptInput, ptOutput, ptInputOutput, or
ptResult. Normally Delphi will set this property, but if the server does not provide the
+
necessary information, you may have to set it yourself. +
Example +
StoredProc1.Params.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).ParamType := ptInput;
+
Parent property +
Applies to
All controls; TMenuItem component; TOutlineNode object
+
+
For controls
+
Declaration +
property Parent: TWinControl;
The Parent property contains the name of the parent of the control. The parent of a
P
control is the windowed control that contains the control. If one control (parent)
contains others, the contained controls are child controls of the parent. For example, if
your application includes three radio buttons in a group box, the group box is the parent
of the three radio buttons, and the radio buttons are the child controls of the group box.
Don’t confuse the Parent property with the Owner property. A form is the owner of all
the components on it, whether or not they are windowed controls. A child control is
always a windowed control contained within another windowed control (its parent). If
you put three radio buttons in a group box on a form, the owner of the radio buttons is
still the form, while the parent is the group box.
If you are creating a new control, you must assign a Parent property value for the new
control. Usually, this is a form, panel, group box, or some control that is designed to
contain another. It is possible to assign any windowed control as the parent, but the
contained control is likely to be painted over.
When the parent of a control is destroyed, all controls that are its children are also
destroyed.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 589

Parent property

Example
To set up the form for this example, put a group box on the form and add a radio button
to the group box. Put two labels and a button on the form. This code displays the name
of the parent of the radio button and the class name of the owner of the radio button in
the captions of the two labels when the user clicks the button:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := RadioButton1.Parent.Name + ' is the parent';
Label2.Caption := RadioButton1.Owner.ClassName +
' is the class name of the owner';
end;
This example uses a button and a group box on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the button moves inside the group box, because the group box is now the parent of the
button.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Parent := GroupBox1;
end;

See also
Controls property, Owner property

For menu items

Declaration
property Parent: TMenuItem;
Run-time and read only. The Parent property of a menu item identifies the parent menu
item of this menu item.

Example
This example assumes there are two edit boxes on a form as well as a main menu that
contains menu items. One of the menu items has Save as the value of its Caption
property, so the value of its Name property is Save1. The code displays the name of the
parent of the Save1 menu item in the Edit1 control, and it displays the class name of the
parent in the Edit2 control when the form first appears.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Text := Save1.Parent.Name;
Edit2.Text := Save1.Parent.ClassName;
end;

590 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ParentColor property
+
For outline nodes
+
Declaration +
property Parent: TOutlineNode;
The Parent property of an outline node identifies the parent outline item of this outline
+
node. A parent outline item is one level higher and contains the child outline node as a
subitem. +
Example +
The following code tests to see if the currently selected item has a sibling. True will be
assigned to HasSibling if so. +
var
HasSibling: Boolean; +
begin
with Outline1[Outline1.SelectedItem] do
HasSibling := (Parent.GetPrevChild <> -1) or (Parent.GetNextChild <> -1);
+
end;
+
See also
TopItem property
+
+
ParentColor property +
Applies to
TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBText, +
TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup,
TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TFilterComboBox, P
TGroupBox, TLabel, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel,
TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property ParentColor: Boolean;
The ParentColor property determines where a control looks for its color information. If
ParentColor is True, the control uses the color in its parent component’s Color property. If
ParentColor is False, the control uses its own Color property. Except for the radio group,
database radio group, label and database text controls, the default value is False.
By using ParentColor, you can ensure that all the controls on a form have a uniform
appearance. For example, if you change the background color of your form to gray, by
default, the controls on the form will also have a gray background.
To specify a different color for a particular control, specify the desired color as the value
of that control’s Color property, and ParentColor becomes False automatically.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 591

ParentCtl3D property

Example
This code uses a label control and a timer component on the form. When the OnTimer
event occurs, the label turns red if the label’s ParentColor property is True. If the
ParentColor property is False, ParentColor is set to True. The result is the label flashes red
on and off. Every other time an OnTimer event occurs, the label turns red. The other
times, the label assumes the color of its parent, Form1.
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Label1.ParentColor then
Label1.Color := clRed
else
Label1.ParentColor := True;
end;

See also
Color property, Parent property, ParentFont property

ParentCtl3D property
Applies to
TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage,
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBListBox, TDBNavigator, TDBMemo,
TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox,
TFilterComboBox, TGroupBox, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TOLEContainer,
TOutline, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property ParentCtl3D: Boolean;
The ParentCtl3D property determines where a component looks to determine if it
should appear three dimensional. If ParentCtl3D is True, the component uses the
dimensionality of its parent component’s Ctl3D property. If ParentCtl3D is False, the
control uses its own Ctl3D property. The default value is True.
By using ParentCtl3D, you can ensure that all the components on a form have a uniform
appearance. For example, if you want all components on a form to appear three
dimensional, set the form’s Ctl3D property to True and each component’s ParentCtl3D
property to True. Not only will all components have a three-dimensional appearance,
but if you decide you prefer a two-dimensional appearance, you only have to change
the Ctl3D property of the form and all the components will become two dimensional.
To specify a different dimensionality for a particular component, specify the
dimensionality (True for 3D or False for 2D) as the value of that control’s Ctl3D property,
and ParentCtl3D becomes False automatically.

592 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ParentFont property
+
Example
This code uses a group box and a button on a form. The code displays the group box in
two dimensions when the user clicks the button:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
if GroupBox1.ParentCtl3d = True then
begin
GroupBox1.ParentCtl3d := False;
GroupBox1.Ctl3d := False;
+
end;
end; +
See also
Ctl3D property, Parent property, ParentColor property, ParentFont property
+
+
ParentFont property +
Applies to
TBitBtn, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid,
+
TDBImage, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBListBox, TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup,
TDBText, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox,
+
TFilterComboBox, TForm, TGroupBox, THeader, TListBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook,
TOLEContainer, TOutline, TPaintBox, TPanel, TRadioButton, TScrollBox, TSpeedButton, +
TStringGrid components
+
Declaration
property ParentFont: Boolean;
+
The ParentFont property determines where a control looks for its font information. If
ParentFont is True, the control uses the font in its parent component’s Font property. If
P
ParentFont is False, the control uses its own Font property.
By using ParentFont, you can ensure that all the controls on a form have a uniform
appearance. For example, if you want all the controls in a form to use 12-point Courier
for their font, you can set the form’s Font property to that font. By default, all the
controls on that form will use the same font.
To specify a different font for a particular control, specify the desired font as the value of
the control’s Font property, and ParentFont becomes False automatically.
When the ParentFont is True for a form, the form uses the value of the application’s Font
property.

Example
This example uses a timer component and a label control. When an OnTimer event
occurs and the label uses its parent’s font, the code changes the label’s ParentFont
property to False and changes the label’s font size to 30 points. When an OnTimer event
occurs and the label doesn’t use its parent’s font, the code sets its ParentFont to True. The

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 593

ParentShowHint property

result is that the label’s font grows and shrinks alternately, each time an OnTimer event
occurs.
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Label1.ParentFont = True then
Label1.Font.Size := 30
else
Label1.ParentFont := True;
end;
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the font type and
color change for all components on all forms in the application.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ParentFont := True;
if Application.Font.Name = 'System' then
begin
Application.Font.Color := clNavy;
Application.Font.Name := 'New Times Roman';
end
else
begin
Application.Font.Color := clBlack;
Application.Font.Name := 'System'
end;
end;

See also
Application variable, Font property, Parent property, ParentColor property, ParentCtl3D
property, TApplication component

ParentShowHint property
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
property ParentShowHint: Boolean;
The ParentShowHint property determines where a control looks to find out if Help Hint,
specified as the value of the Hint property for the control, should be shown. If
ParentShowHint is True, the control uses the ShowHint property value of its parent. If
ParentShowHint is False, the control uses its own ShowHint property.
By using ParentShowHint, you can ensure that all the controls on a form either show
their Help Hints or don’t show them. By default, ParentShowHint is True.

594 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PasswordChar property

If don’t want all the controls to have Help Hints, set the ShowHint property for those
+
controls you do want to have Help Hints to True, and ParentShowHint becomes False
automatically.
+
You can enable or disable all Help Hints for the entire application using the ShowHint +
property of the application.
+
Example
This example uses an edit box, a memo, and a check box on a form. For each of these
controls, the ParentShowHint property is True, the default value. When the code runs, the
+
ShowHint property of the form is set to True and hints are assigned to each control.
Because each control looks to its parent, the form, to find out whether to display a Help
+
Hint, and because the form’s ShowHint property is True, the Help Hints are available.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ShowHint := True;
+
Edit1.Hint := 'Enter text';
Memo1.Hint := 'Enter lots of text'; +
CheckBox1.Hint := 'Check or uncheck me';
end; +
See also
Hint property, ParentColor property, ParentCtl3D property, ParentFont property
+
+
PasswordChar property +
Applies to
TDBEdit, TEdit, TMaskEdit components
+
Declaration
P
property PasswordChar: Char;
The PasswordChar property lets you create an edit box that displays special characters in
place of the entered text. By default, PasswordChar is the null character (ANSI character
zero), meaning that the control displays its text normally. If you set PasswordChar to any
other character, the control displays that character in place of each character in the
control’s text.

Example
The following code displays asterisks for each character in an edit box called
PasswordField:
PasswordField.PasswordChar := ’*’;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 595

PasteFromClipboard method

PasteFromClipboard method
Applies to
TDBEdit, TDBImage, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
procedure PasteFromClipboard;
The PasteFromClipboard method copies the contents of the Clipboard to the control,
inserting the contents where the cursor is positioned.

Example
This example uses two edit boxes and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, text is cut from the Edit1 edit box and pasted into the Edit2 edit box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.SelectAll;
Edit1.CutToClipboard;
Edit2.Clear;
Edit2.PasteFromClipboard;
Edit1.SetFocus;
end;

See also
Clear method, ClearSelection method, CopyToClipboard method, CutToClipboard method

PasteSpecialDlg function ToCtrl

Declaration
function PasteSpecialDlg (Form: TForm; const Fmts: array of BOleFormat;
HelpContext: THelpContext; var Format: Word; var Handle: THandle;
var PInitInfo: Pointer) : Boolean;
PasteSpecialDlg displays the Paste Special dialog box. Use this function to paste an OLE
object from the Windows Clipboard into a TOLEContainer component. Specify the OLE
object initialization information by using the Paste Special dialog box.
PasteSpecialDlg returns True if the user specifies an OLE object and chooses OK in the
Paste Special dialog box. PasteSpecialDlg returns False if the user doesn’t specify an OLE
object or chooses Cancel in the dialog box.

596 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

These are the parameters of PasteSpecialDlg:
PasteSpecialDlg function
+
Field Description
+
Form The form that will own the Paste Special dialog box +
+
Fmts This is the array of object formats to register for pasting. An object format is specified in
a BOLEFormat record. Each type of data you want to allow to be pasted should be
passed as an element of the Fmts array.
To paste OLE objects, you should register a new Clipboard format for OLE objects with
the Windows API function RegisterClipboardFormat before calling PasteSpecialDlg. Then,
you should specify a BOLEFormat array element for OLE objects. To paste other data
+
types, such as text or bitmaps, specify a BOLEFormat array element for each other type
of data. +
+
HelpContext A help context identification number to be used if the user chooses Help from within
the Paste Special dialog box. If you pass 0 for HelpContext, no Help button will appear in
the Paste Special dialog box. Pass a number other than 0 if you want to provide context-

Format
sensitive online Help.
Format is modified by PasteSpecialDlg to specify the Clipboard format of the data
selected by the user in the Paste Special dialog box. If the object is an OLE object,Format
+
specifies the Clipboard format registered with RegisterClipboardFormat, prior to the call
to PasteSpecialDlg. If the object is a type other than an OLE object, Format specifies its
Clipboard format (for example, if the data is text, format specifies CF_TEXT).
+
Handle Handle is modified by PasteSpecialDlg to provide a handle to the data on the Clipboard.
If the data is a type other than an OLE object, use the THandle returned in the Handle
+
PInitInfo
parameter to access the data.
If InsertOLEObject returns True, InsertOLEObjectDlg modifies the PInitInfo pointer
parameter to point to OLE initialization information. Initialize the OLE object by
+
assigning this pointer to the PInitInfo property. When your application is finished with
the PInitInfo pointer, it should be released with ReleaseOLEInitInfo. +
Example +
The following code registers a new Clipboard format for embedded OLE objects and
creates a object formats array for FEmbedClipFmt. If an embedded OLE object is on the +
Clipboard, the Paste Special Dialog box is displayed. If the user selects the object and
chooses OK, then OLEContainer1 is initialized. P
var
FEmbedClipFmt: Word;
Fmts: array[0..0] of BOLEFormat;
TheFormat: Word;
TheHandle: THandle;
TheInfo: Pointer;
begin
FEmbedClipFmt := RegisterClipboardFormat('Embedded Object');
Fmts[0].fmtId := FEmbedClipFmt;
Fmts[0].fmtMedium := BOLEMediumCalc(FEmbedClipFmt);
Fmts[0].fmtIsLinkable := False;
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtName, '%s');
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtResultName, '%s');
if PasteSpecialEnabled(Self, Fmts) then
if PasteSpecialDlg(Form1, Fmts, 0, TheFormat, TheHandle, TheInfo) then
OLEContainer1.PInitInfo := TheInfo;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 597

PasteSpecialEnabled function

See also
InsertOLEObjectDlg function, LinksDlg procedure, PasteSpecialEnabled function

PasteSpecialEnabled function ToCtrl

Declaration
function PasteSpecialEnabled(Form: TForm; const Fmts: array of BOleFormat): Boolean;
PasteSpecialEnabled determines if the Paste Special dialog box is enabled. If so,
PasteSpecialEnabled returns True and PasteSpecialDlg can be successfully called. If not,
PasteSpecialEnabled returns False and nothing will happen if you call PasteSpecialDlg.
The Paste Special dialog box is enabled if any of the object formats specified by the Fmts
parameter is on the Clipboard.

Example
The following code calls PasteSpecialDlg if the Paste Special dialog box is enabled or
displays a message if it is not enabled.
var
Pasted: Boolean;
begin
if PasteSpecialEnabled(Self, Fmts) then
Pasted := PasteSpecialDlg(Form1, Fmts, 0, TheFormat, TheHandle, TheInfo)
else
MessageDlg(‘There are no OLE objects on the Clipboard’, mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
end;

598 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Pause method

The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
+
Pause method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Pause generates
an OnNotify event.
+
Example
+
This example uses a media player, a timer, and a button on a form. Only the button is
visible when the application runs. When the user clicks the button, the .WAV file plays.
+
When the user clicks the button again, the .WAV file pauses. The caption of the button
changes, depending on whether the .WAV file is playing, paused, or stopped. +
To run this example, you must have the CHIMES.WAV file in your Windows directory
and have a device that plays WAV audio files:
+
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var
+
WinDir: PChar;
begin
+
MediaPlayer1.Visible := False;
GetMem(WinDir, 144); +
+
GetWindowsDirectory(WinDir, 144);
StrCat(WinDir, '\chimes.wav');
MediaPlayer1.FileName := StrPas(WinDir);
MediaPlayer1.Open;
FreeMem(WinDir, 144); +
Button1.Caption := 'Play';
end; +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
if Button1.Caption = 'Play' then
begin
Button1.Caption := 'Pause';

end
MediaPlayer1.Play;
P
else
begin
Button1.Caption := 'Play';
MediaPlayer1.Pause;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
if MediaPlayer1.Mode = mpStopped then
Button1.Caption := ‘Play’;
end;

See also
PauseOnly method, Play method, StartRecording method, Stop method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 599

PauseOnly method

PauseOnly method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure PauseOnly;
The PauseOnly method only pauses the open multimedia device. If the device is already
paused when PauseOnly is called, the device will remain paused.
Upon completion, PauseOnly stores a numerical error code in the Error property and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
PauseOnly method has completed. The Notify property determines whether PauseOnly
generates an OnNotify event.

Example
The following code illustrates the difference between Pause and PauseOnly. After the
second call to Pause, MediaPlayer1 resumes playing. After the second call to PauseOnly,
MediaPlayer1 is still paused.
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
MediaPlayer1.Play;
MediaPlayer1.Pause;
{ Now its paused }
MediaPlayer1.Pause;
{ Now its playing }
MediaPlayer1.PauseOnly;
{ Now its paused }
MediaPlayer1.PauseOnly;
{ Now its still paused }
end;

See also
Pause method, Play method, Resume method, StartRecording method, Stop method

Pen property
Applies to
TCanvas object; TShape component

Declaration
property Pen: TPen;
A canvas object’s Pen property determines what kind of pen the canvas uses for
drawing lines and shape outlines.

600 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PenPos property
+
Example
The following code prints a rectangle that uses a pen 40 pixels wide when the user clicks
the button on the form:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Printer.Canvas.Pen.Width := 40;
Printer.BeginDoc;
Printer.Canvas.Rectangle(30, 30, 400, 600);
Printer.EndDoc;
+
end;
Before running this code, you must add the Printers unit to the uses clause of your unit.
+
See also
+
TBrush object, TFont object
+
PenPos property +
Applies to +
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
property PenPos: TPoint;
+
The PenPos property is the current drawing position of the pen. You should use the
MoveTo method to set the drawing position, rather than changing PenPos directly.
+
See also
+
MoveTo method P
Pi function System
Declaration
function Pi: Real;
The Pi function returns the value of Pi, which is defined as 3.1415926535897932385.
Precision varies, depending on whether the compiler is in 80x87 or software-only mode.

Example
var
S: string;
begin
Str(Pi:10:11, S);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Pi = ' + S);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 601

Picture property

Picture property
Applies to
TDBImage, TImage components

Declaration
property Picture: TPicture;
The Picture property determines the image that appears on the image control. The
property value is a TPicture object which can contain an icon, metafile, or bitmap
graphic.

Example
This example uses two picture components. When the form first appears, two bitmaps
are loaded into the picture components and stretched to fit the size of the components.
To try this code, substitute names of bitmaps you have available.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Image1.Stretch := True;
Image2.Stretch := True;
Image1.Picture.LoadFromFile('BITMAP1.BMP');
Image2.Picture.LoadFromFile('BITMAP2.BMP');
end;

See also
Bitmap property, Icon property, Metafile property, LoadFromFile method, SaveToFile
method

PictureClosed property
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
property PictureClosed: TBitmap;
The PictureClosed property determines the picture displayed in the TOutline component
that represents an item, which contains subitems but is not expanded. By default, the
PictureClosed property contains a picture of a closed file folder. The OutlineStyle property
must be set to osPictureText, osPlusMinusPictureText, or osTreePictureText to display the
PictureClosed picture.

Example
The following code loads a new bitmap for the PictureClosed property of Outline1.
Outline1.PictureClosed.LoadFromFile('C:\closed.bmp');

602 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PictureLeaf property
+
See also
PictureLeaf property, PictureMinus property, PictureOpen property, PicturePlus property +
PictureLeaf property
+
Applies to
+
TOutline component +
Declaration +
property PictureLeaf: TBitmap;
The PictureLeaf property determines the picture displayed in the TOutline component
+
that represents an item that contains no subitems. By default, the PictureLeaf property
contains a bitmap of a document. The OutlineStyle property must be set to osPictureText, +
osPlusMinusPictureText, or osTreePictureText to display the PictureLeaf picture.
+
Example
The following code tests the Width of the leaf picture. If it is wider than ten pixels, the
OutlineStyle is changed so that the leaf picture is not displayed.
+
if Outline1.PictureLeaf.Width > 10 then +
Outline1.OutlineStyle := osTreeText;
+
See also
PictureClosed property, PictureMinus property, PictureOpen property, PicturePlus
property
+
+
PictureMinus property P
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
property PictureMinus: TBitmap;
The PictureMinus property determines the picture displayed in the TOutline component
that represents an item, which contains subitems and is expanded. By default, the
PictureMinus property contains a bitmap of a minus sign. The OutlineStyle property
must be set to osPlusMinusPictureText or osPlusMinusText to display the PictureMinus
picture.

Example
The following code displays the same picture for the plus and minus states of Outline1.
The same graphic appears whether an item is expanded or collapsed.
Outline1.PictureMinus := Outline1.PicturePlus;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 603

PictureOpen property

See also
PictureClosed property, PictureLeaf property, PictureOpen property, PicturePlus property

PictureOpen property
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
property PictureOpen: TBitmap;
The PictureOpen property determines the picture displayed in the TOutline component
that represents an item, which contains subitems and is expanded. By default, the
PictureOpen property contains a bitmap of an open file folder. The OutlineStyle property
must be set to osPictureText, osPlusMinusPictureText, or osTreePictureText to display the
PictureOpen picture.

Example
The following code copies text (‘Hello world’) into the PictureOpen bitmap.
Outline1.PictureOpen.Canvas.TextOut(0, 0, ‘Hello world’);

See also
PictureClosed property, PictureLeaf property, PictureMinus property, PicturePlus property

PicturePlus property
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
property PicturePlus: TBitmap;
The PicturePlus property determines the bitmap displayed in the TOutline component
that represents an item, which contains subitems but is not expanded. By default, the
PicturePlus property contains a bitmap of a plus sign. The OutlineStyle property must be
set to osPlusMinusPictureText or osPlusMinusText to display the PicturePlus picture.

Example
The following code allows the user to specify the graphic for the PicturePlus property of
Outline1 by using the Open dialog box .
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Outline1.PicturePlus.LoadFromFile(OpenDialog1.FileName);

604 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Pie method
+
See also
PictureClosed property, PictureLeaf property, PictureMinus property, PictureOpen
property
+
+
Pie method +
Applies to
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
+
procedure Pie(X1, Y1, X2, Y2, X3, Y3, X4, Y4: Longint); +
The Pie method draws the section of an ellipse bounded by the rectangle (X1, Y1) and
(X2, Y2) on the canvas. The section drawn is determined by two lines radiating from the +
center of the ellipse through the points (X3, Y3) and (X4, Y4).
+
Example
This code draws a section of an ellipse on the form’s canvas when the user clicks the
button on the form:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
begin
Form1.Canvas.Pie(10, 10, 200, 200, 61, 3, 200, 61);
end;
+
See also
+
Ellipse method +
PInitInfo property P
Applies to
TOLEContainer component; TOLEDropNotify object

Declaration
property PInitInfo: Pointer;
PInitInfo specifies a pointer to the OLE object initialization information. Assigning a
pointer, which points to valid OLE initialization information, to the PInitInfo property
initializes the OLE object in the OLE container.
Typically, a valid PInitInfo pointer can be obtained by using the InsertOLEObjectDlg or
PasteSpecialDlg functions, or as a property of the TOLEDropNotify object passed in the
Source parameter of the OnDragDrop event when an OLE object is dropped on a form.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 605

Pitch property

Example
The following code initializes OLEContainer1 when an OLE object is dropped on the
Form1 at run time. Attach this code to the OnDragDrop event handler of Form1.
procedure TForm1.FormDragDrop(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer);
begin
if Source is TOLEDropNotify then
with Source as TOLEDropNotify do
OLEContainer1.PInitInfo := Source.PInitInfo;
end;

Pitch property
Applies to
TFont object

Declaration
property Pitch: TFontPitch;
The Pitch property specifies the pitch or width of the characters of a font. Characters
with variable pitch can have varying widths. For example, the following characters are
in a variable pitch font. Note that the width of ten ‘i’ characters is less than the width of
ten ‘M’ characters.
iiiiiiiiii
MMMMMMMMMM
The following characters are in a fixed-pitch font. Note that ten ‘i’ characters are the
same width as ten ‘M’ characters:
iiiiiiiiii
MMMMMMMMMM
Here are the possible values for Pitch:

Value Meaning
fpDefault The font pitch is set to the default value, which depends on the font specified in the Name
property.
fpFixed The font pitch is set to fixed. All characters in the font have the same width.
fpVariable The font pitch is set to variable. The characters in the font have different widths.

Note Setting the Pitch of a fixed-width font to fpVariable or a variable-width font to fpFixed
might have no effect on the appearance of a font, or might cause another font to be
substituted. For example, setting the pitch of MS Serif (a variable-pitch font, by default)
to fpFixed causes Courier to be displayed.

Example
The following code toggles the pitch of the Font of Label1 from variable to fixed or from
fixed to variable.

606 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

if Label1.Font.Pitch = fpFixed then
Pixels property
+
Label1.Font.Pitch := fpVariable
else
+
if Label1.Font.Pitch = fpVariable then
Label1.Font.Pitch := fpFixed; +
See also +
Font property
+
Pixels property +
Applies to +
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
property Pixels[X, Y: Longint]: TColor; +
The Pixels array enables you to access any pixel on the canvas directly, to either set or
read the color there. Each element in Pixels contains the color of the corresponding pixel
+
in the canvas. The array indexes, X and Y, specify the horizontal and vertical
coordinates of the pixel, respectively. +
Example +
This example draws a red line when the form becomes active. Attach the following code
to the OnActivate event handler: +
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var +
W: Word;
begin
for W := 10 to 200 do
P
Canvas.Pixels[W, 10] := clRed;
end;

PixelsPerInch property
Applies to
TFont object; TForm, TScreen components

Declaration
property PixelsPerInch: Integer;
There are three different properties called PixelsPerInch: one for forms, one for the
screen, and one for fonts.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 607

PixelsPerInch property

For forms
Declaration
property PixelsPerInch: Integer;
The PixelsPerInch property for a form determines how many pixels per inch are used to
display a form. A higher value displays a smaller form at run time, and a lower value
displays a larger form. This property is useful when your application runs on a
computer system that uses a screen resolution different than the one you used to create
the application. By specifying the pixels per inch used by the other computer system,
you can be assured that the form appears as you designed it when your application
runs.
Note Although you can change the PixelsPerInch value with the Object Inspector, you won’t
see the results until you run your application. Also, you must set the Scaled property to
be True, or a change in the PixelsPerInch value has no effect.

Example
This example adds 30 to the form’s PixelsPerInch property if the screen’s PixelsPerInch
property is greater than 100:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Form1.Scaled := True;
if Screen.PixelsPerInch > 100 then
Form1.PixelsPerInch := Form1.PixelsPerInch + 30;
end;

For the screen

Declaration
property PixelsPerInch: Integer;
Read and run-time only. The PixelsPerInch property determines how many pixels are in
an inch using the current video driver. The value in PixelsPerInch is retrieved from
Windows when Delphi loads.

608 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Form1.PixelsPerInch := Form1.PixelsPerInch + 30;
Play method
+
end; +
See also
Screen variable
+
+
For fonts
+
Declaration +
+
property PixelsPerInch: Integer;
The PixelsPerInch property affects printer fonts only and should not be modified. Delphi
uses the PixelsPerInch property to ensure that when a font is copied from the form’s
canvas to the printer, the font is the same size in points. For example, if the font is 8
points on the screen, Delphi makes sure the font is 8 points when it is printed.
+
If you want to modify the size of a font, use the Size and Height properties. +
See also +
Height property, Size property
+
Play method +
Applies to +
TMediaPlayer component
+
Declaration
procedure Play;
P
The Play method plays the media loaded in the open multimedia device. Play is called
when the Play button on the media player control is clicked at run time.
Upon completion, Play stores a numerical error code in the Error property and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Play method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Play generates an
OnNotify event.
If the StartPos property is set, playing starts at the position specified in StartPos.
Otherwise, playing starts at the current position, specified in the Position property.
Similarly, if the EndPos property is set, playing stops at the position specified in EndPos.
Otherwise, playing stops at the end of the medium.
Whether the medium (specified in the Position property) is rewound before playing
starts depends on the AutoRewind property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 609

Point function

Example
This example uses a media player and a button on a form. When the application runs,
only the button is visible. When the user clicks the button, the .WAV file plays.
To run this example, the file CHIMES.WAV must be in your Windows directory.
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var
WinDir: PChar;
begin
MediaPlayer1.Visible := False;
GetMem(WinDir, 144);
GetWindowsDirectory(WinDir, 144);
StrCat(WinDir, '\CHIMES.WAV');
MediaPlayer1.FileName := StrPas(WinDir);
MediaPlayer1.Open;
FreeMem(WinDir, 144);
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MediaPlayer1.Play;
end;

See also
Capabilities property, Pause method, PauseOnly method, StartRecording method, Stop
method

Point function
Declaration
function Point(AX, AY: Integer): TPoint;
The Point function takes the x- and y-coordinates passed in AX and AY and returns a
TPoint record. You’ll most often use Point to construct a parameter for a function that
requires one or more TPoint.

Example
The following code uses the Polygon method to draw a right triangle on a form called
Form1:
Polygon([Point(10, 10), Point(10, 20), Point(20, 20)]);

610 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PokeData method
+
PokeData method +
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component +
Declaration +
function PokeData(Item: string; Data: PChar): Boolean; +
The PokeData method sends data to a DDE server application. Text data from a linked
control in the DDE client application is transferred to the linked section of the DDE
server application. Item specifies the linked item in the DDE server. Data is a null-
+
terminated string that specifies the text data to transfer to the DDE server. +
The usual direction of data flow is from the DDE server to the DDE client application.
Some DDE server applications won’t accept poked data. PokeData returns True if the
data was successfully transferred, or False if the data was not successfully transferred.
+
If you need to poke a string list rather than a single string, use the PokeDataLines method. +
If either the ExecuteMacro or ExecuteMacroLines method was called with its WaitFlg
Note
parameter set to True prior to calling PokeData, you must wait until the server +
application has completed executing the macro before calling PokeData. Depending on
the DDE server application, calling PokeData before the DDE server application has +
completed executing the macro might cause the macro to execute unsuccessfully or
produce unpredictable results. +
Example
The following code pokes the data that is in Edit1 to the DDE server. The DDE item of
+
the conversation is specified in the DDEItem property of DDEClientItem1. TheData is a
PChar variable.
+
DDEClientConv1.PokeData(DDEClientItem1.DDEItem, StrPCopy(TheData, Edit1.Text)); P
See also
PokeDataLines method, StrPCopy function

PokeDataLines method
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
function PokeDataLines(Item: string; Data: TStrings): Boolean;
The PokeDataLines method sends data to a DDE server application. Text data from a
linked control in the DDE client application is transferred to the linked section of the
DDE server application. Item specifies the linked item in the DDE server. Data is a
TStrings object that specifies the text data to transfer to the DDE server.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 611

Polygon method

The usual direction of data flow is from the DDE server to the DDE client application.
Some DDE server applications won’t accept poked data. PokeDataLines returns True if
the data was successfully transferred, or False if the data was not successfully
transferred.
If you need to poke a single string rather than a string list, use the PokeData method.
Note If either the ExecuteMacro or ExecuteMacroLines method was called with its WaitFlg
parameter set to True prior to calling PokeDataLines, you must wait until the server
application has completed executing the macro before calling PokeDataLines. Depending
on the DDE server application, calling PokeDataLines before the DDE server application
has completed executing the macro might cause the macro to execute unsuccessfully or
produce unpredictable results.

Example
The following code pokes the data that is in Memo1 to the DDE server. The DDE item of
the conversation is specified in the DDEItem property of DDEClientItem1. TheData is a
PChar variable.
DDEClientConv1.PokeData(DDEClientItem1.DDEItem, Memo1.Lines));

612 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PolyLine method
+
PolyLine method +
Applies to
TCanvas object +
Declaration +
procedure Polyline(Points: array of TPoint); +
The PolyLine method draws a series of lines on the canvas with the current pen,
connecting each of the points passed to it in Points. +
Example
This example paints a series of connected lines in the color red:
+
procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Canvas.Pen.Color := clRed;
Canvas.PolyLine([Point(5, 5), Point(100, 40), Point(150, 120),

end;
Point(140, 200), Point(80, 100), Point(5, 5)]);
+
See also +
Pen property, Polygon method
+
Popup method +
Applies to +
TPopupMenu component
P
Declaration
procedure Popup(X, Y: Integer);
The Popup method displays a pop-up menu onscreen at the coordinates indicated by the
values (in pixels) of X and Y.

Example
This example uses a pop-up menu. When the user presses the mouse button, the pop-up
menu appears near the upper left corner of the form:
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
PopupMenu1.AutoPopup := False;
PopupMenu1.Popup(Form1.Left + 10, Form1.Top + 40);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 613

PopupComponent property

See also
AutoPopup property, OnPopup event, PopupMenu property

PopupComponent property
Applies to
TPopupMenu component

Declaration
property PopupComponent: TComponent;
Run-time only. The PopupComponent property contains the name of the component the
user last clicked that displayed the pop-up menu. If your application has multiple
controls that share the same pop-up menu, you can use PopupComponent to determine
which of them last displayed the menu.
If you activate a pop-up menu by explicitly calling the Popup method, you should
specify the name of the component you want to associate with the pop-up menu in the
PopupComponent property

Example
This example uses two edit boxes, two memos, and one pop-up menu on a form. The
pop-up menu contains Cut, Copy, and Paste commands. This code makes the pop-up
menu available to both edit boxes and both memos:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
PopupMenu1.AutoPopup := True;
Edit1.PopupMenu := PopupMenu1;
Edit2.PopupMenu := PopupMenu1;
Memo1.PopupMenu := PopupMenu1;
Memo2.PopupMenu := PopupMenu1;
end;
These are the cut, copy, and paste OnClick events for the commands on the pop-up
menu. The code only allows the user to cut and copy text from the edit boxes, and to
paste text into the memo boxes.
procedure TForm1.Copy1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Edit1 then
Edit1.CopyToClipboard
else
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Edit2 then
Edit2.CopyToClipboard;
end;
procedure TForm1.Cut1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Edit1 then

614 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Edit1.CutToClipboard
PopupMenu property
+
else
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Edit2 then
+
end;
Edit2.CutToClipboard;
+
procedure TForm1.Paste1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Memo1 then
Memo1.PasteFromClipboard +
+
else
if PopupMenu1.PopupComponent = Memo2 then
Memo2.PasteFromClipboard;
end;
+
See also
AutoPopup property, OnPopup event, PopupMenu property +
+
PopupMenu property
+
Applies to
TBitBtn, TButton, TCheckBox, TComboBox, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, +
TDBGrid, TDBImage, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBListBox, TDBMemo,
TDBNavigator, TDBText, TDBRadioGroup, TDirectoryListBox, TDrawGrid,
TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFileListBox, TForm, TGroupBox, TImage, TLabel, TListBox,
+
TMaskEdit, TMemo, TNotebook, TPanel, TPaintBox, TRadioButton, TScrollBar, TScrollBox,
TStringGrid components
+
Declaration
+
property PopupMenu: TPopupMenu; P
The PopupMenu property identifies the name of the pop-up menu that appears when the
user selects the component and presses the right mouse button (if the pop-up menu’s
AutoPopup property is True), or when the Popup method of the pop-up menu executes.

Example
This example assigns the pop-up menu named MyPopupMenu to the form:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
PopupMenu := MyPopupMenu;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 615

Pos function

Pos function System

Declaration
function Pos(Substr: string; S: string): Byte;
The Pos function searches for a substring in a string.
Substr and S are string-type expressions.
Pos searches for Substr within S and returns an integer value that is the index of the first
character of Substr within S.
If Substr is not found, Pos returns zero.

Example
var S: string;
begin
S := ' 123.5';
{ Convert spaces to zeroes }
while Pos(' ', S) > 0 do
S[Pos(' ', S)] := '0';
end;

See also
Concat function, Copy function, Delete procedure, Insert procedure, Length function

Position property
Applies to
TControlScrollBar, TForm, TMediaPlayer, TScrollBar components
The Position property determines the visual position of a component or the current
position within media loaded in a media player.

For forms

Declaration
property Position: TPosition;

616 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Position property

The Position property determines the size and placement of the form when it appears in
+
your application. These are the possible values: +
Value
poDesigned
Meaning
The form appears positioned on the screen and with the same height and width as
+
poDefault
it had at design time.
The form appears in a position on the screen and with a height and width
+
determined by Delphi. Each time you run the application, the form moves slightly
down and to the right. The right side of the form is always near the far right side
of the screen, and the bottom of the form is always near the bottom of the screen,
+
poDefaultPosOnly
regardless of the screen’s resolution.
The form displays with the size you created it at design time, but Delphi chooses +
+
its position on the screen. Each time you run the application, the form moves
slightly down and to the right. When the form can no longer move down and to
the right and keep the same size while remaining entirely visible on the screen, the

poDefaultSizeOnly
form displays at the top-left corner of the screen.
The form appears in the position you left it at design time, but Delphi chooses its
size. The right side of the form is always near the far right side of the screen, and
+
the bottom of the form is always near the bottom of the screen, regardless of the
screen’s resolution. +
poScreenCenter The form remains the size you left it at design time, but is positioned in the center
of the screen. +
The default value is poDesigned. +
Example
This code assures that the first form will appear centered on the screen:
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Position := poScreenCenter;
end;
+
For scroll bars
P
Declaration
property Position: Integer;
The Position property determines the position of the thumb tab on a scroll bar. When the
user scrolls the scroll bar, the value of Position changes. You can also change where the
thumb tab appears on the scroll bar by changing the value of Position.
For TControlScrollBar components, the value of the Range property determines the
number of possible positions on a scroll bar that a thumb tab can assume. The default
value is 0, which positions the thumb tab at the far left.
For TScrollBar components, the number of possible positions on the scroll bar is
determined by the difference between the Max property and the Min property. If the
Min and Position values are both 0, the thumb tab is positioned to the far left on a
horizontal scroll bar and to the top of a vertical scroll bar. If Min is 10, Position can be no
less than 10.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 617

Position property

Example
This code places the thumb tab in the middle of the scroll bar:
ScrollBar1.Max := 1000;
ScrollBar1.Min := 500;
ScrollBar1.Position := 750;

See also
HorzScrollBar property, Increment property, LargeChange property, SmallChange
property, VertScrollBar property

For media player controls

Declaration
property Position: Longint;
Run-time only. The Position property specifies the current position within the currently
loaded medium. The value of Position is specified according to the current time format,
which is specified in the TimeFormat property.
Position defaults to the beginning of the medium. If the medium supports multiple
tracks, Position defaults to the beginning of the first track.

Example
The following code shows the position of the currently playing .WAV audio file
(CARTOON.WAV in this example) in the Caption of a label. The current position is
updated by Timer1.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
DeviceType := dtWaveAudio;
FileName := 'CARTOON.WAV';
Open;
TimeFormat := tfMilliseconds;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(Position);
Play;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(MediaPlayer1.Position);
end;

See also
Length property, Start property, TrackPosition property, Tracks property

618 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Post method
+
For Find and Replace dialog boxes
+
Applies to
TFindDialog, TReplaceDialog component
+
Declaration
+
property Position: TPoint; +
The Position property determines where the Find or Replace dialog box appears
onscreen. +
Example +
This example uses a Find dialog box and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, the Find dialog box appears on screen at location 100, 200. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
FindDialog1.Position := Point(100, 200);
if FindDialog1.Execute then ; +
+
end;

See also
CloseDialog method +
Post method +
Applies to
+
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components P
Declaration
procedure Post;
The Post method writes the current record to the database. Post should be called after
calling Append or Insert and making any desired changes to the fields of the current
record.
Post behaves differently depending on a dataset’s state.
• In Edit state, Post modifies the current record.
• In Insert state, Post inserts or appends a new record.
• In SetKey state, Post commits the changes to the search key buffer, and returns the
dataset to Browse state.
Posting can be done explicitly, or implicitly as part of another procedure. When an
application moves off the current record, Delphi calls Post implicitly. Calls to the Next,
MoveBy, Prior, First, and Last methods perform a Post if the table is in Edit or Insert state.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 619

Precision property

The Append, AppendRecord, Insert, and InsertRecord methods also implicitly perform a
Post of any pending data.
Note If the record can not be written to the database for some reason, the dataset will remain
in Edit state.

Pred function System

Declaration
function Pred(X);
The Pred function returns the predecessor of the argument.
X is an ordinal-type expression. The result, of the same type as X, is the predecessor
of X.

Example
uses Dialogs;
type
Colors = (RED,BLUE,GREEN);

620 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

var
PrefixSeg variable
+
S: string;
begin
+
S := 'The predecessor of 5 is ' + IntToStr(Pred(5)) + #13#10;
S := S + 'The successor of 10 is ' + IntToStr(Succ(10)) + #13#10; +
if Succ(RED) = BLUE then
S := S + 'In the type Colors, RED is the predecessor of BLUE.';
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
+
end; +
See also
Dec procedure, Inc procedure, Succ function
+
+
PrefixSeg variable System
+
Declaration
var PrefixSeg: Word;
+
In a program, the PrefixSeg variable contains the selector (segment address) of the +
Program Segment Prefix (PSP) created by DOS and Windows when the application was
executed. +
In a library, PrefixSeg is always 0.
For a complete description of the PSP, refer to your Windows manuals.
+
+
Prepare method +
Applies to
TQuery, TStoredProc components
P
For stored procedures
Declaration
procedure Prepare;
The Prepare method prepares the stored procedure to be executed. This allows the server
to load the procedure and otherwise prepare for execution.

Example
StoredProc1.Prepare;

See also
Prepared property, UnPrepare method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 621

Prepared property

For queries
Declaration
procedure Prepare;
The Prepare method sends a parameterized query to the database engine for parsing and
optimization. A call to Prepare is not required to use a parameterized query. However, it
is strongly recommended, because it will improve performance for dynamic queries
that will be executed more than once. If a query is not explicitly prepared, each time it is
executed, Delphi automatically prepares it.
Prepared is a Boolean property of TQuery that indicates if a query has been prepared.
If a query has been executed, an application must call Close before calling Prepare again.
Generally, an application should call Prepare once—for example, in the OnCreate event
of the form—then set parameters using the Params property, and finally call Open or
ExecSQL to execute the query. Each time the query is to be executed with different
parameter values, an application must call Close, set the parameter values, and then
execute the query with Open or ExecSQL.

For stored procedures

Declaration
property Prepared: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Prepared property is True if the stored procedure has been submitted
to the server for optimization purposes. Setting Prepared to True will not execute the
procedure; it simply advises the server that the procedure will need to be executed at
some future time. Setting Prepared to True is equivalent to calling the Prepare method;
setting it to False is equivalent to calling the UnPrepare method.

Example
{ Make sure that the server is aware that we will be executing the procedure }
with StoredProc1 do
if not Prepared then Prepared := True;

See also
Prepare method, UnPrepare method

622 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Preview property
+
For queries
+
Declaration
property Prepared: Boolean;
+
Run-time only. The Prepared property specifies if the Prepare method has been called to
prepare the TQuery. While preparing a query is not required, it is highly recommended
+
in most cases. +
Note Close the TQuery by setting the Active property to False before changing Prepared.
+
Example
if not Query1.Prepared then
+
begin
Query1.Close; +
+
Query1.Prepared := True;
end;

See also
Params property, UnPrepare method
+
+
Preview property +
Applies to
TReport component
+
Declaration
+
property Preview: Boolean; P
The Preview property determines whether a report should be viewed onscreen or
printed. If Preview is True, the report appears onscreen when the report is run. If Preview
is False, the report is printed.

Example
This example uses a report component and a button on a form. When the user clicks the
button, a message appears if the Preview property is True. If Preview is True, the MyReport
report is sent to the screen; if Preview is False, the report prints on the printer.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Report1.ReportName := ‘MyReport’;
if Report1.Preview then
Application.MessageBox('Sending the report to the screen', 'Message box', MB_OK);
Report1.Run;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 623

Previous method

See also
ReportName property, Run method

Previous method
Applies to
TForm, TMediaPlayer components
The Previous method activates the previous form or media player track.

For forms

Declaration
procedure Previous;
The Previous method makes the previous child form in the form sequence the active
form.
For example, if you have three child forms within a parent form in your MDI
application and Form4 is the active form, the Previous method makes Form3 the active
form. Calling Previous again makes Form2 active. The next time your application calls
Previous, the sequence starts over again and Form4 becomes the active form once again.
The Previous method applies only to forms that are MDI parent forms (have a FormStyle
property value of fsMDIForm).

Example
This code sample activates the previous child window of the parent (Form1) when the
user selects a menu item named Previous on a menu.
procedure TForm1.Previous1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Previous;
end;

See also
ArrangeIcons method, Cascade method, Next method, Tile method

For media players

Declaration
procedure Previous;
The Previous method sets the current position to the beginning of the previous track if
the position was at the beginning of a track when Previous was called. If the position is at
the first track or somewhere other than the beginning of a track when Previous was

624 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Print method

called, Previous sets the current position to the beginning of the current track. If the
+
device doesn’t use tracks, Previous sets the current position to the beginning of the
medium, which is specified in the Start property. Previous is called when the Previous
+
button on the media player control is clicked at run time. +
Upon completion, Previous stores a numerical error code in the Error property and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property. +
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Previous method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Previous +
generates an OnNotify event.
+
Example
The following code rewinds the media after playing has completed. Normally, setting
AutoRewind to True would accomplish the same result, but if EndPos is set, AutoRewind
+
has no effect. This code is essentially an AutoRewind for media with EndPos set. +
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
EndPos := 3000;
+
Play;
Previous;
+
end;
+
See also
AutoRewind property, Next method, Position property, Tracks property +
+
Print method
+
Applies to
TForm, TReport components P
For forms

Declaration
procedure Print;
The Print method prints the form.

Example
This example uses a button named PrintButton on a form. When the user chooses the
button, the form prints.
procedure TForm1.PrintButtonClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
Print;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 625

PrintCopies property

626 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Printer variable
+
Printer variable Printers
+
Declaration
Printer: TPrinter;
+
The Printer variable declares an instance of the TPrinter object. Use Printer when you
want to print using the TPrinter object.
+
Printer is declared in the Printers unit. Whenever you use Printer and the TPrinter object, +
you must add Printers to the uses clause of your unit.
+
Example
This example prints a one-line print job when the user clicks the button on the form: +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Printer.BeginDoc;
Printer.Canvas.TextOut(100,100, 'Programming is easy');
Printer.EndDoc;
+
end; +
PrinterIndex property +
Applies to
+
TPrinter object
+
Declaration
property PrinterIndex: Integer;
+
Run-time only property. The PrinterIndex property specifies which printer listed in the P
Printers property is the currently selected printer.
To select the default printer, set the value of PrinterIndex to -1.

Example
The following code asks the user if they want to use the default printer. If they choose
yes, PrinterIndex specifies the default printer. The code assumes that Printer is a TPrinter
object.
if (MessageDlg('Do you want to use the default printer',
mtInformation, mbYesNoCancel,0)=idYes) then
Printer.PrinterIndex := -1;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 627

Printers property

Printers property
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
property Printers: TStrings;
Run-time and read only. The Printers property is a list of all printers installed in
Windows.

Example
The following code displays the names of all printers in ListBox1.
begin
ListBox1.Items := Printer1.Printers;
end;

628 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PrintRange property
+
PrintRange property +
Applies to
TPrintDialog component +
Declaration +
property PrintRange: TPrintRange; +
The PrintRange property determines the type of print range the application uses to print
a file. These are the possible settings: +
Value
prAllPages
Meaning
If set at run time, the user chose to print all pages of the print job. If you set the PrintRange
+
value to prAllPages at design time, the All Pages radio button is selected when the Print
dialog box first appears. +
prSelection If set at run time, the user chose to print only selected text. If you set thePrintRange value
to prSelection at design time, the Selection radio button is selected when the Print dialog
box first appears.
+
prPageNums If set at run time, the user chose to specify a range of pages to print. If you set the
PrintRange value to prPageNum at design time, the Pages radio button is selected when
+
the Print dialog box first appears, and the user can specify a print range by page numbers.
The page numbers are set through the MinPage and MaxPage properties. +
The default value is prAllPages. +
The PrintRange property can have the value prSelection only if the Options property set
+
Note
includes poSelection. Also, the PrintRange property can have the value prPageNums only
if the Options property set includes poPageNums. If you select either of these PrintRange
values at design time, but neglect to set the corresponding Options values to True, only
the All Pages option will be enabled when your application displays the Print dialog
+
box.
P
Example
The following code allows the printing of selected text.
PrintDialog1.Options := PrintDialog1.Options + [poSelection];
PrintDialog1.PrintRange := prSelection;

See also
Options property, PrintToFile property

PrintScale property
Applies to
TForm component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 629

PrintToFile property

Declaration
property PrintScale: TPrintScale;
The PrintScale property determines the proportions of a printed form. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
poNone No special scaling occurs; therefore, the printed form and how the form appears
onscreen may have somewhat different proportions.
poProportional The form is printed so that it maintains the same size that is has on the screen (the
same number of pixels per inch is used).
poPrintToFit The form is printed using the same screen proportions, but in a size that just fits the
printed page.

The default value is poProportional.

Example
The following code maintains the proportions of the form when it is printed.
Form1.PrintScale := poProportional;
Form1.Print;

630 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

with PrintDialog1 do
Prior method
+
begin
Options := [poPrintToFile];
+
PrintToFile := True;
if Execute then +
end;
end;
...;
+
+
Prior method +
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components
+
Declaration
+
procedure Prior; +
The Prior method moves the current record position of the dataset backward by one
record. If the dataset is in Insert or Edit state, Prior will perform an implicit Post of any +
pending data.
+
Example
{ Move to the previous record }
+
Table1.Prior;
if Table1.BOF then { No more records }; +
See also
First method, Last method, MoveBy method, Next method
+
P
PrivateDir property
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
property PrivateDir: string;
Run-time only. PrivateDir specifies the path of the directory in which to store temporary
files (for example, files used to process local SQL statements). You should set this
property if there will be only one instance of the application running at a time.
Otherwise, the temporary files from multiple application instances will interfere with
each other.

See also
Session variable

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 631

ProblemCount property

ProblemCount property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property ProblemCount: Longint;
Run-time and read only. ProblemCount is the number of records which could not be
added to Destination without loss of data due to field width constraints. If
AbortOnProblem is True, then this number will be one, since the operation will be aborted
when the problem occurs.

Example
MessageDlg(IntToStr(BatchMove1.ProblemCount) + ‘ records had problems’,
mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

632 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ProcessMessages method
+
Declaration
procedure ProcessMessages; +
The ProcessMessages method interrupts the execution of your application so that
Windows can respond to events. For example, the user might want to move a form on
+
the screen while your application is doing some complex processing that would
ordinarily prevent Windows from responding to keyboard or mouse events. By calling +
ProcessMessages, your application permits Windows to process these events at the time
ProcessMessages is called. The ProcessMessages method cycles the Windows message loop
until it is empty and then returns control to your application.
+
Example
+
This example uses two buttons that are long enough to accommodate lengthy captions
on a form. When the user clicks the button with the caption Ignore Messages, the code
+
begins to generate a long series of random numbers. If the user tries to resize the form
while the handler is running, nothing happens until the handler is finished. When the
+
user clicks the button with the caption Process Messages, more random numbers are
generated, but Windows can still respond to a series of mouse events, such as resizing +
Note
the form.
How quickly these event handlers run depends on the microprocessor of your
+
computer. A message appears on the form informing you when the handler has finished
executing. +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Button1.Caption := 'Ignore Messages';
Button2.Caption := 'Process Messages'; +
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I, J, X, Y: Word;
begin
P
I := 0;
J := 0;
while I < 64000 do
begin
Randomize;
while J < 64000 do
begin
Y := Random(J);
Inc(J);
end;
X := Random(I);
Inc(I);
end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The Button1Click handler is finished');
end;
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
var

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 633

Ptr function

I, J, X, Y: Word;
begin
I := 0;
J := 0;
while I < 64000 do
begin
Randomize;
while J < 64000 do
begin
Y := Random(J);
Inc(J);
Application.ProcessMessages;
end;
X := Random(I);
Inc(I);
end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The Button2Click handler is finished');
end;

Ptr function System

Declaration
function Ptr(Seg, Ofs: Word): Pointer;
The Ptr function converts a segment base and an offset address to a pointer-type value.
Seg and Ofs are expressions of type Word.
The result is a pointer that points to the address given by Seg and Ofs. Like nil, the result
of Ptr is assignment compatible with all pointer types. The function result can be
immediately dereferenced only if it is typecast:
if Byte(Ptr(Seg0040, $49)^) = 7 then
Writeln('Video mode = mono');

Example
var P: ^Byte;
begin
P := Ptr($40, $49);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Current video mode is ' + IntToStr(P^));
end;

634 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

PtrRec
+
PtrRec SysUtils
+
Declaration
PtrRec = record
+
Ofs, Seg: Word;
end;
+
PtrRec declares a utility record that stores the offset and segment of a pointer as type
Word.
+
See also
+
Ofs function, Seg function +
Random function System
+
Declaration
+
function Random [ ( Range: Word) ]; +
The Random function returns a random number within the range 0 <= X < Range.
If Range is not specified, the result is a real-type random number within the range
+
0 <= X < 1.
To initialize the Random number generator, call Randomize, or assign a value to the
+
RandSeed variable. +
Example +
var
I: Integer;
begin
+
Randomize;
for I := 1 to 50 do begin
R
{ Write to window at random locations }
Canvas.TextOut(Random(Width), Random(Height), 'Boo!');
end;
end;

See also
Randomize procedure, RandSeed variable

Randomize procedure System

Declaration
procedure Randomize;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 635

RandSeed variable

The Randomize procedure initializes the built-in random number generator with a
random value (obtained from the system clock).
The random number generator should be initialized by making a call to Randomize, or
by assigning a value to RandSeed.

Example
var
I: Integer;
begin
Randomize;
for I := 1 to 50 do begin
{ Write to window at random locations }
Canvas.TextOut(Random(Width), Random(Height), 'Boo!');
end;
end;

See also
Random function, RandSeed variable

RandSeed variable System

Declaration
var RandSeed: LongInt;
The RandSeed variable stores the built-in random number generator's seed.
By assigning a specific value to RandSeed, the Random function can repetitively generate
a specific sequence of random numbers.
This is useful for applications that deal with data encryption, statistics, and simulations.

See also
Random function, Randomize procedure

Range property
Applies to
TControlScrollBar component

Declaration
property Range: Integer;
The value of the Range property determines how far a horizontal or vertical form scroll
bar can be scrolled. It also represents the virtual size of the form. For example, if the
Range value of a horizontal scroll bar is 500, and the client width of the form is 200, the

636 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Read method

scroll bar position can range from 0 to 300. While the client width of the form is 200, the
+
virtual client width of the form is 500, because the user can scroll the form that far. +
If the value of Range for a horizontal scroll bar is less than the client width of the form or
scroll box, no horizontal scroll bar appears on the form. Likewise, if the value of Range +
for a vertical scroll bar is less than the client height of the form or scroll box, no vertical
scroll bar appears. +
For a horizontal scroll bar, the Range is calculated to be the distance of the right edge of
the control that is the farthest to the right in the scroll bar or form from the left edge of +
the scroll box or form plus an amount specified as the value of the Margin property. If
the form or scroll box contains one or more controls that are right-aligned (their Align
value is alRight), the width of these controls is also added to the Range calculation.
+
For a vertical scroll bar, the Range is calculated to be the distance of the bottom edge of +
the control farthest away from the top edge of the scroll box or form from the top of the
scroll box or form plus an amount specified as the value of the Margin property. If the
form or scroll box contains one or more controls that are bottom-aligned (their Align
+
value is alBottom), the height of these controls is also added to the Range calculation. +
Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a vertical scroll
+
bar alternately appears and disappears on the form, because the value of the Range
property changes with each click.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
ClientHeight := 300;
VertScrollBar.Visible := True; +
if VertScrollBar.Range = 290 then
VertScrollBar.Range := 500
else
+
end;
VertScrollBar.Range := 290; +
See also
R
ClientHeight property, ClientWidth property, HorzScrollBar property, VertScrollBar
property, Visible property

Read method
Applies to
TBlobStream object

Declaration
function Read(var Buffer; Count: Longint): Longint;
The Read method copies up to Count bytes from the current position in the field to Buffer.
Buffer must have at least Count bytes allocated for it. Read returns the number of bytes

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 637

Read procedure

transferred (which may be less than the number requested in Count.) Transfers which
require crossing a selector boundary in the destination will be handled correctly.

Example
BlobStream1.Read(MyBuf, 4096);

See also
TBlobField component, TBytesField component, TVarBytesField component

Read procedure System

Declaration
Typed files:
procedure Read(F , V1 [, V2,...,Vn ] );
Text files:
procedure Read( [ var F: Text; ] V1 [, V2,...,Vn ] );
The Read procedure can be used in the following ways.
• For typed files, it reads a file component into a variable.
• For text files, it reads one or more values into one or more variables.

With a type string variable

• Read reads all characters up to, but not including, the next end-of-line marker or until
Eof(F) becomes True; it does not skip to the next line after reading. If the resulting
string is longer than the maximum length of the string variable, it is truncated.
• After the first Read, each subsequent Read sees the end-of-line marker and returns a
zero-length string.
• Use multiple Readln calls to read successive string values.
When the extended syntax is enabled, Read can read null-terminated strings into zero-
based character arrays.

With type integer or type real variables

• Read skips any blanks, tabs, or end-of-line markers preceding the numeric string.
• If the numeric string does not conform to the expected format, an I/O error occurs;
otherwise, the value is assigned to the variable.
• The next Read starts with the blank, tab, or end-of-line marker that terminated the
numeric string.

See also
Eof function, ReadKey function, Readln procedure, Write procedure, Writeln procedure

638 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ReadBool method
+
ReadBool method +
Applies to
TIniFile object +
Declaration +
function ReadBool(const Section, Ident: string; Default: Boolean): Boolean; +
The ReadBool method retrieves a Boolean value in an .INI file.
The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file in which to search for the value. +
For example, the WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section.
The Ident parameter is the name of the identifier of which you want the value.
+
The Default parameter is the default value. +
Example
This example reads the DELPHI.INI file and displays on the form the status of your auto
+
save options. +
To run this application, you must add the IniFiles unit to the uses clause of your unit.
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
+
var
DelphiIni: TIniFile; +
begin
DelphiIni := TIniFile.Create('Delphi.Ini');
with DelphiIni do
+
begin
if ReadBool('AutoSave', 'EditorFiles', True) = True then
+
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Auto saving editor files.')
else +
R
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Not auto saving editor files.');
if ReadBool('AutoSave', 'DesktopFile', True) = True then
Canvas.TextOut(10, 50, 'Auto saving desktop file.')
else
Canvas.TextOut(10, 50, 'Not auto saving desktop file.');
end;
DelphiIni.Free;
end;

See also
ReadInteger method, ReadSection method, ReadString method, WriteBool method

ReadBuf function WinCrt

Declaration
function ReadBuf(Buffer: PChar; Count: Word): Word;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 639

ReadFrom method

The ReadBuf function inputs a line from the CRT window.

Buffer points to a line buffer that can store up to Count characters. Count contains the
number of characters to read.
Only Count–2 characters can be input because an end-of-line marker (a #13 followed by
a #10) is automatically appended to the line when the user presses Enter.
If CheckEof is True, the user can terminate the input line by pressing Ctrl+Z, and the line
will have an end-of-line marker (#26) appended to it.
ReadBuf returns the number of characters read, including the end-of-line or end-of-file
marker.

Example
uses WinCrt;
var
C: PChar;
begin
GetMem(C, 20);
C := #0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0#0;
Writeln('Type a phrase up to 20 characters long:');
ReadBuf(C, 20);
Writeln(' You typed: ');
Writeln(C);
end;

640 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Readln procedure
+
Readln procedure System
+
Declaration
procedure Readln([ var F: Text; ] V1 [, V2, ...,Vn ]);
+
The Readln procedure reads a line of text and then skips to the next line of the file. +
Readln(F) with no parameters causes the current file position to advance to the
beginning of the next line if there is one; otherwise, it goes to the end of the file. +
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
+
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors. +
Example +
uses WinCrt;
var
+
s : string;
begin +
Write('Enter a line of text: ');
Readln(s);
Writeln('You typed: ',s);
+
Writeln('Hit <Enter> to exit');
Readln;
+
end;
+
See also
Read procedure, Writeln procedure +
+
ReadInteger method
R
Applies to
TIniFile object

Declaration
function ReadInteger(const Section, Ident: string; Default: Longint): Longint;
The ReadInteger method retrieves an integer value in an .INI file.
The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file in which to search for the value.
For example, the WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section.
The Ident parameter is the name of the identifier of which you want the value.
The Default parameter is the default value.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 641

ReadKey function

Example
This example reads settings in the WIN.INI file and displays on the form the value of a
few settings.
Before you run this example, you must add the IniFiles unit to the uses clause of your
unit.
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var
WinIni: TIniFile;
begin
Canvas.TextOut(20, 10, 'VARIOUS WINDOWS SETTINGS');
WinIni := TIniFile.Create('Win.Ini');
with WinIni do
begin
Canvas.TextOut(10, 45, 'Border Width = ' +
IntToStr(ReadInteger('Windows', 'BorderWidth', -1)));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 65, 'Icon Spacing = ' +
IntToStr(ReadInteger('Desktop', 'IconSpacing', -1)));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 85, 'Grid Granularity = ' +
IntToStr(ReadInteger('Desktop', 'GridGranularity', -1)));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 105, 'Cursor Blink Rate = ' +
IntToStr(ReadInteger('Windows', 'CursorBlinkRate', -1)));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 125, 'Double Click Speed = ' +
IntToStr(ReadInteger('Windows', 'DoubleClickSpeed', -1)));
end;
WinIni.Free;
end;

See also
ReadBool method, ReadSection method, ReadString method, WriteBool method

ReadKey function WinCrt

Declaration
function ReadKey: Char;
The ReadKey function reads a character from the keyboard.
ReadKey supports only standard ASCII key codes. It does not support extended key
codes, such as function and cursor keys codes.

Example
uses WinCrt;
var
C: Char;
begin
Writeln('Please press a key');

642 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

C := Readkey;
ReadOnly property
+
Writeln(' You pressed ', C, ', whose ASCII value is ', Ord(C), '.');
end;
+
See also
+
KeyPressed function, ReadBuf function
+
ReadOnly property +
Applies to +
TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField, TDateField,
TDateTimeField, TDBCheckBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBGrid, TDBImage, +
TDBListBox, TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBMemo, TDBRadioGroup, TEdit,
TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMaskEdit, TMemo, TMemoField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTable, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components
+
+
For controls
+
Declaration
property ReadOnly: Boolean;
+
The ReadOnly property determines if the user can change the contents of the control. If
ReadOnly is True, the user can’t change the contents. If ReadOnly is False, the user can
+
modify the contents. The default value is False. +
For data-aware controls, the ReadOnly property determines whether the user can use the
data-aware control to change the value of the field of the current record, or if the user
can use the control only to display data. If ReadOnly is False, the user can change the
+
field’s value as long as the dataset is in edit mode. +
When the ReadOnly property of a data grid is True, the user can no longer use the Insert
key to insert a new row in the grid, nor can the user append a new row at the end of the
data grid with the Down Arrow key.
R
Example
This code toggles the read-only state of an edit box each time the user double-clicks the
form:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edit1.Left := 2;
Edit1.Top := 2;
Edit1.ReadOnly := True;
Edit1.Text := 'Change Me';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 40, 'Double-click form to toggle read-only state');
end;
procedure TForm1.FormDblClick(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 643

ReadSection method

Edit1.ReadOnly := not Edit1.ReadOnly;

end;

See also
Alignment property, EditMask property, Options property, Title property, Visible property

For tables
Declaration
property ReadOnly: Boolean;
Use the ReadOnly property to prevent users from changing data in the table.
Note Set the Active property to False before changing ReadOnly.

Example
Table1.Active := False;
Table1.ReadOnly := True;
Table1.Active := True;

For field components

Declaration
property ReadOnly: Boolean;
ReadOnly enables or disables modification of a field. If set to False, the default, a field can
be modified. To prevent a field from being modified, set ReadOnly to True. In a TDBGrid,
tabbing from field to field skips over ReadOnly fields.

ReadSection method
Applies to
TIniFile object

Declaration
procedure ReadSection (const Section: string; Strings: TStrings);
The ReadSection method reads all the variables of a section of an .INI file into a string
object. The Strings parameter specifies the string list object. If you want to use a string
list that is maintained by a component such as a list box, Strings should specify the
property of the component that contains the string list. If you want to maintain the
string list independent of any components, use a TStringList object.

644 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ReadSectionValues method

The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file that is read. For example, the
+
WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section. +
Example
This example uses a list box on a form. When the application runs, all the entries in the
+
Windows section of the WINI.INI file appear as items in the list box. +
Before you run this example, you must put the IniFiles unit in the uses clause of your
unit. +
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var +
+
WinIni: TIniFile;
begin
WinIni := TIniFile.Create('WIN.INI');
WinIni.ReadSection('Windows', ListBox1.Items);
WinIni.Free; +
end;
+
See also
EraseSection method, ReadBool method, ReadInteger method, ReadSectionValues method,
ReadString method, WriteBool method, WriteInteger method, WriteString method
+
+
ReadSectionValues method +
Applies to
TIniFile object
+
Declaration
+
procedure ReadSectionValues(const Section: string; Strings: TStrings); +
The ReadSectionValues method reads all the variables and their values of an entire
section of an .INI file into a string object. You can then use the Values property of string R
and string list objects to access a specific string in the list of strings.

Example
This example reads the Transfer section of the DELPHI.INI file into a memo and
changes one of the strings:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
DelphiIni: TIniFile;
begin
DelphiIni := TIniFile.Create('c:\windows\delphi.ini');
Memo1.Clear;
DelphiIni.ReadSectionValues('Transfer', Memo1.Lines);
Memo1.Lines.Values['Title1'] := 'Picture Painter';
DelphiIni.Free;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 645

ReadString method

Although this example doesn’t do so, your code could then write the new value to the
DELPHI.INI file.

See also
EraseSection method, ReadBool method, ReadInteger method, ReadSection method,
ReadString method, Values property, WriteBool method, WriteInteger method, WriteString
method

ReadString method
Applies to
TIniFile object

Declaration
function ReadString(const Section, Ident, Default: string): string;
The ReadString method retrieves a string in an .INI file.
The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file in which to search for the value.
For example, the WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section.
The Ident constant is the name of the identifier of which you want the value.
The Default constant is the default string value.

Example
This example reads strings in the DELPHI.INI file and displays them on the form.
Before you run this application, you must add the IniFiles unit to the uses clause of your
unit.
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
var
DelphiIni: TIniFile;
begin
Canvas.TextOut(20, 10, 'VARIOUS DELPHI SETTINGS');
DelphiIni := TIniFile.Create('Delphi.Ini');
with DelphiIni do
begin
with Canvas do
begin
TextOut(10, 50, 'Editor Font = ' +
ReadString('Editor', 'FontName', 'ERROR'));
TextOut(10, 70, 'Search Path = ' +
ReadString('Library', 'SearchPath', 'ERROR'));
TextOut(10, 90, 'Component Library = ' +
ReadString('Library', 'ComponentLibrary', 'ERROR'));
TextOut(10, 110, 'VBX Directory = ' +
ReadString('VBX', 'VBXDir', 'ERROR'));
TextOut(10, 130, 'VBX Unit Directory = ' +

646 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ReadString('VBX', 'UnitDir', 'ERROR'));
ReAllocMem function
+
end;
end;
+
DelphiIni.Free;
end; +
See also +
ReadBool method, ReadInteger method, ReadSection method, WriteBool method,
WriteInteger method, WriteString method +
ReAllocMem function
+
SysUtils
+
Declaration
function ReAllocMem(P: Pointer; CurSize, NewSize: Cardinal): Pointer; +
ReAllocMem re-allocates a block. On entry, P points to an existing heap block, CurSize
gives the current size of the heap block, and NewSize specifies the requested new size of
+
the block.
If CurSize is less than NewSize, the additional bytes in the new buffer are set to zero. The
+
returned value is a pointer to the new block; this value is always different from the
original pointer.
+
See also
+
AllocMem function
+
RecalcReport method +
Applies to
+
TReport component
R
Declaration
function RecalcReport: Boolean;
The RecalcReport method recalculates and reprints the report with the new value for the
report variable previously changed with the SetVariable method.
RecalcReport sends a DDE message to ReportSmith Runtime and looks for a DDE
message in return. If RecalcReport returns True, the DDE message to recalculate the
report was sent successfully to ReportSmith Runtime. If it returns False, ReportSmith
Runtime could not receive the message at the current time.
For more information about report variables, see your ReportSmith documentation.

Example
The following code sets the ‘FirstName’ report variable to ‘Marty’, then recalculates the
report.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 647

Rect function

Report1.SetVariable(‘FirstName’, ‘Marty’);
if not (Report1.RecalcReport) then
MessageDlg(‘Unable to recalculate’, mtInformation, [mbOK] 0);

See also
Preview property, Print method, Run method, SetVariable method, SetVariableLines
method

Rect function
Declaration
function Rect(ALeft, ATop, ARight, ABottom: Integer): TRect;
The Rect function returns a TRect record built from the individual coordinates passed in
ALeft, ATop, ARight, and ABottom. You’ll usually use Rect to construct parameters for
functions that require TRect, rather than setting up local variables for each one.

Example
The following code defines the display rectangle for a media player component to be
100 pixels wide, 200 pixels tall, with a top-left corner at coordinates (10, 10);
MediaPlayer1.DisplayRect := Rect(10, 10, 110, 210);

For batch move components

Declaration
property RecordCount: Longint;
The RecordCount property is used to control the maximum number of records that will
be moved. If zero, all records are moved, beginning with the first record in Source. If
RecordCount is not zero, a maximum of RecordCount records will be moved, beginning
with the current record. If RecordCount exceeds the number of records remaining in
Source, no wraparound occurs; the operation is terminated.

Example
{ Limit the move to the first 1000 records }

648 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

BatchMove1.RecordCount := 1000;
Rectangle method
+
+
For tables, queries, and stored procedures
+
Declaration
property RecordCount: Longint;
+
Run-time and read only. The RecordCount property specifies the number of records in
the dataset. The number of records reported may depend on the server and whether a
+
range limitation is in effect. +
Rectangle method +
Applies to
+
TCanvas object +
Declaration +
+
procedure Rectangle(X1, Y1, X2, Y2: Integer);
The Rectangle method draws a rectangle on the canvas with its upper left corner at the
point (X1, Y1) and its lower right corner at the point (X2, Y2). Rectangle draws the
rectangle using the current brush (TBrush) and pen (TPen) attributes. +
Example
This example draws many rectangles of various sizes and colors on a form maximized
+
to fill the entire screen: +
var
X, Y: Integer; +
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
WindowState := wsMaximized;
R
Canvas.Pen.Width := 5;
Canvas.Pen.Style := psDot;
Timer1.Interval := 50;
Randomize;
end;
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
X := X + 4;
Y := Y + 4;
Canvas.Pen.Color := Random(65535);
Canvas.Rectangle(X, Y, X + Random(400), Y + Random(400));
if X > 700 then
Timer1.Enabled := False;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 649

Refresh method

For all controls

Declaration
procedure Refresh;
The Refresh method erases whatever image is on the screen and then repaints the entire
control. Within the implementation of Refresh, the Invalidate and then the Update
methods are called.

Example
The following code refreshes all windowed controls of Form1, then refreshes Form1.
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Form1.ComponentCount-1 do
if Form1.Components[i] is TWinControl then
with Form1.Components[i] as TWinControl do
Refresh;
Form1.Refresh;
end;

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
procedure Refresh;
The Refresh method rereads all records from the dataset. Use Refresh to be certain that
data controls display the latest information from the dataset. Calling Refresh may
unexpectedly change the displayed data, potentially confusing the user.

650 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure
+
RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure ToCtrl
+
Declaration
procedure RegisterFormAsOleDropTarget(Form: TForm; const Fmts: array of BOleFormat);
+
RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget registers a form as a drag-and-drop target for OLE
objects. The object formats in the Fmts array are registered so the objects can be dropped
+
on the form. To register an OLE object format, you must declare a new Clipboard format
for OLE objects with the Windows API function RegisterClipboardFormat prior to the call
+
to RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget. +
Once a form is registered, the object formats which can be dropped can be modified
with the SetFormOLEDropFormats procedure or deleted with the
ClearFormOLEDropFormats procedure.
+
Example
+
The following code registers OLE formats for linked and embedded OLE objects. Then it
creates a formats array for linked and embedded objects, as well as text. Finally, Form1 is
+
registered as an OLE drop target.
var
+
FEmbedClipFmt, FLinkClipFmt: Word;
Fmts: array[0..2] of BOLEFormat;
+
begin +
+
FEmbedClipFmt := RegisterClipboardFormat('Embedded Object');
FLinkClipFmt := RegisterClipboardFormat('Link Source');
Fmts[0].fmtId := FEmbedClipFmt;
Fmts[0].fmtMedium := BOLEMediumCalc(FEmbedClipFmt);
Fmts[0].fmtIsLinkable := False;
+
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtName, '%s');
StrPCopy (Fmts[0].fmtResultName, '%s'); +
R
Fmts[1].fmtId := FLinkClipFmt;
Fmts[1].fmtMedium := BOLEMediumCalc(FLinkClipFmt);
Fmts[1].fmtIsLinkable := True;
StrPCopy (Fmts[1].fmtName, '%s');
StrPCopy (Fmts[1].fmtResultName, '%s');
Fmts[2].fmtId := CT_TEXT;
Fmts[2].fmtMedium := BOLEMediumCalc(CF_TEXT);
Fmts[2].fmtIsLinkable := False;
StrPCopy (Fmts[2].fmtName, 'Text');
StrPCopy (Fmts[2].fmtResultName, 'Text');
RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget(Self, Fmts);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 651

Release method

Release method
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
procedure Release;
The Release method destroys the form and releases its associated memory. It is much like
the Free method except that it does not destroy the form until all event handlers of the
form or event handlers of components on the form have finished executing.

Example
This example displays a message box about the form going away, calls Release, and
terminates the application.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MessageDlg('This form is going away forever', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
Release;
Application.Terminate;
end;

Release procedure System

Declaration
procedure Release(var p: pointer);
The Release procedure returns the heap to a given state.
Release should not be used with FreeMem or Dispose.
Note Release is obsolete for Delphi applications.

Example
uses Crt;
var
p : pointer;
p1,p2,p3 : ^Integer;
begin
ClrScr;
New(p1); { Allocate an Integer }
Mark(p); { Save heap state }
New(p2); { Allocate two more Integers }

652 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

New(p3);
ReleaseHandle method
+
Release(p); { Memory reserved for p2^ and p3^ has been released; p1^ may still be used}
end;
+
See also
+
Dispose procedure, FreeMem procedure, GetMem procedure, Mark procedure, New procedure
+
ReleaseHandle method +
Applies to +
TBitmap object
+
Declaration
function ReleaseHandle: HBitmap;
+
The ReleaseHandle method returns the handle to the bitmap so that the TBitmap object no
longer knows about the handle.
+
Example
+
The following code release the handle to the bitmap in MyBitmap. +
MyBitmap.ReleaseHandle;
+
See also
ReleasePalette method +
ReleaseOLEInitInfo procedure ToCtrl
+
Declaration
+
procedure ReleaseOleInitInfo(PInitInfo: Pointer); R
ReleaseOLEInitInfo frees the memory allocated for OLE object initialization information.
ReleaseOLEInitInfo should be called after calling the InsertOLEObjectDlg or
PasteSpecialDlg functions to initialize a pointer to an OLE initialization information data
structure. Pass the pointer initialized by InsertOLEObjectDlg or PasteSpecialDlg in the
PInitInfo parameter of ReleaseOLEInitInfo.

Example
The following code uses PasteSpecialDlg to specify OLE initialization information. After
OLEContainer1 is initialized, the information is released. Fmts is assumed to be a valid
array of BOLEFormat records.
var
ClipFmt: Word;
DataHand: THandle;
Info: Pointer;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 653

ReleasePalette method

begin
if PasteSpecialDlg(Form1, Fmts, 0, ClipFmt, DataHand, Info) then
begin
OLEContainer.PInitInfo := Info;
ReleaseOLEInitInfo(Info);
end;
end;

654 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

type
RemoveAllPasswords method
+
TMyClass = class
MyString: string;
+
constructor Create(S: string);
end; +
constructor TMyClass.Create(S: string);
begin
+
MyString := S;
end; +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var +
MyList: TList;
MyObject, SameObject: TMyClass;
begin
+
MyList := TList.Create;
try
{ create the list }
+
MyObject := TMyClass.Create('Semper Fidelis!'); { create a class instance }
try +
+
MyList.Add(MyObject); { add instance to list }
SameObject := TMyClass(MyList.Items[0]); { get first element in list }
MessageDlg(SameObject.MyString, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0); { show it }
MyList.Remove(MyObject);
MessageDlg('Removing the object', mtInformation, [mbOk], 0); +
finally
MyObject.Free;
end; { don't forget to clean up! }
+
finally
MyList.Free;
+
end;
end; +
See also +
Delete method
R
RemoveAllPasswords method
Applies to
TSession component

Declaration
procedure RemoveAllPasswords;
The RemoveAllPasswords method causes all previously entered password information to
be discarded. Any future access will require that new password information be
supplied before the table can be opened. This method affects Paradox databases only.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 655

RemoveComponent method

Example
Session.RemoveAllPasswords;

See also
RemovePassword method, Session variable

RemoveComponent method
Applies to
All components

Declaration
procedure RemoveComponent(AComponent: TComponent);
The RemoveComponent method removes the component specified in the AComponent
parameter from the component’s Components list. That position in the list becomes nil.

Example
The following code removes Button2 from the Components list of Form1.
Form1.RemoveComponent(Button2);

656 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

GroupBox1.InsertControl(Button1);
RemoveParam method
+
end; +
Note that it was necessary to remove the button from the Controls property of the form
before the button actually appears to move into the group box. +
This code accomplishes the same thing:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Button1.Parent := GroupBox1; +
end;
+
See also
Controls property, InsertControl method +
RemoveParam method
+
+
Applies to
TParams object +
Declaration +
procedure RemoveParam(Value: TParam);
RemoveParam removes Value from the Items property.
+
Example
+
{ Move all parameter info from Params2 to Params1 }
while Params2.Count <> 0 do
+
begin
{ Grab the first parameter from Params2 }
+
TempParam := Params2[0];
{ Remove it from Params2 } R
Params2.RemoveParam(TempParam);
{ And add it to Params1 }
Params1.AddParam(TempParam);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 657

Rename procedure

Declaration
procedure RemovePassword(const Password: string);
The RemovePassword method removes Password from the known set of authorizations.
Any future access will require that new password information be supplied before the
table can be opened. This method affects Paradox databases only.

Example
Session.RemovePassword(’MySecret’);

See also
RemoveAllPasswords method, Session variable

Rename procedure System

Declaration
procedure Rename(var F; Newname);
The Rename procedure changes the name of an external file.
F is a variable of any file type. Newname is a string-type expression or an expression of
type PChar if the extended syntax is enabled.
The external file associated with F is renamed Newname. Further operations on F operate
on the external file with the new name.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
uses Dialogs;
var
f : file;
begin
OpenDialog1.Title := 'Choose a file... ';
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
SaveDialog1.Title := 'Rename to...';
if SaveDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(f, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Canvas.TextOut(5, 10, 'Renaming ' + OpenDialog1.FileName + ' to ' +
SaveDialog1.FileName);
Rename(f, SaveDialog1.FileName);
end;
end;
end;

658 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

RenameFile function
+
See also
Erase procedure +
RenameFile function SysUtils
+
Declaration
+
function RenameFile(const OldName, NewName: string): Boolean; +
The RenameFile function attempts to change the name of the file specified by OldFile to
NewFile. If the operation succeeds, RenameFile returns True. If it cannot rename the file
+
(for example, if a file called NewName already exists), it returns False.
+
Example
The following code renames a file: +
if not RenameFile('OLDNAME.TXT','NEWNAME.TXT') then
ErrorMsg('Error renaming file!');
+
See also +
DeleteFile function
+
Repaint method +
Applies to +
All controls
+
Declaration
procedure Repaint;
+
The Repaint method forces the control to repaint its image on the screen, but without
erasing what already appears there. To erase before repainting, call the Refresh method
R
instead of Repaint.

Example
The following code repaints all windowed controls of Form1, then repaints Form1.
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Form1.ComponentCount-1 do
if Form1.Components[I] is TWinControl then
with Form1.Components[I] as TWinControl do
Repaint;
Form1.Repaint;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 659

ReplaceText property

660 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ReportHandle property
+
ReportHandle property +
Applies to
TReport component +
Declaration +
property ReportHandle: HWND; +
Run-time and read only. The value of the ReportHandle property is a Windows handle to
ReportSmith. +
Example +
The following code retrieves the window placement information for ReportSmith,
assuming Report1 is a valid TReport component. +
var
RSWinPlacement: PWindowPlacement; +
begin
GetWindowPlacement(Report1.ReportHandle, RSWinPlacement);
+
end;
+
ReportName property +
Applies to +
TReport component
+
Declaration
property ReportName: string;
+
The value of the ReportName property determines which report you want to run. You
can include a full path name as part of the report name if you have not specified a
R
ReportDir property value or want to run a report that is stored elsewhere. If you have
specified a ReportDir value, omit the path name and simply specify the name of the
report.

Example
The following code lets users use the Open dialog box component to specify the report
they want to run.
if OpenDialog1.Execute then
Report1.ReportName := OpenDialog1.FileName;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 661

RequestData method

RequestData method
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component

Declaration
function RequestData(const Item: string): PChar;
The RequestData method requests data from a DDE server. Call RequestData when you
want your DDE client application to receive data from the server once, instead of being
updated continually. Another reason to use RequestData is that some DDE servers
contain DDE items that can’t be continually updated; the only way for your client to
access these items is to explicitly request the data.
Item specifies the DDE server item you want data from. The value of the DDE item
depends on the linked DDE server application. Item is typically a selectable portion of
text, such as a spreadsheet cell or a database field in an edit box. If the DDE server is an
Delphi application, Item is the name of the linked DDE server component.
Note See the documentation for the DDE server application for the specific information about
specifying DDEItem.
RequestData returns a null-terminated PChar string which contains the value of the item
requested of the DDE server. RequestData automatically allocates memory to store this
data, but you must dispose of the PChar string returned by RequestData after you have
finished processing it. This is done with the StrDispose function.

Example
The following code requests data from the DDE server and displays it in Label1. The
DDE item of the conversation is specified in the DDEItem property of DDEClientItem1.
var
TheData: PChar;
begin
TheData := DDEClientConv1.RequestData(DDEClientItem1.DDEItem);
Label1.Caption := StrPas(TheData);
end;

662 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Required property
+
Declaration
property RequestLive: Boolean; +
By default, a TQuery always returns a read-only result set. Set RequestLive to True to
request a live result set. The BDE will then return a live result set if the SELECT syntax
+
of the query conforms to the syntax requirements for a live result set. If RequestLive is
True, but the syntax does not conform to the requirements, the BDE returns a read-only +
result set (for local SQL) or an error return code (for passthrough SQL). If a query
returns a live result set, Delphi will set the CanModify property to True. +
RequestLive CanModify Type of result set +
False
True—SELECT syntax meets requirements
False
True
Read-only result set
Live result set +
True—SELECT syntax does not meet requirements False Read-only result set
+
See also
Local property +
Required property
+
+
Applies to
TFieldDef object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField,
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField,
+
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components +
For field components +
Declaration +
property Required: Boolean;
Specifies whether a non-nil value for a field is required. The default value is False,
R
meaning a field does not require a value. If a field is created with the Fields Editor, then
this property is set based on the underlying table. Set Required to True for fields that
must get values (for example, a password or part number), and write an OnValidate
event handler for the field. Before a record is posted, exceptions are raised for any
required fields that have nil values.

For TFieldDef objects

Declaration
property Required: Boolean;
Run-time and read only. Reports whether or not a value for a physical field in an
underlying table is required.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 663

Reset procedure

Example
{ Is field required? }
if FieldDef1.Required) then
MessageDlg(Name 'is a required field’ , mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

Reset procedure System

Declaration
procedure Reset(var F [: File; RecSize: Word ] );
The Reset procedure opens an existing file.
F is a variable of any file type associated with an external file using AssignFile. RecSize is
an optional expression, which can be specified only if F is an untyped file. If F is an
untyped file, RecSize specifies the record size to be used in data transfers. If RecSize is
omitted, a default record size of 128 bytes is assumed.
Reset opens the existing external file with the name assigned to F. An error results if no
existing external file of the given name exists. If F is already open, it is first closed and
then reopened. The current file position is set to the beginning of the file.
If F is assigned an empty name, such as AssignFile(F, ''), then after the call to Reset, F
refers to the standard input file (standard handle number 0).
If F is a text file, F becomes read-only.
After a call to Reset, Eof(F) is True if the file is empty; otherwise, Eof(F) is False.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
function FileExists(FileName: string): Boolean;
{ Boolean function that returns True if the file exists; otherwise,
it returns False. Closes the file if it exists. }
var
F: file;
begin
{$I–}
AssignFile(F, FileName);
FileMode := 0; ( Set file access to read only }
Reset(F);
CloseFile(F);
{$I+}
FileExists := (IOResult = 0) and (FileName <> '');

664 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end; { FileExists }
Restore method
+
begin +
+
if FileExists(ParamStr(1)) then {Get file name from command line}
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'File exists')
else

end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'File not found');
+
See also +
Append procedure, AssignFile procedure, FileClose procedure, Rewrite procedure, Truncate
procedure +
+
Restore method
+
Applies to
TApplication component +
Declaration +
procedure Restore;
The Restore method returns your application to its previous size before it was
+
maximized or minimized.
Don’t confuse the Restore method with restoring a form or window to its original size.
+
To minimize, maximize, and restore a window or form, you change the value of the
WindowState property.
+
Example
+
This example uses a timer on a form. When the application runs and the user minimizes +
the application, the application returns to its normal size when an OnTimer event occurs:
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
R
Application.Restore;
end;

See also
BorderIcons property, BorderStyle property, Minimize method

RestoreTopMosts method
Applies to
TApplication component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 665

Resume method

Declaration
procedure RestoreTopMosts;
The RestoreTopMosts method restores forms that were originally designated as topmost
forms (FormStyle is fsStayOnTop) and then temporarily changed to be non-topmost
forms with the NormalizeTopMosts method call. After a call to RestoreTopMosts, the
topmost forms move on top of other forms again.

Resume method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure Resume;
The Resume method resumes playing or recording the currently paused multimedia
device. Resume is called when the Pause button on the media player control is clicked at
run time, when the device is paused.
Upon completion, Resume stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Resume method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Resume
generates an OnNotify event.

Example
The following code resumes the playing or recording of MediaPlayer1.
MediaPlayer1.Resume;

666 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Rewind method
+
Rewind method +
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component +
Declaration +
procedure Rewind; +
The Rewind method sets the current position to the beginning of the medium, which is
stored in the Start property. +
Upon completion, Rewind stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property. +
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Rewind method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Rewind
+
generates an OnNotify event.
+
Example
This example uses a media player and a button on a form. When the user clicks the +
button, the WAV audio media rewinds and begins playing. To run this example
successfully, you must have installed a WAV audio device correctly. +
procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);
begin +
MediaPlayer1.DeviceType := dtWaveAudio;
FileName := ‘CHIMES.WAV’;
Button1.Caption := 'Rewind and Play';
+
Button1.Width := 130;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
MediaPlayer1.Rewind;
MediaPlayer1.Play; R
end;

See also
AutoRewind property, Back method

Rewrite procedure System

Declaration
procedure Rewrite(var F: File [; Recsize: Word ] );
The Rewrite procedure creates and opens a new file.
F is a variable of any file type associated with an external file using AssignFile. RecSize is
an optional expression, which can be specified only if F is an untyped file. If F is an

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 667

RmDir procedure

untyped file, RecSize specifies the record size to be used in data transfers. If RecSize is
omitted, a default record size of 128 bytes is assumed.
Rewrite creates a new external file with the name assigned to F.
If an external file with the same name already exists, it is deleted and a new empty file is
created in its place.
If F is already open, it is first closed and then re-created. The current file position is set to
the beginning of the empty file.
If F was assigned an empty name, such as AssignFile(F,''), then after the call to Rewrite, F
refers to the standard output file (standard handle number 1).
If F is a text file, F becomes write-only.
After calling Rewrite, Eof(F) is always True.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var F: TextFile;
begin
AssignFile(F, 'NEWFILE.$$$');
Rewrite(F);
Writeln(F, 'Just created file with this text in it...');
CloseFile(F);
end;

See also
Append procedure, AssignFile procedure, Reset procedure, Truncate procedure

RmDir procedure System

Declaration
procedure RmDir(S: string);
The RmDir procedure deletes an empty subdirectory.
RmDir removes the subdirectory with the path specified by S. If the path does not exist,
is non-empty, or is the currently logged directory, an I/O error occurs.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

668 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Rollback method
+
Example
uses Dialogs; +
begin
{$I–}
+
{ Get directory name from TEdit control }
RmDir(Edit1.Text); +
+
if IOResult <> 0 then
MessageDlg('Cannot remove directory', mtWarning, [mbOk], 0)
else

end;
MessageDlg('Directory removed', mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
+
See also +
ChDir procedure, GetDir procedure, MkDir procedure
+
Rollback method +
Applies to +
TDataBase component
+
Declaration
procedure Rollback;
+
The Rollback method rolls back the current transaction and thus cancels all modifications
made to the database since the last call to StartTransaction. Use this method only when
+
connected to a server database.
+
Example
with Database1 do
+
begin
StartTransaction;
R
{ Update one or more records in tables linked to Database1 }
...
Rollback;
end;

Round function System

Declaration
function Round(X: Real): Longint;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 669

RoundRect method

The Round function rounds a real-type value to an integer-type value.

X is a real-type expression. Round returns a Longint value that is the value of X rounded
to the nearest whole number. If X is exactly halfway between two whole numbers, the
result is the number with the greatest absolute magnitude.
If the rounded value of X is not within the Longint range, you will generate a run-time
error, which you can handle using the EInvalidOp exception.

Example
var
S, T: string;
begin
Str(1.4:2:1, T);
S := T + ' rounds to ' + IntToStr(Round(1.4)) + #13#10;
Str(1.5:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' rounds to ' + IntToStr(Round(1.5)) + #13#10;
Str(-1.4:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' rounds to ' + IntToStr(Round(-1.4)) + #13#10;
Str(-1.5:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' rounds to ' + IntToStr(Round(-1.5));
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

670 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
Row property
+
WindowState := wsMaximized;
Canvas.Pen.Width := 5;
+
Canvas.Pen.Style := psDot;
Timer1.Interval := 50; +
Randomize;
end; +
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
X := X + 4;
Y := Y + 4;
Canvas.Pen.Color := Random(65535);
Canvas.RoundRect(X, Y, X + Random(400), Y + Random(400), 10, 10);
if X > 700 then +
end;
Timer1.Enabled := False;
+
See also
Ellipse method, Rectangle method
+
+
Row property +
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TOutline, TStringGrid components
+
Declaration
+
property Row: Longint; +
Run-time only. The value of the Row property indicates which row of the control has
focus. For outlines, you can use the Row property to determine which item is selected at +
run time. For the grid components, you can use Row along with the Col property to
determine which cell is selected. R
Example
This examples uses a string grid with a label above it on a form. When the user clicks a
cell in the grid, the location of the cursor is displayed in the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.StringGrid1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'The cursor is in column ' + IntToStr(StringGrid1.Col + 1)
+ ', row ' + IntToStr(StringGrid1.Row + 1);
end;

See also
DefaultRowHeight property, RowCount property, RowHeights property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 671

RowCount property

RowCount property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property RowCount: Longint;
The value of the RowCount property determines the number of rows that appear in the
grid.

Example
This example uses a string grid and a button. When the user clicks the button, the
number of columns and rows change:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
StringGrid1.ColCount := 7;
StringGrid1.RowCount := 11;
end;

See also
ColCount property, Row property, RowHeights property

RowHeights property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Declaration
property RowHeights[Index: Longint]: Integer;
Run-time only. The RowHeights property determines the height in pixels of all the cells
within the row referenced by the Index parameter.
By default, all the rows are the same height, the value found in the DefaultRowHeight
property. To change the height of all rows within a grid, change the DefaultRowHeight
property value.
To change the height of one row without affecting any others, change the RowHeights
property. Specify the row you want to change as the value of the Index parameter.
Remember, the first row always has an Index value of 0.

Example
This example uses a string grid and a button. When the user clicks the button, the
number of columns and rows change, and the first column and row in the grid are sized
differently from the rest of the columns and rows:

672 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
Rows property
+
begin
with StringGrid1 do
+
begin
ColCount := 7; +
RowCount := 11;
RowHeights[0] := 35;
ColWidths[0] := 90;
+
end;
end;
+
See also +
ColWidths property, DefaultColWidth property, Row property
+
Rows property +
Applies to +
TStringGrid component
+
Declaration
property Rows[Index: Integer]: TStrings;
+
Run-time only. The Rows property is an array of the strings and their associated objects
in a row. The number of strings and associated objects is always the value of the
+
RowCount property, the number of rows in the grid. Use the Rows property to access the
strings and their associated objects within a particular row in the grid. The Index
+
parameter is the number of the row you want to access, with the first row having an
Index value of zero. +
Example +
This example displays a string grid, a list box, and a button on a form. When the
application runs, strings are put in the cells of row 1 of the string grid. When the user R
clicks the button, each string in row 1 appears as an item in the list box.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items := StringGrid1.Rows[1];
Button1.Enabled := False;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with StringGrid1 do
begin
Cells[1,1] := 'Object';
Cells[2,1] := 'Pascal';
Cells[3,1] := 'is';
Cells[4,1] := 'excellent';
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 673

Run method

end;
Note that the first position of the list box is empty, because there is no string in the cell
referenced by Cells[0, 1].

See also
Cells property, Cols property, Objects property, TStrings object

Run method
Applies to
TApplication, TReport components

For an application

Declaration
procedure Run;
The Run method executes the application.
When you create a new project, Delphi automatically creates a main program block in
the project file that calls the Run method.

Example
The main program block of a Delphi project always looks like this, by default:
begin
Application.CreateForm(TForm1, Form1);
Application.Run;
end.

See also
CreateForm method, MainForm property

For reports

Declaration
procedure Run;
The Run method loads ReportSmith Runtime, runs the report specified as the value of
the ReportName property, and prints the report.

Example
The following code allows the user to specify the report with the Open dialog box and
then runs the report.

674 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

if OpenDialog1.Execute then
RunError procedure
+
begin
Report1.ReportName := OpenDialog1.FileName;
+
Report1.Run;
end; +
See also +
Preview property, Print method, ReportName property
+
RunError procedure System +
Declaration +
procedure RunError [ ( Errorcode: Byte ) ];
The RunError procedure stops program execution by generating a run-time error with
+
the given number at the current statement. +
Errorcode is the run-time error number (0 if omitted). If you compile the current module
with debug information on, and run the program within Delphi, Delphi automatically
takes your RunError call.
+
Example
+
begin +
+
{$IFDEF Debug}
if P = nil then
RunError(204);
{$ENDIF}
end; +
See also +
Exit procedure, Halt procedure
R
RunMacro method
Applies to
TReport component

Declaration
function RunMacro(Macro: string): Boolean;
The RunMacro method runs the ReportBasic macro specified as the value of the Macro
parameter.
The RunMacro method sends a DDE message to ReportSmith Runtime to run the
specified macro and looks for a DDE message from ReportSmith Runtime in return. If
RunMacro returns True, the message to run the macro was sent successfully to

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 675

Save method

ReportSmith Runtime. If it returns False, ReportSmith Runtime could not receive the
DDE message at the current time.
For information about ReportBasic macros, refer to your ReportSmith documentation.

Example
The following code runs the macro “SELALL.MAC”.
Report1.RunMacro(‘SELALL.MAC’);

676 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SaveToFile method
+
SaveToFile method +
Applies to
TBitmap, TBlobField, TGraphic, TGraphicField, TIcon, TMemoField, TMetafile, TPicture, +
TStringList, TStrings objects; TOLEContainer, TOutline components
+
Declaration
procedure SaveToFile(const FileName: string);
+
The SaveToFile method saves an object to the file specified in FileName. The graphic
objects save a graphic to the file, the OLE container saves an OLE object to the file, the
+
outline and string objects save text to the file, and the field components save the contents +
of the field to the file.

Example
+
runs, the code attempts to load text in a text file named SOMETEXT.TXT into the memo +
This example uses a memo control and two buttons on a form. When the application

control. If the attempt fails, a message box appear, prompting the user to enter text in the
memo. +
The user must choose one of the two buttons, as there is no System menu (also called a
Control menu) on the form to close the form. If the user chooses the button labeled Save,
+
form closes. If the user chooses the button labeled Discard, the lines in the memo control +
the contents of the memo control is saved in a file named SOMETEXT.TXT, and the

are not saved, and the form closes.

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
BorderIcons := []; +
+
Button1.Caption := 'Save';
Button2.Caption := 'Discard';
try
Memo1.Lines.LoadFromFile('SOMETEXT.TXT');
except +
Memo1.Lines.Clear;
MessageDlg('When form appears, type in the memo control',
mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
S
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Memo1.Lines.SaveToFile('SOMETEXT.TXT');
Close;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Close;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 677

SaveToStream method

This example stored a blob field into a file:

{ Store a blob field into a temporary file }
BlobField1.SaveToFile(‘c:\windows\temp\myblob.blb’);

See also
LoadFromFile method, LoadFromStream method, SaveToStream method

SaveToStream method
Applies to
TBlobField, TGraphicField, TMemoField components

Declaration
procedure SaveToStream(Stream: TStream);
The SaveToStream method writes a stream with the name passed in Stream with the
contents of TBlobField, TMemoField, or TGraphicField.

Example
{ Store a blob field into a stream }
BlobField1.SaveToStream(Stream1);

See also
LoadFromFile method, LoadFromStream method, SaveToFile method

ScaleBy method
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
procedure ScaleBy(M, D: Integer);

Description
The ScaleBy method scales a control to a percentage of its former size. The M parameter
is the multiplier and the D parameter is the divisor. For example, if you want a control to
be 75% of its original size, specify the value of M as 75, and the value of D as 100 (75/
100). You could also obtain the same results by specifying the value of M as 3, and the
value of D as 4 (3/4). Both fractions are equal and result in the control being scaled by
the same amount, 75%.
If you want the control to be 33% larger than its previous size, specify the value of M as
133, and the value of D as 100 (133/100). You can also obtain the same results by

678 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Scaled property

specifying the value of M as 4, and the value of D as 3 (4/3), as the fraction 133/100 is
+
approximately equal to 4/3. +
Example
This example makes your form 50% larger:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
ScaleBy(150, 100);
end;

See also
+
Scaled property
+
Scaled property +
Applies to
+
TForm component
+
Declaration
property Scaled: Boolean;
+
The Scaled property determines if the form is scaled to the value in the PixelsPerInch
property. If Scaled is True and the value of PixelsPerInch differs from its default value, the
+
form is scaled to a new size. If Scaled is False, no scaling occurs, regardless of the
PixelsPerInch value. The default value is True.
+
Example
+
This code ensures that the form is always scaled to whatever value is in the PixelsPerInch
property:
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Scaled := True;
end; S
See also
PixelsPerInch property, ScaleBy method

Screen variable Forms

Declaration
Screen: TScreen;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 679

ScreenSize typed constant

The Screen variable is a TScreen component that normally represents your screen device.
By default, your application creates a screen component based on information from
Windows about the current screen device and assigns it to Screen.

Example
The following code sets the width of a form called Form1 to half the width of the screen:
Form1.Width := Screen.Width div 2;

ScreenSize typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const ScreenSize: TPoint = (X: 80; Y: 25);
The ScreenSize typed constant determines the width and height in characters of the
virtual screen within the CRT window.
The default screen size is 80 columns by 25 lines.
You can change the size of the virtual screen by assigning new values to the x- and y-
coordinates of ScreenSize before the CRT window is created.
The value given by ScreenSize.X multiplied by ScreenSize.Y must not exceed 65,520.

ScreenToClient method
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
function ScreenToClient(Point: TPoint): TPoint;
The ScreenToClient method is used to determine the control coordinates in pixels of a
point on the screen. ScreenToClient returns X and Y coordinates in a record of type
TPoint.

Example
The following code converts the origin of the screen (0, 0) to the client coordinates of
Button2.
var
ScreenOrgin, ClientPoint: TPoint;
begin
ScreenOrgin.X := 0;
ScreenOrgin.Y := 0;
ClientPoint := Button2.ScreenToClient(ScreenOrgin);
end;

680 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ScrollBars property
+
See also
ClientToScreen method +
ScrollBars property
+
Applies to
+
TDBMemo, TDrawGrid, TMemo, TStringGrid components +
Declaration +
property ScrollBars: TScrollStyle;
The ScrollBars property controls whether a memo control or a grid control has any scroll
+
bars. You can set ScrollBars to any of the following values:
+
Value
ssNone
Meaning
No scroll bar
+
ssHorizontal
ssVertical
Puts a scroll bar on the right edge
Puts a scroll bar on the bottom edge +
ssBoth Puts a scroll bar on both the right and bottom edges
+
By default, grids have both vertical and horizontal scroll bars, while memo controls
have none. +
Example +
The following example adds a scroll bar to the bottom of memo control Memo1:
Memo1.ScrollBars := scHorizontal;
+
See also +
HorzScrollBar property, VertScrollBar property
+
ScrollBy method S
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Declaration
procedure ScrollBy(DeltaX, DeltaY: Integer);
The ScrollBy method scrolls the contents of a form or windowed control. You will
seldom need to call the ScrollBy method unless you want to write your own scrolling
logic rather than use a scroll bar.
The DeltaX parameter is the change in pixels along the X axis. A positive DeltaX value
scrolls the contents to the right; a negative value scrolls the contents to the left. The

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 681

ScrollInView method

DeltaY parameter is the change in pixels along the Y axis. A positive DeltaY value scrolls
the contents down; a negative value scrolls the contents up.

Example
This example uses a timer and several controls of your choosing on a form. When the
application runs, the controls on the form appear to slide down and off to the right. This
is because the contents of the form are scrolling both down and to the right by one pixel
each time a timer event occurs:
procedure TForm1.FormActivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Timer1.Interval := 1;
end;
procedure TForm1.Timer1Timer(Sender: TObject);
begin
ScrollBy(1,1);
end;

See also
HorzScrollBar property, ScrollBars property, ScrollInView method, TScrollBox component,
VertScrollBar property

ScrollInView method
Applies to
TForm, TScrollBox components

Declaration
procedure ScrollInView(AControl: TControl);
The ScrollInView method scrolls the form or scroll box so that at least part of the control
specified as the AControl parameter is in view.

Example
This example uses two buttons on a form. Place each button on opposite sides of the
form. When the user runs the application and resizes the form so that it is smaller,
clicking either of the buttons scrolls the form so that at least part of the other button is
visible:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ScrollInView(Button2);
end;
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ScrollInView(Button1);
end;

682 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ScrollPos property
+
See also
HorzScrollBar property, VertScrollBar property +
ScrollPos property
+
Applies to
+
TControlScrollBar component +
Declaration +
property ScrollPos: Integer
Run-time and read only. The value of the ScrollPos property is the current Position value
+
of a horizontal or vertical scroll bar on a form or scroll box.
+
Example
This example uses a label on a form. When the application runs, resize the form so a +
horizontal scroll bar appears. You can use the scroll bar to scroll the form. Each time you
click the label, it reports the current position of the scroll bar: +
procedure TForm1.Label1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Label1.Caption := 'Scroll bar position is ' + IntToStr(HorzScrollBar.ScrollPos);
end; +
See also
HorzScrollBar property, Position property, VertScrollBar property
+
+
ScrollTo procedure WinCrt +
Declaration +
S
procedure ScrollTo(X, Y: Integer);
The ScrollTo procedure scrolls the CRT window to show the virtual screen location (X,Y)
in the upper left corner.
The upper left corner of the virtual screen corresponds to (0,0).

Example
uses WinCrt;
begin
GotoXY(1,10);
Writeln('Hello');
Writeln('Type in a line and press Enter.');
Readln;
ScrollTo(0,10);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 683

Sections property

684 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SectionWidth[I] := SectionWidth[I] * 2;
Seek method
+
end; +
See also
Sections property
+
+
Seek method +
Applies to
TBlobStream object
+
Declaration
+
function Seek(Offset: Longint; Origin: Word): Longint; +
The Seek function resets the current position within the TBlobStream. If Origin is 0, the
new position is Offset (seek absolute). If Origin is 1, the new position is Position + Offset
(seek relative). If Origin is 2, the new position is Size + Offset (seek absolute from end of
+
data). Seek returns the new position, relative to the beginning of the BLOB stream. +
Note When Origin is 0, Offset must be >= 0. When Origin is 2, Offset must be <= 0.
+
Example
{ Move to the end of the data so we can add more to it }
+
BlobStream1.Seek(0, 2);
+
See also
TBlobField component, TBytesField component, TVarBytesField component +
+
Seek procedure System
+
Declaration
procedure Seek(var F; N: Longint);
S
The Seek procedure moves the current position of a file to a specified component. You
can use Seek only on open typed or untyped files.
In the above syntax, F is a typed or untyped file variable, and N is an expression of type
Longint.
The current file position of F moves to component number N. The number of the first
component of a file is 0.
To expand a file, you can seek one component beyond the last component; that is, the
statement Seek(F, FileSize(F)) moves the current file position to the end of the file.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 685

SeekEof function

If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
uses Dialogs;
var
f: file of Byte;
size : Longint;
S: string;
y: integer;
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(f, OpenDialog1.FileName);
Reset(f);
size := FileSize(f);
S := 'File size in bytes: ' + IntToStr(size);
y := 10;
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
y := y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'Seeking halfway into file...';
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
y := y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
Seek(f,size div 2);
S := 'Position is now ' + IntToStr(FilePos(f));
Canvas.TextOut(5, y, S);
CloseFile(f);
end;
end;

SeekEof function System

Declaration
function SeekEof [ (var F: Text) ]: Boolean;
The SeekEof function returns the end-of-file status of a file.
SeekEof can only be used on open text files.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
f : System.TextFile;

686 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

i, j, Y : Integer;
+
SeekEoln function

begin
AssignFile(f,'TEST.TXT');
+
Rewrite(f);
{ Create a file with 8 numbers and some +
whitespace at the ends of the lines }
Writeln(f,'1 2 3 4 ');
Writeln(f,'5 6 7 8 ');
+
Reset(f); +
{ Read the numbers back. SeekEoln returns TRUE if there are no more numbers on the

+
current line; SeekEof returns TRUE if there is no more text (other than whitespace)
in the file. }

+
Y := 5;
while not SeekEof(f) do
begin
if SeekEoln(f) then
Readln; { Go to next line }
+
Read(f,j);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, IntToStr(j));
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(IntToStr(j)) + 5;
+
end;
end;
+
See also
+
Eof function, SeekEoln function
+
SeekEoln function System +
Declaration +
function SeekEoln [ (var F: Text) ]: Boolean; +
The SeekEoln function returns the end-of-line status of a file.
SeekEoln can be used only on open text files.
+
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
S
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.

Example
var
f : System.TextFile;
i, j, Y : Integer;
begin
AssignFile(f,'TEST.TXT');
Rewrite(f);
{ Create a file with 8 numbers and some
whitespace at the ends of the lines }
Writeln(f,'1 2 3 4 ');

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 687

Seg function

Writeln(f,'5 6 7 8 ');
Reset(f);
{ Read the numbers back. SeekEoln returns TRUE if there are no more numbers on the
current line; SeekEof returns TRUE if there is no more text (other than whitespace)
in the file. }
Y := 5;
while not SeekEof(f) do
begin
if SeekEoln(f) then
Readln; { Go to next line }
Read(f,j);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, IntToStr(j));
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(IntToStr(j)) + 5;
end;
end;

See also
Eoln function, SeekEof function

Seg function System

Declaration
function Seg(X): Word;
The Seg function returns the segment of a specified object.
X is any variable, or a procedure or function identifier. The result is the segment part of
the address of X.

688 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
SelCount property
+
Y := 10;
S := 'The current code segment is $' + MakeHexWord(CSeg);
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
+
S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
+
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
+
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S); +
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
+
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S); +
end;
+
See also
Addr function, Ofs function +
SelCount property
+
Applies to
+
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox components +
Declaration +
property SelCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The SelCount property reports the number of items that are
S
selected in a list box when the value of the MultiSelect property is True. When MultiSelect
property is False, only one item can be selected. If no items are selected, the value of
SelCount is 0.

Example
This example uses a list box, a label, and a button on a form. Enter several strings in the
list box as the value of the Items property. When the user selects items in the list box and
clicks the button, the number of items selected in the list box is displayed in the caption
of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(ListBox1.SelCount) + ' items are selected';

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 689

SelectAll method

end;

See also
ExtendedSelect property, MultiSelect property, Selected property

SelectAll method
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TDriveComboBox, TEdit,
TFilterComboBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
procedure SelectAll;
The SelectAll method selects the entire block of text in the control. If you want to select
only part of the text, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.

Example
The following code selects all the text in Memo1.
Memo1.SelectAll;

See also
SelLength property, SelStart property, SelText property, Text property

SelectDirectory function FileCtrl

Declaration
function SelectDirectory(var Directory: string; Options: TSelectDirOpts; HelpCtx: Longint):
Boolean;
The SelectDirectory function lets the user enter a directory name into the application
using a Select Directory dialog box. Calling the SelectDirectory function displays the
Select Directory dialog box. The directory passed to the function with the Directory
parameter is the currently selected directory when the dialog box appears. The name of
the directory the user selects becomes the value of Directory when the function returns.
The Options parameter is a set of values. These are the possible values of the Options set:

Value Meaning
[ ], the empty set The user can select a directory that currently exists only. The user cannot specify a
directory that does not exist as there is no edit box to type in a new directory name.
sdAllowCreate An edit box appears in the dialog box so that the user can type in the name of a
directory that does not exist. This option does not create a directory, but the
application can access the Directory parameter to create the directory selected if
desired.

690 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Selected property
+
Value
sdPerformCreate
Meaning
Used only when the Options set contains sdAllowCreate. If the user enters a directory
+
sdPrompt
name that does not exist, the function creates the directory.
Used when the Options set contains sdAllowCreate. Displays a message box the
informs the user the entered directory does not exist and asks the user if the
+
directory should be created. If the user chooses OK, the directory is created only if
the Options set contains the sdPerformCreate value. If only sdAllowCreate is True, the
directory is not actually created, but the application can create it if desired.
+
The function returns True if the user selected a directory and chose OK, and False if the
+
user chose Cancel or closed the dialog box without selecting a directory.
The HelpCtx parameter is the help context ID number.
+
Example
+
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a Select
Directory dialog box appears. The current directory displayed in the dialog box is
+
C:\LINDA. The user can select a directory from the directory list, or enter a new
directory in the edit box. If the user enters a new directory, a message box asks the user
+
if the directory should be created. If the user chooses Yes, the directory is created. If the
user chooses No, the message box goes away and the user can use the dialog box again +
to select a directory. The name of the directory the user selects appears as the caption of
the label: +
uses FileCtrl;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
var
Dir: string;
+
begin
Dir := 'C:\LINDA'; +
+
if SelectDirectory(Dir, [sdAllowCreate, sdPerformCreate, sdPrompt]) then
Label1.Caption := Dir;
end;

See also
+
DirectoryExists function, ForceDirectories procedure
S
Selected property
Applies to
TDBListBox, TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox components

Declaration
property Selected[X: Integer]: Boolean;
The Selected property determines whether a particular item is selected in the list box. The
X parameter is the item referenced by its position in the list box, with the first item

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 691

SelectedColor property

having an X value of 0. If the specified item is selected in the list box, the value of the
Selected property is True. If the specified item is not selected, Selected is False.
If you want the user to be able to select more than one item in the list box, use the
MultiSelect property

Example
This example uses a list box on a form. When the form is first created, 3 items are added
to the list box. When the user selects an item in the list box, the list box color changes to
reflect the item selected:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('Blue');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Yellow');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Red');
end;
procedure TForm1.ListBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if ListBox1.Selected[0] then
ListBox1.Color := clBlue;
if ListBox1.Selected[1] then
ListBox1.Color := clYellow;
if ListBox1.Selected[2] then
ListBox1.Color := clRed;
end;

See also
ExtendedSelect property, MultiSelect property, SelCount property

SelectedColor property
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property SelectedColor: TColor;
The SelectedColor property determines the color of the selected tab in the tab set control.
To view a list of available color values, see the Color property.

Example
This code changes the color of selected tabs:
TabSet11.SelectedColor := clPurple;

692 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SelectedField property
+
See also
UnselectedColor property +
SelectedField property
+
Applies to
+
TDBGrid, TDBLookupList components +
Declaration +
property SelectedField: TField;
Run-time and read only. The value of the SelectedField property indicates which field is
+
selected in the data grid.
+
Example
The following code displays the name of the selected field in a label if the selected field +
is ‘CustNo’.
if DBGrid1.SelectedField.FieldName = ‘CustNo’ then
+
Label1.Caption := DBGrid1.SelectedField.FieldName;
+
See also
SelectedIndex property +
+
SelectedIndex property
+
Applies to
TDBGrid, TDBLookupList components +
Declaration +
property SelectedIndex: Integer;
Run-time only. The value of the SelectedIndex property returns the index value of the
S
currently selected field in the displayed dataset. A value of 0 indicates the first field of
the displayed dataset, 1 is the second field, and so on.
SelectedIndex can be used as an index to Fields property array to access a field in the
dataset.

Example
The following code makes all the fields up to the selected field of the dataset of DBGrid1
read-only. I is an integer variable.
for I := 0 to DBGrid1.SelectedIndex do
DBGrid1.Fields[I].ReadOnly := True;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 693

SelectedItem property

694 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SelectNext method
+
SelectNext method +
Applies to
TTabSet component +
Declaration +
procedure SelectNext(Direction: Boolean); +
The SelectNext method selects the next tab in a tab set control, and scrolls that tab set
control if necessary to bring the selected tab into view. +
The value of the Direction parameters determines if the tab to the left or right is selected.
If Direction is True, the tab to the right is selected. If Direction is False, the tab to the left is +
selected. When the last tab in either direction is selected, calling SelectNext using the
same direction wraps around to the beginning of the tab order. For example, if your
application has three tabs, First, Second, and Third, and Third is the current tab, calling
+
SelectNext(True) selects First. Likewise, if First is the current tab, SelectNext(False) selects
Third.
+
When SelectNext is called, the OnClick event of the tab set occurs, followed by the
OnChange event, just as if the user had clicked on a new tab.
+
Example
+
The following code selects the next tab to the left of the current tab (or selects the last tab
if the first tab is currently selected).
+
TabSet1.SelectNext(False); +
See also
TabIndex property
+
+
SelectorInc variable System +
Declaration S
var SelectorInc: Word;
SelectorInc contains the value that must be added to or subtracted from the selector part
of a pointer to increment or decrement the pointer by 64K bytes.

SelLength property
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TDriveComboBox, TEdit,
TFilterComboBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 695

SelStart property

Declaration
property SelLength: Integer;
The SelLength property returns the length (in characters) of the control’s selected text. By
using SelLength along with the SelStart property, you specify which part of the text in the
control is selected. You can change the number of selected characters by changing the
value of SelLength. When the SelStart value changes, the SelLength value changes
accordingly.
The edit box or memo must be the active control when you change the value of
SelLength, or nothing appears to happen.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a label on a form. When the user selects text in the
edit box, the number of selected characters is reported in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Edit1MouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Selected length = ' +
IntToStr(Edit1.SelLength);
end;

See also
SelStart property, SelText property, Text property

SelStart property
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TDriveComboBox, TEdit,
TFilterComboBox, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
property SelStart: Integer;
The SelStart property returns the starting position of the selected part of the control’s
text, with the first character in the text having a value of 0. You can use SelStart along
with the SelLength property to select a portion of the text. Specify the character you want
the selected text to start with by its position in the text as the value of SelStart.
When the SelStart value changes, the SelLength value changes accordingly.
The edit box or memo must be the active control when you change the value of SelStart,
or nothing appears to happen.

Example
This example uses an edit box and a label on a form. When the user selects text in the
edit box, the starting position of the selected text is reported in the caption of the label:

696 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Edit1MouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
SelText property
+
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
+
Label1.Caption := 'Selected text starts at character ' +
IntToStr(Edit1.SelStart + 1); +
end;
Note that if all the text in the edit box is selected, the value of the SelStart property is 0,
+
expression SelStart + 1 to make the result reported more understandable to most people. +
the index value of the first item in the string array. Therefore, this example uses the

See also +
SelectAll method, SelLength property, SelText property, Text property
+
SelText property +
Applies to +
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFilterComboBox,
TMaskEdit components +
Declaration +
property SelText: string;
The SelText property contains the selected part of the control’s text. You can use it to
+
by specifying a new string. If no text is currently selected, the SelText string is inserted in +
determine what the selected text is, or you can change the contents of the selected text

the text at the cursor.

+
Example
This example uses an edit box and a label on a form. When the user selects text in the +
edit box, the selected text is reported in the caption of the label.
procedure TForm1.Edit1MouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton; +
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Selected string = ' + Edit1.SelText;
S
end;

See also
SelLength property, SelStart property, Text property

SendToBack method
Applies to
All controls; TForm component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 697

ServerConv property

Declaration
procedure SendToBack;
The SendToBack method puts a windowed component behind all other windowed
components within its parent component or form, or it puts a non-windowed
component behind all other non-windowed components within its parent component
or form. If the component has the input focus when the SendToBack method executes, it
loses the input focus.
SendToBack is useful for changing the order of overlapping controls or forms.
The order in which controls stack on top of each order (also called the Z order) depends
on whether the controls are windowed or non-windowed. For example, if you put a
label and an image on a form so that one is on top of the other, the first one you placed
on the form is the one on the bottom. Because both the label and the image are non-
windowed controls, they “stack” as you would expect them to. Suppose that the image
is on the top. If you call the SendToBack method for the image, the label then appears on
top of the image.
The stacking order of windowed controls is the same. For example, if you put a memo
on a form, then put a check box on top of it, the memo remains on the bottom. If you call
SendToBack for the check box, the memo appears on top.
The stacking order of windowed and non-windowed controls cannot be mingled. For
example, if you put a memo, a windowed control, on a form, and then put a label, a non-
windowed control, on top of it, the label disappears behind the memo. Windowed
controls always “stack” on top of non-windowed controls. In this example, if you call
the SendToBack method of the memo, it remains on top of the label.

Example
This example uses two forms. When the user clicks the button on Form2, it moves Form2
behind the other form and is no longer the active form:
procedure TForm2.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
SendToBack;
end;
In this example, the parent of the two forms is the application itself.

698 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ServiceApplication property
+
Declaration
property ServerConv: TDdeServerConv; +
The ServerConv property specifies the DDE server conversation component to associate
with the DDE server item component. The value of ServerConv is the name of the DDE
+
server conversation component that defines the DDE conversation.
+
Example
The following code sets DDEServerConv1 to be the server conversation for +
DDEServerItem1.
DDEServerItem1.ServerConv := DDEServerConv1;
+
See also
+
Name property
+
ServiceApplication property +
Applies to +
TDDEClientConv component
+
Declaration
property ServiceApplication: string;
+
The ServiceApplication property specifies the main executable file name (and path, if
necessary) of a DDE server application, without the .EXE extension. Typically, this is the
+
same value as the DDEService property. Sometimes, however, DDEService is a value
other than the DDE server application’s executable file name. In either case,
+
ServiceApplication must be specified for Delphi to run an inactive DDE server to establish
a DDE conversation. +
Example +
The following code sets the service application to ‘ReportSmith’.
DDEClientConv1.ServiceApplication := ‘ReportSmith’;
S
Session variable DB
Declaration
Session: TSession;
The Session variable is responsible for maintaining all of the database components used
by your application. It is created automatically as part of your application’s initialization
and destroyed as part of your application’s termination. The Session variable must
remain active at all times; it can not be destroyed and recreated.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 699

SetAsHandle method

SetAsHandle method
Applies to
TClipboard object

Declaration
function SetAsHandle (Format: Word): THandle;
The SetAsHandle method places the data in the given format as a Windows handle. Once
your application gives the handle to the Clipboard, it should not delete the handle.
Instead, the Clipboard will delete the handle.
See the Windows API Help file for information about the available formats for Format
parameter.

Example
The following code gives the handle of bitmap graphic data to the Clipboard.
Clipboard.SetAsHandle(CF_BITMAP);

See also
FormatCount property, Formats property, GetAsHandle method, HasFormat method

SetBounds method
Applies to
All controls

Declaration
procedure Setbounds(ALeft, ATop, AWidth, AHeight: Integer);
The SetBounds method sets the component’s boundary properties, Left, Top, Width, and
Height, to the values passed in ALeft, ATop, AWidth, and AHeight, respectively.
SetBounds enables you to set more than one of the component’s boundary properties at a
time. Although you can always set the individual boundaries, using SetBounds enables
you to make several changes at once without repainting the control for each change.

Example
The following code doubles the size of a button control when the user clicks it:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.SetBounds(Left, Top, Height * 2, Width * 2);
end;
Note that you could use the following code instead, but each click would result in the
button being redrawn twice: once to change the height, and once to change the width:

700 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
SetComponent method
+
begin
Button1.Height := Button1.Height * 2;
+
Button1.Width := Button1.Width * 2;
end; +
See also +
Height property, Left property, Top property, Width property
+
SetComponent method +
Applies to +
TClipboard object
+
Declaration
procedure SetComponent(Component: TComponent); +
The SetComponent method copies a component to the Clipboard. Specify the component
you want copied as the value of the Component parameter.
+
Example
+
This example uses a button and a group box on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the button is copied to the Clipboard and then retrieved from the Clipboard and placed +
in the new parent of the button, the group box. The name of the original button is
changed to an empty string to avoid having two components with the same name at the +
same time.
implementation +
uses Clipbrd;
+
+
{$R *.DFM}
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Clipboard.SetComponent(Button1);
Button1.Name := '';
{ copies button to
{ prevents having two components with
the Clipboard
the same name
}
}
S
Clipboard.GetComponent(Self, GroupBox1); { retrieves button from Clipboard and }
end; { places it in the group box }
initialization
RegisterClasses([TButton]); { registers the TButton class }
end.

See also
AsText property, GetComponent method, Owner property, Parent property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 701

SetData method

SetData method
Applies to
TParam object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TCurrencyField,
TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField, TMemoField,
TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField, TWordField components

For TParam objects

Declaration
procedure SetData(Buffer: Pointer);
The SetData method copies a new value for the parameter in native format from Buffer.

Example
var I: Longint;
I := 1221;
{ Set the data }
Query1.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).SetData(@I);

For field components

Declaration
procedure SetData(Buffer: Pointer);
SetData is the method used to assign “raw” data to the field. Unlike the AsString or Text
properties, SetData performs no translation or interpretation of the data. Buffer must
have sufficient space allocated for the data. Use the DataSize property to determine the
space required. To set the data to NULL, pass nil for the Buffer parameter.

Example
{ Assign “raw” data to Field1 }
with Field1 do
begin
{ Allocate space }
GetMem(Buffer, DataSize);
{ Fill Buffer with the desired data }
...
{ Do the assignment }
Field1.SetData(Buffer)
{ Free the space }
FreeMem(Buffer, DataSize);
end;

702 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetFields method
+
See also
FieldDefs property, TFieldDef object +
SetFields method
+
Applies to
+
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components +
Declaration +
procedure SetFields(const Values: array of const);
SetFields assigns the values specified in the Values array parameter to the fields in the
+
dataset. If Values has fewer elements than there are fields, the remaining elements are
unchanged. To assign a null value to a field, use the keyword null. To not assign any +
value to a field, use nil; the field will then get its default value.
Before calling this method, an application must first call Edit to put the dataset in Edit
+
state. To then modify the current record in the database, it must then call Post.
Because this method depends explicitly on the structure of the underlying table, an
+
application should use it only if the table structure will not change. +
Example +
+
Table1.SetFields([208, 23.1]);

See also
Fields property +
SetFocus method
+
Applies to
+
All controls; TForm component S
Declaration
procedure SetFocus;
The SetFocus method gives the input focus to the control. If the control is a form, the
form calls the SetFocus method of its active control.

Example
When the user clicks the button on this form, the list box becomes the active control and
receives the input focus:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 703

SetFormOLEDropFormats procedure

ListBox1.SetFocus;
end;

See also
ActiveControl property, OnEnter event

SetFormOLEDropFormats procedure ToCtrl

Declaration
procedure SetFormOleDropFormats(Form: TForm; const Fmts: array of BOleFormat);
SetFormOLEDropFormats specifies which object formats can be dropped on a form that
was registered for drag-and-drop by the RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure. Use
SetFormOLEDropFormats to modify which objects can be dropped. The formats in the
Fmts array are registered so objects can be dropped on the form. Drop formats can be
deleted with the ClearFormOLEDropFormats procedure.

Example
The following code resets the OLE object drop format for Form1, assuming Fmts is an
array of BOLEFormat records.
SetFormOLEDropFormats(Form1, Fmts);

704 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetLink method
+
Example
with Table1 do +
begin
SetKey;
FieldByName(‘State’).AsString := ‘CA‘;
+
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Scotts Valley‘;
GotoKey;
+
end;
+
See also
IndexFields property, State property, TDataSetState type +
+
SetLink method
+
Applies to
TDDEClientConv component +
Declaration +
function SetLink(Service: string; Topic: string): Boolean;
The SetLink method specifies the service and topic of a DDE conversation and attempts
+
to open the link if ConnectMode is ddeAutomatic. The Service parameter defines the DDE
service and is assigned to the DDEService property. The Topic parameter defines the
+
DDE topic and is assigned to the DDETopic property.
If ConnectMode is ddeManual, you must call OpenLink to initiate the conversation after
+
calling SetLink. +
Example
The following code establishes a link with a DDE server. The service is specified in the
+
DDEService property of DDEClientConv1, and the topic is specified in the DDETopic
property of DDEClientConv1. If the link is established, a message is displayed. +
with DDEClientConv1 do
if SetLink(DDEService, DDETopic) then
S
MessageDlg(‘Link established.’, mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

See also
CloseLink method, OpenLink method

SetParams method
Applies to
TScrollBar component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 705

SetPrinter method

Declaration
procedure SetParams(APosition, AMin, AMax: Integer);
The SetParams method sets the Position, Min, and Max property values of a scroll bar all
at once.

Example
This example uses a scroll bar and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the minimum and maximum values of scroll bar are set, and the thumb tab moves to
one-fifth of the distance to the right:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ScrollBar1.SetParams(100, 0, 500)
end;

SetPrinter method
Applies to
TPrinter object

Declaration
procedure SetPrinter(ADevvice, ADriver, APort: PChar; ADeviceMode: THandle);
The SetPrinter method specifies a printer as the current printer. You should seldom, if
ever, need to call this method, but instead should access the printer you want in the
Printers property array. For more information, see the Windows API CreateDC function.

SetRange method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure SetRange(const StartValues, EndValues: array of const);
The SetRange method combines the functionality of the SetRangeStart, SetRangeEnd, and
ApplyRange methods. SetRange assigns the elements of StartValues to the beginning
index key, the elements of EndValues to the ending index key, and then calls ApplyRange.
This enables an application to filter the data visible to the dataset.
If either StartValues or EndValues has fewer elements than the number of fields in the
current index, then the remaining entries are set to NULL.
Note With Paradox or dBASE tables, these methods work only with indexed fields. With SQL
databases, they can work with any columns specified in the IndexFieldNames property.

706 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetRangeEnd method
+
Example
Table1.SetRange([1000], [2000]); +
See also +
KeyExclusive property
+
SetRangeEnd method +
Applies to +
TTable component
+
Declaration
procedure SetRangeEnd;
+
SetRangeEnd indicates that subsequent assignments to field values will specify the end
of the range of rows to include in the dataset. This enables an application to filter the
+
data that is visible to it. Any column values not specified are not considered. The
corresponding method EditRangeEnd indicates to keep existing range values and update
+
with the succeeding assignments.
Call ApplyRange to apply the range filter defined with SetRangeEnd and SetRangeStart.
+
SetRangeEnd differs from EditRangeEnd in that it clears all the elements of the range filter
to the default values (or NULL). EditRangeEnd leaves the elements of the range filter
+
with their current values. +
Note With Paradox or dBASE tables, these methods work only with indexed fields. With SQL
databases, they can work with any columns specified in the IndexFieldNames property. +
Example +
with Table1 do
begin +
SetRangeStart; { Set the beginning key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Felton‘;
SetRangeEnd; { Set the ending key }
S
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Scotts Valley‘;
ApplyRange; { Tell the dataset to establish the range }
end;

See also
CancelRange method, KeyExclusive property, EditRangeStart method, SetRange method,
SetRangeStart method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 707

SetRangeStart method

SetRangeStart method
Applies to
TTable component

Declaration
procedure SetRangeStart;
SetRangeStart indicates that subsequent assignments to field values will specify the start
of the range of rows to include in the dataset. This enables an application to filter the
data that is visible to it. Any column values not specified are not considered. The
corresponding method EditRangeStart indicates to keep existing range values and
update with the succeeding assignments.
Call ApplyRange to apply the range filter defined with SetRangeEnd and SetRangeStart.
SetRangeStart differs from EditRangeStart in that it clears all the elements of range filter
to the default values (or NULL). EditRangeStart leaves the elements of range filter with
their current values.
Note With Paradox or dBASE tables, these methods work only with indexed fields. With SQL
databases, they can work with any columns specified in the IndexFieldNames property.

Example
with Table1 do
begin
SetRangeStart; { Set the beginning key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Ben Lomond‘;
SetRangeEnd; { Set the ending key }
FieldByName(‘City’).AsString := ‘Scotts Valley‘;
ApplyRange; { Tell the dataset to establish the range }
end;

See also
EditRangeEnd method, KeyExclusive property, SetRangeEnd method

SetSelTextBuf method
Applies to
TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBMemo, TEdit, TMaskEdit, TMemo components

Declaration
procedure SetSelTextBuf(Buffer: PChar);
The SetSelTextBuf method sets the selected text in the edit box or memo control to the
text in the null-terminated string pointed to by Buffer.

708 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetTabFocus method

You should have no need to use the SetSelTextBuf method unless you are working with
+
strings longer than 255 characters. Because an Object Pascal string has a limit of 255
characters, such properties as Text for an edit box, Items for a list box, and Lines for a
+
memo control do not allow you to work with strings longer than 255 characters.
SetSelTextBuf and the corresponding GetSelTextBuf methods use null-terminated strings
+
that are up to 64K in length.
+
Example
This example uses a button and an edit box on a form. When the user selects text in the +
edit box and clicks the button, new text replaces the selected text. The string specified as
the parameter of the SetSelTextBuf is a null-terminated string of type PChar. +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Button1.Caption := 'Click me';
end; +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
Edit1.SetSelTextBuf('You clicked the button');
end;

See also
GetSelTextBuf method, SetTextBuf method
+
+
SetTabFocus method +
Applies to
TTabbedNotebook component
+
Declaration
+
procedure SetTabFocus(Index: Integer); +
The SetTabFocus changes the active page in the tabbed notebook control. The Index
parameter is the PageIndex value of the page, which indicates the page’s position in the
Pages property array. For example, the first page in the control has an index value of 0,
S
the second page has an index value of 1, and so on.

Example
The following code sets focus to the first page in TabbedNotebook1.
TabbedNoteBook1.SetTabFocus(0);

See also
ActivePage property, GetIndexForPage method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 709

SetText method

SetText method
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects

Declaration
procedure SetText(Text: PChar);
The SetText method writes an entire list of strings at one time. It is meant to be used with
components that contain multiple strings where you would find it convenient to treat all
the strings as one block. For example, SetText would be useful with a memo component,
which can hold multiple strings.
Specify the text you want write as the value of the Text parameter, making sure the
block of text to which you are referring is a null-terminated string.

Example
The following code uses SetText to write the contents of an edit box to Memo1.
var
TheText: array[0..255] of Char;
begin
StrPCopy(TheText, Edit1,Text);
Memo1.SetText(TheText);
end;

710 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetTextBuf procedure
+
Example
This example uses a button and an edit box on a form. When the user clicks the button,
text appears in the edit box. The string specified as the parameter of the SetTextBuf is a
+
null-terminated string, as it is of type PChar. +
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Caption := 'Click me';
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Edit1.SetTextBuf('You clicked the button');
+
end;
+
See also
GetTextBuf method, SetSelTextBuf method +
+
SetTextBuf procedure System
+
Declaration
procedure SetTextBuf(var F: Text; var Buf [ ; Size: Word ] );
+
The SetTextBuf procedure assigns an I/O buffer to a text file. +
F is a text file variable, Buf is any variable, and Size is a optional expression.
Each Text file variable has an internal 128-byte buffer that buffers Read and Write
+
operations. This buffer is adequate for most operations. However, heavily I/O-bound
programs benefit from a larger buffer to reduce disk head movement and file system
+
overhead.
SetTextBuf changes the text file F to use the buffer specified by Buf instead of F's internal
+
buffer. Size specifies the size of the buffer in bytes. If Size is omitted, SizeOf(Buf) is
assumed. The new buffer remains in effect until F is next passed to AssignFile.
+
SetTextBuf can be called immediately after Reset, Rewrite, and Append, but never apply it
to an open file.
S
If you call SetTextBuf on an open file once I/O operations have taken place, you could
lose data because of the change of buffer.
Delphi does not ensure that the buffer exists for the entire duration of I/O operations on
the file. A common error is to install a local variable as a buffer, then use the file outside
the procedure that declared the buffer.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 711

SetUpdateState method

Example
uses Dialogs;
var
F, FTwo: System.TextFile;
Ch: Char;
Buf: array[1..4095] of Char; { 4K buffer }
begin
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
AssignFile(F, ParamStr(1));
{ Bigger buffer for faster reads }
SetTextBuf(F, Buf);
Reset(F);
{ Dump text file into another file }
AssignFile(FTwo, 'WOOF.DOG');
Rewrite(FTwo);
while not Eof(f) do
begin
Read(F, Ch);
Write(FTwoCh);
end;
System.CloseFile(F);
System.CloseFile(FTwo);
end;
end;

See also
Append procedure, AssignFile procedure, Read procedure, Reset procedure, Rewrite
procedure, SizeOf function, Write procedure

SetUpdateState method
Applies to
TOutline component

Declaration
procedure SetUpdateState(Value: Boolean);
The SetUpdateState method sets the update state of the outline component. If you add or
delete an item from the outline, by default the outline component reindexes the
subsequent items that have indexes changed by the addition or deletion. For a large
outline, this can slow processing and consume a large amount of processing time. If you
have a large outline, or plan to add many items, you can turn off automatic reindexing
to speed up processing. You can quickly add items, but the indexes of all subsequent
items will no longer be valid. When you finish adding items, you should turn on
reindexing so the index values of the subsequent items are made valid again.
By passing True in the Value property of SetUpdateState, you turn off automatic
reindexing. This is functionally the same as calling the BeginUpdate method. By passing

712 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SetVariable method

False in the Value property of SetUpdateState, you turn on automatic indexing. This is
+
functionally the same as calling the EndUpdate method. +
Example
The following code turns off automatic reindexing on Outline1.
+
Outline1.SetUpdateState(True); +
SetVariable method
+
+
Applies to
TReport component +
Declaration +
function SetVariable(Name, Value: string): Boolean;
The SetVariable method changes the value of a report variable. The Name parameter
+
specifies which report variable changes, and the Value parameter specifies the new
value. Once the SetVariable method has been called, your application can call the +
RecalcReport method, which recalculates the report using the new value for the specified
report variable. +
The SetVariable method sends a DDE message to ReportSmith Runtime to change the
specified report variable with the new value, and looks for a DDE message from +
ReportSmith Runtime in return. If SetVariable returns True, the message was sent to
ReportSmith Runtime successfully. If it returns False, ReportSmith Runtime could not +
receive the message at the current time.
To learn more about report variables, see your ReportSmith documentation. +
Note Before calling SetVariable, you must load a report by specifying the ReportName
property.
+
Example
+
The following code attempts to set the ‘LastName’ report variable to ‘Schaeferle’. If
successful, it then recalculates the report.
S
if Report1.SetVariable(‘LastName’, ‘Schaeferle’) then
Report1.RecalcReport;

See also
RecalcReport method, SetVariableLines method

SetVariableLines method
Applies to
TReport component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 713

Shape property

Declaration
function SetVariableLines(Name, Value: TStrings): Boolean;
The SetVariableLines method changes the value of a report variable. The Name parameter
specifies which report variable changes, and the Value parameter specifies the new
value, which is a list of strings. Once the SetVariableLines method has been called, your
application can call the RecalcReport method, which recalculates the report using the
new value for the specified report variable.
The SetVariableLines method sends a DDE message to ReportSmith Runtime to change
the specified report variable with the new value, and looks for a DDE message from
ReportSmith Runtime in return. If SetVariableLines returns True, the message was sent to
ReportSmith Runtime successfully. If it returns False, ReportSmith Runtime could not
receive the message at the current time.
To learn more about report variables, see your ReportSmith documentation.
Note Before calling SetVariable, you must load a report by specifying the ReportName
property.

See also
RecalcReport method, SetVariable method

Shape property
Applies to
TBevel, TShape components
The Shape property determines the visual shape of the component.

For bevels

Declaration
property Shape: TBevelShape;
The Shape property determines the shape the bevel control assumes. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
bsBox The bevel assumes a box shape.
bsFrame The bevel assumes a frame shape.
bsTopLine The bevel becomes a line at the top of the bevel control.
bsBottomLine The bevel becomes a line at the bottom of the bevel control.
bsLeftLine The bevel becomes a line at the left side of the bevel control.
bsRightLine The bevel becomes a line at the right side of the bevel control.

714 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Shape property
+
Example
This code uses a bevel control and a button. When the user clicks the button, the bevel
becomes a raised frame:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
Bevel1.Shape := bsFrame;
Bevel1.Style := bsRaised;
end;
+
For shape controls +
Declaration
+
property Shape: TShapeType; +
The Shape property determines how a TShape component appears on a form. These are
the possible values and their meanings: +
Value Meaning +
+
stEllipse The shape is an ellipse.
stRectangle The shape is a rectangle.

+
stRoundRect The shape is a rectangle with rounded corners.
stRoundSquare The shape is a square with rounded corners.

+
stSquare The shape is a square.
stCircle The shape is a circle.

Example +
This example uses a shape component on a form. When the user clicks the shape, it
becomes a ball with red stripes: +
procedure TForm1.Shape1MouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
+
with Shape1 do
begin
S
Shape := stCircle;
Brush.Color := clRed;
Brush.Style := bsVertical;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 715

Shareable property

Shareable property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Shareable: Boolean;
The Shareable property determines whether more than one application can share a
multimedia device. If Shareable is False, no other components or applications can access
the device. If True, more than one component or application can access the device.
Shareable defaults to False.
You should set Shareable before opening a device. Some devices aren’t shareable. If you
set Shareable to True and try to open a device that isn’t shareable by more than one
application, the Open method fails and the error code is returned to the Error property.

Example
The following code sets the Shareable property of a media player named MediaPlayer1 to
True before attempting to open the Microsoft Video for Windows device. Attach this
code to the OnClick event handler of a bitmap button named BitBtn1. If an exception
occurs when the Open method is called, a message dialog box displays the error. Note
that this example assumes that C:\KA-BAR.AVI is a valid video file name.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
try
FileName := 'c:\Ka-Bar.AVI';
Shareable := True;
Open;
except
MessageDlg(MediaPlayer1.ErrorMessage, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;
end;

ShortCut function Menus

Declaration
function ShortCut(Key: Word; Shift: TShiftState): TShortCut;
The ShortCut function creates a menu shortcut at run time. Specify a Key value by using
a virtual key code.You can find a table of virtual key codes in the Help system; search
for the topic Virtual Key Codes. Specify a Shift value by using a set of type TShiftState.
For example, to specify the Shift key, use the set [ssShift]. To specify a Shift and Ctrl key
combination, use the set [ssShift, ssCtrl].

716 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ShortCut property

Once you create a shortcut, you can assign it to the ShortCut property of a menu item.
+
The TextToShortCut function can also create a shortcut. This function converts a string to +
a shortcut; therefore, it’s useful when you want to let the user specify the shortcut.
TextToShortCut executes much more slowly, however, so you should use the ShortCut +
function whenever possible.
+
Example
This code creates a shortcut, Ctrl+O, at run time and assigns it to the Open command on a
File menu.
+
begin +
+
OpenCommand.ShortCut := ShortCut(Word('O'), [ssCtrl]);
end;

See also
ShortCut property, ShortCutToKey procedure, ShortCutToText function, TextToShortCut
+
function +
ShortCut property +
Applies to
+
TMenuItem component
+
Declaration
property ShortCut: TShortCut;
+
The ShortCut property determines the key strokes users can use to access a menu item. +
The key combination the user can use appears to the right of the menu item in the menu.
To see an example of menu shortcuts, pull down the Delphi Edit menu and note the
menu shortcuts on the right side of some of the editing commands.
+
Usually you set menu shortcuts for menu items in the Object Inspector, which gives you +
S
a long list to choose from. If you create menu items at run time, however, you can create
shortcuts for them too. Choose from these functions and procedures for more
information about working with shortcuts at run time:

Routine Purpose
ShortCut function Creates a shortcut for a menu item programmatically.
ShortCutToKey procedure Obtains the virtual key code and shift state of an existing shortcut.
ShortCutToText function Returns the text string of an existing shortcut. Use this function to display a
shortcut you created at run time on a menu item.
TextToShortCut function Converts a text string to a shortcut. Use this function to allow users to specify
the shortcut characters.

Example
This code creates a shortcut, Ctrl+C, at run time and assigns it to the Close command on a
File menu.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 717

ShortCutToKey procedure

begin
CloseCommand.ShortCut := ShortCut(Word('C'), [ssCtrl]);
end;

ShortCutToKey procedure Menus

Declaration
procedure ShortCutToKey(ShortCut: TShortCut; var Key: Word; var Shift: TShiftState);
The ShortCutToKey procedure breaks a menu shortcut apart into its virtual key code and
shift state parts.

Example
The following code redefines the ShortCut of CloseCommand if the original short cut
used the [ssCtrl] shift state.
var
TheKey: Word;
TheShiftState: TShiftState;
begin
ShortCutToKey(CloseCommand.ShortCut, TheKey, TheShiftState);
if TheShiftState = [ssCtrl] then
CloseCommand.ShortCut := ShortCut(Word('C'), [ssShift]);
end;

See also
ShortCut function, ShortCut property, ShortCutToText function, TextToShortCut function

ShortCutToText function Menus

Declaration
function ShortCutToText(ShortCut: TShortCut): string;
The ShortCutToText function converts a shortcut into a string. Your application can use
this function any time it needs to display a menu shortcut as a string.
Note The ShortCut property of a menu item is of type TShortCut, so you can assign a shortcut
you create at run time using either the ShortCut function or the TextToShortCut function
directly to the menu item’s ShortCut property. You don’t need to use ShortCutToText to
convert the shortcut to a text string first.

Example
This code converts the menu shortcut assigned to the OpenCommand ShortCut
property to a string and displays it in an edit box:
Edit1.Text := ShortCutToText(OpenCommand.ShortCut);

718 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Show method
+
See also
ShortCut function, ShortCut property, ShortCutToKey procedure, TextToShortCut
function
+
+
Show method +
Applies to
All controls; TForm component
+
Declaration
+
procedure Show; +
The Show method makes a form or control visible by setting its Visible property to True.
If the Show method of a form is called and the form is somehow obscured, Show tries to +
make the form visible by bringing it to the front with the BringToFront method.
+
Example
This code puts away the current form and displays another: +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Form1.Hide;
Unit2.Form2.Show;
end;
+
See also
+
Hide method, ShowModal method, Visible property +
ShowAccelChar property +
Applies to
+
TLabel component
S
Declaration
property ShowAccelChar: Boolean;
The ShowAccelChar property determines how an ampersand in the caption of a label
appears. If ShowAccelChar is True, an ampersand appears as an underline under the
character to its right in the caption indicating the underlined character is an accelerator
character. If ShowAccelChar is False, the ampersand character appears as an ampersand.

Example
This example uses two labels on a form. The first label has a caption with an accelerator
character in it. The second label also includes an ampersand, but it does not appear as an
accelerator character.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 719

ShowException method

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Label1.ShowAccelChar := True;
Label1.Caption := 'An &Underlined character appears here';
Label2.ShowAccelChar := False;
Label2.Caption := 'An ampersand (&) appears here';
end;

See also
Caption property, FocusControl property

ShowException method
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
procedure ShowException(E: Exception);
The ShowException method displays an exception that occurred in your application in a
message box.

ShowException procedure SysUtils

Declaration
procedure ShowException(ExceptObject: TObject; ExceptAddr: Pointer);
This procedure displays the message associated with an exception, together with the
exception’s physical address. The exception’s address is converted to a logical segment
address that can be used with Search|Find Error menu command to find the statement
that raised the exception.

ShowGlyphs property
Applies to
TFileListBox component

Declaration
property ShowGlyphs: Boolean;
The value of the ShowGlyphs property determines whether glyphs (bitmaps) appear next
to the file names listed in the file list box. If ShowGlyphs is True, the glyphs appear; if
ShowGlyphs is False, the glyphs don’t appear. The default value is False.

720 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ShowHint property
+
Example
If the files in the list box don’t have the glyphs next to them, this line of code redisplays
the files with the glyphs included:
+
FileListBox1.ShowGlyphs := True; +
ShowHint property
+
+
Applies to
All controls, TApplication component +
The ShowHint property is used at both the control and the application level.
+
For all controls +
Declaration +
property ShowHint: Boolean;
+
Description
The ShowHint property determines if the control should display a Help Hint when the
+
user’s mouse pointer rests momentarily on the control. The Help Hint is the value of the
Hint property, which is displayed in a box just beneath the control. If ShowHint property +
is True, the Help Hint will appear.
If ShowHint is False, the Help Hint may or may not appear. If ParentShowHint is False
+
also, the Help Hint won’t appear. If, however, ParentShowHint is True, whether or not
the Help Hint appears depends on the setting of the ShowHint property of the control’s +
parent. For example, imagine a check box within a group box. If the ShowHint property
of the group box is True and the ParentShowHint property of the check box is True, but +
the ShowHint property of the check box is False, the check box will still display its Help
Hint. +
The default value is False.
Changing the ShowHint value to True automatically sets the ParentShowHint property to
S
False.

Example
This example uses an edit box on a form. When the application runs and the user places
the mouse pointer over the edit box, a Help Hint in an aqua box appears:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.ShowHint := True;
Application.HintColor := clAqua;
Application.HintPause := 1000;
Edit1.ShowHint := True;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 721

Showing property

Edit1.Hint := 'Enter your name';

end;

See also
HintColor property, HintPause property, ParentShowHint property, ShowHint for the
application

For applications
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property ShowHint: Boolean;
Run-time only. The ShowHint property determines whether Help Hints are enabled or
disabled for the entire application. If ShowHint is True, Help Hints are enabled; if
ShowHint is False, Help Hints are disabled. The default value is True.
Even if ShowHint is True, a Help Hint won’t appear for a particular control unless its
own ShowHint property is True, or its ParentShowHint property is True and its parent’s
ShowHint property is True.
Setting ShowHint for the application to False disables all Help Hints, regardless of the
value of the ShowHint properties for individual controls.

Example
This example includes an control that has a Hint property value and has its ShowHint
property value set to True. When the application runs and the user places the mouse
cursor over the control, a Help Hint appears for the control in a red hint box after a delay
of 1000 milliseconds:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.ShowHint := True;
Application.HintColor := clAqua;
Application.HintPause := 1000;
end;

See also
Hint property, HintColor property, HintPause property

Showing property
Applies to
All controls

722 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ShowMessage procedure
+
Declaration
property Showing: Boolean; +
Run-time and read only. The Showing property specifies whether a component is
currently showing on the screen. If the Visible properties of a component and all the
+
parents in its parent hierarchy are True, Showing is True. If one of the ancestors of the
component has a Visible property value of False, Showing is False. +
Example +
The following code adds the name of all controls in a form for which Showing is False to
a list box. When Button2 is clicked, ListBox1 is filled with the names of all windowed +
controls that aren’t showing in Form1.
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject); +
var
I: Integer;
begin
+
for I := 0 to ComponentCount -1 do
if Components[I] is TWinControl then
+
if not TWinControl(Components[I]).Showing then
ListBox1.Items.Add(Components[I].Name); +
end;
+
See also
Hide method, Show method +
ShowMessage procedure Dialogs
+
Declaration
+
procedure ShowMessage(const Msg: string); +
The ShowMessage procedure displays a message box with an OK button. The Msg
parameter is the message string that appears within the message box. The name of your +
application’s executable file appears as the caption of the message box.
S
Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message dialog
box appears with instructions to push the OK button.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ShowMessage('Push this button');
end;

See also
MessageBox method, MessageDlg function, MessageDlgPos function, ShowMessagePos
procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 723

ShowMessagePos procedure

ShowMessagePos procedure Dialogs

Declaration
procedure ShowMessagePos(const Msg: string; X, Y: Integer);
The ShowMessagePos procedure displays a message box with an OK button at a specified
screen location. The Msg parameter is the message string that appears within the
message box. The X and Y parameters are the screen coordinates for the upper left
corner of the message box. The name of your application’s executable file appears as the
caption of the message box.

Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message dialog
box appears with a comment about Delphi programmers. The upper left corner of the
message box appears at screen location 100, 100.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ShowMessagePos('Delphi programmers are more productive', 100, 100);
end;

See also
MessageBox method, MessageDlg function, MessageDlgPos function, ShowMessage
procedure

ShowModal method
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
function ShowModal: Integer;
The ShowModal method makes a form the active form, just like Show, but also makes the
form modal; therefore the user must put the form away before the application can
continue to run.
When the user chooses to close the form in some manner, the value of the form’s
ModalResult property changes to a nonzero value. When ModalResult has a nonzero
value, the form terminates, and the ModalResult value is passed as the result of the
ShowModal method.

Example
The following code displays a message box after BtnBottomDlg is shown modally and is
closed by an OK button.
BtnBottomDlg.ShowModal;
if BtnBottomDlg.ModalResult=mrOK then

724 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

MessageDlg('OK!', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
Sin function
+
This code uses two forms and a button on the first form. The user must close Form2 +
before the focus returns to Form1.
uses Unit2;
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Form2.ShowModal;
end; +
See also +
ModalResult property, Show method
+
Sin function System +
Declaration +
function Sin(X: Real): Real;
The Sin function returns the sine of the argument.
+
X is a real-type expression. Sin returns the sine of the angle X in radians. +
Example +
var
R: Real; +
S: string;
begin
R := Sin(Pi);
+
Str(R:5:3, S);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The Sin of Pi is ' + S);
+
end;
+
See also
ArcTan function, Cos function, TypeOf function S
Size property
Applies to
TFieldDef, TFont object; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBytesField, TGraphicField, TIntegerField,
TMemoField, TStringField, TTimeField, TVarBytesField components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 725

Size property

For fonts
Declaration
property Size: Integer;
The Size property value is the size of the font, which is the height of the font minus the
internal leading that appears at the top of the font. Whenever you specify a font size in
points, use the Size property. If you are concerned with the height of the font on the
screen—the number of pixels the font needs—use the Height property instead of Size.
Users usually specify font sizes in points within an application, while programmers are
usually concerned with the actual height of the font—which includes the internal
leading—when displaying a font on the screen.
Delphi determines the value of the Size property using this formula:
Font.Size = -Font.Height * 72 / Font.PixelsPerInch
Therefore, whenever you enter a positive value for the Size property, the font’s Height
property value changes to a negative number. Conversely, if you enter a positive value
for the Height property, the font’s Size property changes to a negative number.

Example
This examples uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the size of the
font used by the button changes to 24 points.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Font.Size := 24;
end;

See also
Font property, Height property, PixelsPerInch property

For TFieldDef objects

Declaration
property Size: Integer;
Run-time and read only. Reports the size of the TFieldDef object. Size is meaningful only
for a TFieldDef object with one of the following TFieldType values: ftString, ftBCD, ftBytes,
ftVarBytes, ftBlob, ftMemo or ftGraphic. For string and byte fields, Size is the number of
bytes reserved in the table for the field. For a BCD field, it is the number of digits
following the decimal point. For a BLOB, memo, or graphic field it is the number of
bytes in the field.

Example
{ Allocate enough memory to make a copy of the BLOB }
GetMem(PBlob, BlobFieldDef.Size);

726 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SizeOf function
+
See also
TField component +
For field components +
Declaration +
property Size: Integer; +
For a TStringField, Size is the number of bytes reserved for the field in the dataset. For a
TBCDField, it is the number of digits following the decimal point. For a TBlobField,
TBytesField, TVarBytesField, TMemoField, or TGraphicField, it is the size of the field as
+
stored in the table. +
SizeOf function System
+
Declaration
+
function SizeOf(X): Word; +
The SizeOf function returns the number of bytes occupied by X.
X is either a variable reference or a type identifier.
+
Always use SizeOf when passing values to FillChar, Move, and GetMem. +
When applied to an instance of an object type that has a virtual method table (VMT),
SizeOf returns the size stored in the VMT. +
Example +
type
CustRec = record
+
Name: string[30];
Phone: string[14]; +
end;
var
P: ^CustRec;
S
begin
GetMem(P, SizeOf(CustRec));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The size of the record is ' + IntToStr(SizeOf(CustRec)));
FreeMem (P, SizeOf(CustRec));
Readln;
end;

See also
FillChar procedure, GetMem procedure, Move procedure

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 727

SmallChange property

SmallChange property
Applies to
TScrollBar component

Declaration
property SmallChange: TScrollBarInc;
The SmallChange property determines how far the thumb tab moves when the user
clicks the arrows at the end of the scroll bar to scroll or uses the arrow keys on the
keyboard. The default value is 1.
For example, if SmallChange is 1000, each time the user clicks an arrow on the scroll bar,
the thumb tab moves 1000 positions. The number of positions is determined by the
difference between the Max property value and the Min property value. If the Max
property is 30000 and the Min property is 0, the user would need to click an arrow on
the scroll bar 30 times to move the thumb tab from one end of the scroll bar to the other.

Example
This code determines that when the user clicks an arrow on the scroll bar, the thumb tab
moves 10 positions on the scroll bar:
ScrollBar1.SmallChange := 10;

See also
LargeChange property, Max property, Position property

Sort method
Applies to
TStringList object

Declaration
procedure Sort;
The Sort method sorts the strings in a string list object in alphabetical order.

Example
The following code sorts MyStringList.
MyStringList.Sort;

728 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Sorted property
+
Sorted property +
Applies to
TStringList object; TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBListBox, TListBox components +
For combo and list boxes
+
Declaration
+
property Sorted: Boolean; +
The Sorted property indicates whether the items in a list box or combo box are arranged
alphabetically. To sort the items, set the Sorted value to True. If Sorted is False, the items
+
are unsorted.
If you add or insert items when Sorted is True, Delphi automatically places them in
+
alphabetical order. +
Example
This example uses an edit box, a list box, and two buttons on a form. The buttons are
+
named Add and Sort. When the user clicks the Add button, the text in the edit box is
added to the list in the list box. When the user clicks the Sort button, the list in the list +
box is sorted and remains sorted, even if additional strings are added:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('Not'); +
Listbox1.Items.Add('In');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Alphabetical');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Order');
+
end;
procedure TForm1.AddClick(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add(Edit1.Text);
+
end;
procedure TForm1.SortClick(Sender: TObject);
S
begin
ListBox1.Sorted := True;
end;

See also
Add method, Insert method, Items property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 729

Source property

For string list objects

Declaration
property Sorted: Boolean;
The value of the Sorted property determines the order of the strings in the list of strings
maintained by the string list. If Sorted is True, the strings are sorted in ascending order. If
Sorted is False, the strings are unsorted.

Example
This example uses a list box on a form. When the application runs, a string list object is
created and three strings are added to it. The strings are sorted and added to the list box,
where they appear in their sorted order:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
MyList: TStringList;
begin
MyList := TStringList.Create;
MyList.Add('Plants');
MyList.Add('Animals');
MyList.Add('Minerals');
MyList.Sorted := True;
ListBox1.Items.AddStrings(MyList);
MyList.Free;
end;

See also
Add method, IndexOf method, Sort method, Strings property

Source property
Applies to
TBatchMove component

Declaration
property Source: TDataSet;
Source specifies a dataset (a TQuery or TTable component) corresponding to an existing
source table.

Example
BatchMove1.Source := Table1;

730 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Spacing property
+
See also
Destination property +
Spacing property
+
Applies to
+
TBitBtn, TSpeedButton components +
Declaration +
property Spacing: Integer;
The Spacing property determines where the image and text appear on a bitmap or speed
+
button. Spacing determines the number of pixels between the image (specified in the
Glyph property) and the text (specified in the Caption property). The default value is 4. +
If Spacing is a positive number, its value is the number of pixels between the image and
text. If Spacing is 0, no pixels will be between the image and text. If Spacing is –1, the text
+
appears centered between the image and the button edge. The number of pixels
between the image and text is equal to the number of pixels between the text and the +
button edge opposite the glyph.
+
Example
This example loads a bitmap from a file when the form is created and places the bitmap
20 pixels from the right side of the button text:
+
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); +
begin
BitBtn1.Glyph.LoadFromFile(‘c:\delphi\bin\mybitmap.bmp’);
BitBtn1.Layout := blGlyphLeft;
+
BitBtn1.Spacing := 20;
end;
+
See also
+
Caption property, Layout property, Margin property
S
SPtr function System
Declaration
function SPtr: Word;
The SPtr function returns the offset of the stack pointer within the stack segment.

Example
function MakeHexWord(w: Word): string;
const
hexChars: array [0..$F] of Char =

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 731

SQL property

'0123456789ABCDEF';
var
HexStr : string;
begin
HexStr := '';
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Hi(w) and $F];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) shr 4];
HexStr := HexStr + hexChars[Lo(w) and $F];
MakeHexWord := HexStr;
end;
var
i: Integer;
Y: Integer;
S: string;
begin
Y := 10;
S := 'The current code segment is $' + MakeHexWord(CSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
end;

732 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Sqr function

The SQL property holds the text of the SQL statement that will be executed when Open
+
or ExecSQL is called. Once a query has been executed by Open, you must call the Close
method before you can change the SQL text.
+
You can create the text for the SQL property: +
Delphi also supports heterogeneous queries against more than one server or table type (for
example, data from an Oracle table and a Paradox table). +
Note The SQL property may contain only one complete SQL statement at a time. In general,
multiple statements are not allowed. Some servers support multiple statement “batch”
+
syntax; if the server supports this, then such statements are allowed.
+
See also
Text property
+
+
Sqr function System
+
Declaration
function Sqr(X: Real): (Real);
+
The Sqr function returns the square of the argument. +
X is a real-type expression. The result, of the same type as X, is the square of X, or X*X.
+
Example
var
+
S, Temp: string;
begin
+
Str(Sqr(5.0):3:1, Temp);
S := '5 squared is ' + Temp + #13#10; +
+
Str(Sqrt(2.0):5:4, Temp);
S := S + 'The square root of 2 is ' + Temp;
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;
S
See also
Sqrt function

Sqrt function System

Declaration
function Sqrt(X: Real): Real;
The Sqrt function returns the square root of the argument.
X is a real-type expression. The result is the square root of X.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 733

SSeg function

Example
var
S, Temp: string;
begin
Str(Sqr(5.0):3:1, Temp);
S := '5 squared is ' + Temp + #13#10;
Str(Sqrt(2.0):5:4, Temp);
S := S + 'The square root of 2 is ' + Temp;
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

SSeg function System

Declaration
function SSeg: Word;
The SSeg function returns the current value of the SS register.
The result, of type Word, is the segment address of the stack segment.

734 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

S := 'The global data segment is $' + MakeHexWord(DSeg);
Start property
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S); +
+
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack segment is $' + MakeHexWord(SSeg);
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'The stack pointer is at $' + MakeHexWord(SPtr);
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S); +
+
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'i is at offset $' + MakeHexWord(Ofs(i));
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
Y := Y + Canvas.TextHeight(S) + 5;
S := 'in segment $' + MakeHexWord(Seg(i));
+
Canvas.TextOut(5, Y, S);
end;
+
See also +
CSeg function, DSeg function, SPtr function
+
Start property +
Applies to +
TMediaPlayer component
+
Declaration
property Start: Longint;
+
The Start property specifies the starting position within the currently loaded medium.
Start is the beginning of the medium for devices that don’t use tracks, or the beginning
+
of the first track for devices that use tracks. Start is defined when a multimedia device is
opened with the Open method. Start is specified according to the current time format,
+
which is stored in the TimeFormat property. Start is read only at run time and is
unavailable at design time. S
Example
The following code displays the start position of the Microsoft Video for Windows file in
an edit box named Edit1. Attach the code to the OnClick event handler of a bitmap
button named BitBtn1. The code assumes Video for Windows has been installed and a
video file named NOTES.AVI is present.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do
begin
try
FileName := 'NOTES.AVI';
Open;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 735

StartMargin property

Edit1.Text := IntToStr(MediaPlayer1.Start);
except
MessageDlg(MediaPlayer1.ErrorMessage, mtError, [mbOk], 0);
end;
end;
end;

736 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StartPos property
+
Declaration
property StartPage: Word; +
The value of the StartPage property determines which page you want the report to start
printing from. The default value is 1, indicating the first page. You can change that value
+
to begin printing the report on some other page.
+
Example
The following code determines the page on which to start printing the report from an +
edit box.
Report1.StartPage := StrToInt(Edit1.Text);
+
See also
+
EndPage property, PrintCopies property, Print method
+
StartPos property +
Applies to +
TMediaPlayer component
+
Declaration
property StartPos: Longint;
+
Run-time only. The StartPos property specifies the position within the currently loaded
medium from which to begin playing or recording. StartPos is specified using the
+
current time format, which is specified in the TimeFormat property. +
The StartPos property affects only the next Play or StartRecording method called after
setting StartPos. You must reset StartPos to affect any subsequent calls to Play or
StartRecording.
+
StartPos does not affect the current position of the medium (specified in the Position +
property) until the next Play or StartRecording method is called.
S
Example
The following procedure begins playing the .WAV audio file from the middle of the file.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
FileName := 'd:\winapps\sounds\cartoon.wav';
Open;
StartPos := TrackLength[1] div 2;
Play;
end;
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 737

StartRecording method

738 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Use this method only when connected to a server database.
State property
+
Example
+
with Database1 do +
begin
StartTransaction;
{ Update one or more records in tables linked to Database1 }
+
...
Commit;
+
end;
+
State property +
Applies to +
TCheckBox, TDBCheckBox, TDataSource, TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components
+
For check boxes +
Declaration +
+
property State: TCheckBoxState;
The State property determines the various states a check box control can have. These are
the possible values:
+
Value
cbUnchecked
Meaning
The check box has no check mark indicating the user hasn’t selected the option. +
cbChecked
cbGrayed
The check box has a check mark in it indicating the user has selected the option.
The check box is gray indicating a third state that is neither checked nor unchecked.
Your application determines the meaning of a grayed check box.
+
State is a run-time only property of a database check box component.
+
Example
S
This code examples uses three check boxes on a form. When the form is created, the
code sets the initial state of each of the check boxes: the first check box is checked, the
second check box is dimmed (or grayed), and the third check box is unchecked:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
CheckBox1.State := cbChecked;
CheckBox2.State := cbGrayed;
CheckBox3.State := cbUnChecked;
end;

See also
AllowGrayed property, Checked property

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 739

Step method

For data source components

Declaration
property State: TDataSetState;

Description
State reads the current status of the dataset component. Possible values are those of the
TDataSetState type: dsInactive, dsBrowse, dsEdit, dsInsert, dsSetKey, or dsCalcFields. The
value of State is the same as that of the State property of DataSet, except that when
Enabled is False or DataSet has not been assigned a value, State will be dsInactive.

Example
if DataSource1.Dataset <> nil then
PostButton.Enabled := DataSource1.State in [dsEdit, dsInsert];

For tables, queries, and stored procedures

Declaration
property State: TDataSetState;
Run-time and read only. The State property specifies the current state of the dataset. The
possible values are those of the TDataSetState type:
• dsInactive when the dataset is closed
• dsBrowse when the dataset is in Browse state
• dsEdit when the dataset is in Edit state
• dsInsert when the dataset is in Insert state
• dsSetKey when the dataset is in SetKey state
• dsCalcFields when the OnCalcFields event is called.

Example
{ Open the dataset if it is not already }
if Table1.State = dsInactive then Table1.Active := True;

Step method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure Step;

740 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StmtHandle property

The Step method steps forward a number of frames (determined by the Frames property)
+
in the currently loaded medium. Step is called when the Step button on the media player
control is clicked at run time.
+
Upon completion, Step stores a numerical error code in the Error property and the +
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the +
Step method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Step generates an
OnNotify event. +
Example +
The following example lets the user pick an .AVI video file using OpenDialog1 and
opens that file in MediaPlayer1. The 'Step' button can then be used to step forward
through the .AVI clip. This could be used to hide MediaPlayer1 if you wanted to design
+
your own user interface for the media player. +
procedure TForm1.FormClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Filename := '*.*';
+
if OpenDialog1.Execute then begin
MediaPlayer1.Filename := OpenDialog1.Filename;
+
MediaPlayer1.Open;
end; +
+
end;
procedure TForm1.BackClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
MediaPlayer1.Step;
end;
+
See also
+
Back method, Capabilities property +
StmtHandle property +
Applies to
S
TQuery, TStoredProc component

Declaration
property StmtHandle: HDBIStmt;
Run-time and read only. The StmtHandle property enables an application to make direct
calls to the Borland Database Engine (BDE) API using the result of the last query. Under
most circumstances you should not need to use this property, unless your application
requires some functionality not encapsulated in the VCL.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 741

Stop method

Stop method
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
procedure Stop;
The Stop method stops playing or recording. Stop is called when the Stop button on the
media player control is clicked at run time.
Upon completion, Stop stores a numerical error code in the Error property, and the
corresponding error message in the ErrorMessage property.
The Wait property determines whether control is returned to the application before the
Stop method has completed. The Notify property determines whether Stop generates an
OnNotify event.

Example
The following procedure stops the currently playing multimedia device when Button2 is
clicked.
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MediaPlayer1.Stop;
end;

See also
Pause method, PauseOnly method, Play method, StartRecording method

Storage property
Applies to
TOLEContainer component

Declaration
property Storage: IStorage;
Read-only. The Storage property allows access to the OLE IStorage interface of an OLE
container component.
Note The concept of IStorage is described in detail in OLE 2.0 documentation such as the
Microsoft OLE 2.0 SDK.

See also
LoadFromFile method, SaveToFile method

742 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StoredProcName property
+
StoredProcName property +
Applies to
TStoredProc component +
Declaration +
property StoredProcName: string; +
StoredProcName is the name of the stored procedure on the server.
Oracle servers allow more than one stored procedure with the same name. Set the
+
Overload property to specify the procedure to execute on an Oracle server.
+
Example
StoredProc1.StoredProcName := ‘FOO’;
+
+
Str procedure System +
Declaration
procedure Str(X [: Width [: Decimals ]]; var S);
+
The Str procedure converts X to a string representation according to the Width and +
Decimals formatting parameters. The effect is like a call to Write except the resulting
string is stored in S instead of being written to a text file. +
X is an integer-type or real-type expression. Width and Decimals are integer-type
expressions. S is a string-type variable or a zero-based character array variable if +
extended syntax is enabled.
+
Example
function MakeItAString(I: Longint): string;
+
{ Convert any integer type to a string }
var S
S: string[11];
begin
Str(I, S);
IntToStr := S;
end;
begin
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, MakeItAString(-5322));
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 743

StrAlloc function

StrAlloc function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrAlloc(Size: Word): PChar;
This function allocates a buffer for a null-terminated string with a maximum length of
Size - 1 (1 byte must be reserved for the termination character). The maximum value of
Size is 65,526. The result points to the location where the first character of the string is to
be stored. A 16-bit number giving the total amount of memory allocated is stored in the
two bytes preceding the first character; it is equal to Size + 2. If space for a string is
allocated with StrAlloc, it should be deallocated via StrDispose.
StrAlloc is used by NewStr and is a general purpose routine.

StrBufSize function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrBufSize(Str: PChar): Word;
This function returns the maximum number of characters that can be stored in a string
buffer allocated by StrAlloc. This number includes the termination character. If Str does
not point to a string buffer allocated by StrAlloc, no error message is returned, and the
result is unpredictable.

StrCat function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrCat(Dest, Source: PChar): PChar;
The StrCat function appends a copy of Source to the end of Dest and returns the
concatenated string.
StrCat does not perform any length checking. The destination buffer must have room for
at least StrLen(Dest)+StrLen(Source)+1 characters.
If you want length checking, use the StrLCat function.

Example
uses SysUtils;
const
Obj: PChar = 'Object';
Pascal: PChar = 'Pascal';
var
S: array[0..15] of Char;
begin
StrCopy(S, Obj);

744 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StrCat(S, ' ');
StrComp function
+
StrCat(S, Pascal);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S));
+
end;
+
See also
StrLCat function +
+
StrComp function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function StrComp(Str1, Str2 : PChar): Integer;
+
The StrComp function compares Str1 to Str2. +
Return value Condition +
+
<0 if Str1< Str2
=0 if Str1= Str2

+
>0 if Str1 > Str2

Example
uses SysUtils; +
const
S1: PChar = 'Wacky';
+
S2: PChar = 'Code';
var
+
C: Integer;
Result: string; +
begin
C := StrComp(S1, S2);
if C < 0 then Result := ' is less than ' else
+
if C > 0 then Result := ' is greater than ' else
Result := ' is equal to ';
S
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S1) + Result + StrPas(S2));
end;

See also
StrIComp function, StrLComp function, StrLIComp function

StrCopy function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrCopy(Dest, Source: PChar): PChar;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 745

StrDispose function

The StrCopy function copies Source to Dest and returns Dest.

StrCopy does not perform any length checking. The destination buffer must have room
for at least StrLen(Source)+1 characters.
If you want to use length checking, use the StrLCopy function.

Example
uses SysUtils;
var
S: array[0..12] of Char;
begin
StrCopy(S, 'ObjectPascal');
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S));
end;

See also
StrECopy function, StrLCopy function

StrDispose function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrDispose(Str: PChar);
The StrDispose function disposes of a string on a heap that was previously allocated with
StrNew.
If Str is nil, StrDispose does nothing.

StrECopy function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrECopy(Dest, Source: PChar): PChar;
The StrECopy function copies Source to Dest and returns StrEnd(Dest).
StrECopy does not perform any length checking. The destination buffer must have room
for at least StrLen(Source)+1 characters.
Nested calls to StrECopy to concatenate a sequence of strings will run more efficiently
than multiple calls to StrCat.

746 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StrEnd function
+
Example
uses SysUtils; +
const
Turbo: PChar = 'Object';
+
Pascal: PChar = 'Pascal';
var +
+
S: array[0..15] of Char;
begin
StrECopy(StrECopy(StrECopy(S, Turbo), ' '), Pascal);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S));
end; +
See also +
StrCat function, StrCopy function, StrEnd function
+
StrEnd function SysUtils +
Declaration +
function StrEnd(Str: PChar): PChar;
The StrEnd function returns a pointer to the null character at the end of Str.
+
Example
+
uses SysUtils; +
const
S: PChar = 'Yankee Doodle'; +
begin
Canvas.TextOut(5, 10, 'The string length of “' + StrPas(S) + '“ is ' +
IntToStr(StrEnd(S) - S));
+
end; +
See also
StrLen function
S
Stretch property
Applies to
TImage, TDBImage components

Declaration
property Stretch: Boolean;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 747

StretchDraw method

Setting the Stretch property to True permits bitmaps and metafiles to assume the size
and shape of the image control. When the image control is resized, the image resizes
also. The Stretch property has no affect on icons.
If you prefer to have the image control resize to fit the native size of the image, set the
AutoSize property to True.

Example
This example uses an image component on a form. When the form is created, the
specified image is loaded and stretched to fit the boundaries of the image component.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Image1.Stretch := True;
Image1.Picture.LoadFromFile('C:\DELPHI\DEMOS\GRAPHEX\PASTE.BMP');
end;

See also
AutoSize property, LoadFromFile method, Picture property

StretchDraw method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
procedure StretchDraw(const Rect: TRect; Graphic: TGraphic);
This method draws the graphic specified by the Graphic parameter in the rectangle
specified by the Rect parameter. Use this method to stretch or resize a graphic to the size
of the rectangle.

Example
The following code stretches the bitmap to fill the client area of Form1.
Form1.Canvas.StretchDraw(Form1.ClientRect, TheGraphic);

StrFmt function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrFmt(Buffer, Format: PChar; const Args: array of const): PChar;
This function formats the series of arguments in the open array Args. Formatting is
controlled by the null-terminated format string Format; the results are returned in Buffer.
The function result contains a pointer to the destination buffer.
For information on the format strings, see Format Strings.

748 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Strings property
+
Strings property +
Applies to
TStringList, TStrings objects +
Declaration +
property Strings[Index: Integer]: string; +
Run-time only. With the Strings property, you can access a specific string of a string or
string list object. Specify the position of the string in the string list as the value of the
Index parameter. The index of the Strings property is zero-based, so the first string has an
+
Index value of 0, the second has an Index value of 1, and so on. To find out what the index +
of a particular string is, call the IndexOf method.
Strings is the default property of string objects. Therefore, you can safely omit the
reference to the Strings identifier and just the treat the string object itself as an indexed
+
array of strings. In the following example, Lines is a string object property of a memo
component (TMemo). These two lines of code are both acceptable and do the same thing:
+
Memo1.Lines.Strings[0] := ‘This is the first line’;
Memo1.Lines[0] := ‘This is the first line’;
+
Example
+
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. When the form is created, three
string are added to the list box. When the user clicks the button, each of the strings of the
+
Items property, a TStrings object, changes:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('One');
+
ListBox1.Items.Add('Two');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Three'); +
+
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Strings[0] := 'First';
ListBox1.Items.Strings[1] := 'Second';
S
ListBox1.Items.Strings[2] := 'Third';
end;
Because Strings is the default property of a string object, you can omit the reference to
Strings in the preceding code. For example, you can write the code like this:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add('One');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Two');
ListBox1.Items.Add('Three');
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 749

StrLCat function

begin
ListBox1.Items[0] := 'First';
ListBox1.Items[1] := 'Second';
ListBox1.Items[2] := 'Third';
end;

See also
Add method, AddObject method, AddStrings method, Assign method, Clear method,
Count property, Delete method, Exchange method, IndexOf method, LoadFromFile
method, Objects property, SaveToFile method

StrLCat function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrLCat(Dest, Source: PChar; MaxLen: Word): PChar;
The StrLCat function appends at most MaxLen – StrLen(Dest) characters from Source to
the end of Dest and returns Dest. The SizeOf standard function can be used to determine
the MaxLen parameter.

Example
uses SysUtils;
var
S: array[0..13] of Char;
begin
StrLCopy(S, 'Object', SizeOf(S) - 1);
StrLCat(S, ' ', SizeOf(S) - 1);
StrLCat(S, 'Pascal', SizeOf(S) - 1);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S));
end;

See also
SizeOf function, StrCat function

StrIComp function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrIComp(Str1, Str2:PChar): Integer;
The StrIComp function compares Str1 to Str2 without case sensitivity. The return value is
the same as StrComp.

Example
uses SysUtils;

750 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

const
StrLComp function
+
S1: PChar = 'Wacky';
S2: PChar = 'Code';
+
var
C: Integer;
+
Result: string;
begin
+
C := StrIComp(S1, S2);
if C < 0 then Result := ' is less than ' else +
+
if C > 0 then Result := ' is greater than ' else
Result := ' is equal to ';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S1) + Result + StrPas(S2));
end;
+
See also
StrComp function, StrLComp function, StrLIComp function +
+
StrLComp function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function StrLComp(Str1, Str2: PChar; MaxLen: Word): Integer;
+
The StrLComp function compares Str1 to Str2, up to a maximum length of MaxLen
characters. The return value is the same as StrComp.
+
Example
+
uses SysUtils; +
const
S1: PChar = 'Enterprise' +
S2: PChar = 'Enter'
var
+
Result: string;
begin
if StrLComp(S1, S2, 5) = 0 then
S
Result := 'equal'
else
Result := 'different';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The first five characters are ' + Result);
end;

See also
StrComp function, StrIComp function, StrLIComp function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 751

StrLCopy function

StrLCopy function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrLCopy(Dest, Source: PChar; MaxLen: Cardinal): PChar;
The StrLCopy function copies at most MaxLen characters from Source to Dest and returns
Dest. The SizeOf standard function can be used to determine the MaxLen parameter.

Example
uses SysUtils;
var
S: array[0..11] of Char;
begin
StrLCopy(S, 'ObjectPascal', SizeOf(S) - 1);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(S));
end;

See also
SizeOf function, StrCopy function

StrLen function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrLen(Str: PChar): Cardinal;
The StrLen function returns the number of characters in Str, not counting the null
terminator.

Example
uses SysUtils;
const
S: PChar = 'E Pluribus Unum';
begin
Canvas.TextOut(5, 10, 'The string length of “' + StrPas(S) + '“ is ' +
IntToStr(StrLen(S)));
end;

752 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StrLFmt function
+
StrLFmt function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function StrLFmt(Buffer: PChar; MaxLen: Word; Format: PChar; const Args: array of const):
+
PChar;
This function formats the series of arguments in the open array Args. Formatting is
+
controlled by the null-terminated format string Format; the results are returned in Buffer,
whose maximum length is given by MaxLen. The function result contains a pointer to
+
the destination buffer. +
For information on the format strings, see Format Strings.
+
See also
FormatBuf function, StrFmt function, FmtStr procedure +
StrLIComp function SysUtils
+
Declaration
+
function StrLIComp(Str1, Str2: PChar; MaxLen: Word): Integer; +
StrLIComp compares Str1 to Str2 , up to a maximum length of MaxLen characters,
without case sensitivity.
+
The return value is the same as StrComp. +
Example +
uses SysUtils;
const
+
S1: PChar = 'Enterprise'
S2: PChar = 'Enter' +
var
Result: string; S
begin
if StrLIComp(S1, S2, 5) = 0 then
Result := 'equal'
else
Result := 'different';
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'The first five characters are ' + Result);
end;

See also
StrComp function, StrIComp function, StrLComp function

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 753

StrLower function

StrLower function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrLower(Str: PChar): PChar;
The StrLower function converts Str to lowercase and returns Str.

Example
uses SysUtils;
const
S: PChar = 'A fUnNy StRiNg'
begin
Canvas.TextOut(5, 10, StrPas(StrLower(S)) + ' ' + StrPas(StrUpper(S)));
end;

StrMove function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrMove(Dest, Source: PChar; Count: Cardinal): PChar;
The StrMove function copies exactly Count characters from Source to Dest and returns
Dest. Source and Dest can overlap.

Example
uses SysUtils;
function AHeapaString(S: PChar): PChar;
{ Allocate string on heap }
var
L: Word;
P: PChar;
begin
StrNew := nil;
if (S <> nil) and (S[0] <> #0) then
begin
L := StrLen(S) + 1;
GetMem(P, L);
StrNew := StrMove(P, S, L);
end;
end;
procedure DisposeDaString(S: PChar);
{ Dispose string on heap }
begin

754 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

if S <> nil then FreeMem(S, StrLen(S) + 1);
StrNew function
+
end; +
+
var
S: PChar;
begin
AHeapaString(S);
DisposeDaString(S);
+
end;
+
See also
Move procedure +
StrNew function
+
SysUtils
+
Declaration
function StrNew(Str: PChar): PChar;
+
The StrNew function allocates a copy of Str on the heap. +
If Str is nil or points to an empty string, StrNew returns nil and does not allocate any
heap space. +
Otherwise, StrNew makes a duplicate of Str, obtaining space with a call to the StrAlloc
procedure, and returns a pointer to the duplicated string. +
The allocated space is StrLen(Str) + 3 bytes long. +
Example +
+
uses SysUtils;
const
S: PChar = 'Nevermore';
var
P: PChar;
+
begin
P := StrNew(S);
S
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(P));
StrDispose(P);
end;

See also
GetMem procedure, StrDispose function

StrPas function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrPas(Str: PChar): string;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 755

StrPCopy function

The StrPas function converts the null-terminated Str to a Pascal-style string.

Example
uses SysUtils;
const
A: PChar = 'I love the smell of Object Pascal in the morning.';
var
S: string[79];
begin
S := StrPas(A);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

StrPCopy function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrPCopy(Dest: PChar; Source: string): PChar;
The StrPCopy function copies a Pascal-style string Source into a null-terminated string
Dest.
StrPCopy does not perform any length checking.
The destination buffer must have room for at least Length(Source)+1 characters.

Example
uses SysUtils;
var
A: array[0..79] of Char;
begin
S := 'Honk if you know Blaise.';
StrPCopy(A, S);
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, StrPas(A));
end;

756 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StrPLCopy function
+
StrPLCopy function SysUtils
+
Declaration
function StrPLCopy(Dest: PChar; const Source: string; MaxLen: Word): PChar;
+
StrPLCopy copies a maximum of MaxLen characters from the Pascal-style string Source +
into the null-terminated string Dest. Dest is also returned as the function result.
+
StrPos function SysUtils +
Declaration +
function StrPos(Str1, Str2: PChar): PChar;
The StrPos function returns a pointer to the first occurrence of Str2 in Str1.
+
If Str2 does not occur in Str1, StrPos returns nil. +
Example +
uses SysUtils;
const
+
S: PChar = 'Ready, Set, Go! ';
SubStr: PChar = 'Set'; +
var
P: PChar;
+
begin
P := StrPos(S, SubStr); +
+
if P = nil then
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Substring not found')
else

end;
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Substring found at index ' + IntToStr(P - S));
+
S
StrRScan function SysUtils
Declaration
function StrRScan(Str: PChar; Chr: Char): PChar;
The StrRScan function returns a pointer to the last occurrence of Chr in Str.
If Chr does not occur in Str, StrRScan returns nil. The null terminator is considered to be
part of the string.

Example
{ Return pointer to name part of a full path name }

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 757

StrScan function

uses SysUtils;
function NamePart(FileName: PChar): PChar;
var
P: PChar;
begin
P := StrRScan(FileName, '\');
if P = nil then
begin
P := StrRScan(FileName, ':');
if P = nil then P := FileName;
end;
NamePart := P;
end;
var
S : string;
begin
S := StrPas(NamePart('C:\Test.fil'));
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, S);
end;

StrScan function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrScan(Str: PChar; Chr: Char): PChar;
The StrScan function returns a pointer to the first occurrence of Chr in Str.
If Chr does not occur in Str, StrScan returns nil. The null terminator is considered to be
part of the string.

Example
uses SysUtils;
function HasWildcards(FileName: PChar): Boolean;
{ Return true if file name has wildcards in it }
begin
HasWildcards := (StrScan(FileName, '*') <> nil) or
(StrScan(FileName, '?') <> nil);
end;
const
P: PChar = 'C:\Test.* ';
begin
if HasWildcards(P) then
Canvas.TextOut(20, 20, 'The string has wildcards')
else

758 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Canvas.TextOut(20, 20, 'The string doesn’t have wildcards')
StrToDate function
+
end; +
See also
StrRScan function
+
+
StrToDate function SysUtils +
Declaration
function StrToDate(const S: string): TDateTime;
+
The StrToDate function converts a string to date format. The date in the string must be a +
valid date.
The string must consist of two or three numbers, separated by the character defined by
+
the DateSeparator global variable. The order for month, day, and year is determined by
the ShortDateFormat global variable--possible combinations are m/d/y, d/m/y, and y/ +
m/d.
If the string contains only two numbers, it is interpreted as a date (m/d or d/m) in the
+
current year. Year values between 0 and 99 are assumed to mean 1900 to 1999.
If the given string does not contain a valid date, an EConvertError exception is raised.
+
Note The correct format of the date string varies if you change the value of some of the date +
and time typed constants.
+
Example
This example uses an edit box, a label, and a button on a form. When the user enters a
date in the edit box in the MM/DD/YY format, the string entered is converted to a
+
TDateTime value. This value is then converted back to a string value so it can appear as
the caption of the label:
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
+
ADate: TDateTime;
begin
S
ADate := StrToDate(Edit1.Text);
Label1.Caption := DateToStr(ADate);
end;

See also
DateToStr function, StrToDateTime function, StrToTime function

StrToDateTime function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrToDateTime(const S: string): TDateTime;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 759

StrToFloat function

The StrToDateTime function converts a string into a date and time format. The string
specified as the S parameter must be in the MM/DD/YY HH:MM:SS format unless the
value of the value of the date and time typed constants has changed. Specifying AM or
PM as part of the time is optional, as are the seconds. You should use 24-hour time (7:45
PM is entered as 19:45, for example) if you don’t specify AM or PM.
Note You must use another format to specify a date and time string if you change the value of
the some of the date and time typed constants.

Example
This example uses an edit box, a label, and a button on the form. When the user enters a
date and time in the edit box in the MM/DD/YY HH:MM:SS format, the string entered
is converted to a TDateTime value. This value is then converted back to a string value so
it can appear as the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ADateAndTime: TDateTime;
begin
ADateAndTime := StrToDateTime(Edit1.Text);
Label1.Caption := DateTimeToStr(ADateAndTime);
end;

See also
DateTimeToStr function, StrToDate function, StrToTime function

StrToFloat function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrToFloat(const S: string): Extended;
StrToFloat converts the given string to a floating-point value. The string must consist of
an optional sign (+ or –), a string of digits with an optional decimal point, and an
optional ’E’ or ’e’ followed by a signed integer. Leading and trailing blanks in the string
are ignored.
The DecimalSeparator global variable defines the character that must be used as a
decimal point. Thousand separators and currency symbols are not allowed in the string.
If the string doesn’t contain a valid value, an EConvertError exception is raised.

StrToInt function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrToInt(const S: string): Longint;

760 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

StrToIntDef function

The StrToInt function converts a string representing an integer-type number in either

+
decimal or hexadecimal notation into a number. If the string does not represent a valid
number, StrToInt raises an EConvertError exception.
+
Example
+
This example uses an edit box and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button,
the code converts the string ’22467’ into an integer, increments that value, then
+
reconverts that new value back to an a string so that it can display in the edit box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
var
S: string;
+
I: Integer;
begin +
+
S := '22467';
I := StrToInt(S);
Inc(I);
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(I);
end; +
See also +
IntToHex function, IntToStr function, StrToIntDef function
+
StrToIntDef function Sysutils +
Declaration +
function StrToIntDef(const S: string; Default: Longint): Longint;
The StrToIntDef function converts the string passed in S into a number. If S does not
+
represent a valid number, StrToIntDef returns the number passed in Default. +
Example
This example uses two edit boxes and a button on a form. The user enters a number in
+
the first edit box and clicks the button. If the number entered was a valid integer, the
same value appears in the second edit box. If the number was not a valid integer, the
S
default value of 1000 appears in the second edit box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NumberString: string;
Number: Integer;
begin
NumberString := Edit1.Text;
Number := StrToIntDef(NumberString, 1000);
Edit2.Text := IntToStr(Number);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 761

StrToTime function

See also
IntToStr function, StrToInt function

StrToTime function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrToTime(const S: string): TDateTime;
The StrToTime function converts a string to a TDateTime. Specify the time string in the
HH:MM:SS format. Specifying AM or PM is optional, as are the seconds. You should
use 24 hour time (7:45 PM is entered as 19:45, for example) if you don't specify AM or
PM. You can use another format if you change the value of the some of the date and
time typed constants. If the given string does not contain a valid time an EConvertError
exception is raised.

Example
This example uses an edit box, a label, and a button on a form. When the user enters a
time in the edit box in the HH:MM:SS format, the string entered is converted to a
TDateTime value. This value is then converted back to a string value so it can appear as
the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
ATime: TDateTime;
begin
ATime := StrToTime(Edit1.Text);
Label1.Caption := TimeToStr(ATime);
end;

See also
StrToDate function, StrToDateTime function, TimeToStr function

StrUpper function SysUtils

Declaration
function StrUpper(Str: PChar): PChar;
The StrUpper function converts Str to uppercase and returns Str.

Example
uses SysUtils;
const
S: PChar = 'A fUnNy StRiNg'
begin

762 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Canvas.TextOut(5, 10, StrPas(StrLower(S)) + ' ' + StrPas(StrUpper(S)));
Style property
+
end; +
See also
StrLower function
+
+
Style property +
Applies to
TFont, TPen objects; TBevel, TBitBtn, TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBListBox,
+
TDBLookupCombo, TListBox, TOutline, TTabSet components
+
For pen objects +
Declaration +
property Style: TPenStyle;
The Style property determines the style in which the pen draws lines. The following
+
table shows the different style values and what they produce:.
+
Style
psSolid
Meaning
The pen draws a solid line.
+
psDash
psDot
The pen draws a line made up of a series of dashes.
The pen draws a line made up of a series of dots.
+
psDashDot
psDashDotDot
The pen draws a line made up of alternating dashes and dots.
The pen draws a line made up of a series of dash-dot-dot combinations.
+
psClear
psInsideFrame
The pen draws lines made up no visible marks.
The pen draws lines within the frame of closed shapes that specify a bounding rectangle.
+
Example
+
This example uses two radio buttons on a form. When the user drags the mouse pointer
across the form, lines are drawn. The user can use the two radio buttons to choose S
between two pen styles. Selecting the first radio button draws a dotted line. Selecting the
second radio button draws a solid line.
var
Drawing: Boolean;
procedure TForm1.FormMouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Drawing := True;
Canvas.MoveTo(X, Y);
end;
procedure TForm1.FormMouseMove(Sender: TObject; Shift: TShiftState; X,
Y: Integer);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 763

Style property

begin
if Drawing then
Canvas.LineTo(X, Y);
end;
procedure TForm1.FormMouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
Canvas.LineTo(X, Y);
Drawing := False;
end;
procedure TForm1.RadioButton1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Canvas.Pen.Style := psDot;
end;
procedure TForm1.RadioButton2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Canvas.Pen.Style := psSolid;
end;

For brushes
Declaration
property Style: TBrushStyle;
The Style property of a brush determines the brush’s pattern for painting backgrounds
of windows or graphic shapes. The following table shows the different values for Style
and the resulting patterns:

Hatch Pattern Hatch Pattern

bsSolid bsCross

bsClear bsDiagCross

bsBDiagonal bsHorizontal

bsFDiagonal bsVertical

Example
This example displays a rectangle filled with red horizontal stripes whenever a form
OnPaint event occurs.
procedure TForm1.FormPaint(Sender: TObject);
begin

764 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

with Canvas do
Style property
+
begin
Brush.Style := bsHorizontal;
+
Brush.Color := clRed;
Rectangle(12, 50, 100, 200); +
end;
end; +
For fonts +
Declaration
+
property Style: TFontStyles; +
The Style property determines whether the font is normal, italic, underlined, bold, and
so on. These are the possible values: +
Value Meaning +
+
fsBold The font is boldfaced.
fsItalic The font is italicized.

+
fsUnderline The font is underlined.
fsStrikeout The font is displayed with a horizontal line through it.

The Style property is a set, so it can contain multiple values. For example, a font could be
both boldfaced and italicized.
+
Example
+
The following code boldfaces the font used in the memo.. +
Memo1.Font.Style := [fsBold];
+
For combo boxes
+
Declaration
property Style: TComboBoxStyle;
S
The Style property determines how a combo box displays its items. By default, Style is
csDropDown, meaning that the combo box displays each item as a string in a drop-down
list. By changing the value of Style, you can create owner-draw combo boxes, meaning

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 765

Style property

that items can be graphical of either fixed or varying height. You can set Style to any of
the following values:

Value Meaning
csDropDown Creates a drop-down list with an edit box in which the user can enter text. All
items are strings, with each item having the same height.
For database combo boxes, the combo box displays the contents of the field of
the current records. The user can choose another item from the drop-down list
and change the value of the field or type a new value in the edit box.
csSimple Creates an edit box with no list.
For database combo boxes, the current contents of the linked field displays in
the combo box. The user can change the contents of the field by typing in a new
value.
csDropDownList Creates a drop-down list with no attached edit box, so the user can’t edit an
item or type in a new item. All items are strings, with each item having the same
height.
For database combo boxes, the edit box is blank unless the current contents of
the field matches one of the specified Items in the drop-down list. The user can
change the contents of the field only by selecting one of the strings from the
drop-down list.
csOwnerDrawFixed Each item in the combo box is the height specified by the ItemHeight property.
For database combo boxes, the combo box is blank unless the current contents
of the field matches one of the specified Items in the drop-down list. The user
can change the contents of the field only by selecting one of the strings from the
drop-down list.
csOwnerDrawVariable Items in the combo box can be of varying heights.
For database combo boxes, the combo box is blank unless the current contents
of the field matches one of the specified Items in the drop-down list. The user
can change the contents of the field only by selecting one of the strings from the
drop-down list.

Owner-draw combo boxes can display items other than strings. For example, a combo
box could display graphical images along with or instead of its strings. Owner-draw
combo boxes require more programming, however, as the application needs
information on how to render the image for each item in the list.
Each time an item is displayed in an csOwnerDrawFixed combo box, the OnDrawItem
event occurs. The event handler for OnDrawItem draws the specified item. The
ItemHeight property determines the height of all the items.
Each time an item is displayed in an csOwnerDrawVariable combo box, two events occur.
The first is the OnMeasureItem event. The event handler for OnMeasureItem can set the
height of each item. Then the OnDrawItem event occurs. The OnDrawItem handler draws
each item in the list box using the size specified by the OnMeasureItem handler.

Example
This example uses a combo box and a check box on a form. If the user checks the check
box, the combo box becomes a drop-down list. When the user unchecks the check box,
the combo box becomes a simple combo box:
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then

766 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ComboBox1.Style := csDropDownList
Style property
+
else
ComboBox1.Style := csSimple;
+
end;
+
See also
ReadOnly property, Creating an owner-draw control +
For list boxes
+
Declaration
+
property Style: TListBoxStyle +
The Style property determines how a list box displays its items. By default, Style is
lbStandard, meaning that the list box displays each item as a string. By changing the +
value of Style, you can create owner-draw list boxes, meaning that items can be
graphical and of either fixed or varying height. These are the possible values for Style: +
Value Meaning +
lbStandard
lbOwnerDrawFixed
All items are strings, with each item the same height.
Each item in the list box is the height specified by the ItemHeight property. +
lbOwnerDrawVariable Items in the list box can be of varying heights.
+
Owner-draw list boxes can display items other than strings. For example, a list box
could display graphical images along with or instead of its strings. Owner-draw list
boxes require more programming, however, because the application needs information
+
on how to render the image for each item in the list. +
Each time an item is displayed in an lbOwnerDrawFixed list box, the OnDrawItem event
occurs. The event handler for OnDrawItem draws the specified item. The ItemHeight’
property determines the height of all the items.
+
Each time an item is displayed in an lbOwnerDrawVariable list box, two events occur. The +
first is the OnMeasureItem event. The code you write for the OnMeasureItem handler can
set the height of each item. Then the OnDrawItem event occurs. The code you write for
the OnDrawItem handler draws each item in the list box using the size specified by the
S
OnMeasureItem handler.

Example
This example uses a list box and a check box. When the user checks the check box, the
list box becomes an fixed owner-draw list box. When the user unchecks the check box,
the list box becomes a standard list box:
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
ListBox1.Style := lbOwnerDrawFixed
else

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 767

Style property

ListBox1.Style := lbStandard;
end;

For bitmap buttons

Declaration
property Style: TButtonStyle;
The Style property of a bitmap button determines the appearance of a bitmap button.
These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
bsAutoDetect When you are using Windows 3.x, the bitmap button uses the standard Windows 3.x look.
When you are using a later version of Windows, the bitmap button uses a newer look.
bsWin31 Uses the standard Windows 3.1 look, regardless of which version of Windows you are
running.
bsNew Uses a new bitmap button look, regardless of which version of Windows you are running.

Example
This example uses a bitmap button and a check box on a form. When the user checks the
check box, the bitmap button assumes the new bitmap style. When the user unchecks
the check box, the bitmap button takes on the Windows 3.1 look:
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
BitBtn1.Style := bsNew
else
BitBtn1.Style := bsWin31;
end;

For tab set controls

Declaration
property Style: TTabStyle;
The Style property of a tab set control (TTabSet component) determines how a tab
appears. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
tsStandard Each tab has the standard size and look.
tsOwnerDraw Each tab has the height specified with the TabHeight property and width needed to
hold the text or glyph.

768 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Owner-draw tabs can display objects other than strings, such as graphical images.
Style property
+
Owner-draw tabs require more programming, however, as the application needs
information on how to render the image for each tab in the tab set control.
+
Each time an item is displayed in an tsOwnerDraw tab, two events occur. The first is the +
OnMeasureTab event. In the OnMeasureTab event handler, you write the code that
calculates the width of the tab needed to hold the text or graphical image. After the
OnMeasureTab event, the OnDrawTab event occurs. The code you write for the
+
OnDrawTab event draws the tab and its contents using the width found with the
OnMeasureTab event and the height specified as the value of the TabHeight property.
+
Example
+
When this example runs, the tab set on the form becomes an owner-draw tab set:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
TabSet1.Style := tsOwnerDraw;
+
end;
+
See also
TTabStyle type +
For outlines
+
Declaration
+
property Style: TOutlineType; +
The Style property determines how a outline displays its items. By default, Style is
osStandard, meaning that the outline displays items in the style determined by the +
OutlineStyle property. By changing the value of Style to otOwnerDraw, you can create
owner-draw outlines, meaning that items are drawn on the Canvas of the TOutline
component by code that you write. These are the possible values for Style:
+
Value Meaning
+
otStandard
otOwnerDraw
Items are drawn according to the setting of OutlineStyle.
Items are drawn on the Canvas by your code.
S
Owner-draw outlines can display items other than the Text of an item and the standard
bitmaps specified in the PictureClosed, PictureOpen, PictureMinus, PicturePlus, and
PictureLeaf properties. Owner-draw outlines require more programming, however, as
the application needs information on how to render the image for each item in the list.
Each time an item is displayed in an otOwnerDraw outline, the OnDrawItem event occurs.
The event handler for OnDrawItem draws the specified item. The ItemHeight property
determines the height of all the items.

Example
The following code sets the style of Outline1 to owner-draw.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 769

Style property

Outline1.Style := otOwnerDraw;

For bevels
Declaration
property Style: TBevelStyle;
The value of the Style property determines if the bevel is raised or lowered. These are the
possible values:

Value Meaning
bsLowered The bevel is lowered.
bsRaised The bevel is raised.

Example
This example uses a bevel and a check box on a form. When the check box is checked,
the bevel is raised. When the check box is unchecked, the bevel is lowered:
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
Bevel1.Style := bsRaised
else
Bevel1.Style := bsLowered;
end;

For database lookup combo boxes

Declaration
property Style: TDBLookupComboStyle;
The Style property determines how a database lookup combo box displays its items.
These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
csDropDown Creates a drop-down list with an edit box in which the user can enter text.
csDropDownList Creates a drop-down list with no attached edit box, so the user can’t edit an item or
type in a new item.

The default value is csDropDown.

Note If the value of the LookupDisplay property differs from the value of the LookupField
property, the database lookup combo box will function as if its Style is csDropDownList,
regardless of the value of the Style property.

770 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Succ function
+
\Example
The following code sets the style of DBLookupCombo1 to have a drop-down list with no
edit box.
+
DBLookupCombo1.Style := csDropDownList; +
Succ function
+
System
+
Declaration
function Succ(X); +
The Succ function returns the successor of the argument. +
X is an ordinal-type expression. The result, of the same type as X, is the successor of X.
+
Example
uses Dialogs;
+
type
Colors = (RED,BLUE,GREEN);
+
var
S: string; +
begin
S := 'The predecessor of 5 is ' + IntToStr(Pred(5)) + #13#10;
S := S + 'The successor of 10 is ' + IntToStr(Succ(10)) + #13#10;
+
if Succ(RED) = BLUE then
S := S + 'In the type Colors, RED is the predecessor of BLUE.';
+
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end; +
See also +
Dec procedure, Inc procedure, Pred function
+
Swap function System S
Declaration
function Swap(X);
The Swap function exchanges the high-order bytes with the low-order bytes of the
argument.
X is an expression of type Integer or Word.

Example
var
X: Word;
begin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 771

TableName property

X := Swap($1234); { $3412 }
end;

772 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Tag property
+
Tag property +
Applies to
All components +
Declaration +
property Tag: Longint; +
The Tag property is available to store an integer value as part of a component. While the
Tag property has no meaning to Delphi, your application can use the property to store a
value for its special needs.
+
Example
+
The following code assumes that the OnClick event handlers of more than one button
point to the TForm1.Button1Click method. When a button is clicked, the procedure
+
checks to see if the value of the Tag of the clicked button is 42. If so, the caption of that
button is changed.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
if (Sender as TButton).Tag = 42 then
(Sender as TButton).Caption := 'A-Ha!'; +
end;
+
TAlign type Controls +
Declaration +
TAlign = (alNone, alTop, alBottom, alLeft, alRight, alClient);
TAlign defines the possible values of the Align property.
+
+
TAlignment type Classes +
Declaration
TAlignment = (taLeftJustify, taRightJustify, taCenter);
T
TAlignment is the type of the Alignment property.

TApplication component Forms

Each Delphi application automatically uses a TApplication component, which
encapsulates your application. Delphi declares an Application variable of type
TApplication that is an instance of your application.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 773

TApplication component

When you execute your application, the application’s Run method is called. The
Terminate method ends application execution. The name of your application’s
executable file is the value of the ExeName property.
The main form of your application is the form specified as the value of the MainForm
property. By default, Delphi uses Form1 as the main form. If you want to make another
form the main form, the form that is created first, use the Forms page of the Options|
Project Options dialog box to do so.
When the user minimizes the application, the Minimize method is called. When the user
restores the application to normal size, the Restore method is called. Your application
can call these methods programmatically as well.
A minimized application appears as an icon on the Windows desktop. You can assign
the icon of your choice to represent your application using the Icon property. The text
that appears below the icon is the value of the Title property. If your application has a
help file, specify its name as the value of the HelpFile property, and the Windows Help
system can display help for your application. You can specify an icon, a help file, and
the title of the application in the Options|Project dialog box on the Application page.
To display the help file for your application, call the HelpContext method.
You can specify how exceptions are handled for your application using the
HandleException method, the OnException event, and the ShowException method.
To display a message to the user, use the MessageBox method.
TApplication has several events that let you specify how your application processes the
occurrence of special events. The code you write in the OnActivate and OnDeactivate
event handlers specifies what happens when your application becomes active and
inactive. You specify how help hints appear in the OnHint and OnShowHint event
handlers. The OnIdle event handler is used to determine what happens as your
application becomes idle, and the OnMessage event handler is used to process Windows
messages your application receives. Search help for “Handling Application Events” for
more information about creating event handlers for application events.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.

Properties
Active HelpFile Name
ComponentCount Hint Owner
ComponentIndex HintColor ShowHint
Components HintPause Tag
ExeName Icon Terminated
Handle MainForm Title

Methods
Create HelpContext RemoveComponent
CreateForm HelpJump Restore

774 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TAttachMode type
+
Destroy
FindComponent
InsertComponent
MessageBox
RestoreTopMosts
Run +
Free
HandleException
Minimize
NormalizeTopMosts
ShowException
Terminate +
+
HelpCommand ProcessMessages

Events
OnActivate OnHelp OnMessage
+
OnDeactivate
OnException
OnHint
OnIdle
+
+
TAttachMode type Outline +
Declaration +
+
TAttachMode = (oaAdd, oaAddChild, oaInsert);

Description
TAttachMode is the type of the AttachMode parameter of the MoveTo method.
TAttachMode specifies the different ways which an outline item can attach to the new
+
position when moved in an outline. +
TAutoActivate type ToCtrl
+
Declaration
+
TAutoActivate = (aaManual, aaGetFocus, aaDoubleClick); +
TAutoActivate is the type of the AutoActivate property of the TOLEContainer component.
+
TBatchMode type DBTables +
Declaration T
TBatchMode = (batAppend, batUpdate, batAppendUpdate, batDelete, batCopy);
The TBatchMode type is the set of values which are passed to the BatchMove method of a
TTable or the Mode property of a TBatchMove component. batAppend appends all records.
(The destination must not have any records with the key of the any of the records in the
source.) batUpdate replaces all existing records with the new versions. (Each record in
the source must have a record in the destination with the same key.) batAppendUpdate
appends any records which do not already exist and replaces those which do. batDelete
deletes the records in the source from the destination. (Each source record must have a
key which is also found in the destination.) batCopy makes an exact duplicate of the
source table.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 775

TBatchMove component

TBatchMove component
TBatchMove enables you to perform operations on groups of records or entire tables. Set
the Source property to specify a dataset (a TQuery or TTable component) corresponding
to an existing source table. Set the Destination property to specify a TTable component
corresponding to a database table. The destination table may or may not already exist.
Use the Mode property to specify the operations to perform. Set the Mappings property if
the Source and Destination have different column names and you want to control how
those fields are transferred.
Set AbortOnProblem to specifiy whether to abort the operation when a data type
conversion error occurs. Set the AbortOnKeyViol property to specify whether to abort the
operation when an integrity (key) violation occurs. Set KeyViolTableName and
ProblemTableName to create Paradox tables to hold records that caused errors. Set the
ChangedTableName property to save the replaced or deleted records from Destination.
Set the Transliterate property to specify whether to transliterate character data to the
preferred character set for the destination table.
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.

Properties
AbortOnKeyViol KeyViolTableName ProblemCount
AbortOnProblem Mappings ProblemTableName
ChangedCount Mode RecordCount
ChangedTableName MovedCount Source
Destination Name Transliterate
KeyViolCount Owner Tag

Methods

Execute

TBCDField component
A TBCDField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as a BCD value.
Use TBCDField for a floating-point number with a fixed number of digits following the
decimal point. The range depends on the number of digits after the decimal point, since
the accuracy is 18 digits.

776 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TBevel component

Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
+
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Set the Size property to
define the number of BCD digits following the decimal point. Use the Value property to
+
access or change the current field value. +
The TBCDField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component. +
Properties +
Alignment
AsBoolean
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
MinValue
Name
+
AsDateTime
AsFloat
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
Owner
Precision
+
AsInteger
AsString
EditFormat
EditMask
ReadOnly
Required
+
Calculated
CanModify
EditMaskPtr
FieldName
Size
Tag
+
Currency
DataSet
FieldNo
Index
Text
Value
+
DataSize
DataType
IsIndexField
IsNull
Visible
+
DisplayFormat MaxValue
+
Methods +
Assign
AssignValue
FocusControl
GetData
SetData
+
Clear IsValidChar
+
Events
+
OnChange
OnGetText
OnSetText OnValidate
+
TBevel component
T
ExtCtrls
The TBevel component lets you put beveled lines, boxes, or frames on the forms in your
application.
You determine if the bevel appears as a box, frame, or line using the Shape property. The
bevel can appear raised or lowered, depending on the value selected for the Style
property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 777

TBevelShape type

To keep the bevel aligned within the form so that even if the user resizes the form, the
bevel remains in the same relative position, set the Align property.
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all controls.
For more information, search for Bevel component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Bevel Component.

Properties
Align Height Shape
BoundsRect Hint ShowHint
ComponentIndex Left Style
Components Name Tag
ControlCount Owner Top
Controls Parent Visible
Handle ParentShowHint Width

Methods
BeginDrag Hide SetBounds
BringToFront Refresh Show
ClientToScreen Repaint Update
Dragging ScreenToClient
EndDrag SendToBack

TBevelShape type StdCtrls

Declaration
TBevelShape = (bsBox, bsFrame, bsTopLine, bsBottomLine, bsLeftLine, bsRightLine);
The TBevelShape type defines the possible values of the Shape property of the TBevel
component.

TBevelStyle type Card

Declaration
TBevelStyle = (bsLowered, bsRaised);
The TBevelStyle type defines the possible values of the Style property of the TBevel
component.

778 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TBevelWidth type
+
TBevelWidth type ExtCtrls
+
Declaration
TBevelWidth: 1..MaxInt;
+
Description
+
The TBevelWidth type defines the possible values of the BevelWidth property for a panel
component (TPanel).
+
+
TBitBtn component Buttons +
A TBitBtn component is a push button control that can include a bitmap on its button
face. You can choose from predefined bitmap buttons styles or specify your own bitmap +
for the button. Users use bitmap buttons as they would use a TButton component—to
initiate actions. +
Like buttons, bitmap buttons are frequently used within dialog boxes. A default bitmap
button is the button whose OnClick event handler runs whenever the user presses the +
Enter key while using the dialog box. To make a bitmap button a default button, set the
button’s Default property to True. +
A Cancel bitmap button is the button whose OnClick event handler runs whenever the
user presses the Esc key while using the dialog box. To make a bitmap button a Cancel +
button, set the button’s Cancel property to True.
You can have a bitmap button close a modal form without writing an event handler that
+
includes code specifically to close the form. Set the button’s ModalResult property to a
value other than 0. +
You can select from several predefined bitmap buttons. Specify the kind of bitmap
button you want with the Kind property.
+
To create a customized bitmap button, use the Glyph property to specify the bitmap you
want to appear on the button, and use the Layout, Margin, and Spacing properties to
+
specify how to arrange the caption and bitmap on the button. You can use different
images to represent the different states of the bitmap button. For example, you can use
+
one image when the button is unselected, another when it is selected, and another when
it is disabled. Use the NumGlyphs property to specify multiple images.
T
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for the BitmapButton component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Bitmap Button Component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 779

TBitBtnKind type

Properties
Align HelpContext PopupMenu
BoundsRect Hint ShowHint
Cancel Kind Showing
Caption Layout Spacing
ComponentIndex Left Style
Cursor Margin TabOrder
Default ModalResult TabStop
DragCursor Name Tag
DragMode NumGlyphs Top
Enabled Owner Visible
Font Parent Width
Glyph ParentFont
Height ParentShowHint

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf SendToBack
BringToFront GetTextLen SetBounds
CanFocus Hide SetFocus
Click Refresh SetTextBuf
ClientToScreen Repaint Show
Dragging ScaleBy Update
EndDrag ScreenToClient
Focused ScrollBy

Events
OnClick OnEnter OnKeyUp
OnDragDrop OnExit OnMouseDown
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnMouseMove
OnEndDrag OnKeyPress OnMouseUp

TBitBtnKind type Buttons

Declaration
TBitBtnKind = (bkCustom, bkOK, bkCancel, bkHelp, bkYes, bkNo, bkClose, bkAbort, bkRetry,
bkIgnore, bkAll);
The TBitBtnKind type contains the values the Kind property of a TBitBtn bitmap button
can assume.

780 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TBitmap object
+
TBitmap object Graphics
+
A TBitmap object contains a bitmap graphic (.BMP file format). A TBitmap encapsulates a
Windows HBITMAP and an HPALETTE and manages the realizing of the palette +
automatically.
The canvas of the TBitmap is a TCanvas object specified by the Canvas property. The
+
palette of the TBitmap is specified by the Palette property.
The height and width in pixels of the bitmap are specified by the Height and Width
+
properties, respectively. +
If the Monochrome property is set to False, the bitmap is displayed in color. If Monochrome
is set to True, the bitmap is displayed in monochrome. +
To load a bitmap from a file, call the LoadFromFile method. To save a bitmap to a file, call
SaveToFile. +
To draw a bitmap on a canvas, call the Draw or StretchDraw methods of a TCanvas object,
passing a TBitmap as a parameter.
+
When the bitmap is modified, an OnChange event occurs. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects. +
Properties
+
Canvas
Empty
Height
Monochrome
Width
+
Handle Palette
+
Methods
Assign Create ReleaseHandle
+
ClassName
ClassParent
Destroy
Free
ReleasePalette
SaveToFile
+
ClassType LoadFromFile +
Events T
OnChange

TBlobField component
A TBlobField component represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented by a
value consisting of an arbitrary set of bytes of indefinite size.
Use the Assign method to copy values from another field to a TBlobField. Use the
LoadFromFile method to load a field’s contents from a file. Use LoadFromStream method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 781

TBlobStream object

to load a field from a Stream. Use SaveToFile method to write a field’s contents to a file.
Use SaveToStream method to write a field’s contents to a Stream.
The TBlobField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

Properties
Alignment DataType IsIndexField
AsBoolean DisplayLabel IsNull
AsDateTime DisplayName Name
AsFloat DisplayText Owner
AsInteger DisplayWidth ReadOnly
AsString EditMask Required
Calculated EditMaskPtr Size
CanModify FieldName Tag
DataSet FieldNo Text
DataSize Index Visible

Methods
Assign GetData SaveToFile
AssignValue IsValidChar SaveToStream
Clear LoadFromFile SetData
FocusControl LoadFromStream

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TBlobStream object
The TBlobStream object provides a simple technique to access or modify a TBlobField,
TBytesField or TVarBytesField by allowing you to “read” from or “write” to the field as if
it were a file or stream.
Use the Create constructor to link the field to the BLOB stream. Call the Read or Write
methods to access or change the contents of the field. Use Seek to position within the
field. Call the Truncate method to delete all information in the field from the current
position on.
In addition to these methods, this object also has the methods that apply to all objects.

782 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TBlobStreamMode type
+
Methods
ClassName Destroy Truncate
+
ClassParent
ClassType
Free
Read
Write +
Create Seek +
TBlobStreamMode type DBTables
+
Declaration
+
TBlobStreamMode = (bmRead, bmWrite, bmReadWrite); +
The TBlobStreamMode type is the set of values which are passed to the Create method of a
TBlobStream object. Use bmRead to access an existing TBlobField, TBytesField or +
TVarBytesField. Use bmWrite to clear the contents of the field and assign a new value. Use
bmReadWrite to modify an existing value. +
TBookmark type
+
DB
+
Declaration
TBookmark = Pointer; +
The TBookmark type is the type of the Bookmark parameter you use to call the
GetBookmark, GotoBookmark, and FreeBookmark methods of a dataset component.
+
+
TBooleanField component +
A TBooleanField represents a field of a record in a dataset. A Boolean field is either True
or False, but the display string in a data-aware control can be varied. +
Set the DisplayValues property to control the formatting of the field for display purposes
or input recognition. Use the Value property to access or change the current field value.
+
The TBooleanField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.
T
Properties
Alignment DisplayLabel IsNull
AsBoolean DisplayName Name
AsDateTime DisplayText Owner
AsFloat DisplayValues ReadOnly
AsInteger DisplayWidth Required
AsString EditMask Size

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 783

TBorderIcons type

Calculated EditMaskPtr Tag

CanModify FieldName Text
DataSet FieldNo Value
DataSize Index Visible
DataType IsIndexField

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TBorderIcons type Forms

Declaration
TBorderIcon = (biSystemMenu, biMinimize, biMaximize);
TBorderIcons = set of TBorderIcon;
The TBorderIcons type defines which icons appear in a form’s title bar. TBorderIcons is the
type of the BorderIcons property.

TBorderStyle type Forms

Declaration
TBorderStyle = bsNone..bsSingle;
TBorderStyle is the type of the BorderStyle property for controls.
The BorderStyle property for forms and windows uses the type TFormBorderStyle.

TBorderWidth type ExtCtrls

Declaration
TBorderWidth: 0..MaxInt;

784 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TBrush object
+
Description
The TBorderWidth type defines the possible values for the BorderWidth property of a
panel component (TPanel).
+
+
TBrush object Graphics +
A TBrush object is used when filling solid shapes, such as rectangles and ellipses. The
interior of the shape is filled with a color or pattern. TBrush encapsulates a Windows
+
HBRUSH.
The color of the brush is specified by the Color property. The pattern is specified by the
+
Style property. If a bitmap is specified by the Bitmap property, the pattern of the brush is
defined by the bitmap rather than the Style property.
+
If the brush is modified, an OnChange event occurs. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects. +
Properties +
Bitmap Handle Style +
+
Color

Methods
Assign ClassType Free
+
ClassName
ClassParent
Create
Destroy
+
Events
+
OnChange
+
+
TBrushStyle type Graphics T
Declaration
TBrushStyle = (bsSolid, bsClear, bsHorizontal, bsVertical, bsFDiagonal, bsBDiagonal, bsCross,
bsDiagCross);
The TBrushStyle type is used by the Style property to determine the pattern of a TBrush
object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 785

TButton component

TButton component StdCtrls

A TButton component is a push button control. Users choose button controls to initiate
actions. Buttons are most commonly used in dialog boxes.
A default button is the button whose OnClick event handler runs whenever the user
presses the Enter key while using the dialog box. To make a button a default button, set
the button’s Default property to True.
A Cancel button is the button whose OnClick event handler runs whenever the user
presses the Esc key while using the dialog box. To make a button a Cancel button, set the
button’s Cancel property to True.
You can have a button close a modal form without writing an event handler that
includes code to specifically close the form. Set the button’s ModalResult property to one
of the values other than 0.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for Button component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Button Component.

Properties
Align Font ParentShowHint
BoundsRect Height PopupMenu
Cancel HelpContext ShowHint
Caption Hint Showing
ComponentIndex Left TabOrder
Cursor ModalResult TabStop
Default Name Tag
DragCursor Owner Top
DragMode Parent Visible
Enabled ParentFont Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SendToBack
CanFocus Hide SetBounds
ClientToScreen Refresh SetFocus
Dragging Repaint SetTextBuf
EndDrag ScaleBy Show
Focused ScreenToClient Update

786 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Events
TButtonLayout type
+
OnClick OnEnter OnKeyUp
+
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnExit
OnKeyDown
OnMouseDown
OnMouseMove
+
OnEndDrag OnKeyPress OnMouseUp
+
TButtonLayout type Buttons
+
Declaration
+
TButtonLayout = (blGlyphLeft, blGlyphRight, blGlyphTop, blGlyphBottom); +
The TButtonLayout type defines the values the Layout property of a bitmap button
(TBitBtn) or speed button (TSpeedButton) can assume. +
+
TButtonSet type MPlayer and DBCtrls
+
For media players +
Declaration +
TButtonSet = set of TMPBtnType;
The TButtonSet type is a set of the buttons of the media player component. This set is +
used with the ColoredButtons, EnabledButtons, and VisibleButtons properties to determine
how the buttons are displayed. +
For database navigators +
+
Declaration
TNavigateBtn = (nbFirst, nbPrior, nbNext, nbLast, nbInsert, nbDelete, nbEdit, nbPost,
+
nbCancel, nbRefresh);
TButtonSet = set of TNavigateBtn;
T
The TButtonSet type defines the possible values of the VisibleButtons property for the
database navigator control.

TButtonStyle type Buttons

Declaration
TButtonStyle = (bbStandard, bbWin31, bbNew);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 787

TByteArray

The TButtonStyle type contains the values the Style property of bitmap buttons (TBitBtn)
and speed buttons (TSpeedButton) can assume.

TByteArray SysUtils
Declaration
PByteArray = ^TByteArray;
TByteArray = array[0..32767] of Byte;
TByteArray declares a general array of type Byte that can be used in typecasting.

TBytesField component
A TBytesField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented by a value
consisting of an arbitrary set of bytes with indefinite size.
Use the Assign method to copy values from another field to a TBytesField.
The TBytesField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

788 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TCanvas object
+
TCanvas object Graphics
+
The TCanvas object is a drawing surface. It represents an area in which your application
can draw. A TCanvas object encapsulates a Windows HDC display context. +
The brush, pen, and font used to draw on the canvas are specified by the Brush, Pen, and
Font properties.
+
The current position of the pen is specified by the PenPos property. To move the pen, call
the MoveTo method.
+
To output text, call the TextOut method. To determine if text fits in a particular area, use +
TextHeight and TextWidth.
To draw a straight line, call LineTo. To draw a series of straight lines, call PolyLine. To +
draw curved lines, use the Arc or Chord methods.
You can draw a variety of shapes on a canvas. To draw a rectangle, call Rectangle. To
+
draw a rectangle with rounded corners, call RoundRect. To draw an ellipse, call Ellipse.
To draw a pie slice, call Pie. To draw a polygon defined by a series of points, call Polygon.
+
To fill a rectangular area with the pattern defined by Brush, call FillRect. To fill an entire
area until boundaries are encountered, call FloodFill.
+
To output a graphic on a canvas, such as a bitmap or metafile, call Draw. To resize the
graphic to a particular shape when drawn, call StretchDraw. To make a copy of t a
+
rectangular area of the canvas, use CopyRect. +
When a canvas is modified, an OnChange event occurs. Immediately prior to the
modification of the canvas, an OnChanging event occurs. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects. +
Properties +
Brush Font PenPos +
ClipRect
CopyMode
Handle
Pen
Pixels
+
Methods T
Arc DrawFocusRect PolyLine
BrushCopy Ellipse Rectangle
Chord FillRect RoundRect
ClassName FloodFill StretchDraw
ClassParent FrameRect TextHeight
ClassType Free TextOut
CopyRect LineTo TextRect
Create MoveTo TextWidth

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 789

TCaption type

Destroy Pie
Draw Polygon

Events
OnChange OnChanging

TCaption type Controls

Declaration
TCaption = string[255];
The TCaption type defines the string type used for control captions. TCaption is the type
of the Caption property and the Text property.

TChangeRange type Outline

Declaration
TChangeRange = -1..1;

Description
TChangeRange specifies the valid values that can be passed to the ChangeLevelBy method.
-1 moves an outline item up one level, and 1 moves an outline item down one level. 0
has no effect.

TCheckBox component StdCtrls

A check box presents an option for the user; the user can check it to select the option, or
uncheck it to deselect the option.
When the user checks or unchecks a check box, the value of the Checked property
changes. The OnClick event also occurs. The text associated with the check box that
identifies its purpose is the value of the Caption property.
If you want the user to be able to dim or gray the check box, set the AllowGrayed
property to True. Whether the check box is checked, unchecked, or grayed is determined
by the value of the State property. You can change value of State to change the check
box’s appearance.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

790 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TCheckBoxState type

For more information, search for Check Box component in the online Help, and choose
+
the topic Using the Check Box Component. +
Properties +
Align
Alignment
Font
Height
PopupMenu
ShowHint
+
AllowGrayed
Caption
HelpContext
Hint
Showing
State
+
Checked
Color
Left
Name
TabOrder
TabStop
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
Owner
Parent
Tag
Top
+
Cursor
DragCursor
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Visible
Width
+
DragMode
Enabled
ParentFont
ParentShowHint
+
Methods +
BeginDrag Focused ScrollBy +
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
ScreenToClient
SendToBack +
ClientToScreen
Dragging
Hide
Refresh
SetBounds
SetTextBuf +
EndDrag
FindComponent
Repaint
ScaleBy
Show
Update +
Events +
OnClick
OnDragDrop
OnEnter
OnExit
OnKeyUp
OnMouseDown
+
OnDragOver
OnEndDrag
OnKeyDown
OnKeyPress
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
+
See also
T
TDBCheckBox component, TRadioButton component

TCheckBoxState type StdCtrls

Declaration
TCheckBoxState = (cbUnchecked, cbChecked, cbGrayed);
The TCheckBoxState type defines the different types of states the check box can assume.
TCheckBoxState is the type of the State property of a TCheckBox check box control.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 791

TClipboard object

TClipboard object Clipbrd

The TClipboard object encapsulates the Windows Clipboard. Whenever you cut, copy, or
paste text or graphics objects within a Delphi application or between a Delphi
application and another Windows application, you are using the TClipboard object.
The Clipbrd unit declares the variable Clipboard as an instance of TClipboard. Use the
Clipboard variable instead of creating your own instance of TClipboard.
You can place text in and retrieve text from the Clipboard using the AsText property. If
you want to place pictures in and retrieve pictures from the Clipboard, use the Assign
property. To add or retrieve a component object to the Clipboard, call the GetComponent
and SetComponent methods.
The list of all the current formats on the Clipboard is found in the Formats property. The
number of formats is the value of the FormatCount property. To find out if a specific
format is on the Clipboard, call the HasFormat method.
Calling the Clear method clears the contents of the Clipboard.
Each time you add an item to the Clipboard, the previous contents are cleared
automatically. To add multiple items, you should use the Open method to prevent the
contents from being overwritten or being changed by another application. Call Close
when you are finished adding items to the Clipboard.
You can add and other formats to the Clipboard using Windows handles with the
GetAsHandle and SetAsHandle methods.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Properties
AsText FormatCount Formats

Methods
Assign Destroy Open
Clear GetAsHandle SetAsHandle
Close GetComponent SetComponent
Create HasFormat SetTextBuf

TCloseEvent type Forms

Declaration
TCloseAction = (caNone, caHide, caFree, caMinimize);
TCloseEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction) of object;

792 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TCloseQueryEvent type

The TCloseEvent type points to a method that handles the closing of a form. The value of
+
the Action parameter determines if the form actually closes. The possible values of
Action are defined by the TCloseAction type.
+
TCloseEvent is the type of the OnClose event. +
TCloseQueryEvent type
+
Forms
+
Declaration
TCloseQueryEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; var CanClose: Boolean) of object; +
The TCloseQueryEvent type points to the method that determines whether a form can be
closed. The value of the CanClose parameter determines if the form can close or not.
+
TCloseQueryEvent is the type of the OnCloseQuery event. +
TColor type Graphics
+
Declaration
+
TColor = -(COLOR_ENDCOLORS + 1)..$02FFFFFF; +
The TColor type is used to specify the color of an object. It is used by the Color property
of many components and the BackgroundColor of a tab set (TTabSet).
+
The Graphics unit contains definitions of useful constants for TColor. These constants
map either directly to the closest matching color in the system palette (for example,
+
clBlue maps to blue) or to the corresponding system screen element color defined in the
Color section of the Windows Control panel (for example, clBtnFace maps to the system
+
color for button faces).
The constants that map to the closest matching system colors are clAqua, clBlack, clBlue,
+
clDkGray, clFuchsia, clGray, clGreen, clLime, clLtGray, clMaroon, clNavy, clOlive, clPurple,
clRed, clSilver, clTeal, clWhite, and clYellow.
+
The constants that map to the system screen element colors are clActiveBorder,
clActiveCaption, clAppWorkSpace, clBackground, clBtnFace, clBtnHighlight, clBtnShadow,
+
clBtnText, clCaptionText, clGrayText, clHighlight, clHighlightText, clInactiveBorder,
clInactiveCaption, clInactiveCaptionText, clMenu, clMenuText, clScrollBar, clWindow,
T
clWindowFrame, and clWindowText.
If you specify TColor as a specific 4-byte hexadecimal number instead of using the
constants defined in the Graphics unit, the low three bytes represent RGB color
intensities for blue, green, and red, respectively. The value $00FF0000 represents full-
intensity, pure blue, $0000FF00 is pure green, and $000000FF is pure red. $00000000 is
black and $00FFFFFF is white.
If the highest-order byte is zero ($00), the color obtained is the closest matching color in
the system palette. If the highest-order byte is one ($01), the color obtained is the closest
matching color in the currently realized palette. If the highest-order byte is two ($02), the

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 793

TColorDialog component

value is matched with the nearest color in the logical palette of the current device
context.
To work with logical palettes, you must select the palette with the Windows API
function SelectPalette. To realize a palette, you must use the Windows API function
RealizePalette.

TColorDialog component Dialogs

The TColorDialog component makes a Color dialog box available to your application.
The purpose of the dialog box is to allow a user to select a color. When the user selects a
color and chooses OK in the dialog box, the user’s color selection is stored in the dialog
box’s Color property, which you can then use to process as you want.
Display the Color dialog box by calling the Execute method.
You can use the Options property to customize how the Color dialog box appears. For
example, you can specify that a Help button be included in the dialog box.
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for ColorDialog component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Color Dialog component.

Properties
Color HelpContext Owner
ComponentIndex Left Tag
Ctl3D Name Top
CustomColors Options

Methods
Execute

TColorDialogOptions type Dialogs

Declaration
TColorDialogOption = (cdFullOpen, cdPreventFullOpen, cdShowHelp);
TColorDialogOptions = set of TColorDialogOption;
The TColorDialogOptions type declares the three options enumerated in the
TColorDialogOption type as members of a set used by the Options property of the
TColorDialog component.

794 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TComboBox component
+
TComboBox component StdCtrls
+
A TComboBox component is a control that combines an edit box with a list, much like
that of a list box. Users can either type text in the edit box or select an item from the list. +
When users enter data into the combo box, either by typing text or selecting an item
from the list, the value of the Text property changes. Your application can also change
+
the Text property by displaying text for the user in the edit box of the combo box.
The list of items in the list is the value of the Items property. The ItemIndex property
+
indicates which item in the list is selected. +
You can add, delete, insert, and move items in the list using the Add, Delete, and Insert
methods of the Items object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to add a string to the
list, you could write this line of code:
+
ComboBox1.Items.Add('New item'); +
Sort the items in the list with the Sorted property.
At run time, you can select all the text in the edit box with the SelectAll method. To find
+
out which text the user selected, or to replace selected text, use the SelText property. To
select only part of the text or to find out what part of the text is selected, use the SelStart
+
and SelLength properties.
You can change the style of the combo box or make it an owner-draw control by
+
changing the value of the Style property. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for Combo Box component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Combo Box component. +
Properties +
Align Hint SelLength +
BoundsRect
Canvas
ItemHeight
ItemIndex
SelStart
SelTSelStartext +
T
Color Items ShowHint
ComponentIndex Left Showing
Ctl3D MaxLength Sorted
Cursor Name Style
DragCursor Owner TabOrder
DragMode Parent TabStop
DropDownCount ParentColor Tag
Enabled ParentCtl3D Text
Font ParentFont Top
Height ParentShowHint Visible
HelpContext PopupMenu Width

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 795

TComboBoxStyle type

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SelectAll
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
Clear Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update
Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnChange OnDrawItem OnKeyDown
OnClick OnDropDown OnKeyPress
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnDragDrop OnEnter OnMeasureItem
OnDragOver OnExit

TComboBoxStyle type StdCtrls

Declaration
TComboBoxStyle = (csDropDown, csSimple, csDropDownList, csOwnerDrawFixed,
csOwnerDrawVariable);
The TComboBoxStyle type defines the styles of combo boxes. TComboBoxStyle is the type
of the combo box control’s Style property.

TComponentName type Classes

Declaration
TComponentName: string[63];
The TComponentName type is the type of the Name property for all components.

TControlScrollBar object Forms

The TControlScrollBar object is used by the HorzScrollBar and VertScrollBar properties of
a form or scroll box to display horizontal and vertical scroll bars users can use to scroll
the form or scroll box.

796 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TCopyMode type

The HorzScrollBar and VertScrollBar objects have nested properties that determine how
+
these scroll bars behave. The Range property determines how far a user can scroll a form
or scroll box. Increment determines how many positions the thumb tab on a scroll bar
+
moves when the user clicks on the scroll bar arrows. You can set the position of the
thumb tab with the Position property. If you don’t want a scroll bar to appear, set the
+
Visible property to False.
If you want to prevent controls from scrolling partially off screen so the user can’t scroll
+
them back into view, use the Margin property. +
In addition to these properties, this object also has the methods that apply to all objects.
+
Properties
Align Margin Range
+
ComponentIndex
Increment
Name
Owner
ScrollPos
Tag
+
Kind Position Visible +
TCopyMode type Graphics
+
Declaration
+
TCopyMode = Longint; +
TCopyMode is the type of the CopyMode property of a TCanvas object.
+
TCurrencyField component +
A TCurrencyField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as a binary +
value with a range from (positive or negative) 5.0 * 10-324 to 1.7 * 10308. It has an accuracy
of 15 to 16 digits. Use TCurrencyField for fields that hold currency values. +
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to +
access or change the current field value.
The TCurrencyField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
T
component.

Properties
Alignment DisplayLabel MinValue
AsBoolean DisplayName Name
AsDateTime DisplayText Owner
AsFloat DisplayWidth Precision
AsInteger EditFormat ReadOnly
AsString EditMask Required

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 797

TCursor type

Calculated EditMaskPtr Size

CanModify FieldName Tag
Currency FieldNo Text
DataSet Index Value
DataSize IsIndexField Visible
DataType IsNull
DisplayFormat MaxValue

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TCursor type Controls

Declaration
TCursor = -32768..32767;
The TCursor type defines the different kinds of standard cursors a component can have.
TCursor is the type of the Cursor property and the DragCursor property.

TCustomColors type Dialogs

Declaration
TCustomColors = array[0..15] of Longint;
The TCustomColors type is an array that holds the color values for the custom colors the
user can create using the Color dialog box (TColorDialog component).

TDatabase component DB
The TDatabase component is not required for database access, but it provides additional
control over factors that are important for client/server applications. If you do not create
an explicit TDatabase component for a database, and an application opens a table in the
database, then Delphi will create a temporary (virtual) TDatabase component.

798 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDatabase component

DatabaseName is the name of the database connection that can be used by dataset
+
components. In other words, this is the name of the local alias defined by the component
that will show up in the DatabaseName drop-down list of dataset components.
+
AliasName is the name of an existing BDE alias defined with the BDE Configuration +
Utility. This is where the TDatabase component gets its default parameter settings. This
property will be cleared if DriverName is set. The Params property holds the connection
parameters for the alias.
+
DriverName is the name of a BDE driver, such as STANDARD (for dBASE and Paradox), +
ORACLE, SYBASE, INFORMIX or INTERBASE. This property will be cleared if
AliasName is set, because an AliasName specifies a driver type. +
The DataSets property of TDatabase is an array of references to the active datasets in the
TDatabase. The DatasetCount property is an integer that specifies the number of active +
datasets.
Set the Connected property to open or close the database. Set KeepConnection to True to
+
avoid having to log in to the server each time the database is opened.
Set LoginPrompt to True to always prompt for user name and password when logging in
+
to the database server. +
The TDatabase component controls server transactions. Call StartTransaction to begin a
transaction, RollBack to cancel it, or Commit to commit the changes. The TransIsolation
property specifies the transaction isolation level to request on the server.
+
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and +
methods that apply to all components.
+
Properties
AliasName Handle Owner
+
Connected
DatabaseName
IsSQLBased
KeepConnection
Params
Tag
+
DatasetCount
Datasets
Locale
LoginPrompt
Temporary
TransIsolation
+
DriverName Name +
Methods T
Close Commit Rollback
CloseDatasets Open StartTransaction

Events
OnLogin

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 799

TDataChangeEvent type

TDataChangeEvent type DB
Declaration
TDataChangeEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Field: TField) of object;
The TDataChangeEvent points to a method that handles the changing of data in a data
source component (TDataSource). The Field parameter is the field in which the data is
changing. It is used by the OnDataChange event of the data source.

TDataMode type DDEMan

Declaration
TDataMode = (ddeAutomatic, ddeManual);
The TDataMode type contains the types of connect modes used when initiating a DDE
conversation. Specify the connect mode in the ConnectMode property.

TDataSetNotifyEvent type DB
Declaration
TDataSetNotifyEvent = procedure(DataSet: TDataSet) of object;
The TDataSetNotifyEvent type points to a method that notifies a dataset component that
an event has occurred. It is used by all the events of the tables, queries, and stored
procedures (TTable, TQuery, and TStoredProc components).

TDataSetState type DB
Declaration
TDataSetState = (dsInactive, dsBrowse, dsEdit, dsInsert, dsSetKey, dsCalcFields);
The TDataSetState type is the set of values of the State property of a dataset component.

800 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDataSource component
+
TDataSource component DB
+
TDataSource is the interface between a dataset component and data-aware controls on
forms. TDataSource attaches to a dataset through the Dataset property. Data-aware +
controls, such as database edit boxes and data grids, attach to a TDataSource through
their DataSource properties. Usually there is only one data source for each dataset
component, but there can be as many data source components connected to a dataset as
+
you need. +
The Dataset property identifies the dataset from which the data is obtained. Set the
AutoEdit property to False to prevent the dataset from going into edit mode
automatically when the value of an attached data-aware control is modified (you can
+
still call the Edit method to permit modifications). Set the Enabled property to False to
clear and disable the data-aware controls. Check the current status of the dataset with
+
the State property. To monitor changes to both the dataset and attached data-aware
controls, assign a method to the OnDataChange event. To monitor changes in the
+
dataset’s state, assign a method to the OnStateChange event. To update the dataset prior
to a post, assign a method to the OnUpdateData event. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
+
Properties
+
AutoEdit Name Tag +
Dataset
Enabled
Owner
State +
Methods +
Edit +
Events +
OnDataChange OnStateChange OnUpdateData +
TDateField component
T
A TDateField represents a field of a record in dataset. It represents a value consisting of a
date.
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
access or change the current field value.
The TDateField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 801

TDateTime type

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TDateTime type System

Declaration
TDateTime: Float;
TDateTime is the type used by date and time routines to hold date and time values.
Delphi stores dates in the TDateTime type as the number of days that have passed since
1/1/0001. The resulting value is an integer. Time is stored as the floating-point part of
the TDateTime. The floating-point part represents the fractional part of the day.

TDateTimeField component
A TDateTimeField component represents a field of a record in a dataset. It represents a
value consisting of a date and time.
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
access or change the current field value.
The TDateTimeField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

802 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBCheckBox component
+
Properties
Alignment DisplayFormat IsNull
+
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
Name
Owner
+
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
ReadOnly
Required
+
AsString
Calculated
EditMask
EditMaskPtr
Size
Tag
+
CanModify
DataSet
FieldName
FieldNo
Text
Value
+
DataSize
DataType
Index
IsIndexField
Visible +
Methods
+
Assign FocusControl SetData +
AssignValue
Clear
GetData
IsValidChar +
Events +
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate +
+
OnGetText

TDBCheckBox component DBCtrls +

A check box presents an option to the user; the user can check it to select the option, or
uncheck it to deselect the option. A database check box (TDBCheckBox) is much like an
+
ordinary check box (TCheckBox), except that it is aware of the data in a particular field of
a dataset.
+
You can link a database check box with a dataset by specifying the data source
component (TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the check box’s
+
DataSource property. Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of
the check box’s DataField property.
T
If the contents of a field in the current record of the dataset equals the string of the
ValueChecked property, the database check box is checked. If the contents matches the
string specified as the value of the ValueUnchecked property, the check box is unchecked.
When the user checks or unchecks a database check box, the string specified as the value
of the ValueChecked or ValueUnchecked property becomes the value of the field in the
dataset, as long as the value of the ReadOnly property is False and the dataset is in edit
mode. If you want the user to be able to view the data in the field but not modify it, set
ReadOnly to True.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 803

TDBComboBox component

If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBCheckBox, use the
check box (TCheckBox) component instead to conserve system resources.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for DBCheckBox component in the online Help, and
choose the Using the DBCheck Box Component.

Properties
Align Enabled PopupMenu
Alignment Font ReadOnly
AllowGrayed Height ShowHint
Caption HelpContext Showing
Checked Hint State
Color Left TabOrder
ComponentIndex Name TabStop
Ctl3D Owner Tag
Cursor Parent Top
DataField ParentColor ValueChecked
DataSource ParentCtl3D ValueUnchecked
DragCursor ParentFont Visible
DragMode ParentShowHint Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScreenToClient
BringToFront GetTextLen ScrollBy
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetBounds
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint Show
Focused ScaleBy Update

Events
OnClick OnEnter OnKeyUp
OnDragDrop OnExit OnMouseDown
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnMouseMove
OnEndDrag OnKeyPress OnMouseUp

TDBComboBox component DBCtrls

A TDBComboBox component is a data-aware combo box control. It allows the user to
change the value of the field of the current record in a dataset either by selecting an item

804 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBComboBox component

from a list or by typing in the edit box part of the control. The selected item or entered
+
text becomes the new value of the field if the database combo box’s ReadOnly property is
False.
+
How a database combo box appears and behaves depends on the value of its Style +
property.
You can link the database combo box with a dataset by specifying the data source +
component (TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the memo’s
DataSource property. Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of +
the DataField property.
You specify the values the user can choose from in the combo box with the Items
+
property. For example, if you want the user to choose from five different values in the
combo box list, specify five strings as the value of Items. Just as with an ordinary combo +
box, you can add, delete, and insert items to it using the Add, Delete, and Insert methods
of the Items object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to add a string to a database
combo box, you could write this line of code:
+
DBListBox1.Items.Add(‘New item’); +
The ItemIndex property indicates which item in the database combo box is selected.
Sort the items in the list with the Sorted property.
+
At run time, you can select all the text in the edit box of the database combo box with the +
SelectAll method. To find out which text the user selected, or to replace selected text, use
the SelText property. To select only part of the text or to find out what part of the text is
selected, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the +
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for DBComboBox component in the online Help, and
+
choose the topic Using the DBCombo Box Component.
+
Properties
+
Align
BoundsRect
Height
HelpContext
ReadOnly
SelLength +
Color
ComponentIndex
Hint
ItemHeight
SelStart
SelText T
Ctl3D ItemIndex ShowHint
Cursor Items Showing
DataField Left Sorted
DataSource Name Style
DragCursor Owner TabOrder
DragMode Parent TabStop
DropDownCount ParentColor Tag
Enabled ParentCtl3D Text
Fields ParentFont Top

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 805

TDBEdit component

Font ParentShowHint Visible

Handle PopupMenu Width

Methods
BeginDrag Focused ScreenToClient
BringToFront GetTextBuf ScrollBy
CanFocus GetTextLen SelectAll
Clear Hide SendToBack
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetBounds
CopyToClipboard PasteFromClipboard SetFocus
CutToClipboard Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update

Events
OnChange OnDrawItem OnKeyDown
OnClick OnDropDown OnKeyPress
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnDragDrop OnEnter OnMeasureItem
OnDragOver OnExit

TDBEdit component DBEdit

A TDBEdit component is a data-aware edit box with all the capabilities of an ordinary
edit box (a TEdit component).
Unlike an ordinary edit box, you can use the database edit box to enter data into a field,
or to simply display data from a field in a dataset. Link the database edit box with a
dataset by specifying the data source component (TDataSource) that identifies the
dataset as the value of the edit box’s DataSource property. Specify the field in the dataset
you want to access as the value of the DataField property.
Your application can tell if the text displayed in the edit box changed by checking the
value of the Modified property. To limit the number of characters users can enter into the
edit box, use the MaxLength property.
If you want to prevent the user from modifying the contents of the field linked to the
edit box, set the ReadOnly property to True. .
You can choose to have the text in an edit box automatically selected whenever it
becomes the active control with the AutoSelect property. At run time, you can select all
the text in the edit box with the SelectAll method. To find out which text in the edit box
the user has selected or to replace selected text, use the SelText property. To clear
selected text, call the ClearSelection method. To select only part of the text or to find out
what part of the text is selected, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.

806 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBEdit component

You can cut, copy, and paste text in an edit box using the CutToClipboard,
+
CopyToClipboard, and PasteFromClipboard methods. +
Your application can use an edit box that displays a specified character rather than the
actual character typed into it. If the edit box is used to enter a password, onlookers won’t +
be able to read the typed text. Specify the special character with the PasswordChar
property. +
If you want the edit box to automatically resize to accommodate a change in font size,
use the AutoSize property. +
If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBEdit, use the TEdit
component instead to conserve system resources.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
+
For more information, search for DBEdit component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the DBEdit Component.
+
Properties
+
Align Fields PasswordChar
+
AutoSelect
AutoSize
Font
Height
PopupMenu
ReadOnly
+
BorderStyle
BoundsRect
HelpContext
Hint
SelLength
SelStart
+
CharCase
Color
IsMasked
Left
SelText
ShowHint
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
MaxLength
Modified
Showing
TabOrder
+
Cursor
DataField
Name
Owner
TabStop
Tag
+
DataSource
DragCursor
Parent
ParentColor
Text
Top
+
DragMode
EditText
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
Visible
Width
+
Enabled ParentShowHint
T
Methods
BeginDrag GetSelTextBuf SelectAll
BringToFront GetTextBuf SendToBack
CanFocus GetTextLen SetBounds
Clear Hide SetFocus
ClearSelection Invalidate SetSelTextBuf
ClientToScreen PasteFromClipboard SetTextBuf
CopyToClipboard Refresh Show
CutToClipboard Repaint Update

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 807

TDBGrid component

Dragging ScaleBy ValidateEdit

EndDrag ScreenToClient
Focused ScrollBy

Events
OnChange OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyPress

TDBGrid component DBGrids

The TDBGrid component can access the data in a database table or query and display it
in a grid. Your application can use the data grid to insert, delete, or edit data in the
database, or simply to display it.
The most convenient way to move through data in a data grid and to insert, delete, and
edit data is to use the database navigator (TDBNavigator) with the data grid.
The Fields property is an array of all the fields in the dataset displayed in the data grid.
To determine which field is the currently selected field, use the SelectedField property.
Use the FieldCount property to find out how many fields are in the dataset displayed in
the data grid.
You can change the appearance and behavior of a data grid by changing the value of the
Options property. For example, you can choose to allow the user to use the Tab key to
move to a new column, or you can decide to display grid lines between columns, but not
between rows.
If you want the user to be able only to view the data and not to edit it, set the ReadOnly
property to True. If you want the user to be able to edit the data, set ReadOnly to False.
Also, the dataset must be in Edit state, and the ReadOnly property of the data must be
False. The user can cancel an edit by pressing Esc.
Users don’t really insert or edit the data in a field using the data grid until they move to
a different record or close the application. Your application can also post edits using
code within event handlers such as OnColExit or OnColEnter.
The value of the TitleFont property determines which font is used to display the column
headings.
To customize the order the fields appear in the grid, use the Fields editor. You can find
information about it in the online Help; search for Fields Editor.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for DBGrid component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the DBGrid Component.

808 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBGridOptions type
+
Properties
Align EditorMode PopupMenu
+
BorderStyle
BoundsRect
Enabled
FieldCount
ReadOnly
SelectedField
+
Brush
Canvas
Fields
FixedColor
SelectedIndex
Showing
+
ClientHeight
ClientOrigin
Font
Height
TabOrder
TabStop
+
ClientRect
ClientWidth
HelpContext
Hint
Tag
TitleFont
+
Color
ComponentIndex
Left
Name
Top
TopRow
+
Ctl3D
Cursor
Options
Owner
Visible
Width
+
DataSource
DefaultDrawing
Parent
ParentColor
+
DragCursor
DragMode
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy +
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetTextLen
Hide
SendToBack
SetBounds +
ClientToScreen
Dragging
Invalidate
Refresh
SetFocus
SetTextBuf +
EndDrag
FindComponent
Repaint
ScaleBy
Show
Update +
Focused ScreenToClient
+
Events
OnColEnter OnDragOver OnExit
+
OnColExit
OnDblClick
OnDrawDataCell
OnEndDrag
OnKeyDown
OnKeyPress
T
OnDragDrop OnEnter OnKeyUp

TDBGridOptions type DBGrids

Declaration
TDBGridOption = (dgEditing, dgAlwaysShowEditor, dgTitles, dgIndicator,
dgColumnResize,dgColLines, dgRowLines, dgTabs, dgRowSelect, dgAlwaysShowSelection,
dgConfirmDelete, dgCancelOnExit);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 809

TDBImage component

TDBGridOptions = set of TDBGridOption;

The TDBGridOptions type is a set that defines the possible values of the Options property
of the data grid (TDBGrid).

TDBImage component DBCtrls

The TDBImage component displays a graphic image from a BLOB (binary large object)
stored in a field of the current record of a dataset. You can also modify the image if the
ReadOnly property is set to False.
You can link the database image with a dataset by specifying the data source component
(TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the image’s DataSource property.
Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of the image’s DataField
property.
You can control when the image appears in the database control with the AutoDisplay
property.
You can change the size at which the BLOB is displayed by using the Stretch property.
You can cut, copy, and paste images in the database image control. While your
application is running and the database image control has the focus, use the Windows
cut, copy, and paste keys (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V). If you change your mind, you can
return to the original state of the database image control by pressing Esc before moving
to another record.
If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBImage, use a
database image control (TImage) instead to conserve system resources.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for DBImage Component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the DBImage Component.

Properties
Align Fields ParentShowHint
AutoDisplay Font PopupMenu
BorderStyle Handle ReadOnly
Center Height ShowHint
Color HelpContext Stretch
ComponentIndex Hint TabOrder
Ctl3D Left TabStop
Cursor Name Tag
DataField Owner Top
DataSource Parent Visible
DragCursor ParentColor Width

810 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBListBox component
+
DragMode
Enabled
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont +
Methods +
BeginDrag
BringToFront
Focused
Hide
ScreenToClient
SendToBack
+
ClientToScreen
CopyToClipboard
Invalidate
LoadPicture
SetBounds
Show
+
CutToClipboard
Dragging
PasteFromClipboard
Refresh
Update
+
EndDrag Repaint
+
Events
+
OnClick
OnDblClick
OnEnter
OnExit
OnMouseDown
OnMouseMove +
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnKeyDown
OnKeyPress
OnMouseUp
+
OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
+
TDBListBox component DBCtrls +
The TDBListBox component is a data-aware list box. It allows the user to change the
value of the field of the current record in a dataset by selecting an item from a list. The
+
selected item becomes the new value of the field. +
Link the database list box with a dataset by specifying the data source component
(TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the memo’s DataSource property. +
Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of the DataField property.
You specify the values the user can choose from in the list box with the Items property. +
For example, if you want the user to choose from five different values in the list box,
specify five strings as the value of Items. Just as with an ordinary list box, you can add, +
delete, and insert items in the list box using the Add, Delete, and Insert methods of the
Items object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to add a string to a database list box,
you could write this line of code:
T
DBListBox1.Items.Add(‘New item’);
The ItemIndex property indicates which item in the list box is selected. If you want to
prevent the user from being able to select an item in the list box, set the ReadOnly
property to False.
If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBListBox, use a list
box (TListBox) instead to conserve system resources.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 811

TDBListBox component

For more information, search for DBListBox component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the DBListBox Component.

Properties
Align Font ParentFont
BorderStyle Handle PopupMenu
BoundsRect Height ReadOnly
Brush HelpContext SelCount
Canvas Hint Selected
Color ItemIndex Showing
ComponentIndex IntegralHeight Sorted
Ctl3D ItemHeight Style
Cursor Items TabOrder
DataField Left TabStop
DataSource Name Tag
DragCursor Owner Top
DragMode Parent TopIndex
Enabled ParentColor Visible
Fields ParentCtl3D Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen ScrollBy
BringToFront Hide SendToBack
CanFocus ItemAtPos SetBounds
Clear ItemRect SetFocus
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetTextBuf
Dragging Refresh Show
EndDrag Repaint Update
Focused ScaleBy
GetTextBuf ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMeasureItem
OnDragDrop OnExit OnMouseDown
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnMouseMove
OnDrawItem OnKeyPress OnMouseUp

812 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBLookupCombo component
+
TDBLookupCombo component DBLookup
+
A TDBLookupCombo component is a data-aware combo box that “looks up” a value in a
lookup table. +
For example, imagine that DataSource1 identifies the table called Customers, and
DataSource2 identifies the table called Orders. The Orders table contains a CustNo field
+
which has a number that identifies the customer who placed the order. When the user
moves through the records of the Orders table, you want the database lookup combo +
box to display the name of the customer, and you want the drop-down list of the combo
box to display all the customer names. You can do this, because Customers also contains
a field that identifies the customer by number (CustNo), as well as the customer’s name.
+
To have the combo box look up the customer name, set the DataSource property value of +
the combo box to DataSource2, which refers to the Orders table. Set the DataField property
value to CustNo. The LookupSource is the data source that refers to the table the combo
box uses to look up the name of the customer—in this case, DataSource1—because the
+
Customers table contains the name of the customer. +
Set the LookupField property to CustNo. LookupField links the two tables on the value that
identifies the customer by number. In this example, both the DataField value and the +
LookupField value have the same field name, but this isn’t required. If the Active property
of both tables is True, the database combo box displays the value of the CustNo field.
You want to see the customer’s name—not the customer number—so set the
+
LookupDisplay property to Name, the field that contains the full name of the customer.
Now as you move through the records in the Orders table, the name of the customer
+
who placed the order appears in the database lookup combo box.
You can choose to display multiple fields in the drop-down list of the combo box by
+
entering a list of fields to display as the value of the LookupDisplay property. To display
the resulting columns the way you want, use the Options property.
+
If the ReadOnly property is False, the user can select a displayed value in the database
lookup combo box and the corresponding value in current record of the primary dataset
+
updates with a new value. Using the Customers and Orders example, when the user
selects a customer name in the lookup table using the database lookup combo box, the
+
value of the CustNo field in the primary dataset updates accordingly.
The Style property determines whether the user can edit a selected item in the combo
+
box or enter a new value and therefore change the value in the lookup table, or simply
select items without being able to edit them.
T
The DropDownCount and DropDownWidth properties determine how long and how
wide the drop-down list of the combo box is.
The Value property is the string the combo box uses to identify which record in the
lookup table to display; it is the contents of the DataField for the current record. The
DisplayValue is the actual displayed string in the combo box.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 813

TDBLookupComboStyle type

Properties
Align Height PopupMenu
AutoSelect HelpContext ReadOnly
BoundsRect Hint SelLength
Color Left SelStart
ComponentIndex LookupDisplay SelText
Ctl3D LookupField ShowHint
Cursor LookupSource Showing
DataField MaxLength Style
DataSource Name TabOrder
DisplayValue Options TabStop
DragCursor Owner Tag
DragMode Parent Text
DropDownCount ParentColor Top
DropDownWidth ParentCtl3D Value
Enabled ParentFont Visible
Font ParentShowHint Width

Methods
BeginDrag Focused ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextBuf SelectAll
CanFocus GetTextLen SendToBack
Clear Hide SetBounds
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetTextBuf
CloseUp Refresh Show
Dragging Repaint Update
DropDown ScaleBy
EndDrag ScreenToClient

Events
OnChange OnDropDown OnKeyPress
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDragDrop OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnMouseUp

TDBLookupComboStyle type DBLookup

Declaration
TDBLookupComboStyle = (csDropDown, csDropDownList);

814 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBLookupList component

The TDBLookupComboStyle determines the kind of combo box. It is the type of the Style
+
property for a database lookup combo box (TDBLookupCombo). +
TDBLookupList component DBLookup
+
A TDBLookupList component is a data-aware list box that “looks up” a value in a lookup
+
table.
For example, imagine that DataSource1 identifies the table called Books, and DataSource2
+
identifies the table called BookOrders. The BookOrders table contains a Volume field that
use a number to identify the book the customer ordered. When the user moves through
+
the records of the BookOrders table, you want the database lookup list box to display the
titles of the books. You can do this, because Books also contains a field that identifies the
+
book by number (Volume), as well as the title of the book.
For the database lookup list box to look up the title of the book, set the DataSource
+
property value of the list box to DataSource2, which refers to the BookOrders table. Set the
DataField property value to Volume. The LookupSource is the data source that refers to the
+
table the combo box uses to look up the title of the book—in this case, DataSource1—
because the Books table contains the book’s title. +
Set the LookupField property to Volume. LookupField links the two tables on the value that
identifies the book by number. In this example, both the DataField value and the
+
LookupField value have the same field name, but this isn’t required. If the Active property
of both tables is True, the database list box now displays the value of the Volume field. +
You want to see the title of the book—not the volume number—so set the LookupDisplay
property to Title, the field that contains the title of the book. Now as you move through +
the records in the BookOrders table, the title of the ordered book appears in the database
lookup list box. +
You can choose to display multiple fields in the list box by entering the list of fields to
display as the value of the LookupDisplay property, separating each field with a +
semicolon. To display the resulting columns the way you want, use the Options
property. +
If the ReadOnly property is False, the user can select a displayed value in the database
lookup list box and the corresponding value in current record of the primary dataset +
updates with a new value. Using the Books and BookOrders example, when the user
selects a title in the lookup table using the database lookup list box, the value of the
CustNo field in the primary dataset updates accordingly.
T
The Value property is the string the combo box uses to identify which record in the
lookup table to display. The DisplayValue is the actual displayed string in the list box.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Properties
Align Fields ParentFont
BorderStyle Font ParentShowHint

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 815

TDBLookupListOptions type

BoundsRect Height PopupMenu

Color HelpContext ReadOnly
ComponentIndex Hint SelectedField
Ctl3D Left SelectedIndex
Cursor LookupDisplay ShowHint
DataField LookupField TabOrder
DataSource LookupSource TabStop
DisplayValue Name Tag
DragCursor Options Value
DragMode Owner Visible
EditorMode Parent Width
Enabled ParentColor
FieldCount ParentCtl3D

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SendToBack
CanFocus Hide SetBounds
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetFocus
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint Show
FindComponent ScaleBy Update
Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyPress
OnDblClick OnEnter OnKeyUp
OnDragDrop OnExit
OnDragOver OnKeyDown

TDBLookupListOptions type DBLookup

Declaration
TDBLookupListOption = (loColLines, loRowLines, loTitles);
TDBLookupListOptions = set of TDBLookupListOption;
The TDBLookupListOptions type defines the possible values contained in the Options set
of a database lookup combo box (TDBLookupCombo) or database lookup list box
(TDBLookupList).

816 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBMemo component
+
TDBMemo component DBCtrls
+
A TDBMemo component displays text for the user and permits the user display and
enter data into a field much like a TDBEdit component. The TDBMemo component +
permits multiple lines to be entered or displayed, including text BLOBs (binary large
objects). +
Unlike an ordinary memo control, you can use the database memo to enter data into a
field, or to simply display data from a field of the current record in a dataset. Link the +
database memo with a dataset by specifying the data source component (TDataSource)
that identifies the dataset as the value of the memo’s DataSource property. Specify the
field in the dataset you want to access as the value of the DataField property.
+
The text in the database memo is the value of the Text property. When the value of Text +
changes, the new Text value becomes the value of the field for the current record in the
dataset. If you just want the user to be able only to view the data in the field and not to
change it, set the ReadOnly property to True.
+
Your application can tell if the value of Text changes by checking the value of the +
Modified property. To limit the number of characters users can enter into the database
memo, use the MaxLength property. +
You can access the text by line using the Lines property. If you want to work with the
text as one chunk, use the Text property. If you want to work with individual lines of +
text, the Lines property will better suit your needs. Also, the first line of text is the value
of the Text property, which can be up to 255 characters. +
You can add, delete, insert, and move lines in a database memo control using the Add,
Delete, and Insert methods of the Lines object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to
+
add a line to a memo, you could write this line of code:
Memo1.Items.Add(‘Another line is added’);
+
You can cut, copy, and paste text to and from a database memo control using the
CutToClipboard, CopyToClipboard, and PasteFromClipboard methods.
+
If the memo displays a BLOB field, you can control when the text appears in the memo +
with the AutoDisplay property. You can also load the text using the LoadMemo method.
Several properties affect how the database memo appears and how text is entered. You
+
can choose to supply scroll bars in the memo with the ScrollBars property. If you want
the text to break into lines, set WordWrap to True. If you want the user to be able to use T
tabs in the text, set WantTabs to True.
At run time, you can select all the text in the memo with the SelectAll method. To find
out which text in the memo the user has selected, or to replace selected text, use the
SelText property. To select only part of the text or to find out what part of the text is
selected, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.
If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBMemo, use a memo
control (TMemo) instead to conserve system resources.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 817

TDBMemo component

For more information, search for DBMemo Component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the DBMemo Component.

Properties
Align HelpContext SelLength
Alignment Hint SelStart
AutoDisplay Left SelText
BorderStyle Lines ShowHint
Color MaxLength Showing
ComponentIndex Modified TabOrder
Ctl3D Name TabStop
Cursor Owner Tag
DataField Parent Text
DataSource ParentColor Top
DragCursor ParentCtl3D Visible
DragMode ParentFont WantTabs
Enabled ParentShowHint Width
Fields PopupMenu WordWrap
Font ReadOnly
Height ScrollBars

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SelectAll
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetBounds
Clear LoadMemo SetFocus
Dragging Refresh SetSelTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint SetTextBuf
Focused ScaleBy Show
GetSelTextBuf ScreenToClient Update

Events
OnChange OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyPress

818 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBNavigator component
+
TDBNavigator component DBCtrls
+
The TDBNavigator component (a database navigator) is used to move through the data
in a database table or query, and perform operations on the data, such as inserting a +
blank record or posting a record. It is used in conjunction with the data-aware controls,
such as the data grid, which give you access to the data, either for editing the data, or for
simply displaying it.
+
You link the database navigator with a dataset when you specify a data source +
component that identifies the dataset as the value of navigator’s DataSource property.
The database navigator consists of multiple buttons.
+
+
+
First Prior Next Last Insert Delete Edit Post Cancel Refresh

When the user chooses one of the navigator buttons, the appropriate action occurs on
+
the dataset the navigator is linked to. For example, if the user clicks the Insert button, a
blank record is inserted in the dataset.
+
This table describes the buttons on the navigator: +
Button Purpose +
First

Prior
Sets the current record to the first record in the dataset, disables the First and Prior buttons,
and enables the Next and last buttons if they are disabled
Sets the current record to the previous record and enables the Last and Next buttons if they
+
Next
are disabled
Sets the current record to the next record and enables the First and Prior buttons if they are
+
Last
disabled
Sets the current record to the last record in the dataset, disables the Last and Next buttons,
and enables the First and Prior buttons if they are disabled
+
Insert Inserts a new record before the current record, and sets the dataset into Insert and Edit
states
+
Delete
Edit
Deletes the current record and makes the next record the current record
Puts the dataset into Edit state so that the current record can be modified
+
Post
Cancel
Writes changes in the current record to the database
Cancels edits to the current record, restores the record display to its condition prior to
T
editing, and turns off Insert and Edit states if they are active
Refresh Redisplays the current record from the dataset, thereby updating the display of the record
on the form

Using the VisibleButtons property, you can decide which operations are allowed on the
data and when.
You can customize the Help Hints available for the buttons on the database navigator by
specifying values in the Hints property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 819

TDBRadioGroup component

For more information, search for DBNavigator in the online Help, and choose the topic
Using the DBNavigator Component.

Properties
Align Height PopupMenu
BoundsRect HelpContext Showing
ComponentIndex Hint ShowHint
ConfirmDelete Hints TabOrder
Ctl3D Left TabStop
Cursor Name Tag
DataSource Owner Top
DragCursor Parent Visible
DragMode ParentCtl3D VisibleButtons
Enabled ParentShowHint Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SendToBack
BtnClick Hide SetBounds
CanFocus Invalidate SetFocus
ClientToScreen Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update
Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMouseUp
OnDragDrop OnExit OnResize
OnDragOver OnMouseDown

TDBRadioGroup component DBCtrls

The TDBRadioGroup component displays a group of data-aware radio buttons. Only one
of the radio buttons can be selected at a time, so the radio buttons present a set of
mutually exclusive choices. Using a database radio button group box, you can ensure
that the user must enter one of the presented options in a field, or the database radio
group box can display the value of data in a field when the field is limited to a few
possible values. For example, if only the values Red, Green, and Blue are valid in the
field, the group box can have Red, Green, and Blue radio buttons.

820 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDBRadioGroup component

Link the database radio group box with a dataset by specifying the data source
+
component (TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the group box’s
DataSource property. Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of
+
the group box’s DataField property. +
The radio buttons are added to the group box when strings are entered as the value of
the Items property. The strings entered in the Items property become the captions of the
radio buttons if there are no strings in the Values property. If there are strings in the
+
Values property, the first string is associated with the first radio button, the second with
the second radio button, and so on. The Values string for a radio button is the value in
+
the field of the current record that selects the radio button.
If the user selects a radio button and the ReadOnly property is False, the Values string for
+
the radio button becomes the contents of the field for the current record in the dataset. +
The Value property contains the contents of the field of the current record in the dataset.
You can display the radio buttons in a single column or in multiple columns by setting
+
the value of the Columns property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for DBRadioGroup in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the DBRadioGroup Component. +
Properties +
Align
Caption
Font
Height
ParentShowHint
PopupMenu
+
Color
Columns
HelpContext
Hint
ReadOnly
ShowHint
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
ItemIndex
Items
Showing
TabOrder
+
Cursor
DataField
Left
Name
TabStop
Tag
+
DataSource
DragCursor
Owner
Parent
Top
Value
+
DragMode
Enabled
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Values
Visible
T
Fields ParentFont Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SendToBack
CanFocus Hide SetBounds
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetFocus
ContainsControl Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 821

TDBText component

EndDrag ScaleBy Update

Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnChange OnDragDrop OnEnter
OnClick OnDragOver OnExit
OnDblClick OnEndDrag

TDBText component DBCtrls

The TDBText component is a data-aware control that displays text on a form. Your
application can display the contents of a field in the current record of a dataset in a
database text control, but the user won’t be able to modify the field’s contents.
Link the database text control with a dataset by specifying the data source component
(TDataSource) that identifies the dataset as the value of the label’s DataSource property.
Specify the field in the dataset you want to access as the value of the label’s DataField
property.
The text of a database text control is the value of its Caption property. How the text of the
caption aligns within the label is determined by the value of the Alignment property.
You can have the text control resize automatically to fit a changing caption if you set the
AutoSize property to True. If you prefer to have the text wrap, set WordWrap to True.
If you want a database text control to appear on top of a graphic, but you want to be able
to see through the control so that part of the graphic isn’t hidden, set the Transparent
property to True.
If your application doesn’t require the data-aware capabilities of TDBText, you should
use the label component (TLabel) instead to conserve system resources.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all controls.
For more information, search for DBText component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the DBText Component.

Properties
Align Enabled ParentShowHint
Alignment Fields PopupMenu
AutoSize Font ShowHint
BoundsRect Height Tag
Color Hint Top
ComponentIndex Left Transparent
Cursor Name Visible
DataField Owner Width
DataSource Parent WordWrap

822 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDDEClientConv component
+
DragCursor
DragMode
ParentColor
ParentFont +
Methods +
BeginDrag
BringToFront
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
ScreenToClient
SendToBack
+
CanFocus
ClientToScreen
Hide
Invalidate
SetBounds
SetTextBuf
+
Dragging
EndDrag
Refresh
Repaint
Show
Update
+
Events
+
OnClick OnDragOver OnMouseMove +
OnDblClick
OnDragDrop
OnEndDrag
OnMouseDown
OnMouseUp
+
+
TDDEClientConv component DDEMan
+
A TDDEClientConv component establishes a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
conversation with a DDE server application. Use it in conjunction with a
TDDEClientItem component to make your application a DDE client.
+
To link to a DDE server application, define the DDE conversation by specifying the +
server application name in the DDEService property and the topic of the DDE
conversation in the DDETopic property. To establish a link at design time, click the
ellipsis (...) button for DDEService or DDETopic in the Object Inspector and choose Paste
+
Link in the DDE Info dialog box. To establish a link at run time, specify the service and
topic with the Setlink method.
+
To send data to the DDE server, use the PokeData or ExecuteMacro methods. PokeData
sends a text string to the linked item in the DDE server. ExecuteMacro sends a text string
+
containing a macro command to be processed by the DDE server. +
You can change the way a DDE conversation is established by specifying the
ConnectMode property. If ConnectMode is ddeAutomatic, the client attempts to establish T
the conversation when the TDDEClientConv component is created at run time. If
ConnectMode is ddeManual, you must write code that executes the OpenLink method to
establish the DDE conversation.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for TDDEClientConv component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the DDE Client Conversation Component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 823

TDDEClientItem component

Properties
ComponentIndex DDETopic Owner
ConnectMode FormatChars ServiceApplication
DDEService Name Tag

Methods
CloseLink OpenLink RequestData
ExecuteMacro PokeData SetLink
ExecuteMacroLines PokeDataLines

Events
OnClose OnOpen

TDDEClientItem component DDEMan

A TDDEClientItem component defines the item of a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
conversation. Use it in conjunction with a TDDEClientConv component to make your
application a DDE client.
To link to a DDE conversation, specify the name of a TDDEClientConv component in the
DDEConv property. The DDE item of the conversation should be specified in the
DDEItem property. If the TDDEClientConv component has established a link with a DDE
server, the server will automatically and continually update the client until the
conversation is terminated.
The actual text data to exchange with the DDE server is specified in the Text property.
When the server updates your DDE client, the new data will be automatically stored in
the Text property. Whenever Text is updated, an OnChange event occurs. For text data
longer than the 255 character limit of Text, use the Lines property to specify the text data
to exchange.
In addition to these properties and events, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for TDDEClientItem component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the DDE Client Item Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Lines Tag
DDEConv Name Text
DDEItem Owner

824 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Events
TDDEServerConv component
+
OnChange
+
+
TDDEServerConv component DDEMan +
A TDDEServerConv component establishes a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
conversation with a DDE client application. Use it in conjunction with a
+
TDDEServerItem component to make your application a DDE server.
If the DDE client sends a macro to your DDE server application, an OnExecuteMacro
+
event occurs. You should write code in the OnExecuteMacro event handler to process
this macro.
+
Using a TDDEServerConv component is optional. If you don’t use a TDDEServerConv
component, the client can still request an update directly from the TDDEServerItem
+
component. +
If you use a TDDEServerConv component, the DDE topic of the conversation is the value
of the Name property of the TDDEServerConv component. If you don’t use a
TDDEServerConv component, the DDE topic of the conversation is the value of the
+
Caption property of the form containing the TDDEServerItem component. +
You should use a TDDEServerConv component with a TDDEServerItem component
when the client might send a macro, or when the Caption of the form containing the
TDDEServerItem might not be unique or constant at run time.
+
In addition to these properties and events, this component also has the properties and +
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for TDDEServerConv component in the online Help, and
+
choose the topic Using the DDE Server Conversation Component.
+
Properties
+
ComponentIndex
Name
Owner Tag
+
Events T
OnClose OnExecuteMacro OnOpen

TDDEServerItem component DDEMan

A TDDEServerItem component defines the item of a Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
conversation. Use it by itself, or optionally, with a TDDEServerConv component to make
your application a DDE server.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 825

TDirectoryListBox component

To use a TDDEServerItem component with a TDDEServerConv component, specify the

name of a TDDEServerConv component in the ServerConv property.
The actual text data to exchange with the DDE client is specified in the Text property.
When the client requests an update, your server sends the contents of the Text property
to the client. When the Text property is modified, either by your own application or
when the client pokes data, an OnChange event occurs. For text data longer than the 255-
character limit of Text, use the Lines property to specify the data to exchange.
To test a link with a DDE client, use the CopyToClipboard method. This method will copy
the contents of Text (or Lines), as well as DDE link information to the Clipboard. Then, if
the DDE client can paste links, you can activate the client and paste the DDE data into
the client application.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for TDDEServerItem component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the DDE Server Item Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Owner Text
Lines ServerConv
Name Tag

Methods
CopyToClipboard

Events
OnChange OnPokeData

TDirectoryListBox component FileCtrl

The TDirectoryListBox component is a specialized list box that is aware of the directory
structure of the current drive. When the application runs, the user can use the directory
list box to change directories, which changes the value of the Directory property.
The Drive property determines on which drive the list box displays the directory
structure. When the value of Drive changes, the Directory value also changes to the
current directory on the specified drive.
You can synchronize a directory list box with a file list box (TFileListBox), so that when
the user uses a directory list box to change directories, the file list box displays the files
in the new directory. This is the event handler for the OnChange event for the directory
list box:
procedure TForm1.DirectoryListBox1Change(Sender: TObject);

826 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

begin
TDirectoryListBox component
+
FileListBox1.Directory := DirectoryListBox1.Directory;
end;
+
Note An OnChange event for a directory list box occurs when the user selects a new directory
with the mouse or when the user move the selection bar and presses enter.
+
Another way to accomplish the same thing is to assign a file list box as the value of the +
FileList property. If you use the DirLabel property, you can have the caption of the label
display the current directory. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for DirectoryListBox component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Directory List Box Component.
+
Properties +
Align Font ParentShowHint +
BoundsRect
Color
Handle
Height
PopupMenu
Selected +
Columns
ComponentIndex
HelpContext
Hint
ShowHint
Showing +
Ctl3D
Cursor
IntegralHeight
ItemHeight
Tag
Top +
Directory
DirLabel
Left
Name
TabOrder
TabStop +
DragCursor
DragMode
Owner
Parent
TopIndex
Visible +
Drive
Enabled
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Width
+
FileList ParentFont
+
Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScreenToClient
+
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetTextLen
Hide
ScrollBy
SendToBack
T
Clear Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen ItemAtPos SetFocus
Dragging ItemRect SetTextBuf
EndDrag Refresh Show
Focused Repaint Update
GetItemPath ScaleBy

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 827

TDragDropEvent type

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDragDrop OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDropDown OnKeyPress

TDragDropEvent type Controls

Declaration
TDragDropEvent = procedure(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer) of object;
The TDragDropEvent type points to a method that handles the dropping of a dragged
object. The Source parameter is the object being dragged, Sender is the object the Source is
being dropped on, and X and Y are screen coordinates in pixels.
TDragDropEvent is the type of the OnDragDrop event.

TDragMode type Controls

Declaration
TDragMode = (dmManual, dmAutomatic);
The TDragMode type defines the values for the DragMode property of controls.

TDragOverEvent type Controls

Declaration
TDragOverEvent = procedure(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer; State: TDragState; var
Accept: Boolean) of object;
The TDragOverEvent type points to a method that handles the dragging of one object
over another. The Source parameter is the object being dragged, Sender is the object the
Source is being dragged over, X and Y are screen coordinates in pixels, State is the state
of the drag object in relationship to the object being dragged over, and Accept
determines whether the Sender recognizes the drag object. Accept does not default to
True or False; you must assign the appropriate value to it.
TDragOverEvent is the type of the OnDragOver event.

828 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDragState type
+
TDragState type Controls
+
Declaration
TDragState = (dsDragEnter, dsDragLeave, dsDragMove);
+
The TDragState type specifies the drag state of a dragged control in relationship to +
another control. It is the type of the State parameter used in OnDragOver event handlers.
These are the possible states: +
Value Meaning +
+
dsDragEnter The state a drag object is in when it enters a control that allows the drag object to be
dropped. dsDragEnter is the default state.
dsDragMove The state a drag object is in when it is moved within a control that allows the drag object

dsDragLeave
to be dropped.
The state a drag object is in when it leaves a control that would allow the drag object to +
+
be dropped

Example
This code is a OnDragOver event handler that won’t allow a label control to be dropped
on a panel control and stops the dragging of the label as soon as the user drags the label
+
onto the panel: +
procedure TForm1.Panel1DragOver(Sender, Source: TObject; X, Y: Integer;
State: TDragState; var Accept: Boolean);
begin
+
Accept := False;
if (Source is TLabel) and (State = dsDragEnter) then
+
end;
(Source as TLabel).EndDrag(False);
+
The Source parameter is the label being dragged, the Sender parameter is the panel
control, and the State parameter is the drag state. +
See also +
TDragOverEvent type
+
TDrawCellEvent type Grids T
Declaration
TDrawCellEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; ACol, ARow: Longint; ARect: TRect; AState:
TGridDrawState) of object;
The TDrawCellEvent type points to a method that handles the drawing of a cell in an
owner-draw grid control. The ACol parameter is the column of the cell in the grid, and
the ARow parameter is the row of the cell. ARect is the cell area where the drawing
occurs, and AState is current state of the cell.
TDrawCellEvent is the type of the OnDrawCell event.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 829

TDrawDataCellEvent type

TDrawDataCellEvent type DBGrids

Declaration
TDrawDataCellEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; const Rect: TRect; Field: TField; State:
TGridDrawState) of object;
The TDrawDataCellEvent type points to a method that handles the drawing of a cell in an
owner-draw data grid control. The Rect parameter specifies the cell area where the
drawing occurs. The Field parameter specifies which field the drawing takes place in,
and the State parameter is the current state of the cell.
TDrawDataCellEvent is the type of the OnDrawDataCell event.

TDrawGrid component Grids

A TDrawGrid component is a grid control that permits the display of an existing data
structure in column and row format.
The grid uses the OnDrawCell event to fill in the cells of the grid. If the DefaultDrawing
property is False, the code you write in the OnDrawCell event handler draws in the cells.
If DefaultDrawing is True, the contents of the cells are automatically drawn using some
default values.
You can obtain the drawing area of a cell with the CellRect method. The MouseToCell
method returns the column and row coordinates of the cell the mouse cursor is in.
You can determine which cell is selected in the grid by checking the value of the Selection
property.
You can change the appearance and behavior of a data grid by changing the value of the
Options property. For example, you can choose to allow the user to use the Tab key to
move to a new column, you can decide to display grid lines between columns but not
between rows, or let the user edit the data displayed in the grid.
Several properties affect the appearance of the grid. The DefaultColWidth and
DefaultRowHeight properties determine the default widths and heights of the columns
and rows. You can change the width or height of a specific column or row with the
ColWidths and RowHeights properties. You can choose to have fixed or nonscrolling
columns and rows with the FixedCols and FixedRows properties, and you can assign the
color of the fixed columns and rows with the FixedColor property. Set the width of the
grid lines with the GridLineWidth property. Add scroll bars to the grid with the ScrollBars
property.
You can determine which row is currently the top row in the grid, or set a specified row
to be the top row with the TopRow property. To determine which column is the first
visible column in the grid, use the LeftCol property. The values of the VisibleColCount
and VisibleRowCount properties are the number of columns and rows visible in the grid.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

830 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDrawGrid component

For more information, search for DrawGrid component in the online Help, and choose
+
the topic Using the Draw Grid Component. +
Properties +
Align
BorderStyle
FixedColor
FixedCols
PopupMenu
Row
+
BoundsRect
Brush
FixedRows
Font
RowCount
RowHeights
+
Canvas
Col
GridHeight
GridLineWidth
Scrollbars
Selection
+
ColCount
Color
GridWidth
Height
Showing
TabOrder
+
ColWidths
ComponentIndex
HelpContext
Hint
TabStop
TabStops
+
Ctl3D
Cursor
Left
LeftCol
Tag
Top
+
DefaultColWidth
DefaultDrawing
Name
Options
TopRow
Visible
+
DefaultRowHeight
DragCursor
Owner
Parent
VisibleColCount
VisibleRowCount
+
DragMode
EditorMode
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Width
+
Enabled ParentFont
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag
BringToFront
EndDrag
Focused
ScaleBy
ScreenToClient +
CanFocus
CellRect
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
ScrollBy
SendToBack +
ClassName
ClassParent
Hide
Invalidate
SetBounds
SetFocus +
T
ClassType MouseToCell SetTextBuf
ClientToScreen Refresh Show
Dragging Repaint Update

Events
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnColumnMoved OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnGetEditMask OnMouseUp
OnDragDrop OnGetEditText OnRowMoved
OnDragOver OnKeyDown OnSelectCell

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 831

TDrawItemEvent type

OnDrawCell OnKeyPress OnSetEditText

OnEndDrag OnKeyUp OnTopLeftChanged

TDrawItemEvent type StdCtrls

Declaration
TDrawItemEvent = procedure(ListBox: TListBox; Index: Integer; Rect: TRect; State:
TOwnerDrawState) of object;
The TDrawItemEvent type points to a method that handles the drawing of an item in an
owner-draw list box. The Index parameter is the position of the item in the list box, Rect
is the area in the list box where the item is to be drawn, and State is the current state of
the item in the list box. These are the possible values of State:

Value Meaning
odSelected The item is selected
odDisabled The entire list box is disabled
odFocused The item currently has focus

TDrawItemEvent is the type of the OnDrawItem event.

TDrawTabEvent type Tabs

Declaration
TDrawTabEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; TabCanvas: TCanvas; R: TRect; Index: Integer;
Selected: Boolean) of object;
The TDrawTabEvent type points to a method that handles the drawing of an item in an
owner-draw tab. The TabCanvas parameter is the canvas on which the item is drawn,
The Index parameter is the position of the tab in the tab set control, R is the area in the tab
where the item is to be drawn, and Selected indicates whether the tab is currently
selected or not.
TDrawTabEvent is the type of the OnDrawTab event.

TDriveComboBox component FileCtrl

The TDriveComboBox component is a specialized combo box that displays all the drives
available when the application runs. When the user uses the combo box to select another
drive, the value of the Drive property changes.
You can specify whether the text in the drive combo box is uppercase or lowercase with
the TextCase property.

832 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TDriveComboBox component

If your application uses the drive combo box with a directory list box and a file list box,
+
you can synchronize them with this code written in the drive combo box OnChange
event handler and in the directory list box OnChange event handler:
+
procedure TForm1.DriveComboBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
DirectoryListBox1.Drive := DriveComboBox1.Drive;
end;
+
procedure TForm1.DirectoryListBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
FileListBox1.Directory := DirectoryListBox1.Directory;
end;
+
Now when the user selects a new drive using the drive combo box, the directory list box
and the file list box are updated also.
+
Another way to accomplish the same task is to set the DirList property of the drive
combo box and the FileList property of the directory list box.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the +
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for DriveComboBox component in the online Help, and
+
choose the topic Using the Drive Combo Box Component.
+
Properties
+
Align
BoundsRect
HelpContext
Hint
SelStart
SelText +
Color
ComponentIndex
ItemIndex
Items
Showing
TabOrder +
Ctl3D
Cursor
Left
Name
TabStop
Tag +
DirList
DragCursor
Owner
Parent
Text
TextCase +
DragMode
Drive
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Top
Visible +
Enabled
Font
ParentFont
PopupMenu
Width
T
Height SelLength

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SelectAll
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
Clear Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen Refresh SetFocus
Dragging Repaint SetTextBuf

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 833

TDuplicates type

EndDrag ScaleBy Show

Focused ScreenToClient Update

Events
OnChange OnDragOver OnExit
OnClick OnDropDown OnKeyDown
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnKeyPress
OnDragDrop OnEnter OnKeyUp

See also
TDirectoryListBox component, TFileListBox component

TDuplicates type Classes

Declaration
TDuplicates = (dupIgnore, dupAccept, dupError);
The TDuplicates type defines the possible values of the Duplicates property of a string list
object (TStringList).

TEdit component StdCtrls

Use a TEdit component to put a standard Windows edit box control on your form. Edit
boxes are used to retrieve information from the user, because the user can type data into
an edit box. Edit boxes can also display information to the user.
When users enter data into an edit box or the application displays information to the
user in the edit box, the value of the edit box’s Text property changes. Your application
can tell if the value of Text changes by checking the value of the Modified property. To
limit the number of characters users can enter into the edit box, use the MaxLength
property.
You can specify whether the text in the edit box is uppercase and lowercase with the
CharCase property.
If you want to prevent the user from changing the value of the Text property, set the
ReadOnly property to True.
You can choose to have the text in an edit box automatically selected whenever it
becomes the active control with the AutoSelect property. At run time, you can select all
the text in the edit box with the SelectAll method. To find out which text in the edit box
the user has selected or to replace selected text, use the SelText property. To clear
selected text, call the ClearSelection method. To select only part of the text or to find out
what part of the text is selected, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.
You can cut, copy, and paste text to and from an edit box using the CutToClipboard,
CopyToClipboard, and PasteFromClipboard methods.

834 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TEdit component

Your application can replace the characters typed into the edit box with another
+
specified character. If the edit box is used to enter a password, for example, onlookers
won’t be able to read the typed characters. Specify the replacement character with the
+
PasswordChar property. +
If you want the edit box to automatically resize to accommodate a change in font size,
use the AutoSize property. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information about using edit boxes, search for Edit component in the online
Help, and choose the topic Using the Edit Component.
+
Properties +
Align HideSelection ReadOnly +
AutoSelect
AutoSize
Hint
Left
SelLength
SelStart +
BorderStyle
CharCase
MaxLength
Modified
SelText
ShowHint +
Color
ComponentIndex
Name
OEMConvert
Showing
TabOrder +
Ctl3D
Cursor
Owner
Parent
TabStop
Tag +
DragCursor
DragMode
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
Text
Top +
Enabled
Font
ParentFont
ParentShowHint
Visible
Width +
Height
HelpContext
PasswordChar
PopupMenu +
Methods +
BeginDrag
BringToFront
Free
GetSelTextBuf
ScreenToClient
ScrollBy
+
ClientToScreen
Clear
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
SelectAll
SendToBack
T
ClearSelection Hide SetBounds
CopyToClipboard Invalidate SetFocus
CutToClipboard PasteFromClipboard SetSelTextBuf
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint Show
FindComponent ScaleBy Update

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 835

TEditCharCase type

Events
OnChange OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyPress
OnEndDrag OnKeyUp

See also
TDBEdit component, TComboBox component

TEditCharCase type StdCtrls

Declaration
TEditCharCase = (ecNormal, ecUpperCase, ecLowerCase);
The TEditCharCase type defines the possible values for the CharCase property of an edit
box (TEdit).

Temporary property
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
property Temporary: Boolean;
Run-time only. The Temporary property is True if the TDatabase component was created
because none existed when a database table was opened. Such a database will
automatically be destroyed when the table or query is closed. You can set Temporary to
False so that it will be preserved until you explicitly free it with Free. If you explicitly
created the TDatabase component, then Temporary will be False, but you can set it to be
True and it will automatically be freed when the last dataset linked to it is closed.

Example
Table1.Database.Temporary := False;

836 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TEndDragEvent type
+
TEndDragEvent type Controls
+
Declaration
TEndDragEvent = procedure(Sender, Target: TObject; X, Y: Integer) of object;
+
The TEndDragEvent type points to a method that handles the stopping of the dragging +
of an object. The Sender is the object being dragged, Target is the object Sender is dragged
to, and X and Y are screen coordinates in pixels. +
TEndDragEvent is the type of the OnEndDrag event.
+
Terminate method +
Applies to +
TApplication component
+
Declaration
procedure Terminate;
+
The Terminate method stops the execution of your application. +
Example
This example uses a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, a message box
+
appears, asking the user if the application should terminate. If the user chooses Yes, the
application ends.
+
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
if MessageDlg('Ternminate the application?', mtConfirmation,
[mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
+
end;
Application.Terminate;
+
See also +
Run method, Terminated property
T
Terminated property
Applies to
TApplication component

Declaration
property Terminated: Boolean;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 837

Test8086 variable

Read and run-time only. The Terminated property determines whether the application
has received the Windows WM_QUIT message, which then terminates the application.
Your Delphi application receives this message usually because the main window of the
application has closed, or the Terminate method has been called, thereby requiring
windows to quit the application.
The Terminated property is usually used when calling the ProcessMessages method so
that your application doesn’t attempt to process Windows messages after the
application has quit.

Example
The application calls the ProcessMessages method if the application has not received the
message from Windows to quit executing:
if Application.Terminated = False then
Application.ProcessMessages;
...

See also
ProcessMessages method, Run method, Terminate method

Test8086 variable System

Declaration
var Test8086: Byte;
The Test8086 variable identifies the type of 80x86 processor the system contains.
The run-time library's startup code contains detection logic that automatically
determines what kind of 80x86 processor the system contains. The result of the CPU
detection is stored in Test8086 as one of the following values:

Value Definition
0 Processor is an 8086.
1 Processor is an 80286.
2 Processor is an 80386 or later.

When the run-time library detects that the processor is an 80386 or later CPU, it will use
80386 instructions to speed up certain operations. In particular, Longint multiplication,
division, and shifts are performed using 32-bit instructions when an 80386 is detected.

TExceptionEvent type Forms

Declaration
TExceptionEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; E: Exception) of object;

838 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

The TExceptionEvent type points to a method that handles exceptions in your
Text property
+
application. The Sender parameter is the object that raised the exception and E is the
exception message.
+
TExceptionEvent is the type of the OnException event. +
Text property
+
+
Applies to
TOutlineNode, TParam objects; TComboBox, TDBComboBox, TDBEdit, TDBMemo,
TDDEClientItem, TDDEServerItem, TDriveComboBox, TEdit, TFilterComboBox, TMaskEdit,
+
TMemo, TQuery, TBCDField, TBooleanField, TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField,
TFloatField, TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField, TWordField
+
components
The Text property specifies a text string to appear in a component or object.
+
+
For edit boxes and memo controls
+
Declaration
property Text: TCaption;
+
The Text property of a component determines the text that appears within an edit box or +
memo control. The default text is the name of the control. Your application can use the
value of Text as input into the application, or to display data to the user. The maximum
length of the string in the Text property is 255 characters.
+
The value of the Text property of a mask edit box (TMaskEdit) or database edit box +
(TDBEdit) or database memo (TDBMemo) includes the text and the literal mask
characters specified with the EditText property if the user chooses to save the mask
characters with the text. If the mask characters are not saved, the text does not include
+
them. +
The Text property of a database edit box or database memo is available at run time only.
You should seldom assign a new value to the Text property of a database edit box or
memo. If the dataset is read only when the new value is assigned to Text, the contents of
+
the field won’t change. Instead, you should change the value of the underlying field by
using the Fields property of the edit box. For example,
T
DBEdit1.Field.AsString := ‘New value’;

Example
This example uses an edit box, a list box, and a button named Add on a form. Each time
the user clicks the Add button, the text in the edit box is added to the list in the list box:
procedure TForm1.AddClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.Items.Add(Edit1.Text);
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 839

Text property

See also
GetSelTextBuf method, GetTextBuf method, SetTextBuf method, SetSelTextBuf method

For combo boxes

Declaration
property Text: string;
The value of the Text property is the first item that appears in the combo box when the
application runs. For simple combo boxes, the user can change the value of Text by
entering a new value.
For other types of combo boxes, the value of Text is read only and accessible only at run
time. The value of the Drive property determines the value of the Text property in a
drive combo box. The value of the Filter property determines the value of the Text
property in a filter combo box. If the Filter property specifies multiple filters, the first
filter in the Filter string appears first in the filter combo box.
For the database lookup combo box, Text is the value of the field of the current record.

Example
The following code stores the value of the first item of a combo box in the Text property
in the OnCreate event handler of the form containing the combo box. The first item will
be displayed in the combo box at run time.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ComboBox1.Text := ComboBox1.Items[0];
end;

See also
Drive property, Filter property

For outline nodes

Declaration
property Text: string;
The Text property contains the string that identifies an outline item. This string is
displayed in the outline. The value of Text can be assigned directly or can be set by the
Lines property of the TOutline component. If set with the Lines property, each line, minus
any leading spaces or tabs, is assigned to the Text property of an individual
TOutlineNode object.

Example
The following code should be attached to the OnClick event handler of an TOutline
component. When the value of the Text of the SelectedItem is ‘Aqua’, the Color of the
outline becomes clAqua.

840 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

procedure TForm1.Outline1Click(Sender: TObject);
Text property
+
begin
if Outline1.Items[Outline1.SelectedItem].Text = 'Aqua' then
+
end;
Outline1.Color := clAqua;
+
See also +
Data property
+
For DDE items +
Declaration +
property Text: string;
The Text property contains the text data to exchange in a DDE conversation. For +
TDDEClientItem components, Text specifies the text that is updated by the DDE server
application. For TDDEServerItem components, Text specifies the text that is sent to any +
DDE clients when the value of Text changes or when a client requests an update. When
Text is changed, an OnChange event occurs. +
Text corresponds to the Lines property. Whenever the value of Text or Lines is changed,
the other is updated so that the first line of Lines is always equal to Text. Use Text to +
contain text values up to 255 characters in length (which is the limit of the Text
property). For longer strings, use the Lines property. +
If the Text property is of a TDDEClientItem component, you can also send the text in Text
directly to the DDE server by poking data with the PokeData method. +
If the Text property is of a TDDEServerItem component, the DDE client can change Text
by poking data. The poked data replaces the contents of Text and an OnChange event
+
occurs.
+
Example
The following code assigns the value to the Text property of DDEClientItem1 to the +
Caption of Label1. This code is executed in the OnChange event handler of
DDEClientItem1, so whenever the client is updated, the new data from the server is +
displayed.
procedure TForm1.DdeClientItem1Change(Sender: TObject);
T
begin
Label1.Caption := DDEClientItem1.Text
end;

For queries
Declaration
property Text: PChar;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 841

Text property

Run-time and read only. The Text property holds the actual text of the SQL query sent to
the Borland Database Engine. In general, you should not need to examine this property.
However, if you encounter problems with an SQL statement, you may want to inspect
the Text property to be sure that the statement is as expected.

Example
var
ActualText: PChar;
Buf: array [0..20] of Char;
...
ActualText := Query1.Text;
repeat
StrLCopy(Buf, ActualText, SizeOf(Buf));
WriteLn(Buf);
if StrLen(ActualText) > 20 then Inc(ActualText, 20)
else Break;
until False;

842 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TextCase property
+
Example
Edit.Text := Field1.Text; +
For TParam objects
+
Declaration
+
property Text: string; +
The Text property is similar to the AsString property. Accessing the Text property
attempts to convert the current data to a string value and returns that value. If the +
current data is NULL, the value is an empty string.
+
Example
{ Assign ‘1221’ to the CustNo parameter }
+
Parameters.ParamByName(‘CustNo’).Text := ‘1221’;
+
See also
TFieldType type, AsString property, DateToStr function, TimeToStr function, +
DateTimeToStr function, IntToStr function, FloatToStr function, StrToInt function,
StrToFloat function, StrToDate function, StrToTime function, StrToDateTime function,
TDateTime type
+
+
TextCase property +
Applies to
TDriveComboBox component
+
Declaration
+
property TextCase: TTextCase; +
The TextCase property determines if the volume name in the Text property appears in
uppercase or lowercase. These are the possible values: +
Value Meaning T
tcLowerCase The volume name specified in the Text property is displayed in lowercase letters.
tcUpperCase The volume name specified in the Text property is displayed in uppercase letters.

The default value is tcLowerCase. If you use the Object Inspector to change the value to
tcUpperCase, you won’t see the results until your application runs.

Example
Assuming a drive combo box exists on the form, this code displays the volume name in
the drive combo box in uppercase letters when the form appears:

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 843

TextFile type

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
DriveComboBox1.TextCase := tcUpperCase;
end;

TextFile type System

The type TextFile is used to declare text file variables. Borland Pascal uses the type Text
but to avoid confusion with the Text property, Delphi uses TextFile. Note that the type
Text is still supported by Delphi, and if you want to use it you should always qualify it.

Example
The following example declares the variable F as a text file.
var
F: TextFile;

See also
AssignFile procedure, CloseFile procedure

TextHeight method
Applies to
TCanvas object

Declaration
function TextHeight(const Text: string): Integer;
TextHeight returns the height in pixels of the string passed in Text when rendered in the
current font. You can use TextHeight to specify whether the entire string will appear in a
given space.

Example
This example displays the height of a text string in the current font of the canvas in an
edit box on the form:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
L: LongInt;
begin
L := Canvas.TextHeight('Object Pascal is the best');
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(L) + ' pixels in height';
end;

See also
Font property, TextWidth method

844 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TextOut method
+
TextOut method +
Applies to
TCanvas object +
Declaration +
procedure TextOut(X, Y: Integer; const Text: string); +
TextOut draws the string contained in Text on the canvas using the current font, with the
upper left corner of the text at the point (X, Y). +
Example
This example displays a text string at a specified position on the form when the user
+
clicks the button on the form: +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Canvas.TextOut(20, 20, 'Delphi makes Windows programming easy');
+
end; +
See also
TextRect method
+
+
TextRect method +
Applies to
TCanvas object
+
Declaration +
procedure TextRect(Rect: TRect; X, Y: Integer; const Text: string); +
The TextRect method displays text inside a clipping rectangle. Any portions of the text
passed in the Text parameter that fall outside the rectangle passed in the Rect parameter
are clipped and don’t appear onscreen. The upper left corner of the text is placed at the
+
point (X, Y). T
Example
The following code outputs the text “Hello, world!” in a rectangle defined by the
coordinates (10, 10) and (100, 100). By passing 0 for X and 0 for Y, the top and left edges
of the text will be clipped by the rectangle.
var
TheRect: TRect;
begin
TheRect.Top := 10;
TheRect.Left := 10;
TheRect.Bottom := 100;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 845

TextToFloat function

TheRect.Right := 100;
Form1.Canvas.TextRect(TheRect,0,0,'Hello, world!');
end;

TextToFloat function SysUtils

Declaration
function TextToFloat(Buffer: PChar; var Value: Extended): Boolean;
TextToFloat converts the null-terminated string given by Buffer to a floating-point value
which is returned in the variable given by Value.
The return value is True if the conversion was successful, or False if the string is not a
valid floating-point value.
For further details, see the description of the StrToFloat function.

TextToShortCut function Menus

Declaration
function TextToShortCut(Text: string): TShortCut;
The TextToShortCut function creates a menu shortcut from a text string. For example,
your application can allow the user to specify what they want the shortcut to be in an
edit box control, then TextToShortCut can use that string to create a menu shortcut.
Note The TextToShortCut function executes slowly. Unless you are getting input from the
user, your application should use the ShortCut function to create a menu shortcut.

Example
This example uses a main menu that contains an Open command, an edit box, and a
button. Delphi automatically names the menu item for the Open command Open1.
When the user enters the desired shortcut text in the edit box and clicks the button, a
shortcut is created and the shortcut text appears next to the Open menu item.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
NewShortCut: TShortCut;
begin
NewShortCut := TextToShortCut(Edit1.Text);
Open1.ShortCut := NewShortCut;
end;

846 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TextWidth method
+
See also
ShortCut function, ShortCut property, ShortCutToKey procedure, ShortCutToText
function
+
+
TextWidth method +
Applies to
TCanvas object
+
Declaration
+
function TextWidth(const Text: string): Integer; +
The TextWidth method returns the width in pixels of the string passed in Text when
rendered in the current font. You can use TextWidth to determine whether a given string +
will fit in a particular space.
+
Example
This example determines the width of a specified string, and if the string is too wide to +
display in an edit box, the edit box is widened to accommodate the string. The string
displays in the edit box. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var +
+
T: Longint;
S: string;
begin
S := 'Object Pascal is the language for me';
T := Canvas.TextWidth(S); +
if T > Edit1.Width then
Edit1.Width := T + 10;
Edit1.Text := S;
+
end; +
See also
TextRect method
+
T
TFDApplyEvent type Dialogs
Declaration
TFDApplyEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Wnd: HWND) of object;
The TFDApplyEvent type points to a method that performs an action when the user
chooses the Apply button in the Font dialog box. TFDApplyEvent is the type of the
OnApply event.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 847

TField component

TField component
TField components are used to access fields in a record. By default, a set of TField
components is created automatically each time a dataset component is activated; the
resulting set of TField components is dynamic, mirroring the actual columns in an
underlying physical table at that time.
At design time, you can use the Fields Editor to create a persistent, unchanging set of
TField components for a dataset. Creating TField components with the Fields Editor
provides efficient, readable, and type-safe programmatic access to underlying data. It
guarantees that each time your application runs, it uses and displays the same columns,
in the same order, every time, even if the physical structure of the underlying database
has changed. Creating TField components at design time guarantees that data-aware
components and program code that rely on specific fields always work as expected. If a
column on which a persistent TField component is based is deleted or changed, then
Delphi generates an exception rather than running the application against a nonexistent
column or mismatched data.
A TField component is an abstract object. The Fields property of a dataset is always one
of the following TField descendants:

Component: Used for:

TStringField Fixed length text data up to 255 characters
TIntegerField Whole numbers in the range –2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647
TSmallintField Whole numbers in the range –32,768 to 32,767
TWordField Whole numbers in the range 0 to 65,535
TFloatField Real numbers with absolute magnitudes from 5.0*10–324 to 1.7*10308 accurate to 15–16
digits
TCurrencyField Currency values. The range and accuracy is the same as TFloatField
TBCDField Real numbers with a fixed number of digits after the decimal point. Accurate to 18
digits. Range depends on the number of digits after the decimal point. [Paradox only]
TBooleanField True or False values
TDateTimeField Date and time value
TDateField Date value
TTimeField Time value
TBlobField Arbitrary data field without a size limit
TBytesField Arbitrary data field without a size limit
TVarBytesField Arbitrary data field up to 65,535 characters, with the actual length stored in the first two
bytes
TMemoField Arbitrary length text
TGraphicField Arbitrary length graphic, such as a bitmap

Each TField component and its properties, methods, and events can be accessed
programmatically. At run time, dynamically created components can be accessed
through the Fields property of the dataset; at design time, use the Fields Editor to select a
field component and use the Object Inspector to modify the field’s properties.

848 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TField component

Most TField descendants have the same properties, but some properties, such as
+
AsBoolean or EditMask only apply to some fields. Use the AsBoolean, AsDateTime, AsFloat,
AsInteger, or AsString properties as appropriate to access or modify the current value of
+
the field. Test the CanModify property to see if the field can be changed. Use the DataSet
property to reference the dataset of the field. Use the DataType property to test the type
+
of the field. Set the DisplayLabel property to a column heading for a data grid(TDBGrid).
The DisplayText property will format the field for display purposes; Text will format it +
for editing purposes. Set the DisplayWidth to control the column width in a data grid. Set
the EditMask property to limit the characters entered to a selected set. Use the FieldName
property to get the name of the field in the dataset. Test the IsNull property to see if the
+
field has been assigned a value. Set the ReadOnly property to prevent or allow the user
to change the value. Set the Visible property to control whether the field appears in a
+
data grid. Call the Clear method to erase any data assigned. Call the GetData method to
access the data in native format, or SetData to assign new data. Use the OnChange event
+
to be notified when the value of the field is changed. Use the OnGetText event to do your
own formatting of the data for display or edit purposes, and the OnSetText event to +
convert the edited data back to native format. Use the OnValidate event to validate the
data before it is stored into the record. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components. +
Properties +
Alignment DataType IsIndexField +
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
IsNull
Name +
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
Owner
ReadOnly +
AsString
Calculated
EditMask
EditMaskPtr
Required
Size +
CanModify
DataSet
FieldName
FieldNo
Tag
Text +
DataSize Index Visible
+
Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
T
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 849

TFieldGetTextEvent type

TFieldGetTextEvent type DB
Declaration
TFieldGetTextEvent = procedure(Sender: TField; var Text: string; DisplayText: Boolean) of
object;
The TFieldGetTextEvent points to a method that retrieves the text in the field. It is used by
the OnGetText event of field components. The Text parameter references the text, and the
DisplayText parameter determines whether the text is formatted for display. If
DisplayText is True, the text is in display format. If DisplayText is False, the text is not
formatted for display.

TFieldNotifyEvent type DB
Declaration
TFieldNotifyEvent = procedure(Sender: TField) of object;
The TFieldNotifyEvent type points to a method that handles the validation of data in a
field or handles the changing of data in a field. It is the type of the OnChange and
OnValidate events of a field component.

TFieldSetTextEvent type DB
Declaration
TFieldSetTextEvent = procedure(Sender: TField; const Text: string) of object;
The TFieldSetTextEvent type points to a method that stores text in a field. It is used by the
OnSetText event of field components. The Text parameter is the text that is being stored
in the field.

850 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFileEditStyle type
+
TFileEditStyle type Dialogs
+
Declaration
TFileEditStyle = (fsEdit, fsComboBox);
+
The TFileEditStyle type contains the possible values of the FileEditStyle property used by +
the Open (TOpenDialog) and Save (TSaveDialog) dialog boxes.
+
TFileExt type Dialogs +
Declaration +
TFileExt = string[3];
The TFileExt type is used to hold the three characters of a file-name extension. TFileExt is
+
used by the DefaultExt property of the Open and Save dialog boxes (TOpenDialog and
TSaveDialog). +
+
TFileListBox component FileCtrl
+
The TFileListBox component is a specialized list box that lists all the files in the current
directory. To display files in a different directory, change the value of the Directory +
property.
You can have icons next to the file names to help identify the type of file. For example, +
an executable file displays a different icon than a word processing document. To make
the icons appear, set ShowGlyphs to True. +
You decide which file types you want to appear in the list box using the Mask property,
which displays only the files that match the Mask string. For example, you can choose to +
display only executable files and source code files.
You can also decide which files display in the file list box by their file attributes. For
+
example, you can choose to display hidden and system files as well as regular files, or
you can choose to see read-only files only. Use the FileType property to select the file
+
types according to their file attributes.
You can have the file selected in the file list box appear as the text of an edit box if you
T
specify a value for the FileEdit property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for FileListBox component in the online Help, and choose
the Using the File List Box Component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 851

TFileListBox component

Properties
Align Handle ParentFont
BoundsRect Height ParentShowHint
Canvas HelpContext PopupMenu
ComponentIndex Hint Selected
Color IntegralHeight ShowGlyphs
Controls ItemHeight ShowHint
Ctl3D ItemIndex Showing
Cursor Items TabOrder
Directory Left TabStop
DragCursor Mask Tag
DragMode MultiSelect Top
Enabled Name TopIndex
FileEdit Owner Visible
FileName Parent Width
FileType ParentColor
Font ParentCtl3D

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen ScrollBy
BringToFront Hide SendToBack
CanFocus Invalidate SetBounds
Clear ItemAtPos SetFocus
ClientToScreen ItemRect SetTextBuf
Dragging Refresh Show
EndDrag Repaint Update
Focused ScaleBy
GetTextBuf ScreenToClient

Events
OnChange OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyPress

See also
TDirectoryListBox component, TDriveComboBox component

852 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFieldClass type
+
TFieldClass type DB
+
Declaration
TFieldClass = class of TField;
+
The TFieldClass type is the object type of TField. Use it to create an object reference to a +
TField.
+
TFieldDef object +
The TFieldDef object corresponds to a physical field of a record in a table underlying a
dataset. TFieldDef objects are created automatically for dataset components. A field
+
definition has a corresponding TField component, but not all TField components have a
corresponding TFieldDef objects. For example, calculated field do not have TFieldDef
+
objects.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
+
to all objects. +
Properties +
DataType
FieldClass
FieldNo
Name
Required
Size
+
Methods +
ClassName Create Free +
ClassParent
ClassType
CreateField
Destroy +
+
TFieldDefs object
+
A TFieldDefs object holds the TFieldDef objects that represent the physical fields
underlying a dataset. T
The Count property is the total number of TFieldDef objects in TFieldDefs. The Items
property is an array of pointers to the TFieldDef objects.
Use the Find or IndexOf methods to locate an entry in Items by name. Call Clear to
remove all TFieldDef objects from TFieldDefs. Call Update to obtain information about the
fields in a dataset without opening it.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 853

TFieldType type

Properties
Count Items

Methods
Add ClassType Free
AddFieldDesc Clear IndexOf
Assign Create Update
ClassName Destroy
ClassParent Find

TFieldType type DB
Declaration
TFieldType = (ftUnknown, ftString, ftSmallint, ftInteger, ftWord, ftBoolean, ftFloat,
ftCurrency, ftBCD, ftDate, ftTime, ftDateTime, ftBytes, ftVarBytes, ftBlob, ftMemo,
ftGraphic);
The TFieldType type is the set of values of the DataType property of a TField component
or TFieldDef component.

TFileName type SysUtils

Declaration
TFileName = string[79];
The TFileName type is the type for the FileName property of Open and Save dialog boxes.

TFileRec type SysUtils

Declaration
TFileRec = record
Handle: Word;
Mode: Word;
RecSize: Word;
Private: array[1..26] of Byte;
UserData: array[1..16] of Byte;
Name: array[0..79] of Char;
end;
TFileRec is the internal format for typed and untyped files. TFileRec enables you to
typecast a file variable to access its internal fields.
Note You would normally never declare a variable of this type.

854 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFileType type
+
TFileType type FileCtrl
+
Declaration
TFileAttr = (ftReadonly, ftHidden, ftSystem, ftVolumeID, ftDirectory, ftArchive, ftNormal);
+
TFileType = set of TFileAttr; +
The TFileType type is a set of file attributes. The FileType property of a file list box
(TFileListBox) uses the TFileType type. +
+
TFillStyle type Graphics
+
Declaration
TFillStyle = (fsSurface, fsBorder);
+
The TFillStyle type determines the method of filling used by the FloodFill method of a
canvas (TCanvas object).
+
+
TFilterComboBox component FileCtrl +
The TFilterComboBox component is a specialized combo box that is used to present the
user with a choice of file filters. Specify the filters you want to appear in the filter combo
+
box with the Filter property. The filter the user selects is the value of the Mask property.
Most commonly, a filter combo box is used with a file list box (TFileListBox). Your
+
application can have the file filter the user selects in the filter combo box determine
which files appear in the file list box. If you place this line of code in an OnChange event
+
handler of the filter combo box, any change in the filter combo box is reflected in the file
list box: +
FileListBox1.Mask := FilterComboBox1.Filter; +
Another way to accomplish the same task is to set the FileList property of the filter
combo box to the file list box you want affected with a change of filters. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. T
For more information, search for FilterComboBox component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Filter Combo Box Component.

Properties
Align Height ParentFont
BoundsRect HelpContext SelLength
Color Hint SelStart
ComponentIndex ItemIndex SelText
Ctl3D Items Showing

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 855

TFindDialog component

Cursor Left TabOrder

DragCursor Mask TabStop
DragMode Name Text
Enabled Owner Tag
FileList Parent Top
Filter ParentColor Visible
Font ParentCtl3D Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SelectAll
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
Clear Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen Refresh SetFocus
Dragging Repaint SetTextBuf
EndDrag ScaleBy Show
Focused ScreenToClient Update

Events
OnChange OnDragOver OnExit
OnClick OnDropDown OnKeyDown
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnKeyPress
OnDragDrop OnEnter OnKeyUp

TFindDialog component Dialogs

The TFindDialog component provides a Find dialog box to your application. Users can
use the Find dialog box to search for text in a file.
Display the Find dialog box by calling the Execute method.
The text your application is searching for is the value of the FindText property.
To determine which search options are available in the Find dialog box, use the Options
property. For example, you can have a Match Case check box appear in the dialog box
or hide it, and you can disable or enable the Whole Word check box.
When the user enters the text to search for in the dialog box and chooses Find Next, the
OnFind event occurs. Within the OnFind event handler, write the code that searches for
the text specified as the value of FindText. Your code should use the Options values to
determine how the user wants the search conducted.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.

856 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFindItemKind type

For more information, search for FindDialog component in the online Help, and choose
+
the topic Using the Find Dialog Component. +
Properties +
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
HelpContext
Name
Position
Tag
+
FindText
Handle
Options
Owner
+
Methods
+
CloseDialog Execute +
Events +
OnFind +
TFindItemKind type Menus
+
Declaration
+
TFindItemKind = (fkCommand, fkHandle, fkShortCut); +
The TFindItemKind defines the possible values of the Kind parameter in the FindItem
method of a menu component.
+
+
TFindOptions type Dialogs
+
Declaration
TFindOption = (frDown, frFindNext, frHideMatchCase, frHideWholeWord, frHideUpDown,
+
frMatchCase, frDisableMatchCase, frDisableUpDown, frDisableWholeWord, frReplace,
frReplaceAll, frWholeWord, frShowHelp); +
TFindOptions = set of TFindOption; T
The TFindOptions type defines the set of possible values for the Options property of the
Find and Replace dialog boxes (TFindDialog and TReplaceDialog components).

TFloatField component
A TFloatField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as a binary value
with a range from (positive or negative) 5.0 * 10-324 to 1.7 * 10308. It has an accuracy of 15
to 16 digits. Use TFloatField for fields that hold floating-point numbers.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 857

TFloatFormat

Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
access or change the current field value.
The TFloatField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

Properties
Alignment DisplayLabel MinValue
AsBoolean DisplayName Name
AsDateTime DisplayText Owner
AsFloat DisplayWidth Precision
AsInteger EditFormat ReadOnly
AsString EditMask Required
Calculated EditMaskPtr Size
CanModify FieldName Tag
Currency FieldNo Text
DataSet Index Value
DataSize IsIndexField Visible
DataType IsNull
DisplayFormat MaxValue

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TFloatFormat SysUtils
Declaration
TFloatFormat = (ffGeneral, ffExponent, ffFixed, ffNumber, ffCurrency);

858 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFloatFormat defines an enumerated list of formatting codes for the float functions.
TFloatRec
+
Format Defines
+
ffGeneral General number format. The value is converted to the shortest possible decimal string using
fixed or scientific format. Trailing zeros are removed from the resulting string, and a decimal
+
point appears only if necessary. The resulting string uses fixed point format if the number of
digits to the left of the decimal point in the value is less than or equal to the specified
precision, and if the value is greater than or equal to 0.00001. Otherwise the resulting string
+
uses scientific format, and the Digits parameter specifies the minimum number of digits in
the exponent (between 0 and 4). +
ffExponent Scientific format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-d.ddd...E+dddd". The
resulting string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative, and one digit always
precedes the decimal point. The total number of digits in the resulting string (including the
+
one before the decimal point) is given by the Precision parameter. The "E" exponent character
in the resulting string is always followed by a plus or minus sign and up to four digits. The
Digits parameter specifies the minimum number of digits in the exponent (between 0 and 4).
+
ffFixed Fixed point format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-ddd.ddd...". The resulting
string starts with a minus sign if the number is negative, and at least one digit always +
+
precedes the decimal point. The number of digits after the decimal point is given by the
Digits parameter—it must be between 0 and 18. If the number of digits to the left of the
decimal point is greater than the specified precision, the resulting value will use scientific

+
format.
ffNumber Number format. The value is converted to a string of the form "-d,ddd,ddd.ddd...". The
ffNumber format corresponds to the ffFixed format, except that the resulting string contains

ffCurrency
thousand separators.
Currency format. The value is converted to a string that represents a currency amount. The
+
conversion is controlled by the CurrencyString, CurrencyFormat, NegCurrFormat,
ThousandSeparator, and DecimalSeparator global variables, all of which are initialized from the
Currency Format in the International section of the Windows Control Panel. The number of
+
digits after the decimal point is given by the Digits parameter—it must be between 0 and 18.
+
See also
FloatToDecimal procedure, FloatToStr function, FloatToStrF function, FloatToText +
function, FloatToTextFmt function
+
TFloatRec SysUtils +
Declaration +
TFloatRec = record
Exponent: Integer;
Negative: Boolean;
T
Digits: array[0..18] of Char;
end;
TFloatRec is the FloatToDecimal result record.

TFont object Graphics

A TFont object defines the appearance of text. TFont encapsulates a Windows HFONT.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 859

TFontDialog component

A TFont object defines a set of characters by specifying their height, font family
(typeface) name, and so on. The height is specified by the Height property. The typeface
is specified by the Name property. The size in points is specified by the Size property.
The color is specified by the Color property. The attributes of the font (bold, italic, and so
on) are specified by the Style property.
When a font is modified, an OnChange event occurs.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects.

Properties
Color Name Size
Handle Pitch Style
Height PixelsPerInch

Methods
Assign Destroy Free
Create

Events
OnChange

TFontDialog component Dialogs

The TFontDialog component makes a Font dialog box available to your application. The
purpose of the dialog box is to allow a user to select a font and set attributes of that font.
When the user selects a font and chooses OK in the dialog box, the user’s font selection is
stored in the dialog box’s Font property, which you can then process as you want.
Display the Font dialog box by calling the Execute method.
You choose which device you want a font change to affect with the Device property.
You can use the Options property to customize how the Font dialog box appears and
behaves. For example, you can specify that a Help button be included in the dialog box
or that only True Type fonts appear in the list of fonts.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for FontDialog component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Font Dialog Component.

860 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFontDialogDevice type
+
Properties
ComponentIndex HelpContext Options
+
Ctl3D
Device
MaxFontSize
MinFontSize
Owner
Tag
+
Font Name +
Methods +
Execute
+
Events
+
+
OnApply

TFontDialogDevice type Dialogs +

Declaration +
TFontDialogDevice = (fdScreen, fdPrinter, fdBoth);
The TFontDialogDevice type lists the values the Device property of the Font dialog box
+
(TFontDialog) can assume.
+
TFontDialogOptions type Dialogs +
Declaration
+
TFontDialogOption = (fdAnsiOnly, fdTrueTypeOnly, fdEffects, fdFixedPitchOnly,
fdForceFontExist, fdNoFaceSel, fdNoOEMFonts, fdNoSimulations, fdNoSizeSel, fdNoStyleSel,
+
fdNoVectorFonts, fdShowHelp, fdWysiwyg, fdLimitSize, fdScalableOnly);
TFontDialogOptions = set of TFontDialogOption;
+
The TFontDialogOptions type is the set of values the Options property of the Font dialog +
box (TFontDialog) can have.
T
TFontName type Graphics
Declaration
TFontName = string(LF_FACESIZE - 1);
The TFontName type is used by the Name property of a font object (TFont). The
maximum number of characters is 32, so font names longer than 32 characters are
truncated.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 861

TFontPitch type

TFontPitch type Graphics

Declaration
TFontPitch = (fpDefault, fpVariable, fpFixed);
The TFontPitch type is used by the Pitch property of a font object (TFont).

TFontStyles type Graphics

Declaration
TFontStyle = (fsBold, fsItalic, fsUnderline, fsStrikeOut);
TFontStyles = set of TFontStyle;
The TFontStyles type is the set of font styles the Style property of a font object (TFont) can
assume.

TForm component Forms

The Form component is at the center of Delphi applications. You design your
application by putting other components on a form. Forms can be used as windows,
dialog boxes, or simply as forms, such as data-entry forms.
To display a form that isn’t currently active in your application, call either the Show or
ShowModal method. To close a form, call either Close or CloseQuery, or use the
ModalResult property with the ShowModal method.
You determine the behavior of the horizontal and vertical scroll bars on the form by
setting the properties of the HorzScrollBar and VertScrollBar objects, which are properties
of a form.
You can decide how your form first appears—maximized, minimized, or normal—with
the WindowState property. You can customize the appearance of your form and
determine how the user interacts with it by setting the BorderStyle and BorderIcons
properties. Using the Icon property, you determine the icon that appears when the form
is minimized.
To find out which control is the active control on the form, use the ActiveControl
property. To assure that a particular control on the form is in view, use the ScrollInView
method.
Forms have a number of properties and methods that make it simple to create Multiple
Document Interface (MDI) applications. You specify which form is the parent form for
your application and which forms are the child forms with the FormStyle property. Once
you have designated a form as a parent and others as children, you can access a child
form with the MDIChildren property. The number of child forms open in your
application is the value of the MDIChildCount property. You can determine which form
is the active child form with the ActiveMDIChild property. For more information about

862 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TForm component

creating MDI applications, search for “MDI applications, creating” in the online Help,
+
and choose the topic “Multiple Document Interface (MDI) Applications.” +
Most MDI applications have a Window menu that lists the open child forms or
windows at the bottom of the menu. You can specify which item on the main menu of +
your application is the Window menu as the value of the WindowMenu property, and at
run time, the open child forms are automatically listed at the bottom of the specified
menu. Usually, Window menus have commands that allow the user to manage the
+
windows or forms in the running application. You can call the Cascade, Tile, Previous,
Next, and ArrangeIcons methods in the OnClick event handlers for the appropriate menu
+
commands, which make it very easy to give your users this capability.
If you want your form to display different menus at various times while your
+
application runs, you specify the menu you want to use with the Menu property. If you
want your application to be able to process key events rather than have them go
+
immediately to the selected control on the form, set the form’s KeyPreview property to
True. +
You can use the OnCreate event handler of the form to set initial values for properties
and do any processing you want to occur before the user begins interacting with the
+
form.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for Form component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Form Component. +
Properties +
Active
ActiveControl
Controls
Ctl3D
Owner
Parent
+
ActiveMDIChild
Align
Cursor
Enabled
PixelsPerInch
PopupMenu
+
AutoScroll
BorderIcons
Font
FormStyle
Position
PrintScale
+
BorderStyle
Brush
Handle
Height
Scaled
ShowHint
+
Caption
Canvas
HelpContext
Hint
Showing
TabOrder
T
ClientHandle HorzScrollBar TabStop
ClientHeight Icon Tag
ClientOrigin KeyPreview TileMode
ClientRect Left Top
ClientWidth MDIChildCount VertScrollBar
Color MDIChildren Visible
ComponentCount Menu Width
ComponentIndex ModalResult WindowMenu

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 863

TFormBorderStyle type

Components Name WindowState

ControlCount ObjectMenuItem

Methods
ArrangeIcons GetFormImage RemoveComponent
BringToFront GetTextBuf Repaint
CanFocus GetTextLen ScaleBy
Cascade Hide ScreenToClient
ClientToScreen HandleAllocated ScrollBy
Close HandleNeeded ScrollInView
CloseQuery Hide SendToBack
ContainsControl InsertComponent SetBounds
Create InsertControl SetFocus
CreateNew Invalidate SetTextBuf
Destroy Next Show
Dragging Previous ShowModal
FindComponent Print Tile
Focused Refresh Update
Free Release

Events
OnActivate OnDragDrop OnMouseDown
OnClick OnDragOver OnMouseMove
OnClose OnEnter OnMouseUp
OnCloseQuery OnExit OnPaint
OnCreate OnHide OnResize
OnDestroy OnKeyDown OnShow
OnDblClick OnKeyPress
OnDeactivate OnKeyUp

TFormBorderStyle type Forms

Declaration
TFormBorderStyle = (bsNone, bsSingle, bsSizeable, bsDialog);
The TFormBorderStyle type defines the possible border styles of a form. It is the type of
the form’s BorderStyle property.

864 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TFormStyle type
+
TFormStyle type Forms
+
Declaration
TFormStyle = (fsNormal, fsMDIChild, fsMDIForm, fsStayOnTop);
+
The TFormStyle type defines the possible values of the FormStyle property of a form +
(TForm).
+
TGetEditEvent type Grids +
Declaration +
TGetEditEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; ACol, ARow: Longint; var Value: string) of object;
The TGetEditEvent points to a method that handles the retrieving of the text displayed in
+
a cell in a draw grid (TDrawGrid) or string grid (TStringGrid) while the grid is in Edit
mode, or the edit mask used to display text. The ACol parameter specifies the column of +
the cell, and the ARow parameter specifies the row of the cell. The Value parameter is the
string displayed in the cell or the edit mask used to display the text. +
TGetEditEvent is the type of the OnGetEditText and OnGetEditMask events of the draw
and string grid components.
+
+
TGraphic object Graphics
+
The TGraphic object is the foundation class for the TBitmap, TIcon, and TMetafile objects.
If you know which type of graphic (bitmap, icon, or metafile) you will be using, you +
should store the graphic in its specific type object (TBitmap, TIcon, or TMetafile,
respectively). Otherwise, you should use a TPicture object which can hold any type of
TGraphic.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods +
that apply to all objects.
+
Properties
Height Empty Width
T
Methods
ClassName Create LoadFromFile
ClassParent Destroy SaveToFile
ClassType Free

Events
OnChange

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 865

TGraphicField component

TGraphicField component
A TGraphicField represents a field of a record which is represented by a value consisting
of an arbitrary set of bytes with indefinite size. The bytes should correspond to graphics
data.
Use the Assign method to transfer another component to a TGraphicField. Use the
LoadFromFile method to load a field’s contents from a file. Use LoadFromStream method
to load a field from a Stream. Use SaveToFile method to write a field’s contents to a file.
Use SaveToStream method to write a field’s contents to a Stream.
The TGraphicField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

Methods
Assign GetData SaveToFile
AssignValue IsValidChar SaveToStream
Clear LoadFromFile SetData
FocusControl LoadFromStream

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TGraphicsObject object Graphics

A TGraphicsObject object is the base class for the Delphi encapsulation of the three main
Windows graphics tools: the TBrush, TFont, and TPen objects.
In addition to these methods and events, this object also has the methods that apply to
all objects.

866 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Methods
TGridDrawState type
+
ClassName ClassType Destroy
+
ClassParent Create Free +
Events +
OnChange
+
TGridDrawState type Grids +
Declaration +
TGridDrawState = set of (gdSelected, gdFocused, gdFixed); +
The TGridDrawState type defines the possible states of cell when drawing occurs. The
TGridDrawState is the type of the AState parameter used in the TDrawCellEvent method
pointer.
+
+
TGridOptions type Grids +
Declaration +
TGridOption = (goFixedHorzLine, goFixedVertLine, goHorzLine, goVertLine, goRangeSelect,
goDrawFocusSelected, goRowSizing, goColSizing, goRowMoving, goColMoving, goEditing, goTabs,
goRowSelect, goAlwaysShowEditor, goThumbTracking);
+
TGridOptions = set of TGridOption; +
TGridOptions is the set of values the Options property of a TDrawGrid or TStringGrid
component can have. +
+
TGridRect type Grids
+
Declaration
TGridRect = record
T
case Integer of
0: (Left, Top, Right, Bottom: Longint);
1: (TopLeft, BottomRight: TGridCoord);
end;
TGridRect defines a rectangular area within a grid control. It is the type of the Selection
property of the TDrawGrid and TStringGrid components.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 867

TGroupBox component

TGroupBox component StdCtrls

The TGroupBox component is a standard Windows group box. Use a group box
component to group related controls on a form. The most commonly grouped controls
in a group box are radio buttons (TRadioButton).
Place the group box on the form, then select the components you want to appear in the
group box from the Component palette, and place them in the group box.
The text that identifies the purpose of the grouping appears as the value of the Caption
property.
Once you place another windowed control within a group box, the group box becomes
the parent of the control and is the value of that control’s Parent property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for GroupBox component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Group Box Component.

Properties
Align Height PopupMenu
Caption HelpContext Showing
Color Hint TabOrder
Controls Left TabStop
Ctl3D Name Tag
Cursor Owner Top
DragCursor Parent Visible
DragMode ParentColor Width
Enabled ParentCtl3D
Font ParentFont

Methods
BeginDrag Focused ScaleBy
BringToFront GetTextBuf ScreenToClient
CanFocus GetTextLen ScrollBy
ClientToScreen Hide SendToBack
ContainsControl Invalidate SetBounds
Dragging Refresh SetFocus
EndDrag Repaint SetTextBuf

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMouseUp

868 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

THeader component
+
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnExit
OnMouseDown +
THeader component ExtCtrls
+
The THeader component is a sectioned visual control that displays text and allows each
+
section to be resized with the mouse. At design time, resize a section by clicking the
right mouse button on a section border and dragging to the new size. At run time, the
+
user can resize the header by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button. The
widths of the other sections that are not resized remain unchanged. +
The Sections property specifies the sections of a header. The AllowResize property enables
or prevents the user from resizing sections at run time. When a section is resized, an
+
OnSizing event occurs. After a section has been resized, an OnSized event occurs.
To use a header you should attach code to these event handlers. One use would be to
+
align text under a header. When the header is resized, you would realign the text in the
OnSized event handler. To move the text as the header is being resized, realign the text in
+
the OnSizing event handler.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for GroupBox component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Group Box Component. +
Properties +
Align
AllowResize
HelpContext
Hint
SectionWidth
ShowHint
+
BoundsRect
BorderStyle
Left
Name
Showing
TabOrder
+
ComponentIndex
Cursor
Owner
Parent
TabStop
Tag
+
Enabled
Font
ParentFont
ParentShowHint
Top
Visible
+
Height Sections Width T
Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen SendToBack
BringToFront Hide SetBounds
CanFocus Invalidate SetFocus
ClientToScreen Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 869

THelpContext type

Focused ScrollBy
GetTextBuf ScreenToClient

Events
OnEnter OnSized OnSizing
OnExit

THelpContext type Classes

Declaration
THelpContext = -MaxLongInt..MaxLongInt;
The THelpContext type is used to define Help context numbers.

THelpEvent type Classes

Declaration
THelpEvent = function (Command: Word; Data: Longint): Boolean of object;
The THelpEvent is used by the OnHelp event handler. To find the possible values of the
Command and Data parameters, search for the WinHelp topic in the Help system, which
explains the WinHelp API (application programming interface).

THintInfo type Forms

Declaration
THintInfo = record
HintControl: TControl;
HintPos: TPoint;
HintMaxWidth: Integer;
HintColor: TColor;
CursorRect: TRect;
CursorPos: TPoint;
end;
The THintInfo type is used to define the appearance and behavior of the Help window in
a TShowHintEvent type OnShowHint event handler.

TIcon object Graphics

A TIcon object contains an icon graphic (.ICO file format). TIcon encapsulates a Windows
HICON.

870 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TIdleEvent type

The height and width in pixels of the icon are specified by the Height and Width
+
properties, respectively. +
To load an icon from a file, call the LoadFromFile method. To save an icon to a file, call
SaveToFile. +
To draw an icon on a canvas, call the Draw or StretchDraw methods of a TCanvas object,
passing a TIcon as a parameter. +
When the icon is modified, an OnChange event occurs. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects. +
Properties +
Empty
Handle
Height Width +
Methods
+
Assign ClassType Free
+
ClassName
ClassParent
Create
Destroy
LoadFromFile
SaveToFile
+
Events
+
OnChange +
+
TIdleEvent type Forms
+
Declaration
TIdleEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; var Done: Boolean) of object;
+
The TIdleEvent type points to a method that runs when your application is idle. It is the
type of the OnIdle event of the application (TApplication).
+
The Boolean parameter Done is True by default. When Done is True, the Windows API T
WaitMessage function is called when OnIdle returns. WaitMessage yields control to other
applications until a new message appears in the message queue of your application. If
Done is False, WaitMessage is not called.

Tile method
Applies to
TForm component

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 871

TileMode property

Declaration
procedure Tile;
The Tile method arranges the child forms of a parent form in your application so that the
forms are all the same size. At the same time, all the forms together completely fill up
the client area of the parent form. How the forms arrange themselves depends upon the
value of the TileMode property.
The Tile method applies only to forms that are MDI parent forms (have a FormStyle
property value of fsMDIForm).

Example
This example uses three forms. The first form has its FormStyle property set to MDIForm.
The other two have their FormStyle properties set to MDIChild and their Visible
properties set to True. Add a main menu component and name one of the menu items
TileForms. This is code for the TileFormsClick handler:
procedure TForm1.TileForms1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
TileMode := tbVertical;
Tile;
end;
When the user chooses the TileForms command, the child forms tile vertically within
the MDI frame form.

See also
ArrangeIcons method, Cascade method, Next method, Previous method

TileMode property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property TileMode: TTileMode;
Run-time only. The TileMode property determines how the child forms within a parent
form arrange themselves when the application calls the Tile method. These are the
possible values the TileMode property can have:

Value Meaning
tbHorizontal Each form stretches across the width of the parent form
tbVertical Each form stretches along the height of the parent form

Setting the TileMode property is meaningful only in an MDI parent form (has a FormStyle
property value of fsMDIForm).

872 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TImage component
+
Example
This example uses three forms. The first form has its FormStyle property set to MDIForm.
The other two have their FormStyle properties set to MDIChild and their Visible
+
properties set to True. Add a main menu component and name one of the menu items
TileForms. This is code for the TileFormsClick handler:
+
procedure TForm1.TileForms1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
TileMode := tbHorizontal;
Tile;
+
end;
When the application runs and the user chooses the TileForms command, the child
+
forms tile horizontally within the MDI frame form.
+
See also
Tile method
+
+
TImage component ExtCtrls
+
The TImage component displays a graphical image on a form. The image that appears is
the value of the Picture property. If you want the image control to resize to fit the current +
image, set the AutoSize property to True. If you want to resize the image to completely
fill an image control when the control is larger than the native size of the image, use the
Stretch property.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the +
properties and methods that apply to all controls.
For more information, search for Image component in the online Help, and choose the
+
topic Using the Image Component.
+
Properties
+
Align
Autosize
Height
HelpContext
ShowHint
Showing +
BoundsRect
Canvas
Hint
Left
Stretch
TabOrder T
Center Name TabStop
ComponentIndex Owner Tag
Cursor Parent Top
DragCursor ParentShowHint Visible
DragMode Picture Width
Enabled PopupMenu

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 873

Time function

Methods
BeginDrag Hide SendToBack
BringToFront Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen Refresh Show
Dragging Repaint Update
EndDrag ScaleBy
Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnDragOver OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnMouseUp
OnDragDrop OnMouseDown

Time function SysUtils

Declaration
function Time: TDateTime;
The Time function returns the current time.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current time displays in the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'The time is ' + TimeToStr(Time);
end;

See also
Date function, DecodeTime procedure, Now function, TimeToStr function

TimeFormat property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property TimeFormat: TMPTimeFormats;
Run-time only. The TimeFormat property determines the format used to specify position
information.

874 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TimeFormat property

TimeFormat determines how the StartPos, Length, Position, Start, and EndPos properties
+
are interpreted. For example, if Position is 180 and TimeFormat is tfMilliseconds, the
current position is 180 milliseconds into the medium. If Position is 180 and TimeFormat is
+
tfMSF, the current position is 180 minutes into the medium. +
Not all formats are supported by every device. If you try to set an unsupported format,
the assignment is ignored. +
The current timing information is always passed in a 4-byte integer. In some formats,
the timing information returned is not really one integer, but single bytes of information +
packed in the long integer.
The following table lists the possible values for the TimeFormat property:
+
Value Time format +
tfMilliseconds
tfHMS
Milliseconds are stored as a 4-byte integer variable.
Hours, minutes, and seconds packed into a 4-byte integer. From least significant to
+
most significant byte, the data values are
Hours (least significant byte)
Minutes
+
tfMSF
Seconds
Unused (most significant byte)
Minutes, seconds, and frames packed into a 4-byte integer. From least significant to
+
most significant byte, the data values are
Minutes (least significant byte) +
+
Seconds
Frames
Unused (most significant byte)
tfFrames
tfSMPTE24
Frames are stored as a 4-byte integer variable.
24-frame SMPTE packs values in a 4-byte variable. From least significant to most +
+
significant byte, the data values are
Hours (least significant byte)
Minutes
Seconds
Frames (most significant byte)
SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) time is an absolute time
+
tfSMPTE25
format expressed in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. The standard SMPTE
division types are 24, 25, and 30 frames per second.
25-frame SMPTE packs data into a 4-byte variable in the same order as 24-frame
+
tfSMPTE30
SMPTE.
30-frame SMPTE packs data into the 4-byte variable in the same order as 24-frame
+
tfSMPTE30Drop
SMPTE.
30-drop-frame SMPTE packs data into the 4-byte variable in the same order as 24-
frame SMPTE.
T
tfBytes Bytes are stored as a 4-byte integer variable.
tfSamples Samples are stored as a 4-byte integer variable.
tfTMSF Tracks, minutes, seconds, and frames are packed in the 4-byte variable. From least
significant to most significant byte, the data values are
Tracks (least significant byte)
Minutes
Seconds
Frames (most significant byte)
Note that MCI uses continuous track numbering.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 875

TimeToStr function

Note Functions provided with MCI to help you decode the 4-byte integer specified in a given
time format are documented under MCI Macros for Encoding and Decoding Time Data in
the MMSYSTEM.HLP Help file.

Example
The following code declares a HMSRec record with four byte fields. If TimeFormat is
tfHMS, the first field specifies hours, the second field specifies minutes, the third field
specifies seconds, and the fourth field corresponds to the unused most-significant byte
of the tfHMS time format. A LongInt variable is typecast to an HMSRec record, then the
hours, minutes, and seconds of the Length of the loaded media are displayed in labels
when the user clicks a button.
type
HMSRec = record
Hours: byte;
Minutes: byte;
Seconds: byte;
NotUsed: byte;
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
TheLength: LongInt;
begin
TimeFormat := tfHMS; { Set time format - note that some devices don’t support tfHMS }
TheLength := MediaPlayer1.Length; { Store length of currently loaded media in var }
with HMSRec(TheLength) do { Typecast TheLength as a HMSRec record }
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(Hours); { Display Hours in Label1 }
Label2.Caption := IntToStr(Minutes); { Display Minutes in Label2 }
Label3.Caption := IntToStr(Seconds); { Display Seconds in Label3 }
end;
end;

TimeToStr function SysUtils

Declaration
function TimeToStr(Time: TDateTime): string;
The TimeToStr function converts the Time parameter, a variable of type TDateTime, to a
string. You can change the format of how the string is displayed by changing the values
of some of the date and time variables.

Example
This example uses a label and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
current time appears as the caption of the label:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin

876 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Label1.Caption := TimeToStr(Time);
TIndexDef object
+
end; +
See also
DateTimeToStr function, DateToStr function, StrToDateTime function, Time function
+
+
TIndexDef object +
The TIndexDef object describes the index for a table.
Use the Fields property to get a list of the fields in the index Use the Name property to get
+
the name of the index. Test the flags in the Options property for a specific characteristic
of the index.
+
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.
+
Properties
+
Expression Name Options
+
Fields
+
Methods +
ClassName
ClassParent
ClassType
Create
Destroy
Free
+
+
TIndexDefs object
+
The TIndexDefs object holds the set of available indexes for a table.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
+
to all objects.
+
Properties
T
Count Items

Methods
Add ClassType FindIndexForFields
Assign Clear Free
ClassName Create IndexOf
ClassParent Destroy Update

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 877

TIndexOptions type

TIndexOptions type DB
Declaration
TIndexOptions = set of (ixPrimary, ixUnique, ixDescending, ixNonMaintained,
ixCaseInsensitive);
The TIndexOptions type is the set of values that can be used in creating a new index. It is
used by the AddIndex method of a dataset component.

TIniFile object IniFiles

The TIniFile object permits your application to write and read an .INI file.
Your application can retrieve all the strings in a section of an .INI file by calling the
ReadSection method; or it can retrieve a single Boolean, integer, or string value by calling
the ReadBool, ReadInteger, or ReadString methods.
To erase an entire section of an .INI file, use the EraseSection method.
Your application can change the settings in an existing .INI file. To change a Boolean
value, call the WriteBool method. To change an integer value, call the WriteInteger
method. Finally, to change a string value, call the WriteString method.
In addition to these methods, this object also has the methods that apply to all objects.
Methods
ClassName FileName ReadString
ClassParent Free WriteBool
ClassType ReadBool WriteInteger
Create ReadInteger WriteString
Destroy ReadSection
EraseSection ReadSectionValues

TIntegerField component
A TIntegerField component represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as
a binary value with a range from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. Use TIntegerField for
fields that hold large, signed whole numbers.
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
access or change the current field value. Set the MinValue or the MaxValue property to
limit the smallest or largest value permitted in a field.
The TIntegerField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

878 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Title property
+
Properties
Alignment DisplayFormat IsNull
+
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
MaxValue
MinValue
+
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
Name
Owner
+
AsString
Calculated
EditFormat
EditMask
ReadOnly
Required
+
CanModify
DataSet
EditMaskPtr
FieldName
Size
Tag
+
DataSize
DataType
FieldNo
Index
Text
Value
+
AsFloat IsIndexField Visible +
Methods +
Assign
AssignValue
FocusControl
GetData
SetData
+
Clear IsValidChar
+
Events
+
+
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

Title property
+
Applies to
+
TPrinter object; TApplication, TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog components +
The Title property specifies the text used to title an object, component, or application.
+
For applications T
Declaration
property Title: string;
The Title property determines the text that appears with an icon representing your
application when it is minimized. The default value is the project name (the name of the
project file without the .PRJ file extension).
You can set the title at run time, or you can enter the value of the Title property on the
Application page of the Options|Project Options dialog box.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 879

For Open and Save dialog boxes

Example
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.Title := 'My Incredible Application';
end;

See also
Application variable, Caption property, Icon property, Minimize method

For Open and Save dialog boxes

Declaration
property Title: string;
The Title property determines the text that appears in the dialog box’s title bar.

Example
This code displays the Open dialog box with the text “Open Pascal files” in its title bar
and lists only Pascal files in the list box:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
OpenDialog1.Filter := ’Pascal files (*.PAS)|*.PAS’;
OpenDialog1.Title := ’Open Pascal files’;
OpenDialog1.Execute;
end;

For printer objects

property Title: string;
Run-time only. The Title property determines the text that appears listed in the Print
Manager and on network header pages.

Example
This line of code sets the value of the Title property for the printer object:
Printer.Title := ‘My incredible application’;

880 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TitleFont property
+
TitleFont property +
Applies to
TDBGrid component +
Declaration +
property TitleFont: TFont; +
The TitleFont property determines the font used for the titles of the columns in the data
grid. +
Example
The following code makes the font specified by the font dialog component, FontDialog1,
+
the font of the data grid. +
if FontDialog1.Execute then
DBGrid1.TitleFont := FontDialog1.Font; +
See also
Title property
+
+
TKey type Controls +
Declaration +
TKey = Word;
The TKey type is used to hold keyboard scan codes in keyboard event handlers and in
+
menu shortcut routines.
+
See also
OnKeyDown event, OnKeyUp event, ShortCut function, ShortCutToKey procedure, +
TKeyEvent type
+
TKeyEvent type Controls T
Declaration
TKeyEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; var Key: Word; Shift: TShiftState) of object;
The TKeyEvent type points to a method that handles keyboard events. The Key
parameter is the key on the keyboard and Shift is one of these possible states:

State Meaning
ssShift The Shift key is held down.
ssAlt The Alt key is held down.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 881

TKeyPressEvent type

State Meaning
ssCtrl The Ctrl key is held down.
ssLeft The left mouse button is held down.
ssMiddle The middle mouse button is held down.
ssDouble Both the right and left mouse buttons are held down.

TKeyEvent is the type of the OnKeyDown and OnKeyUp events.

TKeyPressEvent type Controls

Declaration
TKeyPressEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; var Key: Char) of object;
The TKeyPressEvent type points to a method that handles a single character key press.
The Key parameter is the key on the keyboard.
TKeyPressEvent is the type of the OnKeyPress event.

TLabel component StdCtrls

The TLabel component is a nonwindowed control that displays text on a form. Usually
this text labels some other control.
The text of a label is the value of its Caption property. Within the caption, you can
include an accelerator key. When the user presses the accelerator key, the control that is
the value of the label’s FocusControl becomes the active control on the form.
How the text of the caption aligns within the label is determined by the value of the
Alignment property. You can have the label resize automatically to fit a changing caption
if you set the AutoSize property to True. If you prefer to have the text wrap, set
WordWrap to True.
If you want a label to appear on top of a graphic, but you want to be able to see through
the label so that part of the graphic isn’t hidden, set the Transparent property to True.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all controls.
For more information, search for Label component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Label Component.

Properties
Align FocusControl PopupMenu
Alignment Font ShowAccelChar
AutoSize Height ShowHint
BoundsRect Hint Tag

882 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TLeftRight type
+
Caption
Color
Left
Name
Top
Transparent +
ComponentIndex
Cursor
Owner
Parent
Visible
Width +
+
DragCursor ParentColor WordWrap
DragMode ParentFont

+
Enabled ParentShowHint

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen ScreenToClient
+
BringToFront
ClientToScreen
Hide
Invalidate
SendToBack
SetBounds
+
Dragging
EndDrag
Refresh
Repaint
SetTextBuf
Show
+
GetTextBuf ScaleBy Update
+
Events
+
OnClick
OnDblClick
OnDragOver
OnEndDrag
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp +
OnDragDrop OnMouseDown
+
TLeftRight type Classes +
Declaration +
TAlignment = (taLeftJustify, taRightJustify, taCenter);
TLeftRight = taLeftJustify..taRightJustify;
+
TLeftRight is the type of the Alignment property of check boxes and radio buttons. +
+
TList object Classes
T
The TList object is used to maintain lists of objects.
The List property is a list of pointers to all the objects in the list. You can access a
particular item referenced in the list using the Items property. To find the position of an
item in the list, use the IndexOf method.
You can add, delete, insert, remove, move, and exchange items in the list using the Add,
Delete, Insert, Remove, Move, and Exchange methods. Use the Count property to determine
how many items are in the list.
Use the First method to move to the beginning of the list, and use the Last method to
move to the end of the list.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 883

TListBox component

The number of items the list can maintain is determined by the value of the Capacity
property. If you need to increase the size of the list, call the Expand method. You can
remove all nil pointers in the list with the Pack method.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Properties
Capacity Items List
Count

Methods
Add Delete IndexOf
ClassName Destroy Insert
ClassParent Exchange Last
ClassType Expand Pack
Create First Remove
Clear Free

TListBox component StdCtrls

The TListBox component is a Windows list box. A list box displays a list from which
users can select one or more items.
The list of items in the list box is the value of the Items property. The ItemIndex property
indicates which item in the list box is selected.
You can add, delete, and insert items in the list box using the Add, Delete, and Insert
methods of the Items object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to add a string to a
list box, you could write this line of code:
ListBox1.Items.Add(‘New item’);
You can change how the list box appears. If you want the list box to have multiple
columns, change the value of the Columns property. Sort the list box items with the
Sorted property.
You can allow users to select more than one item at a time by setting the MultiSelect
property to True. The ExtendedSelect property determines how multiple items can be
selected. To determine whether a particular item is selected and how many items are
selected, check the values of the Selected and SelCount properties, respectively.
You can make the list box an owner-draw list box by changing the Style property.
You can drag and drop objects into a list box. For more information, search for Dragging
and Dropping in the Help file.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

884 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TListBoxStyle type
+
Properties
Align Hint SelCount
+
BorderStyle
Canvas
IntegralHeight
ItemIndex
Selected
ShowHint
+
Color
Columns
ItemHeight
Items
Showing
Sorted
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
Left
MultiSelect
Style
TabOrder
+
Cursor
DragCursor
Name
Owner
TabStop
Tag
+
DragMode
Enabled
Parent
ParentColor
Top
TopIndex
+
ExtendedSelect
Font
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
Visible
Width
+
Height
HelpContext
ParentShowHint
PopupMenu
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag Hide SendToBack +
BringToFront
Clear
ItemAtPos
Invalidate
SetBounds
SetFocus +
ClientToScreen
Dragging
Refresh
Repaint
SetTextBuf
Show +
EndDrag
GetTextBuf
ScaleBy
ScreenToClient
Update
+
GetTextLen ScrollBy
+
Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
+
OnDblClick
OnDragDrop
OnEnter
OnExit
OnMeasureItem
OnMouseDown
+
OnDragOver
OnDrawItem
OnKeyDown
OnKeyPress
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
T
See also
Creating an owner-draw control, TComboBox component, TDBListBox component

TListBoxStyle type StdCtrls

Declaration
TListBoxStyle = (lbStandard, lbOwnerDrawFixed, lbOwnerDrawVariable);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 885

TLocale type

The TListBoxStyle type is the type of the Style property for a list box (TListBox
component).

TLocale type DB
Declaration
TLocale = Pointer;
The TLocale type is the type of a Locale or DBLocale property. These properties are only
used or needed when making direct calls to the Borland Database Engine.

TLoginEvent type DB
Declaration
TLoginEvent = procedure(Database: TDatabase; LoginParams: TStrings) of object;
The TLoginEvent type is the header for the method that handles an OnLogin event for a
TDatabase. The Database parameter is the database. LoginParams is a TStrings object
which holds the username and password, along with any other parameters to be used in
opening the Database. The username is a string of the form ‘USER NAME=John_Doe’.
The password is a string of the form ‘PASSWORD=His_Password’. The OnLogin event
handler should add both the username and password to LoginParams when called.

TMacroEvent type DDEMan

Declaration
TMacroEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Msg : String) of object;
The TMacroEvent type points to a method that handles the passing of a macro string
from a DDE client to a DDE server conversation (TDDEServerConv) component. Msg
contains the macro.
TMacroEvent is the type of the OnExecuteMacro event.

TMainMenu component Menus

The MainMenu component encapsulates a menu bar and its accompanying drop-down
menus for a form. To begin designing a menu, add a main menu component to your
form, and double-click the component. See the topic Menu Designer in the Help system.
The items on the menu bar and in its drop-down menus are specified with the Items
object, a property of a main menu. The Items object is of type TMenuItem. Your
application can use the Items property to access a particular command on the menu.

886 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMaskEdit component

You can choose to have the menus of one form merge with those of another using the
+
AutoMerge property and the Merge and Unmerge methods. +
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components. +
For more information, search for MainMenu component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Main Menu Component. +
Properties +
AutoMerge Items Owner +
ComponentIndex Name Tag
+
Methods
FindItem GetHelpContext Unmerge
+
Free Merge +
See also
ShortCut function, ShortCutToKey procedure, ShortCutToText function, TextToShortCut
+
function, TPopupMenu component +
TMaskEdit component Mask
+
A mask edit box is an much like an ordinary edit box (TEdit component), except you can
+
require the user to enter only valid characters through the use of an EditMask property.
You can also use the mask to format the display of data. +
The text the user enters in the edit box is the value of the Text property, just as it is with
any edit box. The text of the edit box with the mask specified in the EditMask property
+
applied to it is the value of the EditText property.
Your application can tell if the value of Text changes by checking the value of the
+
Modified property. To limit the number of characters users can enter into the mask edit
box, use the MaxLength property.
+
If you want to prevent the user from changing the value of the Text property by typing
in the edit box, set the ReadOnly property to True.
T
You can choose to have the text in a mask edit box automatically selected whenever it
becomes the active control with the AutoSelect property. At run time, you can select all
the text in the edit box with the SelectAll method. To find out which text in the edit box
the user has selected or to replace selected text, use the SelText property. To clear
selected text, call the ClearSelection method. To select only part of the text or to find out
what part of the text is selected, use the SelStart and SelLength properties.
You can cut, copy, and paste text to and from a mask edit box using the CutToClipboard,
CopyToClipboard, and PasteFromClipboard methods.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 887

TMaskEdit component

Your application can display a specified character rather than the actual character typed
into an edit box. If the edit box is used to enter a password, onlookers won’t be able to
read the typed text. Specify the special character with the PasswordChar property.
If you want the edit box to automatically resize to accommodate a change in font size,
use the AutoSize property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for MaskEdit component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the MaskEdit Component.

Properties
Align Height ReadOnly
AutoSelect HelpContext SelLength
AutoSize Hint SelStart
BorderStyle IsMasked SelText
CharCase Left ShowHint
Color MaxLength Showing
ComponentIndex Modified TabOrder
Ctl3D Name TabStop
Cursor Owner Tag
DragCursor Parent Text
DragMode ParentColor Top
EditMask ParentCtl3D Visible
EditText ParentFont Width
Enabled ParentShowHint
Font PasswordChar

Methods
BeginDrag GetSelTextBuf SelectAll
BringToFront GetTextBuf SendToBack
CanFocus GetTextLen SetBounds
Clear Hide SetFocus
ClearSelection Invalidate SetSelTextBuf
ClientToScreen PasteFromClipboard SetTextBuf
CopyToClipboard Refresh Show
CutToClipboard Repaint Update
Dragging ScaleBy ValidateEdit
EndDrag ScreenToClient
Focused ScrollBy

888 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Events
TMeasureItemEvent type
+
OnChange OnEnter OnMouseDown
+
OnDblClick
OnDragDrop
OnExit
OnKeyDown
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
+
OnDragOver
OnEndDrag
OnKeyPress
OnKeyUp
+
See also
+
TDBEdit component, TEdit component +
TMeasureItemEvent type StdCtrls
+
Declaration
+
TMeasureItemEvent = procedure(ListBox: TListBox; Index: Integer; var Height: Integer) of
object;
+
The TMeasureItemEvent type points to a method that handles the measuring of an item +
in an owner-draw list box. The Index parameter identifies the position of the item in the
list box and Height is the height of the item in pixels. +
TMeasureItemEvent is the type of the OnMeasureItem event.
+
TMeasureTabEvent type Tabs +
Declaration +
TMeasureTabEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Index: Integer; var TabWidth: Integer) of
object; +
The TMeasureTabEvent type points to a method that handles the measuring of a tab in an
owner-draw tab set control. Your code is responsible for calculating and returning the
+
tab width, depending on what you have drawn in the tab (if the tab is of Style
tsOwnerDraw). The Index parameter identifies the position of the tab in the tab set +
control and TabWidth is the width of the tab.
TMeasureTabEvent is the type of the OnMeasureTab event.
T
TMediaPlayer component MPlayer
A TMediaPlayer component controls devices that provide a Media Control Interface
(MCI) driver. The component is a set of buttons (Play, Stop, Eject, and so on) that
controls a multimedia device such as a CD-ROM drive, a MIDI sequencer, or a VCR. A
multimedia device may be hardware or software.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 889

TMediaPlayer component

The media player component consists of multiple buttons. These buttons can be clicked
with the mouse, but are not separate objects or button components.

Play Pause Stop Next Prev Step Back Rec Eject

Button Value Action

Play btPlay Plays the media player
Pause btPause Pauses playing or recording. If already paused when clicked,
resumes playing or recording.
Stop btStop Stops playing or recording
Next btNext Skips to the next track, or to the end if the medium doesn’t use
tracks
Prev btPrev Skips to the previous track, or to the beginning if the medium
doesn’t use tracks
Step btStep Moves forward a number of frames
Back btBack Moves backward a number of frames
Record btRecord Starts recording
Eject btEject Ejects the medium

The multimedia device is played, paused, stopped, and so on when the user clicks the
corresponding button on the TMediaPlayer component. The device can also be controlled
by the control methods that correspond to the buttons (Play, Pause, Stop, Next, Previous,
Step, Back, StartRecording, and Eject).
The type of multimedia device (such as dtWaveAudio or dtVideodisc) is specified by the
DeviceType property. If the device stores its media in a file, the name of the media file is
specified by the FileName property. If DeviceType is dtAutoSelect, the media player
attempts to determine the type of device from the extension of the file specified by
FileName.
To open a multimedia device, call the Open method. To have the media player attempt
to open the device specified by DeviceType automatically when the media player
component is created at run time, set the AutoOpen property to True.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for MediaPlayer component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Media Player Component.

Properties
Align ErrorMessage ShowHint
AutoEnable FileName Showing
AutoOpen Frames Start
AutoRewind Height StartPos
BoundsRect HelpContext TabOrder

890 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMemo component
+
Capabilities
ColoredButtons
Hint
Left
TabStop
Tag +
ComponentIndex
Cursor
Length
Mode
TimeFormat
Top +
+
DeviceID Name TrackLength
DeviceType Notify TrackPosition

+
Display NotifyValue Tracks
DisplayRect Owner Visible

+
Enabled Parent VisibleButtons
EnabledButtons ParentShowHint Wait

+
EndPos Position Width
Error Shareable

Methods +
Back
BeginDrag
Hide
Invalidate
Save
ScaleBy
+
BringToFront
CanFocus
Next
Open
ScreenToClient
SendToBack
+
ClientToScreen
Close
Pause
PauseOnly
SetBounds
SetFocus
+
Dragging
Eject
Play
Previous
SetTextBuf
Show
+
EndDrag
Focused
Refresh
Repaint
StartRecording
Step
+
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
Resume
Rewind
Stop
Update
+
Events +
OnClick OnExit OnPostClick +
OnEnter OnNotify
+
TMemo component StdCtrls T
A TMemo component displays text to the user and permits the user to enter text into the
application much like a TEdit component. The TMemo component permits multiple lines
to be entered or displayed, unlike TEdit.
The text in the memo is the value of the Text property. Your application can tell if the
value of Text changes by checking the value of the Modified property. To limit the
number of characters users can enter into the memo, use the MaxLength property
You can also access the text line by line using the Lines property. If you want to work
with the text as one chunk, use the Text property. If you want to work with individual
lines of text, the Lines property will suit your needs better.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 891

TMemo component

You can add, delete, insert, and move lines in a memo control using the Add, Delete, and
Insert methods of the Lines object, which is of type TStrings. For example, to add a line to
a memo, you could write this line of code:
Memo1.Lines.Add(‘Another line is added’);
You can cut, copy, and paste text to and from a memo control using the CutToClipboard,
CopyToClipboard, and PasteFromClipboard methods.
If you want the user to be able to read the text in the memo but not to change it, set the
ReadOnly property to True.
Several properties affect how the memo appears and how text is entered. You can
choose to supply scroll bars in the memo with the ScrollBars property. If you want the
memo to automatically resize to accommodate a change in font size, use the AutoSize
property. If you want the text to break into lines, set WordWrap to True. If you want the
user to be able to use tabs in the text, set WantTabs to True.
You can choose to have the text in a memo automatically selected whenever it becomes
the active control with the AutoSelect property. At run time, you can select all the text in
the memo with the SelectAll method. To find out which text in the memo the user has
selected, or to replace selected text, use the SelText property. To select only part of the
text or to find out what part of the text is selected, use the SelStart and SelLength
properties.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for Memo component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Memo Component.

Properties
Align Left SelStart
Alignment Lines SelText
BorderStyle MaxLength ShowHint
Color Modified Showing
ComponentIndex Name TabOrder
Ctl3D Owner TabStop
Cursor Parent Tag
DragCursor ParentColor Text
DragMode ParentCtl3D Top
Enabled ParentFont Visible
Font ParentShowHint WantReturns
Height PopupMenu WantTabs
HelpContext ReadOnly Width
HideSelection ScrollBars WordWrap
Hint SelLength

892 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMemoField component
+
Methods
BeginDrag Focused ScreenToClient
+
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetSelTextBuf
GetTextBuf
ScrollBy
SelectAll
+
Clear
ClearSelection
GetTextLen
Hide
SendToBack
SetBounds
+
ClientToScreen
CopyToClipboard
Invalidate
PasteFromClipboard
SetFocus
SetSelTextBuf
+
Create
CutToClipboard
Refresh
RemoveComponent
SetTextBuf
Show
+
Dragging
EndDrag
Repaint
ScaleBy
Update +
Events
+
OnChange OnEndDrag OnKeyUp +
OnClick
OnDblClick
OnEnter
OnExit
OnMouseDown
OnMouseMove +
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnKeyDown
OnKeyPress
OnMouseUp
+
+
TMemoField component
+
A TMemoField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented by a value
consisting of an arbitrary set of bytes with indefinite size. The bytes should correspond
to text data.
+
Use the Assign method to transfer another component to a TMemoField. Use the +
LoadFromFile method to load a field’s contents from a file. Use LoadFromStream method
to load a field from a Stream. Use SaveToFile method to write a field’s contents to a file.
Use SaveToStream method to write a field’s contents to a Stream.
+
The TMemoField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField +
component.
T
Properties
Alignment DisplayLabel Name
AsBoolean DisplayName Owner
AsDateTime DisplayText ReadOnly
AsFloat DisplayWidth Required
AsInteger EditMask Size
AsString EditMaskPtr Tag
Calculated FieldName Text
CanModify FieldNo Transliterate

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 893

TMenuBreak type

DataSet Index Visible

DataSize IsIndexField
DataType IsNull

Methods
Assign GetData SaveToFile
AssignValue IsValidChar SaveToStream
Clear LoadFromFile SetData
FocusControl LoadFromStream

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TMenuBreak type Menus

Declaration
TMenuBreak = (mbNone, mbBreak, mbBarBreak);
The TMenuBreak type defines the values the Break property of a menu item can have.

TMenuItem component Menus

A TMenuItem component contains the properties, methods, and events for each menu
item on a menu (TMainMenu or TPopupMenu). Each TMainMenu or TPopupMenu
component may contain multiple menu items. As you design a menu with the Menu
Designer, you are creating a menu item object for each command on the menu.
When the user chooses a command on a menu, that menu item’s OnClick event occurs.
The text that appears on a menu is the Caption of a menu item. You can also use the
caption of the menu item to specify an accelerator key for a menu item or to provide a
line that separates a menu into parts. You can assign a shortcut key to a menu item with
the ShortCut property.
You can use the Items property to access a subitem of the current menu item.
If you want a check mark to alternately appear and disappear next to a menu item when
the user has selected it, use the Checked property. If you want to disable a menu item
(make it dim and unavailable to the user), set the Enabled property to False. You can
simulate a user clicking a menu item with the Click method. If you are working with a
lengthy menu, you can break the menu into two or more columns with the Break
property.

894 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMessageEvent type

When you want to merge menus of one form with those of another, use the GroupIndex
+
property of menu items, and either the AutoMerge property or the Merge and Unmerge
methods of a main menu (TMainMenu).
+
You can insert and delete menu items from a menu at run time with the Insert and +
Remove methods.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the +
properties and methods that apply to all components.
+
Properties
+
+
Break Enabled Owner
Caption GroupIndex Parent

+
Checked HelpContext ShortCut
Command Hint Tag

+
ComponentIndex Items Visible
Count Name

Methods +
Add
Click
IndexOf
Insert
Remove
+
Events
+
OnClick +
See also +
ShortCut function, ShortCutToKey procedure, ShortCutToText function, TextToShortCut
function, TMainMenu component, TPopupMenu component +
+
TMessageEvent type Forms
+
Declaration
TMessageEvent = procedure (var Msg: TMsg; var Handled: Boolean) of object;
T
The TMessageEvent type points to a method that handles the processing of incoming
Windows messages. It is the type of the OnMessage event handler. The Msg parameter
identifies the Windows message, and the Handled parameter determines whether the
message is handled or not.

TMetafile object Graphics

A TMetafile object contains a Windows metafile graphic (.WMF file format).

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 895

TMethod

The height and width in pixels of the metafile are specified by the Height and Width
properties, respectively.
To load a metafile from a file, call the LoadFromFile method. To save a bitmap to a file,
call SaveToFile.
To draw a metafile on a canvas, call the Draw or StretchDraw methods of a TCanvas
object, passing a TMetafile as a parameter.
When the metafile is modified, an OnChange event occurs.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects.

Properties
Empty Height Width
Handle Inch

Methods
Assign ClassType Free
ClassName Create LoadFromFile
ClassParent Destroy SaveToFile

Events
OnChange

TMethod SysUtils
Declaration
TMethod = record
Code, Data: Pointer;
end;
TMethod declares a record that stores the Code and Data fields as type Pointer.

TModalResult type Forms

Declaration
TModalResult = Low(Integer)..High(Integer);
The TModalResult type is the type of the ModalResult property.

896 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMouseButton type
+
TMouseButton type Controls
+
Declaration
TMouseButton = (mbRight, mbLeft, mbMiddle);
+
The TMouseButton type defines the mouse-button constants used by mouse-event +
handlers to distinguish which button generated the mouse event.
+
See also
TMouseEvent type +
TMouseEvent type Controls
+
Declaration
+
TMouseEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton; Shift: +
TShiftState; X, Y: Integer) of object;
The TMouseEvent type points to a method that handles mouse-button events. The Button +
parameter determines which mouse button the user pressed, Shift indicates which shift
keys (Shift, Ctrl, or Alt) and mouse buttons were down when the user pressed or released +
the mouse button that generated the mouse-button event. X and Y are the screen pixel
coordinates of the mouse pointer. +
See also
OnMouseDown event, OnMouseUp event
+
+
TMouseMoveEvent type Controls +
Declaration +
TMouseMoveEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer) of object;
The TMouseMoveEvent type points to a method that handles mouse-move events. The
+
Button parameter determines which mouse button the user pressed, Shift indicates
which shift keys (Shift, Ctrl, or Alt) and mouse buttons were down when the user moved T
the mouse, and X and Y are screen pixel coordinates of the new location of the mouse
pointer.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 897

TMovedEvent type

TMovedEvent type Grids

Declaration
TMovedEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; FromIndex, ToIndex: Longint) of object;
The TMovedEvent type points to a method that handles the moving of a column or row
in a draw grid (TDrawGrid) or string grid (TStringGrid). The FromIndex parameter is the
index of the column or row that is being moved, with the first column or row having an
index value of 0. The ToIndex parameter value is the new location of the column or row
after it is moved.
TMovedEvent is the type of OnColumnMoved and OnRowMoved events of the draw and
string grid components.

TMPBtnType type MPlayer

Declaration
TMPBtnType = (btPlay, btPause, btStop, btNext, btPrev, btStep, btBack, btRecord, btEject);
The TMPBtnType type defines the buttons of a TMediaPlayer component. The buttons are
included in a set of the TButtonSet type and are used for the Button parameter of the
OnClick and OnPostClick events.

TMPDevCapsSet type MPlayer

Declaration
TMPDevCaps = (mpCanStep, mpCanEject, mpCanPlay, mpCanRecord, mpUsesWindows);
TMPDevCapsSet = set of TMPDevCaps;
The TMPDevCapsSet type is a set of the capabilities of the open multimedia device used
with a TMediaPlayer component. TMPDevCapsSet is the type of the Capabilities property.

TMPDeviceTypes type MPlayer

Declaration
TMPDeviceTypes = (dtAutoSelect, dtAVIVideo, dtCDAudio, dtDAT, dtDigitalVideo, dtMMMovie,
dtOther, dtOverlay, dtScanner, dtSequencer, dtVCR, dtVideodisc, dtWaveAudio);
The TMPDeviceTypes type contains the multimedia device types that can be opened by a
TMediaPlayer component. TMPDeviceTypes is the type of the DeviceType property.

898 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TMPModes type
+
TMPModes type MPlayer
+
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component +
Declaration +
TMPModes = (mpNotReady, mpStopped, mpPlaying, mpRecording, mpSeeking, mpPaused, mpOpen); +
The TMPModes type defines the modes for a multimedia device used with a
TMediaPlayer component. TMPModes is the type of the Mode property. +
TMPNotifyValues type MPlayer
+
Declaration
+
TMPNotifyValues = (nvSuccessful, nvSuperseded, nvAborted, nvFailure); +
The TMPNotifyValues type defines the notification values for a multimedia device used
with a TMediaPlayer component. TMPNotifyValues is the type of the NotifyValue
+
property.
+
TMPTimeFormats type MPlayer +
Declaration +
TMPTimeFormats = (tfMilliseconds, tfHMS, tfMSF, tfFrames, tfSMPTE24, tfSMPTE25, tfSMPTE30,
tfSMPTE30Drop, tfBytes, tfSamples, tfTMSF);
+
The TMPTimeFormats type defines the time formats for a multimedia device used with a
TMediaPlayer component. TMPTimeFormats is the type of the TimeFormat property.
+
+
TMsgDlgButtons type Dialogs +
Declaration
TMsgDlgBtn = (mbYes, mbNo, mbOK, mbCancel, mbAbort, mbRetry, mbIgnore, mbAll, mbHelp);
T
TMsgDlgButtons = set of TMsgDlgBtn;
The TMsgDlgButtons type defines the set of values a button in a message box can have.
The TMsgDlgButtons type is used by the MessageDlg and MessageDlgPos functions.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 899

TMsgDlgType type

TMsgDlgType type Dialogs

Declaration
TMsgDlgType = (mtWarning, mtError, mtInformation, mtConfirmation, mtCustom);
The TMsgDlgType type defines the values describing the type of message box. The
TMsgDlgType is used by the MessageDlg and MessageDlgPos functions.

TNavigateBtn type DBCtrls

Declaration
TNavigateBtn = (nbFirst, nbPrior, nbNext, nbLast, nbInsert, nbDelete, nbEdit, nbPost,
nbCancel, nbRefresh);
The TNavigateBtn type defines the possible values in the TButtonSet type. It is also used
in the Click method and the ENavClick type.

TNotebook component ExtCtrls

The TNotebook component is a component that can display multiple pages, each with its
own set of controls. Notebook components are frequently used with tab set controls
(TTabSet) to let the user select pages in the notebook by clicking a tab.
The pages available in the notebook control are the strings specified as the value of the
Pages property. You can access a particular page in the notebook either with the
PageIndex property or the ActivePage property.
If you are using a notebook with a tab set, this is the code that connects the pages of the
notebook with the tabs in the tab set, displaying the page strings as the text of the tabs:
TabSet1.Tabs := Notebook1.Pages;
Then, in the OnClick event handler of the notebook, this line of code changes the current
page in the notebook control when the user clicks a tab:
Notebook1.PageIndex := TabSet1.TabIndex;
If you are using a notebook and a tab set together, you usually want the tab set at the
bottom of the form and the notebook to take up the remaining space on the form. To
align the components this way, use their Align properties.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for Notebook component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Notebook Component.

900 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TNotifyEvent type
+
Properties
ActivePage Enabled ParentFont
+
Align
BoundsRect
Font
Handle
ParentShowHint
PopupMenu
+
Color
ComponentCount
Height
HelpContext
ShowHint
Showing
+
ComponentIndex
Components
Left
Name
TabOrder
TabStop
+
ControlCount
Controls
Owner
PageIndex
Tag
Top
+
Ctl3D
Cursor
Pages
Parent
Visible
Width
+
DragCursor
DragMode
ParentColor
ParentCtl3D
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag Focused Repaint +
BringToFront
CanFocus
Free
GetTextBuf
ScaleBy
ScreenToClient +
ClientToScreen
ContainsControl
GetTextLen
Hide
ScrollBy
SendToBack +
Create
Destroy
InsertComponent
InsertControl
SetBounds
SetTextBuf +
Dragging
EndDrag
Invalidate
Refresh
Show
Update +
FindComponent RemoveComponent
+
Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnMouseMove
+
OnDblClick
OnDragDrop
OnEnter
OnExit
OnMouseUp
OnPageChanged
+
OnDragOver OnMouseDown T
TNotifyEvent type Classes
Declaration
TNotifyEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject) of object;
The TNotifyEvent type is the type for events that have no parameters. These events
simply notify the component that a specific event occurred. For example, OnClick, which
is type TNotifyEvent, notifies the control that a click event occurred on the control.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 901

TNumGlyphs type

TNumGlyphs type Buttons

Declaration
TNumGlyphs: 1..4;
The TNumGlyphs type defines the range of values (1-4) the NumGlyphs property of a
bitmap button (TBitBtn) or speed button (TSpeedButton) can assume.

TOLEContainer component Toctrl

The TOLEContainer component holds linked or embedded OLE objects. With an OLE
container, you can display data from an OLE server application in your Delphi
application.
When the user edits the OLE object in your application, the OLE server application is
activated and handles any changes to the OLE object. When the user finishes editing the
object, the OLE server application can update the object in your application. Along with
the following properties, events, and methods, you should use a number of OLE
routines to control the OLE container.
The object contained in a TOLEContainer component is defined by its OLE class,
document, and item. These values are specified in the ObjClass, ObjDoc, and ObjItem
properties, respectively.
To initialize an OLE container at run time, assign a pointer that points to an OLE
initialization data structure to the PInitInfo property. You can obtain this pointer using
the InsertOLEObjectDlg or PasteSpecialDlg functions.
To drop OLE objects onto an OLE container, you should register the form that contains
the TOLEContainer component with the RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure. Then,
in the OnDragDrop event handler of the form, the OLE object will be passed in the Source
parameter.
To determine if an OLE object is active in place, examine the InPlaceActive property. If an
object is activated in place, the OLE server merges menu items with the TMainMenu
component of the main form of the OLE container application, depending on the
GroupIndex property values of the menu items.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
Properties
Active Handle ParentShowHint
Align Height PInitInfo
AllowInPlace HelpContext ShowHint
AutoActivate Hint Showing
AutoSize InPlaceActive Storage
BorderStyle Left TabOrder

902 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TOLEDropNotify object
+
BoundsRect
ComponentIndex
Modified
Name
TabStop
Tag +
ConvertDlgHelp
Ctl3D
ObjClass
ObjDoc
Top
Visible +
+
Cursor ObjItem Width
DragCursor Owner Zoom

+
DragMode Parent
Enabled ParentCtl3D

Methods +
BeginDrag
BringToFront
HandleAllocated
HandleNeeded
ScreenToClient
ScrollBy
+
CanFocus
ClientToScreen
Hide
Invalidate
SendToBack
SetBounds
+
CopyToClipboard
Dragging
LoadFromFile
OLEObjAllocated
SetFocus
SetTextBuf
+
EndDrag
Focused
Refresh
Repaint
Show
Update
+
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
SaveToFile
ScaleBy
+
Events +
OnActivate OnEnter OnMouseDown +
OnDblClick
OnDragDrop
OnExit
OnKeyDown
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp +
OnDragOver
OnEndDrag
OnKeyPress
OnKeyUp
OnStatusLineEvent
+
+
TOLEDropNotify object Toctrl
+
The TOLEDropNotify object is the type of the Source parameter of the OnDragDrop event
of a form when an OLE object is dropped on it. To accept dropped objects, a form must
be registered with the RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget procedure.
T
In order to use the Source object as a TOLEDropNotify object, Source must be typecast as a
TOLEDropNotify object.
The DataFormat property specifies the Clipboard format of the dropped object. The
DataHandle property specifies a handle to the dropped data.
The PInitInfo property corresponds to the PInitInfo property of a TOLEContainer
component. If the dropped object is an OLE object, PInitInfo points to an OLE
initialization information structure for the OLE object. To initialize an OLE container,
assign the value of the PInitInfo property of a TOLEDropNotify object to the PInitInfo
property of a TOLEContainer component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 903

Top property

In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Properties
DataFormat DataHandle PInitInfo

Methods
ClassName ClassType Destroy
ClassParent Create Free

Top property
Applies to
All controls; TFindDialog, TReplaceDialog components

Declaration
property Top: Integer;
The Top property determines the y coordinate of the top left corner of a control, relative
to the form in pixels. For forms, the value of the Top property is relative to the screen in
pixels.
For the Find and Replace dialog boxes, Top is a run-time only property. The default
value is -1.

Example
The following code moves a button 10 pixels up each time a user clicks it:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Button1.Top := Button1.Top - 10;
end;

See also
Left property, SetBounds method

ToPage property
Applies to
TPrintDialog component

Declaration
property ToPage: Integer;

904 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TOpenDialog component

The value of the ToPage property determines on which page the print job ends. The
+
default value is 0, which means no ending page is specified. +
Example
This example uses a print dialog box on a form. The code sets up the print dialog box so
+
that when it appears, the default values of 1 and 1 are the default starting and ending
values for the Pages From and To edit boxes:
+
PrintDialog1.Options := [poPageNums];
PrintDialog1.FromPage := 1;
+
PrintDialog1.ToPage := 1;
+
See also
FromPage property, Options property
+
+
TOpenDialog component Dialogs
+
The TOpenDialog component makes an Open dialog box available to your application.
The purpose of the dialog box is to let a user specify a file to open. Use the Execute +
method to display the Open dialog box.
When the user chooses OK in the dialog box, the user’s file name selection is stored in
+
the dialog box’s FileName property, which you can then use to process as you want.
You can let the user decide which files to make visible in the list box of the Open dialog
+
box with the Filter property. The user can then use the List Files of Type combo box to
determine which files display in the list box. You set the default filter using the
+
FilterIndex property.
You can permit the user to choose multiple file names with the Options property so that
+
the Files property contains a list of all the selected file names in the list box. You can
customize how the Open dialog box appears and behaves with the Options property.
+
If you want a file extension automatically appended to the file name typed in the File
Name edit box of the Open dialog box, use the DefaultExt property.
+
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and +
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for OpenDialog component in the online Help, and choose
T
the topic Using the Open Dialog Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Filter Options
Ctl3D FilterIndex Owner
DefaultExt HelpContext Tag
FileEditStyle HistoryList Title
FileName InitialDir
Files Name

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 905

TOpenOptions type

Methods
Execute

TOpenOptions type
Declaration
TOpenOption = (ofReadOnly, ofOverwritePrompt, ofHideReadOnly, ofNoChangeDir,
ofShowHelp, ofNoValidate, ofAllowMultiSelect, ofExtensionDifferent,
ofPathMustExist, ofFileMustExist, ofCreatePrompt, ofShareAware, ofNoReadOnlyReturn,
ofNoTestFileCreate);
TOpenOptions = set of TOpenOption;
The TOpenOptions type contains the set of values the Options property of the Open
dialog box (TOpenDialog) can assume.

TopIndex property
Applies to
TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox, TListBox components

Declaration
property TopIndex: Integer;
The TopIndex property is the index number of the item that appears at the top of the list
box. You can use the TopIndex property to determine which item is the first item
displayed at the top of the list box and to set it to the item of your choosing.

Example
This example uses a list box containing a list of strings, a button, and an edit box on a
form. When the user runs the application and clicks the button, the third item in the list
becomes the first item, and the index value of that item appears in the edit box. The
index value displayed is 2, indicating the third item in the list (the first item in the list
has an index value of 0):
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
Number: Integer;
begin
for Number := 1 to 20 do
ListBox1.Items.Add('Item ' + IntToStr(Number));
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
ListBox1.TopIndex := 2;
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(ListBox1.TopIndex);

906 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
TopItem property
+
See also
+
ItemIndex property, Items property, Sorted property +
TopItem property +
Applies to
+
TOutlineNode object +
Declaration +
+
property TopItem: LongInt;
The TopItem property specifies the Index value of the level 1 parent of the outline item.
For an item on level 1, TopItem is the same as its index. For an item that is farther down
the outline tree than level 1, TopItem specifies the index value of the parent at the top of +
its outline tree branch.
+
Example
The following code expands the top-level parent of the selected item. +
with Outline1 do
if not Items[Items[SelectedItem].TopItem].Expanded then +
+
Items[Items[SelectedItem].TopItem].Expanded := True;

See also
Level property +
TopRow property +
Applies to
+
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components +
Declaration T
property TopRow: Longint;
Run-time only. The TopRow property determines which row in the grid appears at the
top of the grid.
If you have one or more nonscrolling rows in the grid, they remain at the top, regardless
of the value of the TopRow property. In this case, the row you specify as the top row will
be the first row below the nonscrolling rows.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 907

TOutline component

Example
This code uses a string grid and a button on a form. When the user clicks the button, the
last row of the string grid becomes the top row:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
StringGrid1.TopRow := StringGrid1.RowCount;
end;

See also
FixedRows property, LeftCol property, OnTopLeftChange event

TOutline component Outline

The TOutline component is used for multilevel outlines of data. Use an outline to
visually organize information in a hierarchical tree. Each item in an outline is contained
in a TOutlineNode object.
An item in an outline can be accessed by the Items property. The items are indexed from
1 to the number of items. For example, Items[1] refers to the first (topmost) item. Since
Items is the default array property of TOutline, an item can also be accessed immediately
following the outline name. For example, Outline1.Items[1] and Outline1[1] refer to the
same outline item.
Use the Add or AddObject methods to add a subitem to an outline. Use the Insert or
InsertObject methods to replace an existing item in the outline. Use AddChild and
AddChildObject to add a child item to the outline. Use Delete to remove items.
When adding, removing, or moving outline items, processing time can be sped up by
calling BeginUpdate first. This prevents the outline items from being reindexed until
EndUpdate is called.
The currently selected item is specified by the SelectedItem property. When the user
selects a new item of the outline (by clicking with the mouse or pressing an Arrow key),
the newly selected item is specified by SelectedItem.
The outline items can be represented within an outline by pictures that identify each
item. The OutlineStyle property determines what type of pictures are used in the outline.
You can also choose to display the outline tree with the OutlineStyle property.
The pictures displayed in an outline can be specified in the PictureLeaf, PictureMinus,
PicturePlus, PictureOpen, and PictureClosed properties. If you don’t specify these
properties, an outline displays default pictures.
To display other items than the default pictures and text, set the Style property to
otOwnerDraw and then draw the item in the OnDrawItem event handler.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for Outline component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Outline Component.

908 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TOutline component
+
Properties
Align ItemHeight PictureMinus
+
BorderStyle
BoundsRect
Items
ItemSeparator
PictureOpen
PicturePlus
+
Canvas
Color
Left
Lines
PopupMenu
Row
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
Name
Options
ScrollBars
SelectedItem
+
Cursor
DragCursor
OutlineStyle
Owner
ShowHint
Showing
+
DragMode
Enabled
Parent
ParentColor
Style
TabOrder
+
Font
Height
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
TabStop
Tag
+
HelpContext
Hint
ParentShowHint
PictureClosed
Top
Visible
+
ItemCount PictureLeaf Width
+
Methods
+
Add
AddChild
Focused
FullCollapse
Refresh
Repaint +
AddChildObject
AddObject
FullExpand
GetDataItem
SaveToFile
ScaleBy +
BeginDrag
BeginUpdate
GetItem
GetTextBuf
ScreenToClient
ScrollBy +
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetTextItem
GetTextLen
SendToBack
SetBounds +
Clear
ClientToScreen
Hide
Insert
SetFocus
SetTextBuf +
Dragging
EndDrag
InsertObject
Invalidate
SetUpdateState
Show +
EndUpdate LoadFromFile Update
T
Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnKeyUp
OnCollapse OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnExpand OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyDown
OnDrawItem OnKeyPress

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 909

TOutlineNode object

TOutlineNode object Outline

The TOutlineNode object contains an item of an TOutline component. An outline item is
represented as a line, or row, of the outline.
An outline node contains Text and Data defined by your application. Text contains a
string, and Data contains a pointer to a data structure to be associated with each outline
item.
Each item can have from 0 to 16368 subitems, which are subordinate to the parent item
in the outline structure.
Each item is identified by a unique Index. Index corresponds to the index of the Items
property of the TOutline component. The children of an item are indexed sequentially,
first child of an item having an Index value of one greater the its parent. For example, if
the parent item has an Index of 7, its first child has an Index of 8, its second child has an
Index of 9, and so on.
To move an item to a new location within the outline, call the MoveTo method.
The Expanded property determines if the item is currently expanded. If expanded, all
children of an item are displayed in the outline. To set Expanded to True, call Expand. To
set Expanded to False, call Collapse.
The Level property specifies the level, or column of an item in an outline. The items on
the top level have a Level of 0. Their children have a level of 1, and so on. To change the
level of an item, call the ChangeLevelBy method.
The HasItems property specifies whether an item has any children or subitems.
GetFirstChild returns the Index value of the first child of an item. Likewise, GetLastChild,
GetPrevChild, and GetNextChild return the index values of the last, previous, and next
child items respectively.
The IsVisible property specifies whether an item is visible in an outline. An item is visible
if all of its parents are expanded. You can expand all parents of an item with the
FullExpand method.
The TopItem property specifies the Index value of the top-level parent of an item. The
Parent property returns the actual immediate parent outline node of an item.
The FullPath property specifies the full path of parents down to an item. The path
consists of the Text values of the parents separated by the ItemSeparator string specified
for the TOutline component.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Properties
Data Index Text
Expanded IsVisible TopItem
FullPath Level
HasItems Parent

910 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Methods
TOutlineOptions type
+
ChangeLevelBy Create GetFirstChild
+
ClassName
ClassParent
Destroy
Expand
GetLastChild
GetNextChild
+
ClassType
Collapse
Free
FullExpand
GetPrevChild
MoveTo
+
+
TOutlineOptions type Outline +
Declaration +
+
TOutlineOption = (ooDrawTreeRoot, ooDrawFocusRect, ooStretchBitmaps);
TOutlineOptions = set of TOutlineOption;
The TOutlineOptions type determines the display options for a TOutline component.
TOutlineStyle is the type of the Options property.
+
+
TOutlineStyle type Outline
+
Declaration
TOutlineStyle = (osText, osPlusMinusText, osPictureText, osPlusMinusPictureText,osTreeText,
+
osTreePictureText);
The TOutlineStyle type determines how the items of a TOutline component are drawn if
+
the Styleproperty is set to osStandard. TOutlineStyle is the type of the OutlineStyle
property.
+
+
TOutlineType type Outline +
Declaration +
T
TOutlineType = (otStandard, otOwnerDraw);
The TOutlineType type determines whether a TOutline component draws itself the
standard way, or requires you to write code to draw its items. TOutlineType is the type
of the Style property.

TOwnerDrawState type StdCtrls

Declaration
TOwnerDrawState = set of (odSelected, odGrayed, odDisabled, odChecked, odFocused);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 911

TPaintBox component

The TOwnerDrawState type defines the possible values for the State parameter in the
TDrawItemEvent method pointer of an owner-draw list box.

TPaintBox component ExtCtrls

The TPaintBox component provides a way for your application to draw on the form in a
specified rectangular area, preventing drawing outside of the boundaries of the paint
box. Once a paint box is added to your form, your application can use the OnPaint event
handler to draw on the paint box’s Canvas, the drawing surface of the paint box.
If you want to draw on the entire form, you can just use the OnPaint event of the form
itself. If you want to confine your drawing to rectangular area, you’ll find a paint box
convenient.
You can align a paint box so that it remains in its relative position on the form, even
when the user resizes the form. Use the Align property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all controls.

Properties
Align Font ParentShowHint
BoundsRect Height PopupMenu
Canvas Hint ShowHint
ComponentIndex Left Tag
Color Name Top
Cursor Owner Visible
DragCursor Parent Width
DragMode ParentColor
Enabled ParentFont

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf SendToBack
BringToFront GetTextLen SetBounds
ClientToScreen Invalidate SetTextBuf
Dragging Refresh Update
EndDrag Repaint
Focused ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnDragOver OnMouseUp
OnDblClick OnMouseDown OnPaint
OnDragDrop OnMouseMove

912 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TPanel component
+
TPanel component ExtCtrls
+
The TPanel component is used to place panels on a form on which other controls can be
placed. +
Panels can be aligned with the form so that they maintain the same relative position to
the form even when the form is resized. Align a panel with the Align property. Once a
+
panel is aligned with the form, you can use the panel as the foundation of a tool bar, tool
palette, or status bar. To make a tool bar or tool palette, add speed buttons +
(TSpeedButton) to the panel along with other controls you find useful.
The text that appears on a panel is the value of the Caption property. Align the caption to
+
the left, right, or center of the panel with the Alignment property. You can use a panel as
a status bar for your application, displaying help hints on it. See the OnHint event and +
the Hint property for more information.
To customize the appearance of a panel, use panel’s BevelInner, BevelOuter, BevelWidth,
+
and BorderWidth properties.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for Panel component in the online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Panel Component. +
Properties +
Align
Alignment
Controls
Ctl3D
Parent
ParentColor
+
BevelInner
BevelOuter
Cursor
DragCursor
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
+
BevelWidth
BorderStyle
DragMode
Enabled
ParentShowHint
PopupMenu
+
BorderWidth
BoundsRect
Font
Height
ShowHint
Showing
+
Caption
Color
HelpContext
Hint
TabOrder
TabStop
+
ComponentCount
ComponentIndex
Left
Locked
Tag
Top
T
Components Name Visible
ControlCount Owner Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScaleBy
BringToFront GetTextLen ScreenToClient
CanFocus Hide ScrollBy
ClientToScreen InsertComponent SendToBack

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 913

TPanelBevel type

ContainsControl InsertControl SetBounds

Dragging Invalidate SetFocus
EndDrag Refresh SetTextBuf
FindComponent RemoveComponent Show
Focused Repaint Update

Events
OnClick OnDragOver OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnEndDrag OnMouseUp
OnDragDrop OnMouseDown OnResize

TPanelBevel type StdCtrls

Declaration
TPanelBevel = (bvNone, bvLowered, bvRaised);
The TPanelBevel type contains the values the BevelInner and BevelOuter properties can
assume.

TParam object
The TParam object holds information about a parameter of a TQuery or TStoredProc. In
addition to the parameter value, TParam stores the field type, name, and (for a stored
procedure) the parameter type.
You generally do not need to create a TParam explicitly, since TQuery or TStoredProc will
create it as an element of its Params property as needed. All you have to do is assign
values to the parameters by assigning one of the properties: AsBCD, AsBoolean,
AsCurrency, AsDate, AsDateTime, AsFloat, AsInteger, AsSmallint, AsString, AsTime, or
AsWord.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
to all objects.

Properties
AsBCD AsInteger IsNull
AsBoolean AsSmallInt Name
AsCurrency AsString ParamType
AsDate AsTime Text
AsDateTime AsWord
AsFloat DataType

914 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TParamBindMode type
+
Methods
Assign ClassType Free
+
AssignField
ClassName
Clear
Create
GetData
GetDataSize
+
ClassParent Destroy SetData +
TParamBindMode type DBTables
+
Declaration
+
TParamBindMode = (pbByName, pbByNumber); +
The TParamBindMode type defines the possible values of the ParamBindMode property of
a stored procedure (TStoredProc). +
+
TParams object
+
The TParams object holds the parameters for a stored procedure (TStoredProc) or
parameterized query (TQuery) and provides the methods to create and access those
parameters. Each parameter is a TParam object.
+
Use the Items property to access individual parameters. Call CreateParam to create a new +
parameter. Call AddParam to add a new parameter or RemoveParam to take one out of the
set. Call Clear to delete all parameters. Use the ParamByName method to find a
parameter with a particular name.
+
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply +
to all objects.
+
Properties
Items
+
Methods
+
AddParam ClassType Destroy
T
Assign Clear Free
AssignValues Count ParamByName
ClassName Create RemoveParam
ClassParent CreateParam

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 915

TParamType type

TParamType type DBTables

Declaration
TParamType = (ptUnknown, ptInput, ptOutput, ptInputOutput, ptResult);
The TParamType type is the set of values of the ParamType property of a TParam object

TPasswordEvent type DB
Declaration
TPasswordEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; var Continue: Boolean);
The TPasswordEvent type is the header for the procedure that handles a password
exception event. The value of Sender is the TSession component of the DB unit. Continue
determines whether the caller will make another attempt to access the database. The
procedure should add any available additional passwords and set Continue to True. If
there are no additional passwords available, set Continue to False. TPasswordEvent is
used by the OnPassword event

TPen object Graphics

A TPen object is used to draw lines on a canvas (TCanvas). The TPen object encapsulates
the Windows HPEN.
The color of the pen is specified by the Color property. The width in pixels of the line
drawn is specified by the Width property. The pattern of the line (solid, dotted, and so
on) is specified by the Style property.
The Mode property specifies the color of the line, as it relates to the pixels the line is
drawn over. For example, to color the line the color specified by the Color property, set
Mode to pmCopy. To color the line the inverse of the screen color, set Mode to pmNot.
If the pen is modified, an OnChange event occurs.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects.

Properties
Color Mode Width
Handle Style

Methods
Assign ClassType Free
ClassName Create
ClassParent Destroy

916 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Events
TPenMode type
+
OnChange
+
+
TPenMode type Graphics +
Declaration +
+
TPenMode = (pmBlack, pmWhite, pmNop, pmNot, pmCopy, pmNotCopy,pmMergePenNot, pmMaskPenNot,
pmMergeNotPen, pmMaskNotPen, pmMerge,pmNotMerge, pmMask, pmNotMask, pmXor, pmNotXor);
The TPenMode type specifies the values the Mode property of pen object (TPen) can
assume. +
TPenStyle type
+
Graphics
+
Declaration
TPenStyle = (psSolid, psDash, psDot, psDashDot, psDashDotDot, psClear, psInsideFrame); +
The TPenStyle type specifies the values the Style property of pen object (TPen) can
assume.
+
+
TPicture object Graphics +
The TPicture object contains a bitmap, icon, or metafile graphic. The type of graphic
contained by the TPicture is specified in the Graphic property. +
If the TPicture contains a bitmap graphic, the Bitmap property specifies the graphic. If the
TPicture contains an icon graphic, the Icon property specifies the graphic. If the TPicture
+
contains a metafile graphic, the Metafile property specifies the graphic.
The height and width in pixels of the graphic are specified by the Height and Width
+
properties, respectively. +
To load a graphic from a file, call the LoadFromFile method. To save a bitmap to a file, call
SaveToFile. To load or save a picture to the Clipboard, use the Assign method of a
TClipboard object.
T
To draw a picture on a canvas, call the Draw or StretchDraw methods of a TCanvas object,
passing the Graphic property of a TPicture as a parameter.
When the graphic is modified, an OnChange event occurs.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 917

TPoint type

Properties
Bitmap Height Metafile
Graphic Icon Width

Methods
Assign ClassType Free
ClassName Create LoadFromFile
ClassParent Destroy SaveToFile

Events
OnChange

TPoint type WinTypes

Declaration
TPoint = record
X: Integer;
Y: Integer;
end;
The TPoint type defines a pixel location onscreen, with the origin in the top left corner. X
specifies the horizontal coordinate of the point, Y specifies the vertical coordinate.

TPopupAlignment type Menus

Declaration
TPopupAlignment = (paLeft, paRight, paCenter);
The PopupAlignment type determines where a pop-up menu (TPopupMenu) appears. The
Alignment property of a pop-up menu is of type TPopupAlignment.

TPopupMenu component Menus

The TPopupMenu component encapsulates the properties, methods, and events of a pop-
up menu, the menu available to forms and controls when the user selects the component
and clicks the right mouse button. To make a pop-up menu available, assign a
TPopupMenu component to the form’s or control’s PopupMenu property.
To begin designing a pop-up menu, add a pop-up menu component to your form, and
double-click the component. For more information, see the topic Menu Designer in the
Help system.

918 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TPosition type

The items on the pop-up menu are specified with the Items object, a property of a pop-
+
up menu. The Items object is of type TMenuItem. Your application can use the Items
property to access a particular item on the menu.
+
If you want the pop-up menu to appear when the user clicks the right mouse button on +
the control to which the pop-up menu is assigned, set the AutoPopup property to True. If
you want to use code to control when a pop-up menu appears, use the Popup method. +
Pop-up menus have an OnPopup event handler you can use to specify special processing
you want to occur in your application just before a pop-up menu appears. +
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
+
For more information, search for PopupMenu component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Popup Menu Component.
+
Properties
+
Alignment Components Name
+
AutoPopup
ComponentCount
Handle
HelpContext
Owner
PopupComponent
+
ComponentIndex Items Tag
+
Methods
+
FindComponent
FindItem
Free Popup
+
Events +
OnPopup +
See also
ShortCut function, ShortCutToKey procedure, ShortCutToText function, TextToShortCut
+
function, TMainMenu component, TMenuItem component +
TPosition type Forms
T
Declaration
TPosition = (poDesigned, poDefault, poDefaultPosOnly, poDefaultSizeOnly, poScreenCenter);
The TPosition type enumerates the values the Position property of a form can have.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 919

TPrintDialog component

TPrintDialog component Dialogs

The TPrintDialog component displays a Print dialog box that permits the user to select
which printer to print to, which pages to print, how many copies to print, and if the
print job should be collated. If the user chooses the Setup button in the Print dialog box,
the Print Setup dialog (TPrinterSetupDialog component) appears.
Display the Print dialog box by calling the Execute method.
You can customize how the Print dialog box appears and behaves using the Options
property. For example, you can determine which print options are enabled or disabled,
or you can decide whether the option to print to a file appears.
The range of pages to be printed is specified with the PrintRange property. If the value of
PrintRange is prPageNums, which allows users to specify a page range, the pages they
specify are the values of the FromPage and ToPage properties. With the MinPage and
MaxPage, your application can limit the range of pages the user can select.
If the user chooses to print to a file, the PrintToFile property is True. If the user wants the
print job to be collated, the Collate property is True.
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for PrintDialog component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Print Dialog Component.

Properties
Collate MaxPage PrintRange
ComponentIndex MinPage PrintToFile
Copies Name Tag
FromPage Options ToPage
HelpContext Owner

Methods
Execute

TPrintDialogOptions type Dialogs

Declaration
TPrintDialogOption = (poPrintToFile, poPageNums, poSelection, poWarning, poHelp,
poDisablePrintToFile);
TPrintDialogOptions = set of TPrintDialogOption;
The TPrintDialogOptions type defines the set of values the Options property of the Print
dialog box (TPrintDialog) can have.

920 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TPrinter object
+
TPrinter object Printers
+
The TPrinter object encapsulates the printer interface of Windows. Within the Printers
unit, the variable Printer is declared as an instance of TPrinter, ready for you to use. +
To start a print job, call the BeginDoc method. To end a print job that is sent successfully
to the printer, call the EndDoc method. If a problem occurs and you need to terminate a
+
print job that was not sent to the printer successfully, call the Abort method.
You can determine if a job is printing by checking the value of the Printing property. If
+
the job aborted, the Aborted property is True. +
The printing surface of a page is represented by the Canvas property. You can use the
Brush, Font, and Pen properties of the Canvas object to determine how drawing or text
appears on the page.
+
The list of installed printers is found in the Printers property. The value of the +
PrinterIndex property is the currently selected printer. The list of fonts supported by the
current printer is found in the Fonts property. +
You can determine if a print job prints in landscape or portrait orientation using the
Orientation property. +
You height and width of the current page is found in the PageHeight and PageWidth
properties. The current page is the value of the PageNumber property.
+
The Title property determines the text that appears listed in the Print Manager and on
network header pages.
+
Using the PrintScale property of a TForm component, you determine how the printed +
image of the form appears.
Whenever you use a TPrinter object, you must add Printers to the uses clause of the unit +
that implements the properties or methods of a TPrinter object.
In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
+
to all objects.
+
Properties
+
Aborted
Canvas
Orientation
PageHeight
PrinterIndex
Printers T
Fonts PageNumber Printing
Handle PageWidth Title

Methods
Abort ClassType GetPrinter
BeginDoc Create NewPage
ClassName Destroy SetPrinter
ClassParent EndDoc

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 921

TPrinterOrientation type

TPrinterOrientation type Printers

Declaration
TPrinterOrientation = (poPortrait, poLandscape);
The TPrinterOrientation type defines the possible values of the Orientation property of
the printer object (TPrinter).

TPrinterSetupDialog component Dialogs

The TPrinterSetupDialog component displays a Printer Setup dialog box in your
application. Users can use the dialog box to setup their printer before printing a job.
Display the Printer Setup dialog box by calling the Execute method. The Printer Setup
dialog box also appears when the user chooses the Setup button in the Print dialog box
(TPrintDialog).
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for PrinterSetupDialog component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Printer Setup Dialog Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Name Tag
HelpContext Owner

Methods
Execute

TPrintRange type Dialogs

Declaration
TPrintRange = (prAllPages, prSelection, prPageNums);

922 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TPrintScale type

The TPrintRange type defines the values the PrintRange property can have in the Print
+
dialog box (TPrintDialog). +
TPrintScale type Forms
+
Declaration
+
TPrintScale = (poNone, poProportional, poPrintToFit); +
The TPrintScale type defines the possible values of the PrintScale property of the form.
+
TQuery component DBTables +
TQuery enables Delphi applications to issue SQL statements to a database engine--either +
the BDE or an SQL server. TQuery provides the interface between an SQL server (or the
BDE) and TDataSource components. TDataSource components then provide the interface
to data-aware controls such as TDBGrid.
+
Set the DatabaseName property to specify the database to query. Enter a single SQL +
statement to execute in the SQL property. To query dBASE or Paradox tables, use local
SQL. To query SQL server tables, use passthrough SQL. The SQL statement can be a
static SQL statement or a dynamic SQL statement.
+
At run time, an application can supply parameter values for dynamic queries with the +
Params property, the ParamByName method, or the DataSource property. Use the Prepare
method to optimize a dynamic query. +
A result set is the group of records returned by a query to an application. A TQuery can
return two kinds of result sets: +
• “Live” result sets: As with TTable components, users can edit data in the result set
with data controls. The changes are sent to the database when a Post occurs, or when
+
the user tabs off a control.
• “Read only” result sets: Users cannot edit data in the result set with data controls.
+
If you want the query to provide a live result set, the SQL must conform to certainsyntax +
requirements. If the SQL syntax does not conform to these requirements, the query will
provide a read-only result set. T
Execute the SQL statement at design time by setting the Active property to True . Execute
the SQL statement at run time with the Open or ExecSQL methods.
Call the First, Next, Prior, Last, and MoveBy methods to navigate through the result set.
Test the BOF and EOF properties to determine if the cursor is at the beginning or end of
the result set, respectively.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 923

TQuery component

Call the Append, Insert, AppendRecord or InsertRecord methods to add a record to the
underlying database table. Call the Delete method to delete the current record. Call the
Edit method to allow modification of the fields of the current record, and Post to post the
changes or Cancel to discard them.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.

Properties
Active FieldDefs RecordCount
AutoCalcFields Fields RequestLive
BOF Handle SQL
CanModify Local SQLBinary
Database Locale State
DatabaseName Modified StmtHandle
DataSource Name Tag
DBHandle Owner Text
DBLocale ParamCount UniDirectional
EOF Params UpdateMode
FieldCount Prepared

Methods
Append FieldByName Open
AppendRecord FindField ParamByName
Cancel First Post
CheckBrowseMode FreeBookmark Prepare
ClearFields GetBookmark Prior
Close GetFieldNames Refresh
CursorPosChanged GotoBookmark SetFields
Delete Insert UnPrepare
DisableControls InsertRecord UpdateCursorPos
Edit Last UpdateRecord
EnableControls MoveBy
ExecSQL Next

924 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TrackCursor procedure
+
Events
AfterCancel AfterPost BeforeOpen
+
AfterClose
AfterDelete
BeforeCancel
BeforeClose
BeforePost
OnCalcFields
+
AfterEdit
AfterInsert
BeforeDelete
BeforeEdit
OnNewRecord +
AfterOpen BeforeInsert +
TrackCursor procedure WinCrt
+
Declaration
+
procedure TrackCursor; +
The TrackCursor procedure scrolls the CRT window if necessary to ensure that the
cursor is visible. +
Example +
uses WinCrt;
var
+
x: integer; +
+
begin
for x := 1 to 30 do
Write('Xx');
TrackCursor;
Readln; +
end;
+
See also
ScrollTo procedure +
TrackLength property
+
T
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property TrackLength[TrackNum: Integer]: Longint;
Run-time and read only. The TrackLength property reports the length of the track
specified by the TrackNum index. The value of TrackLength is specified according to the
current time format, which is specified in the TimeFormat property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 925

TrackPosition property

Example
The following code shows the length of the currently playing .WAV audio file
(CARTOON.WAV in this example) in the Caption of a label.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
TimeFormat := tfMilliseconds;
DeviceType := dtWaveAudio;
FileName := 'cartoon.wav';
Open;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(TrackLength[1]);
end;
end;

See also
Length property, TrackPosition property, Tracks property

TrackPosition property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property TrackPosition[TrackNum: Integer]: Longint;
Run-time and read only. The TrackPosition property reports the starting position of the
track specified by the TrackNum index. The value of TrackPosition is specified according
to the current time format, which is specified in the TimeFormat property.

Example
The following code shows the starting position of the first track of the currently loaded
audio CD in the Caption of a label.
procedure TForm1.BitBtn1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
TimeFormat := tfMilliseconds;
DeviceType := dtCDAudio;
Open;
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(TrackPosition[1]);
end;
end;

See also
Position property, TrackLength property, Tracks property

926 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Tracks property
+
Tracks property +
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component +
Declaration +
property Tracks: Longint; +
Run-time and read only. The Tracks property specifies the number of playable tracks on
the open multimedia device. Tracks is undefined for devices that don’t use tracks. +
Example
The following code skips to the beginning of the last track on a CD audio device. You
+
must declare the integer variable I to run this code. +
with MediaPlayer1 do
if DeviceType = dtCDAudio then
begin
+
Seek(TrackPosition[1]);
for I := 1 to Tracks-1 do
+
end;
Next;
+
See also +
Next method, Previous method, TrackLength property, TrackPosition property
+
TRadioButton component StdCtrls +
The TRadioButton component is a Windows radio button. Use radio buttons to present a
set of mutually exclusive options to the user—that is, only one radio button in a set can
+
be selected at any time. When the user selects a radio button, the previously selected
radio button becomes unselected.
+
Radio buttons are frequently grouped in a group box (TGroupBox). Add the group box
to the form first, then choose the radio buttons from the Component palette and put
+
them in the group box. T
The text associated with the radio button that identifies its purpose is the value of the
Caption property.
When the user selects a radio button, the value of the Checked property changes. Also,
the OnClick event occurs. If you check a radio button, all other radio buttons in the same
group become unchecked. By default, all radio buttons that are directly contained by the
same windowed control container, such as a TForm, TGroupBox, or TPanel, are grouped.
For example, two radio buttons on a form can be checked at the time only if they are
contained in separate containers, such as two different group boxes.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 927

TRadioGroup component

For more information, search for RadioButton component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Radio Button Component.

Properties
Align Font ParentFont
Alignment Handle ParentShowHint
Caption Height PopupMenu
Checked HelpContext ShowHint
Color Hint Showing
ComponentIndex Left TabOrder
Ctl3D Name TabStop
Cursor Owner Tag
DragCursor Parent Top
DragMode ParentColor Visible
Enabled ParentCtl3D Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen SendToBack
BringToFront Hide SetBounds
CanFocus Invalidate SetFocus
ClientToScreen Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update
Focused ScreenToClient
GetTextBuf ScrollBy

Events
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
OnDblClick OnExit OnMouseMove
OnDragDrop OnKeyDown OnMouseUp
OnDragOver OnKeyPress
OnEndDrag OnKeyUp

TRadioGroup component ExtCtrls

A radio group box is a group box that contains radio buttons. A radio group box
simplifies the task of grouping radio buttons and getting them to work together as a
group.

928 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TRadioGroup component

The radio buttons are added to the group box when strings are entered as the value of
+
the Items property. Each string in Items makes a radio button appear in the group box
with the string appearing as the caption of the radio button. The value of the ItemIndex
+
property determines which radio button is currently selected. +
You can choose to display the radio buttons in a single column or in multiple columns
by setting the value of the Columns property. +
When the user selects a radio button in the radio button group box, the previously
selected radio button is unselected automatically. +
You can place other types of controls in a radio group box besides radio buttons.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls. +
For more information, search for RadioGroup in the online Help, and choose the topic
Using the RadioGroup Component. +
Properties +
Align
Caption
Height
HelpContext
ParentShowHint
PopupMenu
+
Color
Columns
Hint
Items
ShowHint
Showing
+
ComponentIndex
Ctl3D
ItemIndex
Left
TabOrder
TabStop
+
Cursor
DragCursor
Name
Owner
Tag
Top
+
DragMode
Enabled
Parent
ParentColor
Visible
Width
+
Font
Handle
ParentCtl3D
ParentFont
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag Focused ScreenToClient
+
BringToFront
CanFocus
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
ScrollBy
SendToBack
T
ClientToScreen Hide SetBounds
ContainsControl Invalidate SetFocus
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint
FindComponent ScaleBy

Events
OnClick OnDragOver OnEnter
OnDragDrop OnEndDrag OnExit

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 929

TransIsolation property

See also
TDBRadioGroup component, TGroupBox component, TRadioButton component

TransIsolation property
Applies to
TDataBase component

Declaration
property TransIsolation: TTransIsolation;
The TransIsolation property specifies the transaction isolation level used by an SQL
server. tiDirtyRead causes any change to be returned, regardless of whether the record
has been committed. tiReadCommitted will return only committed versions of the record;
uncommitted changes will not be reflected in the result. tiRepeatableRead will return only
the original record for the duration of the transaction, even if another application has
committed a change.
Database servers may support these isolation levels differently or not at all. If the
requested isolation level is not supported by the server, then Delphi will use the next
highest isolation level, as shown in the following table. For a detailed description of how
each isolation level is implemented, see your server documentation.

Sybase and
TransIsolation Microsoft SQL
setting Oracle servers Informix InterBase
Dirty read Read committed Read committed Dirty Read Read committed
Read committed Read committed Read committed Read committed Read committed
(Default)
Repeatable read Repeatable read Read committed Repeatable Read Repeatable Read
(READ ONLY)

Example
Database1.TransIsolation := tiReadCommitted;

Transliterate property
Applies to
TBatchMove, TMemoField, TStringField component

Declaration
property Transliterate: Boolean;

930 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Transparent property

The Transliterate property controls whether translations to and from the respective
+
locales of the Source and Destination properties will be done. Transliterate is True by
default.
+
Example
+
{ Suppress translations }
BatchMove1.Transliterate := False;
+
See also
+
DBLocale property +
Transparent property +
Applies to
+
TLabel, TDBText components +
Declaration +
+
property Transparent: Boolean;
The Transparent property determines if a label or database text control is transparent.
You could place a transparent label or text control on top of a bitmap, and the control
won’t hide part of the bitmap. For example, if you have placed a bitmap of the world on +
a form, you could label the South American continent with a label control, and you
would still see the continent in the label space. +
Example
This code makes a label transparent:
+
Label1.Transparent := True; +
See also +
BorderStyle property
+
TRect type WinTypes T
Declaration
TRect = record
case Integer of
0: (Left, Top, Right, Bottom: Integer);
1: (TopLeft, BottomRight: TPoint);
end;
The TRect type defines a rectangle. The coordinates are specified either as four separate
integers representing the pixel locations of the left, top, right, and bottom sides, or as

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 931

TReplaceDialog component

two points representing the pixel locations of the top left and bottom right corners. The
origin of the pixel coordinate system is in the top left corner of the screen.

TReplaceDialog component Dialogs

The TReplaceDialog component provides a Replace dialog box your application can use.
TReplaceDialog contains all the capabilities of the TFindDialog component, but it also
allows the user to replace found text with a replacement string.
Display the Replace dialog box by calling the Execute method.
The text your application is searching for is the value of the FindText property. The text
that is to replace the found text is the value of the ReplaceText property.
To determine which search and replace options are available in the Find dialog box, use
the Options property. For example, you can have a Match Case check box appear in the
dialog box or hide it, and you can disable or enable the Whole Word check box.
When the user enters the text to search for in the dialog box and chooses Find Next, the
OnFind event occurs. Within the OnFind event handler, write the code that searches for
the text specified as the value of the FindText. Your code can use the Options values to
determine how the user wants the search conducted.
When the user chooses the Replace or Replace All button in the Replace dialog box, the
OnReplace event occurs. Within the OnReplace event handler, write the code that replaces
the found text specified as the value of ReplaceText. Your code can use the Options values
to determine how the user wants the text replaced.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for ReplaceDialog component in the online Help, and
choose the topic Using the Replace Dialog Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex HelpContext Owner
Ctl3D Name ReplaceText
FindText Options Tag

Methods
CloseDialog Execute

Events
OnFind OnReplace

932 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TReport component
+
TReport component Report
+
The TReport component is an interface to Borland’s ReportSmith application. Once you
place the TReport component on a form, you can double-click it to begin running +
ReportSmith. If you specify an existing report name using the Object Inspector, choose
Cancel when the Open Report dialog box appears and ReportSmith minimizes. When
you click the ReportSmith icon to restore it, the specified report displays.
+
You can also control the running of ReportSmith at run time. When you run a report at +
run time, you are using ReportSmith Runtime.
Specify the report you want to run as the value of the ReportName property. You can
+
include the path where the report is located as part of the ReportName property, or you
can specify the directory with the ReportDir property. Call the Run method to run the +
report. To print an existing report, call the Print method.
The report component lets you specify several report parameters. You can choose the
+
starting and ending page of the report with the StartPage and EndPage properties. To
limit the size of the report, you can specify a maximum number of records for the report +
with the MaxRecords property. Choose how many copies of the report you want with the
PrintCopies property. +
Specify the report variables you want the report to use with the InitialValues property.
You can change a report variable with the SetVariable and SetVariableLines methods, and +
then recalculate the report and run it using the new report variable by calling the
RecalcReport method. +
You can run a ReportBasic macro using the RunMacro method.
To terminate the running of a report, call the CloseReport method. You can choose to
+
automatically unload ReportSmith Runtime when a report finishes running if you set
the AutoUnload property to True. If AutoUnload is False, you must call the CloseApplication
+
method to unload ReportSmith Runtime.
For information about using ReportSmith, see the ReportSmith documentation.
+
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and +
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for Report component in the online Help, and choose the
+
topic Using the Report Component.
T
Properties
AutoUnload Owner StartPage
ComponentIndex Preview Tag
EndPage PrintCopies VersionMajor
InitialValues ReportHandle VersionMinor
MaxRecords ReportDir
Name ReportName

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 933

Trunc function

Methods
CloseApplication Print RunMacro
CloseReport RecalcReport SetVariable
Connect Run SetVariableLines

Trunc function System

Declaration
function Trunc(X: Real): Longint;
The Trunc function truncates a real-type value to an integer-type value.
X is a real-type expression. Trunc returns a Longint value that is the value of X rounded
toward zero.
If the truncated value of X is not within the Longint range, an error occurs, which you
can handle using the EInvalidOp exception. If you do not handle it, you will receive a
run-time error.

Example
var
S, T: string;
begin
Str(1.4:2:1, T);
S := T + ' Truncs to ' + IntToStr(Trunc(1.4)) + #13#10;
Str(1.5:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' Truncs to ' + IntToStr(Trunc(1.5)) + #13#10;
Str(-1.4:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' Truncs to ' + IntToStr(Trunc(-1.4)) + #13#10;
Str(-1.5:2:1, T);
S := S + T + ' Truncs to ' + IntToStr(Trunc(-1.5));
MessageDlg(S, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;

934 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Truncate procedure

The Truncate method discards all data in the TBlobField, TBytesField or TVarBytesField
+
from the current position. +
Example +
{ Discard all data after the first 1000 bytes }
with BlobStream1 do
begin
+
Seek(0, 1000);
Truncate;
+
end;
+
Truncate procedure System +
Declaration +
procedure Truncate(var F);
The Truncate procedure deletes all records in the file after the current file position F. The
+
current file position also becomes end-of-file (Eof(F) is True). +
F is a file variable of any type. Truncate does not work on text files. F must be open.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
+
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.
+
Example
+
uses WinCRT; +
var
f: file of Integer; +
i,j: Integer;
begin
AssignFile(f,'TEST.INT');
+
Rewrite(f);
for i := 1 to 6 do
+
Write(f,i);
Writeln('File before truncation:'); T
Reset(f);
while not Eof(f) do
begin
Read(f,i);
Writeln(i);
end;
Reset(f);
for i := 1 to 3 do
Read(f,j); { Read ahead 3 records }
Truncate(f); { Cut file off here }
Writeln;
Writeln('File after truncation:');

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 935

TSaveDialog component

Reset(f);
while not Eof(f) do
begin
Read(f,i);
Writeln(i);
end;
CloseFile(f);
Erase(f);
end;

See also
Reset procedure, Rewrite procedure, Seek procedure

TSaveDialog component Dialogs

The TSaveDialog component makes a Save dialog box available to your application. The
purpose of the dialog box is to allow a user to specify a file to save. Use the Execute
method to display the Save dialog box.
When the user chooses OK in the dialog box, the user’s file name selection is stored in
the dialog box’s FileName property, which you can then use to process as you want.
You can let the user decide which set of files are visible in the list box of the Save dialog
box with the Filter property. The user can then use the List Files of Type combo box to
determine which files display in the list box. You set the default filter using the
FilterIndex property.
You can permit the user to choose multiple file names with the Options property so that
the Files property contains a list of all the selected file names in the list box. You can
customize how the Save dialog box appears and behaves with the Options property.
If you want a file extension automatically appended to the file name typed in the File
Name edit box of the Save dialog box, use the DefaultExt property.
In addition to these properties and methods, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for SaveDialog component in the online Help, and choose
the topic Using the Save Dialog Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Filter Options
Ctl3D FilterIndex Owner
DefaultExt HelpContext Tag
FileEditStyle HistoryList Title
FileName InitialDir
Files Name

936 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TScreen component
+
Methods
Execute
+
See also
+
TOpenDialog component +
TScreen component Forms
+
The TScreen component represents the state of the screen as your application runs. A
+
Screen variable of type TScreen is already declared, ready for you to use as an instance of
TScreen. +
The screen component lists all forms displayed on the screen in the Forms property
array. The number of forms is kept as the value of the FormCount property. You can find
+
out which form currently has the focus by checking the value of the ActiveForm
property. Similarly, the control that has the focus is the value of the ActiveControl +
property.
The height and width of the screen device in pixels are the value of the Height and Width
+
properties. The PixelsPerInch property tells you how many pixels are in an inch using the
current video driver. +
All the fonts supported by the screen are listed in the Fonts property. Similarly, all the
cursors available are in the Cursors property. Using Cursors, you can make a custom
+
cursor available to your application.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties and methods that apply to all components. +
Properties +
ActiveControl
ActiveForm
Cursors
FormCount
Owner
PixelsPerInch
+
ComponentCount
ComponentIndex
Forms
Fonts
Tag
Width
+
Components
Cursor
Height
Name
T
Methods
FindComponent InsertComponent RemoveComponent

Events
OnActiveControlChange OnActiveFormChan
ge

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 937

TScrollBar component

TScrollBar component StdCtrls

The TScrollBar component is a Windows scroll bar, which is used to scroll the contents
of a window, form, or control. In the OnScroll event handler, you write the code that
determines how the window, form, or control behaves in response to the user scrolling
the scroll bar.
You determine how far a thumb tab moves when the user clicks the scroll bar on either
side of the thumb tab with the value of the LargeChange property. The value of the
SmallChange property determines how far the thumb tab moves when the user clicks the
arrows at the end of the scroll bar or scrolls the scroll bar using the arrow keys on the
keyboard.
The Min and Max property values together determine how many positions are available
on the scroll bar for the thumb tab to move when the user scrolls the scroll bar. Your
application can set the position of the thumb tab with the Position property, or use the
property to determine how far the scroll bar has scrolled. You can use the SetParams
method to set the Min, Max, and Position properties all at once.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for ScrollBar component in online Help, and choose the
topic Using the Scroll Bar Component.

Properties
Align Kind Position
ComponentIndex LargeChange ShowHint
Ctl3D Left Showing
Cursor Max SmallChange
DragCursor Min TabOrder
DragMode Name TabStop
Enabled Owner Tag
Handle Parent Top
Height ParentCtl3D Visible
HelpContext ParentShowHint Width
Hint PopupMenu

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen SetBounds
BringToFront Hide SetFocus
CanFocus Invalidate SetParams
ClientToScreen Refresh SetTextBuf
Dragging Repaint Show
EndDrag ScaleBy Update

938 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TScrollBarInc type
+
Focused
GetTextBuf
ScreenToClient
SendToBack +
Events +
OnChange
OnClick
OnEndDrag
OnEnter
OnKeyPress
OnKeyUp
+
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnExit
OnKeyDown
OnScroll
+
See also
+
TScrollBox component, TForm component +
TScrollBarInc type Forms
+
Declaration
+
TScrollBarInc = 1..32767; +
Description
The TScrollBarInc type defines the possible values of the SmallChange and LargeChange
+
properties of a scroll bar (TScrollBar). +
TScrollBarKind type Forms
+
Declaration
+
TScrollBarKind = (sbHorizontal, sbVertical); +
The TScrollBarKind type defines the two different orientations a scroll bar can have:
horizontal and vertical. TScrollBarKind is the type of the scroll bar control’s Kind +
property.
+
TScrollBox component Forms T
Scroll box components make it possible to create scrolling areas on a form that are
smaller than the entire form. For example, your form might contain a panel component
used as a speed bar that is aligned with the top of the form, and a panel component used
as a status bar that is aligned with the bottom of the form. You would not want these
panel components to scroll when the user scrolls the form. By placing a scroll box
between the two panels and aligning it so that it fills the remaining client area, you can
place components on the scroll box and then allow the user to scroll only the scroll box
on the form.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 939

TScrollBox component

You determine the behavior of the horizontal and vertical scroll bars on the scroll box by
setting the properties of the HorzScrollBar and VertScrollBar objects, which are properties
of a scroll box.
To assure that a particular control on the scroll box is in view, use the ScrollInView
method.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Properties
Align Enabled ParentShowHint
BorderStyle Font PopupMenu
Brush Height ShowHint
Color HelpContext Showing
ComponentCount Hint TabOrder
ComponentIndex HorzScrollBar TabStop
Components Left Tag
ControlCount Name Top
Controls Owner VertScrollBar
Ctl3D Parent Visible
Cursor ParentColor Width
DragCursor ParentCtl3D
DragMode ParentFont

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen ScrollBy
BringToFront Hide ScrollInView
CanFocus InsertComponent SendToBack
ClientToScreen InsertControl SetBounds
ContainsControl Invalidate SetFocus
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag RemoveComponent Show
FindComponent Repaint Update
Focused ScaleBy
GetTextBuf ScreenToClient

Events
OnClick OnEndDrag OnMouseMove
OnDblClick OnEnter OnMouseUp
OnDragDrop OnExit OnResize
OnDragOver OnMouseDown

940 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TScrollCode type
+
TScrollCode type StdCtrls
+
Declaration
TScrollCode = (scLineUp, scLineDown, scPageUp, scPageDown, scPosition, scTrack, scTop,
+
scBottom, scEndScroll);
+
Description
The TScrollCode type defines the possible states of a scroll bar. It is used by the
+
TScrollEvent method pointer.
+
TScrollEvent type StdCtrls +
Declaration +
TScrollEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; ScrollCode: TScrollCode; var ScrollPos: Integer) of
object;
+
The TScrollEvent type points to a method that handles the scrolling of a scroll bar. The
ScrollCode parameter is one of these values:
+
Value Meaning
+
scLineUp
scLineDown
User clicked the top or left scroll arrow or pressed the Up arrow key
User clicked the bottom or right scroll arrow or pressed the Down arrow key
+
scPageUp
scPageDown
User clicked the area to the left of the thumb tab or pressed the PgUp key
User clicked the area to the right of the thumb tab or pressed the PgDn key
+
scPosition
scTrack
User positioned the thumb tab and released it.
User is moving the thumb tab
+
scTop
scBottom
User moved the thumb tab to the top or far left on the scroll bar
User moved the thumb tab to the bottom or far right on the scroll bar
+
scEndScroll User is done moving the thumb tab on the scroll bar +
The ScrollPos parameter indicates the position of the thumb tab on the scroll bar. +
TScrollEvent is the type of the OnScroll event.
T
TScrollStyle type StdCtrls
Declaration
TScrollStyle = (ssNone, ssHorizontal, ssVertical, ssBoth);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 941

TSearchRec type

The TScrollStyle type defines the different combinations of scroll bars a memo control or
a grid can have. TScrollStyle is the type of the ScrollBars property of TMemo, TDBMemo,
TDrawGrid, and TStringGrid.

TSearchRec type SysUtils

Declaration
TSearchRec = record
Fill: array[1..21] of Byte;
Attr: Byte;
Time: Longint;
Size: Longint;
Name: string[12];
end;
The TSearchRec type defines file information searched for by a FindFirst or FindNext
function call. If a file is found, the fields of the TSearchRec type parameter are modified
to specify the found file.
Attr represents the file attributes the file attributes of the file. Test Attr against the
following attribute constants or values to determine if a file has a specific attribute:

Constant Value Description

faReadOnly $01 Read-only files
faHidden $02 Hidden files
faSysFile $04 System files
faVolumeID $08 Volume ID files
faDirectory $10 Directory files
faArchive $20 Archive files

To test for an attribute, combine the value of the Attr field with the attribute constant
with the and operator. If the file has that attribute, the result will be greater than 0. For
example, if the found file is a hidden file, the following expression will evaluate to True:
(SearchRec.Attr and faHidden > 0).
Time contains the time stamp of the file. Size contains the size of the file in bytes. Name
contains the DOS file name and extension.

TSectionEvent type Headers

Declaration
TSectionEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; ASection, AWidth: Integer) of object;

942 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TSelectCellEvent type

The TSectionEvent type is used by the OnSized and OnSizing events of the THeader
+
component. The index of the header section being resized is passed in the ASection
parameter, and its width in pixels is passed in the AWidth parameter.
+
+
TSelectCellEvent type Grids +
Declaration +
+
TSelectCellEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; Col, Row: Longint; var CanSelect: Boolean) of
object;
The TSelectEvent type points to a method that handles the selecting of a cell in a draw
grid (TDrawGrid) or string grid (TStringGrid). The Col and Row parameters specify the
column and row of the selected cell. The value of the CanSelect parameter determines
+
whether the user can successfully select the cell in the grid. +
TSelectEvent is the type of the OnSelectCell event of the draw and string grid
components. +
TSelectDirOpts type
+
FileCtrl
+
Declaration
TSelectDirOpt = (sdAllowCreate, sdPerformCreate, sdPrompt); +
TSelectDirOpts = set of TSelectDirOpt; +
The TSelectDirOpts type defines the possible values of the Options parameter in the
SelectDirectory function. +
TSession component
+
You cannot see nor explicitly create a TSession component, but you can use its methods
+
and properties to globally affect an application. Delphi creates a TSession component
named Session each time an application runs. Do not attempt to create any other TSession
+
or destroy and recreate Session itself.
TSession provides global control over database connections for an application. The
T
Databases property of TSession is an array of all the active databases in the session. The
DatabaseCount property is an integer specifying the number of active databases in the
Session.
KeepConnections is a Boolean property that specifies whether to keep inactive database
connections for temporary TDatabase components. The DropConnections method will
drop all inactive database connections.
The NetFileDir property specifies the directory path of the BDE network control
directory. The PrivateDir property specifies the path of the directory in which to store
temporary files.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 943

TSetEditEvent type

In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.

Properties
DatabaseCount Locale PrivateDir
Databases Name Tag
Handle NetFileDir
KeepConnections Owner

Methods
AddPassword GetAliasParams GetTableNames
CloseDatabase GetDatabaseNames GetStoredProcNames
DropConnections GetDriverNames OpenDatabase
FindDatabase GetDriverParams RemoveAllPassword
s
GetAliasNames GetPassword RemovePassword

Events
OnPassword

TSetEditEvent type Grids

Declaration
TSetEditEvent = procedure (Sender: TObject; ACol, ARow: Longint; const Text: string)
of object;

Description
The TSetEditEvent type points to a method that handles the changes the user makes to
the text in a cell in a draw grid (TDrawGrid) or string grid (TStringGrid). The ACol
parameter specifies the column of the cell, and the ARow parameter specifies the row of
the cell. The Text parameter is the text string the editor has changed.
TSetEditEvent is the type of the OnSetEditText event of the draw and string grid
components.

944 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TShape component
+
TShape component ExtCtrls
+
The TShape component displays a geometric shape on the form. It is a nonwindowed
component. +
You determine which geometric shape the shape control assumes by setting the Shape
property. How the shape is painted depends on the two nested properties of the Brush
+
object, Color and Style.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties and methods that apply to all controls. +
For more information, search for Search component in online Help, and choose the topic
Using the Shape Component. +
Properties +
Align
BoundsRect
Height
Hint
Shape
ShowHint
+
Brush
ComponentIndex
Left
Name
Tag
Top
+
Cursor
DragCursor
Owner
Parent
Visible
Width
+
DragMode
Enabled
ParentShowHint
Pen
+
Methods
+
BeginDrag Hide ScreenToClient +
BringToFront
ClientToScreen
Invalidate
Refresh
SendToBack
SetBounds +
Dragging
EndDrag
Repaint
ScaleBy
Show
Update +
Events +
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnEndDrag
OnMouseDown
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
T
TShapeType type StdCtrls
Declaration
TShapeType = (stRectangle, stSquare, stRoundRect, stRoundSquare, stEllipse, stCircle);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 945

TShiftState type

The TShapeType type is used by the Shape property of the TShape component to
determine if the TShape component appears as a rectangle, square, rounded rectangle,
rounded square, ellipse, or circle.

TShiftState type Classes

Declaration
TShiftState = set of (ssShift, ssAlt, ssCtrl, ssRight, ssLeft, ssMiddle, ssDouble);
The TShiftState type is used by key-event and mouse-event handlers to determine the
state of the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys and the state of the mouse buttons when the event
occurred.

See also
TKeyEvent type, TMouseEvent type

TShortCut type Menus

Declaration
TShortCut = Low(Word) .. High(Word);
TShortCut types are the menu shortcuts that appear on menus and give the user an
alternate way to select a menu commands using the keyboard. The ShortCut property is
of type TShortCut, and the ShortCutToText and ShortCutToKey routines use parameters
of type TShortCut.

TShowHintEvent type Forms

Declaration
TShowHintEvent = procedure (var HintStr: string; var CanShow: Boolean; var HintInfo:
THintInfo) of object;
The TShowHintEvent type points to a method that displays a Help Hint for a control. It is
the type of the OnShowHint event.
The HintStr parameter is the text of the Help Hint. To obtain the text of a hint for a
particular control, call the GetShortHint function, assigning the result to HintStr. You can
change the contents of this string if you want to change the text.
Use the CanShow variable to permit or prevent the Help Hint from displaying. If
CanShow is True, the Help Hint displays. If it is False, the Help Hint does not appear.
The HintInfo parameter is a record that contains information about the appearance and
behavior of the help window.

946 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TSmallintField component

The HintColor field of the record contains the name of the control for which hint
+
processing is occurring. +
The HintPos field determines the default position in screen coordinates of the top-left
corner of the hint window. You can change where the window appears by changing this +
value.
The HintMaxWidth field determines the maximum width of the hint window before +
word wrapping begins. By default, the value is the width of the screen (Screen.Width).
The CursorRect field determines the rectangle the user’s mouse pointer must be in for the
+
hint window to appear. The default value for CursorRect is the client rectangle of the
control. Your application can change this value so that a single control can divided into
+
several hint regions. When the user moves the mouse pointer moves outside the
rectangle, the hint window disappears. +
The CursorPos field contains the location of the mouse pointer within the control.
+
TSmallintField component +
A TSmallintField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as a binary +
value with a range from –32,768 to 32,767. Use TSmallintField for fields that hold signed
whole numbers. +
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
+
access or change the current field value. Set the MinValue or the MaxValue property to
limit the smallest or largest value permitted in a field. +
The TSmallintField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.
+
Properties
+
Alignment DisplayFormat IsNull +
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
MaxValue
MinValue +
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
Name
Owner T
AsString EditFormat ReadOnly
Calculated EditMask Required
CanModify EditMaskPtr Size
DataSet FieldName Tag
DataSize FieldNo Text
DataType Index Value
AsFloat IsIndexField Visible

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 947

TSpeedButton component

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TSpeedButton component Buttons

TSpeedButton components are buttons that usually have graphical images on their faces
that users use to execute commands or set modes. They have some unique capabilities
that allow them to work as a set. Speed buttons are commonly used with panels (TPanel)
to create tool bars and tool palettes.
The graphical image that appears on a speed button is the value of its Glyph property.
You can use different images to represent the different states of the speed button. For
example, you can use one image when the speed button is unselected, another when it is
selected, and another when it is disabled. Use the NumGlyphs property to specify
multiple images.
Use the Layout, Margin, and Spacing properties to arrange the image and text on the
speed button.
Speed buttons can work together as a group if you set the GroupIndex property. If you
want all speed buttons in a group to be able to appear in their “up” state, set the
AllowAllUp property to True. If you want a speed button to initially appear as if it is
selected, set its Down property to True.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all controls.
For more information, search for SpeedButton component in online Help, and choose
the topic Using the SpeedButton Component.

Properties
Align GroupIndex ParentFont
AllowAllUp Height ParentShowHint
BoundsRect Hint ShowHint
Caption Layout Showing
ComponentIndex Left Spacing
Cursor Margin Tag
Down Name Top
Enabled NumGlyphs Visible

948 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TStatusLineEvent type
+
Font
Glyph
Owner
Parent
Width
+
Methods +
BeginDrag
BringToFront
GetTextBuf
GetTextLen
ScreenToClient
SendToBack
+
CanFocus
ClientToScreen
Hide
Invalidate
SetBounds
SetTextBuf
+
Click
Dragging
Refresh
Repaint
Show
Update
+
EndDrag ScaleBy
+
Events
+
OnClick
OnDblClick
OnMouseDown
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
+
+
TStatusLineEvent type ToCtrl
+
Declaration
TStatusLineEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Msg: string) of object;
+
TStatusLineEvent is the type of the OnStatusLineEvent event of the TOLEContainer
component. Msg contains the string message from the OLE server application.
+
+
TStoredProc component +
The TStoredProc component enables Delphi applications to execute server stored
procedures. Set the DatabaseName property to specify the database in which the stored
+
procedure is defined. Set the StoredProcName to the name of the stored procedure on the
server. +
A stored procedure has a Params array for its input and output parameters, similar to a
TQuery component. The order of the parameters in the Params array is determined by
T
the stored procedure definition. An application can set the values of input parameters
and get the values of output parameters in the array similar to TQuery parameters. You
can also use ParamByName to access the parameters by name. If you are not sure of the
ordering of the input and output parameters for a stored procedure, use the Parameters
Editor.
Before an application can execute a stored procedure, you must prepare the stored
procedure, which can be done:
• At design time with the Parameters Editor.
• At run time with the Prepare method.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 949

TStoredProc component

A stored procedure can return either a singleton result or a result set with a cursor, if the
server supports it. Execute a stored procedure with the ExecProc method, if the stored
procedure returns a singleton result (one row), or Open method, if the stored procedure
returns a result set (multiple rows).
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.

Properties
Active FieldDefs Params
AutoCalcFields Fields Prepared
BOF Handle RecordCount
CanModify Locale State
Database Modified StmtHandle
DatabaseName Name StoredProcName
DBHandle Owner Tag
DBLocale Overload UpdateMode
EOF ParamBindMode
FieldCount ParamCount

Methods
Append ExecProc Next
AppendRecord FieldByName Open
Cancel FindField ParamByName
CheckBrowseMode First Post
ClearFields FreeBookmark Prepare
Close GetBookmark Prior
CopyParams GetFieldNames Refresh
CursorPosChanged GetResults SetFields
Delete GotoBookmark UnPrepare
DescriptionsAvailabl Insert UpdateCursorPos
e
DisableControls InsertRecord UpdateRecord
Edit Last
EnableControls MoveBy

Events
AfterCancel AfterPost BeforeOpen
AfterClose BeforeCancel BeforePost
AfterDelete BeforeClose OnCalcFields
AfterEdit BeforeDelete OnNewRecord
AfterInsert BeforeEdit
AfterOpen BeforeInsert

950 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TStringField component
+
TStringField component +
A TStringField component represents a field of a record in a dataset. A field of
TStringField is physically stored as a sequence of up to 255 characters. Use TStringField +
for fields that contain text, such as names and addresses.
Use the Value property to access or change the current field value.
+
The TStringField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.
+
Properties
+
Alignment DisplayLabel Name
+
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayName
DisplayText
Owner
ReadOnly
+
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayWidth
EditMask
Required
Size
+
AsString
Calculated
EditMaskPtr
FieldName
Tag
Text
+
CanModify
DataSet
FieldNo
Index
Transliterate
Value
+
DataSize
DataType
IsIndexField
IsNull
Visible
+
Methods +
Assign FocusControl SetData +
AssignValue
Clear
GetData
IsValidChar +
Events +
OnChange
OnGetText
OnSetText OnValidate +
T
TStringGrid component Grids
The TStringGrid component is a grid control designed to simplify the handling of strings
and associated objects while maintaining all the functionality of the TDrawGrid
component.
All the strings within a string grid are contained in the Cells property, which you can use
to access a particular string within the grid. All the objects associated with the strings in
a string grid are contained in the Objects property. Use Objects to access a particular
object.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 951

TStringGrid component

All the strings and their associated objects for a particular column can be accessed using
the Cols property. The Rows property gives you access to all the strings and their
associated objects for a particular row.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for StringGrid component in online Help, and choose the
topic Using the String Grid Component.

Properties
Align DefaultRowHeight ParentColor
BorderStyle DragCursor ParentCtl3D
BoundsRect DragMode ParentFont
Canvas EditorMode ParentShowHint
Cells Enabled PopupMenu
ClientHeight FixedColor Row
ClientOrigin FixedCols RowCount
ClientRect FixedRows RowHeights
ClientWidth Font Rows
Col GridHeight ScrollBars
ColCount GridLineWidth Selection
Color GridWidth ShowHint
Cols Handle Showing
ColWidths Height TabOrder
ComponentCount HelpContext TabStop
ComponentIndex Hint TabStops
Components Left Tag
ControlCount LeftCol Top
Controls Name TopRow
Ctl3D Objects Visible
Cursor Options VisibleColCount
DefaultColWidth Owner VisibleRowCount
DefaultDrawing Parent Width

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScaleBy
BringToFront GetTextLen ScreenToClient
CanFocus Hide SendToBack
CellRect Invalidate SetBounds
ClientToScreen MouseToCell SetFocus
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag RemoveComponent Show
Focused Repaint Update

952 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Events
TStringList object
+
OnClick OnEnter OnMouseDown
+
OnColumnMoved
OnDblClick
OnExit
OnGetEditMask
OnMouseMove
OnMouseUp
+
OnDragDrop
OnDragOver
OnGetEditText
OnKeyDown
OnRowMoved
OnSelectCell
+
OnDrawCell
OnEndDrag
OnKeyPress
OnKeyUp
OnSetEditText
OnTopLeftChanged
+
+
TStringList object Classes +
The TStringList object maintains a list of strings. Use a string list object when you are
managing a list of strings that is not maintained by a control. +
You can add, delete, insert, move, and exchange strings using the Add, Delete, Insert,
Move, and Exchange methods. The Clear method clears all the strings in the list of strings.
+
The Count property contains the number of strings in the list. Each string list object has a
Strings property that lets you access a particular string by its position in the list of
+
strings. To find the position of a string in the list, use the IndexOf method.
If you want to add several strings at once to a list of strings, use the AddStrings method.
+
You can assign one strings object to another using the Assign method.
To determine if a particular string exists in the list of strings, call the Find method. To
+
sort the list of strings, use the Sort method. To determine if the list is sorted, check the
value of the Sorted property. You can decide whether the list can contain duplicate
+
strings using the Duplicates property. +
Each string can be associated with an object. The objects associated with strings are
commonly used to place a bitmap in an owner-draw control. If you want to add a string
and an object to string list at the same time, use the AddObject method. You can access a
+
particular object by its position in the list of objects using the Objects property. To find
the position of the object in the list, use the IndexOfObject method. To insert an object,
+
call the InsertObject method. The Delete, Move, Clear, and Exchange methods operate on
the object associated with a string as well as on the string itself. For example, calling +
Clear removes all strings and all their associated objects.
You can store strings in a file and then load them all at one using the LoadFromFile
T
method. To save the strings to a file, use the SaveToFile method.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this object also has the methods
that apply to all objects.

Properties
Count Objects Strings
Duplicates Sorted Values

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 953

TStrings object

Methods
Add Clear Insert
AddObject Delete InsertObject
AddStrings EndUpdate LoadFromFile
Assign Exchange SaveToFile
BeginUpdate Free SetText
ClassName GetText Sort
ClassParent IndexOf
ClassType IndexOfObject

Events
OnChange

TStrings object Classes

String objects are used by various components to manipulate strings. A string object has
no way to store a string, but instead uses the native storage ability of the control that
uses it.
For example, the Items property of a list box control is of type TStrings. The strings that
appear in a list box control are stored in a list box string object (TListBoxStrings), which is
derived from TStrings. When you add or delete items in a list box, you are adding and
deleting them from a list box string object.
To maintain a list of strings outside of a control, use a string list object (TStringList).
You can add, delete, insert, move, and exchange strings using the Add, Delete, Insert,
Move, and Exchange methods of a string object. The Clear method clears all the strings in
the list of strings. The Count property contains the number of strings in the list. Each
string object has a Strings property that lets you access a particular string by its position
in the list of strings. To find the position of a string in the list, use the IndexOf method.
To add several strings at once to a list of strings, use the AddStrings method. You can
assign one string object to another using the Assign method.
Each string can be associated with an object. The objects associated with strings are
commonly used to place a bitmap in an owner-draw control. If you want to add a string
and an object to string list at the same time, use the AddObject method. You can access a
particular object by its position in the list of objects using the Objects property. To find
the position of the object in the list, use the IndexOfObject method. To insert an object,
call the InsertObject method. The Delete, Move, Clear, and Exchange methods operate on
the object associated with a string as well as on the string itself. For example, calling
Clear removes all strings and all their associated objects.
You can store strings in a file and then load them all at one using the LoadFromFile
method. To save the strings to a file, use the SaveToFile method.

954 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TSymbolStr type

In addition to these properties and methods, this object also has the methods that apply
+
to all objects. +
Properties +
Count
Objects
Strings Values
+
Methods
+
Add Clear Insert +
AddObject
AddStrings
Delete
Exchange
InsertObject
LoadFromFile +
Assign
BeginUpdate
EndUpdate
Free
Move
SaveToFile +
ClassName
ClassParent
GetText
IndexOf
SetText
+
ClassType IndexOfObject
+
TSymbolStr type DB +
Declaration +
TSymbolStr = string[DBIMAXNAMELEN];
The TSymbolStr type is the type of a string of the correct length for a database object
+
name, such as a Locale property, a field name, or a password. +
TTabbedNotebook component TabNotBk
+
The TTabbedNotebook component contains multiple pages, each with its own set of
+
controls. The user selects a page by clicking the page’s tab that appears at the top of the
control. +
The pages available in the tabbed notebook control are the strings specified as the value
of the Pages property. You can access a particular page in the notebook either with the
T
PageIndex property or the ActivePage property.
At run time, you can change the active page in the tabbed notebook with the SetTabFocus
method. If you need to determine the PageIndex value of a particular page, call the
GetIndexForPage method.
You determine how many tabs appear in a row by setting the TabsPerRow property. If
there are more pages than there are tabs in one row, multiple rows automatically appear
in the control. You can specify the font of the text on the tabs with the TabFont property.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 955

TTabChangeEvent type

Properties
ActivePage Handle Parent
Align Height TabOrder
BoundsRect HelpContext TabsPerRow
ComponentIndex Hint TabStop
ControlCount Left Tag
Controls Name Top
Cursor Owner Visible
Enabled PageIndex Width
Font Pages

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextBuf ScrollBy
BringToFront GetTextLen SendToBack
CanFocus Hide SetBounds
ClientToScreen InsertControl SetFocus
ContainsControl Invalidate SetTabFocus
Dragging Refresh SetTextBuf
EndDrag Repaint Show
Focused ScaleBy Update
GetIndexForPage ScreenToClient

Events
OnEnter OnExit

TTabChangeEvent type Tabs

Declaration
TTabChangeEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; NewTab: Integer; var AllowChange: Boolean) of
object;
The TTabChangeEvent type points to a method that is called when the selected tab (the
TabIndex) is about to change in a tab set control. The NewTab parameter is the tab that is
about to become the selected tab. The AllowChange variable determines whether the
change is permitted. If AllowChange is False, the user won’t be able to select the new tab,
in effect disabling it.

TTable component DBTables

The TTable component provides live access to database tables through the Borland
Database Engine. TTable is the interface between the Borland Database Engine and

956 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TTable component

TDataSource components. The TDataSource components then provide the interface to

+
data-aware controls such as TDBGrid. +
Set the DatabaseName property to specify the database to access. Set the TableName
property to the table to access. Set the ReadOnly property to True unless you want to +
change the contents of the table. Set the Exclusive property to True if you do not want
any other application to access the table while you are using it. Use the IndexName
property to use the table with a secondary index. Use the MasterFields and MasterSource
+
properties to create a link to a master table in a master-detail relationship. Call the
GotoCurrent method to move the cursor to the same position as another TTable linked to
+
the same database table.
Set the Active property to True or call the Open method to open a TTable, putting it in
+
Browse mode. Set Active to False or call Close close the TTable. Call the First, Next, Prior,
Last, and MoveBy, methods to navigate through the table. Call the SetKey, FindKey,
+
FindNearest, GotoKey, and GotoNearest methods to search the database table for specific
values. +
Test the BOF and EOF properties to determine if the cursor has reached the beginning or
end of the table, respectively. Call the Append, Insert, AppendRecord or InsertRecord
+
methods to add a record to the table. Call the Delete method to delete the current record.
Call the Edit method to allow an application to modify records in the table, and Post to
+
send the changes to the database or Cancel to discard them.
Use the EditRangeStart, EditRangeEnd, SetRangeStart, SetRangeEnd, ApplyRange and
+
SetRange methods to limit the range of records returned to the application and the
CancelRange method to remove the limit.
+
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
properties and methods that apply to all components.
+
Properties
+
Active Fields Modified
+
AutoCalcFields
BOF
Handle
IndexDefs
Name
Owner
+
CanModify
Database
IndexFieldCount
IndexFieldNames
ReadOnly
RecordCount
+
DatabaseName
DBHandle
IndexName
IndexFields
State
TableName
T
DBLocale KeyExclusive TableType
EOF KeyFieldCount Tag
Exclusive Locale UpdateMode
FieldCount MasterFields
FieldDefs MasterSource

Methods
AddIndex EditKey GotoNearest
ApplyRange EditRangeEnd Insert

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 957

TTabOrder type

Append EditRangeStart InsertRecord

AppendRecord EmptyTable Last
BatchMove EnableControls MoveBy
Cancel FieldByName Next
CancelRange FindField Open
CheckBrowseMode FindKey Post
ClearFields FindNearest Prior
Close First Refresh
CreateTable FreeBookmark SetFields
CursorPosChanged GetBookmark SetKey
Delete GetFieldNames SetRange
DeleteIndex GetIndexNames SetRangeEnd
DeleteTable GotoBookmark SetRangeStart
DisableControls GotoCurrent UpdateRecord
Edit GotoKey

Events
AfterCancel AfterPost BeforeOpen
AfterClose BeforeCancel BeforePost
AfterDelete BeforeClose OnCalcFields
AfterEdit BeforeDelete OnNewRecord
AfterInsert BeforeEdit
AfterOpen BeforeInsert

TTabOrder type Controls

Declaration
TTabOrder = –1..32767;
The TTabOrder type defines a subrange of integers that can be used as values for the
TabOrder property.

TTabSet component Tabs

The TTabSet component presents horizontal tabs users can click to initiate actions. Tab
set controls are commonly used with TNotebook controls to display pages within the
same dialog box.
You create a set of tabs for the tab set control when you specify a list of strings as the
value of the Tabs property. One tab is created for each string. If you are using a tab set
control to work with a notebook control (TNotebook), this line of code creates a tab for
each page of the notebook control:
TabSet1.Tabs := Notebook1.Pages;

958 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TTabSet component

Then, in the OnClick event handler of the tab set control, this line of code changes the
+
current page in the notebook control when the user clicks a tab: +
Notebook1.PageIndex := TabSet1.TabIndex;
To determine which tab is currently selected or to use code to select a tab, use the
+
TabIndex property. To find out which tab is the first visible tab in the tab set control or to
make a tab the first visible tab, use the FirstIndex property. +
Several properties affect the appearance of the tab set control. Tabs are usually
displayed at the bottom of a form. To display the tabs at the bottom of the form, choose
+
alBottom as the Align property value. Set the SelectedColor and UnselectedColor properties
to help the user tell the difference between a selected and an unselected tab. The +
BackgroundColor and the DitherBackground properties determine how the background of
the tab set appears. You can determine how far from the edge of the control the tabs are +
positioned with the StartMargin and EndMargin properties. If you want scroll buttons to
appear automatically when the tab set control doesn’t have enough room to display all
the tabs, set AutoScroll to True.
+
You can display graphics on tabs as well as text. Use the Style property select an owner- +
draw tab style.
In addition to these properties, methods, and events, this component also has the
+
properties, methods, and events that apply to all windowed controls.
For more information, search for TabSet component in online Help, and choose the topic
+
Using the TabSet Component.
+
Properties +
Align
AutoScroll
Height
HelpContext
Style
TabHeight +
BackgroundColor
Canvas
Hint
Left
TabIndex
Tabs +
ComponentIndex
Cursor
Name
Owner
Tag
Top +
DitherBackground
DragMode
Parent
ParentShowHint
UnselectedColor
Visible +
Enabled
EndMargin
SelectedColor
ShowHint
VisibleTabs
Width T
FirstIndex Showing
Font StartMargin

Methods
BeginDrag GetTextLen ScreenToClient
BringToFront Hide ScrollBy
CanFocus Invalidate SelectNext
ClientToScreen ItemAtPos SendToBack
Dragging ItemRect SetBounds

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 959

TTabStyle type

EndDrag Refresh SetFocus

Focused Repaint SetTextBuf
GetTextBuf ScaleBy Update

Events
OnChange OnDragOver OnEnter
OnClick OnDrawTab OnExit
OnDragDrop OnEndDrag OnMeasureTab

TTabStyle type Tabs

Declaration
TTabStyle = (tsStandard, tsOwnerDraw);
The TTabStyle type defines the style of the tabs in a tab set control. TTabStyle is the type
of the a tab set control’s Style property.

TTextCase type FileCtrl

Declaration
TTextCase = (tcLowerCase, tcUpperCase);
The TTextCase type defines the values available to the Text property of a drive combo
box (TDriveComboBox).

TTextRec type SysUtils

Declaration
PTextBuf = ^TTextBuf;
TTextBuf = array[0..127] of Char;
TTextRec = record
Handle: Word;
Mode: Word;
BufSize: Word;
Private: Word;
BufPos: Word;
BufEnd: Word;
BufPtr: PTextBuf;
OpenFunc: Pointer;
InOutFunc: Pointer;
FlushFunc: Pointer;
CloseFunc: Pointer;
UserData: array[1..16] of Byte;

960 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Name: array[0..79] of Char;
TTileMode type
+
Buffer: TTextBuf;
end;
+
TTextRec is the internal format of a variable of type text. You would never declare a
variable of this type. However, you would use TTextRec to typecast a text file variable to
+
access the internal data fields, such as the file name. +
Do not use this unless you are familiar with writing Object Pascal text file device drivers.
+
Note

TTileMode type Forms +

Declaration +
TTileMode = (tbHorizontal, tbVertical);
The TTileMode type defines the values the TileMode property of a form can have.
+
+
TTimeField component +
A TTimeField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It represents a value consisting of
a time. +
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
+
access or change the current field value.
The TTimeField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
+
component. +
Properties +
Alignment
AsBoolean
DataType
DisplayLabel
IsIndexField
IsNull
+
AsDateTime
AsFloat
DisplayName
DisplayText
Name
Owner
+
AsInteger
AsString
DisplayWidth
EditMask
ReadOnly
Required
T
Calculated EditMaskPtr Size
CanModify FieldName Tag
DataSet FieldNo Text
DataSize Index Visible

Methods
Assign FocusControl SetData
AssignValue GetData
Clear IsValidChar

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 961

TTimer component

Events
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TTimer component ExtCtrls

The TTimer component causes an OnTimer event to occur whenever a specified period
of time passes. Within that OnTimer event handler, your code specifies what you want
to happen each time the OnTimer event occurs.
You use the Interval property to control the amount of time between timer events.
To activate or deactivate a timer, use its Enabled property.
In addition to these properties and events, this component also has the properties and
methods that apply to all components.
For more information, search for Timer component in online Help, and choose the topic
Using the Timer Component.

Properties
ComponentIndex Interval Owner
Enabled Name Tag

Events
OnTimer

TTransIsolation type DB
Declaration
TTransIsolation = (tiDirtyRead, tiReadCommitted, tiRepeatableRead);
The TTransIsolation type is used by the TransIsolation property and it is the set of values
that can be used to start a transaction. They control how records which have been
modified by another application will be returned to your application by the server.

TVarBytesField component
A TVarBytesField represents a field of a record which is represented by a value
consisting of an arbitrary set of up to 65535 bytes. The first two bytes are a binary value
defining the actual length.
Use the Assign method to copy values from another field to a TVarBytesField.

962 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TVarRec type

The TVarBytesField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
+
component. +
Properties +
Alignment
AsBoolean
DataType
DisplayLabel
IsIndexField
IsNull
+
AsDateTime
AsFloat
DisplayName
DisplayText
Name
Owner
+
AsInteger
AsString
DisplayWidth
EditMask
ReadOnly
Required
+
Calculated
CanModify
EditMaskPtr
FieldName
Size
Tag
+
DataSet
DataSize
FieldNo
Index
Text
Visible
+
Methods +
Assign FocusControl SetData +
AssignValue
Clear
GetData
IsValidChar +
Events +
OnChange
OnGetText
OnSetText OnValidate +
+
TVarRec type System +
Declaration +
const
vtInteger
vtBoolean
=
=
0;
1;
+
vtChar
vtExtended
=
=
2;
3;
T
vtString = 4;
vtPointer = 5;
vtPChar = 6;
vtObject = 7;
vtClass = 8;
type
TVarRec = record
case Integer of
vtInteger: (VInteger: Longint; VType: Byte);
vtBoolean: (VBoolean: Boolean);
vtChar: (VChar: Char);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 963

TWindowState type

vtExtended: (VExtended: PExtended);

vtString: (VString: PString);
vtPointer: (VPointer: Pointer);
vtPChar: (VPChar: PChar);
vtObject: (VObject: TObject);
vtClass: (VClass: TClass);
end;
TVarRec type is used inside a procedure with a parameter type of array of const. The tag
field lets the procedure know the simple type of each parameter passed in the open
array.
The variable type constants represent the values passed in the tag of the TVarRec
structure.

TWindowState type Forms

Declaration
TWindowState = (wsNormal, wsMinimized, wsMaximized);
The TWindowState type defines the three possible states of a form: normal, minimized,
or maximized. TWindowState is the type of the WindowState property of a form.

TWordArray SysUtils
Declaration
PWordArray = ^TWordArray;
TWordArray = array[0..16383] of Word;
TWordArray declares a general array of type Word that can be used in typecasting.

TWordField component
A TWordField represents a field of a record in a dataset. It is represented as a binary
value with a range from 0 to 65,535. Use TWordField for fields that hold unsigned whole
numbers.
Set the DisplayFormat property to control the formatting of the field for display
purposes, and the EditFormat property for editing purposes. Use the Value property to
access or change the current field value. Set the MinValue or the MaxValue property to
limit the smallest or largest value permitted in a field.
The TWordField component has the properties, methods, and events of the TField
component.

964 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TypeOf function
+
Properties
Alignment DisplayFormat IsNull
+
AsBoolean
AsDateTime
DisplayLabel
DisplayName
MaxValue
MinValue
+
AsFloat
AsInteger
DisplayText
DisplayWidth
Name
Owner
+
AsString
Calculated
EditFormat
EditMask
ReadOnly
Required
+
CanModify
DataSet
EditMaskPtr
FieldName
Size
Tag
+
DataSize
DataType
FieldNo
Index
Text
Value
+
AsFloat IsIndexField Visible +
Methods +
Assign
AssignValue
FocusControl
GetData
SetData
+
Clear IsValidChar
+
Events
+
+
OnChange OnSetText OnValidate
OnGetText

TypeOf function System

+
Declaration
+
function TypeOf(X) : Pointer +
The TypeOf function returns a pointer to an object type’s virtual method table (VMT). +
X is either an object type identifier or an instance of an object type.
TypeOf can be applied only to object types that have a VMT; all other types result in an T
error.

Example
{Note: use TypeOf for the older “Object” object hierarchy}
uses WinCrt;
uses Objects;
type
PBaseObject = ^TBaseObject;
TBaseObject = object(TObject)

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 965

TZoomFactor type

end;
PChildObject = ^TChildObject;
TChildObject = object(TBaseObject)
end;
var
P,Q : PObject; { abstract object pointer }
begin
P := New(PBaseObject, Init);
Q := New(PChildObject, Init);
if TypeOf(P^) = TypeOf(TBaseObject) then
writeln('P is a TBaseObject instance')
else
writeln('P is not a TBaseObject instance');
if TypeOf(Q^) = TypeOf(TChildObject) then
writeln('Q is a TChildObject instance')
else
writeln('Q is not a TChildObject instance');
if TypeOf(Q^) <> TypeOf(P^) then
writeln('Q is not the same kind of object instance as P');
Dispose(P, Done);
Dispose(Q, Done);
end;

TZoomFactor type ToCtrl

Declaration
TZoomFactor = (z025, z050, z100, z150, z200);
TZoomFactor is the type of the Zoom property of the TOLEContainer component.

UniDirectional property
Applies to
TQuery component

Declaration
property UniDirectional: Boolean;
If an application only needs to be able to move forward in the result set of a TQuery
component, set the UniDirectional property to True. When UniDirectional is True, an

966 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Unmerge method

application requires less memory (because the records do not have to be cached), but the
+
application cannot move backwards in the result set. +
UniDirectional is False by default.
+
Unmerge method +
Applies to +
TMainMenu component
+
Declaration
procedure Unmerge(Menu: TMainMenu);
+
The Unmerge method reverses the merging of two menus into one in a non-MDI
application. The Menu parameter is the merged menu that you no longer want to be
+
merged.
+
Example
This example uses two forms, each containing a main menu created with the Menu
+
Designer. It also uses a button on Form1. When the user clicks the button, Form2 appears
and the main menu of Form2 merges with that of Form1. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
+
Form2.Show;
MainMenu1.Merge(Form2.MainMenu1); +
+
end;
bo
Form2 also has a button. When the user clicks the button on Form2, the menu of Form2 is
no longer merged with the menu on Form1: +
procedure TForm2.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin +
Form1.MainMenu1.Unmerge(MainMenu1);
end; +
To run this example, create a uses clause in the implementation section of each unit and
add the other unit to it. For example, the uses clause in the implementation section of +
Unit1 would look like this:
uses Unit2; U
See also
AutoMerge property, Merge method

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 967

UnPrepare method

UnPrepare method
Applies to
TQuery, TStoredProc component

For stored procedures

Declaration
procedure UnPrepare;
The UnPrepare method notifies the server that the stored procedure will no longer be
needed, allowing the server to release any resources allocated to the stored procedure.

Example
StoredProc1.UnPrepare;

See also
Prepared property, Prepare method

For queries
Declaration
procedure UnPrepare;
The UnPrepare method sets the Prepared property to False. This ensures that the SQL
property will be translated again before the request is submitted to the server. In
addition, the server is notified that it can release any resources allocated for
optimization purposes, since a new request will be sent before (or in conjunction with) a
call to the Open or ExecSQL method.
Preparing a query consumes some database resources, so it is good practice for an
application to unprepare a query once it is done using it. The UnPrepare method
unprepares a query. When you change the text of a query at run time, Delphi
automatically closes and unprepares the query.

968 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

UpCase function
+
Declaration
property UnselectedColor: TColor; +
The UnselectedColor property determines the color of the tabs that aren’t currently
selected in the tab set control.
+
Example
+
This code changes the color of the unselected tabs:
TabSet11.UnselectedColor := clSilver;
+
See also
+
SelectedColor property +
UpCase function System
+
Declaration
+
function UpCase(Ch: Char): Char; +
The UpCase function converts a Ch to uppercase.
Ch is an expression of type Char. Character values not in the range a..z are unaffected.
+
Example
+
uses Dialogs; +
var
s : string; +
+
i : Integer;
begin
{ Get string from TEdit control }
s := Edit1.Text;
for i := 1 to Length(s) do
+
s[i] := UpCase(s[i]);
MessageDlg('Here it is in all uppercase: ' + s, mtInformation, [mbOk], 0);
end;
+
See also
+
StrUpper function U
Update method
Applies to
All controls; TFieldDefs, TIndexDefs objects; TDirectoryListBox, TFileListBox components
The Update method repaints or refreshes a component.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 969

Update method

For directory and file list boxes

Declaration
procedure Update;
The Update method updates and refreshes the directory list for the directory and file list
box controls.

Example
The following sample code sets the directory of DirectoryListBox1 to C:\TEMP when the
form is created. When Button1 is pressed, a subdirectory called MYDIR is added to C:\
TEMP, but note that it is not updated in DirectoryListBox1 until Button2 is pressed and
Update is called.
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MkDir('c:\temp\mydir');
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
DirectoryListBox1.Directory := 'c:\temp';
end;
procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
DirectoryListBox1.Update;
end;

For all controls

Declaration
procedure Update;
The Update method calls the Windows API UpdateWindow function, which processes
any pending paint messages.

Example
When this line of code runs, Windows repaints EditBox1:
Edit1.Update;

See also
Invalidate method, Refresh method

970 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

UpdateCursorPos method
+
For TFieldDefs objects
+
Declaration
procedure Update;
+
Update refreshes the TFieldDef entries in Items to reflect the current state of the fields +
underlying the dataset. It does so without opening the dataset.
+
For TIndexDefs objects
+
Declaration
procedure Update;
+
The Update method will refresh the entries in Items to reflect the current dataset. Use this +
method to obtain index information without opening the dataset.
+
See also
Items property +
UpdateCursorPos method
+
+
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components +
Declaration +
procedure UpdateCursorPos;
UpdateCursorPos sets the current position of the dataset’s underlying BDE cursor to the
+
current cursor position of the dataset. The UpdateCursorPos method is useful if you make
direct calls to the Borland Database Engine. +
See also +
CursorPosChanged method
+
UpdateMode property U
Applies to
TTable, TQuery components (live result sets only)

Declaration
property UpdateMode;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 971

UpdateMode property

The UpdateMode property determines how Delphi will find records being updated in a
SQL database. This property is important in a multi-user environment when users may
retrieve the same records and make conflicting changes to them.
When a user posts an update, Delphi uses the original values in the record to find the
record in the database. This approach is similar to an optimistic locking scheme.
UpdateMode specifies which columns Delphi uses to find the record. In SQL terms,
UpdateMode specifies which columns are included in the WHERE clause of an UPDATE
statement. If Delphi cannot find a record with the original values in the columns
specified (if another user has changed the values in the database), Delphi will not make
the update and will generate an exception.
The UpdateMode property may have the following values:
• WhereAll (the default): Delphi uses every column to find the record being updated.
This is the most restrictive mode.
• WhereKeyOnly: Delphi uses only the key columns to find the record being updated.
This is the least restrictive mode and should be used only if other users will not be
changing the records being updated.
• WhereChanged: Delphi uses key columns and columns that have changed to find the
record being updated.

Example
Consider a COUNTRY table with columns for NAME (the key), CAPITAL, and
CONTINENT. Suppose you and another user simultaneously retrieve a record with the
following values:
• NAME = “Philippines”
• CAPITAL = “Nairobi”
• CONTINENT = “Africa”
Both you and the other user notice that the information in this record is incorrect and
should be changed. Now, suppose the other user changes CONTINENT to “Asia”,
CAPITAL to “Manila”, and posts the change to the database. A few seconds later, you
change NAME to “Kenya” and post your change to the database.
If your application has UpdateMode set to WhereKey on the dataset, Delphi compares the
original value of the key column (NAME = “Philippines”) to the current value in the
database. Since the other user did not change NAME, your update occurs. You think the
record is now [“Kenya”, “Nairobi”, “Africa”] and the other users thinks it is
[“Philippines”, “Asia”, “Manila”]. Unfortunately, it is actually [“Kenya”, “Asia”,
“Manila”], which is still incorrect, even though both you and the other user think you
have corrected the mistake. This problem occurred because you had UpdateMode set to
its least restrictive level, which does not protect against such occurrences.
If your application had UpdateMode set to WhereAll, the Delphi would check all the
columns when you attempt to make your update. Since the other user changed
CAPITAL and CONTINENT, Delphi would not let you make the update. When you
retrieved the record again, you would see the new values entered by the other user and
realize that the mistake had already been corrected.

972 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

UpdateRecord method
+
UpdateRecord method +
Applies to
TTable, TQuery, TStoredProc components +
Declaration +
procedure UpdateRecord; +
The UpdateRecord method notifies each TDataSource component that the current record
is about to be posted to the dataset. Each data source in turn notifies all data controls so
that they can update the fields of the record from the current values displayed in the
+
controls. UpdateRecord is called automatically by Post, but an application can also use it
separately to bring the current record up to date without posting it.
+
+
UpperCase function SysUtils +
Declaration
function UpperCase(const S: string): string;
+
The UpperCase function returns a string containing the same text as S, but with all letters +
converted to uppercase.
+
Example
This example uses a list box and a button on a form. Use the Items property editor in the
Object Inspector to enter a list of strings in the list box. When you run the application
+
and click the button, the strings in the list box become uppercase. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
+
begin
for I := 0 to ListBox1.Items.Count –1 do
+
end;
ListBox1.Items[I] := UpperCase(ListBox1.Items[I]);
+
See also +
AnsiUpperCase function, LowerCase function
+
Val procedure System V
Declaration
procedure Val(S; var V; var Code: Integer);
The Val function converts the string value S to its numeric representation, as if it were
read from a text file with Read.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 973

ValidateEdit method

S is a string-type expression; it must be a sequence of characters that form a signed

whole number. V is an integer-type or real-type variable. Code is a variable of type
Integer.
If the string is invalid, the index of the offending character is stored in Code; otherwise,
Code is set to zero. For a null-terminated string, the error position returned in Code is one
larger than the actual zero-based index of the character in error.
Val performs range checking differently depending upon the state of $R and the type of
the parameter V.

Setting Result
{$R+} An out-of-range value always generates a run-time error.
{$R–} The values for out-of-range vary depending upon the data type of V.

Example
uses Dialogs;
var
I, Code: Integer;
begin
{ Get text from TEdit control }
Val(Edit1.Text, I, Code);
{ Error during conversion to integer? }
if code <> 0 then
MessageDlg('Error at position: ' + IntToStr(Code), mtWarning, [mbOk], 0);
else
Canvas.TextOut(10, 10, 'Value = ' + IntToStr(I));
Readln;
end;

974 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

ValidParentForm function
+
Example
The following code calls ValidateEdit from the default OnExit event handler of DBEdit1. +
procedure TForm1.DBEdit1Exit(Sender: TObject);
begin +
+
ValidateEdit;
end;

See also
EditText property
+
+
ValidParentForm function Forms +
Declaration +
+
function ValidParentForm(Control: TControl): TForm;
The ValidParentForm function returns the form that contains the control specified in the
Control parameter. If the specified control is not on a form, ValidParentForm generates an
EInvalidOperation exception. +
If you prefer that the function return nil when the specified control is not on a form, use
the GetParentForm function. +
Example +
The following code calls ValidParentForm to find the parent form of the
MyForm.MyButton control. If found, that form is shown modally. If not, an exception +
occurs.
procedure TForm1.Button3Click(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
ValidParentForm(MyForm.MyButton).ShowModal; +
+
end;

Value property +
Applies to
TDBLookupCombo, TDBLookupList, TDBRadioGroup, TBCDField, TBooleanField,
+
TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TIntegerField, TSmallintField,
TStringField, TTimeField, TWordField components
+
For database radio groups
V
Declaration
property Value: string;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 975

Value property

The value of the Value property is the current contents of the field for the current record
in the dataset. When the user selects a radio button, the value of the Value property
changes to the value of the Items string for the radio button. The new value of the Value
property becomes the value of the field for the current record in the dataset.
If the ReadOnly property of the database radio group box is True, the user won’t be able
to select a button or change the contents of the field.

Example
The following code concatenates some text to the string in the Value property. When the
user chooses a radio button in DBRadioGroup1, the value of Value is stored in the
corresponding field in the DataSource (if ReadOnly is False). In the OnChange event
handler, a label is updated, indicating to the user that this change has occurred.
procedure TForm1.DBRadioGroup1Change(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := 'Field ' + DBRadioGroup1.DataField + ' has changed to ' +
DBRadioGroup1.Value;
end;

For database lookup combo and list boxes

Declaration
property Value: string;
Run-time only. The value of the Value property is the contents of the DataField for the
current record in the primary dataset. As the user moves through the primary dataset,
the value of the Value property changes.
By explicitly changing the Value property value at run time, you change the contents of
the field.

Example
The following code changes the Value property, and thus, the value of the field in the
connected dataset to ‘Green’.
DBLookupCombo1.Value := ‘Green’;

976 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

property Value: Longint;
ValueChecked property

{TIntegerField, TSmallintField, TWordField}

+
property Value: Double; {TBCDField, TCurrencyField, TFloatField} +
property Value: Boolean;
property Value: TDateTime
{TBooleanField}
{TDateField, TDateTimeField, TTimeField}
+
Run-time only. Value is the actual data in a TField. Use Value to read data directly from +
and write data directly to a TField.
For TBCDField, TCurrencyField, and TFloatField, Value is a Double.
+
For TBooleanField, Value is a Boolean. +
For TDateField, TDateTimeField, and TTimeField, Value is a TDateTime.
For TIntegerField, TSmallintField, and TWordField, Value is a Longint.
+
For TStringField, Value is the string assigned to the field. +
Examples +
StringField1.Value := ‘Delphi’;
DateField1.Value := StrToDateTime(‘02/14/95 00:00:00’);
+
+
ValueChecked property +
Applies to
TDBCheckBox component +
Declaration +
property ValueChecked: string; +
Description
If the value of the ValueChecked property is equal to the data in the field of the current
+
record of the dataset, the database check box is checked.
You also can enter a semicolon-delimited list of items as the value of ValueChecked. If any
+
of the items matches the contents of the field of the current record in the dataset, the
check box is checked. For example, you can specify a ValueChecked string like this:
+
DBCheckBox1.ValueChecked := ‘True;Yes;On’; +
box’s DataField, the check box is checked. The case of the specified strings is not checked. V
If the string True, Yes, or On is the contents of the field specified as the database check

If the contents of the field of the current record matches a string specified as the value of
the ValueUnchecked property, the check box is unchecked. If the contents of the field
matches no string in either ValueChecked or ValueUnchecked, the check box appears gray.
If the DataField of the database check box is a logical field, the check box is always
checked if the contents of the field is True, and it is always unchecked if the contents of

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 977

Values property

the field is False. The values of the ValueChecked and ValueUnchecked properties have no
affect on logical fields.
If the user checks a database check box, the string that is the value of the ValueChecked
property is placed in the database field, as long as the ReadOnly property is False. If the
value is a semicolon-delimited list of items, the first item in the list is inserted as the
contents of the field of the current record.
The default value of ValueChecked is the string ‘True’.

Example
The following code toggles the value of the ValueChecked property of DBCheckBox1 from
‘True’ to ‘False’ or from ‘False’ to ‘True’.
with DBCheckBox1 do
if (ValueChecked = ‘True’) or (ValueChecked = ‘False’) then
if ValueChecked = ‘True’ then ValueChecked := ‘False’
else ValueChecked := ‘True’;

For string and string list objects

Applies to
TStrings, TStringList objects

Declaration
property Values[const Name: string]: string;
The Values property gives you access to a specific string in a list of strings. The strings
must have a unique structure before you can use the Values property array to access
them:
Name=Value
The Name that identifies the string is to the left of the equal sign (=), and the current
Value of the Name identifier is on the right side of the equal sign. There should be no
spaces present before and after the equal sign.
Such strings are commonly found in .INI files. For example, here are a few strings taken
from a DELPHI.INI file:
DisplayGrid=1

978 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

SnapToGrid=1
Values property
+
GridSizeX=8
GridSizeY=8
+
The strings that make up the Params property of a database component (TDatabase) have
the same format. The most common use of the Values property is to modify a string
+
within the Params property array. +
To modify a string in a list of strings that have the required format, identify the string to
modify with the Name constant parameter, which serves as an index into the list of
strings, and assign a new value.
+
Example
+
Assume that a string that identifies the password needed to access a database exists in
the Params string list. You can change the acceptable password using this code:
+
Database1.Params.Values[‘Password’] := ‘TopSecret’; +
If there is no password string, the same code creates one at the bottom of the list of
strings and assigns the ‘TopSecret’ string as its value. +
You can also assign the value of the string to a variable. For example, this code assigns
the current value of the password string to a variable called StringValue:
+
var
StringValue: string;
+
StringValue := Database1.Params.Values[‘Password’]; +
For database radio group boxes +
Applies to
+
TDBRadioGroup component
+
Declaration
property Values: TStrings;
+
Each string in the Items property for a database radio group box places a radio button in
the group box with an accompanying caption. If the contents of a field for the current
+
record is the same as one of the strings in Items, the corresponding radio button is
selected. If the user selects one of the radio group buttons and the ReadOnly property of
+
the database radio group is False, the contents of the field changes to the corresponding
Items string.
+
Often, you might not want the same string that serves as the caption of a radio button to
become the contents of the field. Or, you might want a different value in the data field
V
(other than the caption of a radio button) to select a radio button. In this case, use the
Values property. You can specify a string in the Value property for each string in the
Items list. The first string in Values corresponds to the first string in the Items, and
therefore, the first radio button in the group box.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 979

ValueUnchecked property

For example, suppose you have two strings in the Items property for a database radio
group: Yes and No. If there are no strings in the Values property, the data field must
contain either the value Yes or No to select one of the radio buttons. If the user selects
one of these buttons, the string Yes or No becomes the contents of the data field.
If the data field contains values such as Y or N, rather than Yes or No, you can specify Y
or N as Values strings. This way, the Yes or No radio buttons are selected when a Y or N
value appears in the data field. When the user selects one of the radio buttons, Y or N
becomes the value of the field of the current record.

Example
This example uses a database radio group box connected to field in a dataset. The field
contains the values ‘Y’, ‘N’, or ‘M’. You want the captions of the radio buttons to be
‘Yes’, ‘No’, or ‘Maybe’, so the code adds these three strings to the Items property array.
The actual values that are in the field and that can entered into the field are the ‘Y’, ‘N’,
and ‘M’ strings, so these are added to the Values property array.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with DBRadioGroup1 do
begin
Items.Add('Yes');
Items.Add('No');
Items.Add('Maybe');
Values.Add('Y');
Values.Add('N');
Values.Add('M');
end;
end;
When the code runs, three radio buttons appear in the group box. If the current record
in the dataset contains any of the values contained in the Values property, the
appropriate radio button is checked. When the user selects a radio button, the
corresponding string in the Values property is entered into the field.

See also
ItemIndex property, Items property

ValueUnchecked property
Applies to
TDBCheckBox component

Declaration
property ValueUnchecked: string;
If the value of the ValueUnchecked property is equal to the data in the field of the current
record of the dataset, the database check box is unchecked.

980 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

VersionMajor property

You also can enter a semicolon-delimited list of items as the value of ValueUnchecked. If
+
any of the items matches the contents of the field of the current record in the dataset, the
check box is unchecked. For example, you can specify a ValueUnchecked string like this:
+
DBCheckBox1.ValueUnchecked := ‘False;No;Off’; +
If the string False, No, or Off is the contents of the field specified as the database check
box’s DataField, the check box is unchecked. +
If the contents of the field of the current record matches a string specified as the value of
the ValueChecked property, the check box is checked. If the contents of the field matches
+
no string in either ValueChecked or ValueUnchecked, the check box appears gray.
If the DataField of the database check box is a logical field, the check box is always
+
checked if the contents of the field is True, and it is always unchecked if the contents of
the field is False. The values of the ValueChecked and ValueUnchecked properties have no
+
affect on logical fields.
If the user checks a database check box, the string that is the value of the ValueUnchecked
+
property is placed in the database field, as long as the ReadOnly property is False. If the
value is a semicolon-delimited list of items, the first item in the list is inserted as the
+
contents of the field of the current record.
The default value of ValueUnchecked is the string ‘False’.
+
Example
+
The following code changes ValueUnchecked to ‘NO’. When the value of the linked field
is ‘NO’, DBCheckBox1 is unchecked.
+
DBCheckBox1.ValueUnchecked := ‘NO’; +
See also
ValueChecked property
+
+
VersionMajor property +
Applies to
TReport component
+
Declaration
+
property VersionMajor: Integer; +
Run-time and read only. The value of the VersionMajor property identifies which major
version of ReportSmith you are running. For example, if you are using ReportSmith 2.5, V
the value of VersionMajor is 2. The minor version value is reported in the VersionMinor
property.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 981

VersionMinor property

VersionMinor property
Applies to
TReport component

Declaration
property VersionMajor: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The value of the VersionMinor property identifies which minor
version of ReportSmith you are running. For example, if you are using ReportSmith 2.5,
the value of VersionMinor is 5. The major version value is reported in the VersionMajor
property.

982 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Visible property
+
See also
HorzScrollBar property, Increment property, Position property, Range property, ScrollPos
property, Visible property
+
+
Visible property +
Applies to
All controls; TBCDField, TBlobField, TBooleanField, TBytesField, TControlScrollBar,
+
TCurrencyField, TDateField, TDateTimeField, TFloatField, TForm, TGraphicField,
TIntegerField, TMenuItem, TMemoField, TSmallintField, TStringField, TTimeField,
+
TVarBytesField, TWordField components
+
Declaration
property Visible: Boolean;
+
The Visible property determines whether the component appears onscreen. If Visible is
True, the component appears. If Visible is False, the component is not visible.
+
For controls, calling the Show method makes the control’s Visible property True, but it +
also performs other actions to ensure that the user can see the control.
For field components, the Visible property determines if a field can be displayed in a
+
TDBGrid component. If Visible is False, the field is not displayed.
The default value is True for all components except for forms.
+
Example
+
The following code shows how to make a button invisible: +
Button1.Visible := False;
+
See also
Hide method, HorzScrollBar property, Show method, VertScrollBar property +
VisibleButtons property
+
Applies to
+
TDBNavigator, TMediaPlayer components +
The VisibleButtons property determines which buttons of a component are visible, and
therefore, which operations the user can perform. V
Declaration
property VisibleButtons: TButtonSet;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 983

VisibleButtons property

The VisibleButtons property determines which of the buttons on the media player are
visible. If a button is not made visible with VisibleButtons, it does not appear on the
media player control. By default, all buttons are visible when a media player component
is added to a form.

Button Value Action

Example
The following line of code causes only the Play and Stop buttons of MediaPlayer1 to be
displayed:
MediaPlayer1.VisibleButtons := [btPlay, btStop];

See also
ColoredButtons property, EnabledButtons property

For database navigator controls

Declaration
property VisibleButtons: TButtonSet;
The value of the VisibleButtons property determines which buttons appear on the
database navigator component. By default, all the buttons are visible. By changing the
value of the VisibleButtons set, you can hide some of the buttons, and therefore, prevent
the user from performing certain operations. For example, if you only want the user to
view the records in the dataset, you would include only the nbFirst, nbPrior, nbNext, and
nbLast values in the VisibleButtons set.

Button Value Action

First nbFirst Go to the first record
Prior nbPrior Go to the previous record
Next nbNext Go to the next record
Last nbLast Go to the last record
Insert nbInsert Insert a blank record

984 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

VisibleColCount property
+
Button
Delete
Value
nbDelete
Action
Deletes the current record
+
Edit
Post
nbEdit
nbPost
Permits editing of the current record
Posts the current record
+
Cancel
Refresh
nbCancel
nbRefresh
Cancels the current edit
Refreshes the data in the dataset +
The default value is all of these values in the Options set. +
Example +
The following line of code displays only the Prior and Next buttons of DBNavigator1:
DBNavigator1.VisibleButtons := [nbPrior, nbNext];
+
+
VisibleColCount property
+
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components +
Declaration +
function VisibleColCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The VisibleColCount contains the number of columns, other
+
than fixed or nonscrolling columns, that are fully displayed in the grid. If another
column is partially displayed in the grid, it won’t be part of the count.
+
Example
+
This example uses a draw grid, two labels, and a button on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the number of rows and columns, excluding partial and fixed ones, are
+
reported in the captions of the two labels:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
+
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(DrawGrid1.VisibleRowCount) + ' rows';
+
Label2.Caption := IntToStr(DrawGrid1.VisibleColCount) + ' columns';
end; +
See also +
ColCount property, VisibleRowCount property
V
VisibleRowCount property
Applies to
TDrawGrid, TStringGrid components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 985

VisibleTabs property

Declaration
function VisibleRowCount: Integer;
Run-time and read only. The VisibleRowCount contains the number of rows, other than
fixed or nonscrolling rows, that are fully displayed in the grid. If another row is partially
displayed in the grid, it won’t be part of the count.

Example
This example uses a draw grid, two labels, and a button on a form. When the user clicks
the button, the number of rows and columns, excluding partial and fixed ones, are
reported in the captions of the two labels:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Label1.Caption := IntToStr(DrawGrid1.VisibleRowCount) + ' rows';
Label2.Caption := IntToStr(DrawGrid1.VisibleColCount) + ' columns';
end;

See also
RowCount property, VisibleColCount property

VisibleTabs property
Applies to
TTabSet component

Declaration
property VisibleTabs: Integer;
Read only. The value of the VisibleTabs property contains the number of tabs currently
visible in the tab set control.

Example
This example queries the VisibleTabs property to find out how many tabs are visible in
the tab set control and assigns the number to a variable:
SeeTabs := TabSet11.VisibleTabs;

Wait property
Applies to
TMediaPlayer component

Declaration
property Wait: Boolean;

986 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

WantReturns property

The Wait property determines whether a media control method (Back, Close, Eject, Next,
+
Open, Pause, PauseOnly, Play, Previous, StartRecording, Resume, Rewind, Step, or Stop)
returns control to the application only after it has been completed. Wait is unavailable at
+
design time. +
If Wait is True, the media player component waits until the next media control method
has completed before returning control to the application. If Wait is False, the application
won’t wait for the next media control method to finish before continuing.
+
Wait affects only the next media control method called after setting Wait. You must reset +
Wait to affect any subsequent call to a media control method.
By default, Play and StartRecording function as if Wait is False. You must set Wait to True
+
before calling Play or StartRecording to prevent control from returning to the application
before playing or recording has finished. By default, all other media control methods +
Note
function as if Wait is True.
Usually you would set Wait to False only if the next media control is expected to take a
+
long time, so that your application can execute other code before the media control
method has completed. If you set Wait to False, you might want to set Notify to True so +
the application is notified when the media control method completes.
+
Example
The following code plays a .WAV audio file named NI!.WAV twice. The first call to Play
doesn't return control to the application until the file is done playing. Note that if you
+
remove the line of code that sets wait to true, the sound is only played once. +
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
with MediaPlayer1 do begin
+
FileName := 'ni!.wav';
AutoRewind := True;
+
try
Open; { Open Media Player } +
+
Wait := True; { Waits until sounds is done playing to return }
Play; { Play sound }
Play; { Play again }
finally
Close; { Close media player }
+
end;
end; +
+
end;

WantReturns property +
Applies to
TDBMemo, TMemo components
W
Declaration
property WantReturns: Boolean;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 987

WantTabs property

The WantReturns property determines whether return characters the user enters in the
memo by pressing Enter affect the text in the memo, or go to the form. If WantReturns is
True and the user presses Enter, a return character is entered in the memo. If WantReturns
is False and the user presses Enter, a return is not entered in the memo, but instead goes
to the form. For example, if there is a default button on a form, pressing Enter would
choose the button instead of affecting the memo’s text.
To enter return characters in a memo when WantReturns is False, press Ctrl+Enter.

Example
This example uses a memo and a check box on a form. If the check box is checked, the
user can enter return characters into text entered in the memo. If the check box is
unchecked, return characters aren’t entered into the memo, but go to the form.
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
Memo1.WantReturns := True
else
Memo1.WantReturns := False;
end;

See also
KeyPreview property, WantTabs property, WordWrap property

WantTabs property
Applies to
TDBMemo, TMemo components

Declaration
property WantTabs: Boolean;
The WantTabs property determines if tabs are enabled in a memo control. To enable tabs
in a memo control, set WantTabs to True. To turn tabs off, set WantTabs to False.
Caution If WantTabs is True, the user can’t use the Tab key to select the next control on the form.
The user can tab into a memo control, but can’t tab out.

Example
This example uses a memo and a check box on a form. When the check box is checked,
the user can enter tab characters into the memo’s text. When the check box is unchecked,
the user can’t enter tab characters into the text, but can use the Tab key to move between
the memo and the check box controls.
procedure TForm1.CheckBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
if CheckBox1.Checked then
Memo1.WantTabs := True

988 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

else
WhereX function
+
end;
Memo1.WantTabs := False; +
See also
+
KeyPreview property, TabStop property, WantReturns property, WordWrap property
+
WhereX function WinCrt +
Declaration +
function WhereX: Byte; +
Return value
The WhereX function returns the CP’s X-coordinate of the current cursor location.
+
The returned value is 1-based, and it corresponds to Cursor.X + 1. +
Example +
uses WinCrt;
begin
+
Write('The number in this sentence is in the #');
Writeln(WhereX, ' column in this window.'); +
end;
+
See also
GotoXY procedure, WhereY function +
WhereY function WinCrt
+
Declaration
+
function WhereY: Byte; +
The WhereY function returns the CP’s Y-coordinate of the current cursor location. +
The returned value is 1-based, and it corresponds to Cursor.Y + 1.
+
Example
uses WinCrt; +
begin
Writeln;
W
Writeln;
Write('This sentence is on the #');
Writeln(WhereY, ' line in this window.');
end;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 989

Width property

See also
GoToXY procedure, WhereX function

Width property
Applies to
All controls; TBitmap, TGraphic, TIcon, TMetafile, TPen, TPicture objects; TForm, TScreen
components

Declaration
property Width: Integer;
The Width property determines horizontal size.

For forms and controls

The Width property determines the horizontal size of the control or form in pixels. When
you increase the Width property value, the form or control becomes wider. If you
decrease the value, the form or control becomes narrower.

Example
The following code doubles the width of a button:
Button1.Width := Button1.Width * 2;

See also
ClientWidth property, Height property, SetBounds method

For graphic objects

Declaration
property Width: Integer;
The Width property determines the maximum width of the graphics object in pixels.

Example
To set the pen width to a random value from 1 to 10,
Canvas.Pen.Width := 1 + Random(10);

990 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

WindowMenu property
+
For screen components
+
Declaration
property Width: Integer;
+
Run-time and read only. The Width property is the horizontal size of the screen device in
pixels.
+
Example
+
The following component determines the width of all the forms on the screen and
resizes the ones that are wider than the screen width. To run this code, the integer
+
variable I must be declared.
with Screen do
+
for I := 0 to FormCount-1 do
if Forms[I].Width > Width than Forms[I].Width := Width;
+
See also
+
Height property
+
WindowMenu property +
Applies to +
TForm component
+
Declaration
property WindowMenu: TMenuItem;
+
Most Windows MDI applications contain a Window menu that contains menu items
such as Cascade, Arrange Icons, Tile, and so on that let the user manage the windows in
+
the application. Usually this menu lists (at the bottom) the child windows that are
currently open in the application. When the user selects one of these windows from the
+
menu, the window becomes the active window in the application.
The WindowMenu property determines which menu includes the open child windows
+
(or forms) in your application. Although this menu is commonly called the Window
menu, it can be any name of your choosing. It must be an existing menu item, however,
+
and it should be one of the menu items that appears in the menu bar or the child forms
won’t be included in a menu.
+
Example
+
For this code to run, a menu item called MyWindows must exist on an MDI form parent
form. This line of code designates the MyWindows menu to be the Window menu, the W
menu that lists all open child windows in an MDI application:
WindowMenu := MyWindows;

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 991

WindowOrg typed constant

See also
FormStyle property, TMenuItem component

WindowOrg typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const WindowOrg: TPoint = (X: cw_UseDefault; Y: cw_UseDefault);
The WindowOrg typed constant determines the initial location of the CRT window.
The default location enables Windows to select a suitable location for the CRT window.
You can change the initial location by assigning new values to the x- and y-coordinates
before the CRT window is created.

WindowSize typed constant WinCrt

Declaration
const WindowSize: TPoint = (X: cw_UseDefault; Y: cw_UseDefault);
The WindowSize typed constant determines the initial size of the CRT window.
The default size enables Windows to select a suitable size for the CRT window.
You can change the initial size by assigning new values to the x- and y-coordinates
before the CRT window is created.

WindowState property
Applies to
TForm component

Declaration
property WindowState: TWindowState
The WindowState determines the initial state of the form. These are the possible values:

Value Meaning
wsNormal The form appears neither maximized nor minimized
wsMaximized The form is maximized
wsMinimized The form is minimized

The default value is wsNormal.

992 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

WindowTitle variable
+
Example
The following code responds to the user clicking a button named Shrink by minimizing
the form:
+
procedure TForm1.ShrinkClick(Sender: TObject); +
+
begin
WindowState := wsMinimized;
end;

See also
+
TWindowState type
+
WindowTitle variable WinCrt +
Declaration
+
var WindowTitle: array[0..79] of Char; +
The WindowTitle variable determines the title of the CRT window.
The default value is the full path of the program's .EXE file.
+
You can change the title by storing a new string in WindowTitle before the CRT window
is created.
+
Here is an example: +
StrCopy(WindowTitle, 'Hello World');
+
WordRec SysUtils +
Declaration +
WordRec = record
Lo, Hi: Byte;
+
end;
WordRec declares a utility record that stores the high and low order bytes of the
+
specified variable as type Byte. +
See also
Hi function, Lo function
+
+
WordWrap property W
Applies to
TDBMemo, TDBText, TLabel, TMemo components

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 993

Write method

Declaration
property WordWrap: Boolean;
The WordWrap property determines if text in a label or memo control wraps at the right
margin so that it fits in the control. You can give the user access to the lines which aren’t
visible in a memo control by setting its ScrollBars property to add horizontal, vertical, or
both scrollbars to the memo control. There should be no reason to use a horizontal scroll
bar if WordWrap is True.
The memo control must be tall enough to display at least one line of text to allow the
user to edit its contents, even if WordWrap is True.
The default value is False.

Example
This example allows text a user enters in the Memo1 control to wrap to the next line, if
the control is large enough to hold the text:
Memo1.WordWrap := True;

See also
ScrollBars property, Text property, AutoSize property

Write method
Applies to
TBlobStream object

Declaration
function Write(const Buffer; Count: Longint): Longint; override;
The Write method copies up to Count bytes from Buffer to the current position in the
field. Buffer must have at least Count bytes allocated for it. Write returns the number of
bytes transferred (which may be less than the number requested in Count.) Transfers
which require crossing a selector boundary in the source will be handled correctly.

Example
BlobStream1.Write(Buf, 4096);

See also
TBlobField component, TBytesField component, TVarBytesField component

994 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Write procedure
+
Write procedure System
+
Declaration
Text files:
+
procedure Write( [ var F: Text; ] P1 [,P2,...,Pn ] ); +
Typed files:
procedure Write(F, V1 [V2,...Vn]);
+
The Write procedure writes values to a file. +
F specifies a text file variable, which must be open for output. If F is omitted, the
standard file variable Output is assumed.
+
For text files
+
written to the file. A Write parameter can also contain the specifications of field width, +
Each P is a Write parameter that includes an output expression whose value is to be

and number of decimal places.

Each output expression must be of type Char, Integer, Real, string, packed string, or
+
Boolean.
+
For typed files
Each V is a variable of the same type as the component type of F. +
For each variable written, the current file position is advanced to the next component. +
If the current file position is at the end of the file, the file is expanded.
{$I+} lets you handle run-time errors using exceptions. For more information on
+
handling run-time library exceptions, see Handling RTL Exceptions in the Help system.
If you are using {$I–}, you must use IOResult to check for I/O errors.
+
See also
+
Read procedure, Readln procedure, Writeln procedure +
WriteBool method +
Applies to
+
TIniFile object
+
Declaration
procedure WriteBool(const Section, Ident: string; Value: Boolean);
W
The WriteBool method writes a Boolean value in an .INI file.

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 995

WriteBuf procedure

The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file where the value is written. For
example, the WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section.
The Ident parameter is the name of the identifier for which you want to change the
value. The Value parameter contains the new value.

Example
This example creates an .INI file for a game with two entries in the Options section, and
one entry in the Configuration section.
Before you try this example, you must add IniFiles to the uses clause of your unit.
var
GameIni: TIniFile;
begin
Gamini := TIniFile.Create('FUNGAME.INI');
with GameIni do
begin
WriteBool('Options', 'Sound', True);
WriteInteger('Options', 'Level', 3);
WriteString('Configuration', 'Name', 'Teresa Ace');
Free;
end;
end;

See also
ReadBool method, WriteInteger method, WriteString method

WriteBuf procedure WinCrt

Declaration
procedure WriteBuf(Buffer: PChar; Count: Word);
The WriteBuf procedure writes a block of characters to the CRT window.
Buffer points to the first character in the block. Count contains the number of characters
to write.
If the value of the AutoTracking typed constant is True, the CRT window scrolls if
necessary to ensure that the cursor is visible after writing the block of characters.

Example
uses WinCrt;
var
MyBuffer: PChar;
begin
GetMem(MyBuffer, 80);
MyBuffer := 'This is an example of WriteBuf';
WriteBuf(MyBuffer, 30);

996 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

end;
WriteChar procedure
+
See also
+
AutoTracking typed constant, WriteChar procedure +
WriteChar procedure WinCrt
+
Declaration
+
procedure WriteChar(Ch: Char); +
The WriteChar writes the character Ch to the WinCrt window at the current cursor
position by calling WriteBuf(@Ch, 1). +
Example +
uses WinCrt;
begin
+
Write('ABCDE');
WriteChar('F');
+
end;
+
See also
WriteBuf procedure, Writeln procedure +
+
WriteIn procedure System
+
Declaration
procedure Writeln([ var F: Text; ] P1 [, P2, ...,Pn ] );
+
The Writeln procedure is an extension to the Write procedure, as it is defined for text
files.
+
After executing Write, Writeln writes an end-of-line marker (carriage-return/linefeed) to +
the file. Writeln(F) with no parameters writes an end-of-line marker to the file. (Writeln
with no parameter list corresponds to Writeln(Output).) +
The file must be open for output.
+
Example
uses WinCrt;
+
var
s : string;
W
begin
Write('Enter a line of text: ');
Readln(s);
Writeln('You typed: ',s);

Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 997

WriteInteger method

Writeln('Hit <Enter> to exit');

Readln;
end;

998 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Zoom property
+
Declaration
procedure WriteString(const Section, Ident, Value: string); +
The WriteString method writes a string in an .INI file. +
The Section constant identifies the section of the .INI file where the string is written. For
example, the WIN.INI for Windows contains a [Desktop] section. +
The Ident constant is the name of the identifier for which you want to change the value.
The Value constant holds the new string value. +
Example +
This example creates an .INI file for a game with two entries in the Options section, and
one entry in the Configuration section. +
Before you try this example, you must add IniFiles to the uses clause of your unit.
var
+
GameIni: TIniFile;
begin
+
GameIni := TIniFile.Create('FUNGAME.INI');
GameIni.WriteBool('Options', 'Sound', True); +
+
GameIni.WriteInteger('Options', 'Level', 3);
GameIni.WriteString('Configuration', 'Name', 'Teresa Ace');
GameIni.Free;
end;
+
See also
ReadSection method, ReadString method, WriteBool method, WriteInteger method +
+
Zoom property
+
Applies to
TOLEContainer component +
Declaration +
property Zoom : TZoomFactor
Run-time only. Zoom specifies how much to magnify or shrink the picture of an OLE
+
object within an OLE container. Zoom defaults to z100. Setting Zoom to a different value
causes the picture of the OLE object in the OLE container to be scaled accordingly. If you
+
zoom in to make the picture of the OLE object larger than the OLE container, the extra
portion of the picture will be visually clipped to the size of the OLE container. The OLE
+
object itself won’t be affected, however. These are the possible values:
+
Value
z025
Meaning
Zoom to 25% of OLE object’s original size
+
z050 Zoom to 50% of OLE object’s original size
+
Z
Delphi Visual Component Library Reference 999
Zoom property

Value Meaning
z100 Zoom to 100% of OLE object’s original size
z150 Zoom to 150% of OLE object’s original size
z200 Zoom to 200% of OLE object’s original size

Example
The following code should be attached to the OnClick event handlers of the Zoom In and
Zoom Out buttons. When the ZoomInBtn is clicked, the image in OLEContainer1 is
magnified. When the ZoomOutBtn is clicked, the image in OLEContainer1 is reduced.
procedure TForm1.ZoomInBtnClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
OLEContainer1.Zoom := Succ(OLEContainer1.Zoom)
end;
procedure TForm1.ZoomOutBtnClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
OLEContainer1.Zoom := Pred(OLEContainer1.Zoom)
end;

1000 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Index
Symbols tab set controls 66 ActiveMDIChild property 16
actions See events ActivePage property 17
& (ampersand) in captions 103 activating Add method 17–21
| (pipe) applications 504, 521 See also Insert method
filters 296, 298 batch moves 267 AddChild method 21
hints 383 child forms 490 AddChildObject method 22
– (hyphen) in captions 103 columns in grids 517 AddExitProc procedure 22
components 243, 514, 528 AddFieldDesc method 22
Numerics controls 505, 528, 530, 703
datasets 14, 848
AddIndex method 23
TIndexOptions and 878
3-D controls 163, 592 DDE links 145, 705, 800 AddObject method 23–25
80x86 processors forms 503, 506, 514, 557, 703 AddParam method 25
floating-point exceptions 236 previous 624 AddPassword method 25
testing 838 media players 984 Addr function 26
buttons 62, 244, 787 See also Ofs, Ptr, Seg functions
A navigator buttons 94, 787, 984
notebook pages 17, 549, 900 addresses 26
aaDoubleClick constant 60 OLE objects 14, 36, 60, 400, AddStrings method 26
aaGetFocus constant 60 503, 775 advancing media players 741
aaManual constant 60 pop-up menus 552 AfterCancel event 27
Abort buttons 432, 468 activation constants 60 AfterClose event 28
message boxes 465, 466, 468 activation events AfterDelete event 28
Abort method 11 applications 504, 521 AfterEdit event 28
Abort procedure 11 controls 505, 528, 530 AfterInsert event 29
Aborted property 12 DDE conversations 548 OnNewRecord and 547
AbortOnKeyViol property 12 forms 503, 506, 514, 557 AfterOpen event 29
AbortOnProblem property 13 notebook pages 549 AfterPost event 30
ProblemTableName and 632 OLE objects 503 alBottom constant 31
Abs function 13 pop-up menus 552 alClient constant 31
absolute value 13 active control 317 aliases
Abstract procedure 13 returning 15, 318 application-specific 173, 342
accelerators 103, 846 active form 503, 506 BDE 30, 338, 342
display options 719 returning 16 returning 337
access codes 286 Active property 14–15 AliasName property 30
AfterClose and 28 DriverName and 217
access keys See accelerators
AfterOpen and 29 Align property 31
accessing
BeforeClose and 73 TAlign and 773
data 105, 782, 801
BLOBs 782 BeforeOpen and 75 aligning
grids 137, 673 Close vs. 125 captions 32–34
lookup tables 449, 450 Exclusive and 264 components 31
OLE objects 177 IndexFieldCount and 393 controls 31, 106
parameterized queries 180 IndexFields and 394 data 34
databases 144, 174, 564, 956 LookupField and 449 images on buttons 435, 787
forms 330 Open vs. 564 pop-up menus 33, 918
menus 370, 423, 615 ReadOnly and 644 text 32–34
objects associated with ActiveControl property 15 alignment constants 773
strings 137, 498, 499, 673 See also Default property bitmap buttons 435, 787
printer objects 370 OnActiveControlChange check boxes 33
strings and 505 controls 31, 773
grids 105, 137, 499, 673, OnExit and 531 menus 33
749 ActiveForm property 15 radio buttons 33
group boxes 422 OnActiveFormChange speed buttons 435, 787
lists 422, 978 and 506 text 32

Index 1001
Alignment property 32–34 AppendStr procedure 40 as operator
TAlignment and 773 Application component 773 illegal typecasting 235
TLeftRight and 883 application objects 41 AsBCD property 44
TPopupAlignment and 918 Application variable 41, 773 AsBoolean property 45
alLeft constant 31 applications AssignValue and 56
allocating memory 350 activating 504, 521 ASCII files See text files
components 158, 579 client/server See DDE; OLE AsCurrency property 45
field values 179 applications AsDate property 46
files 157 database See databases AsDateTime property 46–47
objects 159 handles 370 AsFloat property 47–48
queries 342 idle 538, 871 AssignValue and 56
allocating string buffers 744 instantiating 41, 773 AsInteger property 48
AllocMem function 34 main form 452 AssignValue and 56
FreeMem and 34 maximizing 554 Assign method 49–52
AllowAllUp property 34 message boxes and 723, 724 AssignValue and 56
Down and 211 minimized 389, 472, 879 IsNull and 415
AllowGrayed property 35 handling events 544, 554 AssignCrt procedure 52
AllowInPlace property 36 multi-form 367, 624 See also AssignFile, Read,
AllowResize property 36 naming 879 Readln, Write, Writeln
alNone constant 31 quitting 837, 838 procedures
alphabetic characters ReportSmith See ReportSmith Assigned function 53
masks 227 applications AssignField method 53
alphanumeric characters restoring to previous IsNull and 415
masks 227 state 665 AssignFile procedure 54
alphanumeric fields 57, 58 running 674, 937, 943 See also Append, FileClose,
alRight constant 31 handling events 504, 521 Reset, Rewrite procedures
other Windows and
Alt key, testing 946 Delphi 521 assigning objects to
alTop constant 31 terminating 11, 13, 22, 269, Clipboard 49, 58
ampersands (&) in captions 103 270, 368 assigning values 40, 56, 410,
ancestor objects 3, 114 ApplyFilePath method 41 703, 977
ANSI characters 37, 487 applying fonts 847 binary-coded decimals 45
AnsiCompareStr function 37 ApplyRange method 42 Boolean 45
See also AnsiCompareText CancelRange and 96 currency 46
function SetRange and 706 date/time 46, 47, 59
AnsiCompareText function 37 SetRangeEnd and 707 DDE applications 509
See also AnsiCompareStr SetRangeStart and 708 floating-point 47, 48
function integers 48
Arc method 43
AnsiLowerCase function 37 key field searches 305, 362
arcs, drawing 43 lookup tables 208, 449, 450
See also AnsiUpperCase, ArcTan function 43
LowerCase functions maximum 461
See also Cos, Sin functions; minimum 473
AnsiToNative function 37 trigonometric functions
AnsiUpperCase function 38 required 663
arctangent 43 Smallint types 57
See also AnsiLowerCase, arguments See parameters
UpperCase functions SQL statements 54, 56, 180,
ArrangeIcons method 44 182
Append method 38 arranging icons
AfterInsert and 29 dynamic queries 585
minimized forms 44, 872 stored procedures 54, 56, 182
BeforeInsert and 75
arrays string 57, 58
Insert vs. 405
child controls 148 word 59
Post and 619, 620
Clipboard formats 328 AssignPrn procedure 55
Append procedure 39 components 142
See also AssignFile, FileClose, AssignStr procedure 55
field objects 301, 425 See also DisposeStr procedure
Reset, Rewrite procedures list objects 102
appending text 39 AssignValue method 56
objects 499 AssignValues method 56
AppendRecord method 40 queries 587
InsertRecord vs. 410 AsSmallInt property 57
releasing controls 656 associating data with
Post and 620 strings 105, 137 outlines 22, 24, 171

1002 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

associating objects with tab set controls 72, 210 BeginUpdate method 77
strings 23, 397, 408, 498, 499 BackgroundColor property 72 SetUpdateState vs. 712
associating tab sets with DitherBackground and 210 Bevel component 777
notebook pages 958 TColor and 793 specifying shape 714
AsString property 57–58 backspace characters styles 770
AssignValue and 56 DDE applications 324 bevel constants 78, 79, 778, 779
GetData vs. 341 base classes beveled frames 777
SetData vs. 702 graphics 866 beveled lines 777
Text vs. 843 base exception objects beveled panels 78, 79, 80, 779,
AsText property 58 faults 232 914
AsTime property 59 hardware 255 BevelInner property 78
AsWord property 59 math errors 234, 240 TPanelBevel and 914
attaching to databases 127, 564 streams 233, 261 BevelOuter property 79
See also database servers; batAppend constant 477, 775 TPanelBevel and 914
servers batAppendUpdate BevelWidth property 79
dropping connections 217 constant 477, 775 TBevelWidth and 779
login scripts and 448, 541, 886 batch modes 477, 775 biMaximize constant 86
testing connections 144, 426, batch operations 72, 775, 776 biMinimize constant 86
427 converting data 13, 430, 632 binary fields See BLOB fields
attribute flags 374 specifying types 57 binary large objects See BLOBs
See also heap destinations 197, 632 binary-coded decimals See BCD
AutoActivate property 60 trimmed data in 632 biSystemMenu constant 86
OnActivate and 503 integrity (key) violations 12, bitmap buttons 779
TAutoActivate and 775 430 adding glyphs 359, 495
AutoCalcFields property 60 overriding column aligning images 435, 787
OnCalcFields and 508 mappings 452 arranging text and
AutoDisplay property 61 queries 733 images 731
LoadMemo and 445 running 267 Cancel button as 96
LoadPicture and 445 sources 730 closing forms 474
AutoEdit property 61 terminating 12, 13 margins 453
Edit and 225 BatchMove component 776 multiple images 495
AutoEnable property 62 BatchMove method 72 selecting 35, 119
EnabledButtons vs. 245 TBatchMode and 775 specifying default 190
automatically resizing batCopy constant 477, 776 specifying types 431
components 68–70 batDelete constant 477, 775 styles 768, 788
automatically selecting text 67 batUpdate constant 477, 775 bitmap files 81
AutoMerge property 63 BCD fields 45, 776 loading 443
AutoOpen property 64 currency values and 166 Bitmap property 80–81
AutoPopup property 64 decimal points 620, 727 Icon and 389
OnPopup and 552 size, returning 726, 727 Metafile and 470
PopupMenu and 615 string values and 58 BitmapButton component 779
AutoRewind property 65 BCDField component 776 bitmaps 781, 917
Play and 609 BDE See Borland Database See also bitmap buttons;
AutoScroll property 66–67 Engine graphics
AutoSelect property 67 BeforeCancel event 73 adding 443
AutoSize property 67–70 BeforeClose event 73 changing 81, 101
BorderStyle and 88 Active and 14 Clipboard formats 85, 373
Stretch vs. 748 Close and 125 color mapping 584
AutoTracking typed constant 70 BeforeDelete event 74 copying 49, 93
AutoUnload property 70 BeforeEdit event 74 displaying 479
BeforeInsert event 74 drawing surfaces 101
OnNewRecord and 547 fitting to images 748
B BeforeOpen event 75 message boxes 467, 469
Back method 71 AfterClose and 28 painting with 80
Frames and 332 BeforePost event 75 reading 640
Wait and 987 BeginDoc method 76 releasing handles 653, 654
background colors 92, 134 BeginDrag method 76 size, setting 376

Index 1003
specifying type 81, 359 BOLE_MED_MFPICT Bounds function 89
strings and 498 constant 85 BoundsRect property 89
testing existence 241 BOLE_MED_NULL constant 85 boxes 777
testing for changes 477 BOLE_MED_STORAGE Break procedure 90
transparent labels 931 constant 85 See also Continue, Exit, Halt
bkAbort constant 432 BOLE_MED_STREAM procedures
bkAll constant 432 constant 85 Break property 91
bkCancel constant 431 BOLEFormat type 84 TMenuBreak and 894
bkClose constant 432 BOLEMedium and 85 breakpoint interrupts 221
bkCustom constant 431 BOLEMedium type 85 BringToFront method 91
bkHelp constant 431 BOLEMediumCalc and 85 Browse mode 564, 740
bkIgnore constant 432 BOLEMediumCalc function 85 Brush property 92
bkNo constant 431 bookmarks 783 FloodFill and 315
bkOK constant 431 freeing memory 334 FrameRect and 332
bkRetry constant 432 retrieving 360 BrushCopy method 93
bkYes constant 431 setting 339 brushes 92, 785, 866
blank characters Boolean fields 45, 783 bitmaps and 80
masks 228, 231 check boxes and 977 filling rectangles 295, 332
blGlyphBottom constant 435 formatting data 208 flood filling 315, 855
blGlyphLeft constant 435 radio buttons and 976, 979 setting styles 785
blGlyphRight constant 435 string values and 58 styles 764
blGlyphTop constant 435 Boolean types 45 bsAutoDetect constant 768
BLOB fields 781 INI files and 639, 995 bsBDiagonal constant 764
clearing 935 BooleanField component 783 bsBottomLine constant 714
reading from 58, 637, 782 BorderColor property 86 bsBox constant 714
size, returning 726, 727 BorderIcons property 86 bsClear constant 764
streams and 158, 678, 782, 783 TBorderIcons and 784 bsCross constant 764
string values and 58 borderless forms 87 bsDiagCross constant 764
writing to 444, 782 borders 86–88, 785 bsDialog constant 87
BlobField component 781 coloring 135 bsFDiagonal constant 764
BLOBs multicolored 315 bsFrame constant 714
See also BLOB fields border-style constants 87, 88, bsHorizontal constant 764
accessing 782 784, 864 bsLeftLine constant 715
changing 782 BorderStyle property 87–88 bsLowered constant 770
copying 154 TBorderStyle and 784 bsNew constant 768
deleting 171 TFormBorderStyle and 864 bsNone constant 87, 88
displaying 106, 810, 817 BorderWidth property 88 bsRaised constant 770
automatically 61 TBorderWidth and 785 bsRightLine constant 715
loading 445 Borland Assist program 1 bsSingle constant 87, 88
resizing 68 Borland Database Engine 168, bsSizeable constant 87
BlobStream object 782 971 bsSolid constant 764
BlockRead procedure 81 accessing tables 956 bsTopLine constant 714
See also BlockWrite procedure adding fields 23 bsVertical constant 764
blocks aliases 30, 338, 342
exiting 269 bsWin31 constant 768
returning 337 btBack constant 241
text 690, 710 calling 185, 371, 446, 447, 741
BlockWrite procedure 82 btEject constant 241
driver types 217
See also BlockRead procedure returning 343, 344 BtnClick method 94
bmRead constant 158, 783 exception handling 224 btNext constant 241
bmReadWrite constant 158, 783 network control file 487 btPause constant 241
bmWrite constant 158, 783 referencing fields 279, 280 btPlay constant 241
BOF property 84 bounding rectangles 89, 421 btPrev constant 241
BOLE_MED_FILE constant 85 cells in grids 104 btRecord constant 241
BOLE_MED_GDI constant 85 client areas 121 btStep constant 241
BOLE_MED_HGLOBAL clipping 123, 845 btStop constant 241
constant 85 display windows 206 buffers
grids 867 formatting 324

1004 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

I/O 711 bvNone constant 78, 79 TMPDeviceTypes and 898
search key 704 bvRaised constant 78, 79 Capacity property 102
stream 158, 637, 994 byte fields 788, 962 Caption property 102–103
clearing 935 clearing 935 FocusControl and 317
current position, reading from 58, 782 TCaption and 790
resetting 685 size, returning 726, 727 captions 103, 317, 790
text streams and 158, 783 See also labels; text; titles
clearing 315 writing to 782 aligning 32–34
setting 708, 710 bytes message boxes 464
writing to 354, 357, 358 exchanging 771 underlining characters 103
Button component 786 high-order 380 carriage-return characters 988
button type constants 431, 780 moving 481 Clipboard 373
message boxes 465, 466, 468 number occupied 727 DDE applications 324
buttons 779, 786 BytesField component 788 Cascade method 104
Abort 432, 465, 466, 468 cascading forms 104
adding images 902, 948
multiple 495 C case
combo boxes 843
aligning captions 33 caFree constant 515 edit boxes 108, 836
as check boxes 35 caHide constant 515 masks 108, 227
bitmap See bitmap buttons calculated fields 95 search and replace
Cancel 96, 431, 465, 466, 468 handling events 508 operations 570
clicking See click events naming 279 Category property 224
Close 432, 474 Calculated property 95 cbChecked constant 739
coloring 135, 136 calculations cbGrayed constant 739
edit 560 overflow conditions 234, 254
enabling/disabling 983 cbUnchecked constant 739
underflow conditions 261 cdFullOpen constant 566
Find Next 532 caller, testing 333
grouping 928 cdPreventFullOpen constant 566
See also objects CD-ROM drives See media
Help 431 CamelCaps 108
common dialog boxes 566, players
567, 568, 570, 571 caMinimize constant 515 cdShowHelp constant 566
message boxes 466, 468 Cancel buttons 96, 431, 468 CellRect method 104
Ignore 432, 465, 466, 468 message boxes 465, 466, 468 Cells property 105
indexes 420 Cancel method 95 Center property 105
margins 453 AfterCancel and 27 centering images 106
Maximize/Minimize 86 BeforeCancel and 73 centering text 32
media players See media Modified and 479 CF_BITMAP constant 373
players Cancel property 96 CF_METAFILE constant 373
message boxes 464, 466, 468, canceling print jobs 11, 247 CF_OBJECT constant 373
899 testing status 12 CF_PICTURE constant 373
mouse See mouse buttons CancelRange method 96
CF_TEXT constant 373
navigator See database CanClose variable 516
change events 510
navigator CanFocus method 96 data 27, 73, 520, 560, 800
OK 431, 465, 466, 468 CanModify property 97–98 data-aware components 510
push See push buttons RequestLive and 663 DDE applications 509
radio See radio buttons caNone constant 515 fields 510, 850
Replace 553 Canvas property 98–101 graphics 510, 511
resizing 90 canvases 98–101, 789 grids 561
Retry 432, 465, 466, 468 See also drawing tab sets 509
scroll accessing pixels 607 ChangedCount property 106
tab set controls 66, 248 bitmaps and 781 ChangedTableName
selecting 111, 211 color options 134–135, 793 property 106
groups 34, 366 copying images 150, 152, 797
shadows 135 ChangeFileExt function 107
drawing text 845
specifying default 190 ChangeLevelBy method 107
moving pens 483
speed See speed buttons TChangeRange and 790
outer boundaries 123
Buttons property 94 changing
printer objects 100
bvLowered constant 78, 79 See also editing
Capabilities property 101

Index 1005
bitmaps 81, 101 Chord method 112 OnClick and 513
components 510, 700 chords, drawing 112 TNavigateBtn and 900
data 277, 804, 811 Chr function 112 client areas 120, 121, 122
batch moves 72, 106 See also Ord function height 120
BLOBs 782 circles 715 width 122
discarding changes 27, 73, clActiveBorder constant 793 client/server applications 798
95 clActiveCaption constant 793 See also DDE applications;
entire records 97, 110, clAppWorkSpace constant 793 OLE applications
219, 225, 479 ClientHandle property 119
handling events 27, 73, clAqua constant 793
classes 114, 115 ClientHeight property 120
510, 520, 560, 800, 850 GridHeight and 364
placing restrictions 644 graphics 866
not found exceptions 222 ClientOrigin property 120
specific fields 98
directories 109, 565, 826 OLE objects 496 ClientRect property 121
extensions 107, 274 registration exceptions 233 ClientToScreen method 121
graphics 510, 511 returning names 113 ClientWidth property 122
identifiers 222 ClassName method 113 GridWidth and 366
mouse cursor image 523 ClassParent method 114 HorzScrollBar and 387
notebook pages 549, 581, ClassType method 115 clInactiveBorder constant 793
709, 900 clBackground constant 793 clInactiveCaption constant 793
objects 510 clBlack constant 793 clInactiveCaptionText
OLE links 441 clBlue constant 793 constant 793
strings 511, 979 clBtnFace constant 793 Clipboard 792
tab sets 509 clBtnHighlight constant 793 assigning objects 49, 58
tracks 490 clBtnShadow constant 793 clearing 117
character fields 57, 58, 951 clBtnText constant 793 closing 124
characters clCaptionText constant 793 copying text 357, 710
clearing 131 clDkGray constant 793 data-aware components 810
filling 295 Clear method 115–116 formats 85, 175
returning 112 IsNull and 415 clearing 118
strings See strings ClearFields method 117 registering 84, 651
CharCase property 108 returning 325, 328
ClearFormOLEDropFormats testing for 373
TEditCharCase and 836 procedure 118
ChDir procedure 109 handles 338, 700
BOLEFormat and 84 instantiating 123
See also GetDir, MkDir, RmDir RegisterFormAs
procedures opening 124, 562
OLEDropTarget and 651 overwriting contents 562
check boxes 790 clearing pasting objects 84, 340, 596,
3-D controls and 163 characters 131 598
aligning captions 32, 883 Clipboard 117 reading from 328, 338, 596,
buttons as 35 screens 131 700
checking/unchecking 35, stream buffers 935 returning current content 49
111, 739 ClearSelection method 118 as text strings 58
data-aware 803, 977, 980 clFuchsia constant 793 writing to 152, 171, 328, 701
states 739, 791 clGray constant 793 Clipboard object 792
check marks 111, 739 clGrayText constant 793 Clipboard variable 123, 792
Check procedure 110 clGreen constant 793 Clipbrd unit 123, 792
Check property 111 clHighlight constant 793 ClipRect property 123
CheckBox component 790 clHighlightText constant 793 clLime constant 793
CheckBreak typed constant 110 click events 514, 521 clLtGray constant 793
CheckBrowseMode method 110 fonts 507 clMaroon constant 793
CheckEOF typed constant 111 grids 517 clMenu constant 793
child controls 407 media player buttons 512,
counting 147 clMenuText constant 793
552 clNavy constant 793
returning 145, 147, 148 navigator buttons 94, 119, 513
child forms See MDI applications clock 802, 961, 962
notebook pages 900 See also Timer component
child windows 589 simulating 94, 119 conversions 46, 47, 59
choosing See selecting Click method 119 clOlive constant 793

1006 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Close buttons 432, 474 clWindowFrame constant 793 hints 384
close events clWindowText constant 793 media player buttons 136
datasets 28, 73 clYellow constant 793 nonscrolling regions in
DDE conversations 515 cmBlackness constant 150 grids 310
forms 515, 516, 793 CmdLine variable 132 pens 475
Close method 123–125 CmdShow variable 132 RGB values 137, 793
Active vs. 14 cmDstInvert constant 150 selecting 794
AfterClose and 28 cmMergeCopy constant 150 status, retrieving 591
BeforeClose and 73 cmMergePaint constant 150 system 135, 137, 793
CloseQuery and 129 cmNotSrcCopy constant 150 tab set controls 72, 210, 692,
OnClose and 515 cmNotSrcErase constant 151 969
OnCloseQuery and 516 cmPatCopy constant 151 ColorToRGB function 136
Open and 563 cmPatInvert constant 151 Cols property 137
Prepare and 622 cmPatPaint constant 151 column mappings 452
Wait and 987 columns
cmSrcAnd constant 151
Close procedure 125 combo boxes 218, 449, 574,
cmSrcCopy constant 151
See also Append, AssignFile, 816
Reset, Rewrite procedures cmSrcErase constant 151 list boxes 138, 449, 574, 816
CloseApplication method 126 cmSrcInvert constant 151 lookup tables 816
AutoUnload and 71 cmSrcPaint constant 151 menus 91, 894
CloseDatabase method 127 cmWhiteness constant 151 columns in grids See data grids,
OpenDatabase and 565 code 2 string grids; fields
CloseDatasets method 127 access, passing to DOS 286 Columns property 137
CloseDialog method 128 executing 561 ColWidths property 138
CloseFile procedure 128 code segments 161 DefaultColWidth vs. 190
CloseLink method 128 Col property 132 combo boxes 795, 832, 855
OnClose and 515 Row and 671 See also edit boxes; list boxes
CloseQuery method 129 ColCount property 133 activating lists 217, 527
Close and 124 FixedCols and 311 adding items 218, 460
Objects and 499 clearing text 117
CloseReport method 130
Collapse method 133 closing 130, 219
CloseUp method 130
collapsing outline items 133, columns 218, 449, 574, 816
closing 125
Clipboard 124 253, 336 creating drop-down lists 766
combo boxes 130, 219 handling events 518 data-aware 804, 813
databases 125, 127 Collate check boxes 134 display options 816
datasets 14, 125, 127 Collate property 133 setting current values 976
handling events 28, 73 Color common dialog box 794 styles 815
DDE applications 515 color options, setting 135, displaying file names 287,
files 128 170, 794, 798 386, 854
forms 124, 129, 474 opening 266 drawing surfaces 99
handling events 515, 516, specifying behavior 566 file masks and 297, 455
793 color constants 134, 475, 793 owner-draw 420
lookup tables 28 color palettes 584 displaying 766
media players 125 customizing 170, 566, 798 variable styles 542
ReportSmith options 793 returning items 422
applications 126, 130 Color property 134 selecting items 696, 697
clPurple constant 793 FixedColor and 310 getting starting
clRed constant 793 HintColor and 384 position 696
ClrEol procedure 131 ParentColor and 591 selecting text 67, 511, 690
See also ClrScr procedure TColor and 793 setting case 843
ColorDialog component 794 simple 766
ClrScr procedure 131
ColoredButtons property 136 sorting items 729
See also ClrEol procedure
TButtonSet and 787 specifying initial items 840,
clScrollBar constant 793 960
clSilver constant 793 colors 92, 134–135, 607, 793
See also color palettes styles 765, 796
clTeal constant 793 synchronizing with list
clWhite constant 793 brushes 785
fonts 567 boxes 833
clWindow constant 793 testing status 218

Index 1007
ComboBox component 795 copying 701 connecting data-aware
command buttons See buttons; creating 2, 158 components 178, 203, 243
speed buttons data-aware See data-aware connecting tabs to notebook
Command property 139 components pages 958
command-line parameters 132 destroying 158, 197, 333 connecting to databases 127, 564
commands See menu items handling events 522 See also database servers;
Commit method 139 displaying 983 servers
committing transactions 139, 738 enabling/disabling 243 dropping connections 217
isolation levels 930, 962 initializing 158 login scripts and 448, 541, 886
common dialog boxes listed 3 testing connections 144, 426,
See also dialog boxes moving 31 427
3-D controls and 163 naming 485, 796, 879 connection modes 145, 800
closing 128 at run time 222 connection parameters 588
color options 135, 794 nonwindowed 945 ConnectMode property 145
custom 170, 566, 798 objects vs. 2 SetLink and 705
display options 566, 567, 568, overlapping 91, 698 TDataMode and 800
569, 570 owned 142, 158, 406 constants
displaying 436, 619, 904 counting 141 activation, OLE objects 60
finding text 856 parent vs. 579
alignment 773
returning 142
font-selection 860 bitmap buttons 435, 787
specifying owner 579
naming 880 check boxes 33
parent 589, 656
opening files 905 controls 31, 773
referencing 485, 519 menus 33
printer setup 922 registering 651
printing 920 radio buttons 33
exception handling 222 speed buttons 435, 787
options 134, 149 renaming 222, 486
replacing text 932 text 32
repainting 969 arrays 963
saving files 936 resizing 68–70
CompareStr function 140 batch moves 477, 775
returning 301 bevel 78, 79, 778, 779
See also CompareText function saving 677
CompareText function 140 bevel shapes 714
selecting 514 BLOB streams 158, 783
See also CompareStr function sending to back 698
comparing border styles 87, 88, 784, 864
setting boundaries 700 brush styles 764
strings 37, 140, 745, 750, 751, settings See properties
753 button styles 768
testing for 723 button types 431, 780
comparing values Components property 142
database searches 42, 972 message boxes 465, 466,
ComponentCount and 141 468
strings 751 ComponentIndex and 142
component library See Visual case 108, 843
Controls vs. 148 check box states 739
Component Library InsertComponent and 406 Clipboard formats 85, 373
Component palette 2, 4 RemoveComponent and 656 color 134, 475, 793
ComponentCount property 141 Concat function 143 connection modes 145, 800
ComponentIndex property 142 See also Copy, Delete, Insert, copy 150
components 2, 222 Length, Pos functions cursor 169
See also specific component concatenating strings 143, 744, data states 219, 740, 800
activating 514, 528 746, 750 data types 182, 854
adding captions 103, 317, 790 See also strings device
aligning 31 confirmation messages fonts 198, 861
arrays 142 deleting data 144, 574 media players 199
bringing to front 91 ConfirmDelete property 144 display options
changing 510, 700 Connect method 144 combo boxes 574, 766, 770
coloring 134, 793 Connected property 144 common dialog boxes 566,
constructing 2, 158, 197, 333 AliasName and 30 567, 568, 569, 570
container 853 Close and 125 grids 572, 573
activating 14 DatabaseName and 173 list boxes 767
OLE See OLE containers DriverName and 217 lookup tables 574
resizing 70 KeepConnection and 426 outlines 571, 769
controls vs. 5 drag/drop modes 214, 828
Open and 564

1008 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

states 829 active 15, 318 integers 48
duplicate strings 221 aligning 31, 106 logical fields 45
file attributes 294, 855 arrays 148 strings 58, 222
file mode 280 child 407 dates
file names 283, 851 counting 147 file 285
file open mode 281 returning 145, 147, 148 exception handling 222
font styles 765 client areas 120, 121, 122 floating-point
form position 617 height 120 to decimal 312
form states 992 width 122 to string 313
form style 330, 865 coloring 134, 793 to text 314
icons 86, 784 components vs. 5 integer
keyboard states 881 contents, read-only 643 to decimal 413
list boxes 832 destroying 197 to hexadecimal 412
masks 228 disabled, searching for 147 to string 412, 413
media players 493 displaying 66, 380, 436, 904, OEM characters 501
buttons 241, 898 983 real to integer 934
modes 101, 476 dragging and dropping See string
time formats 875 drag and drop to date 759
menu 91, 305, 857 grouping 868 to date/time formats 759
message 466, 468 handles 370 to floating-point 760
mouse image 166, 212 creating 373 to integer 761
mouse-button 897 testing for 371 to time formats 762
outlines 484, 571, 577 labeling 317 text
pen styles 763 listed 5 to floating-point 846
print modes 576 naming 882 Convert dialog box
print ranges 629 nonwindowed 7 Help buttons 149
print scale 630 listed 7 ConvertDlgHelp property 148
scaling graphics 999 objects vs. 2 coordinates 610
scrolling 432, 681, 941 owner-draw See owner-draw grids 694, 867
shape states 715 controls metafiles 391
SQL transactions 972 receiving focus 97, 703 mouse 480
tab set styles 768 repainting 413, 970 screen 680, 918
table type 772 handling events 525, 526, bounding rectangle 89
tile modes 872 542, 543 client areas 120, 121, 122
transaction levels 930 resizing 678, 990 controls 436, 904
constructing saving 677 dialog boxes 436, 904
components 2, 158, 333 scaling 678 Copies property 149
objects 333 selecting 103, 317 copy constants 150
constructors 276 size, setting 376 Copy function 150
contacting Borland 1 stacking 92, 698 See also Concat, Delete, Insert,
containers 853 tab order, setting 958 Length, Pos functions
graphics 363 testing for 15, 318, 351, 723, copying
OLE applications See OLE 975 bitmaps 93
containers three-dimensional 163, 592 components 701
ContainsControl method 145 transparent 931 data 50
windowed 6, 147 BLOB images 154
context-sensitive help See Help
listed 6 Clipboard and 328, 338
systems DDE applications 153
Controls property 148
Continue procedure 146 DDE links 153
Components vs. 142
See also Break, Exit, Halt graphics 49, 150, 152, 797
InsertControl and 407
procedures OLE objects 153
RemoveControl and 656
continuing loops 146 strings 745, 752, 755, 756, 757
conversions
Control menu 86 ANSI characters 37, 487 strings See strings
ControlAtPos method 147 data 843 text 58, 152, 354, 357, 710
ControlCount property 147 batch moves 12, 13, 57, edit boxes 354
controls 430, 632 CopyMode property 150
See also components date/time fields 47 TCopyMode and 797
activating 505, 528, 530, 703 float fields 48 CopyParams method 151

Index 1009
CopyRect method 152 cursors 169 csOwnerDrawFixed
BrushCopy vs. 93 mouse images 166, 212 constant 766
CopyToClipboard method crHSplit constant csOwnerDrawVariable
152–154 cursors 169 constant 766
Cos function 154 mouse images 167, 212 csSimple constant 766
See also ArcTan, Sin functions; crIBeam constant Ctl3D property 162
trigonometric functions cursors 169 ParentCtl3D and 592
cosine 154 mouse images 167, 212 CTL3DV2.DLL 163
Count property 155–156 crMultiDrag constant 169 Ctrl key, testing 946
Capacity vs. 102 crNoDrop constant currency fields 46, 797
counting cursors 169 formatting data 166
child controls 147 mouse images 166, 212 string values and 58
child windows 462 crNone constant 169 currency formatting
columns in grids 133, 985 crSize constant variables 163
components 141 cursors 169 Currency property 166
databases 172 mouse images 167, 212 DisplayFormat vs. 205
datasets 178 crSizeNESW constant CurrencyField component 797
fields 156, 278, 393 cursors 169 current dates/time 182, 494, 874
database searches 428 mouse images 166, 212 current directory
forms 329 crSizeNS constant common dialog boxes 398
index elements 156 cursors 169 list boxes 200, 201, 565
items in lists 155, 689 mouse images 166, 212 current form See active form
outlines items 419 crSizeNWSE constant current printer 353, 627
records 649 cursors 169 specifying 706
batch moves 106, 430, mouse images 166, 212
482, 632, 648 cursor constants 169
crSizeWE constant Cursor property 166–167
rows in grids 672, 986 cursors 169
visible tabs 986 TCursor and 798
mouse images 167, 212 Cursor typed constant 168
crArrow constant CRT window
cursors 169 CursorPosChanged method 168
active title 993 cursors 168, 798
mouse images 166, 212 character cells 576
crCross constant customizing 169
creating 399 databases 168, 971
cursors 169 cursor
mouse images 166, 212 moving 306, 361
automatic tracking 70 specified distance 482
crDefault constant location 70, 168 to first record 309
cursors 169 destroying 211 to last record 434
mouse images 166, 212 end-of-line status 111 to next record 491
crDrag constant inactive state, preventing 211 to previous record 631
cursors 169 inactive title 390 keeping visible 925
mouse images 166, 212 initial size 992 location 70, 131, 168, 169, 362,
Create method 156–158 inputting from51 639 989
Free and 333 location 992 mouse image 166, 167, 212
OnCreate and 519 user termination 110 moving 169, 362
TBlobStreamMode and 783 virtual screen size 576, 680 Cursors property 168
CreateField method 159 crUpArrow constant CursorTo procedure 169
CreateFmt method 262 cursors 169 See also GoToXY procedure
CreateFmtHelp method 262 mouse images 167, 212 CustomColors property 170
CreateForm method 159 crVSplit constant customer assistance 1
CreateHelp method 262 cursors 169 cutting text 171, 195, 328
CreateNew method 160 mouse images 167, 212 See also deleting
CreateParam method 160 CS register 161 CutToClipboard method 171
CreateRes method 262 csDropDown constant 766, 770
CreateResFmt method 262 csDropDownList constant 766,
CreateResFmtHelp method 263 770 D
CreateResHelp method 263 CSeg function 161 data
CreateTable method 161 See also DSeg, SSeg functions accessing 105, 782, 801
crHourglass constant BLOBs 782

1010 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

grids 137, 673 required values 663, 887, activating 517
lookup tables 449, 450 974 counting 133, 278, 985
OLE objects 177 valid characters only 175 current 132, 573
parameterized queries 180 filtering 42, 230, 231, 427, 706, displaying 436, 561, 573,
aligning 34 707, 708 907
changing 277, 804, 811 formatting See data formats headers 869
batch moves 72, 106 incompatible 224 fonts 881
BLOBs 782 moving 648, 931 moving 898, 907
discarding changes 27, 73, printing 55 events 519, 554
95 processing 560 returning 132, 280, 693
entire records 97, 110, protecting 61 setting size 138, 190, 573
219, 225, 479 raw display options 867
handling events 27, 73, returning 341 displaying data 180, 983
510, 520, 560, 800, 850 setting 702 automatically 191
placing restrictions 644 read-only 97, 643, 644 handling events 829, 830,
specific fields 98 records 867
converting 843 deleting 935 options 810
batch moves 12, 13, 57, reading to variables 81 drawing surfaces 100
430, 632 writing from variables 82 editing data 229, 944
date/time fields 47 retrieving 834 handling events 533, 556
float fields 48 searching for 427, 428 options 573
integers 48 key fields and 305, 306, exception handling 236
logical fields 45 361, 704 height 364
strings 58, 222 multiple fields 226 moving through 573
copying 50 ranges 427 nonscrolling regions 310, 311,
BLOB images 154 canceling 96 312, 907
Clipboard and 328, 338 changing 230, 231 coloring 310
DDE applications 153 setting 42, 706, 707, 708 labeling 312
deleting 194, 242 selecting 217 owner-draw
BLOB images 171 simulations 636 handling events 829, 830,
Clipboard and 328 statistics 636 867
confirmation 144, 574 updating 244 painting cells 191, 524, 525,
handling events 28, 74 datasets 243, 971, 973 533, 556
displaying 175, 180, 983 DDE applications 439, 662 handling events 829, 830,
column and row handling events 562 867
format 191, 808, 830 live result sets 972 retrieving text strings 865
datasets 650 validating 317, 416 returning coordinates 867
handling events 829, 830, handling events 562, 850 rows
867 data form 163 counting 986
memo fields 61 displaying 436, 561, 573,
data formats 226
OLE applications 902 907
currency 163, 166
editing moving 898, 907
databases 60, 61, 225, 226 display-only 205, 207, 842
handling events 534, 556, width 366
grids 229, 944 data pointers 800, 830, 850
handling events 29, 74 850
logical fields 208 outlines 342
encryption 636 Data property 171
entering 61, 97 time 189, 246, 325, 762
preferences 345 GetDataItem and 342
automatically 229 data segments 219
check boxes and 977, 980 values 326
combo boxes and 804, 813, data grids 808, 830 data sources
976 borders 88 connecting to datasets 178,
edit boxes and 806 captions 103 203, 243
list boxes and 976 cells editing 61, 225
lookup tables 217, 813 bounding rectangle 104 linking 456, 457
masks and 227, 839 line width 365 lookup tables 450
outlines 22, 24, 171, 342, selecting 573, 943 parameterized queries 180,
408 events 517 923
radio buttons and 820, color options 134 updating 244
976, 979 columns data state constants 219, 740, 800

Index 1011
data transactions login scripts and 448, 541, DataField property 175
committing 139, 738 886 LookupField and 449
isolation levels 930, 962 modes 145 Value and 976
rolling back 669 testing connections 144, DataFormat property 175
data types 426, 427 DataHandle property 177
See also types exception handling 225 DataSet property 177–178
compatible 50 heterogeneous queries 733 OnChangeState and 560
returning 278 opening databases 541, 588 DatasetCount property 178
specifying 54, 181, 182, 854 security 448 datasets 801
batch moves 57 login events 541, 886 accessing data 782
data-aware components 801, 822 password events 916 lookup tables 449, 450
check boxes 803 DatabaseCount property 172 activating 14, 848
checking/ DatabaseError procedure 173 batch operations 776
unchecking 977, 980 DbiError and 185 closing 14, 125, 127
Clipboard 810 DatabaseName property handling events 28, 73
combo boxes 804, 813 173–174 counting 178
display options 816 CreateTable and 161 data states 740, 800
setting current values 976 DeleteTable and 196 displaying data 175, 180, 650
styles 815 EmptyTable and 242 filtering data 42, 230, 231,
connecting 178, 203, 243 GotoCurrent and 360 427, 706, 707, 708
contents, read-only 643 databases indexes 425
database navigator and 819 See also data; fields; records; opening 564
edit boxes 804, 806 tables handling events 29, 75
validating required accessing 144, 174, 564 position indicators 84, 252
characters 974 adding images 445 returning 179
graphics 810 assigning aliases 30, 173, 342 setting current values 976,
handling events 510 checking for nonzero 977, 979
list boxes 811, 815, 816 values 110 specifying 178, 560
display options 816 closing 125, 127 updating data 243, 971, 973
setting current values 976 committing changes 139, 738 Datasets property 179
radio buttons 95, 820 isolation levels 930, 962 DataSize property 179
setting current connecting to See database
contents 976, 979 DataSource component 801
servers DataSource property 180–181
retrieving information 277 counting 172
setting input focus 317 DataType property 181–182
creating 565 AsBCD and 45
transparent labels 931 detail tables
updating 562, 972 AsBoolean and 45
linking to master 456, 457 AsCurrency and 46
Database component 798 discarding changes 27, 95
testing existence 836 AsDate and 46
handling events 73 AsDateTime and 46
database drivers 217, 416 exception handling 173, 185,
returning 343, 344 AsFloat and 47
223 AsInteger and 48
database engine See Borland integrity (key) violations 12, AssignField and 54
Database Engine 430 AsSmallInt and 57
database handles 185, 371 labels, autosizing 69 AsString and 57
database navigator 819 lookup tables See lookup AsTime and 59
buttons 819 tables AsWord and 59
activating 94 maintaining 699 TFieldType and 854
creating help for 385 master tables 456, 457
date fields 801, 802
enabling/disabling 787, moving through 819
984 assigning values 46, 47, 59
naming 174, 955
handling events 513 string values and 58
opening 565, 836
types 245, 900 database servers 541, 588 Date function 182
confirming deletions 144 read-only text 69 See also DateToStr,
Database Parameters Editor 588 referencing 172, 174 DayOfWeek, Now, Time
Database property 172 returning active 172, 174, 302 functions; DecodeDate
database servers rolling back changes 669 procedure
connecting to 127, 564 temporary 836 date/time formatting
dropping connections 217 Databases property 174 variables 163

1012 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DateField component 801 DBMemo component 817 DecodeDate procedure 188
dates 802 DBNavigator component 819 See also DecodeTime
converting 182, 183, 285 DBRadioGroup component 820 procedure
file creation 285 DBText component 822 DecodeTime procedure 189
file modification 285 DDE applications See also DecodeDate
formatting 163, 184, 188, 246, client 823, 824 procedure; EncodeTime,
325, 802 associating items with 185 Time functions
converting to strings 183 connecting to 187 decoding time data 876
decoding 188 updating 841 decrementing variables 188
encoding 246 closing 515 default application 41
masks and 228 handling events 509, 530 default buttons 190
returning 494, 759 poking data 611, 841 default printers 627
current 182, 494 handling events 509, 551 Default property 190
stamping 292 server 825 DefaultBlank constant 228
DateTime types 46, 47, 59 assigning values 509 DefaultColWidth property 190
DateTimeField component 802 connecting to 145, 800, 823 DefaultDrawing property 191
DateTimeToFileDate copying data 153 OnDrawCell and 524
function 182 receiving data 611
OnDrawDataCell and 525
See also FileDateTo DateTime sending macros 267, 268,
530, 886 DefaultExt property 191
function TFileExt and 851
DateTimeToStr function 183 specifying main file 699
updating data 439, 662 DefaultRowHeight property 192
See also Date, DateToStr, Now, RowHeights and 672
StrToDate, Time, TimeToStr DDE conversations 699, 823, 825
exception handling 225 Delete method 193–194
functions AfterDelete and 28
DateTimeToString initiating 145, 548, 566, 800
items, specifying 186, 824, BeforeDelete and 74
procedure 183 Delete procedure 195
See also TDateTime type 825, 841
services, specifying 705 See also Concat, Copy, Insert,
DateToStr function 183 Length, Pos functions
See also Date, DateTimeToStr, terminating 129, 515
topics, specifying 187, 705 DeleteFile function 195
StrToDate, TimeToStr DeleteIndex method 195
functions DDE links 129
activating 145, 705, 800 DeleteTable method 196
DayOfWeek function 184 deleting
See also Date, EncodeDate, character filters 324
copying 153 BLOBs 171
Now, StrToDate, Clipboard contents 117
StrToDateTime functions setting 187, 699
ddeAutomatic constant 145 data 194, 242
dBASE tables Clipboard and 328
accessing 416, 541 DDEClientConv component 823
DDEClientItem component 824 confirmation 144, 574
indexes 273 handling events 28, 74
secondary 395 DDEConv property 185
DDEItem property 186 directories 668
queries 923 files 256
searching for data 230, 231, ddeManual constant 145
images 650, 659
306, 706, 707, 708 DDEServerConv component 825 menu items 193
specifying 772 DDEServerItem component 825 passwords 655, 658
testing for 446 DDEService property 186 secondary indexes 196
DBCheckBox component 803 SetLink and 705 substrings 195
DBComboBox component 804 DDETopic property 187 tables 196
DBEdit component 806 SetLink and 705 text 117, 118, 193–194, 195
DBGrid component 808 deactivating See disabling Clipboard and 117, 171,
DBHandle property 184 deallocating dynamic 328
DbiError procedure 185 objects 276 descendant objects 848
DBImage component 810 debugger interrupts, DescriptionsAvailable
DBListBox component 811 handling 221, 260 method 196
DBLocale property 185 debugging 269 Destination property 197
TLocale and 886 Dec procedure 188 Destroy method 197
DBLookupCombo See also Inc, Pred, Succ OnDestroy and 522
component 813 functions destroying
DBLookupList component 815 decimal numbers 620, 727 components 158, 197, 333

Index 1013
handling events 522 private 631 bounding rectangle 206
controls 197 returning 343 DisplayFormat property 205
objects 197, 333, 499, 652 selecting 690 Currency vs. 166
detaching from servers testing existence 200 DisplayText and 207
database 217 directory list boxes 826 EditFormat and 226
detail tables See also list boxes displaying
linking to master 456, 457 drive combo boxes and 202 bitmaps 479
device constants synchronizing 833 BLOBs 106, 810, 817
fonts 198, 861 file list boxes and 286 automatically 61
media players 199 directory lists 826 columns and rows in
Device property 198 clearing text 117 grids 436, 561, 572, 573, 907
TFontDialogDevice and 861 columns 138 components 983
DeviceID property 198 counting items 689 controls 66, 380, 436, 904, 983
devices current directory data 175, 180, 983
input 400 displaying 201 column and row
output 577 selecting 565 format 191, 808, 830
screen 680 setting 200 datasets 650
DeviceType property 199 current drive 216 handling events 829, 830,
Open and 563 displaying files 286 867
TMPDeviceTypes and 898 filtering 286 memo fields 61
dgAlwaysShowEditor returning paths 348 OLE applications 902
selecting items 691 dialog boxes 436, 619, 904
constant 573
updating 41, 970 directory structures 202, 216
dgAlwaysShowSelection files 851
constant 573 Directory property 200
Drive and 216 combo boxes 287, 386, 854
dgCancelOnExit constant 574 directory lists 286
dgColLines constant 573 DirectoryExists function 200
DirectoryListBox file lists 286, 294, 855
dgColumnResize constant 573 forms 380, 608, 719, 919
dgConfirmDelete constant 574 component 826
DirLabel property 201 specifying position 617
dgEditing constant 573 Help Hints 721, 722
ApplyFileEditText and 41
dgIndicator constant 573 list boxes 411
DirList property 202
dgRowLines constant 573 message boxes 469, 491, 529
ApplyFileEditText and 41
dgRowSelect constant 573 notebook pages 347, 581
DisableControls method 202 online help 379
dgTabs constant 573 EnableControls and 243
dgTitles constant 573 panels 80
disabled controls, searching pictures 68
dialog boxes 862 for 147
See also common dialog boxes pop-up menus 33, 65, 613,
disabling 918
3-D effects 163
components 243 handling events 552
adding buttons 431
drag and drop 214 scroll bars 796
default 190
media player buttons 62, text 69, 859
borders 87
244, 787, 984 automatically 61
history lists 386
input 401, 402 navigator buttons 787, 984 data-aware
messages 464, 465, 468 OLE objects 14, 36, 60, 400, components 817, 822
defining buttons 899 775 edit boxes 68, 381
displaying 469, 491 scroll bars 681 input focus and 381
types 900 disconnecting datasets from lookup tables 68
modal 474 data sources 203 memos 381, 839
opening 724 disconnecting from servers resizeable 869
multi-page 958 database 217 warnings 720
updating file lists 41 disk drive See drive DisplayLabel property 205
dialogs See dialog boxes DiskFree function 203 DisplayName vs. 206
directories See also DiskSize function FieldName and 279
See also directory lists DiskSize function 204 DisplayName property 206
changing 109, 565, 826 See also DiskFree function display-only data formats 205,
creating 321, 473 Display property 204 207, 842
deleting 668 display windows 204 handling events 534, 556, 850
displaying structures 202, 216 See also media players DisplayRect property 206

1014 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

DisplayText property 207 items DropDown method 217
EditMask and 227 combo boxes 525, 542 DropDownCount property 218
GetData vs. 341 grids 191, 524, 525, 533, DropDownWidth property 218
OnGetText and 534 556 DroppedDown property 219
DisplayValue property 208 list boxes 99, 525, 542, 912 dropping See drag and drop
DisplayValues property 208 outlines 99, 420, 525, 911 DS register 219
DisplayWidth property 209 options 571, 577 dsBrowse constant 740
Dispose procedure 209 lines 112, 440, 475
patterns 80 dsCalcFields constant 740
See also FreeMem, GetMem, dsDragEnter constant 829
New procedures polygons 612
polylines 613 dsDragLeave constant 829
DisposeStr procedure 210 dsDragMove constant 829
See also NewStr function rectangles 89, 215, 332, 649
rounded rectangles 670 dsEdit constant 740
DitherBackground property 210 dsEditModes constant 219
text 845
divide-by-zero exceptions 232, DSeg function 219
drawing events
276 grids 524, 525, 533, 556, 829, See also CSeg, SSeg functions
dmAutomatic constant 214 830, 867 dsInactive constant 740
dmManual constant 214 items in lists 525, 542 dsInsert constant 740
documentation, printing list boxes 832 dsSetKey constant 740
conventions 1 tab sets 526, 543, 832 dtAutoSelect constant 199
DoneWinCrt procedure 211 drawing routines 8 dtAVIVideo constant 199
Double types 46, 47, 48 drawing surfaces 789 dtCDAudio constant 199
Down property 211 drawing tools 785, 866, 912, 916 dtDAT constant 199
drag and drop 248 drive dtDigitalVideo constant 199
disabling 214 changing 109 dtMMMovie constant 199
handling events 522, 523, 528, free space 203 dtOther constant 199
828, 829, 837 size, measuring 204 dtOverlay constant 199
initiating 77 drive combo boxes 832 dtScanner constant 199
OLE objects 84, 175, 177, 651, directory list boxes and 202 dtSequencer constant 199
704, 903 synchronizing 833 dtVCR constant 199
setting mouse image 212 file list boxes and 833 dtVideodisc constant 199
specifying behavior 214, 828 volume names 843
status, testing for 213 dtWaveAudio constant 199
drive lists 832 dupAccept constant 221
drag/drop modes 214, 828 clearing text 117
states 829 dupError constant 221
current drive 216 dupIgnore constant 221
DragCursor property 212 selecting items 696
TCursor and 798 duplicate names 222
getting starting duplicate strings 221, 834
Dragging method 212 position 696
DragMode property 213 Duplicates property 221
specifying initial items 840,
BeginDrag and 77 TDuplicates and 834
960
TDragMode and 828 updating 41, 970 Dynamic Data Exchange See
draw grids 830 Drive property 216 DDE
counting rows 672 Text and 840 dynamic variables See variables
returning coordinates 694 DriveComboBox
returning current column component 832 E
and row 480 DriverName property 216
scrolling 681 EAbort object 221
AliasName and 30 EBreakpoint object 221
setting size 192, 672 drivers
Draw method 214 EClassNotFound object 222
databases 217, 343, 344, 416 ecLowerCase constant 108
DrawFocusRect method 215 language 185, 446, 447
DrawGrid component 830 ecNormal constant 108
media control 889
drawing 214, 793 EComponentError object 222
returning current 343, 344
See also painting EConvertError object 222
DropConnections method 217
arcs 43 KeepConnections and 427 ecUpperCase constant 108
chords 112 drop-down lists 217, 218, 219 EDatabaseError object 223
color options 134–135 creating 766, 770 EDBEditError object 224
ellipses 239, 605 events 527 EDBEngineError object 223
geometric shapes 945 EDDEError object 225

Index 1015
edit boxes 795, 834, 887 ApplyRange and 42 enabling See activating
adding items 460 SetRangeEnd vs. 707 ENavClick type 245
borders 88 EditRangeStart method 230 TNavigateBtn and 900
copying text 354 ApplyRange and 42 EncodeDate function 246
data-aware 804, 806 SetRangeStart vs. 708 See also DateToStr,
validating required EditText property 231 EncodeTime functions;
characters 974 Text and 839 DecodeDate procedure
deleting items 117, 118, 171 ValidateEdit and 974 EncodeTime function 246
displaying items 381 EDivByZero object 231 See also DecodeTime
editing text 231 EFault object 232 procedure; EncodeDate
file lists and 41 EFCreateError object 232 function
hiding characters 595 EFilerError object 232 encoding time data 876
multiline 891 EFOpenError object 233 encryption 636
naming 839 EGPFault object 233 See also passwords
passwords and 595 EInOutError object 233 EndDoc method 247
resizing 68 EIntError object 234 BeginDoc and 76
restricting data entry EIntOverflow object 234 EndDrag method 248
valid characters only 175 EndMargin property 248
selecting text 67, 690, 696, 697 EInvalidCast object 235
EInvalidGraphic object 235 StartMarging and 736
getting starting
EInvalidGraphicOperation end-of-file status 251
position 696
setting case 108, 836 object 235 end-of-line status 111, 252, 687
testing for changes 478 EInvalidGridOperation EndPage property 249
edit buttons 560 object 236 EndPos property 249
Edit component 834 EInvalidImage object 236 AutoRewind and 65
Edit method 225 EInvalidOp object 236 Play and 609
AfterEdit and 29 EInvalidOpCode object 236 TimeFormat and 875
AutoEdit and 61 EInvalidOperation object 237 EndUpdate method 250
BeforeEdit and 74 EInvalidPointer object 237 SetUpdateState vs. 713
SetFields and 703 Eject method 237 Eof function 251
Edit mode 61, 225, 740 Wait and 987 See also Eoln, SeekEof
grids 229 ejecting loaded medium 237 functions
retrieving text strings 865 elephants and marshmallows EOF property 252
EditFormat property 226 See Pat Z Eoln function 252
Currency vs. 166 EListError object 238 See also Eof, SeekEof functions
editing Ellipse method 239 EOutlineChange type 253
See also changing ellipses 239, 605, 715 EOutlineError object 253
data connecting points 112 EOutOfMemory object 253
databases 60, 61, 225, 226 filling 785 EOutOfResources object 253
grids 229, 944 EMathError object 240 EOverflow object 254
events 533, 556 embedded OLE objects 902 EPageFault object 254
options 572, 573 EMCIDeviceError object 240 EParserError object 254
handling events 29, 74 EMenuError object 240 EPrinter object 255
strings 229, 944 EMPNotify type 240 EProcessorException object 255
handling events 533, 556 ERangeError object 255
text EMPPostNotify type 241
Empty property 241 Erase procedure 256
edit boxes 231 See also Rename procedure
list boxes 282 empty strings 242, 495, 843
EmptyStr constant 242 EraseSection method 257
masks 231 erasing files 195, 256
EditKey method 226 EmptyTable method 242
EnableControls method 242 erasing images 650
GotoKey and 361 EReadError object 258
GotoNearest and 361 DisableControls and 203
Enabled property 243–244 EReportError object 258
SetKey vs. 704
EnabledButtons property 244 EResNotFound object 258
EditMask property 227
EditMaskPtr and 229 AutoEnable vs. 62 error codes
TButtonSet and 787 media players 258, 259
EditMaskPtr property 229
EnableExceptionHandler error messages
EditorMode property 229
procedure 245 creating 173, 185, 262
EditRangeEnd method 230

1016 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

media players 259 closing datasets 73 timer 561
message boxes and 466, 468 creating forms 519 initiating 412
Error property 258 deleting records 28, 74 responding to 243
ErrorAddr variable 259 display-only formats 534, updating data 562
See also ExitCode, ExitProc 556, 850 validating data 562, 850
variables drag-and-drop 77, 248, 522, EWriteError object 261
ErrorCode property 224 523, 528, 828, 829, 837 ExceptAddr function 276
ErrorCount property 224 clearing formats and 118 Exception object 262
ErrorMessage property 259 disabling 214 exception objects 275, 276
ErrorProc typed constant 260 OLE objects 84, 903 ExceptionClass typed
errors 372 retrieving status 213 constant 269
See also exceptions setting mouse image 212 exceptions 262, 275, 276, 577
heap 374 drawing addresses 720
input/output 233 grids 524, 525, 533, 556, classes
829, 830, 867 not found 222
media players 258, 259 items in lists 525, 542
run-time 675 registering 233
list boxes 832 creating files 232
Abstract and 13 tab sets 526, 543, 832
addresses 259, 374 database engine (BDE) 224
drop-down lists 527
handlers 260, 375 databases 173, 185, 223
editing data 29, 74
Errors property 224 DDE conversations 225
exceptions 529, 839
ESingleStep object 260 displaying messages 720
hiding forms 534
EStackFault object 260 enabling standard
inserting records 29, 75, 547
EStreamError object 261 processing 245
keyboard 539, 540, 881, 882
EStringListError object 261 faults 260
determining state 946 base object 232
EUnderflow object 261 processing 429
event handlers 333 general protection 233
responding to 243 invalid opcodes 236
events 2, 7 scrolling forms 941
page 254
activation login scripts 541, 886
applications 504, 521 floating-point 222, 236, 240,
minimizing applications 544,
controls 505, 528, 530 254, 261, 276
554
DDE conversations 548 graphics 235
mouse 544, 545, 546, 897, 946 resources and 236, 258
forms 503, 506, 514, 557 responding to 243
notebook pages 549 grids 236
returning coordinates 480
OLE objects 503 simulating 94, 119 handling 372
pop-up menus 552 moving columns and handling events 529, 839
applying fonts 847 rows 519, 554 hardware 245, 260
calculated fields 508 base object 255
notification 800, 850, 901
change 510 interrupts 221, 260
DDE applications 530, 551 memory 233
data 27, 73, 520, 560, 800 idle applications 538, 871
data-aware stack 260
media players 492, 493, swap files 254
components 510 547
DDE applications 509 undefined
OLE applications 560
fields 510, 850 instructions 236
online help 536
graphics 510, 511 Windows messages 543 heap 253
grids 561 opening datasets 29, 75 hiding error messages 11
tab sets 509 outlines 518, 531 input/output 233
click 514, 521 paint 549 invalid operations 237, 254,
fonts 507 passwords 352, 551 535
grids 517 pointers 800 language 245
media player buttons 512, posting records 30, 75 lists 238, 261
552 requesting online help 870 masks 224
navigator buttons 94, 119, resizing math 222
513 forms 554 base object 234, 240
notebook pages 900 headers 559 divide-by-zero 232, 276
close overflow 234, 254
scrolling 555
datasets 28, 73 range errors 255
search and replace undefined
DDE conversations 515 operations 532, 553
forms 515, 516, 793 instructions 236

Index 1017
underflow 261 Exp function 271 field objects 853
media players 240, 258, 259 See also Ln function creating 17, 23, 159
menus 240 Expand method 271 sets 49
opening files 233 Expanded property 272 pointers 425
outlines 253 Collapse and 133 returning 301
pointers 237 FullCollapse and 336 subsets 853
printing 255 FullExpand and 336 clearing 116
reporting 269 OnCollapse and 518 testing for 277
reports 258 OnExpand and 531 Field property 277
silent 11, 221 ExpandFileName function 273 FieldByName method 277
streams 233, 258, 262 expanding outline items 253, FieldClass property 277
base object 261 272, 273, 336, 417 FieldCount property 278
system resources 253, 254 handling events 531 FieldDefs property 278
text forms 254 exponentials CreateTable and 161
typecasting 235 See Exp function FieldName property 279
unhandled 269 Expression property 273 DisplayLabel and 206
ExceptObject function 275 ExtendedSelect property 274 DisplayName vs. 206
ExceptProc typed constant 269 ExtractFileExt function 274 FieldNo property 279–280
Exchange method 263 ExtractFileName function 274 fields 848
exchanging bytes 771 ExtractFilePath function 275 See also field objects; specific
Exclude procedure 263 EZeroDivide object 276 types
See also Include procedure allocating memory 179
Exclusive property 264 assigning values 40, 56, 410,
DeleteIndex and 196 F 703, 977
EmptyTable and 242 Fail procedure 276 Boolean 45
ExecProc method 265 See also New procedure date/time 47
Open vs. 564 faults floating-point 48
ExecSQL method 265 base exception object 232 integers 48
Open vs. 564 general protection 233 maximum 461
SQL and 733 invalid opcodes 236 minimum 473
executable files 268 page 254 required 663
message boxes and 466, 468 stack 260 string 58
Execute method 265–267 batch moves 452
fdAnsiOnly constant 567
Font and 320 calculated 95
fdBoth constant 198 handling events 508
ProblemTableName and 632 fdEffects constant 567
ExecuteMacro method 267 naming 279
fdFixedPitchOnly constant 567 changing data 98, 510, 800,
OnExecuteMacro and 530 fdForceFontExist constant 567
PokeData and 611 850
fdLimitSize constant 567 combo boxes and 804
PokeDataLines and 612 fdNoFaceSel constant 567 list boxes and 811
ExecuteMacroLines method 268 fdNoOEMFonts constant 567 combo boxes and
PokeData and 611 fdNoSimulations constant 567 multiple 218, 449, 574
PokeDataLines and 612 fdNoSizeSel constant 567 comparing values 42
ExeName property 268 fdNoStyleSel constant 567 copying contents 50
Exit procedure 269 fdNoVectorFonts constant 567 counting 156, 278, 393
See also Halt procedure database searches 428
fdPrinter constant 198
exit procedures displaying 983
fdScalableOnly constant 567
adding 22 indexes 280, 304, 393, 397, 415
calling 270 fdScreen constant 198
fdShowHelp constant 567 returning values 693
chaining 270 key 393, 428
installing 270 fdTrueTypeOnly constant 568
fdWysiwyg constant 568 searching on 305, 306
ExitCode variable 270 masks and 227, 839
See also ErrorAddr, ExitProc Field component 848
descendant objects 848 naming 487
variables null 42
ExitProc variable 270 Field Link Designer 456
specifying 116
See also ErrorAddr, ExitCode field names 206, 279 testing for 416
variables See also headers numbering 280
far calls and 270 returning 206 raw data

1018 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

returning 341 dynamically 658 current position 685
setting 702 extracting 274 deleting 256
read-only 644, 822 invalid 232 displaying 851
referencing 279, 487 returning 356 combo boxes 287, 854
reordering 393 graphics files 363 directory lists 286
restoring default values 117 specifying 283, 287–289, 854 file lists 286, 294, 855
retrieving information 278, combo boxes 298, 386, 455 end 251, 686
301, 425 default extensions 191, erasing 195, 256
returning 277, 302, 344 851 executable 268
specific 280, 693 list boxes 296, 364, 456 message boxes and 466,
searching for multiple 226 file objects 468
setting current contents 976, creating 157 existence, testing 284
977, 979 erasing sections 257 extensions 273–275
size file open mode constants 281 extracting 274
returning 726 file streams 233 extensions, changing 107
setting 209, 727 FileAge function 281 filtering 296, 298, 364, 455,
types FileClose procedure 282 456
compatible 50 FileCreate function 282 specifying default
returning 278 FileDateToDateTime filter 299
specifying 54, 181, 182, function 285 graphic See graphic files
854 See also DateTimeToFileDate line ends 252
validating 317, 416 function modification date 285
Fields Editor 848 FileEdit property 282 number of records 293
Fields property 280 ApplyFileEditText and 41 opening 41, 280, 281, 287,
FindField vs. 302 664, 905
FileEditStyle property 283
Index and 393 exception handling 233
HistoryList and 386
SelectedIndex and 693 paths
TFileEditStyle and 851 extracting 275
Text vs. 839 FileExists function 284
file attribute constants 294, 855 specifying 273
FileGetAttr function 285 positions within 289
file list boxes 286, 851 See also FileSetAttr function
See also list boxes printing 55
FileGetDate function 285 reading bytes 290
drive combo boxes and 833
FileList property 286 renaming 658, 659
file lists 851 ApplyFileEditText and 41
adding glyphs 720 extensions 107, 274
FileListBox component 851 saving 287, 936
clearing text 117
counting items 689 FileMode variable 286 searching 291, 303, 307, 942
current directory 200 See also Rewrite procedure seeking 291
current drive 216 file-name extensions See file selecting in lists 288, 290
displaying files 286, 294, 855 names file masks and 296, 297,
editing 282 FileName property 287–289 299, 364, 455, 456
filtering 41, 286 Files and 290 sharing 281
selecting files 288, 290 TFileName and 854 size 293
file masks and 296, 297, FilePos function 289 swap 254
299, 364, 455, 456 See also FileSize function; text See text files
selecting items 691 Seek procedure typed 854
updating 41, 970 FileRead function 290 untyped 854
wildcard characters and 296, Handle and 290 Files property 290
297, 298 files 125 FileSearch function 291
file masks 296–299, 456 See also file objects FileSeek function 291
file mode constants 280 age 281 FileSetAttr function 292
File Name combo boxes 283 allocating memory 157 See also FileGetAttr function
displaying file names 386 applying filters 41, 286 FileSetDate procedure 292
File Name edit boxes 287 attributes 285, 292 See also FileGetDate function
adding file names 296 closing 125, 128, 280, 282 FileSize function 293
default extensions 191, 851 converting dates 285 See also FilePos function
file names 501 creating 282, 667 FileType property 294
associating variables 54 exception handling 232 TFileType and 855
changing 659 creation date 285 FileWrite function 294

Index 1019
See also FleRead, FileSeek TFindItemKind and 857 selected text and 381
functions FindKey method 305 setting 703
fill patterns 92, 785 SetKey and 704 testing 97
brushes 764 FindNearest method 306 FocusControl method 317
pens 763 KeyExclusive and 427 FocusControl property 317
specifying 785 SetKey and 704 Focused method 318
FillChar procedure 295 FindNext function 307 Font common dialog box 860
See also Move procedure See also FindFirst function display options 861
filling bytes 295 FindText property 307 handling events 507, 847
FillRect method 295 ReplaceText and 660 limiting font size 459, 471
filter combo boxes 286, 855 First method 308–309 opening 266
file list boxes and 286 Post and 619 selecting fonts 319
file masks and 297, 455 FirstIndex property 309 setting default font 319
specifying initial items 840 FixedColor property 310 specifying behavior 567
Filter property 296–299 FixedCols property 311 specifying device 198, 861
FilterIndex and 299 FixedRows property 312 Font property 319–320
GraphicFilter and 364 fixed-width fonts 606 ParentFont and 593
Text and 840 fkCommand constant 305 FontDialog component 860
FilterComboBox component 855 fkHandle constant 305 fonts 319–320, 859, 860, 866
FilterIndex property 299 fkShortCut constant 305 applying 507, 847
filters 855 float fields 857 character widths 606
See also masks currency values and 166 color options 567
applying 41, 286 string values and 58 default 319
clearing text 117 FloatField component 857 headers 881
combo boxes 298 floating-point math naming 486, 861
data 42, 230, 231, 427, 706, exceptions 222, 254, 261, 276 pitch 606, 862
707, 708 base object 240 screen 320, 568
DDE applications 324 invalid opcodes 236 selecting 319, 567
displaying files 286 size
floating-point values 47, 48, 776,
list boxes 296–297 changing 68, 69
857 checking 844, 847
selecting text 690, 696, 697 conversions
getting starting setting 376, 459, 471, 609,
exception handling 222 726, 862
position 696 overflow conditions 254
specifying default 299 status, retrieving 593
underflow conditions 261 styles 765, 862
Find common dialog box 856 FloatToDecimal procedure 312
accessing 370 TrueType 320, 568
FloatToStr function 313 Fonts property 320
adding search strings 308
closing 128 FloatToStrF function 313 for statements
display options 857 FloatToText function 314 continuing 146
displaying 436, 619, 904 Currency and 166 exiting 90
Find Next button 532 FloatToTextFmt function 315 ForceDirectories procedure 321
opening 266 Currency and 166 Form component 862
specifying behavior 570 DisplayText and 207 form objects
Find method 300–301 FloodFill method 315 destroying 652
find sequences 301, 303, 307, 942 TFillStyle and 855 form properties See properties
FindClose procedure 301 Flush procedure 315 Format function 321
See also FindFirst, FindNext See also ShowerScald format specifiers 322–324
functions procedure format strings See strings
FindComponent method 301 FmtLoadStr function 316 format
FindDatabase method 302 See also Format funciton FormatBuf function 324
OpenDatabase and 565 FmtStr procedure 316 FormatChars property 324
FindDialog component 856 focus 215 FormatCount property 324
FindField method 302 active control 15, 317, 318
FormatDateTime functon 325
current form 16
FindFirst function 303 FormatFloat function 326
data-aware components 317
See also FindNext function Formats property 328
grids 132
FindIndexForFields method 304 moving 958 FormatCount and 325
FindItem method 304 handling events 505, 530 HasFormat and 373

1020 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

formatting data See data formats usable area 120 fsNormal constant 330
FormCount property 329 Forms property 329 fsStayOnTop constant 330
forms 862 FormStyle property 330 fsStrikeout constant 765
accessing 330 TFormStyle and 865 fsUnderline constant 765
activating 503, 506, 514, 557, fpDefault constant 606 ftArchive constant 294
703 fpFixed constant 606 ftBCD constant 854
previous 624 fpVariable constant 606 ftBlob constant 854
active 16, 503, 506 Frac function 331 ftBoolean constant 854
backgrounds 92, 134 See also Int function ftBytes constant 854
borders 87, 864 fractional parts 331 ftCurrency constant 854
bringing to front 91 FrameRect method 331 ftDate constant 854
child See MDI applications frames 777 ftDateTime constant 854
client areas 120, 121, 122 See also borders ftDirectory constant 294
height 120 Frames property 332
width 122 ftFloat constant 854
Step and 741 ftGraphic constant 854
closing 124, 129, 474 frDisableMatchCase
handling events 515, 516, ftHidden constant 294
constant 570 ftInteger constant 854
793
counting 329 frDisableUpDown constant 570 ftMemo constant 854
creating 160 frDisableWholeWord ftNormal constant 294
handling events 519 constant 570 ftReadOnly constant 294
displaying 380, 608, 719, 919 frDown constant 570 ftSmallint constant 854
specifying position 617 Free method 333 ftString constant 854
exception handling 254 OnDestroy and 522 ftSystem constant 294
hiding 515, 534 Release vs. 652 ftTime constant 854
icons 388 Temporary and 836 ftUnknown constant 854
arranging 44, 872 Free procedure 333 ftVarBytes constant 854
labeling 103 FreeBookmark method 334 ftVolumeID constant 294
title bars 86, 784 GetBookmark and 339 ftWord constant 854
initial states, setting 964, 992 GotoBookmark and 360 FullCollapse method 336
instantiating 160 TBookmark and 783 OnCollapse and 518
main 452 freeing memory 197, 333, 334, FullExpand method 336
menus 463 522, 652 OnExpand and 531
minimized 515, 992 bookmarks 334 FullPath property 337
captions 103 closing forms 515 ItemSeparator and 426
modal 474 OLE objects 653
opening 724 functions 7–8
owned components 579
terminating 896 freeing resources 116
multiple 367 FreeMem procedure 334 G
moving through 624 See also Dispose, GetMem,
naming 103 GDI font simulations 567
New procedures general protection faults 233
overlapping 44, 91, 698 frFindNext constant 571
painting 99, 549 geometric shapes See shape
frHideMatchCase constant 571 components
printing 346, 625 frHideUpDown constant 571
scaling options 630 GetAliasNames method 337
frHideWholeWord constant 571 GetAliasParams method 338
resizing 31, 86, 679, 990
handling events 554 frMatchCase constant 571 GetAsHandle method 338
scaling 679 FromPage property 335 GetBookmark method 339
scrolling 66, 681, 682, 938 frReplace constant 571 FreeBookmark and 334
handling events 941 frReplaceAll constant 571 TBookmark and 783
horizontal scroll bars frShowHelp constant 571 GetComponent method 339
and 387 frWholeWord constant 571 GetData method 340–341
vertical scroll bars and 982 fsBold constant 765 GetDataSize and 342
sending to back 698 fsComboBox constant 283 GetDatabaseNames method 341
setting main 330, 865 fsEdit constant 283 GetDataItem method 342
size, setting 376, 617 fsItalic constant 765 GetDataSize method 342
styles 330, 865 fsMDIChild constant 330 GetData and 341
topmost 491, 666 fsMDIForm constant 330 GetDir procedure 343

Index 1021
See also ChDir function; goRangeSelect constant 572 specifying type 363
MkDir, RmDir procedures goRowMoving constant 572 testing existence 241
GetDriverNames method 343 goRowSelect constant 573 testing for changes 477
GetDriverParams method 344 goRowSizing constant 572 graphics tools 866
GetFieldNames method 344 goTabs constant 573 Graphics unit 793
GetFirstChild method 345 goThumbTracking constant 573 GridHeight property 364
GetFormatSettings GotoBookmark method 360 GridLineWidth property 365
procedure 345 FreeBookmark and 334 grids See data grids; draw grids;
GetFormImage method 345 TBookmark and 783 string grids
GetHelpContext method 346 GotoCurrent method 360 GridWidth property 365
GetIndexForPage method 346 GotoKey method 361 group boxes 868
GetIndexNames method 347 SetKey and 704 See also radio group boxes
GetItem method 348 GotoNearest method 361 GroupBox component 868
GetItemPath method 348 KeyExclusive and 427 GroupIndex property 366–368
GetLastChild method 349 SetKey and 704 grouping buttons 366, 928
GetLongHint function 349 GoToXY procedure 362 grouping menu items 367
GetMem procedure 350 See also CursorTo, WhereX, grouping related controls 868
See also Dispose, FreeMem, WhereY procedures
New procedures goVertLine constant 572
GPFs 233
H
GetNextChild method 351
GetParentForm function 351 graphic fields 866 Halt procedure 368
ValidParentForm vs. 975 associating with streams 678 See also Exit, RunError
GetPassword method 352 size, returning 726, 727 procedures
GetPrevChild method 352 streams and 678 Handle property 369–371
GetPrinter method 353 string values and 58 CursorPosChanged and 168
GetProfileChar function 353 writing to 444 HandleAllocated method 371
GetProfileStr function 353 graphic files HandleException method 372
GetResults method 353 filtering 364 OnException and 529
GetSelTextBuf method 354 loading 443, 444, 445, 640 HandleNeeded method 372
GetShortHint function 355 BLOBs 445 handles 369–371
invalid access 235, 236 bitmaps 653, 654
GetStoredProcNames
returning 363 Clipboard 338, 700
method 355
Graphic property 362 creating 373
GetTableNames method 356 GraphicExtension function 363 data access 177
GetText method 356 databases 185, 371
GraphicField component 866
GetTextBuf method 357 instance 382
GraphicFilter function 363
GetTextLen and 358 invalid operations 237, 254,
graphics 781, 865, 870, 873, 895,
GetTextItem method 357 535
917
GetTextLen method 358 MDI applications 120
See also images; pictures
GetTextBuf and 357 reports 661
adding 443
Glyph property 358 buttons and 902, 948 testing for 371
glyphs changing 510, 511 hardware exceptions 260
See also bitmaps Clipboard formats 373 base object 255
buttons 359 coloring 92, 793 interrupts 221, 260
returning 495 copying 49 memory 233
list boxes and 720 data-aware 810 stack 260
message boxes 467, 469 drawing 214 swap files 254
goAlwaysShowEditor exception handling 235 undefined instructions 236
constant 572 resources and 236, 258 HasFormat method 373
goColMoving constant 572 handles 369 HasItems property 374
goColSizing constant 572 painting backgrounds 764 Header component 869
goDrawFocusSelected pasting 596 header pages (networks) 880
constant 572 pictures vs. 865 headers 869
goEditing constant 572 resizing 748 borders 88
goFixedHorzLine constant 572 scaling 966, 999 fonts 881
goFixedVertLine constant 572 size 990 multi-line 684
goHorzLine constant 572 setting 376 resizing 36, 943

1022 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

handling events 559 heterogeneous queries 733 size, setting 376
specifying sections 684 Hi function 380 testing existence 241
heap See also Lo, Swap functions testing for changes 477
allocating 34, 374 Hide method 380 title bars 86, 784
attribute flags 374 HideSelection property 381 IDABORT constant 465
blocks hiding components 983 IDCANCEL constant 465
free 458 hiding controls 380 identifiers
size 374 hiding forms 380, 515, 534 See also names
deallocating 374 High function 381 changing at run time 222
disposing strings 746 See also Low function classes 113
errors 374 high-order bytes 380 defined 417
exception handling 253 HInstance variable 382 objects 113
integrity 374 valid 417
Hint property 383
reallocating 647 IDIGNORE constant 465
GetLongHint and 349
total free memory 462 idle applications 538, 871
GetShortHint and 355
variables 374 IDNO constant 465
HintPause and 385
heap variables 374 OnHint and 536 IDOK constant 465
See also GlobalAlloc, ParentShowHint and 594 IDRETRY constant 465
GlobalLock functions IDYES constant 465
HintColor property 384
Height property 375–377 Ignore buttons 432, 468
HintPause property 385
ClientHeight vs. 120 message boxes 465, 466, 468
Size vs. 726 Hints property 385
hints See Help Hints illegal typecasts 235
Help buttons 431 Image component 873
common dialog boxes 566, history lists 386
implementing 283 images 873
567, 568, 570, 571 See also bitmaps; icons;
Convert dialog box 149 HistoryList property 386
HMetafile type 387 metafiles
message boxes 466, 468 aligning on buttons 435, 787
Help files 379 horizontal scroll bars 157, 387,
432, 939 buttons and 731, 902, 948
Help Hints 946 multiple 495
color options 384 displaying 796
scrolling ranges 636 centering 106
creating 383 copying 150, 152, 797
displaying 721, 722 setting position 683
HorzScrollBar property 387 BLOBs 154
handling events 536, 557 databases and 445
navigator buttons 385 TControlScrollBar and 796
HPrevinst variable 382 deleting 650, 659
retrieving 349, 355 BLOBs 171
setting time intervals 385 hyphens (–) in captions 103
painting 99
status, retrieving 594 reading 640
Help systems 377 I resizing 68, 748
displaying online help 379 specifying type 602
handling events 536, 870 I/O buffers 711
I/O errors stretching to fit 748
help context numbers 377 transparent 93
creating 378, 870 exception handling 233
I/O functions 399 Inactive mode 740
returning 346 InactiveTitle typed constant 390
jumps 379 I/O status 414
icon files 389 Inc procedure 390
message boxes and 466, 469 See also Succ function; Dec,
OLE applications 149 loading 443
Pred procedures
Help windows 870 Icon property 388–390
Bitmap and 81 Inch property 390
HelpCommand method 377 Include procedure 391
HelpContext method 377 Metafile and 470
icons 870, 917 See also Exclude procedure
HelpFile and 379 incompatible data
OnHelp and 536 See also graphics
adding 443 exceptions 224
HelpContext property 378
minimized applications 389, Increment property 391
HelpFile property 378 incrementing variables 390
HelpContext and 377 879
HelpJump and 379 minimized forms 44, 103, indenting items in outlines 438
388, 872 indenting text
HelpJump method 379
pictures 389 See also aligning
OnHelp and 536
reading 640 outlines 107

Index 1023
Index property 392–393 reading from 644, 645 Insert procedure 406
GetDataItem and 342 Boolean values 639 See also Concat, Copy, Length,
GetFirstChild and 345 integers 641 Pos functions; Delete
GetItem and 348 retrieving strings 646 procedure
GetItemPath and 348 accessing strings 978 InsertComponent method 406
GetLastChild and 349 writing to 995, 998, 999 InsertControl method 407
GetNextChild and 351 InitialDir property 398 InsertObject method 407–409
GetPrevChild and 352 initializing InsertOLEObjectDlg
GetTextItem and 358 components 158 function 409
Items and 423 objects 159, 409 PInitInfo and 605
IndexDefs property 393 OLE objects 496, 497, 500, ReleaseOLEInitInfo and 653
CreateTable and 161 502, 596 InsertRecord method 410
indexes object pointer 605 AppendRecord vs. 40
buttons 420 releasing memory 653 Post and 620
combo boxes 420 InitialValues property 399 instance handles 382
components 142 InitWinCrt procedure 399 instantiation 2
datasets 425 See also ScreenSize, applications 41, 773
fields 280, 304, 393, 397, 415 WindowOrg, WindowSize Clipboard 123
returning values 693 typed constants; forms 160
list boxes 418, 420, 906 WindowTitle variable printer objects 627
notebook pages 581 InOutRes variable 399 instructions
object lists 403 in-place activation 14, 36, 400 undefined 236
outlines 392, 907 See also OLE objects Int function 411
strings 403 InPlaceActive property 400 See also Frac, Round, Trunc
tables 393, 877 input functions
characteristics 575 See also I/O IntegerField component 878
clearing elements 116 exception handling 233
counting elements 156 integers 48, 773
input device, standard 400 conversions
counting fields 393 input dialog boxes 401, 402
creating 18, 23, 50, 157, exception handling 222
input focus 215 strings 328, 760
158, 878 active control 15, 317, 318
dBASE 273, 395 generic exceptions 234
current form 16 INI files and 998
entering fields 23, 394
data-aware components 317 out-of-range 255
naming 347, 486
retrieving grids 132 overflow conditions 234
information 394, 397, 971 moving 958 returning 411
searching on 305, 306 handling events 505, 530 values and INI files 641
secondary 395 selected text and 381 IntegralHeight property 411
deleting 196 setting 703 integrity violations 12, 430
IndexFieldCount property 393 testing 97 internal routines 294
IndexFieldNames property 394 input parameters interrupts
EditRangeEnd and 230 See also stored procedures debugger 221, 260
EditRangeStart and 231 Input variable 400 Interval property 412
FindNearest and 306 See also Output OnTimer and 561
IndexName and 395 variable;TextFile type IntToHex function 412
IndexFields property 394 InputBox function 401 See also IntToStr function
indexing queen InputQuery vs. 402 IntToStr function 413
See Frances InputQuery function 402 See also IntToHex, StrToInt
IndexName property 395 InputBox vs. 401 functions
FindNearest and 306 Insert method 402–405 invalid names 232
IndexFieldNames and 394 See also Add method invalid opcode exception 236
IndexOf method 395–397 AfterInsert and 29 invalid pointers 237
IndexOfObject method 397 Append vs. 38 Invalidate method 413
BeforeInsert and 75 Refresh and 650
informational messages 466, 468
Post and 619, 620
.INI files 353, 878 invisible borders 88
Insert mode 405, 740
creating 157 invisible components 983
erasing sections 257 Insert Object dialog box 409, 496,
invisible controls 380
International section 345 497
invisible forms 380

1024 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

IOResult function 414 scrolling forms 941 LeftCol property 436
exception handling vs. 414 keyboard scan codes 881 OnTopLeftChanged and 561
IsIndexField property 414 keyboard shortcuts Length function 437
IsMasked property 415 controls 103 See also Concat, Copy, Pos
IsNull property 415–416 menu items 717 functions; Delete, Insert
isolation levels 930, 962 returning as strings 718 procedures
IsSQLBased property 416 returning shift states 718 Length property 437
IStorage 742 setting 103 Frames and 332
IsValidChar method 416 specifying at run time 716 TimeFormat and 875
IsValidIdent function 417 KeyExclusive property 427 Level property 437
IsVisible property 417 FindNearest and 306 ChangeLevelBy and 107
ItemAtPos method 417–419 KeyFieldCount property 428 libraries 2
ItemCount property 419 KeyPressed function 428 run-time 8
ItemHeight property 419 See also ReadKey function linefeed characters
ItemIndex property 420 KeyPreview property 429 Clipboard 373
ItemRect method 421 keyviol tables 12, 430 DDE applications 324
Items property 422–425 KeyViolCount property 430 Lines property 438–440
Add and 17, 18 KeyViolTableName Text and 840, 841
AddFieldDesc and 23 property 430 lines, drawing 112, 440, 475
AddParam and 25 AbortOnKeyViol and 12 LineTo method 440
Assign and 49, 50 Kind property 431–433 linked OLE objects 902
AssignValues and 56 TBitBtnKind and 780 linked queries 180
Clear and 116 TScrollBarKind and 939 linking data sources 456, 457
Count and 156 Links dialog box 441
CreateParam and 160 L LinksDlg procedure 440
Find and 301 LinksDlgEnabled and 441
Index and 392 Label component 882 LinksDlgEnabled function 441
IndexOf and 397 labels list boxes 826, 851, 884
Lines vs. 439 See also captions; text; titles See also combo boxes
ParamByName vs. 585 aligning text 32 activating lists 527
RemoveParam and 657 associating with controls 317 borders 88
Value and 976 columns in grids 312 clearing text 117
Values vs. 979 directory lists 41, 201 columns 138, 449, 574, 816
ItemSeparator property 425 fields 206, 279 counting items 689
FullPath and 337 resizing 69 data-aware 811, 815
rows in grids 311 display options 816
transparent 931
J wrapping 994
setting current values 976
displaying 411
justification See alignment landscape printing 576, 922 items in 767
language drivers 185, 446, 447 drawing surfaces 99
K LargeChange property 433 editing text 282
Max and 457 file masks and 296, 456
KeepConnection property 426 Min and 470 glyphs and 720
Connected and 144 TScrollBarInc and 939 integral height 411
KeepConnections vs. 427 Last method 433–435 moving items 906
KeepConnections property 427 Post and 619 owner-draw
key fields Layout property 435 adding bitmaps 498
counting 393, 428 TButtonLayout and 787 displaying 767
searching on 305, 306 lbOwnerDrawFixed drawing items 420, 832,
key presses 428 constant 767 912
key violations 12, 430 lbOwnerDrawVariable measuring items 889
keyboard activity 400 constant 767 variable styles 542
keyboard events 428, 539, 540, lbStandard constant 767 returning items 422
642, 881, 882 leading blanks selecting items 274, 691
determining state 946 masks 227 multiple 485
processing 429 left aligning text 32, 33 sorting items 729
responding to 243 Left property 436 states 832

Index 1025
synchronizing with combo See also databases getting starting
boxes 833 adding data 460 position 696
testing for items 418 assigning values 208 selecting text 690
updating 41, 970 calculated fields and 95 validating required
list objects See object lists closing 28, 130, 218 characters 974
List property 441 counting fields 278 Mask property 455–456
FileEditStyle and 283 displaying values 68, 175, Filter and 298
First and 309 180, 449 Mask unit 228
Index Of and 396 current field 840 MaskEdit component 887
Last and 434 data sources 450 MaskFieldSeparator
Pack and 579 in columns 816 constant 228
ListBox component 884 multiple fields 218, 449, 574 MaskNoSave constant 228
literal characters opening 217, 219 masks 455–456, 887
masks 227, 231 returning specific fields 280, See also filters
live result sets (defined) 923 693 clearing text 117, 118
Ln function 442 setting current values 976 creating 227–228, 296
See also Exp function LookupDisplay property 449 data fields 227, 839
Lo function 443 Style and 770 deleting items 171
See also Hi, Swap functions LookupField property 449 displaying text 68
LoadField property Style and 770 editing 231
LookupDisplay and 449 LookupSource property 450 exception handling 224
LoadFromFile method 443–444 loops file lists 296–299, 456
LoadFromStream method 444 continuing 146 passwords and 595
loading graphic files 443, 444, exiting 90 pointers 229
445, 640 loRowLines constant 574 retrieving text strings 865
BLOBs 445 loTitles constant 574 returning changes 478
invalid access 235, 236 Low function 450 setting case 108, 227
LoadMemo method 444 See also High function testing for 415
LoadPicture method 445 lowercase characters 37, 227, validating entries 227, 974
LoadStr function 446 451, 754 master tables
Local property 446 See also uppercase linking detail tables 456, 457
Locale property 446–447 combo boxes 843 MasterFields property 456
TLocale and 886 edit boxes 108 MasterSource property 457
Locked property 447 masks 108 MasterFields and 456
loColLines constant 574 LowerCase function 451 matching whole words 570, 571
See also AnsiLowerCase, math exceptions
logarithm
UpperCase functions base object 234, 240
bases See Exp function
natural 442 low-order byte 443 conversions 222
logical fields 45, 783 divide-by-zero 232, 276
check boxes and 977 M overflow 234, 254
formatting data 208 range errors 255
macros undefined instructions 236
radio buttons and 976, 979 executing 267, 268, 530
string values and 58 underflow 261
reports 675 Max property 457
logical palettes 794 poking data and 611, 612 Min and 470
Login dialog box 448 main form 330, 452, 865 Position and 617
login parameters 541 main menus See menu bars SetParams and 706
login scripts 448 MainForm property 452 MaxAvail function 458
handling events 541, 886 MainMenu component 886 MaxFontSize property 459
LoginPrompt property 448 Mappings property 452 Maximize buttons 86
Longint types 48 Margin property 453–455 maximizing applications 554
lookup combo boxes 813 margins maximizing forms 86
See also combo boxes buttons 453
creating drop-down lists 770 MaxLength property 459
scroll bars 454 MaxPage property 460
specifying initial items 840 tab sets 248, 736
styles 770 MaxRecords property 460
mask edit boxes 839, 887 MaxTabNameLen constant 461
lookup tables 813, 815 selecting items 696, 697 MaxValue property 461

1026 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

mbAbort constant 466, 468 changing tracks 490 MemoField component 893
mbAbortRetryIgnore closing 125 memory
constant 466, 468 current position 618 allocating 350
mbAll constant 466, 468 resetting 624, 667 components 158, 579
mbBarBreak constant 91 device IDs 198 files 157
mbBreak constant 91 device types 199, 898 objects 159
mbCancel constant 466, 468 directing output 204, 206 queries 342
mbHelp constant 466, 468 display windows 204 storing field values 179
mbIgnore constant 466, 468 exception handling 240 available 462
error codes 258 disposing 209
mbLeft constant 897
error messages 259 exception handling 233, 253
mbMiddle constant 897 handling events 492, 493 freeing 197, 209, 333, 334, 522,
mbNo constant 466, 468 modes 101, 476, 899 652
mbNone constant 91 notification events 547 bookmarks 334
mbOK constant 466, 468 notification values 899 closing forms 515
mbOkCancel constant 466, 468 opening 563 OLE objects 653
mbRetry constant 466, 468 automatically 64 owned components 579
mbRight constant 897 pausing 598, 600 running out 577
mbYes constant 466, 468 playable tracks 927 memos 891
mbYesNoCancel constant 466, playing 609, 874, 987 See also memo fields
468 setting starting adding text 438, 460
MCI drivers 889 position 735, 737 aligning text 32
MCI error codes and stopping 250, 742 borders 88
messages 258, 259 position information 926 copying text 152, 354
MCI macros 876 current position 618 deleting text 117, 118, 171
MDI applications 330, 862 resetting 624, 667 displaying text 381, 839
active form 16, 503 medium length 437 automatically 61
child forms 331 time formats 874, 899 entering text 988, 994
accessing 462, 503 track length 925 moving through 681
activating 490 recording 874 selecting text 690, 696
borders 87 starting 738 getting starting
cascading 104 stopping 250, 742 position 696
counting 462 resuming 666 testing for changes 478
hiding 534 rewinding 65, 71, 667 menu bars 367, 886
moving through 624 to previous track 624 designating 463
closing forms 129 saving to files 676 disappearing 63
handles 120 sharing 716 returning items 423
main form See parent forms stepping through menu constants 91, 305, 857
managing windows 991 frames 101, 332, 741 menu items 894
merging menus 63, 367 MediaPlayer component 889 accelerators 103, 846
minimized MemAvail function 462 display options 719
arranging icons 44, 872 See also MaxAvail function; adding 20, 404
parent forms 330, 589, 865 heap checking 111
MDIChildCount property 461 Memo component 891 coloring 135
MDIChildren property 462 memo fields 817, 893 counting 155
measuring tabs 889 See also memos deleting 193
Media Control Interface See MCI adding text 445 grouping 367
media players 237, 889 associating with streams 678 handles 370
advancing 741 entering text 988, 994 identifying parent menu 590
buttons 890 masks and 839 naming 103
color options 136 scrolling 681 position, returning 395
defining 898 selecting text 690, 696 returning 305, 422, 857
enabling/disabling 62, getting starting selecting 111, 119
244, 787, 984 position 696 at run time 716
handling events 512, 552 size, returning 726, 727 shortcuts 103, 717, 718,
types 241 streams and 678 846, 881, 946
capabilities, returning 101, string values and 58 converting to
898 writing to 444 strings 718

Index 1027
separators 103 Icon and 389 monetary formats 46
underlining characters 103 metafiles 895, 917 See also currency fields
Menu property 463 See also graphics Monochrome property 479
menu shortcut routines 8 adding 443, 470 monospaced fonts 567
menus 886, 918 Clipboard formats 85, 373 mouse buttons 882
accessing 370, 423, 615 coordinate mappings 391 clicking 119, 512, 513, 514,
breaking into columns 91, copying 49 521
894 fitting to images 748 shift keys and 544, 545,
coloring 135 handles 387 546
commands See menu items reading 640 determining state 946
Control (System) 86 size, setting 376 displaying menus 65, 552
displaying 33, 65, 613, 918 testing existence 241 testing for 897
handling events 552 testing for changes 477 mouse cursor
exception handling 240 method pointers See pointers changing image 523
MDI applications 991 methods 3, 5, 6, 7 moving 897
merging See merging menus MIDI sequencer See media specifying 166, 212
names, returning 615 players screen objects 167
objects and 614 milliseconds per day 485 testing for 480
OLE applications 368, 497 Min property 470 mouse events 544, 545, 546, 897,
sharing 614 Max and 457 946
Windows messages and 139 Position and 617 See also mouse buttons,
Merge method 463 SetParams and 706 clicking
merging menus 63, 367 MinFontSize property 471 drag-and-drop 77, 248, 522,
See also MDI applications Minimize buttons 86 523, 528, 828, 829, 837
non-MDI applications 63, Minimize method 472 clearing formats and 118
463, 967 OnMinimize and 544 disabling 214
OLE applications 368 minimized applications 389, 472, OLE objects 84, 903
message boxes 464, 465, 468 879 retrieving status 213
adding buttons 464, 466, 468 handling events 544, 554 setting mouse image 212
applications 723, 724 responding to 243
minimized forms 515, 992
defining buttons 899 returning coordinates 480
arranging icons 44, 872
displaying 469, 491, 529 simulating 94, 119
captions 103
exceptions 720 specifying icons 388 mouse image constants 166, 212
types 900 minimizing forms 86 MouseToCell method 480
message constants 466, 468 MinPage property 472 Move method 480
message dialog box routines 8 MinValue property 473 Move procedure 481
Message property 224, 262 See also FillChar procedure;
mixed case
MessageBox method 464 SizeOf function
See also lowercase; uppercase
MessageDlg function 465 masks 108 MoveBy method 482
TMsgDlgButtons and 899 Post and 619
MkDir procedure 473
TMsgDlgType and 900 See also ChDir, CreateDir, MovedCount property 482
MessageDlgPos function 468 GetDir, RmDir procedures MoveTo method 483–484
TMsgDlgButtons and 899 CreateDir vs. 473 PenPos vs. 601
TMsgDlgType and 900 modal dialog boxes 474, 724 TAttachMode and 775
messages modal forms 724 moving
confirmation closing 474 bytes 481
deleting data 144, 574 terminating 896 columns and rows in
data states 560 grids 572, 898, 907
ModalResult property 474
error See error messages handling events 519, 554
ShowModal and 724 components 31
OLE applications 560, 949 TModalResult and 896
processing 543, 633, 895 cursors in databases 306, 361
Mode property 475–477 specified distance 482
warning 466, 468 TBatchMode and 775
common dialog boxes 568, to first record 309
TMPModes and 899 to last record 434
569
TPenMode and 917 to next record 491
displaying 720
Metafile property 470 Modified property 477–479 to previous record 631
Bitmap and 81 OnNewRecord and 547 data 648, 931
modifying See changing; editing

1028 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

input focus 958 MSecsPerDay constant 485 See also multi-user
handling events 505, 530 MsgDlgButtonStyle type 467, environments
items in lists 263, 481, 906 469 header pages 880
outlines 484, 775, 790 MsgDlgGlyphs type 467, 469 Paradox tables and 487
outlines and 107 mtConfirmation constant 466, New procedure 488
mouse cursor 897 468 See also Dispose, FreeMem,
pens 483 mtCustom constant 466, 468 GetMem procedures
scroll boxes 391, 433, 457, 470, mtError constant 466, 468 NewPage method 488
728 mtInformation constant 466, 468 PageNumber and 582
strings 754 NewStr function 489
mtWarning constant 466, 468
thumb tabs in scroll bars 939, See also DisposeStr procedure
941 multicolored borders 315
multi-form applications 367 Next method 490–491
specifying position 617, DisableControls and 203
706 moving through 624
multi-line headers 684 Post and 619
moving through forms 624 Wait and 987
moving through memos 681 multimedia devices See media
players nil pointers 654, 656
moving through tab sets 309, nil values 703
695 multi-page dialog boxes 958
MultiSelect property 485 object lists 579
mpCanEject constant 101 nonresizeable borders 87
mpCanPlay constant 101 ExtendedSelect and 274
ItemIndex and 420 nonscrolling regions
mpCanRecord constant 101 grids 310, 311, 312, 907
mpCanStep constant 101 SelCount and 689
Selected vs. 692 displaying 572
mpNotReady constant 476 nonwindowed components 945
multi-user environments 972
mpOpen constant 476 nonwindowed controls 7
See also networks
mpPaused constant 476 accessing tables 264 listed 7
mpPlaying constant 476 stacking order 92, 698
mpRecording constant 476 nonzero values
mpSeeking constant 476 N testing for 110
mpStopped constant 476 Name property 485–487 NormalizeTopMosts
mpUsesWindows constant 101 InsertComponent and 406 method 491
mrAbort constant TComponentName and 796 Notebook component 900
Close buttons 474 TFontName and 861 notebooks 900
message boxes 467, 469 names pages 955
mrAll constant See also identifiers activating 17, 549, 900
Close buttons 475 duplicate 222 changing 549, 581, 709,
message boxes 467, 469 invalid 232 900
mrCancel constant qualified 519 creating 583
Close buttons 474 naming displaying 347, 581
message boxes 467, 469 applications 879 scrolling 66
mrIgnore constant common dialog boxes 880 tabs
Close buttons 474 components 485, 796, 879 accessing 66
message boxes 467, 469 at run time 222 adding 958
mrNo constant controls 882 setting margins 248, 736
Close buttons 475 databases 174, 955 notification events 800, 850, 901
message boxes 467, 469 edit boxes 839 DDE applications 530, 551
mrNone constant fields 487 idle applications 538, 871
Close buttons 474 fonts 486, 861 media players 492, 493, 547
message boxes 467, 469 forms 103 OLE applications 560
mrOk constant indexes 486 online help 536
Close buttons 474 menu items 103 Windows messages 543
message boxes 467, 469 objects 879 Notify property 492
mrRetry constant NativeError property 224 OnNotify and 547
Close buttons 474 NativeToAnsi procedure 487 Open and 563
message boxes 467, 469 navigator See database navigator Pause and 599
NetFileDir property 487 PauseOnly and 600
mrYes constant
Play and 609
Close buttons 475 networks
Previous and 625
message boxes 467, 469

Index 1029
Resume and 666, 667 object lists 883 OLE See OLE objects
Save and 676 accessing items 424, 498 pasting 84, 340, 596, 598
StartRecording and 738 adding items 18, 403 persistent 373
Step and 741, 742 arrays, allocated size 102 pop-up menus and 614
NotifyValue property 493 Clipboard formats 328 referencing 853
TMPNotifyValues and 899 counting items 155 retrieving from Clipboard 49
Now function 494 deleting items 117, 193, 579, returning names 113
See also Date, DateTimeToStr, 654 Objects property 498–499
Time functions exception handling 238, 261 IndexOfObject and 397
null fields 42 item position 396 Move and 481
specifying 116 moving items 263, 481 ObjItem property 499
testing for 416 referencing items 441 Odd function 500
null values 116, 703 removing components 656 See also Addr, Seg functions
testing for 415 returning items 309, 434 odd numbers 500
NullStr constant 495 updating 77, 250 odDisabled constant 832
EmptyStr and 495 object methods 3 odFocused constant 832
null-terminated strings 132, 757 object pointers 102, 301, 425 odSelected constant 832
converting 755, 846 accessing 424 OEM characters 501
reading 354, 357, 708, 710 drag and drop 828, 837 OEMConvert property 501
returning 356 initialization information 605 ofAllowMultiSelect constant 569
writing 710 nil items 579 ofCreatePrompt constant 569
numbers 973 returning 309, 434 ofExtensionDifferent
See also integers storing 441 constant 569
binary-coded decimal 45 object types ofFileMustExist constant 569
currency, formatting 163 TField 853 offsets 501–502
dates, formatting 163 ObjectMenuItem property 497 ofHideReadOnly constant 569
decimal 620, 727 object-oriented programming 2 ofNoChangeDir constant 569
large 878 objects 2 ofNoReadOnlyReturn
masks and 227 See also components
constant 569
odd 500 addresses 26
out-of-range errors 255 ancestor 3, 114 ofNoTestFileCreate constant 569
random See random numbers application 41 ofNoValidate constant 569
rounding 669 arrays 499 ofOverwritePrompt
time, formatting 163 as operator and 235 constant 570
numeric fields 48, 878, 947, 964 assignment 51 ofPathMustExist constant 570
floating-point numbers 47, Clipboard 49, 58 ofReadOnly constant 570
48, 776, 857 associated with strings 23, Ofs function 501–502
setting precision 620 397, 408, 498, 499 ofShareAware constant 570
string values and 58 accessing 137, 498, 499, ofShowHelp constant 570
NumGlyphs property 495 673 OK buttons 431, 468
TNumGlyphs and 902 base exception message boxes 465, 466, 468
nvAborted constant 494 faults 232 OLE applications
nvFailure constant 494 hardware 255 container
nvSuccessful constant 493 math errors 234, 240 testing for changes 478
nvSuperseded constant 493 streams 233, 261 context-sensitive help 149
changing 510 displaying data 902
coloring 134, 137, 793 menus 497
O components vs. 2 merging 368
oaAdd constant 484 constructing 159, 333 messages 560, 949
oaAddChild constant 484 controls vs. 2 status bars 447, 560
oaInsert constant 484 descendant 848 OLE containers 902
destroying 197, 333, 499, 652 See also OLE objects
ObjClass property 496
determining class 115 accessing 742
ObjDoc property 496 dynamic, deallocating 276
ObjItem vs. 500 activating 14
handles 369 resizing 70
Object Inspector 2 initializing 159, 409
Object Linking and Embedding testing 502
listed 3 OLE links 441
See OLE naming 879

1030 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

changing 441 OnColEnter event 516 Hint and 383
returning 441 OnColExit event 517 OnIdle event 538
OLE objects 70 OnCollapse event 518 TIdleEvent and 871
accessing 177 OnColumnMoved event 518 OnKeyDown event 539
activating/deactivating 14, TMovedEvent and 898 KeyPreview and 429
36, 60, 400, 775 OnCreate event 519 OnKeyPress vs. 540
handling events 503 OnDataChange event 520 OnKeyPress event 539
adding 443 OnDblClick event 520 KeyPreview and 429
class, specifying 496 OnDeactivate event 521 TKeyPress and 882
Clipboard formats 85, 175 OnDestroy event 522 OnKeyUp event 540
clearing 118 OnDragDrop event 522 KeyPreview and 429
registering 84, 651 TDragDrop and 828 OnKeyPress vs. 540
copying 153 TOLEDropNotify and 903 online help See Help systems
documents, specifying 497 OnLogin event 541
OnDragOver event 523
dragging 84 TLoginEvent and 886
handling events 523, 528, TDragOverEvent and 828
TDragState and 829 OnMeasureItem event 541
828, 829, 837 TMeasureItemEvent and 889
registering targets 651 OnDrawCell event 524
Canvas and 100 OnMeasureTab event 542
dropping 84, 175, 177, 704, OnDrawTab and 526
903 DefaultDrawing and 191
TDrawCellEvent and 829 TMeasureTabEvent and 889
handling events 522, 828
registering targets 651 OnDrawDataCell event 524 OnMessage event 543
embedded 902 Canvas and 100 TMessageEvent and 895
initializing 409, 496, 497, 500, DefaultDrawing and 191 OnMinimize event 544
502, 596 TDrawDataCellEvent OnMouseDown event 544
object pointer 605 and 830 OnMouseMove event 545
releasing memory 653 OnDrawItem event 525 OnMouseUp event 546
items, specifying 500 Canvas and 99 OnNewRecord event 547
linked 902 OnMeasureItem and 542 OnNotify event 547
pasting 84, 596, 598 TDrawItemEvent and 832 OnOpen event 548
resizing 966, 999 OnDrawTab event 526 OpenLink and 566
testing for changes 478 OnMeasureTab and 543 OnPageChanged event 548
OLE routines 8 TDrawTabEvent and 832 OnPaint event 549
OLEContainer component 902 OnDropDown event 527 Canvas and 99
OleObjAllocated method 502 OnEndDrag event 527 OnPassword event 550
OnActivate event 502–505 TEndDragEvent and 837 OnPokeData event 551
OnActiveControlChange OnEnter event 528 OnPopup event 552
event 505 OnException event 529 OnPostClick event 552
OnActiveFormChange TExceptionEvent and 839 EMPPostNotify and 241
event 506 OnExecuteMacro event 530 TMPBtnType and 898
OnApply event 507 TMacroEvent and 886 OnReplace event 553
TFDApplyEvent and 847 OnExit event 530 OnResize event 553
OnCalcFields event 508 OnExpand event 531 OnRestore event 554
AutoCalcFields and 60 OnFind event 532 OnRowMoved event 554
Calculated and 95 OnGetEditMask event 533 TMovedEvent and 898
OnChange event 508–510 TGetEditEvent and 865 OnScroll event 555
TFieldNotifyEvent and 850 OnGetEditText event 533 TScrollStyle and 941
OnChanging event 511 OnSetEditText and 556 OnSelectCell event 555
OnClick event 511–514 TGetEditEvent and 865 TSelectCellEvent and 943
EMPNotify and 240 OnGetText event 534 OnSetEditText event 556
ENavClick and 245 DisplayText and 207 OnGet EditText and 533
OnPostClick and 552 Text and 842 TSetEditEvent and 944
TMPBtnType and 898 TFieldGetTextEvent and 850 OnSetText event 556
OnClose event 514–516 OnHelp event 536 TFieldSetTextEvent and 850
TCloseEvent and 793 THelpEvent and 870 OnShow event 557
OnCloseQuery event 516 OnHide event 534 OnShowHint event 557
TCloseQueryEvent and 793 OnHint event 536 THintInfo and 870

Index 1031
TShowHintEvent and 946 files 41, 287, 905 adding items 20, 21, 404, 439,
OnSized event 558 exception handling 233 443, 840, 910
TSectionEvent and 943 lookup tables 217 associating data with 22, 24,
OnSizing event 559 media players 563 171, 408
TSectionEvent and 943 automatically 64 borders 88
OnStateChange event 559 modal forms 724 collapsing 133, 253, 336
OnStatusLineEvent event 560 opening files 281, 664 handling events 518
TStatusLineEvent and 949 OpenLink method 566 counting items 419
OnTimer event 560 OpenLink property deleting items 117, 194
initiating 962 SetLink and 705 display options 769, 911
Interval and 412 Options property 566–575 drawing items 99, 420, 911
OnTopLeftChanged event 561 EditorMode and 229 options 571, 577
OnUpdateData event 561 MaxFontSize and 459 exception handling 253
OnValidate event 562 MaxPage and 460 expanding 253, 272, 273, 336,
EditMask and 227 MinFontSize and 471 417
Required and 663 MinPage and 472 handling events 531
TFieldNotifyEvent and 850 PrintRange and 629 indenting items 107, 438
ooDrawFocusRect constant 572 TColorDialogOptions moving items 107, 484, 775,
and 794 790
ooDrawTreeRoot constant 571
TDBGridOptions and 810 pictures and 602, 603, 604
ooStretchBitmaps constant 572 reindexing items 77, 250, 712
opcodes TDBLookupListOptions
and 816 retrieving items 342, 351, 358,
invalid 236 374, 392
Open common dialog box 905 TFindOptions and 857
TFontDialogOptions and 861 active 694
directories at run time 671
setting initial 398 TGridOptions and 867
TOpenOptions and 906 first 345
file names last 349
default extensions 191, TOutlineOptions and 911
TPrintDialogOptions and 920 onscreen location 348
851 previous 352
displaying 287, 386, 854 options See user options
Oracle tables testing for visible items 417
entering 283, 851 updating 77, 250, 712
opening 266 stored procedures 743
overloading 578 OutlineStyle property 577
options 906 FullCollapse and 336
selecting files 290 Ord function 575
See also Chr function FullExpand and 336
file masks and 296, 299 OnCollapse and 518
specifying behavior 569 ordinal values 575
TOutlineStyle and 911
titles 880 ordinal-type expressions 575
out-of-memory exceptions 253
Open method 562–564 Orientation property 575
OutOfMemoryError
Active vs. 14 TPrinterOrientation and 922
procedure 577
AfterOpen and 29 Origin typed constant 576
BeforeOpen and 75 out-of-range errors 255
osPictureText constant 577
Capabilities and 101 osPlusMinusPictureText output
DeviceID and 199 See also I/O
constant 577 exception handling 233
DeviceType and 199 osPlusMinusText constant 577
ExecSQL vs. 265 media players 204, 206
osText constant 577 output device, standard 577
SQL and 733 osTreePictureText constant 577
Start and 735 output file, standard 578
osTreeText constant 577 output parameters 353
Wait and 987 otOwnerDraw constant 769
OpenCurrent method 564 See also stored procedures
otStandard constant 769 Output variable 577, 578
OpenDatabase method 565 Outline component 908
CloseDatabase and 127 See also Input variable;
outline nodes 910 TextFile type
OpenDialog component 905 creating 157
opening Write and 578
identifying parent item 591 Writeln and 578
Clipboard 124, 562 paths 337, 426
databases 565, 836 overflow math exceptions 234,
row position 423 254
database servers 541, 588 outlines 908
datasets 14, 564 overlapping
active item 694 components 91, 698
handling events 29, 75

1032 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

forms 44, 91, 698 paint boxes 99, 549 Params vs. 587
MDI child 104 PaintBox component 912 ParamCount function 585
Overload property 578 painting 315, 855, 969 ParamCount property 586
StoredProcName and 743 See also fill patterns; parameterized queries 923
overloading stored repainting accessing data 180
procedures 578 backgrounds 764 optimizing 622, 623, 966, 968
owned components 142, 158, bitmaps and 80 referencing 425, 446, 585
406 cells in grids 191, 524, 525, parameters 610
counting 141 533, 556 See also SQL statements;
parent vs. 579 handling events 829, 830, stored procedures
returning 142 867 array of const type 963
specifying owner 579 disabling/enabling 77, 250 command-line 132
Owner property 578 forms 99, 549 connection 588
Parent vs. 589 backgrounds 92, 134 formatting 316, 321, 322–324,
owner-draw combo boxes 420 handling events 549 748, 753
displaying 766 images and shapes 99 fractional parts 331
variable styles 542 screens 650, 659 login 541
owner-draw controls 498 paLeft constant 33 number passed 585
outlines 769 Palette property 583 predecessors 620
repainting 525, 526, 542, 543 palettes 654 range
owner-draw grids See also Component palette highest value 381
handling events 829, 830, 867 color 584 returning specified 588
owner-draw list boxes customizing 170, 566, 798 successor 771
adding bitmaps 498 options 793 values, passing to main
displaying 767 logical 794 window 132
drawing items 99, 420, 912 realizing 781 Params property 587–588
handling events 832 tool 913, 948 DataSource and 180
measuring items 889 Panel component 913 ParamBindMode and 584
variable styles 542 panels 913 ParamByName and 585
owner-draw tab sets 526, 543 aligning captions 32 ParamCount and 586
displaying 769 beveling 78, 79, 80, 779, 914 Values and 979
handling events 832 borders 88, 785 ParamStr function 588
measuring items 889 OLE objects and 447 See also ParamCount function
speed buttons and 948 ParamType property 589
P Paradox tables Assign and 50
accessing 416, 541 TParamType and 916
paCenter constant 33 insufficient rights 551 parent components 589–591, 656
Pack method 579 creating 107 owned components vs. 589
page fault exceptions 254 keyviol 12, 430 parent forms 8
PageHeight property 580 lookup See lookup tables See also MDI applications
PageIndex property 581 networks and 487 Parent property 589–591
GetIndexForPage and 347 passwords 26 ParentColor property 591
PageNumber property 582 deleting 655, 658 Color and 134
NewPage and 489 handling events 352, 551 ParentCtl3D property 592
pages problems 13, 632 Ctl3D and 163
dimensions 580, 583 queries 923 ParentFont property 593
notebooks See notebooks searching for data 230, 231, ParentShowHint property 594
printing ranges 460, 472, 629, 306, 706, 707, 708 ShowHint and 721
923 specifying 772 paRight constant 33
first page 335 testing for 446
passing control 269
last page 905 Param function
passthrough SQL 663, 923
returning current See also ParamStr function
password dialog box
page 582 ParamBindMode property 584
displaying 352
Pages property 582 TParamBindMode and 915
PasswordChar property 595
GetIndexForPage and 347 ParamByName method 584–585
DataSource and 180 passwords 595
PageIndex and 581 See also security
PageWidth property 583 Items vs. 425
database servers 448, 886

Index 1033
handling events 541, 916 images 602 DDE macros 886
Paradox tables 26 Pie method 605 events 800
deleting 655, 658 PInitInfo property 605 closing forms 793
handling events 352, 551 DataFormat and 175 keyboard 881, 882
Paste Special dialog box 500, ObjClass and 496 mouse 897
596, 598 ObjDoc and 497 grids
PasteFromClipboard ObjItem and 500 changing text 944
method 596 pipe (|) characters drawing events 829, 830,
PasteSpecialDlg function 596 filters 296, 298 867
BOLEFormat and 84 hints 383 moving columns and
PasteSpecialEnabled and 598 Pitch property 606 rows 898
PInitInfo and 605 TFontPitch and 862 selecting cells 943
ReleaseOLEInitInfo and 653 pixels 607 Help Hints 946
PasteSpecialEnabled client areas 120, 122 incrementing or
metafiles and 391 decrementing 695
function 598
returning 608 invalid 237
BOLEFormat and 84
list boxes
pasting graphics 596 Pixels property 607 drawing events 832
pasting objects 340 PixelsPerInch property 607–609 owner-draw 889, 912
OLE 84, 596, 598 Scaled and 679 masks 229
pasting text 596 Play method 609 nil 654, 656
patterns 80 EndPos and 250 objects 102, 425
See also fill patterns StartPos and 737 accessing 424
Pause method 598 Wait and 987 drag and drop 828, 837
Wait and 987 playing media players 609 initialization
PauseOnly method 600 starting position 735, 737 information 605
Wait and 987 stopping 742 returning 301, 309, 434
pausing media players 598, 600 pmBlack constant 475 storing 441
Pen property 600 pmCopy constant 475 scroll bars 941
NewPage and 489 pmMask constant 476 tab sets 956
PenPos property 601 pmMaskNotPen constant 476 owner-draw 832, 889
MoveTo vs. 483 pmMaskPenNot constant 476 text 850, 865
pens 866, 916 pmMerge constant 476 Windows messages 895
current position 601 pmMergeNotPen constant 476 PokeData method 611
modes 917 pmMergePenNot constant 476 ExecuteMacro and 267
moving 483 pmNop constant 475 ExecuteMacroLines and 268
setting color 475 pmNot constant 475 OnChange and 509
specifying 600 pmNotCopy constant 476 OnPokeData and 551
styles 763, 917 pmNotMask constant 476 PokeDataLines vs. 612
persistent objects 373 pmNotMerge constant 476 PokeDataLines method 611
Pi function 601 pmNotXor constant 476 ExecuteMacro and 267
Picture property 602 pmWhite constant 475 ExecuteMacroLines and 268
PictureClosed property 602 OnPokeData and 551
pmXor constant 476
PictureLeaf property 603 PokeData vs. 611
poDefault constant 617
PictureMinus property 603 poking data 611, 841
poDefaultPosOnly constant 617 See also DDE applications
PictureOpen property 604 poDefaultSizeOnly constant 617
PicturePlus property 604 handling events 509, 551
poDesigned constant 617 poLandscape constant 576
pictures 917 poDisablePrintToFile
See also images Polygon method 612
constant 568 polygons 612
adding 443, 445 poHelp constant 568
Clipboard formats 373 PolyLine method 613
Point function 610 poNone constant 630
copying 49 point routines 8
displaying 68 poPageNums constant 568
pointer, mouse See mouse cursor poPortrait constant 576
graphics vs. 865 pointers
outlines 577, 602, 603, 604 poPrintToFile constant 568
applications 871 poPrintToFit constant 630
reading 640
data 800, 830, 850
size, setting 376 outlines 342 poProportional constant 630
specifying type 81, 363, 389 pop-up menus 918

1034 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

See also menus Wait and 987 scaling options 923
activating 552 Print common dialog box 920 selected text only 629
displaying 33, 65, 613, 918 Collate check box 134 terminating 11, 247
handling events 552 opening 266 testing status 12
names, returning 615 options 920 testing status 628
objects and 614 page ranges 629 text files 55
returning items 423 Print to File check box 630 to files 568, 630
Popup method 613 specifying behavior 568 printing conventions
AutoPopup and 65 Print Manager 880 (documentation) 1
OnPopup and 552 Print method 625–626 Printing property 628
PopupComponent and 614 print modes 576 PrintRange property 629
PopupMenu and 615 PrintCopies property 626 TPrintRange and 923
PopupComponent property 614 PrintDialog component 920 PrintScale property 629
PopupMenu component 918 printer fonts 198 TPrintScale and 923
PopupMenu property 615 printer objects 921 PrintToFile property 630
portrait printing 576, 922 accessing 370 Prior method 631
Pos function 616 drawing surfaces 100 Disable Controls and 203
See also Delete, Insert instantiating 627 Post and 619
procedures; Concat, Copy, naming 880 private directories 631
Length functions supported fonts 320 PrivateDir property 631
poScreenCenter constant 617 Printer Setup common dialog ProblemCount property 632
poSelection constant 568 box 922 ProblemTableName and 632
Position property 616–619 opening 266 problems tables 13
Play and 609 Printer variable 627 creating 632
ScrollPos and 683 PrinterIndex property 627 ProblemTableName
SetParams and 706 printers property 632
StartPos and 737 returning current 353, 627 AbortOnProblem and 13
TimeFormat and 875 sending output to 76, 247 procedures 7–8
TPosition and 919 specifying 706 stored See stored procedures
Post method 619 specifying default 627 processing messages 543, 633,
AfterPost and 30 testing for installed 628 895
BeforePost and 75 Printers property 628 ProcessMessage method 632
Close and 125 GetPrinter vs. 353 Terminated and 838
First and 309 PrinterIndex and 627 Program Segment Prefix 621
Last and 435 SetPrinter vs. 706 programming 2
Modified and 479 Printers unit 627, 921 programs See applications
MoveBy and 482 PrinterSetupDialog properties 2, 4, 5, 7
Next and 491 component 922 exception handling 258
OnUpdateData and 562 printing 568, 609, 920 inspecting See Object
Prior and 631 collating options 134 Inspector
UpdateRecord and 973 data 55 protecting data 61
posting records 619, 973 directing output 76, 247 See also encryption;
handling events 30, 75 exception handling 255 passwords; security
poWarning constant 568 forms 346, 625 prPageNums constant 629
prAllPages constant 629 scaling options 630 prSelection constant 629
Precision property 620 new pages 489 psClear constant 763
Pred function 620 number of copies 149 psDash constant 763
See also Dec, Inc, procedures; orientation 576, 922 psDashDot constant 763
Succ function page dimensions 580, 583 psDashDotDot constant 763
PrefixSeg variable 621 page ranges 460, 472, 629, 923
psDot constant 763
Prepare method 621–622 first page 335
Prepared vs. 622 last page 905 psInsideFrame constant 763
Prepared property 622–623 returning current PSP See Program Segment Prefix
UnPrepare and 968 page 582 psSolid constant 763
Preview property 623 reports 249, 623, 626 ptInput constant 916
previewing reports 623 multiple copies 626 ptInputOutput constant 916
Previous method 624–625 setting first page 737 ptOutput constant 916

Index 1035
Ptr function 634 See also Random function; realizing palettes 781
See also Addr function RandSeed variable ReAllocMem function 647
ptResult constant 916 RandSeed variable 635, 636 See also AllocMem function
ptUnknown constant 916 See also Random function; RecalcReport method 647
push buttons 779, 786 Randomize procedure RecordCount property 649
See also buttons Range property 636 recording 874
specifying default 190 HorzScrollBar and 387 starting 738
Margin and 454 stopping 250, 742
Q Position and 617
ranges
records
See also databases
qualified names 519 data searches 427 adding fields 848
queries canceling 96 batch operations 776
See also SQL statements; changing 230, 231 bookmarks and 334, 339,
stored procedures setting 42, 706, 707, 708 360, 783
allocating memory 342 exception handling 255 changing 97, 110, 219, 225,
arrays 587 lowest value 450 479
batch operations and 733 page 460, 472, 629, 923 counting 649
closing forms 793 first page 335 batch moves 106, 430,
handling events 800 last page 905 482, 632, 648
heterogeneous 733 returning current deleting from tables 194, 242
linked 180 page 582 handling events 28, 74
moving through 819 raw data inserting 38, 40, 405, 410
parameterized 923 returning 341 handling events 29, 75,
accessing data 180 setting 702 547
optimizing 622, 623, 966, Read method 637 moving to specific 361
968 Read procedure 638 number of 293
referencing 425, 446, 585 See also Eof, ReadKey posting 619, 973
result sets 353, 663, 966, 972 functions, Readln, Write, handling events 30, 75
defined 923 Writeln, procedures retrieving 60
running 265, 622, 733, 968 read/write exceptions 233, 258, Rect function 648
temporary tables 631 262 Rectangle method 649
Query component 923 base object 261 RoundRect vs. 670
questions 466, 468 file creation 232 rectangle routines 8
ReadBool method 639 rectangles 648, 715, 931
R ReadBuf function 639 adding graphics 748
See also ReadKey function bounding 89, 421
radio buttons 927 ReadFrom method 640 cells in grids 104
3-D controls and 163 ReadInteger method 641 client areas 121
accessing 95 ReadKey function 642 clipping 123, 845
aligning captions 32, 883 See also KeyPressed, ReadBuf display windows 206
columns 138 functions grids 867
data-aware 95, 820 Readln procedure 641 drawing 89, 215, 332, 649
setting current See also Read, Writeln rounded 670
contents 976, 979 filling 295, 332, 785
procedures
grouping 928 input focus and 215
selecting 111 read-only controls 643
read-only data 97, 643, 644 rounded
radio group boxes 820, 928 drawing 670
returning strings 422 read-only fields 644, 822
references
RadioButton component 927 ReadOnly property 643–644
components 485, 519
RadioGroup component 928 CanModify and 98
databases 172, 174
ValueChecked and 978
Random function 635 fields 279, 487
ValueUnchecked and 981
See also Randomize objects 441, 853
procedure; RandSeed read-only result sets
parameterized queries 425,
variable (defined) 923 446, 585
random numbers read-only text 69 Refresh method 650
generating 635, 636 ReadSection method 644 Repaint vs. 659
initializing generator 635 ReadSectionValues method 645
Randomize procedure 635 ReadString method 646

1036 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget accessing 370 handling events 559
procedure 651 closing 128 images 68, 748
BOLEFormat and 84 display options 857 labels 69
registering classes 233 displaying 436, 619, 904 OLE containers 70
registering Clipboard Find Next button 532 OLE objects 966, 999
formats 84, 651 opening 266 resource string tables 316
registering components 651 Replace buttons 553 resources
exception handling 222 replacement strings 660 See also specific type
registering targets 651 specifying behavior 570 exception handling 236, 258
Release method 652 ReplaceDialog component 932 freeing 116
Free vs. 333 ReplaceText property 660 loading 236
OnDestroy and 522 replacing text 553, 571, 660, 932 system 253, 254, 334
Release procedure 652 report variables 647 Restore method 665
See also Dispose, FreeMem, changing 713, 714 OnRestore and 554
GetMem, Mark, New ReportDir property 660 RestoreTopMosts method 665
procedures ReportName and 661 restoring default field values 117
ReleaseHandle method 653 ReportHandle property 661 result sets (defined) 923
ReleaseOLEInitInfo ReportName property 661 Resume method 666
procedure 653 reports Pause and 598
ReleasePalette method 654 connecting to databases 144 Wait and 987
releasing memory 197, 209, 333, creating 461 retrieving data 834
334, 522, 652 exception handling 258 retrieving text strings 865
bookmarks 334 executing macros 675 Retry buttons 432, 468
closing forms 515 previewing 623 message boxes 465, 466, 468
OLE objects 653 printing 249, 623, 626 Rewind method 667
owned components 579 multiple copies 626 Wait and 987
remote database servers See setting first page 737 rewinding media players 65, 71,
database servers running 70, 661, 674 667
initial values 399 to previous track 624
Remove method 654
saving 660 Rewrite procedure 667
RemoveAllPasswords updating 647, 713, 714
method 655 See also Append, AssignFile,
ReportSmith applications 933 Reset, Truncate procedures
RemoveComponent method 656 See also reports
RemoveControl method 656 AssignPrn and 55
closing 126, 130 RGB color values 137, 793
RemoveParam method 657 unloading 70
RemovePassword method 657 right aligning text 32, 33
version, returning 981, 982 RmDir procedure 668
removing See deleting Windows handle 661
Rename procedure 658 See also ChDir, GetDir, MkDir
ReportSmith Runtime, procedures
See also Erase procedure loading 674
RenameFile function 659 Rollback method 669
RequestData method 662 rolling back transactions 669
renaming components 222, 486 RequestLive property 662
renaming files 658, 659 Round function 669
required data values 663, 887 See also Int, Trunc functions
extensions 107, 274 validating 974
reordering components 91, 698 rounded rectangles 670, 715
Required property 663–664 rounding numbers 669
reordering forms 91, 698 Reset procedure 664
Repaint method 659 RoundRect method 670
See also Append, AssignFile, routines 7–8
repainting FileClose, Rewrite, Truncate
See also painting Row property 671
procedures
components 969 RowCount property 672
resizeable borders 87 FixedRows and 312
controls 413, 970 resizing
handling events 525, 526, Objects and 499
buttons 90 RowHeights property 672
542, 543 controls 678, 990
screens 77, 250, 650, 659 DefaultRowHeight vs. 192
edit boxes 68
repeat statements rows in grids See data grids,
forms 31, 86, 679, 990
continuing 146 handling events 554 string grids; records
exiting 90 graphics 748 Rows property 673
Replace common dialog box 932 headers 36, 943 Run method 674–675

Index 1037
RunError procedure 675 scLineDown constant 941 scrolling 683, 938, 939, 941
See also Exit, Halt procedures scLineUp constant 941 See also scroll bars; scroll boxes
RunMacro method 675 scPageDown constant 941 forms 66, 681, 682, 938
running applications 674, 937, scPageUp constant 941 handling events 941
943 scPosition constant 941 horizontal scroll bars
handling events 504, 521 screen coordinates 680, 918 and 387
other Windows and bounding rectangle 89 vertical scroll bars and 982
Delphi 521 client areas 120, 121, 122 grids 573, 681
running batch operations 267 controls 436, 904 memos 681
running reports 70, 661, 674 dialog boxes 436, 904 notebook pages 66
initial values 399 screen devices 680 scroll boxes 682
run-time errors 675 screen fonts 198, 568 ScrollInView method 682
Abstract and 13 screen objects 937 ScrollPos property 683
addresses 259 creating 680 ScrollTo procedure 683
handlers 260, 269 setting size 991 See also GoToXY procedure
run-time library 8 size, setting 376 scTop constant 941
specifying mouse cursor scTrack constant 941
S image 167 sdAllowCreate constant 690
Screen variable 679 sdPerformCreate constant 691
Save common dialog box 936 screens sdPrompt constant 691
directories clearing 131 search key buffer 704
setting initial 398 flood filling 315, 855 searching for components 301
file names repainting 77, 250, 650, 659 searching for data 427, 428
default extensions 191, supported fonts 320 key fields and 305, 306, 361,
851 ScreenSize typed constant 680 704
displaying 287, 386, 854 ScreenToClient method 680 multiple fields 226
entering 283, 851 ranges 427
scroll bars 157, 938
opening 266 canceling 96
adding 387, 432, 681, 982
selecting files 290 changing 230, 231
file masks and 296, 299 automatically displaying 66
disabling 681 setting 42, 706, 707, 708
specifying behavior 569 searching for disabled
titles 880 displaying 796
handling events 555, 941 controls 147
Save method 676 searching for strings 306, 616
incrementing 457, 470
SaveDialog component 936 large change 433 finding next occurrence 571
SaveToFile method 677 margins 454 searching for text 308, 856
LoadFromFile and 444 moving thumb tabs 939, 941 handling events 532, 553
LoadFromStream and 444 specifying position 617, matching whole words 570,
SaveToStream method 678 706 571
LoadFromFile and 444 orientation options 939, 942 replace options 932
LoadFromStream and 444 scrolling ranges 636 string lists 300
saving setting position 683 secondary indexes 395
components 677 small change 728 deleting 196
controls 677 states 941 Sections property 684
files 287, 936 scroll boxes 939 SectionWidth property 684
reports 660 adding scroll bars 387, 432, security 448
sbHorizontal constant 432 982 login events 541, 886
sbVertical constant 432 borders 88 password events 916
ScaleBy method 678 moving 391, 433, 457, 470, Seek method 685
scaled fonts 567 728 Seek procedure 685
Scaled property 679 scrolling 682 See also FilePos function
PixelsPerInch and 608 scroll buttons SeekEof function 686
scaling controls 678 tab set controls 66, 248 See also Eof, SeekEoln
scaling forms 679 ScrollBar component 938 functions
scaling graphics 966, 999 ScrollBars property 681 SeekEoln function 687
scan codes (keyboard) 881 TScrollStyle and 942 See also Eoln, SeekEof
scBottom constant 941 ScrollBox component 939 functions
scEndScroll constant 941 ScrollBy method 681 Seg function 688

1038 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

See also Addr, Ofs functions SelLength property 695 SetTabFocus method 709
segment bases 688 SelectAll vs. 690 SetText method 710
offset addresses and SelStart and 696 SetTextBuf method 710
converting 634 SelStart property 696 SetTextBuf procedure 711
segments 621 SelectAll vs. 690 See also Append, AssignFile,
code 161 SelLength and 696 Read, Reset, Rewrite, Write
data 219 SelText property 697 procedures; SizeOf function
SelCount property 689 SendToBack method 697 settings See properties
Select Directory dialog box 690 ServerConv property 698 SetUpdateState method 712
Select directory dialog box servers SetVariable method 713
options 943 See also database servers RecalcReport and 647
SelectAll method 690 connecting to 145, 800 SetVariableLines method 713
SelectDirectory function 690 exception handling 225 Shape component 945
TSelectDirOpts and 943 ServiceApplication property 699 shape components 945
Selected property 691 Session component 943 coloring borders 86
SelectedColor property 692 Session variable 699 determining shape 715, 946
SelectedField property 693 incrementing 565 fill patterns and colors 92, 785
SelectedIndex property 693 sessions, terminating 225 Shape property 714–715
SelectedItem property 694 SetAsHandle method 700 TBevelShape and 778
selecting SetBounds method 700 TShapeType and 946
buttons 35, 111, 119, 211 SetComponent method 701 Shareable property 716
groups 34, 366 SetData method 702–703 sharing media players 716
cells in grids 573, 943 SetFields method 703 sharing menus 614
handling events 517 SetFocus method 703 Shift key, testing 946
range of 572 SetFormOLEDropFormats shift keys 718
colors 794 procedure 704 See also mouse buttons
components 514 BOLEFormat and 84 ShortCut function 716
controls 103, 317 RegisterFormAs TextToShortCut vs. 846
data 217 OLEDropTarget and 651 ShortCut property 717
directories 690 SetKey method 704 TShortCut and 946
files in lists 288, 290 EditKey vs. 226 shortcuts
file masks and 296, 297, FindKey and 305 menu items 846, 946
299, 364, 455, 456 GotoKey and 361 handling events 881
fonts 319, 567 GotoNearest and 361 routines 8
menu items 111, 119 SetKey state 740 ShortCutToKey function
at run time 716 TShortCut and 946
shortcuts 103, 717, 718, SetLink method 705
846, 881, 946 SetParams method 705 ShortCutToKey procedure 718
converting to Max and 458 ShortCutToText function 718
strings 718 Min and 471 TShortCut and 946
tab sets 695, 956 SetPrinter method 706 Show method 719
text SetRange method 706 ShowModal vs. 724
automatically 67 CancelRange and 96 Visible and 983
combo boxes 511, 690, 696, SetRangeEnd method 707 ShowAccelChar property 719
697 ApplyRange and 42 ShowerScald procedure See your
edit boxes 690, 697 EditRangeEnd vs. 230 plumber
entire blocks 690 KeyExclusive and 427 ShowException method 720
getting starting SetRange vs. 706 ShowException procedure 720
position 696 SetRangeStart method 708 ShowGlyphs property 720
list boxes 274, 691 ApplyRange and 42 ShowHint property 721–722
multiple items 485 EditRangeStart vs. 231 Hint and 383
memo fields 690, 696 KeyExclusive and 427 ParentShowHint and 594
returning length 696 SetRange vs. 706 Showing property 722
setting colors 135 sets ShowMessage procedure 723
Selection property 694 adding elements 391 ShowMessagePos
TGridRect and 867 removing elements 263 procedure 724
SelectNext method 695 SetSelTextBuf method 708 ShowModal function
SelectorInc variable 695

Index 1039
ModalResult and 474 changing 97 testing for 446
ShowModal method 724 closing datasets 14 SQL transactions 972
silent exceptions 221 handling events 28, 73 committing 139
simple combo boxes 766 connecting to datasets 203, initiating 738, 962
simulating click events 119 243 isolation levels 930, 962
navigator buttons 94, 119 counting records 649 rolling back 669
Sin function 725 creating 587, 733 Sqr function 733
See also ArcTan, Cos, TypeOf multiple 733 See also Sqrt function
functions data states 740 Sqrt function 733
sine 725 deleting records 194 See also Sqr function
single-line borders 87, 88 handling events 28, 74 square root 733
single-step interrupts 260 executing 265, 564, 622, 733, squares 715
968 SS register value 734
singleton results 950
problems with 842 ssAlt constant 881, 946
Size property 725–727 inserting records 38, 40, 405,
Height vs. 376 ssBoth constant 681
410
SizeOf function 727 ssCtrl constant 882, 946
handling events 29, 75,
See also FillChar, GetMem, 547 ssDouble constant 882, 946
Move procedures opening datasets 14, 564 SSeg function 734
SmallChange property 728 handling events 29, 75 See also CSeg, DSeg, SPtr
Max and 457 optimizing 622, 623, 966, 968 functions
Min and 470 parameters 914, 915 ssHorizontal constant 681
TScrollBarInc and 939 adding 25, 160 ssLeft constant 882, 946
Smallint types 947 assigning data 50, 54, 56, ssMiddle constant 882, 946
batch moves and 57 180, 182, 415 ssNone constant 681
SmallintField component 947 BCD values 45 ssRight constant 946
SMPTE time formats 875 Boolean values 45 ssShift constant 881, 946
Sort method 728 currency values 46 ssVertical constant 681
Sorted property 729–730 date/time values 46, 59 stack exceptions 260
sorting dynamic queries 585 stack pointer 731
items in lists 729 float values 47 stacking controls 92, 698
strings in lists 728, 730 integer values 48
string values 57 stacking controls See Z order
sound effects See media players standard input device 400
word values 59
Source property 730 clearing 51, 116, 657 standard output device 577
Spacing property 731 data assignments 116 standard output file 578
speed buttons 948 copying 50, 54, 341, 342, Start property 735
See also buttons 702 Rewind and 667
adding glyphs 359, 495 counting 156, 586 TimeFormat and 875
aligning images 787 naming 486 StartMargin property 736
arranging text and referencing 425, 585 EndMargin and 248
images 731 restoring 51 StartPage property 736
as check boxes 35 returning 353 StartPos property 737
grouping 366 saving 51 AutoRewind and 65
margins 453 setting to null 116 Play and 609
multiple images 495 passthrough SQL and 663, TimeFormat and 875
selecting 34, 119, 211, 366 923 StartRecording method 738
styles 788 posting records 619, 973 EndPos and 250
SpeedButton component 948 handling events 30, 75 StartPos and 737
SPtr function 731 result sets 353, 663, 966, 972 Wait and 987
See also SSeg function defined 923 StartTransaction method 738
SQL property 732 updating data 972 Commit and 139
SQL servers 923 SQL tables 923 Rollback and 669
opening databases 541, 588 returning names 356 State property 739–740
SQL statements 923 searching for data 230, 231, CheckBrowseMode and 110
See also queries 306, 706, 707, 708 dsEditModes and 219
allocating memory 342 security 448 Edit and 225
associating with login events 541, 886 OnDateChange and 520
databases 174 password events 916

1040 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

OnStateChange and 560 copying 50, 54, 151, 341, AutoSize vs. 68
TCheckBoxState and 791 342, 702 StretchDraw method 748
TDataSetState and 800 counting 156, 586 StrFmt function 748
states naming 486 StrIComp function 750
check boxes 35, 739, 791 output 353 See also StrComp, StrLComp,
drag/drop modes 829 passing 587 StrLIComp functions
forms 964, 992 referencing 425, 585 strikeout text 567
list boxes 832 restoring 51 string fields 951
scroll bars 941 saving 51
date/time values and 47
statistics 636 setting to null 116
types, specifying 589, 916 floating-point values and 48
status bars 913 integers and 48
OLE applications 447, 560 posting records 619, 973
handling events 30, 75 logical values and 45
stCircle constant 715 result sets 353, 663, 966, 972 searching for data 306
stEllipse constant 715 defined 923 size, returning 726, 727
Step method 740 return values 950 string grids 951
Frames and 332 returning 355, 743 accessing strings 105, 749
Wait and 987 singleton results 950 and objects 137, 499, 673
StmtHandle property 741 StoredProc component 949 borders 88
Stop method 742 StoredProcName property 743 cells
Wait and 987 active 671
storing values 773 bounding rectangle 104
Storage property 742 Str procedure 743
stored procedures 949 line width 365
See also Val, Write procedures painting 191, 524, 533, 556
See also queries DisplayFormat and 205
allocating memory 342 handling events 829,
DisplayText and 207 867
associating with StrAlloc function 744
databases 174 returning current 132
StrBufSize function 744 selecting 943
changing 97 StrAlloc and 744 range of 572
closing datasets 14 StrCat function 744 setting size 138, 190, 572
handling events 28, 73
See also StrLCat function color options 134, 572
connecting to datasets 203,
StrComp function 745 columns
243 counting 133, 278, 985
counting records 649 See also StrIComp, StrLComp
functions current 480
data states 740 displaying 436, 561, 572,
deleting records StrCopy function 745
See also StrECopy, StrLCopy, 907
handling events 28, 74 headers 869
executing 265, 564, 621, 968 StrNew functions
StrDispose function 746 moving 572, 898, 907
inserting records 38, 40 events 519, 554
handling events 29, 75, RequestData and 662
streams 782 returning 280, 693
547 display options 867
opening datasets 14, 564 buffers 637, 994
clearing 935 displaying items 191
handling events 29, 75 handling events 829, 867
optimizing 622 creating 158
current position, drawing surfaces 100
overloading 578 editing items 229, 944
parameters 584, 914, 915 resetting 685
creation exceptions 233 handling events 533, 556
adding 25, 160 options 572
assigning data 50, 54, 56, file 233
read/write exceptions 233, exception handling 236
182, 415 height 364
BCD values 45 258, 262
base object 261 moving through 573
Boolean values 45 nonscrolling regions 310, 311,
currency values 46 reading from 444, 637
writing to 678, 994 312, 907
date/time values 46, 59
float values 47 StrECopy function 746 coloring 310
integer values 48 See also StrCat, StrCopy, displaying 572
string values 57 labeling 311, 312
StrEnd functions
word values 59 owner-draw
stRectangle constant 715 handling events 829, 867
available descriptions 196 StrEnd function 747
clearing 51, 116, 657 retrieving text strings 865
See also StrLen function
data assignments 116 Stretch property 747

Index 1041
returning coordinates 694, comparing 745, 750, 751 treating as blocks 710
867 case insensitive 37, 140, updating 77, 250
rows 753 Strings property 749
counting 672, 985, 986 case sensitive 37, 140 StrLCat function 750
current 480 concatenating 143, 744, 746, See also SizeOf, StrCat
displaying 436, 561, 572, 750 functions
907 conversions 58 StrLComp function 751
moving 898, 907 data to 843 See also StrComp, StrIComp,
setting size 192, 672 exception handling 222 StrLIComp functions
scrolling 681 converting 743 StrLCopy function 752
width 366 null-terminated 755, 846 MaxLen and 752
string lists 953 Pascal-type 756 StrLen function 752
accessing strings 978 to dates 759 See also StrEnd function
adding strings 19, 27, 403, 443 to integers 760, 761
to lowercase 37, 451, 754 StrLFmt function 753
and objects 23, 408, 498 StrLIComp function 753
changing items 511, 979 to null-terminated 756
to numbers 973 See also StrComp, StrIComp,
counting items 155 StrLComp functions
deleting items 117, 193 to Pascal-type 755
to time formats 759, 762 StrLower function 754
duplicate strings 221, 834
to uppercase 38, 762, 973 See also StrUpper function
exception handling 238, 261
headers and 684 copying 745, 746, 752, 755, StrMove function 754
INI files and 644, 645 756, 757 See also Move function
item position 396 counting 155 StrNew function 755
locating objects 397 deleting 193 See also GetMem procedure;
moving items 263, 481 display-only 207, 842 StrDispose function
multiple strings and 356, 710 handling events 534, 556, stRoundRect constant 715
searching for items 300 850 stRoundSquare constant 715
sorting strings 728, 730 disposing 210, 746 StrPas function 755
updating 77, 250 editing 229, 944 See also StrPCopy function
string tables 316 handling events 533, 556 StrPCopy function 756
string types 57, 58, 955 empty 242, 495, 843 See also StrCopy function
captions 790 end 747 StrPLCopy function 757
exceeding maximum 708 StrPos functions 756, 757
StringField component 951
exception handling 238 StrRScan function 757
StringGrid component 951 finding next occurrence 571
strings 954 See also StrScan function
first occurrence 756–757 StrScan function 758
accessing 105, 137, 499, 673, format 322–324
749, 978 See also StrRScan function
INI files and 646, 978, 999 Chr and 758
adding objects 23, 397, 408, length 437
498 StrToDate function 759
loading 446 See also DateToStr,
allocating 489 maximum length 354, 839
allocating buffers 744 StrToDateTime, StrToTime
merging See concatenating functions
appending 40 moving 263, 481, 754
arrays 105, 137 StrToDateTime function 759
new 489, 755 See also DateTimeToStr,
assigning 55 null-terminated 132, 710,
changing 511, 979 StrToDate, StrToTime
744, 757 functions
characters reading 354, 357, 708, 710
converting to StrToFloat function 760
returning 356
uppercase 969 exception handling 222
outline items and 358
first occurence 758 Pascal-type 755, 757 StrToInt function 760
last occurence 757 position, returning 396 See also IntToHex, IntToStr,
number 752 StrToIntDef functions
maximum 744 retrieving 422, 865
searching for 306 exception handling 222
writing to windows StrToIntDef function 761
996–997 substrings
deleting 195 See also IntToStr, StrToInt
clearing 117 functions
Clipboard and 58 inserting 406
returning 150 StrToTime function 762
combo boxes 208
searching for 616
returning 422

1042 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

See also StrToDate, tab order, setting 958 inserting records 38, 40, 405,
StrToDateTime, TimeToStr tab sets 958 410
functions adding text 461 handling events 29, 75,
StrUpper function 762 adding to notebooks 958 547
See also StrLower function changing keyviol 12, 430
stSquare constant 715 handling events 509 lookup 813, 815
Style property 763–771 coloring 72, 210, 692 adding data 460
IntegralHeight and 411 unselected 969 assigning values 208
ItemHeight and 420 counting visible tabs 986 calculated fields and 95
TBevelStyle and 778 dithered backgrounds 210 closing 28, 130, 218
TBrushStyle and 785 margins 248, 736 counting fields 278
TButtonStyle and 788 measuring tabs 889 displaying values 68, 175,
TComboBoxStyle and 796 moving through 309, 695 180, 449
TDBLookupComboStyle owner-draw 526, 543, 889 current field 840
and 815 displaying 769 data sources 450
handling events 832 in columns 816
TFontStyles and 862 multiple fields 218, 449,
TListBoxStyle and 886 scroll buttons and 66, 248
selecting 695, 956 574
TOutlineType and 911 opening 217, 219
TPenStyle and 917 styles 768, 960
returning specific
TTabStyle and 960 tab positions 418
fields 280, 693
styles TabbedNotebook setting current values 976
bitmap buttons 768 component 955 master 456, 457
borders 86–88 Table component 956 moving cursors 306, 361
brushes 764, 785 table type constants 772 specified distance 482
buttons 788 TableName property 772 to first record 309
combo boxes 765, 770, 796 CreateTable and 161 to last record 434
fonts 765, 862 DeleteTable and 196 to next record 491
forms 330, 865 EmptyTable and 242 to previous record 631
outlines 577, 911 GotoCurrent and 360 moving through 819
owner-draw controls 542 tables moving to specific
pens 763, 917 See also databases records 361
tab sets 768, 960 accessing 956 Paradox See Paradox tables
SubCode property 224 placing restrictions 264 posting records 619, 973
substrings See string lists; strings associating with handling events 30, 75
Succ function 771 databases 174 problems 13, 632
See also Dec, Inc procedures; batch operations 776 queries and temporary 631
Pred function creating 161 removing records 194, 242
swap files 254 data states 740 handling events 28, 74
Swap function 771 dBASE See dBASE tables returning names 356, 772
See also Hi, Lo functions deleting 196 searching for data 427, 428
Sybase tables detail key fields and 305, 306,
result sets, returning 353 linking to master 456, 457 361, 704
system colors 135, 137, 793 handling events 800 multiple fields 226
System menu 86 indexes 393, 877 ranges 427
characteristics 575 canceling 96
system resources changing 230, 231
exception handling 253, 254 clearing elements 116
counting elements 156 setting 42, 706, 707, 708
freeing 334 specifying types 772
counting fields 393
system tables creating 18, 23, 50, 157, SQL See SQL tables
returning 356 158, 878 Sybase See Sybase tables
System unit 8 dBASE 273, 395 synchronizing multiple 360
SysUtils unit 8 entering fields 23, 394 TableType property 772
naming 347, 486 CreateTable and 161
T retrieving DeleteTable and 196
information 394, 397, 971 EmptyTable and 242
tab characters 988 searching on 305, 306 TabOrder property
DDE applications and 324 secondary 395 TTabOrder and 958
outlines 439 deleting 196 taCenter constant 32

Index 1043
Tag property 773 TCopyMode type 797 TDrawGrid component 830
taLeftJustify constant 32, 33 tcUpperCase constant 843 TDrawItemEvent method
TAlign type 773 TCurrencyField component 797 TOwnerDrawState and 912
TAlignment type 773, 883 TCursor type 798 TDrawItemEvent type 832
TApplication component 773 TCustomColors type 798 TDrawTabEvent type 832
taRightJustify constant 32, 33 TDatabase component 798 TDriveComboBox
TAttachMode type 775 TDataChangeEvent type 800 component 832
TAutoActivate type 775 TDataMode type 800 TDuplicates type 834
TBatchMode type 775 TDataSetNotifyEvent type 800 technical support 1
BatchMove and 72 TDataSetState type 800 TEdit component 834
TBatchMove component 776 dsEditModes and 219 TDBEdit vs. 807
TBCDField component 776 State and 740 TMemo vs. 891
TBevel component 777 TDataSource component 801 TEditCharCase type 836
TBevelShape type 778 TDataChangeEvent and 800 Temporary property 836
TBevelStyle type 778 TTable and 956 TEndDragEvent type 837
TBevelWidth type 779 TDateField component 801 Terminate method 837
tbHorizontal constant 872 TDateTime type 802 Terminated property 837
TBitBtn component 779 TDateTimeField component 802 terminating applications 11, 13,
TBitBtnKind type 780 TDBCheckBox component 803 269, 270, 368
TBitmap object 781 TDBComboBox component 804 terminating batch
TBlobField component 781 TDBEdit component 806 operations 12, 13
TBlobStream object 782 TDBError type 224 terminating print jobs 11, 247
TBlobStreamMode type 783 TDBGrid component 808 testing status 12
TBookmark type 783 TDBGridOption type 809 terminating sessions
TBooleanField component 783 TDBGridOptions type 809 unexpectedly 225
TBorderIcons type 784 TDBImage component 810 Test8086 variable 838
TBorderStyle type 784 TDBListBox component 811 testing for active control 15, 318
TBorderWidth type 784 TDBLookupCombo testing for active form 16
TBrush object 785 component 813 TExceptionEventType 838
TBrushStyle type 785 TDBLookupComboStyle text 839–843, 891
TButton component 786 type 814 See also captions; labels; titles
TButtonLayout type 787 TDBLookupListOption type 816 aligning 32–34
TButtonSet type 787 TDBLookupListOptions appending 39
TButtonStyle type 787 type 816 blocks 690, 710
tbVertical constant 872 TDBMemo component 817 color options 135
TBytesField component 788 TDBNavigator component 819 conversions
TCanvas object 789 TDBRadioGroup OEM characters 501
component 820 copying 58, 152, 354, 357, 710
TCaption type 790
TDBText component 822 edit boxes 354
TChangeRange type 790 deleting 117, 118, 193–194
TCheckBox component 790 TDDEClientConv
Clipboard and 117, 171,
TCheckBoxState type 791 component 823 328
TClipboard object 792 TDDEClientItem displaying 69, 859
TCloseAction type 792 component 824 automatically 61
TCloseEvent type 792 TDDEServerConv data-aware
TCloseQueryEvent type 793 component 825 components 817, 822
tcLowerCase constant 843 TDDEServerItem edit boxes 68, 381
TColor type 793 component 825 input focus and 381
TColorDialog component 794 TDirectoryListBox lookup tables 68
TColorDialogOptions type 794 component 826 memos 381, 839
TComboBox component 795 TDragDropEvent type 828 resizeable 869
TComboBoxStyle type 796 TDragMode type 828 drawing 845
TComponent type 3–5 TDragOverEvent type 828 editing
TDragState type 829 edit boxes 231
TComponentName type 796
TDrawCellEvent type 829 list boxes 282
TControl type 5–6 masks 231
TControlScrollBar object 796 TGridDrawState and 867
entering
TDrawDataCellEvent type 830

1044 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

edit boxes 108, 836 OnGetText and 534 TFontDialogOptions type 861
length, returning 358 OnSetText and 556 TFontName type 861
memos See memos SetData vs. 702 TFontPitch type 862
outlines See outlines TCaption and 790 TFontStyles type 862
pasting 596 TextCase and 843 TForm component 862
pointers 850 TextHeight and 844 TFormBorderStyle type 864
reading lines 641 TextOut and 845 TBorderStyle vs. 784
read-only 69 TextWidth and 847 TFormStyle type 865
replacing 553, 571, 660, 932 TTextCase and 960 tfSamples constant 875
retrieving 865 text strings See strings tfSMPTE24 constant 875
searching for 308, 856 TextCase property 843 tfSMPTE25 constant 875
handling events 532, 553 TextFile type 844
matching whole tfSMPTE30 constant 875
See also AssignFile, CloseFile tfSMPTE30Drop constant 875
words 570, 571 procedures
string lists 300 tfTMSF constant 875
TextHeight method 844 TGetEditEvent type 865
selecting 135 TextOut method 845
automatically 67 TGraphic object 865
TextRect method 845 TGraphicClass type 363
combo boxes 511, 690, 696,
697 TextToFloat function 846 TGraphicControl type 7
edit boxes 690, 697 TextToShortCut function 846 TGraphicField component 866
entire blocks 690 ShortCut vs. 717 TGraphicsObject object 866
getting starting TextWidth method 847 TGridDrawState type 867
position 696 tfBytes constant 875 TGridOptions type 867
list boxes 274, 691 TFDApplyEvent type 847 TGridRect type 867
multiple items 485 tfFrames constant 875 TGroupBox component 868
memo fields 690, 696 tfHMS constant 875 THeader component 869
returning length 696 TField component 848
special effects 567 THelpContext type 870
TFieldClass and 853
tab sets 461 THelpEvent type 870
TFieldType and 854
underlining 567 THintInfo type 870
TFieldClass type 853
updating three-dimensional controls 163,
TFieldDef object 853
list boxes 41, 970 TFieldType and 854 592
outlines 77, 712 TFieldDefs object 853 thumb tabs See scroll bars
wrapping 994 TFieldGetTextEvent type 850 TIcon object 870
text buffers TFieldNotifyEvent type 850 tiDirtyRead constant 930
setting 708, 710 TFieldSetTextEvent type 850 TIdleEvent type 871
writing to 354, 357, 358 TFieldType type 854 Tile method 871
text files Size and 726 TileMode and 872
appending to 39 TFileAttr type 855 tile mode constants 872
applying filters 41, 286 TFileEditStyle type 851 TileMode property 872
assigning I/O buffers 711 TTileMode and 961
TFileExt type 851
associating with CRT tiling forms 872, 961
window 52 TFileListBox component 851
TImage component 873
clearing buffer 315 TFileName type 854
TDBImage vs. 810
databases and 772 TFileRec type 854
time 759, 802, 961
end-of-line markers 997 TFileType type 855 See also Timer component
printing 55 TFillStyle type 855 conversions 46, 47, 59
Truncate and 935 TFilterComboBox converting 182, 183, 285, 876
text forms component 855 decoding 189
exception handling 254 TFindDialog component 856 encoding 246
text pointers 865 TFindItemKind type 857 formatting 163, 189, 246, 325,
Text property 839–843 TFindOptions type 857 802
EditText and 231 TFloatField component 857 masks and 228
FullPath and 337 tfMilliseconds constant 875 preferences 345
GetData vs. 341 tfMSF constant 875 returning 759, 762
GetTextItem and 358 TFont object 859 returning current 494, 874
ItemSeparator and 426 TFontDialog component 860 stamping 292
Lines vs. 439 TFontDialogDevice type 861 Time function 874

Index 1045
See also Date, Now, TimeToStr TMessageEvent type 895 TPoint type 918
functions; DecodeTime TMetafile object 895 TPointerList type 442
procedure TModalResult type 896 TPopupAlignment type 918
TimeField component 961 TMouseButton type 897 TPopupMenu component 918
TimeFormat property 874 TMouseEvent type 897 TPosition type 919
EndPos and 250 TMouseMoveEvent type 897 TPrintDialog component 920
Length and 437 TMovedEvent type 898 TPrintDialogOptions type 920
Position and 618 TMPBtnType type 898 TPrinter object 921
TMPTimeFormats and 899 TMPDevCapsSet type 898 TPrinterOrientation type 922
TrackLength and 925 TMPDeviceTypes type 898 TPrinterSetupDialog
TrackPosition and 926 TMPModes type 899 component 922
Timer component 962 TMPNotifyValues type 899 TPrintRange type 922
timer events 561 TMPTimeFormats type 899 TPrintScale type 923
initiating 412 TMsgDlgButtons type 899 TQuery component 923
responding to 243 TMsgDlgType type 900 TrackCursor procedure 925
TimeToStr function 876 TNavigateBtn type 900 See also ScrollTo procedure
See also DateTimeToStr, TrackLength property 925
TNotebook component 900
DateToStr, StrToDateTime,
TNotifyEvent type 901 TrackPosition property 926
Time functions
TNumGlyphs type 902 Tracks property 927
TIndexDef object 877
TObject type TRadioButton component 927
TIndexDefs object 877
AssignValue and 56 TRadioGroup component 928
TIndexOptions type 878
AddIndex and 23 toggles See check boxes trailing blanks
TOLEContainer component 902 masks 227
TIniFile object 878
TOLEDropNotify object 903 transactions 972
TIntegerField component 878
tool bars 913, 948 committing 139
tiReadCommitted constant 930 initiating 738, 962
tiRepeatableRead constant 930 tool palettes 913, 948
ToolHelp DLL 245 isolation levels 930, 962
title bars 784 rolling back 669
adding icons 86, 784 Top property 904
ToPage property 904 TransIsolation property 930
labels 103, 880 StartTransaction and 738
Title property 879–880 TOpenDialog component 905
TOpenOptions type 906 TTransIsolation and 962
TitleFont property 881 Transliterate property 930
titles 879–880 TopIndex property 906
TopItem property 907 transparent controls 931
See also captions; labels; text transparent images 93
TKey type 881 TopRow property 907
OnTopLeftChanged and 561 Transparent property 931
TKeyEvent type 881 TRect type 931
TKeyPressEvent type 882 TOutline component 908
EOutlineChange and 253 Rect vs. 648
TLabel component 882 TReplaceDialog component 932
TLeftRight type 883 TOutlineNode object 910
TOutlineOptions type 911 TReport component 933
TList object 883 trigonometric functions 43, 154,
TListBox component 884 TOutlineStyle type 911
TOutlineType type 911 725
TDBListBox vs. 811 TrueType fonts 320, 568
TListBoxStyle type 885 TOwnerDrawState type 911
TPaintBox component 912 Trunc function 934
TLocale type 886 See also Int, Round functions
TLoginEvent type 886 TPanel component 913
TPanelBevel type 914 Truncate method 934
TMacroEvent type 886 Truncate procedure 935
TMainMenu component 886 TParam object 914
TParamBindMode type 915 See also Reset, Rewrite, Seek
TMaskEdit component 887 procedures
TMeasureItemEvent type 889 TParams object 915
TParamType type 916 TSaveDialog component 936
TMeasureTabEvent type 889 TScreen component 937
OnMeasureTab and 543 TPasswordEvent type 916
TPen object 916 TScrollBar component 938
TMediaPlayer component 889 TScrollBarInc type 939
TMemo component 891 TPenMode type 917
TPenStyle type 917 TScrollBarKind type 939
TMemoField component 893 TScrollBox component 939
TMenuBreak type 894 TPicture object 917
TPoint records 610 TScrollCode type 941
TMenuItem component 894 TScrollEvent type 941

1046 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

TScrollStyle type 941 returning 278 UpperCase function 973
TSearchRec type 942 specifying 54, 181, 182, See also AnsiUpperCase,
TSectionEvent type 942 854 LowerCase functions
TSelectCellEvent type 943 batch moves 57 user actions See events
TSelectDirOpts type 943 object user names
TSession component 943 TField 853 database servers 448, 886
TSetEditTextEvent type 944 string 57, 58, 955 login events 541
captions 790 user options 790, 803, 884
TShape component 945
typography 1 checking/unchecking 35,
TShapeType type 945
TZoomFactor type 966 111, 977, 980
TShiftState type 946
ShortCut and 716 initiating actions 779, 786
TShortCut 946 U mutually exclusive 366, 820,
TShortCut type 946 927
unassigned pointers 53
TShowHintEvent type 946 unassigned procedural
OnShowHint and 557 variables 53 V
THintInfo and 870 unchecking check boxes 35, 111, Val procedure 973
TSmallintField component 947 739 See also Str procedure
tsOwnerDraw constant 768 undefined instructions 236 ValidateEdit method 974
TSpeedButton component 948 underflow math exceptions 261 validating data 317, 416
tsStandard constant 768 underlining characters in handling events 562, 850
TStatusLineEvent type 949 captions 103 ValidParentForm function 975
TStoredProc component 949 underlining text 567 GetParentForm vs. 351
TStringField component 951 UniDirectional property 966 Value property 975–977
TStringGrid component 951 Unmerge method 967 AsBoolean vs. 45
TStringList object 953 UnPrepare method 968 AsDateTime vs. 47
TStrings object 954 Prepared vs. 622 AsFloat vs. 48
TSymbolStr type 955 UnselectedColor property 968 AsInteger vs. 48
TTabbedNotebook UpCase function 969 AssignValue and 56
component 955 See also StrUpper function AsString vs. 58
TTabChangeEvent type 956 Update method 969–971 DisplayValue and 208
TTable component 956 IndexDefs and 393 ValueChecked property 977
TTabOrder type 958 Refresh and 650 values
TTabSet component 958 UpdateCursorPos method 971 absolute 13
TTabStyle type 960 UpdateMode property 971 assigning 40, 56, 410, 703, 977
ttASCII constant 772 UpdateRecord method 973 binary-coded decimals 45
ttDBase constant 772 dsEditModes and 219 Boolean 45
TTextCase type 960 OnUpdateData and 562 currency 46
TTextRec type 960 updating controls date/time 46, 47, 59
TTileMode type 961 outlines 77, 250 DDE applications 509
TTimeField component 961 strings 77, 250 floating-point 47, 48
integers 48
TTimer component 962 updating data key field searches 305, 362
ttParadox constant 772 data sources 244 lookup tables 208, 449, 450
TTransIsolation type 962 datasets 243, 971, 973 maximum 461
TVarBytesField component 962 DDE applications 439, 662 minimum 473
TVarRec type 963 handling events 562 required 663
TWinControl type 6–7 live result sets 972 Smallint types 57
TWindowState type 964 updating reports 647, 713, 714 SQL statements 54, 56,
TWordField component 964 updating text 180, 182
typecasting list boxes 41, 970 dynamic queries 585
exception handling 235 outlines 77, 712 stored procedures 54, 56,
TypeOf function 965 uppercase characters 227, 969 182
See also SizeOf function See also lowercase string 57, 58
types combo boxes 843 word 59
Clipboard formats 85 edit boxes 108 comparing
data masks 108 database searches 42, 972
compatible 50 returning 38, 762, 973 strings 751

Index 1047
converting VCRs See media players exiting 90
floating-point to string 313 VersionMajor property 981 Width property 990–991
floating-point to text 315 VersionMinor property 982 HorzScrollBar and 387
See also conversions vertical scroll bars 157, 432, 939, wildcard characters 296, 297, 298
string to integer 760 982 See also file filters
formatting floating-point 326 displaying 796 WIN.INI file
nil 703 scrolling ranges 636 See also INI files
object lists 579 setting position 683 loading characters from 353
nonzero VertScrollBar property 982 window handles
testing for 110 TControlScrollBar and 796 applications 370
null 116, 703 Clipboard 338, 700
videos See media players
testing for 415 controls 370
numeric See integers; viewing See displaying
virtual key codes 718 creating 373
numbers testing for 371
ordinal 575 virtual method tables 965
Visible property 983 invalid operations 237, 254,
required 663, 887 535
validating 974 Hide and 380
HorzScrollBar and 387 menu items 370
restoring default 117 Window menu 863, 991
storing 773 OnCreate and 519
Show and 719 windowed controls 6
strings listed 6
comparing 751 Showing and 723
VisibleButtons property 983–985 returning children 147
truncating 934 stacking order 92, 698
writing to files 995 TButtonSet and 787
VisibleColCount property 985 WindowMenu property 991
Values property 978–980
VisibleRowCount property 985 WindowOrg typed constant 992
ReadSectionValues and 645
VisibleTabs property 986 windows 862
ValueUnchecked property 980
Visual Component Library See also CRT windows
VStrLCopy function coloring 135
See also SizeOf, StrCopy (VCL) 2
painting backgrounds 764
functions scrolling 938
VarBytesField component 962 W specifying icons 388
See also byte fields Windows applications
variables Wait property 986
Open and 563 running Delphi with 521
converting Windows common dialog boxes
date to string 183 Pause and 599
time to string 183 PauseOnly and 600 See common dialog boxes
currency formats 163 Play and 609 Windows messages
date/time type 802 Previous and 625 menus and 139
decrementing 188 Resume and 666, 667 processing 543, 633, 895
dynamic Save and 676 Windows swap files 254
creating 350, 488 StartRecording and 738 Windows system colors 135, 137
disposing 334 Step and 741, 742 WindowSize typed constant 992
releasing memory WantReturns property 987 WindowState property 992
allocations 209 WantTabs property 988 Restore vs. 665
file, typecasting 854 warning messages 466, 468 TWindowState and 964
heap 374 common dialog boxes 568, WindowTitle variable 993
incrementing 390 569 WinHelp
pointer, creating new 488 displaying 720 calling 377, 379
procedural, unassigned 53 WhereAll constant 972 WM_COMMAND
reading file components WhereChanged constant 972 messages 139
into 638 WhereKeyOnly constant 972 .WMF files See metafiles
reading text file values WhereX function 989 Word types 59
into 638 See also GoToXY procedure; word values 59
text 960 WhereY function WordField component 964
text files 844 WhereY function 989 WordWrap property 993
writing records to files 82 See also CoToXY procedure; workspaces
variable-width fonts 606 WhereX function coloring 135
VCL See Visual Component while statements wrapping text 994
Library continuing 146 Write method 994

1048 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference

Write procedure 995
See also Read, Readln, Writeln
WriteInteger method 998
Writeln procedure 997
Y
procedures See also Write procedure Y coordinate See GoToXY
IOResult and 995 WriteString method 998 procedure
text files 995 writing 710
typed files 995
WriteBool method 995
wsMaximized constant 992 Z
wsMinimized constant 992
WriteBuf procedure 996 wsNormal constant 992 Z order (controls) 92, 698
See also AutoTracking typed z025 constant 999
constant; WriteChar X z050 constant 999
procedure z100 constant 1000
WriteChar procedure 997 X coordinate See GoToXY z150 constant 1000
See also WriteBuf, Writeln procedure z200 constant 1000
procedures zeros, dividing by 232, 276
Zoom property 999
TZoomFactor and 966

Index 1049
1050 Delphi Visual Component Library Reference
Visual Component
Library Reference

®
Borland
™
Delphi
Borland International, Inc., 100 Borland Way
P.O. Box 660001, Scotts Valley, CA 95067-0001
Borland may have patents and/or pending patent applications covering subject matter in this document. The
furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents.
COPYRIGHT © 1995 Borland International. All rights reserved. All Borland product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Borland International, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.
Printed in the U.S.A.
1E0R395
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W1
Contents
Introduction 1 AddPassword method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Manual conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Addr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Contacting Borland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 AddStrings method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Delphi Visual Component Library. . . . . . . . . 2 AfterCancel event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Visual Component Library objects . . . . . . . . .2 AfterClose event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Visual Component Library components . . . . .3 AfterDelete event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Visual Component Library controls . . . . . . . .5 AfterEdit event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Visual Component Library windowed AfterInsert event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 AfterOpen event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Visual Component Library nonwindowed
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 AfterPost event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Visual Component Library procedures and AliasName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Align property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Library reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Alignment property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Sample entry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 For labels, memos, and panels . . . . . . . . . . 32
For check boxes and radio buttons . . . . . . . 32
Delphi Library Reference 11 For pop-up menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Abort method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 For field components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Abort procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 AllocMem function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Aborted property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 AllowAllUp property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
AbortOnKeyViol property . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 AllowGrayed property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
AbortOnProblem property . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 AllowInPlace property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Abs function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 AllowResize property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Abstract procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 AnsiCompareStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Active property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 AnsiCompareText function . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . . 14 AnsiLowerCase function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
For OLE containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 AnsiToNative function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ActiveControl property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 AnsiUpperCase function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
ActiveForm property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Append method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
ActiveMDIChild property. . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Append procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
ActivePage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 AppendRecord method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Add method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 AppendStr procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
For field definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Application variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
For index definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ApplyFilePath method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
For list objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 ApplyRange method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
For string and string list objects . . . . . . . . . 19
For menu items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Arc method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ArcTan function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
AddChild method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ArrangeIcons method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
AddChildObject method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 AsBCD property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
AddExitProc procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 AsBoolean property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
AddFieldDesc method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
For Boolean and string field components . . . 45
AddIndex method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
AsCurrency property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
AddObject method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
For string and string list objects . . . . . . . . . 23 AsDate property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 AsDateTime property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
AddParam method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

i
For date, date-time, time, and string field For OLE containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 AutoTracking typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . 70
AsFloat property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 AutoUnload property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Back method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
BackgroundColor property . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
AsInteger property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
BatchMove method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 BeforeCancel event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Assign method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 BeforeClose event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
For the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 BeforeDelete event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
For field definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 BeforeEdit event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
For index definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 BeforeInsert event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 BeforeOpen event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 BeforePost event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
For TParams objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
BeginDoc method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
For other objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
BeginDrag method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
AssignCrt procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
BeginUpdate method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Assigned function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
BevelInner property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
AssignField method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
BevelOuter property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
AssignFile procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
BevelWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
AssignPrn procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Bitmap property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
AssignStr procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
For brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
AssignValue method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 For pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
AssignValues method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 BlockRead procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
AsSmallInt property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 BlockWrite procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
AsString property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 BOF property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
BOLEFormat type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
BOLEMedium type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
AsText property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
BOLEMediumCalc function. . . . . . . . . . . . 85
AsTime property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
BorderColor property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
AsWord property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
BorderIcons property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
AutoActivate property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
BorderStyle property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
AutoCalcFields property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
For forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
AutoDisplay property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 For controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
AutoEdit property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 BorderWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
AutoEnable property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Bounds function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
AutoMerge property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 BoundsRect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
AutoOpen property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Break procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
AutoPopup property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Break property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
AutoRewind property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 BringToFront method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
AutoScroll property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Brush property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
For tab set controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
BrushCopy method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
For forms and scroll boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
BtnClick method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
AutoSelect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Buttons property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
AutoSize property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
For images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Calculated property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
For edit boxes and database lookup Cancel method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
combo boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Cancel property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
For label and database text components . . . . 69 CancelRange method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

ii
CanFocus method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 ClientHeight property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
CanModify property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 ClientOrigin property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . . 97 ClientRect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 ClientToScreen method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Canvas property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 ClientWidth property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
For forms, images, and paint boxes . . . . . . . 98 Clipboard variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
For list boxes, combo boxes, and outlines. . . . 99
For grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
ClipRect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
For printer objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Close method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
For bitmap objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 For forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Capabilities property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 For Clipboard objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
For media player controls . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Capacity property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .125
Caption property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 For databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Close procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
For all other components . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CloseApplication method . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Cascade method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
CloseDatabase method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
CellRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
CloseDatasets method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Cells property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
CloseDialog method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Center property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
CloseFile procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
ChangedCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
CloseLink method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
ChangedTableName property . . . . . . . . . 106
CloseQuery method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
ChangeFileExt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
CloseReport method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
ChangeLevelBy method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
CloseUp method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
CharCase property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
ClrEol procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
ChDir procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
ClrScr procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Check procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
CmdLine variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
CheckBreak typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . .110
CmdShow variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
CheckBrowseMode method . . . . . . . . . . .110
Col property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Checked property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
ColCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
CheckEOF typed constant. . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Collapse method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chord method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Collate property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Color property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
ClassName method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113 For the Color dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
ClassParent method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 ColoredButtons property . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
ClassType method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 ColorToRGB function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Clear method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Cols property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
For TParams objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Columns property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
For TIndexDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 ColWidths property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
For TFieldsDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Command property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Commit method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
For other objects and components . . . . . . . 117 CompareStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
ClearFields method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 CompareText function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
ClearFormOLEDropFormats procedure . . . .118 ComponentCount property . . . . . . . . . . . 141
ClearSelection method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 ComponentIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Click method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Components property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
For menu items and buttons . . . . . . . . . . 119 Concat function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
For database navigator controls . . . . . . . . 119 ConfirmDelete property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
ClientHandle property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

iii
Connect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Cursors property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Connected property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 CursorTo procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
ConnectMode property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 CustomColors property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
ContainsControl method . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 CutToClipboard method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Continue procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Data property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
ControlAtPos method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Database property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
ControlCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 DatabaseCount property. . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Controls property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 DatabaseError procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
ConvertDlgHelp property. . . . . . . . . . . . 148 DatabaseName property. . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Copies property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 For database components. . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Copy function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .173
CopyMode property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Databases property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
CopyParams method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 DataField property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
CopyRect method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 DataFormat property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
CopyToClipboard method . . . . . . . . . . . 152 DataHandle property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
For edit boxes and memos . . . . . . . . . . . 152 DataSet property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
For OLE containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 For data source components . . . . . . . . . . .177
For DDE server items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 For field components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
For database images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 DatasetCount property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Cos function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Datasets property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Count property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 DataSize property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
For lists and menu items. . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 DataSource property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
For TParams objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 For data-aware controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
For TFieldDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
For TIndexDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 DataType property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Create method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 For field definition objects . . . . . . . . . . . .181
For TIniFile objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 For field definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
For control scroll bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Date function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
For TIndexDef objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 DateTimeToFileDate function . . . . . . . . . . 182
For TIndexDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
For blob streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
DateTimeToString procedure . . . . . . . . . . 183
For all other components . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 DateToStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
For all other objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 DateTimeToStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
CreateField method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 DayOfWeek function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
CreateForm method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 DBHandle property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
CreateNew method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 DbiError procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
CreateParam method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 DBLocale property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
CreateTable method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 DDEConv property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
CSeg function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 DDEItem property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Ctl3D property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 DDEService property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Currency and date/time formatting DDETopic property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Dec procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Currency property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 DecodeDate procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Cursor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 DecodeTime procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
For all controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Default property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
For screen objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 DefaultColWidth property. . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Cursor typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 DefaultDrawing property . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
CursorPosChanged method . . . . . . . . . . 168 DefaultExt property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

iv
DefaultRowHeight property . . . . . . . . . . 192 DroppedDown property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Delete method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 dsEditModes const . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
For list and string objects and menu items . . 193 DSeg function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Duplicates property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
For queries and tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 EAbort object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Delete procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 EBreakpoint object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
DeleteFile function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 EClassNotFound object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
DeleteIndex method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 EComponentError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
DeleteTable method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 EConvertError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
DescriptionsAvailable method . . . . . . . . . 196 EDatabaseError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Destination property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 EDBEngineError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Destroy method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 EDBEditError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Device property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 EDDEError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
DeviceID property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Edit method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
DeviceType property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 For tables and queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225
Directory property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 For datasource components . . . . . . . . . . .225
DirectoryExists function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 EditFormat property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
DirLabel property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 EditKey method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
DirList property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 EditMask property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
DisableControls method. . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 EditMaskPtr property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
DiskFree function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 EditorMode property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
DiskSize function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 EditRangeEnd method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Display property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 EditRangeStart method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
DisplayFormat property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 EditText property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
DisplayLabel property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 EDivByZero object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
DisplayName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 EFault object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
DisplayRect property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 EFCreateError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
DisplayText property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 EFilerError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
DisplayValue property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 EFOpenError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
DisplayValues property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 EGPFault object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
DisplayWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 EInOutError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Dispose procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 EIntError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
DisposeStr procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 EIntOverflow object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
DitherBackground property . . . . . . . . . . 210 EInvalidCast object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
DoneWinCrt procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 EInvalidGraphic object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Down property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 EInvalidGraphicOperation object . . . . . . . 235
DragCursor property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 EInvalidGridOperation object. . . . . . . . . . 236
Dragging method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 EInvalidImage object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
DragMode property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 EInvalidOp object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Draw method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 EInvalidOpCode object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
DrawFocusRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 EInvalidOperation object . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Drive property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 EInvalidPointer object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
DriverName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Eject method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
DropConnections method. . . . . . . . . . . . 217 EListError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
DropDown method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 Ellipse method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
DropDownCount property . . . . . . . . . . . 218 EMathError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
DropDownWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . 218 EMCIDeviceError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

v
EMenuError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 EUnderflow object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
EMPNotify type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 EWriteError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
EMPPostNotify type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Exception object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Empty property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Exchange method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
EmptyStr constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Exclude procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
EmptyTable method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 Exclusive property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
EnableControls method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 ExecProc method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Enabled property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 ExecSQL method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
For all controls, menu items, and timers . . . 243 Execute method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
For data source components . . . . . . . . . . 244 For Color, Font, Open, Save, Print, Find,
EnabledButtons property . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 and Replace dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . . .266
EnableExceptionHandler procedure. . . . . . 245 For Printer Setup dialog boxes. . . . . . . . . .266
ENavClick type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 For batch move components . . . . . . . . . . .266
EncodeDate function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 ExecuteMacro method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
EncodeTime function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 ExecuteMacroLines method. . . . . . . . . . . 268
EndDoc method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 ExeName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
EndDrag method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 ExceptionClass typed constant . . . . . . . . . 269
EndMargin property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 ExceptProc typed constant. . . . . . . . . . . . 269
EndPage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Exit procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
EndPos property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 ExitCode variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
EndUpdate method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 ExitProc variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Eof function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Exp function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
EOF property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Expand method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
For lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
Eoln function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272
EOutlineChange type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Expanded property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
EOutlineError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
ExpandFileName function. . . . . . . . . . . . 273
EOutOfMemory object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Expression property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
EOutOfResources object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
ExtendedSelect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
EOverflow object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
ExtractFileExt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
EPageFault object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
ExtractFileName function . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
EParserError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
ExtractFilePath function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
EPrinter object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
ExceptObject function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
EProcessorException object . . . . . . . . . . . 255
ExceptAddr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
ERangeError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
EZeroDivide object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Erase procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Fail procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
EraseSection method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Field property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
EReadError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
FieldByName method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
EReportError object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
FieldClass property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
EResNotFound object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
FieldCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Error property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
FieldDefs property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
ErrorAddr variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
FieldName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
ErrorMessage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
FieldNo property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
ErrorProc typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 For TFieldDef objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279
ESingleStep object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280
EStackFault object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Fields property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
EStreamError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 For grids, lookup lists, queries, stored
EStringListError object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 procedures, and tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . .280

vi
File mode constants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 First method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
File open mode constants . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 For list objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
FileAge function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .309
FileClose procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 FirstIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
FileCreate function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 FixedColor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
FileEdit property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 FixedCols property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
FileEditStyle property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 FixedRows property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
FileExists function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 FloatToDecimal procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . 312
FileDateToDateTime function. . . . . . . . . . 285 FloatToStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
FileGetAttr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 FloatToStrF function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
FileGetDate function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 FloatToText function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
FileList property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 FloatToTextFmt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
FileMode variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 FloodFill method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
FileName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Flush procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
For Open and Save dialog boxes . . . . . . . . 287 FmtLoadStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
For media player components . . . . . . . . . 288 FmtStr procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
For the file list boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 FocusControl method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
For TIniFile objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 FocusControl property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
FilePos function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Focused method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
FileRead function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 Font property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Files property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 For Font dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319
FileSearch function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Fonts property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
FileSeek function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 ForceDirectories procedure . . . . . . . . . . . 321
FileSetAttr function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Format function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
FileSetDate procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Format strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
FileSize function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293 FormatBuf function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
FileType property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 FormatChars property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
FileWrite function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 FormatCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
FillChar procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 FormatDateTime function . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
FillRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 FormatFloat function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Filter property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 Formats property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
For Open and Save dialog boxes . . . . . . . . 296 FormCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
For filter combo boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 Forms property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
FilterIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 FormStyle property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Find method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 Frac function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
For string list objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
For TFieldDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
FrameRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
FindClose procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Frames property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
FindComponent method . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Free method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
FindDatabase method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Free procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
FindField method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 FreeBookmark method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
FindFirst function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 FreeMem procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
FindIndexForFields method . . . . . . . . . . 304 FromPage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
FindItem method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 FullCollapse method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
FindKey method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 FullExpand method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
FindNearest method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 FullPath property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
FindNext function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 GetAliasNames method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
FindText property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 GetAliasParams method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

vii
GetAsHandle method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338 GraphicExtension function . . . . . . . . . . . 363
GetBookmark method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 GraphicFilter function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
GetComponent method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 GridHeight property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
GetData method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 GridLineWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 GridWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
For Tparam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 GroupIndex property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
GetDatabaseNames method . . . . . . . . . . 341 For speed button controls. . . . . . . . . . . . .366
GetDataItem method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 For menu items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .367
GetDataSize method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 Halt procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
GetDir procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 Handle property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
GetDriverNames method . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 For graphics objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .369
GetDriverParams method . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 For applications, Find and Replace dialog
boxes, windowed controls . . . . . . . . . . .370
GetFieldNames method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
For menu items, main menus, and pop-up
GetFirstChild method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
GetFormatSettings procedure. . . . . . . . . . 345 For printer objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
GetFormImage method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 For sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370
GetHelpContext method . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .371
GetIndexForPage method . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 For databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371
GetIndexNames method . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 HandleAllocated method . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
GetItem method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 HandleException method . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
GetItemPath method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 HandleNeeded method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
GetLastChild method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 HasFormat method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
GetLongHint function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 HasItems property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
GetMem procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 Heap variables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
GetNextChild method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Height property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
GetParentForm function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 For controls, forms, and graphics . . . . . . . .376
For the screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
GetPassword method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 For fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376
GetPrevChild method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 HelpCommand method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
GetPrinter method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 HelpContext method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
GetProfileChar function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 HelpContext property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
GetProfileStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 HelpFile property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
GetResults method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353 HelpJump method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
GetSelTextBuf method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 Hi function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
GetShortHint function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355 Hide method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
GetStoredProcNames method . . . . . . . . . 355 HideSelection property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
GetTableNames method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 High function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
GetText method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 HInstance and HPrevInst variables . . . . . . 382
GetTextBuf method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 Hint property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
GetTextItem method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 HintColor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
GetTextLen method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 HintPause property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Glyph property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Hints property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
GotoBookmark method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 HistoryList property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
GotoCurrent method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 HMetafile type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
GotoKey method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 HorzScrollBar property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
GotoNearest method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 HPrevInst variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
GotoXY procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 Icon property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Graphic property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 For forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .388

viii
For picture objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 Invalidate method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
For an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 IOResult function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
InactiveTitle typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . 390 IsIndexField property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Inc procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 IsMasked property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Inch property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 IsNull property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Include procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415
Increment property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416
Index property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 IsSQLBased property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 IsValidChar method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 IsValidIdent function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
IndexDefs property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 IsVisible property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
IndexFieldCount property. . . . . . . . . . . . 393 ItemAtPos method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
IndexFieldNames property . . . . . . . . . . . 394 For list boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
IndexFields property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 For tab sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
IndexName property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 ItemCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
IndexOf method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 ItemHeight property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
For menu items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 ItemIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
For list objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 ItemRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
For string objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 Items property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
For TIndexDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 For list boxes, combo boxes, and radio
For TFieldDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 group boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422
IndexOfObject method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 For menu items, main menus, and pop-up
InitialDir property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398 menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422
InitialValues property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423
InitWinCrt procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 For list objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423
For TIndexDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
InOutRes variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399 For TParams objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
InPlaceActive property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 For TFieldDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425
Input variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 ItemSeparator property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425
InputBox function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 KeepConnection property . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
InputQuery function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 KeepConnections property . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Insert method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 KeyExclusive property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
For list objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 KeyFieldCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
For string objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
For menu items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404 KeyPressed function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404 KeyPreview property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
For tables and queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405 KeyViolCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Insert procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 KeyViolTableName property . . . . . . . . . . 430
InsertComponent method. . . . . . . . . . . . 406 Kind property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
InsertControl method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 For bitmap buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .431
InsertObject method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 For scroll bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432
For string and string list objects . . . . . . . . 407 LargeChange property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 Last method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
InsertOLEObjectDlg function. . . . . . . . . . 409 For list objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434
InsertRecord method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .434
Int function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411 Layout property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
IntegralHeight property . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411 Left property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
Interval property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 LeftCol property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436
IntToHex function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 Length function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437
IntToStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 Length property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

ix
Level property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437 MaxValue property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Lines property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 MDIChildCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Lines property for memos. . . . . . . . . . . . 438 MDIChildren property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Lines property for outlines . . . . . . . . . . . 439 MemAvail function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Lines property for DDE items . . . . . . . . . 439 Menu property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
LineTo method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 Merge method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
LinksDlg procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440 MessageBox method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
LinksDlgEnabled function . . . . . . . . . . . 441 MessageDlg function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
List property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 MessageDlgPos function. . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Ln function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442 Metafile property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Lo function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 Min property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
LoadFromFile method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443 MinFontSize property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
For graphics objects and outlines. . . . . . . . 443
For blob, graphic, and memo fields . . . . . . 444
Minimize method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
LoadFromStream method . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 MinPage property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
LoadMemo method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 MinValue property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
LoadPicture method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445 MkDir procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
LoadStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 ModalResult property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Local property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 Mode property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
For pen objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .475
Locale property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 For media player controls . . . . . . . . . . . .476
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . 446 For batch move components . . . . . . . . . . .477
For sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
For database components . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Modified property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
For graphics objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .477
Locked property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 For OLE containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .478
LoginPrompt property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 For edit boxes and memos . . . . . . . . . . . .478
LongRec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .479
LookupDisplay property . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 Monochrome property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
LookupField property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449 MouseToCell method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
LookupSource property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 Move method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Low function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 Move procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
LowerCase function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 MoveBy method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
MainForm property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 MovedCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Mappings property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 MoveTo method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Margin property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 For canvases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .483
For bitmap buttons and speed buttons . . . . 453 For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .484
For form and scroll box scroll bars . . . . . . . 454 MSecsPerDay constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Mask property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 MultiSelect property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
For filter combo boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 Name property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
For file list boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 For components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .485
MasterFields property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 For font objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486
MasterSource property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 For TIndexDef objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486
Max property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486
MaxAvail function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 For TFieldDef objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487
MaxFontSize property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 NativeToAnsi procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
MaxLength property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 NetFileDir property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
MaxPage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 New procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
MaxRecords property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 NewPage method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
MaxTabNameLen constant . . . . . . . . . . . 461 NewStr function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

x
Next method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 OnCreate event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 OnDataChange event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
For media player controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 OnDblClick event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . 491 OnDeactivate event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
NormalizeTopMosts method . . . . . . . . . . 491 OnDestroy event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Notify property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492 OnDragDrop event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
NotifyValue property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493 OnDragOver event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Now function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 OnDrawCell event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
NullStr constant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495 OnDrawDataCell event . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524
NumGlyphs property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495 OnDrawItem event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
ObjClass property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 OnDrawTab event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
ObjDoc property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 OnDropDown event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
ObjectMenuItem property. . . . . . . . . . . . 497 OnEndDrag event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Objects property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 OnEnter event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
For string objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
For string grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
OnException event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
ObjItem property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 OnExecuteMacro event . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Odd function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 OnExit event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
OEMConvert property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 OnExpand event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Ofs function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 OnFind event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
OLEObjAllocated method. . . . . . . . . . . . 502 OnGetEditMask event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
OnActivate event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502 OnGetEditText event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 OnGetText event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
For OLE containers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 OnHide event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
For an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 OnHelp event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
OnActiveControlChange event. . . . . . . . . 505 OnHint event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
OnActiveFormChange event . . . . . . . . . . 506 OnIdle event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
OnApply event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 OnKeyDown event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
OnCalcFields event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 OnKeyPress event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
OnChange event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 OnKeyUp event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
For tab set controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 OnLogin event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
For DDE client item and DDE server item OnMeasureItem event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
OnMeasureTab event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
For data-aware components . . . . . . . . . . 510
For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 OnMessage event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
For other components and objects . . . . . . . 510 OnMinimize event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
OnChanging event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511 OnMouseDown event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
OnClick event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511 OnMouseMove event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
For the media player components . . . . . . . 511 OnMouseUp event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
For database navigators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 OnNewRecord event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
For forms and other components . . . . . . . 514 OnNotify event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
OnClose event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514 OnOpen event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 OnPageChanged event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
For DDE components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 OnPaint event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
OnCloseQuery event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 OnPassword event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
OnColEnter event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 OnPokeData event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
OnColExit event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 OnPopup event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
OnCollapse event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 OnPostClick event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
OnColumnMoved event. . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 OnReplace event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

xi
OnResize event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Pages property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
OnRestore event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 PageWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
OnRowMoved event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 Palette property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
OnScroll event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 ParamBindMode property. . . . . . . . . . . . 584
OnSelectCell event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 ParamByName method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
OnSetEditText event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .585
OnSetText event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 For queries and stored procedures . . . . . . .585
OnShow event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557 ParamCount function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
OnShowHint event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557 ParamCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586
OnSized event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558 For query components . . . . . . . . . . . . . .586
For stored procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .586
OnSizing event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
Params property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
OnStateChange event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 For stored procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .587
OnStatusLineEvent event . . . . . . . . . . . . 560 For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .587
OnTimer event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560 For database components. . . . . . . . . . . . .588
OnTopLeftChanged event. . . . . . . . . . . . 561 ParamStr function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588
OnUpdateData event. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561 ParamType property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
OnValidate event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 Parent property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
Open method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 For controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .589
For the Clipboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 For menu items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .590
For media player controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .591
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . 564 ParentColor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
For databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 ParentCtl3D property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592
OpenCurrent method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 ParentFont property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
OpenDatabase method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 ParentShowHint property . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
OpenLink method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 PasswordChar property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Options property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 PasteFromClipboard method . . . . . . . . . . 596
For Color dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 PasteSpecialDlg function. . . . . . . . . . . . . 596
For Font dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
For Print dialog boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568 PasteSpecialEnabled function . . . . . . . . . . 598
For Open and Save dialog boxes . . . . . . . . 569 Pause method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
For Find and Replace dialog boxes. . . . . . . 570 PauseOnly method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571 Pen property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600
For draw and string grids . . . . . . . . . . . . 572 PenPos property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
For data grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573 Pi function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601
For database lookup combo boxes and list Picture property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
For TIndexDef objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 PictureClosed property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602
Ord function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 PictureLeaf property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Orientation property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 PictureMinus property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Origin typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576 PictureOpen property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
OutlineStyle property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577 PicturePlus property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604
OutOfMemoryError procedure. . . . . . . . . 577 Pie method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605
Output variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577 PInitInfo property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605
Overload property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 Pitch property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606
Owner property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 Pixels property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Pack method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579 PixelsPerInch property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607
For forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .608
PageHeight property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
For the screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .608
PageIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581 For fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .609
PageNumber property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582

xii
Play method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 Randomize procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
Point function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610 RandSeed variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
PokeData method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .611 Range property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636
PokeDataLines method . . . . . . . . . . . . . .611 Read method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
Polygon method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612 Read procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638
PolyLine method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 ReadBool method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
Popup method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 ReadBuf function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
PopupComponent property . . . . . . . . . . 614 ReadFrom method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640
PopupMenu property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615 Readln procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Pos function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616 ReadInteger method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641
Position property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616 ReadKey function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 642
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616 ReadOnly property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
For scroll bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 For controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .643
For media player controls . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 For tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .644
For Find and Replace dialog boxes. . . . . . . 619 For field components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .644
Post method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 ReadSection method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644
Precision property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 ReadSectionValues method . . . . . . . . . . . 645
Pred function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 ReadString method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646
PrefixSeg variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 ReAllocMem function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
Prepare method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 RecalcReport method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647
For stored procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 Rect function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 RecordCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648
Prepared property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 For batch move components . . . . . . . . . . .648
For stored procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .649
For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 Rectangle method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649
Preview property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 Refresh method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650
Previous method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 For all controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .650
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . .650
For media players. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 RegisterFormAsOLEDropTarget
Print method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651
For forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 Release method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
For reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
Release procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652
PrintCopies property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626
ReleaseHandle method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653
Printer variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
ReleaseOLEInitInfo procedure . . . . . . . . . 653
PrinterIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627
ReleasePalette method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
Printers property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
Remove method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 654
Printing property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628
RemoveAllPasswords method . . . . . . . . . 655
PrintRange property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
RemoveComponent method . . . . . . . . . . 656
PrintScale property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629
RemoveControl method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656
PrintToFile property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630
RemoveParam method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657
Prior method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
RemovePassword method. . . . . . . . . . . . 657
PrivateDir property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631
Rename procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658
ProblemCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
RenameFile function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
ProblemTableName property . . . . . . . . . . 632
Repaint method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
ProcessMessages method . . . . . . . . . . . . 632
ReplaceText property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
Ptr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634
ReportDir property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660
PtrRec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
ReportHandle property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661
Random function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635
ReportName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661

xiii
RequestData method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662 Selected property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691
RequestLive property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 662 SelectedColor property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692
Required property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 SelectedField property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 SelectedIndex property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693
For TFieldDef objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 SelectedItem property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
Reset procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664 Selection property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694
Restore method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 665 SelectNext method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
RestoreTopMosts method . . . . . . . . . . . . 665 SelectorInc variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
Resume method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666 SelLength property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
Rewind method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 SelStart property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696
Rewrite procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667 SelText property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
RmDir procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668 SendToBack method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697
Rollback method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669 ServerConv property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698
Round function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669 ServiceApplication property . . . . . . . . . . 699
RoundRect method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670 Session variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
Row property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671 SetAsHandle method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
RowCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672 SetBounds method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700
RowHeights property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672 SetComponent method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
Rows property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673 SetData method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702
Run method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .702
For an application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 For field components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .702
For reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 SetFields method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
RunError procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 SetFocus method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
RunMacro method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 SetFormOLEDropFormats procedure . . . . . 704
Save method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676 SetKey method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704
SaveToFile method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677 SetLink method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
SaveToStream method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678 SetParams method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705
ScaleBy method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678 SetPrinter method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
Scaled property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679 SetRange method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706
Screen variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679 SetRangeEnd method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707
ScreenSize typed constant . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 SetRangeStart method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
ScreenToClient method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680 SetSelTextBuf method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
ScrollBars property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681 SetTabFocus method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
ScrollBy method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681 SetText method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
ScrollInView method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682 SetTextBuf method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
ScrollPos property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683 SetTextBuf procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711
ScrollTo procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683 SetUpdateState method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
Sections property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 SetVariable method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
SectionWidth property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 SetVariableLines method. . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
Seek method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685 Shape property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714
Seek procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685 For bevels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .714
SeekEof function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 For shape controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .715
SeekEoln function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 Shareable property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716
Seg function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688 ShortCut function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716
SelCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 ShortCut property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
SelectAll method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690 ShortCutToKey procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
SelectDirectory function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690 ShortCutToText function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718

xiv
Show method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719 StrCat function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744
ShowAccelChar property . . . . . . . . . . . . 719 StrComp function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
ShowException method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 StrCopy function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 745
ShowException procedure . . . . . . . . . . . 720 StrDispose function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
ShowGlyphs property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 StrECopy function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 746
ShowHint property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721 StrEnd function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
For all controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721 Stretch property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
For applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722 StretchDraw method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
Showing property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722 StrFmt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
ShowMessage procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . 723 Strings property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749
ShowMessagePos procedure . . . . . . . . . . 724 StrLCat function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
ShowModal method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 StrIComp function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750
Sin function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725 StrLComp function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 751
Size property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725 StrLCopy function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
For fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 StrLen function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 752
For TFieldDef objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
For field components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727
StrLFmt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
SizeOf function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 StrLIComp function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
SmallChange property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728 StrLower function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
Sort method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728 StrMove function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754
Sorted property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729 StrNew function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
For combo and list boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . 729 StrPas function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 755
For string list objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730 StrPCopy function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756
Source property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730 StrPLCopy function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
Spacing property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 StrPos function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
SPtr function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 StrRScan function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 757
SQL property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 StrScan function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758
Sqr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 StrToDate function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
Sqrt function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 StrToDateTime function . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759
SSeg function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 StrToFloat function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
Start property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 StrToInt function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760
StartMargin property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736 StrToIntDef function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761
StartPage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736 StrToTime function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
StartPos property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737 StrUpper function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762
StartRecording method . . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 Style property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763
StartTransaction method. . . . . . . . . . . . . 738 For pen objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .763
State property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739 For brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .764
For fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765
For check boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739
For combo boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .765
For data source components . . . . . . . . . . 740
For list boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .767
For tables, queries, and stored procedures . . 740
For bitmap buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768
Step method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 740 For tab set controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .768
StmtHandle property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 741 For outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .769
Stop method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742 For bevels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .770
Storage property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742 For database lookup combo boxes . . . . . . .770
StoredProcName property . . . . . . . . . . . 743 Succ function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
Str procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743 Swap function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771
StrAlloc function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 TableName property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772
StrBufSize function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744 TableType property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772

xv
Tag property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 TComponentName type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
TAlign type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 TControlScrollBar object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
TAlignment type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 TCopyMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797
TApplication component . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 TCurrencyField component . . . . . . . . . . . 797
TAttachMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 TCursor type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
TAutoActivate type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 TCustomColors type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
TBatchMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 TDatabase component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798
TBatchMove component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 776 TDataChangeEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
TBCDField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776 TDataMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
TBevel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777 TDataSetNotifyEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . 800
TBevelShape type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 TDataSetState type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
TBevelStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 TDataSource component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 801
TBevelWidth type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 TDateField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801
TBitBtn component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 TDateTime type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802
TBitBtnKind type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780 TDateTimeField component. . . . . . . . . . . 802
TBitmap object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781 TDBCheckBox component. . . . . . . . . . . . 803
TBlobField component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781 TDBComboBox component . . . . . . . . . . . 804
TBlobStream object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 782 TDBEdit component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806
TBlobStreamMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783 TDBGrid component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
TBookmark type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783 TDBGridOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809
TBooleanField component . . . . . . . . . . . 783 TDBImage component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
TBorderIcons type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784 TDBListBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
TBorderStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784 TDBLookupCombo component . . . . . . . . 813
TBorderWidth type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784 TDBLookupComboStyle type. . . . . . . . . . 814
TBrush object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785 TDBLookupList component. . . . . . . . . . . 815
TBrushStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785 TDBLookupListOptions type . . . . . . . . . . 816
TButton component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786 TDBMemo component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
TButtonLayout type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 TDBNavigator component . . . . . . . . . . . 819
TButtonSet type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 TDBRadioGroup component . . . . . . . . . . 820
For media players. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 TDBText component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822
For database navigators . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 TDDEClientConv component. . . . . . . . . . 823
TButtonStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787 TDDEClientItem component . . . . . . . . . . 824
TByteArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788 TDDEServerConv component . . . . . . . . . 825
TBytesField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788 TDDEServerItem component . . . . . . . . . . 825
TCanvas object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789 TDirectoryListBox component . . . . . . . . . 826
TCaption type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790 TDragDropEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
TChangeRange type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790 TDragMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
TCheckBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790 TDragOverEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828
TCheckBoxState type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791 TDragState type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
TClipboard object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792 TDrawCellEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
TCloseEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792 TDrawDataCellEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . 830
TCloseQueryEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793 TDrawGrid component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830
TColor type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793 TDrawItemEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
TColorDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . . 794 TDrawTabEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832
TColorDialogOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . 794 TDriveComboBox component . . . . . . . . . 832
TComboBox component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 795 TDuplicates type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834
TComboBoxStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796 TEdit component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 834

xvi
TEditCharCase type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836 TFontDialogDevice type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861
Temporary property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836 TFontDialogOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . 861
TEndDragEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837 TFontName type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 861
Terminate method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837 TFontPitch type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862
Terminated property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 837 TFontStyles type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862
Test8086 variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838 TForm component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862
TExceptionEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838 TFormBorderStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
Text property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839 TFormStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
For edit boxes and memo controls . . . . . . . 839 TGetEditEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
For combo boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 TGraphic object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865
For outline nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 840 TGraphicField component. . . . . . . . . . . . 866
For DDE items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841
TGraphicsObject object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866
For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842 TGridDrawState type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
For TParam objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843 TGridOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
TextCase property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843 TGridRect type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867
TextFile type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844 TGroupBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868
TextHeight method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844 THeader component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 869
TextOut method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845 THelpContext type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
TextRect method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845 THelpEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
TextToFloat function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846 THintInfo type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
TextToShortCut function. . . . . . . . . . . . . 846 TIcon object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
TextWidth method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847 TIdleEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871
TFDApplyEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 847 Tile method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871
TField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 848 TileMode property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872
TFieldGetTextEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . 850 TImage component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 873
TFieldNotifyEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850 Time function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874
TFieldSetTextEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 850 TimeFormat property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874
TFileEditStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851 TimeToStr function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876
TFileExt type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851 TIndexDef object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
TFileListBox component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 851 TIndexDefs object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877
TFieldClass type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853 TIndexOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878
TFieldDef object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853 TIniFile object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 878
TFieldDefs object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853 TIntegerField component . . . . . . . . . . . . 878
TFieldType type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854 Title property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879
TFileName type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854 For applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .879
TFileRec type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854 For Open and Save dialog boxes . . . . . . . .880
For printer objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .880
TFileType type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855
TitleFont property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881
TFillStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 855
TKey type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881
TFilterComboBox component . . . . . . . . . 855
TKeyEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881
TFindDialog component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 856
TKeyPressEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882
TFindItemKind type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
TLabel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882
TFindOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
TLeftRight type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883
TFloatField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857
TList object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883
TFloatFormat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 858
TListBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884
TFloatRec. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859
TListBoxStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885
TFont object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859
TLocale type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886
TFontDialog component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 860

xvii
TLoginEvent type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 TPanel component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913
TMacroEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 TPanelBevel type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914
TMainMenu component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 886 TParam object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914
TMaskEdit component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887 TParamBindMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
TMeasureItemEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . 889 TParams object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915
TMeasureTabEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889 TParamType type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916
TMediaPlayer component. . . . . . . . . . . . 889 TPasswordEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916
TMemo component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891 TPen object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916
TMemoField component . . . . . . . . . . . . 893 TPenMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917
TMenuBreak type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894 TPenStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917
TMenuItem component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894 TPicture object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917
TMessageEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895 TPoint type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
TMetafile object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895 TPopupAlignment type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
TMethod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 896 TPopupMenu component . . . . . . . . . . . . 918
TModalResult type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 896 TPosition type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
TMouseButton type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897 TPrintDialog component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 920
TMouseEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897 TPrintDialogOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . 920
TMouseMoveEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . 897 TPrinter object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
TMovedEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 TPrinterOrientation type. . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
TMPBtnType type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 TPrinterSetupDialog component . . . . . . . . 922
TMPDevCapsSet type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 TPrintRange type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922
TMPDeviceTypes type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 TPrintScale type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
TMPModes type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 TQuery component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
TMPNotifyValues type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 TrackCursor procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
TMPTimeFormats type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 TrackLength property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925
TMsgDlgButtons type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899 TrackPosition property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926
TMsgDlgType type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 Tracks property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
TNavigateBtn type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 TRadioButton component . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
TNotebook component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900 TRadioGroup component . . . . . . . . . . . . 928
TNotifyEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901 TransIsolation property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930
TNumGlyphs type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902 Transliterate property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930
TOLEContainer component. . . . . . . . . . . 902 Transparent property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931
TOLEDropNotify object . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903 TRect type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931
Top property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 904 TReplaceDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . 932
ToPage property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 904 TReport component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933
TOpenDialog component . . . . . . . . . . . . 905 Trunc function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
TOpenOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906 Truncate method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 934
TopIndex property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906 Truncate procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935
TopItem property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907 TSaveDialog component. . . . . . . . . . . . . 936
TopRow property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907 TScreen component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 937
TOutline component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908 TScrollBar component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938
TOutlineNode object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910 TScrollBarInc type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939
TOutlineOptions type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .911 TScrollBarKind type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939
TOutlineStyle type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .911 TScrollBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939
TOutlineType type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .911 TScrollCode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941
TOwnerDrawState type . . . . . . . . . . . . . .911 TScrollEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941
TPaintBox component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912 TScrollStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 941

xviii
TSearchRec type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942 For directory and file list boxes . . . . . . . . .970
TSectionEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942 For all controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .970
TSelectCellEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943 For TFieldDefs objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .971
For TIndexDefs objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . .971
TSelectDirOpts type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943
TSession component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943 UpdateCursorPos method. . . . . . . . . . . . 971
TSetEditEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944 UpdateMode property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971
TShape component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945 UpdateRecord method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973
TShapeType type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945 UpperCase function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973
TShiftState type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946 Val procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973
TShortCut type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946 ValidateEdit method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 974
TShowHintEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 946 ValidParentForm function . . . . . . . . . . . . 975
TSmallintField component . . . . . . . . . . . 947 Value property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975
For database radio groups . . . . . . . . . . . .975
TSpeedButton component. . . . . . . . . . . . 948 For database lookup combo and list boxes. . .976
TStatusLineEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949 For fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .976
TStoredProc component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 949 ValueChecked property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977
TStringField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 951 Values property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978
TStringGrid component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 951 For string and string list objects . . . . . . . . .978
TStringList object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 953 For database radio group boxes . . . . . . . . .979
TStrings object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954 ValueUnchecked property . . . . . . . . . . . . 980
TSymbolStr type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955 VersionMajor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981
TTabbedNotebook component . . . . . . . . . 955 VersionMinor property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
TTabChangeEvent type . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956 VertScrollBar property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
TTable component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 956 Visible property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983
TTabOrder type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958 VisibleButtons property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983
TTabSet component. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958 For database navigator controls . . . . . . . . .984
TTabStyle type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960 VisibleColCount property . . . . . . . . . . . . 985
TTextCase type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960 VisibleRowCount property . . . . . . . . . . . 985
TTextRec type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 960 VisibleTabs property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
TTileMode type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961 Wait property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
TTimeField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961 WantReturns property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 987
TTimer component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962 WantTabs property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988
TTransIsolation type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962 WhereX function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
TVarBytesField component . . . . . . . . . . . 962 WhereY function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
TVarRec type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963 Width property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990
TWindowState type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964 For forms and controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . .990
TWordArray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964 For graphic objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .990
For screen components . . . . . . . . . . . . . .991
TWordField component . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964
WindowMenu property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
TypeOf function. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965
WindowOrg typed constant. . . . . . . . . . . 992
TZoomFactor type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966
WindowSize typed constant. . . . . . . . . . . 992
UniDirectional property . . . . . . . . . . . . . 966
WindowState property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992
Unmerge method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967
WindowTitle variable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
UnPrepare method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968
For stored procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968 WordRec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
For queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968 WordWrap property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
UnselectedColor property. . . . . . . . . . . . 968 Write method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994
UpCase function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969 Write procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995
Update method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969 WriteBool method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995

xix
WriteBuf procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996 WriteString method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998
WriteChar procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997 Zoom property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 999
WriteIn procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997
WriteInteger method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998 Index 1001

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