A Collection of Delphi Tips & Tricks

March 11, 2005

The code has been tested in Delphi 6/7 and might not work in previous releases.

Contents
Application
Minimize application to taskbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Prevent a screensaver to kick in as long as your application is running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Forms
Show/hide titlebar of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Set a form to stay on top of all other (non-topmost) windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Capture Maximize/Minimize/Close button clicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Disable (gray out) Close button of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Detect the movement of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Disabling the movement of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Create form with rounded corners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Make transparent form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Detect when a form has been minimized, maximized or restored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Dialogs
Modify the controls in common dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Repositioning common dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Controls
Customized tooltips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Show controls’ hints on statusbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Disable the popup menu of TEdit and TMemo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Hot-tracking controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Implementing a control array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Using windows API in textbox programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Menus
Disable the popup menu of TEdit and TMemo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1
 Append items into system menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Mouse
Check whether a mouse button is being pressed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Capture mouse clicks at statusbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Graphics
Drawing rotated text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Avoid flickering in graphics programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Changing text alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Drawing transparent text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Save graphics to a bitmap file or a Windows Metafile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Installing a font on the fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Fonts
Get a list of system fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Files and folders
Drag’n’drop files from Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Open a file using its associated application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Determine the size of a file without opening it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Send a file to Recycle bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Retrive the path of the Windows directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Windows API
Check whether a mouse button is being pressed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Show/hide titlebar of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Set a form to stay on top of all other (non-topmost) windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Modify the controls in common dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Capture Maximize/Minimize/Close button clicks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Disable (gray out) Close button of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Hot-tracking controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Append items into system menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Drag’n’drop files from Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Send a file to Recycle bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Open a file using its associated application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Drawing rotated text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Monitor the changes of clipboard’s content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Detect the movement of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Disabling the movement of a form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Repositioning common dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Retrive the path of the Windows directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Using windows API in textbox programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Changing text alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

2
 Capture mouse clicks at statusbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Create form with rounded corners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Make transparent form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Detect when a form has been minimized, maximized or restored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Prevent a screensaver to kick in as long as your application is running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Installing a font on the fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Using WinHelp API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Listing system’s drives in a listbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Algorithms
Converting between decimal, binary, and hexadecimal representation of a number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Miscellaneous
Monitor the changes of clipboard’s content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Delphi’s equivalent of the VB’s App object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Find if you are connected to the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

3
1. Customized tooltips
...
type
TMyHintWindow = class(THintWindow)
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent); override;
end;
...

constructor TMyHintWindow.Create(AOwner: TComponent);

begin
inherited Create(AOwner);
Canvas.Font.Name := ’Arial’;
Canvas.Font.Size := 14;
end;

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Application.ShowHint := false;
HintWindowClass := TMyHintWindow;
Application.ShowHint := true;
end;

2. Check whether a mouse button is being pressed

...
uses
Windows;
...
function IsBtnPressed(ABtn: integer): boolean;
//ABtn can be either VK_LBUTTON, VK_MBUTTON, or VK_RBUTTON
begin
result := (GetAsyncKeyState(ABtn) and $8000) = $8000;
end

3. Show/hide titlebar of a form

...
uses
Forms, Windows;
...
procedure ShowTitlebar(AForm: TForm; AShow: boolean);
var
style: longint;
begin
with AForm do begin
if BorderStyle = bsNone then exit;

4
 style := GetWindowLong(Handle, GWL_STYLE);
if AShow then begin
if (style and WS_CAPTION) = WS_CAPTION then exit;
case BorderStyle of
bsSingle, bsSizeable:
SetWindowLong(Handle, GWL_STYLE, style or WS_CAPTION or WS_BORDER);
bsDialog:
SetWindowLong(Handle, GWL_STYLE, style or WS_CAPTION or DS_MODALFRAME or
WS_DLGFRAME);
end;
end else begin
if (style and WS_CAPTION) = 0 then exit;
case BorderStyle of
bsSingle, bsSizeable:
SetWindowLong(Handle, GWL_STYLE, style and (not(WS_CAPTION)) or WS_BORDER);
bsDialog:
SetWindowLong(Handle, GWL_STYLE, style and (not(WS_CAPTION)) or
DS_MODALFRAME or WS_DLGFRAME);
end;
end;
SetWindowPos(Handle, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE or SWP_NOSIZE or SWP_NOZORDER or
SWP_FRAMECHANGED or SWP_NOSENDCHANGING);
end;
end;

4. Minimize application to taskbar

A common error is attempting to minimize the form (WindowStyle := wsMinimized), rather than the
application itself.
...
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
Application.Minimize;
end;

5. Show controls’ hints on statusbar

First method:
Button1.ShowHint := true;
StatusBar1.AutoHint := true;

Second method:
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
...
private

5
 procedure ShowHint(Sender: TObject);
...

procedure TForm1.ShowHint(Sender: TObject);

begin
StatusBar1.SimpleText := Application.Hint;
end;

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Application.OnHint := ShowHint;
end;

6. Modify the controls in common dialogs

...
uses
Windows, Forms, Dialogs, Dlgs;
...
//create handler for OnShow event of common dialog
procedure TForm1.OpenDialog1Show(Sender: TObject) ;
var
hwnd: THandle;
begin
hwnd := GetParent(OpenDialog1.Handle);
//change title of OK button, "Open" −−> "Do Open"
SetDlgItemText(hwnd, IDOK, PChar(’&Do Open’));
//hide the "Open as read−only" check box
ShowWindow(GetDlgItem(hwnd,chx1),SW_HIDE);
//these are the IDs of remaining controls:
//IDCANCEL: the CANCEL button
//stc3, stc2: the two label controls, "File name" and "Files of type"
//edt1, cmb1: the edit control and combo box next to the labels
//cmb2: combo box that allows to select the drive or folder
//stc4: label for the cmb2 combo
//lst1: list box that displays the contents of selected drive or folder
end;

7. Set a form to stay on top of all other (non-topmost) windows

...
uses
Forms, Windows;
...
procedure SetTopmost(AForm: TForm; ATop: boolean);
begin

6
 if ATop then
SetWindowPos(AForm.Handle, HWND_TOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE or SWP_NOSIZE)
else
SetWindowPos(AForm.Handle, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0, 0, 0, SWP_NOMOVE or SWP_NOSIZE)
;
end;

8. Capture Maximize/Minimize/Close button clicks

...
type
TForm1 = class(Form)
...
public
procedure WMSysCommand(var Msg: TWMSysCommand); message WM_SYSCOMMAND;
...

procedure TForm1.WMSysCommand(var Msg: TWMSysCommand);

begin
if Msg.CmdType = SC_MINIMIZE) or (Msg.CmdType = SC_MAXIMIZE) or (Msg.CmdType =
SC_CLOSE) then
...
else
DefaultHandler(Msg);
end;

9. Disable (gray out) Close button of a form

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
hSysMenu: HMENU;
begin
hSysMenu := GetSystemMenu(Handle, false);
EnableMenuItem(hSysMenu, SC_CLOSE, MF_BYCOMMAND or MF_GRAYED);
end;

10. Get a list of system fonts

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ComboBox1.Items.Assign(Screen.Fonts);
end;

11. Disable the popup menu of TEdit and TMemo

//create a handler for OnContextPopup event of TMemo
procedure TForm1.Memo1ContextPopup(Sender: TObject; MousePos: TPoint; var Handled:
Boolean);

7
 begin
Handled := true;
end;

12. Hot-tracking controls

The purpose is to highlight the control which receives the focus.
First method:
type
TMyEdit = class(TEdit)
protected
procedure DoEnter; override;
procedure DoExit; override;
end;
...

procedure TMyEdit.DoEnter;
begin
Color := clAqua;
inherited;
end;

procedure TMyEdit.DoExit;
begin
Color := clWindow;
inherited;
end;

Second method:
type
TMyLabel = class(TLabel)
protected
procedure WndProc(var AMessage : TMessage); override;
end;
...

procedure TMyLabel.WndProc(var AMessage: TMessage);

begin
if (AMessage.Msg = CM_MOUSEENTER) then
Color := clAqua
else if (AMessage.Msg = CM_MOUSELEAVE) then
Color := clWindow;
inherited;
end;

8
13. Append items into system menu
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
procedure WMSysCommand(var Msg: TWMSysCommand); message WM_SYSCOMMAND;
end;
...
const
ID_ABOUT = WM_USER + 1;

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

var
hSysMenu: HMENU;
begin
hSysMenu := GetSystemMenu(Handle, false);
AppendMenu(hSysMenu, MF_SEPARATOR, 0, nil);
AppendMenu(hSysMenu, MF_STRING, ID_ABOUT, PChar(’&About...’));
end;

procedure TForm1.WMSysCommand(var Msg: TWMSysCommand);

begin
if Msg.CmdType = ID_ABOUT then
AboutForm.ShowModal
else
inherited;
end;

14. Drag’n’drop files from Windows Explorer

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
procedure WMDropFiles(var Msg: TWMDROPFILES); message WM_DROPFILES;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
DragAcceptFiles(Handle, true);
end;

procedure TForm1.WMDropFiles(var Msg: TWMDROPFILES);

var
buf: array[0..MAX_PATH] of char;

9
 filename: string;
begin
DragQueryFile(Msg.Drop, 0, @buf, sizeof(buf));
DragFinish(Msg.Drop);
filename := string(buf);
...
end;

15. Determine the size of a file without opening it

uses
SysUtils;
...
function FileSizeByName(const AFile: string): integer;
var
sr: TSearchRec;
begin
if (Pos(AFile,’∗’) <> 0) or (Pos(AFile,’?’) <> 0) or (FindFirst(AFile, faAnyFile,
sr) <> 0) then
result := −1 //file was not found
else
result := sr.Size;
end;

16. Send a file to Recycle bin

uses
ShellApi.pas;
...
function RecycleFile(const AFile: string): boolean;
var
foStruct: TSHFileOpStruct;
begin
with foStruct do begin
wnd := 0;
wFunc := FO_DELETE;
pFrom := PChar(AFile+#0#0);
pTo := nil;
fFlags:= FOF_ALLOWUNDO or FOF_NOCONFIRMATION or FOF_SILENT;
fAnyOperationsAborted := false;
hNameMappings := nil;
end;
Result := SHFileOperation(foStruct) = 0;
end;

17. Open a file using its associated application

The result is the same as if the file were double-clicked in Windows Explorer.

10
 function OpenFile(AFile: string; ADir: string = nil; AParams: string = nil): boolean
;
begin
result := ShellExecute(Application.Handle, ’open’, PChar(AFile), ADir, AParams,
SW_SHOWNORMAL) >= 32;
end;

The ADir parameter specifies the default directory for the shell operation. If nil, your application’s
current directory is used. If AFile specifies an executable file then AParams should contain the command
line parameters to be passed to the application.

18. Drawing rotated text

uses
Windows, Graphics;
...
procedure AngleTextOut(ACanvas: TCanvas; Angle, X, Y: integer; AStr: string);
var
LogFont: TLogFont;
hOldFont, hNewFont: HFONT;
begin
GetObject(ACanvas.Font.Handle, SizeOf(LogFont), Addr(LogFont));
LogFont.lfEscapement := Angle ∗ 10;
LogFont.lfOrientation := Angle ∗ 10;
hNewFont := CreateFontIndirect(LogFont);
hOldFont := SelectObject(ACanvas.Handle, hNewFont);
ACanvas.TextOut(X, Y, AStr);
hNewFont := SelectObject(ACanvas.Handle, hOldFont);
DeleteObject(hNewFont);
end;

19. Implementing a control array

...
const
Count = 5;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
public
Edits: array[0..Count−1] of TEdit;
procedure EditChange(Sender: TObject);
end;
...

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

11
 var
i: integer;
begin
for i := 0 to Count−1 do begin
Edits[i] := TEdit.Create(Self);
with Edits[i] do begin
Parent := Self;
SetBounds(10, 10 + i∗50, 200, 40);
Tag := i; //each control should remember its index
OnChange := EditChange; //same event handler for all controls
end;
end;
end;

procedure TForm1.EditChange(Sender: TObject);

var
i: integer;
begin
i := TEdit(Sender).Tag;
ShowMessage(IntToStr(i));
end;

20. Converting between decimal, binary, and hexadecimal representation of

a number
uses
StrUtils, SysUtils;

function DecToBin(N: int64): string;

var
i: integer;
neg: boolean;
begin
if N = 0 then begin
result := ’0’;
exit
end;

SetLength(result, SizeOf(N)∗8);
neg := N < 0;
N := Abs(N);
i := 1;
while N <> 0 do begin
if N and 1 = 1 then
result[i] := ’1’
else
result[i] := ’0’;

12
 N := N shr 1;
Inc(i);
end;
if neg then begin
result[i] := ’−’;
Inc(i);
end;
Delete(result, i, length(result));
result := ReverseString(result);
end;

function DecToHex(N: int64): string;

begin
if N < 0 then
result := ’−’ + Format(’%0x’, [Abs(N)])
else
result := Format(’%0x’, [N]);
end;

21. Monitor the changes of clipboard’s content

uses
Windows, Forms, Clipbrd;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Image1: TImage;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
public
procedure WMDrawClipboard(var Msg: TWMDrawClipBoard); message WM_DRAWCLIPBOARD;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
SetClipboardViewer(Handle);
end;

procedure TForm1.WMDrawClipboard(var Msg: TWMDrawClipBoard);

begin
if Clipboard.HasFormat(CF_BITMAP) then
Image1.Picture.Assign(Clipboard);
end;

22. Detect the movement of a form

uses

13
 Windows, Forms;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Edit1: TEdit;
Edit2: TEdit;
public
procedure WMMove(var Msg: TWMMove); message WM_MOVE;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.WMMove(var Msg: TWMMove);

begin
Edit1.Text := IntToStr(Left);
Edit2.Text := IntToStr(Top);
end;

23. Disabling the movement of a form

uses
Windows, Forms;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
public
procedure WMNCHitTest(var Msg: TWMNCHitTest); message WM_NCHITTEST;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.WMNCHitTest(var Msg: TWMNCHitTest);

begin
inherited;
with Msg do
if Result = HTCAPTION then Result := HTNOWHERE;
end;

24. Repositioning common dialogs

//create handler for OnShow event of common dialog
procedure TForm1.OpenDialog1Show(Sender: TObject);
var
hwnd: THandle;
rect: TRect;
dlgWidth, dlgHeight: integer;
begin
hwnd := GetParent(OpenDialog1.Handle);
GetWindowRect(hwnd, rect);

14
 dlgWidth := rect.Right−rect.Left;
dlgHeight := rect.Bottom−rect.Top;
MoveWindow(hwnd, Left+(Width−dlgWidth) div 2, Top+(Height−dlgHeight) div 2,
dlgWidth, dlgHeight, true);
Abort;
end;

25. Avoid flickering in graphics programming

There are four ways to reduce flickering:

1. Use the DoubleBuffered property of TWinControl descendants: set DoubleBuffered := true;.

2. If your control is not transparent, include csOpaque in ControlStyle: ControlStyle := ControlStyle

+ [csOpaque];.

3. Handle the WM_ERASEBKGND Windows message and set Msg.Result := 1; in the handler.

4. Use off-screen bitmaps (like double-buffering, but works for any control)

Let’s see an example of the last method:

uses
Graphics;
...

procedure TForm1.Paint(Sender: TObject);

var
bmp: TBitmap;
begin
bmp := TBitmap.Create;
bmp.Width := ClientWidth;
bmp.Height := ClientHeight;
//now draw on bmp.Canvas as you would do on TForm1.Canvas
with bmp.Canvas do begin
...
end;
Canvas.Draw(0, 0, bmp);
bmp.Free;
end;

26. Retrive the path of the Windows directory

uses
Windows, StrUtils;
...

function GetWinDir: string;

15
 var
buffer: array[0..MAX_PATH] of char;;
begin
GetWindowsDirectory(buffer, MAX_PATH);
result := string(buffer);
if RightStr(result,1) <> ’\’ then result := result + ’\’;
end;

27. Using windows API in textbox programming

Memo1.Perform(EM_LINEFROMCHAR, nCaret, 0) returns zero-based index of the line which contains zero-
based caret poisition nCaret. If nCaret is −1 then the index of the current line is returned.
Memo1.Perform(EM_LINEINDEX, nLine, 0) returns caret position at the beginning of the line nLine. If
nLine is −1 then the beginning of the current line is returned.
Memo1.Perform(EM_LINELENGTH, nCaret, 0) returns the length of the line which contains caret position
nCaret.
Memo1.Perform(EM_SETMARGINS, EC_LEFTMARGIN or EC_RIGHTMARGIN, MAKELONG(wLeft,wRight)) sets
the left and right margin of memo to wLeft and wRight pixels, respectively.
Memo1.Perform(EM_CHARFROMPOS, 0, MAKELPARAM(x,y)) returns character index in the low-order word
and the line index in the high-order word corresponding to the pixel position (x,y) in memo’s client area.

28. Changing text alignment

By default, TCanvas.TextOut(X,Y,Text) puts the upper left corner of Text at (X,Y).
First method:
uses
Windows;
...
TForm1.Paint(Sender: TObject);
begin
SetTextAlign(Canvas.Handle, TA_CENTER or TA_BOTTOM);
Canvas.TextOut(100,100,’Hello World’);
//other possibilities are:
//TA_BASELINE, TA_BOTTOM, TA_TOP,
//TA_LEFT, TA_RIGHT
end;

Second method:
...
TForm1.Paint(Sender: TObject);
var
Text: string;
begin
Text := ’Hello World’;
with Canvas do

16
 TextOut(100 − TextWidth(Text) div 2, 100 − TextHeight(Text), Text);
end;

29. Drawing transparent text

The backround of the text drawn onto a canvas is filled with the current brush.
Canvas.Brush.Style := bsClear;
Canvas.TextOut(100,100,’Hello World’);

30. Delphi’s equivalent of the VB’s App object

Go to Project | Options and fill in the fields in Application page and Version info page.
unit AppUnit;

interface

type
TApp = class
protected
//if the constructor is declared as protected then the
//class can be instantiated only within this unit
constructor Create;
public
Title: string;
Path: string;
ExeName: string;
HelpFile: string;
FileDescription: string;
FileVersion: string;
ProductName: string;
...
end;

var
App: TApp;

implementation

uses SysUtils, StrUtils, Forms, Windows, Dialogs;

type
PLongInt = ^Longint;

constructor TApp.Create;

17
var
nBytes, nInfoLen: DWORD;
psBuffer: PChar;
pntValue: Pointer;
iLangID, iCharSetID: Word;
strID: string;
begin
ExeName := Application.ExeName;
Path := ExtractFilePath(ExeName);
if RightStr(Path,1) <> ’\’ then Path := Path + ’\’;
Title := Application.Title;
HelpFile := Application.HelpFile;

nBytes := GetFileVersionInfoSize(PChar(ExeName), nBytes);

if nBytes = 0 then begin
ShowMessage(’No version information available!’);
exit;
end;
psBuffer := AllocMem(nBytes + 1);
GetFileVersionInfo(PChar(ExeName), 0, nBytes, psBuffer)
VerQueryValue(psBuffer, ’\VarFileInfo\Translation’, pntValue, nInfoLen)
iLangID := LoWord(PLongint(pntValue)^);
iCharSetID := HiWord(PLongint(pntValue)^);
strID := Format(’\StringFileInfo\%.4x%.4x\’, [iLangID, iCharSetID]);

if VerQueryValue(psBuffer, PChar(strID + ’FileDescription’), pntValue, nInfoLen)

then
FileDescription := AnsiReplaceStr(PChar(pntValue), ’\n’, #13#10);
if VerQueryValue(psBuffer, PChar(strID + ’FileVersion’), pntValue, nInfoLen) then
FileVersion := PChar(pntValue);
if VerQueryValue(psBuffer, PChar(strID + ’ProductName’), pntValue, nInfoLen) then
ProductName := PChar(pntValue);
FreeMem(psBuffer, nBytes);
end;

initialization

App := TApp.Create;

finalization

App.Free;

end.

18
31. Capture mouse clicks at statusbar
uses
Windows, Messages, Forms, Classes, SysUtils, Controls, ComCtrls, Commctrl;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
StatusBar1: TStatusBar;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
procedure WMNotify(var AMsg: TWMNotify); message WM_NOTIFY;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

var
i: integer;
begin
for i := 0 to 3 do
with StatusBar1.Panels.Add do begin
Width := 100;
Text := Format(’Panel %d’,[i]);
end;
end;

procedure TForm1.WMNotify(var AMsg: TWMNotify);

var
pNMM: PNMMouse;
ctrl: TWinControl;
hWindow: HWND;
iPanel: integer;
begin
inherited;
pNMM := PNMMouse(AMsg.NMHdr);
hWindow := pNMM^.hdr.hwndFrom;
ctrl := FindControl(hWindow);
iPanel := pNMM^.dwItemSpec;

case pNMM^.hdr.code of
NM_CLICK:
Caption := Format(’%s was clicked at panel %d’,[ctrl.Name,iPanel]);
NM_DBLCLK:
Caption := Format(’%s was double−clicked at panel %d’,[ctrl.Name,iPanel]);
NM_RCLICK:
Caption := Format(’%s was right−clicked at panel %d’,[ctrl.Name,iPanel]);
NM_RDBLCLK:

19
 Caption := Format(’%s was right−double−clicked at panel %d’,[ctrl.Name,iPanel
]);
end;
end;

32. Find if you are connected to the Internet

uses IWinInet;
...

procedure CheckConnection;
var
dwFlags: DWORD;
begin
if InternetGetConnectedState(@dwFlags, 0) then begin
if (dwFlags and INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM)=INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM then
ShowMessage(’Connected through modem’)
else if (dwFlags and INTERNET_CONNECTION_LAN) = INTERNET_CONNECTION_LAN then
ShowMessage(’Connected through LAN’)
else if (dwFlags and INTERNET_CONNECTION_PROXY) = INTERNET_CONNECTION_PROXY then
ShowMessage(’Connected through Proxy’)
else if (dwFlags and INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM_BUSY) =
INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM_BUSY then
ShowMessage(’Modem is busy’);
end else
ShowMessage(’Offline’);
end;

33. Create form with rounded corners

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
rgn: HRGN;
begin
GetWindowRgn(Handle, rgn);
DeleteObject(rgn);
// set the radius of corners to 100px
rgn:= CreateRoundRectRgn(0, 0, Width, Height, 100, 100);
SetWindowRgn(Handle, rgn, TRUE);
end;

34. Make transparent form

uses
Windows, Forms, Classes, Controls, ComCtrls;

type
TForm1 = class(TForm)

20
 TrackBar1: TTrackBar;
procedure TrackBar1Change(Sender: TObject);
end;
...

procedure SetTransparent(hWnd: longint; value: Byte);

// opaque: value=255; fully transparent: value=0
var
iExStyle: Integer;
begin
iExStyle := GetWindowLong(hWnd, GWL_EXSTYLE);
if value < 255 then begin
iExStyle := iExStyle Or WS_EX_LAYERED;
SetWindowLong(hWnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, iExStyle);
SetLayeredWindowAttributes(hWnd, 0, value, LWA_ALPHA);
end else begin
iExStyle := iExStyle xor WS_EX_LAYERED;
SetWindowLong(hWnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, iExStyle);
end;
end;

procedure TForm1.TrackBar1Change(Sender: TObject);

begin
SetTransparent(Handle, TrackBar1.Position);
end;

35. Save graphics to a bitmap file or a Windows Metafile

uses
Graphics;
...

procedure SaveToBitmapFile(AFile: TFilename);

var
bmp: TBitmap;
begin
bmp := TBitmap.Create;
bmp.Width := 400;
bmp.Height := 400;
with bmp.Canvas do begin
//drawing commands
end;
bmp.SaveToFile(AFile);
bmp.Free;
end;

procedure SaveToMetafile(AFile: TFilename);

21
 var
emf: TMetafile;
mfc: TMetafileCanvas;
begin
emf := TMetafile.Create;
emf.Enhanced := true; // save as Enhanced Metafile
emf.Width := 400;
emf.Height := 400;
mfc := TMetafileCanvas.Create(emf, 0);
with mfc do begin
//drawing commands
end;
mfc.Free;
emf.SaveToFile(AFile);
emf.Free;
end;

36. Detect when a form has been minimized, maximized or restored

TForm1 = class(TForm)
...
procedure WMSize(var Msg: TWMSize); message WM_SIZE;
end;
...

procedure TForm1.WMSize(var Msg: TWMSize);

begin
inherited; // otherwise TForm1.Resize is not fired
if Msg.SizeType = SIZE_MAXIMIZED then
...
else if Msg.SizeType = SIZE_RESTORED then
...
else if Msg.SizeType = SIZE_MINIMIZED then
...
end;

37. Prevent a screensaver to kick in as long as your application is running

uses
Windows;
...

procedure AppMessage(var Msg: TMsg; var Handled: Boolean);

begin
if (Msg.Message = WM_SYSCOMMAND) and ((Msg.wParam = SC_SCREENSAVE) or (Msg.wParam
= SC_MONITORPOWER)) then
Handled := true;

22
 end;

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
Application.OnMessage := AppMessage;
end;

38. Installing a font on the fly

Assume that a font file MyFont.ttf resides in application directory.
uses
Windows, Forms, SysUtils;
...

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

begin
AddFontResource(PChar(ExtractFilePath(Application.ExeName) + ’\MyFont.ttf’));
SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_FONTCHANGE, 0, 0);
end;

procedure TForm1.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);

begin
RemoveFontResource(PChar(ExtractFilePath(Application.ExeName) + ’\MyFont.ttf’));
SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_FONTCHANGE, 0, 0);
end;

39. Using WinHelp API

Implementing your own “What’s this?” button
uses
Windows;
...

procedure TForm1.btnHelpClick(Sender: TObject);

begin
PostMessage(Handle, WM_SYSCOMMAND, SC_CONTEXTHELP, 0);
end;

40. Listing system’s drives in a listbox

uses
Windows;

function GetVolumeName(aRoot: string): string;

var

23
 VolumeSerialNumber : DWORD;
MaximumComponentLength : DWORD;
FileSystemFlags : DWORD;
VolumeNameBuffer : array[0..255] of char;
begin
GetVolumeInformation(PChar(aRoot),
VolumeNameBuffer,
sizeof(VolumeNameBuffer),
@VolumeSerialNumber,
MaximumComponentLength,
FileSystemFlags,
nil,
0);
result := string(VolumeNameBuffer);
end;

function DiskInDrive(aDrive: char): boolean;

var
vErrMode: word;
begin
if aDrive in [’a’..’z’] then Dec(aDrive, $20);
if not (aDrive in [’A’..’Z’]) then
raise Exception.Create(’Not a valid drive letter’);
vErrMode := SetErrorMode(SEM_FAILCRITICALERRORS);
try
result := (DiskSize(Ord(aDrive) − $40) <> −1)
finally
SetErrorMode(vErrMode);
end;
end;

procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);

var
drv: char;
begin
for drv := ’a’ to ’z’ do
case GetDriveType(PChar(drv + ’:\’)) of
DRIVE_REMOVABLE, DRIVE_FIXED, DRIVE_CDROM:
if DiskInDrive(drv) then
ListBox1.Items.Add(UpperCase(drv) + ’: (’ + GetVolumeName(drv + ’:\’) + ’)
’)
else
ListBox1.Items.Add(UpperCase(drv) + ’:’);
end;
end;

24