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- ===========
- MANUALS.TXT
- ===========
-
- This file contains updates to the online Text and Help files.
-
- CONTENTS:
- 1. ONLINE TEXT FILES
-
- 2. ONLINE HELP
-
- ===========================================================================
- 1. ONLINE TEXT FILES
- The following online text files provide additional
- documentation:
-
- INSTALL.TXT - Located in \DELPHI, contains information on
- troubleshooting installation and
- configuration problems.
- README.TXT - Located in \DELPHI, includes late-breaking
- information, compatibility notes, a list of
- all example programs, and information on how
- to get help from Borland.
- READRS.TXT - Located in \RPTSMITH, README for ReportSmith.
- READIB.TXT - Located in \IBLOCAL, README for the Local
- InterBase Server.
- READLINK.TXT - Located in \IDAPI, README for the Borland
- Database Engine.
- READDBD.TXT - Located in \DBD, README for the Database
- Desktop.
- FILELIST.TXT - Located in \DELPHI, contains a list of all
- files installed by the SETUP program.
- DEPLOY.TXT - Located in \DELPHI, contains important
- information about licensing and
- redistribution of Delphi, ReportSmith,
- and InterBase applications.
- MANUALS.TXT - This file.
- INIFILE.TXT - Located in \DELPHI\DOC, tells you how to
- customize Delphi via settings in
- \WINDOWS\DELPHI.INI. Also provides section
- naming conventions for component writers
- wishing to store and retrieve design-time
- information in DELPHI.INI.
- ASCIIDRV.TXT - Located in \DELPHI\DOC, provides information
- about the ASCII text driver for the BDE.
- VB2DELPH.WRI - Located in \DELPHI\DOC, this technical paper
- provides hints for Visual Basic who are
- converting their projects to Delphi.
- TOOLINTF.PAS - Defines the Delphi Open Tools API which
- allows your custom version control .DLL or
- expert to interface with the Delphi
- environment.
- VCSINTF.PAS - Defines the interface you must provide so
- Delphi can call your custom version control
- DLL's entry points.
- VIRTINTF.PAS - Base classes for your custom version control
- and experts to inherit from.
- EXPTINTF.PAS - Defines the interface you must provide so
- Delphi can call your expert's entry points.
- ISTREAMS.PAS - Defines a virtual stream interface for
- communicating data to the Delphi environment.
- DBCTRLS.PAS - The source code to the DBCTRLS unit to help
- you understand how to write data aware
- controls.
-
- 2. ONLINE HELP:
-
- Installation Help
- =================
- Help for the first Delphi Installation Dialog box lists Turbo
- Debugger as one of the products installed with Delphi. Turbo
- Debugger is not included with this version of Delphi.
-
- Run-Time Library information:
- =============================
- Run-Time Library examples that use Writeln: in order to use
- Writeln you must add WinCrt to the Uses clause.
-
- VCL information:
- ================
- Please note the following new VCL information:
-
- Cursor Property:
- ================
- The crNone property value hides the cursor and is not listed in
- the table in the "Cursor property" help topic:
-
- crNone = -1;
-
- Add Method of TFieldDefs:
- -------------------------
- Declaration:
- procedure Add(const Name: string; DataType: TFieldType; Size:
- Word; Required: Boolean);
-
- The value of the Required parameter initializes the
- TFieldDefs.Required property.
-
- Hints property of TDBNavigator:
- -------------------------------
- Declaration:
- property Hints: Tstrings;
-
- Description:
- 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 the line blank if you
- are using the string list property editor of the Object Inspector
- for the Hints property.
-
- ItemAtPos method of TTabSet
- ---------------------------
- Description:
- The declaration in the online help should read:
-
- function ItemAtPos(Pos: TPoint): Integer;
-
-
- GetDatabaseNames method of TSession:
- ------------------------------------
- Description:
- The GetDatabaseNames method clears the TStrings List parameter
- and fills it with the names of all BDE and application-specific
- aliases.
-
- FormCount property of TScreen:
- ------------------------------
- Description:
- Run-time and read only. The FormCount property value contains the
- number of forms in the TScreen.Forms property array.
-
- OnShowHint property of TApplication:
- ------------------------------------
- Description:
- 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 a record of type THintInfo.
-
- Brush property of TCanvas
- -------------------------
- Description:
- When you make changes to a bitmap that a Brush is referencing,
- you need to force the Brush to update itself by setting its style
- to bsSolid and then reassigning the bitmap to the brush:
-
- Canvas.Brush.Bitmap := MyBitmap;
- ...
- MyBitmap.Canvas.FillRect(Rect(0, 0, 8, 8));
- ...
- Canvas.Brush.Style := bsSolid; { this line required }
- Canvas.Brush.Bitmap := MyBitmap;
-
- CallExitProcs procedure in SysUtils unit
- ----------------------------------------
- CallExitProcs executes all installed exit procedures. The exit
- procedures are executed in reverse order of definition, i.e. the
- last one installed is the first one to get executed. As the
- procedures are executed, they are removed from the exit procedure
- chain. Thus, following a call to CallExitProcs, the ExitProc
- variable (defined in the System unit) will be NIL.
-
- CallExitProcs is intended for use in the termination procedure of
- a DLL. Refer to the \DELPHI\DEMOS\DB\BDEDLL directory for an
- example of a DLL that uses CallExitProcs as part of its shutdown
- handling.
-
- Using StretchDIBits instead of Draw for bitmap printing
- -------------------------------------------------------
- Bitmap printing - When printing a bitmap, make sure to use the
- Windows API routine StretchDIBits. For example, here's a function
- that prints an arbitrary TBitmap at the specified X,Y location:
-
- procedure PrintBitmap(Bitmap: TBitmap; X, Y: Integer);
- var
- Info: PBitmapInfo;
- InfoSize: Integer;
- Image: Pointer;
- ImageSize: Longint;
- begin
- with Bitmap do
- begin
- GetDIBSizes(Handle, InfoSize, ImageSize);
- Info := MemAlloc(InfoSize);
- try
- Image := MemAlloc(ImageSize);
- try
- GetDIB(Handle, Palette, Info^, Image^);
- with Info^.bmiHeader do
- StretchDIBits(Printer.Canvas.Handle, X, Y, Width,
- Height, 0, 0, biWidth, biHeight, Image, Info^,
- DIB_RGB_COLORS, SRCCOPY);
- finally
- FreeMem(Image, ImageSize);
- end;
- finally
- FreeMem(Info, InfoSize);
- end;
- end;
- end;
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
-