This new release features significant modifications based on user feedback, as well as Delphi 2.0 updates.
All component source is now modified to recompile on both 16 and 32 bit versions of Delphi.
The following changes include platform specific requirements for Delphi 2.0, new functionality inherited from Delphi 2.0, new functionality based on user requests, and bug fixes.
VCN033: TBackground has been modified to improve repainting speed. This control now
repaints 10-20% faster than Delphi controls such as TImage. Repainting is
also independant of the background style. Performance resizing the control
or changing display properties is slightly slower.
Bugs changing display properties of TBackground and TImage at runtime have also
been corrected.
VCN032: (Note) TWin3D is obsolete under Windows 95, since system dialogs are always 3D.
It has been removed from the Delphi 2.0 component registration.
VCN031: (Delphi 2.0 only) TRSExit now locates and closes 32 Bit ReportSmith programs.
VCN030: (Delphi 2.0 only) TLauncher returns different result values under WIN16 or WIN32.
VCN029: (Delphi 2.0 only) OnStartDrag event added to components that support drag & drop.
VCN028: (Delphi 2.0 only) New component editors have been added to DB Grid components.
VCN027: (Delphi 2.0 only) New inherited properties have been added to DB Grid components.
VCN026: TDBAppException modified to make the message table optional.
VCN025: TAppException and TDBAppException redesigned with events and virtual methods to allow easy extension of log information.
VCN024: ShowTitle property added to TWinAbout. This is a workaround for having "Microsoft"
inserted into the title string in the system about box under Windows 95.
VCN023: (Delphi 2.0 only) Fixed design feature in TDBEditLabel, where Caption is not automatically set when connecting to empty datasets. For Delphi 1.0 there is a public method SetCaptionToField which will update the caption.
VCN022: Modified most events of TEditLabel and TDBEditLabel to return the main owner component as the sender.
VCN021: Modified inheritance of TCustomDBFixedGrid to inherit from TCustomDBGrid, to reduce code size and improve maintainability.
VCN020: Added new display properties to TPopupSelect: ItemIndex; ItemsPerCol; BarBreak; PopupOffsetX; PopupOffsetY.
VCN019: Added BeforeWait event to TLauncher.
VCN018: Added Active property to TDBAppException.
VCN017: Added EmptyLogTable method to TDBAppException.
VCN016: Fixed bug causing GPF in the IDE when trying to use both TAppException and TDBAppException at design-time.
VCN015: Fixed bugs in OnExt event and SetFocus method of TEditLabel and TDBEditLabel.
VCN014: Fixed resource leaks in TDBSuperNav, TStopWatch and TPicSpeedBtn components.
VCN013: Renamed Enumerated type values in TWinMsgBoxBtns to avoid conflict with DIALOGS.PAS.
VCN012: Modified IDE behaviour of TDBQueryGrid and TDBTableGrid to not accept controls dropped onto them.
VCN011: Fixed bugs when changing Active and ReadOnly properties of TDBQueryGrid and TDBTableGrid.
VCN010: Fixed bug when changing Visible property of TDBQueryGrid and TDBTableGrid.
VERSION 1.0a:
All changes are now logged using a version control number, VCNnnn.
Purchasers of the Pro Version will see commented VCN references for changes in the source code.
Updates in this version have been applied to all demo programs and online help. Please consult the online help for further details of change impact.
VCN009: Added ChangeScale method to TEditLabel and TDBEditLabel to improve resizing of controls.
VCN008: Modified TWin3D to set the Ctl3D property of the Application.MainForm instead of the Owner form.
VCN007: Updated all demo programs to improve sizing with SVGA Large Fonts.
VCN006: Added new component TMDIScroll to allow enable/disable of scroll bars on MDI main forms.
VCN005: Enhanced TDBEdit to set its label caption using the Field DisplayName and unpublished the Caption property.
VCN004: Fixed bug using Params on TDBQueryGrid. Params now work correctly.
VCN003: Wait property added to TLauncher, to allow it to wait until launched program stops running.
VCN002: Split ABCDBCTL into two units: ABCDBCTL and ABCDBGRD; and added a new component TDBFixedGrid to allow FixedCols and FixedColor on DB Grids.
VCN001: Fixed bug using Fields Editor on TDBQueryGrid and TDBTableGrid.
VERSION 1.0:
1. Compiler Error Number 26 - Type Mismatch
This error can occur occasionally when using enumerated types that have the same values as another type in a different unit. Values of some Delphi enumerated types have been re-used in this VCL to aid in recognising the values to be used. The Delphi compiler always uses the last type definition containing the value, according to the order of units in the uses clause, unless a specific unit reference is made.
There are two workarounds to this problem:
You can change the order of units in the uses clause of the module.
Or you can prefix the enumerated value with the unit name of its declaration, for example Dialogs.mbOkCancel or ABCUtil.mbOKCancel.
2. User's Guide Help File Installation P 2.
The instruction for step 4. locating file ABC1.KWF is incorrect. This file will be found in \DELPHI\HELP\ABC1.KWF.
3. User's Guide DefaultBtn Property P 41.
The description should read "If less buttons exist than the default, the FIRST button becomes the default."
All demonstration programs can be found in the \ABC\DEMOS directory. The contents of each subdirectory are:
DEMO1:
TILE.DPR contains an example of tiled images using TTiledImage and TPicBtn components. This also contains a BITMAPS directory with a selection of useful tiling bitmaps.
DEMO2:
BACKGRND.DPR contains several examples of using TBackground.
DEMO3:
TBLGRID.DPR illustrates TDBTableGrid, TDBState and TDBRecordCount components.
DEMO4:
QRYGRID.DPR uses the TDBQueryGrid component for adhoc queries.
DEMO5:
SUPRNAV.DPR uses the TDBSuperNav and TDBEditLabel components.
DEMO6:
MDITILE.DPR is an MDI text editor application, using MDITiledImage as the background for the main form.
DEMO7:
MDIBACK.DPR contains the same editor application as DEMO6, only it uses the TMDIBackground component to fill the main form.
DEMO8:
BTNDEMO.DPR demonstrates each of the button styles in the ABC Library: TMouseRegion, TPicBtn, TPicSpeedBtn, TRepSpeedBtn.
DEMO9:
APPCTRL.DPR demonstrates the components used for control of applications, namely TSingleInstance, TRSExit and TLauncher.
DEMO10:
WINDLG.DPR Demonstrates the use of TWin3D, TWinAbout and TWinMsgBox.
DEMO11:
EDLABEL.DPR contains demonstrations of TEditLabel, TPopupSelect, TSuperLabel and TClockLabel.
DEMO12:
STPWDEMO.DPR is a demonstration of the StopWatch performance logging component.
DEMO13:
APPXDEMO.DPR uses TAppException to raise, report and log various example exceptions.
DEMO14:
DBEXDEMO.DPR uses TDBAppException to demonstrate use of database tables for exception handling. Note this program requires the TDBAppException.DatabaseName to be set to the current directory before use.
DEMO15:
Some users have requested ways to remove the default control name value placed in the text or items or lines property when a new control is created.
NONAMES.PAS contains examples of subclassed components using the ControlStyle property to remove default text values from edit controls. This technique applies to some ABC components, as well several Delphi components. To use this file, install NONAMES.PAS into the Delphi Component Palette. Five new components will be added to the Samples page of the palette.
Contains miscellaneous common files and installation log.
INSTALL.LOG Log file used by the uninstaller program
LICENSE.TXT License Agreement
ORDERFRM.TXT ABC Order Form
README.TXT This File
NEWVER1B.RTF Summary of What's New in this version
\ABC\DELPHI1 Directory:
Contains all DCU and resource files for Delphi 1.0 components. These files are all required and should never be deleted.
ABC1PROP.DCU Property Editors
ABC1REG.DCU Register Components
ABC1REG.PAS Register Components
ABC1R16.RES Palette Bitmaps
ABCDBCTL.DCU Components
ABCEXCEP.DCU Components
ABCEXCTL.DCU Components
ABCUTIL.DCU Components
NAVBTN16.RES Component Resources
STOPFORM.DCU Component Dialog
STOPFORM.DFM Component Dialog
STOPWTCH.DCU Components
\ABC\DELPHI2 Directory:
Contains all DCU and resource files for Delphi 2.0 components. These files are all required and should never be deleted.
ABC1PROP.DCU Property Editors
ABC1REG.DCU Register Components
ABC1REG.PAS Register Components
ABC1R32.RES Palette Bitmaps
ABCDBCTL.DCU Components
ABCEXCEP.DCU Components
ABCEXCTL.DCU Components
ABCUTIL.DCU Components
NAVBTN32.RES Component Resources
STOPFORM.DCU Component Dialog
STOPFORM.DFM Component Dialog
STOPWTCH.DCU Components
LICENSE.TXT License Agreement
README.TXT This File
\ABC\DEMOS Directory:
All demonstration programs described above, in 15 directories. These files are optional and could be deleted once you have reviewed them.
\ABC\DOC Directory:
All *.INT files containing header information for the DCU component files. These files are useful but are not required for operation of the software.
ABC1PROP.INT
ABCDBCTL.INT
ABCEXCEP.INT
ABCEXCTL.INT
ABCUTIL.INT
STOPWTCH.INT
Help Files for Delphi 1.0:
\DELPHI\BIN\ABC1B16.HLP Help File
\DELPHI\HELP\ABC1B16.KWF Help Keyword File
Help Files for Delphi 2.0:
\DELPHI 2.0\HELP\ABC1B32.HLP Help File
\DELPHI 2.0\HELP\ABC1B32.CNT Help Contents File
\DELPHI 2.0\HELP\ABC1B32.KWF Help Keyword File
\DELPHI 2.0\HELP\DELPHI.001 Backup of DELPHI.CNT File
NOTE: The DELPHI.CNT file is modified during installation and is not automatically restored by uninstall.
Uninstall Utility:
\WINDOWS\UNWISE.EXE Uninstaller
Additional Pro Version Files:
If you have installed the Pro Version 1.0, all source code for the DCU component files is located in the \SOURCE directory. There is one *.PAS file of the same name for each DCU file in the main directory.
If you have purchased the base version of Advanced Business Components, you may wish to obtain source code for these components, or order additional copies for other developers.
Suggested retail pricing for our products is as follows:
International Orders
-----------------------------------------------
ABC for Delphi, Version 1.0b US$95
ABC for Delphi, Pro Version 1.0b US$184
(includes source code)
Upgrade to Pro Version US$89
Upgrade 1.0a to 1.0b US$20
We also offer volume discounts for purchase of 10 or more licenses.