README

VclEx for Delphi

This library contains some VCL components with improved functionality for new versions of Delphi.

How to use

To compile and design projects that depend on this library inside IDE you need to install it first. To do so, open VclExtension.dproj, right click on it in the Projects window and choose Install. It will compile the package and add the visual component to the Components toolbar under the Extensions page. To uninstall, go to Component -> Install Packages and remove "Vcl Extended Components" package.

When using in a VCL application make sure to add the sources (*.pas) to your project by going to Project -> Add to project.

The project targets Delphi 12, but it should be possible to use in older versions of Delphi (like XE8). If it doesn't work, please open an GitHub issue.

Demo

There is a demo application in the demo branch of this repository that highlights improvements to the components. You can compile it from the command line without installing the package.

ListViewEx

Fixes

• Clear method didn't trigger OnSelectItems for items that are currently selected
• AddItem wasn't showing the caption sometimes
• Pressing Space checks/unchecks all selected items

New features

• Accessing caption and subitems with Cell[i] without need to preallocate them
• Items now store hints
• Changing per-item background color
• Add missing event for ending item editing
• Feature to preserve selection when calling BeginUpdate/EndUpdate
• Text searching functionality

New shortcuts

• Crtl+A to select all items
• Crtl+C to copy content of a main column
• Crtl+Shift+C to copy content of all columns

FormEx

This component does not require installation. Use it as a base class when designing forms.

Changes

• ShowModal now raises EAbortException when the dialog result is mrAbort
• The form frees itself on close by default

New features

• Stay-on-top checkbox in the window title menu

EditEx and ButtonedEditEx

Improved versions of TEdit and TButtonedEdit controls.

Changes

• Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right now stop on more characters (including brackets, underscores, and quotation marks).

New features

• Ctrl+Backspace erases the previous word
• OnDelayedChange event that fires after a configurable delay of DelayedChangeTimeout after the user stops typing
• Typing and OnTypingChange indicate when the user starts and stops typing