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ModernTabControl

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README

ModernTabControl

A fully customizable tab component for Lazarus / Free Pascal, with a modern look, dark theme support, and native integration with TNotebook.

Overview

TModernTabControl is a drop-in replacement for the standard LCL TPageControl, built from scratch with its own rendering via TCustomControl. Every visual detail — colors, separators, accent bar, close button — is configurable through published properties, with no need for subclasses or hacks.

Features

Feature Details
Full color palette 10 color properties exposed in the Object Inspector
Accent bar Colored indicator on the active tab
Per-tab close button With highlight on mouse hover
Drag & drop Reorder tabs by dragging
Horizontal scroll < > buttons appear automatically when needed
Per-tab tooltips Native THintWindow, set per tab via SetTabHint
TNotebook integration Automatic page and active index synchronization
Configurable separators Separator thickness and color between tabs

Properties

Behavior

Property Type Default Description
NoteBook TNotebook nil Notebook synchronized with the tabs
ActiveTab Integer -1 Index of the active tab
TabHeight Integer 36 Tab bar height in pixels
SepWidth Integer 1 Separator width between tabs (0 = no separator)

Colors

Property Default (Dark) Description
ColorBackground #202020 Tab bar background
ColorTabInactive #2D2D2D Inactive tab background
ColorTabHover #383838 Hovered tab background
ColorTabActive #424242 Active tab background
ColorAccent #CF6E27 Accent bar on the active tab
ColorTextInactive #AAAAAA Inactive tab text
ColorTextActive #FFFFFF Active tab text
ColorClose #777777 Close (X) icon on the active tab
ColorCloseHover #0055FF Close (X) icon on hover
ColorSeparator #444444 Separator between tabs

Events

Event Signature Description
OnChange TNotifyEvent Fired when the active tab changes
OnCloseTab (Sender; TabIndex; var CanClose) Allows canceling a tab close
OnMoveTab (Sender; OldIndex, NewIndex) Fired when tabs are reordered via drag
OnAddTab TNotifyEvent Fired when the + button is clicked

Public API

pascal
// Adds a tab (returns its index)
function AddTab(const ACaption: string; const AHint: string = ''): Integer;

// Removes the tab at the specified index
procedure DeleteTab(Index: Integer);

// Removes all tabs
procedure Clear;

// Sets the tooltip for a specific tab
procedure SetTabHint(Index: Integer; const AHint: string);

// Access to individual tabs
property Tabs[Index: Integer]: TModernTab;  // read-only
property TabCount: Integer;                  // read-only

Installation

  1. Open Lazarus and go to Package → Open Package File (.lpk)
  2. Select ModernTabControl/moderncontrols.lpk
  3. Click Compile and then Use → Install
  4. Confirm the IDE recompilation
  5. The component will appear in the Modern palette

Basic Usage

  1. Add a TNotebook to your form
  2. Add a TModernTabControl and set Align = alTop
  3. Point the NoteBook property to the TNotebook
  4. Tabs are automatically synchronized with the Notebook pages
pascal
// Adding tabs at runtime
ModernTabControl1.AddTab('General');
ModernTabControl1.AddTab('Settings', 'Adjust system preferences');
ModernTabControl1.AddTab('About');

// Light theme at runtime
ModernTabControl1.ColorBackground   := clWhite;
ModernTabControl1.ColorTabInactive  := $00F0F0F0;
ModernTabControl1.ColorTabActive    := clWhite;
ModernTabControl1.ColorTextInactive := clGray;
ModernTabControl1.ColorTextActive   := clBlack;
ModernTabControl1.ColorAccent       := clBlue;

Requirements

  • Lazarus 2.x or higher
  • Free Pascal 3.x or higher
  • Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS (via LCL)

License

MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.