Delphi form to HTML converter: what changed

Revision 1 to 2. Removed lines have a minus sign; added lines have a plus sign.

Old	New		Line
1	1		## About
2	2
3	3		Delphi Form to HTML Converter component (F2H) is a Lazarus version of a new component, originally developed for Delphi 3.
4	4
5	5		Designed for... Delphi coders who wish to re-use a Delphi form design on a web page
6	6
7	7		It's main caracteristics are :
8	8
9	9		- It inputs a Delphi form (soon to support Lazarus forms)
10	10		- It outputs HTML forms (which two variations) ... Standard HTML or WebHub Chunks
11	11		- Originally commercial for US\$99 in Delphi 3 by href.com
12	12		- Released under the Creative Commons License - contributors can donate money if they decide to support it.
13	13		- etc
14	14
15	15		### Overview and Benefits
16	16
17	17		If you can make a Delphi or C++Builder form, you can now create HTML pages instantly, and have them look just as sharp. Drop the Form to HTML Converter component onto your existing form, right-click, choose Browse It!, and you'll have your HTML file.
18	18
19	19		There are two different techniques for using the converter component
20	20
21	21		1\) Use it to export static HTML files
22	22
23	23		In this scenario, you put the component into an existing Delphi form, set the main container, and export an HTML file. Most likely, you would then maintain that HTML page using an HTML editor such as FrontPage. This is the most likely situation for a Delphi programmer who does not use WebHub. Your main benefit is that you do not have to recreate form layouts in HTML that you have already created in Delphi.
24	24
25	25		For gain the fullest support for Netscape 3.0 and 4.0 and for Internet Explorer 3.0 and 4.0, export a tailored page for each version of the browsers. Then change the browser family property and export again.
26	26
27	27		2\) Use it as part of an interactive web application, to create dynamic HTML pages
28	28
29	29		In this scenario, you also put the component onto your existing Delphi form and choose your container. However, your application would use the WebHub components, and you would use the converter component to generate a WebHub style "chunk" rather than a standard HTML file. That chunk would become part of a web page within a larger application. You would then set the browser family based on the information from the current surfer's browser, and the dynamic page would always be optimized for that surfer.
30	30
31	31		The download contains the component, ( no an installation package nor demo application, that illustrates the features of the component along with some instrumentation for evaluating the chart on a given system, yet).
32	32
33	33		### Requirements and/or Compatible Software
34	34
35	35		Delphi or C++Builder for win32, or Lazarus Other browsers/versions: The generated HTML was designed precisely for Netscape 3/4 and Microsoft IE 3/4. If you need to support another browser brand or version, try the default Netscape setting because that will look good in most browsers.
36	36
37	37		### Documentation
38	38
39	39		Look for f2h-readme.txt which gives you everything you need for installing and using the component.
40	40
41	41		f2h-readme.txt (follows)
42	42
43	43		#### OVERVIEW
44	44
45	45		TwhForm2HTML is a WYSIWYG Delphi form to HTML translator.
46	46
47	47		Drag and drop a TwhForm2HTML component on any Delphi form and you are ready to export it in HTML.
48	48
49	49		A custom editor gives you full control on the HTML attributes used, plus a few options.
50	50
51	51		Exports can be done :
52	52
53	53		- in standard HTML or as WebHub chunks
54	54		- at design time or dynamically at run time.
55	55
56	56		As browsers size objects quite differently, the component may address the four main browsers differently in order to keep a common look and feel despite of their different behaviours.
57	57
58	58		Who is the ideal user ?
59	59
60	60		- The Delphi developer which has an HTML form to code and doesn't master HTML too much - or simply wants to save time - can use the component at design time only, and export the HTML code to integrate it in a static page. By letting the BrowserFamily property to bfDefault, the component chooses a mean way in sizing objects which gives an acceptable rendering with all browsers.
61	61
62	62		- The Delphi developer which has an existing C/S Delphi application to be ported for remote access through the Web, with tens of data entry screens can do it in a breeze.
63	63
64	64		By adding the component to all the forms for which a remote access is needed and including those forms in a WebHub project, a big part of the job is got immediately. In that way of use, keeping the original look and feel of the form is a big plus of course.
65	65
66	66		#### SUPPORTED CONTROLS
67	67
68	68		- TLabel
69	69		- TEdit
70	70		- TMemo
71	71		- TCheckBox
72	72		- TRadioButton
73	73		- TListBox
74	74		- TComboBox
75	75		- TButton
76	76		- TImage
77	77		- TGroupBox
78	78		- TPanel
79	79		- and any other TWinControl container.
80	80
81	81		#### AT DESIGN-TIME
82	82
83	83		##### PROPERTIES FROM THE OBJECT INSPECTOR
84	84
85		-	AlternateFonts : string = Optional string appended to the 'Face' attribute of the <FONT> tags. Attributes... = Open the editor (see below) BGColor : string = Fixes the form's background color. Accepts :
	85	+	AlternateFonts : string = Optional string appended to the 'Face' attribute of the tags. Attributes... = Open the editor (see below) BGColor : string = Fixes the form's background color. Accepts :
86	86
87	87		- \[None\] : no background color
88	88		- \[Same\] : same background color as the Delphi form color
89	89		- any HTML color name
90	90		- any HTML color string in the form \#RRGGBB
91	91		- any color picked in a TColorDialog (opened by double clicking)
92	92
93		-	Browse it ! = Opens the HTML form using your default browser. BrowserFamily should be set before, according to that browser. BrowserFamily = (bfDefault, bfIE3, bfIE4, bfNS3, bfNS4). Fixes the target browser. bfDefault equals to bfIE4 because of the mean way of IE4 in sizing objects. ChunkOnly : Boolean = When exporting in standard mode if ChunkOnly is False, the component exports a whole HTML page, including a page title. Export HTML... = Opens a TSaveDialog to perform the export in standard HTML mode Export WebHub chunk... = Opens a TSaveDialog to perform the export in the WebHub mode MainContainer : TWinControl = By default, TwhForm2HTML converts the whole form. By setting MainContainer to any other container (groupbox, panel, ...), you may restrict the export to that container. SetFonts : Boolean = If True, TwhForm2HTML uses the <FONT> tag to keep the elements fonts. The controls which are concerned are : labels, radiobuttons and checkboxes
	93	+	Browse it ! = Opens the HTML form using your default browser. BrowserFamily should be set before, according to that browser. BrowserFamily = (bfDefault, bfIE3, bfIE4, bfNS3, bfNS4). Fixes the target browser. bfDefault equals to bfIE4 because of the mean way of IE4 in sizing objects. ChunkOnly : Boolean = When exporting in standard mode if ChunkOnly is False, the component exports a whole HTML page, including a page title. Export HTML... = Opens a TSaveDialog to perform the export in standard HTML mode Export WebHub chunk... = Opens a TSaveDialog to perform the export in the WebHub mode MainContainer : TWinControl = By default, TwhForm2HTML converts the whole form. By setting MainContainer to any other container (groupbox, panel, ...), you may restrict the export to that container. SetFonts : Boolean = If True, TwhForm2HTML uses the tag to keep the elements fonts. The controls which are concerned are : labels, radiobuttons and checkboxes
94	94
95	95		##### THE ATTRIBUTES EDITOR
96	96
97	97		Opened by double clicking on the component, the editor lists the controls in a tree view on the left panel. By selecting a control in the tree, you may check / edit its attributes on the right panel. The first element in the tree (\<FORM\>..\</FORM\>) gives you control on the \<FORM\> tag attributes.
98	98
99	99		The editor shows three kinds of attributes :
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101	101		- HTML attributes
102	102		- HTML attributes used when exporting in WebHub mode : they have the same name as the standard
103	103
104	104		attribute, prefixed by 'WH'. Example : Action \<--\> WHAction.
105	105
106	106		- TwhForm2HTML options
107	107
108	108		Only the TwhForm2HTML options are documented here. They vary depending on the control selected :
109	109
110	110		Options for all elements :
111	111
112	112		- AfterElement : string = Lets you insert any HTML code after the element
113	113		- BeforeElement : string = Lets you insert any HTML code before the element
114	114
115	115		Options for all elements but containers and labels :
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117	117		- ExtraAttributes = To define additionals HTML attributes (like scripts handlers
118	118
119	119		for example) under the form : 'AnAttribute1="Value1" AnAttributeN="ValueN"'
120	120
121	121		Options for a TForm :
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123	123		- Border : Boolean = If True, the form is rendered with a border around it
124	124		- ShowCaption : Boolean = If True, the title bar of the form is kept
125	125		- CaptionBGColor : string = Back color of the title bar if ShowCaption is True
126	126
127	127		Default = 'Navy'
128	128
129	129		- CaptionColor : string = Text color of the title bar if ShowCaption is True
130	130
131	131		Default = 'White'
132	132
133	133		Options for a TButton :
134	134
135	135		- AsImage : Boolean = Specifies if the button has to be converted in an \<INPUT\>
136	136
137	137		tag (standard HTML button, type "submit" or "reset"), or in an \<IMG\> tag.
138	138
139	139		Options for a TImage :
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141	141		- AsButton : Boolean = If True, the TImage is translated in an \<INPUT Type="image"\>
142	142
143	143		tag. If False, the TImage can be handled as an anchor or not.
144	144
145	145		- AsAnchor : Boolean = If True, you can edit the HREF link attribute.
146	146
147	147		#### AT RUN-TIME
148	148
149	149		The component can be used to generate the forms chunks on the fly. A write-only 'CGIUserAgent' property, compatible with TWebServer.CGIUserAgent must be used to inform the component of the target browser.
150	150
151	151		Example in WebHub mode :
152	152
153	153		``` pascal
154	154		with WHForm2HTML1 do
155	155		begin
156	156		CGIUserAgent := WebServer1.CGIUserAgent; // set BrowserFamily automatically
157	157		ExportWHChunkFName := 'aChunk.txt'; // set the export filename
158	158		if exportWHChunk then // function exportWHChunk : Boolean
159	159		// do something with the text file
160	160		end;
161	161		```
162	162
163	163		In place of writing the chunk in a text file, you can get the chunk string through the public property WHChunk : string read getWHChunk.
164	164
165	165		Example in standard mode :
166	166
167	167		``` pascal
168	168		with WHForm2HTML1 do
169	169		begin
170	170		CGIUserAgent := WebServer1.CGIUserAgent; // sets BrowserFamily automatically
171	171		ExportFName := 'aForm.HTML'; // sets the export filename
172	172		if exportHTML then // function exportHTML : Boolean
173	173		// do something with the HTML page
174	174		end;
175	175		```
176	176
177	177		In place of writing the page in a text file, you can get the its string through the public property HTML : string read getHTML.
178	178
179	179		Notice that if you create controls at run-time, TWHForm2HTML must be informed in order to take those new controls into account. To achieve that, simply call the Synchronize procedure. As shown below, it's also possible to set attributes on-the-fly.
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181	181		Example :
182	182
183	183		``` pascal
184	184		var
185	185		attrObject : THAttrObject;
186	186		begin
187	187		with WHForm2HTML1 do
188	188		begin
189	189		// Creation of controls on the fly
190	190		// ...
191	191		// ...
192	192		synchronize; // Now the component knows about them
193	193		// ...
194	194		// Now let's say that you created a TButton named 'Button1' and you
195	195		// need to access the corresponding THButton object in order to set
196	196		// one of its HTML attributes :
197	197
198	198		attrObject := WHForm2HTML1.HMainContainer.FindHObjectByName('Button1');
199	199		if attrObject <> nil then
200	200		begin
201	201		with attrObject do
202	202		begin
203	203		Attributes['AsImage'].BooleanValue := False; // set the 'AsImage' option
204	204		Attributes['Type'].Value := 'reset'; // set the 'Type' attribute
205	205		end;
206	206		end;
207	207		end;
208	208		```
209	209
210	210		### INSTALLATION
211	211
212	212		TWHForm2HTML currently supports Delphi 5+, C++ Builder and Lazarus.
213	213
214	214		``` pascal
215	215		unit regf2h;
216	216
217	217		{*******************************************************}
218	218		{ }
219	219		{ Form to HTML converter "F2H" }
220	220		{ Register component to Delphi palette }
221	221		{ }
222	222		{ Copyright (c) 1998-2010 HREF Tools Corp. }
223	223		{ http://www.href.com/f2h }
224	224		{ }
225	225		{ This file is licensed under a Creative Commons }
226	226		{ Share-Alike 3.0 License. }
227	227		{ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ }
228	228		{ If you use this file, please keep this notice }
229	229		{ intact. }
230	230		{ }
231	231		{ Developed by HREF Tools Corp. 1998-2010 }
232	232		{ First author: Philippe Maquet }
233	233		{ }
234	234		{*******************************************************}
235	235		```
236	236
237	237		- Install component via regf2h.pas as a new component as per normal.
238	238
239	239		### WebHub VCL Developers
240	240
241	241		- F2h is automatically installed on the WebHub palette when you build your component library or package.
242	242		- Rebuild your component library or package to take advantage of your new code.
243	243
244	244		### How to install into IDE
245	245
246	246		- Unzip the ZIP file in any folder
247	247		- Menu: Component \> Install Packages
248	248		- Install the package for your compiler: D06 = Delphi 6, D07 = Delphi 7, D11 = Delphi 2007, D12 = Delphi 2009
249	249
250	250		The component will be installed on a palette named "WebHub".
251	251
252	252		## Screenshot
253	253
254	254		(not currently available) -- single form component.
255	255
256	256		## Author
257	257
258	258		Ann Lynneworth of HREF.com
259	259
260	260		{ Developed by HREF Tools Corp. 1998-2010 }
261	261		{ First author: Philippe Maquet }
262	262		{ Redeveloped by http://pews-freeware-games.org }
263	263		{ Second author: Peter Eric Williams (pew) }
264	264		{ for Lazarus and Free Pascal }
265	265
266	266		## License
267	267
268	268		{ This file is licensed under a Creative Commons }
269	269		{ Share-Alike 3.0 License. }
270	270		{ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ }
271	271		{ If you use this file, please keep this notice }
272	272		{ intact. }
273	273
274	274		[modified](http://svn.freepascal.org/svn/lazarus/trunk/COPYING.modifiedLGPL) [LGPL](http://svn.freepascal.org/svn/lazarus/trunk/COPYING.LGPL) (same as the FPC RTL and the Lazarus LCL). You can contact the author if the modified LGPL doesn't work with your project licensing.
275	275
276	276		## Download
277	277
278	278		The latest stable release can be found on
279	279
280	280		<https://sites.google.com/site/pewtas/form2html_lazarus.zip?attredirects=0&d=1>
281	281
282	282		This is the new component for Lazarus "Delphi Form to HTML Converter" (originally for Delphi 3). Needs some work... please contact PEW... It should work fine with Delphi 3 forms... Help is requested to make it work for Lazarus forms and also changes documented in the enclosed HTML file re: detecting and calling default web browser in a cross-platform way.
283	283
284	284		## Change Log
285	285
286	286		- Version 1.0 date
287	287
288	288		## Dependencies / System Requirements
289	289
290	290		- None
291	291
292	292		Status: Stable
293	293
294	294		Issues:
295	295
296	296		See Webbrowser / Webbrowser - Lazarus wiki.html ... code needs to be added to make it check for the default web browser and call the default web browser as per code on html file (copy of Lazarus wiki). This is to provide cross-platform call of default web browser.
297	297
298	298		---
299	299		From the Free Pascal wiki, page "Delphi form to HTML converter", as it stood on 2020-02-12 after a change by Trev, out of the wiki's dump of 2024-05-26. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).
300	300		Category: Components

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