Doing a continuous action while a TButton is held down - delphi

How would I be able to do a continuous action while a button is held down? For example, I have made a custom 'Numpad' for my application, which has a Delete button. As of right now, I have to click it separately, but I want it to keep deleting while it is held down.
procedure TFrame1.deleteClick(Sender: TObject);
var
MiString: string;
begin
global_gotten_mode := precheck.global_edit_mode;
precheck.Form2.input_field.SetFocus;
MiString := Copy(precheck.Form2.input_field.Text, 0, (length(precheck.Form2.input_field.Text) - 1));
precheck.Form2.input_field.Text := MiString;
Form2.input_field.SelStart := high(integer);
end;

Add a timer and activate it on the OnMouseDown event.
As long as the button is held down, the timer will kick in at a rate of your choice.
When the button is released, the OnMouseUp event disables the timer.
Something in this way:
procedure TFrame1.BtnMouseDown(Sender : TObject);
begin
global_gotten_mode := precheck.global_edit_mode;
precheck.Form2.input_field.SetFocus;
fMyBtnTimer.Interval := 500; // Initial repetition rate
fMyBtnTimer.Enabled := true;
end;
procedure TFrame1.BtnMouseUp(Sender : TObject);
begin
fMyBtnTimer.Enabled := false;
end;
procedure TFrame1.MyBtnTimerEvent(Sender : TObject);
var
MiString: string;
begin
fMyBtnTimer.Interval := 200; // Increase repetition rate
MiString := Copy( precheck.Form2.input_field.Text,
0,
length(precheck.Form2.input_field.Text) - 1);
precheck.Form2.input_field.Text := MiString;
Form2.input_field.SelStart := high(integer);
end;

Related

How to make the same button run different code everytime it is clicked?

I am currently doing a school project, I am making a Credit Card machine. I need the 'Enter Button' to
run different code when it is clicked. The first click must get the card number from an edit ps... (I clear the edit once the card number has been retrieved), and the second click must get the pin from the same edit.
How would I do this?
procedure TfrmMainMenu.btbtnEnterClick(Sender: TObject);
var
sCvv,sPin:string;
begin
iCount2:=0;
sCardNumber:=lbledtCardInfo.Text;
if (Length(sCardNumber)<>16) AND (iCount2=0) then
begin
ShowMessage('Card number has to 16 digits,please try again!!');
end
else
begin
Inc(iCount2);
lbledtCardInfo.clear;
lbledtCardInfo.EditLabel.Caption:='Enter Pin' ;
btbtnEnter.Enabled:=false;
end; //if
if iCount2=2 then
begin
btbtnEnter.Enabled:=true;
sPin:=lbledtCardInfo.Text;
ShowMessage(sPin);//returns a blank
end;
You could try to do everything in a single event handler. There are several different ways to handle that. However, a different solution would be to use separate event handlers for each task, and then each task can assign a new handler for the next click to perform, eg:
procedure TfrmMainMenu.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
// you can set this at design-time if desired...
btbtnEnter.OnClick := GetCCNumber;
end;
procedure TfrmMainMenu.GetCCNumber(Sender: TObject);
begin
sCardNumber := lbledtCardInfo.Text;
if Length(sCardNumber) <> 16 then
begin
ShowMessage('Card number has to 16 digits,please try again!!');
Exit;
end;
lbledtCardInfo.Clear;
lbledtCardInfo.EditLabel.Caption := 'Enter Pin' ;
btbtnEnter.OnClick := GetCCPin;
end;
procedure TfrmMainMenu.GetCCPin(Sender: TObject);
var
sPin: string;
begin
sPin := lbledtCardInfo.Text;
if Length(sPin) <> 4 then
begin
ShowMessage('Card Pin has to 4 digits,please try again!!');
Exit;
end;
ShowMessage(sPin);
...
lbledtCardInfo.Clear;
lbledtCardInfo.EditLabel.Caption := 'Enter Number' ;
btbtnEnter.OnClick := GetCCNumber;
end;
A variation of this would be to create multiple buttons that overlap each other in the UI, and then you can toggle their Visible property back and forth as needed, eg:
procedure TfrmMainMenu.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
// you can set this at design-time if desired...
btbtnCCPinEnter.Visible := False;
btbtnCCNumEnter.Visible := True;
end;
procedure TfrmMainMenu.btbtnCCNumEnterClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
sCardNumber := lbledtCardInfo.Text;
if Length(sCardNumber) <> 16 then
begin
ShowMessage('Card number has to 16 digits,please try again!!');
Exit;
end;
lbledtCardInfo.Clear;
lbledtCardInfo.EditLabel.Caption := 'Enter Pin' ;
btbtnCCNumEnter.Visible := False;
btbtnCCPinEnter.Visible := True;
end;
procedure TfrmMainMenu.btbtnCCPinEnterClick(Sender: TObject);
var
sPin: string;
begin
sPin := lbledtCardInfo.Text;
if Length(sPin) <> 4 then
begin
ShowMessage('Card Pin has to 4 digits,please try again!!');
Exit;
end;
ShowMessage(sPin);
...
lbledtCardInfo.Clear;
lbledtCardInfo.EditLabel.Caption := 'Enter Number' ;
btbtnCCPinEnter.Visible := False;
btbtnCCNumEnter.Visible := True;
end;
Notice that you test iCount2 = 0 immediately after setting iCount2 := 0. Thus, that test will always be True. Furthermore, the later test iCount2 = 2 will always be False because the value starts at 0 and you only have one Inc in between.
Instead try the following.
Add two string fields FCardNumber and FPin to your form class:
private
FCardNumber: string;
FPin: string;
Also create an enumerated type TEntryStage = (esCardNumber, esPin) and add a field of this type. This will make your code look like this:
private
type
TEntryStage = (esCardNumber, esPin);
var
FCardNumber: string;
FPin: string;
FEntryStage: TEntryStage;
In Delphi, class fields (class member variables) are always initialized, so FEntryStage will be esCardNumber (=TEntryStage(0)) when the form is newly created.
Add a TLabeledEdit (I see you use those) and a TButton; name them eInput and btnNext, respectively. Let the labeled edit's caption be Card number: and the caption of the button be Next.
Now add the following OnClick handler to the button:
procedure TForm1.btnNextClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
case FEntryStage of
esCardNumber:
begin
// Save card number
FCardNumber := eInput.Text;
// Prepare for the next stage
eInput.Clear;
eInput.EditLabel.Caption := 'Pin:';
FEntryStage := esPin;
end;
esPin:
begin
// Save pin
FPin := eInput.Text;
// Just do something with the data
ShowMessageFmt('Card number: %s'#13#10'Pin: %s', [FCardNumber, FPin]);
end;
end;
end;
You might notice that you cannot trigger the Next button using Enter, which is very annoying. To fix this, do
procedure TForm1.eInputEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
btnNext.Default := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.eInputExit(Sender: TObject);
begin
btnNext.Default := False;
end;
Much better!

Find controls caption and change it state

I have form with enabled / disabled controls to indicate form is in busy or idle state.
I need to enable only ONE control (a button, but could be else), when it was disabled to abort some process. I change the button caption to 'ABORT'.
I click button A, i change the caption of button A to 'ABORT'. All other control will be disabled, but i want a button with caption 'ABORT' is still enabled.
procedure F1.FormBusy (sender);
var
a: Integer;
begin
for a := 0 to TabSheet1.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
TabSheet1.Controls[a].Enabled := False;
(* if TabSheet1.Controls[a] caption := 'ABORT' then
TabSheet1.Controls[a].Enabled := True
< how to do this ? *)
end;
end;
Usage example :
procedure F1.LB1Click(sender: TObject);
begin
FormBusy(sender);
try
// do something
finally
FormIdle(sender);
end;
end;
Rather than trying to find the button by its Caption property, why not access it directly from the array?
for a := 0 to TabSheet1.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
TabSheet1.Controls[a].Enabled := TabSheet1.Controls[a] = Button1;
end;
Each TControl will be disabled except for Button1 which will be enabled.
You can define another method to assign busy parameter :
procedure F1.MAJIHM(const isBusy : Boolean);
var a: Integer;
begin
for a := 0 to TabSheet1.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
TabSheet1.Controls[a].Enabled := isBusy;
end;
btnABORT.enabled := not isBusy;
end;
procedure F1.FormBusy (sender);
begin
MAJIHM(True);
end;
procedure F1.FormIdle (sender);
begin
MAJIHM(False);
end;
You said:
I click button A, i change the caption of button A to 'ABORT'. All
other control will be disabled, but i want a button with caption
'ABORT' is still enabled.
And from your usage example it is clear that you pass that button to F1.FormBusy() where you can refer to it as the sender parameter:
procedure F1.FormBusy(sender: TObject);
var
a: Integer;
begin
for a := 0 to TabSheet1.ControlCount - 1 do
TabSheet1.Controls[a].Enabled := TabSheet1.Controls[a] = sender;
end;
In the FormIdle() function you simply enable all controls.

TEdit not redrawing correctly with Invalidate in Delphi 5

There's a problem with the TScrollBox in Delphi 5 when using Cirtix, on some systems, when a user scrolls by clicking the button at the top or bottom of the end of scrollbar the whole application freezes. We had the issue in QucikReports previews initially and got round it by implementing our own scrollbars in the TScrollBox.
We now have a piece of bespoke work that uses a TScrollBox and the client is reporting a similar problem so I'm working round it in the same way. I hide the TScrollBox scrollbars and add in my own. When those are clicked I call the following.
Note, this test code is not currently running in Citrix, I've tested on XP and Window 7.
I am turning off redrawing of the control, moving all the child controls, then turning drawing back on and calling Invalidate. I would expect invalidate to fully redraw the control but that's not happening.
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollControls(x: Integer; y: Integer);
var
I: Integer;
begin
if (x = 0) and (y = 0) then
Exit;
// Stop the control from repaining while we're updating it
try
SendMessage(FScrollBox.Handle, WM_SETREDRAW, 0, 0);
for I := 0 to FScrollBox.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
if (FScrollBox.Controls[I] = FVScrollBar) or (FScrollBox.Controls[I] = FHScrollBar) then
Continue;
FScrollBox.Controls[I].Left := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Left + x;
FScrollBox.Controls[I].Top := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Top + y;
end;
finally
// Turn on painting again
SendMessage(FScrollBox.Handle, WM_SETREDRAW, 1, 0);
end;
// Redraw everything
InvalidateEverything(FScrollBox);
end;
Code to redraw controls
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.InvalidateEverything(AControl: TControl);
var
I: Integer;
begin
AControl.Invalidate();
if (AControl is TWinControl) then
for I := 0 to TWinControl(AControl).ControlCount - 1 do
InvalidateEverything(TWinControl(AControl).Controls[I]);
end;
I added in the Invalidate, Refresh and Reapint and loop through all child controls in an effort to get it working, but still no luck. The edit boxes look as follows:
If I set Visible to false and back to true then they'll redraw correctly, but there is obviously a horrible flicker. They also redraw correctly if I minimise the maximise the window, or drag it off and on the screen.
Any help would be much appreciated.
edit : Some info about the answers.
Users looking for a solution, I'd recommend you try both. David's and Sertac's. David's looks like it is the correct solution according to Microsoft's documentation. However, with the Delphi scrollbox, labels placed directly in the scrollbox flicker, where are labels placed in groupboxes in the scrollbox are perfectly smooth. I think this might be an issue with all components that don't descend from TWinControl. Scrolling itself is smoother with David's solution, but there's less flicking using WM_SETREDRAW and RedrawWindow. I would have liked to accept both as answers as both have their advantages and disadvantages.
edit : Code for the whole class below
To test just add a scrollbox with some controls to your form and call
TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.Create(ScrollBox1);
.
unit ScrollBoxScrollReplacement;
interface
uses extctrls, stdctrls, SpScrollBox, forms, Controls, classes, Messages, Windows, Sysutils, Math;
type
TScrollBoxScrollReplacement = class(TComponent)
private
FLastVScrollPos: Integer;
FLastHScrollPos: Integer;
FScrollBox: TScrollBox;
FVScrollBar: TScrollBar;
FHScrollBar: TScrollBar;
FVScrollBarVisible: Boolean;
FHScrollBarVisible: Boolean;
FCornerPanel: TPanel;
FMaxRight: Integer;
FMaxBottom: Integer;
FOriginalResizeEvent: TNotifyEvent;
FOriginalCanResizeEvent: TCanResizeEvent;
FInScroll: Boolean;
function GetHScrollHeight: Integer;
function GetVScrollWidth: Integer;
procedure ReplaceScrollBars;
function SetUpScrollBar(AControlScrollBar: TControlScrollBar; AKind: TScrollBarKind): TScrollBar;
procedure ScrollBoxResize(Sender: TObject);
procedure ScrollBarEnter(Sender: TObject);
procedure PositionScrollBars;
procedure Scroll(Sender: TObject; ScrollCode: TScrollCode; var ScrollPos: Integer);
procedure ScrollControls(x, y: Integer);
procedure CalculateControlExtremes();
procedure ResetVScrollBarRange;
procedure ResetHScrollBarRange;
function IsReplacementControl(AControl: TControl): Boolean;
property HScrollHeight: Integer read GetHScrollHeight;
property VScrollWidth: Integer read GetVScrollWidth;
procedure ScrollBoxCanResize(Sender: TObject; var NewWidth,
NewHeight: Integer; var Resize: Boolean);
public
constructor Create(AScrollBox: TScrollBox); reintroduce; overload;
destructor Destroy(); override;
procedure ResetScrollBarRange();
procedure BringReplacementControlsToFront();
end;
implementation
{ TScrollBoxScrollReplacement }
constructor TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.Create(AScrollBox: TScrollBox);
begin
// Set up the scrollbox as our owner so we're destroyed when the scrollbox is
inherited Create(AScrollBox);
FScrollBox := AScrollBox;
ReplaceScrollBars();
// We make a note of any existing resize and can resize events so we can call them to make sure we don't break anything
FOriginalResizeEvent := FScrollBox.OnResize;
FScrollBox.OnResize := ScrollBoxResize;
FOriginalCanResizeEvent := FScrollBox.OnCanResize;
FScrollBox.OnCanResize := ScrollBoxCanResize;
end;
// This is called (unintuitively) when controls are moved within the scrollbox. We can use this to reset our scrollbar ranges
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollBoxCanResize(Sender: TObject; var NewWidth,
NewHeight: Integer; var Resize: Boolean);
begin
if (not FInScroll) then
begin
ResetScrollBarRange();
BringReplacementControlsToFront();
end;
if (Assigned(FOriginalCanResizeEvent)) then
FOriginalCanResizeEvent(Sender, NewWidth, NewHeight, Resize);
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollBoxResize(Sender: TObject);
begin
if (Assigned(FOriginalResizeEvent)) then
FOriginalResizeEvent(Sender);
ResetScrollBarRange();
end;
// Hides the original scrollbars and adds in ours
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ReplaceScrollBars();
begin
FVScrollBar := SetUpScrollBar(FScrollBox.VertScrollBar, sbVertical);
FVScrollBarVisible := FVScrollBar.Visible;
FHScrollBar := SetUpScrollBar(FScrollBox.HorzScrollBar, sbHorizontal);
FHScrollBarVisible := FHScrollBar.Visible;
FCornerPanel := TPanel.Create(FScrollBox);
FCornerPanel.Parent := FScrollBox;
ResetScrollBarRange();
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.PositionScrollBars();
begin
// Align our scrollbars correctly
FVScrollBar.Top := 0;
FVScrollBar.Left := FScrollBox.ClientWidth - FVScrollBar.Width;
FVScrollBar.Height := FScrollBox.ClientHeight - HScrollHeight;
// FVScrollBar.BringToFront();
FHScrollBar.Left := 0;
FHScrollBar.Top := FScrollBox.ClientHeight - FHScrollBar.Height;
FHScrollBar.Width := FScrollBox.ClientWidth - VScrollWidth;
// FHScrollBar.BringToFront();
// If both scrollbars are visible we'll put a panel in the corner so we can't see components through it
if (FVScrollBar.Visible) and (FHScrollBar.Visible) then
begin
FCornerPanel.Left := FHScrollBar.Width;
FCornerPanel.Top := FVScrollBar.Height;
FCornerPanel.Width := FVScrollBar.Width;
FCornerPanel.Height := FHScrollBar.Height;
FCornerPanel.Visible := True;
// FCornerPanel.BringToFront();
end
else
FCornerPanel.Visible := False;
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ResetScrollBarRange();
begin
CalculateControlExtremes();
ResetVScrollBarRange();
ResetHScrollBarRange();
PositionScrollBars();
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ResetVScrollBarRange();
var
ScrollMax: Integer;
ScrollAmount: Integer;
begin
// If all the controls fit to the right of the screen, but there are controls off the left then we'll scroll right.
ScrollMax := FMaxBottom - FScrollBox.ClientHeight + FHScrollBar.Height;
if (ScrollMax < 0) and (FLastVScrollPos > 0) then
begin
ScrollAmount := Min(Abs(ScrollMax), FLastVScrollPos);
ScrollControls(0, ScrollAmount);
FLastVScrollPos := FLastVScrollPos - ScrollAmount;
CalculateControlExtremes();
end;
FVScrollBar.Max := Max(FMaxBottom - FScrollBox.ClientHeight + FHScrollBar.Height + FLastVScrollPos, 0);
FVScrollBar.Visible := (FVScrollBar.Max > 0) and FVScrollBarVisible;
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ResetHScrollBarRange();
var
ScrollMax: Integer;
ScrollAmount: Integer;
begin
// If all the controls fit to the bottom of the screen, but there are controls off the top then we'll scroll up.
ScrollMax := FMaxRight - FScrollBox.ClientWidth + FVScrollBar.Width;
if (ScrollMax < 0) and (FLastHScrollPos > 0) then
begin
ScrollAmount := Min(Abs(ScrollMax), FLastHScrollPos);
ScrollControls(ScrollAmount, 0);
FLastHScrollPos := FLastHScrollPos - ScrollAmount;
CalculateControlExtremes();
end;
FHScrollBar.Max := Max(FMaxRight - FScrollBox.ClientWidth + FVScrollBar.Width + FLastHScrollPos, 0);
FHScrollBar.Visible := (FHScrollBar.Max > 0) and FHScrollBarVisible;
end;
function TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.SetUpScrollBar(AControlScrollBar: TControlScrollBar; AKind: TScrollBarKind): TScrollBar;
begin
Result := TScrollBar.Create(FScrollBox);
Result.Visible := AControlScrollBar.Visible;
Result.Parent := FScrollBox;
Result.Kind := AKind;
Result.Ctl3D := False;
Result.Max := AControlScrollBar.Range;
Result.OnEnter := ScrollBarEnter;
Result.OnScroll := Scroll;
Result.SmallChange := 5;
Result.LargeChange := 20;
AControlScrollBar.Visible := False;
end;
destructor TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.Destroy;
begin
inherited;
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollBarEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
// We just call this here to make sure our ranges are set correctly - a backup in case things go wrong
ResetScrollBarRange();
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.Scroll(Sender: TObject;
ScrollCode: TScrollCode; var ScrollPos: Integer);
var
Change: Integer;
begin
ResetScrollBarRange();
if (Sender = FVScrollBar) then
begin
Change := FLastVScrollPos - ScrollPos;
ScrollControls(0, Change);
FLastVScrollPos := ScrollPos;
end
else if (Sender = FHScrollBar) then
begin
Change := FLastHScrollPos - ScrollPos;
ScrollControls(Change, 0);
FLastHScrollPos := ScrollPos;
end;
end;
// Moves all the controls in the scrollbox except for the scrollbars we've added
{procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollControls(x: Integer; y: Integer);
var
I: Integer;
begin
if (x = 0) and (y = 0) then
Exit;
// Stop the control from repaining while we're updating it
SendMessage(FScrollBox.Handle, WM_SETREDRAW, 0, 0);
FInScroll := True;
try
for I := 0 to FScrollBox.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
if IsReplacementControl(FScrollBox.Controls[I]) then
Continue;
FScrollBox.Controls[I].Left := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Left + x;
FScrollBox.Controls[I].Top := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Top + y;
end;
finally
// Turn on painting again
FInScroll := False;
SendMessage(FScrollBox.Handle, WM_SETREDRAW, 1, 0);
end;
// Redraw everything
RedrawWindow(FSCrollBox.Handle, nil, 0, RDW_ERASE or RDW_INVALIDATE or RDW_ALLCHILDREN);
end; }
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollControls(x: Integer; y: Integer);
var
I: Integer;
Control: TControl;
WinControl: TWinControl;
hWinPosInfo: HDWP;
begin
if (x = 0) and (y = 0) then
Exit;
hWinPosInfo := BeginDeferWindowPos(0);
Win32Check(hWinPosInfo<>0);
try
for I := 0 to FScrollBox.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
Control := FScrollBox.Controls[I];
if (Control = FVScrollBar) or (Control = FHScrollBar) then
Continue;
if Control is TWinControl then
begin
WinControl := FScrollBox.Controls[I] as TWinControl;
hWinPosInfo := DeferWindowPos(
hWinPosInfo,
WinControl.Handle,
0,
WinControl.Left + x,
WinControl.Top + y,
WinControl.Width,
WinControl.Height,
SWP_NOZORDER or SWP_NOOWNERZORDER or SWP_NOACTIVATE
);
Win32Check(hWinPosInfo<>0);
end
else
Control.SetBounds(Control.Left + x, Control.Top + y, Control.Width, Control.Height);
end;
finally
EndDeferWindowPos(hWinPosInfo);
end;
end;
// works out where our right most and bottom most controls are so we can set the scrollbars correctly
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.CalculateControlExtremes();
var
I: Integer;
Right: Integer;
Bottom: Integer;
begin
FMaxRight := 0;
FMaxBottom := 0;
for I := 0 to FScrollBox.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
if IsReplacementControl(FScrollBox.Controls[I]) then
Continue;
Right := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Left + FScrollBox.Controls[I].Width;
Bottom := FScrollBox.Controls[I].Top + FScrollBox.Controls[I].Height;
FMaxRight := Max(FMaxRight, Right);
FMaxBottom := Max(FMaxBottom, Bottom);
end;
end;
function TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.GetHScrollHeight: Integer;
begin
if (FHScrollBar.Visible) then
Result := FHScrollBar.Height
else
Result := 0;
end;
function TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.GetVScrollWidth: Integer;
begin
if (FVScrollBar.Visible) then
Result := FVScrollBar.Width
else
Result := 0;
end;
// Returns true if the passed control is one of the controls we've added
function TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.IsReplacementControl(
AControl: TControl): Boolean;
begin
Result := (AControl = FVScrollBar) or (AControl = FHScrollBar) or (AControl = FCornerPanel);
end;
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.BringReplacementControlsToFront;
begin
FVScrollBar.BringToFront();
FHScrollBar.BringToFront();
FCornerPanel.BringToFront();
end;
end.
I found that your code started working once I remove the two WM_SETREDRAW messages. That's your fundamental problem. You will need to remove the WM_SETREDRAW messages.
That will no doubt mean you still need to solve your problem with flickering, but that's a different problem. My quick experiments suggest that DeferWindowPos could solve that problem. For example:
procedure TScrollBoxScrollReplacement.ScrollControls(x: Integer; y: Integer);
var
I: Integer;
Control: TControl;
WinControl: TWinControl;
hWinPosInfo: HDWP;
begin
if (x = 0) and (y = 0) then
Exit;
hWinPosInfo := BeginDeferWindowPos(0);
Win32Check(hWinPosInfo<>0);
try
for I := 0 to FScrollBox.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
Control := FScrollBox.Controls[I];
if (Control = FVScrollBar) or (Control = FHScrollBar) then
Continue;
if Control is TWinControl then
begin
WinControl := FScrollBox.Controls[I] as TWinControl;
hWinPosInfo := DeferWindowPos(
hWinPosInfo,
WinControl.Handle,
0,
WinControl.Left + x,
WinControl.Top + y,
WinControl.Width,
WinControl.Height,
SWP_NOZORDER or SWP_NOOWNERZORDER or SWP_NOACTIVATE
);
Win32Check(hWinPosInfo<>0);
end
else
Control.SetBounds(Control.Left + x, Control.Top + y, Control.Width, Control.Height);
end;
finally
EndDeferWindowPos(hWinPosInfo);
end;
end;
Your non-windowed controls will still flicker, but you can make them windowed, or indeed put the whole content of the scroll box inside a windowed control. Heck, if you just did that, it would be enough to solve the problem!
For what it is worth, my trials indicate that DeferWindowPos gives smoother scrolling than WM_SETREDRAW and RedrawWindow. But these tests were hardly exhaustive and you might find different outcomes in your app.
Some asides regarding your code:
Your use of try/finally is incorrect. The pattern must be:
BeginSomething;
try
Foo;
finally
EndSomething;
end;
You get that wrong with your calls to SendMessage.
And you use an incorrect cast in InvalidateEverything. You cannot blindly cast a TControl to TWinControl. That said, that function does no good. You can remove it altogether. What it is attempting to do can be performed with a single call to Invalidate of the parent control.
You can replace your
FScrollBox.Invalidate();
with
RedrawWindow(FSCrollBox.Handle, nil, 0,
RDW_ERASE or RDW_INVALIDATE or RDW_ALLCHILDREN);
to have all controls invalidated and updated properly. RDW_ERASE is for erasing the previous positions of controls and RDW_ALLCHILDREN is for taking care of windowed controls inside. Non-win controls like labels should already be repainted because of RDW_INVALIDATE.
Although this approach may help avoiding the flicker that you observe, it may also cause some loss of smoothness of scrolling while thumb tracking. That's because the scroll position might need to be updated more often than a paint cycle is processed. To circumvent this, instead of invalidating you can update the control positions immediately:
RedrawWindow(FSCrollBox.Handle, nil, 0,
RDW_ERASE or RDW_INVALIDATE or RDW_UPDATENOW or RDW_ALLCHILDREN);

Close Delphi dialog after [x] seconds

Is it possible to get Delphi to close a ShowMessage or MessageDlg Dialog after a certain length of time?
I want to show a message to the user when the application is shut down, but do not want to stop the application from shutting down for more than 10 seconds or so.
Can I get the default dialog to close after a defined time, or will I need to write my own form?
Your application is actually still working while a modal dialog or system message box or similar is active (or while a menu is open), it's just that a secondary message loop is running which processes all messages - all messages sent or posted to it, and it will synthesize (and process) WM_TIMER and WM_PAINT messages when necessary as well.
So there's no need to create a thread or jump through any other hoops, you simply need to schedule the code that closes the message box to be run after those 10 seconds have elapsed. A simple way to do that is to call SetTimer() without a target HWND, but a callback function:
procedure CloseMessageBox(AWnd: HWND; AMsg: UINT; AIDEvent: UINT_PTR;
ATicks: DWORD); stdcall;
var
Wnd: HWND;
begin
KillTimer(AWnd, AIDEvent);
// active window of the calling thread should be the message box
Wnd := GetActiveWindow;
if IsWindow(Wnd) then
PostMessage(Wnd, WM_CLOSE, 0, 0);
end;
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
TimerId: UINT_PTR;
begin
TimerId := SetTimer(0, 0, 10 * 1000, #CloseMessageBox);
Application.MessageBox('Will auto-close after 10 seconds...', nil);
// prevent timer callback if user already closed the message box
KillTimer(0, TimerId);
end;
Error handling ommitted, but this should get you started.
You can try to do it with a standard Message dialog. Create the dialog with CreateMessageDialog procedure from Dialogs and after add the controls that you need.
In a form with a TButton define onClick with this:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
tim:TTimer;
begin
// create the message
AMsgDialog := CreateMessageDialog('This is a test message.',mtWarning, [mbYes, mbNo]) ;
lbl := TLabel.Create(AMsgDialog) ;
tim := TTimer.Create(AMsgDialog);
counter := 0;
// Define and adding components
with AMsgDialog do
try
Caption := 'Dialog Title' ;
Height := 169;
// Label
lbl.Parent := AMsgDialog;
lbl.Caption := 'Counting...';
lbl.Top := 121;
lbl.Left := 8;
// Timer
tim.Interval := 400;
tim.OnTimer := myOnTimer;
tim.Enabled := true;
// result of Dialog
if (ShowModal = ID_YES) then begin
Button1.Caption := 'Press YES';
end
else begin
Button1.Caption := 'Press NO';
end;
finally
Free;
end;
end;
An the OnTimer property like this:
procedure TForm1.MyOnTimer(Sender: TObject);
begin
inc(counter);
lbl.Caption := 'Counting: ' + IntToStr(counter);
if (counter >= 5) then begin
AMsgDialog.Close;
end;
end;
Define the variables and procedure:
TForm1 = class(TForm)
Button1: TButton;
procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
private
AMsgDialog: TForm;
lbl:TLabel;
counter:integer;
procedure MyOnTimer(Sender: TObject);
end;
And test it.
The form close automatically when the timer final the CountDown. Similar this you can add other type of components.
Regards.
Try this:
function MessageBoxTimeOut(hWnd: HWND; lpText: PChar; lpCaption: PChar;
uType: UINT; wLanguageId: WORD; dwMilliseconds: DWORD): integer;
stdcall; external user32 name 'MessageBoxTimeoutA';
I've been using this for quite some time; it works a treat.
OK. You have 2 choices:
1 - You can create your own MessageDialog form. Then, you can use it and add a TTimer that will close the form when you want.
2 - You can keep using showmessage and create a thread that will use FindWindow (to find the messadialog window) and then close it.
I recommend you to use you own Form with a timer on it. Its cleaner and easier.
This works fine with windows 98 and newers...
I don't use the " MessageBoxTimeOut" because old windows 98, ME, doesn't have it...
this new function works like a "CHARM"..
//add this procedure
procedure DialogBoxAutoClose(const ACaption, APrompt: string; DuracaoEmSegundos: Integer);
var
Form: TForm;
Prompt: TLabel;
DialogUnits: TPoint;
ButtonTop, ButtonWidth, ButtonHeight: Integer;
nX, Lines: Integer;
function GetAveCharSize(Canvas: TCanvas): TPoint;
var
I: Integer;
Buffer: array[0..51] of Char;
begin
for I := 0 to 25 do Buffer[I] := Chr(I + Ord('A'));
for I := 0 to 25 do Buffer[I + 26] := Chr(I + Ord('a'));
GetTextExtentPoint(Canvas.Handle, Buffer, 52, TSize(Result));
Result.X := Result.X div 52;
end;
begin
Form := TForm.Create(Application);
Lines := 0;
For nX := 1 to Length(APrompt) do
if APrompt[nX]=#13 then Inc(Lines);
with Form do
try
Font.Name:='Arial'; //mcg
Font.Size:=10; //mcg
Font.Style:=[fsBold];
Canvas.Font := Font;
DialogUnits := GetAveCharSize(Canvas);
//BorderStyle := bsDialog;
BorderStyle := bsToolWindow;
FormStyle := fsStayOnTop;
BorderIcons := [];
Caption := ACaption;
ClientWidth := MulDiv(Screen.Width div 4, DialogUnits.X, 4);
ClientHeight := MulDiv(23 + (Lines*10), DialogUnits.Y, 8);
Position := poScreenCenter;
Prompt := TLabel.Create(Form);
with Prompt do
begin
Parent := Form;
AutoSize := True;
Left := MulDiv(8, DialogUnits.X, 4);
Top := MulDiv(8, DialogUnits.Y, 8);
Caption := APrompt;
end;
Form.Width:=Prompt.Width+Prompt.Left+50; //mcg fix
Show;
Application.ProcessMessages;
finally
Sleep(DuracaoEmSegundos*1000);
Form.Free;
end;
end;
////////////////////////////How Call It//////////////////
DialogBoxAutoClose('Alert'', "This message will be closed in 10 seconds',10);
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
MessageBox calls this function internally and pass 0xFFFFFFFF as timeout parameter, so the probability of it being removed is minimal (thanks to Maurizio for that)
I thought about using a separate thread, but it's probably going to get you into a lot of unnecessary code etc. Windows dialogs were simply not made for this thing.
You should do your own form. On the good side, you can have custom code/UI with a countdown like timed dialog boxes do.
No. ShowMessage and MessageDlg are both modal windows, which means that your application is basically suspended while they're displayed.
You can design your own replacement dialog that has a timer on it. In the FormShow event, enable the timer, and in the FormClose event disable it. In the OnTimer event, disable the timer and then close the form itself.
You can hook up the Screen.OnActiveFormChange event and use Screen.ActiveCustomForm if it is a interested form that you want to hook up the timer to close it
{code}
procedure abz.ActiveFormChange(Sender: TObject);
var
Timer: TTimer;
begin
if (Screen.ActiveCutomForm <> nil) and //valid form
(Screen.ActiveCutomForm.Tag = 0) and //not attached a timer yet
(Screen.ActiveCutomForm.ClassName = 'TMessageForm') //any interested form type check
then
begin
Timer := TTimer.Create(Screen.ActiveCutomForm); // let the form owned so it will be freed
Timer.Enabled := False;
Timer.Tag := Integer(Screen.ActiveCutomForm); // keep track to be used in timer event
.... setup any timer interval + event
Screen.ActiveCutomForm.Tag := Integer(Timer);
Timer.Enabled := True;
end;
end;
{code}
enjoy
Best way is to use a stayontop form and manage a counter to disappear using the alfpha blend property of the form, at the end of the count just close the form, but
the control will be passed to the active control needed before showing the form, this way, user will have a message which disappears automatically and wont prevent the usage of the next feature, very cool trick for me.
You can do this with WTSSendMessage.
You can find this in the JWA libraries, or call it yourself.

Forms creation and destroying in OnMouseEnter ; OnMouseLeave events in Delphi

Sorry if there is already made such question earlier, but I have no time at the moment to dig in stackoverflow db ...
So, I have this code:
procedure TForm1.GraphPrevBtnMouseEnter(Sender: TObject);
var frm_PrevBtn : TForm;
begin
GraphPrevBtn.Width := 75;
if z = 0 then begin
frm_PrevBtn := TForm.Create(nil);
with frm_PrevBtn do begin
Name := 'frm_PrevBtn';
BorderStyle := bsNone;
Position := poDesigned;
Top := Form1.Top + GraphprevBtn.Top + (form1.Height - Form1.ClientHeight) - 3;
Left := Form1.Left + GraphprevBtn.Left + 3;
Width := GraphprevBtn.Width; Height := GraphprevBtn.Height; transparentColor := True; TransparentColorValue := clbtnFace;
Show;
end;
GraphPrevBtn.Parent := frm_PrevBtn;
if GetLastError = 0 then z := frm_prevBtn.GetHashCode;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.GraphPrevBtnMouseLeave(Sender: TObject);
var frm_PrevBtn_H : THandle;
begin
// if form is created then- if mouse is under button then- if z = formshashcode ( form is on creatin stage )
if not (FindVCLWindow(Mouse.CursorPos) = GraphPrevBtn) and ((FindControl(FindWindow('TForm','frm_PrevBtn')) as TForm).Visible = True) and (GraphPrevBtn.Parent = FindControl(FindWindow('TForm','frm_PrevBtn')) as TForm) then begin // if mouse is not under graphprevBtn
ShowMessage(FindVCLWindow(Mouse.CursorPos).Name); //
if z = 112 // then if form is created
then begin
GraphPrevBtn.Parent := Form1;
GraphPrevBtn.bringtoFront;
GraphPrevBtn.Top := 29; GraphPrevBtn.Left := 226;
(FindControl(FindWindow('TForm','frm_PrevBtn')) as TForm).Free;
if GetLastError = 0 then z := 0;
end;
end;
end;
So, my wish is the following:
When I enter this GraphPrevBtn with mouse, form is created. As for is created, the focus goes from Control to new form. As focus is to new form, the OnMouseLeave event is fired. As event is fired, it should destroy the form, BUT ONLY IF user ( NOT active control / focus ) actually leaves control by mouse.
What happens now is that either new forms is not destroyed at all or both events goes infinite loop ( *frm_PrevBtn* is created and destroyed again and again and again...).
What would be best solution?
My idea is to get new forms rect and check whenever mouse is inside this rect. If it is, then perform allow OnMouseLeave event, otherwise deattach it ... would it work?
As much I tried with these samples:
http://delphi.about.com/od/windowsshellapi/a/get-active-ctrl.htm
http://delphi.about.com/od/delphitips2010/qt/is-some-delphi-tcontrol-under-the-mouse.htm
No luck. Where is the problem ... ?
Remarks: global var z : byte;
P.S. Thanks for negative votes ... great motivation to use this site in future ...
Mouse enters on 'GraphPrevBtn', you create a form over the button. As soon as this form becomes visible, since mouse is not anymore over 'GraphPrevBtn', 'OnMouseLeave' is fired. You destroy the new form and now mouse is again on the button so 'OnMouseEnter' is fired, hence the infinite loop.
As a solution, you can move the form disposing code to 'OnMouseEnter' of Form1:
procedure TForm1.FormMouseEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
if z = 112
then begin
GraphPrevBtn.Parent := Form1;
[...]
.. and what's with the 'GetLastError', it seems fully irrelevant. If you're going to use it, at least set last error to '0' by calling GetLastError or SetLastErrorbefore beginning your operation.
Maybe something more like this will help you:
var
frm_PrevBtn : TForm = nil;
procedure TForm1.GraphPrevBtnMouseEnter(Sender: TObject);
var
P: TPoint;
begin
GraphPrevBtn.Width := 75;
if frm_PrevBtn = nil then begin
P := GraphPrevBtn.ClientOrigin;
frm_PrevBtn := TForm.Create(nil);
with frm_PrevBtn do begin
BorderStyle := bsNone;
Position := poDesigned;
SetBounds(P.X, P.Y, GraphPrevBtn.Width, GraphPrevBtn.Height);
TransparentColor := True;
TransparentColorValue := clBtnFace;
GraphPrevBtn.Parent := frm_PrevBtn;
GraphPrevBtn.Top := 0;
GraphPrevBtn.Left := 0;
Show;
end;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.GraphPrevBtnMouseLeave(Sender: TObject);
begin
if (FindVCLWindow(Mouse.CursorPos) <> GraphPrevBtn) and (frm_PrevBtn <> nil) then begin
GraphPrevBtn.Parent := Self;
GraphPrevBtn.BringToFront;
GraphPrevBtn.Top := 29;
GraphPrevBtn.Left := 226;
FreeAndNil(frm_PrevBtn);
end;
end;
Why don't you do it like this:
MainForm.OnMouseOver: Create a secondary form.
SecondaryForm.OnMouseOver: Set FLAG_ON_SECONDARY.
SecondaryForm.OnMouseLeave: Clear FLAG_ON_SECONDARY.
MainForm.OnMouseLeave: if not FLAG_ON_SECONDARY then destroy the secondary form.
This might not work in case SecondaryForm.OnMouseOver fires after MainForm.OnMouseLeave. Well, think of something similar. Another solution is to start a timer which destroys SecondaryForm and disables itself if mouse is neither on Main nor on SecondaryForm.

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