How to hide TActionMainMenuBar images - delphi

I have TActionMainMenuBar placed on the form, which looks like this:
Now, it looks perfectly fine except that blank gap on the left where images should go. Since I don't have need to draw images in the menu, how can I hide that gap completely? Haven't been able to find any properties which I can use to hide this, and Google queries returned no results on the topic.

Below sample tries to demonstrate what it would take to use your own menu style. It just tries to gain the space from the unused images but you can override any aspect of the drawing, see 'xpactnctrls.pas' for possible implementation.
type
TBarStyle = class(TXPStyleActionBars)
public
function GetControlClass(ActionBar: TCustomActionBar;
AnItem: TActionClientItem): TCustomActionControlClass; override;
end;
TMenuStyle = class(TXPStyleMenuItem)
protected
procedure CalcLayout; override;
public
procedure CalcBounds; override;
end;
var
BarStyle: TBarStyle;
function TBarStyle.GetControlClass(ActionBar: TCustomActionBar;
AnItem: TActionClientItem): TCustomActionControlClass;
begin
Result := inherited GetControlClass(ActionBar, AnItem);
if ActionBar is TCustomActionPopupMenu then
Result := TMenuStyle;
end;
procedure TMenuStyle.CalcLayout;
begin
inherited;
GlyphPos := Point(-16, GlyphPos.Y);
end;
procedure TMenuStyle.CalcBounds;
var
R: TRect;
begin
inherited;
R := TextBounds;
OffsetRect(R, -16, 0);
TextBounds := R;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
ActionMainMenuBar1.ActionManager.Style := BarStyle;
end;
initialization
BarStyle := TBarStyle.Create;
RegisterActnBarStyle(BarStyle);
finalization
UnregisterActnBarStyle(BarStyle);
BArStyle.Free;

Related

How to display TBalloonHint always downwards independently from the screen position?

Create a VCL Forms Application, put a TBalloonHint (Name: balloonhintTest) and a TButton (Name: btnTest) on the form and write this code:
procedure TForm2.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
balloonhintTest.HideHint;
balloonhintTest.Style := bhsStandard;
end;
procedure TForm2.btnTestMouseEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
if not balloonhintTest.ShowingHint then
begin
balloonhintTest.Title := 'My Title';
balloonhintTest.Description := 'MyDescription';
balloonhintTest.ShowHint(Self.ClientToScreen(Point(btnTest.Left + (btnTest.Width div 2), btnTest.Top + btnTest.Height)));
end;
end;
procedure TForm2.btnTestMouseLeave(Sender: TObject);
begin
balloonhintTest.HideHint;
end;
Now run the program and hover your mouse pointer over the button.
This is how it looks when the window is on the UPPER PART OF THE SCREEN:
And this is how it looks when the window is on the LOWER PART OF THE SCREEN:
As you can see - although the Hint coordinates are always the same - the hint is displayed DOWNWARDS in the first case (desired result) and UPWARDS in the second case (obviously not the desired result), depending on the vertical position of the window on the screen.
So how can I display the balloon hint in this case always DOWNWARDS independently from the screen position?
(Please note: I am not interested in the other overloadings of the ShowHint method - I just want to know how to display the hint always downwards in the above case, as this is only the simplified scenario of a more complex case).
Probably easiest way is to create your own class based on TBalloonHint as
type
TMyHint = class(TBalloonHint)
strict private
FControl: TControl;
public
procedure PaintHint(HintWindow: TCustomHintWindow); override;
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent; const AControl: TControl);
end;
constructor TMyHint.Create(AOwner: TComponent; const AControl: TControl);
begin
inherited Create(AOwner);
FControl := AControl;
end;
procedure TMyHint.PaintHint(HintWindow: TCustomHintWindow);
var
Point: TPoint;
begin
Point := FControl.Parent.ClientToScreen(TPoint.Create(FControl.Left, FControl.Top + FControl.Height));
HintWindow.Top := Point.Y;
inherited;
end;
create it as
procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
balloonHintTest := TMyHint.Create(Self, btnTest);
balloonHintTest.Style := bhsStandard;
end;
I think it is even easier if you just apply a check on whether the showing point is on the lower part of the form to which the balloonhint belongs, and if yes add, sth like that. The height of the balloonHint can be calculated via textHeight
procedure TForm2.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
balloonhintTest.HideHint;
balloonhintTest.Style := bhsStandard;
end;
procedure TForm2.btnTestMouseEnter(Sender: TObject);
begin
if not balloonhintTest.ShowingHint then
begin
balloonhintTest.Title := 'My Title';
balloonhintTest.Description := 'MyDescription';
TPoint pointCheck = Self.ClientToScreen(Point(btnTest.Left + (btnTest.Width div 2), btnTest.Top + btnTest.Height));
if(pointCheck.y>0.5*Self.Height)
int yShift = balloonhintTest.Height;
pointCheck.y = pointCheck.y - yShift;
end if
balloonhintTest.ShowHint(pointCheck);
end;
end;
procedure TForm2.btnTestMouseLeave(Sender: TObject);
begin
balloonhintTest.HideHint;
end;

How to draw a rectangle around a TImage when it is selected

I have a set of TImage instances layed out on a panel. The TImages represent icons (see attached screenshot). I would like to draw a red rectangle around a given TImage instance when the user selects it by clicking on it. Not sure how to proceed...
Edit: why am I not using a TToolbar? Reason 1: I don't like the default "look and feel" of the TToolbar and I want to have more control on it. Reason 2: This control is not really a TToolbar. It should rather be considered as a sort of "bookmark" element, which displays different text in the memo field depending on which "bookmark" is selected.
The accepted solution using Remy Lebeau's suggestion is shown below:
I would suggest using a TPaintBox instead of a TImage. Load your image into an appropriate TGraphic class (TBitmap, TIcon, TPNGImage, etc) and then draw it onto the TPaintBox in its OnPaint event. That is all a TImage really does (it holds a TGraphic that is drawn onto its Canvas when painted). You can then draw a red rectangle on top of the image when needed. For example:
procedure TMyForm.PaintBox1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
PaintBox1.Tag := 1;
PaintBox1.Invalidate;
PaintBox2.Tag := 0;
PaintBox2.Invalidate;
end;
procedure TMyForm.PaintBox2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
PaintBox1.Tag := 0;
PaintBox1.Invalidate;
PaintBox2.Tag := 1;
PaintBox2.Invalidate;
end;
procedure TMyForm.PaintBox1Paint(Sender: TObject);
begin
PaintBox1.Canvas.Draw(MyImage1, 0, 0);
if PaintBox1.Tag = 1 then
begin
PaintBox1.Canvas.Brush.Style := bsClear;
PaintBox1.Canvas.Pen.Color := clRed;
PaintBox1.Canvas.Rectangle(PaintBox1.ClientRect);
end;
end;
procedure TMyForm.PaintBox2Paint(Sender: TObject);
begin
PaintBox2.Canvas.Draw(MyImage2, 0, 0);
if PaintBox2.Tag = 1 then
begin
PaintBox2.Canvas.Brush.Style := bsClear;
PaintBox2.Canvas.Pen.Color := clRed;
PaintBox2.Canvas.Rectangle(PaintBox2.ClientRect);
end;
end;
Alternatively, you can derive a new class from TImage and override its virtual Paint() method to draw the rectangle after default drawing. For example:
type
TMyImage = class(TImage)
private
FShowRectangle: Boolean;
procedure SetShowRectangle(Value: Boolean);
protected
procedure Paint; override;
public
property ShowRectangle: Boolean read FShowRectangle write SetShowRectangle;
end;
procedure TMyImage.SetShowRectangle(Value: Boolean);
begin
if FShowRectangle <> Value then
begin
FShowRectangle := Value;
Invalidate;
end;
end;
type
TGraphicControlAccess = class(TGraphicControl)
end;
procedure TMyImage.Paint;
begin
inherited;
if FShowRectangle then
begin
with TGraphicControlAccess(Self).Canvas do
begin
Brush.Style := bsClear;
Pen.Color := clRed;
Rectangle(ClientRect);
end;
end;
end;
procedure TMyForm.MyImage1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MyImage1.ShowRectangle := true;
MyImage2.ShowRectangle := false;
end;
procedure TMyForm.MyImage2Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
MyImage1.ShowRectangle := false;
MyImage2.ShowRectangle := true;
end;
I would modify the proposals. there would be no problem with the objects on the form type the following :
TImage = class(ExtCtrls.TImage)
private
FShowRectangle: Boolean;
procedure SetShowRectangle(Value: Boolean);
protected
procedure Paint; override;
public
property ShowRectangle: Boolean read FShowRectangle write SetShowRectangle;
end;
I would recommend using a TRectangle. You can add an bitmap (bitmap, jpg, etc) via the Fill propery and set the Stroke property for the border.
You also can set the xRadius and yRadius properties for rounded borders.

Unexpected behavior of command history unit

I wrote such module to store there last changes of picture in my paint application " in Delphi
unit HistoryQueue;
interface
uses
Graphics;
type
myHistory = class
constructor Create(Size:Integer);
public
procedure Push(Bmp:TBitmap);
function Pop():TBitmap;
procedure Clean();
procedure Offset();
function isEmpty():boolean;
function isFull():boolean;
function getLast():TBitmap;
protected
historyQueueArray: array of TBitmap;
historyIndex, hSize:Integer;
end;
implementation
procedure myHistory.Push(Bmp:TBitmap);
var tbmp:TBitmap;
begin
if(not isFull) then begin
Inc(historyIndex);
historyQueueArray[historyIndex]:=TBitmap.Create;
historyQueueArray[historyIndex].Assign(bmp);
end else begin
Offset();
historyQueueArray[historyIndex]:=TBitmap.Create;
historyQueueArray[historyIndex].Assign(bmp);
end;
end;
procedure myHistory.Clean;
var i:Integer;
begin
{ for i:=0 to hSize do begin
historyQueueArray[i].Free;
historyQueueArray[i].Destroy;
end; }
end;
constructor myHistory.Create(Size:Integer);
begin
hSize:=Size;
SetLength(historyQueueArray, hSize);
historyIndex:=-1;
end;
function myHistory.isEmpty: boolean;
begin
Result:=(historyIndex = -1);
end;
function myHistory.isFull: boolean;
begin
Result:=(historyIndex = hSize);
end;
procedure myHistory.Offset; {to handle overflow}
var i:integer;
begin
//historyQueueArray[0]:=nil;
for i:=0 to hSize-1 do begin
historyQueueArray[i]:=TBitmap.Create;
historyQueueArray[i].Assign(historyQueueArray[i+1]);
end;
end;
function myHistory.Pop: TBitmap;
var
popBmp:TBitmap;
begin
popBmp:= TBitmap.Create;
popBmp.Assign(historyQueueArray[historyIndex]);
Dec(historyIndex);
Result:=popBmp;
end;
function myHistory.getLast: TBitmap; {this function I use when I need refresh the cnvas when I draw ellipse or rect, to get rid of traces and safe previous changes of the picture}
var
tBmp:TBitmap;
begin
tBmp:= TBitmap.Create;
tBmp.Assign(historyQueueArray[historyIndex]);
Result:=tBmp;
end;
end.
And thats how I use it
procedure TMainForm.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
cleanBmp:TBitmap;
begin
{...}
doneRedo:=false;
redomode:=false; undomode:=false;
//init arrays
picHistory:=myHistory.Create(10); //FOR UNDO
tempHistory:=myHistory.Create(10); //FOR REDO
cleanbmp:=TBitmap.Create;
cleanbmp.Assign(imgMain.Picture.Bitmap);
picHistory.Push(cleanbmp);
cleanbmp.Free;
{...}
end;
procedure TMainForm.btnUndoClick(Sender: TObject);
var redBmp:TBitmap;
begin
undoMode:=true;
//if there were some changes
if(not picHistory.isEmpty) then begin
redBmp:=TBitmap.Create;
redBmp.Assign(picHistory.getLast);
//clean canvas
imgMain.Picture.Bitmap:=nil;
//get what was there before
imgMain.Canvas.Draw(0,0, picHistory.Pop);
//and in case if we will not make any changes after UNDO(clicked one or more times)
//and call REDO then
tempHistory.Push(redBmp);//we save what were on canvas before UNDOand push it to redo history
redBmp.Free;
end;
end;
procedure TMainForm.btnRedoClick(Sender: TObject);
var undBmp:TBitmap;
begin
redoMode:=true;
if(not tempHistory.isEmpty) then begin
doneRedo:=True;
undBmp:=TBitmap.Create;
undBmp.Assign(tempHistory.getLast);
imgMain.Picture.Bitmap:=nil;
MainForm.imgMain.Canvas.Draw(0,0, tempHistory.Pop);
//same history (like with UNDO implementation) here but reverse
picHistory.Push(undBmp);
undBmp.Free;
end;
end;
{...}
procedure TMainForm.imgMainMouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var bmp:TBitmap;
begin
//if mouse were down and then it's up this means we drew something
//and must save changes into history to be able to make UNDO
{...}
bmp:=TBitmap.Create;
try
bmp.Assign(imgMain.Picture.Bitmap);
picHistory.Push(bmp);
//if there are some changes added after redo then we clean redo history
if (doneRedo) then begin
tempHistory.Clean;
doneRedo:=false;
end;
finally
bmp.Free;
//sor of refresh
imgMain.Canvas.Draw(0,0, picHistory.getLast);
end;
{...}
But the problem is it works not way I expected. an example:
If I push undo button once - nothing happens. On twice - it does what it should at once.
And if I drew an ellipse, then click undo once and start draw new one - last drawn ellipse just dissaperas!
Here's the elipse draw method in case if it could be helpful to find out the problem
procedure TMainForm.ellipseDraw(X, Y: Integer);
begin
imgMain.Canvas.Pen.Color:=useColor;
imgMain.Canvas.Brush.Color:=scndColor;
imgMain.Canvas.Pen.Width:=size;
if(mouseIsDown) then begin
imgMain.Canvas.Draw(0,0, picHistory.getLast); //there gonna be no bizzare traces from figures
imgMain.Canvas.Ellipse(dX, dY, X,Y);
end;
end;
Answer
If I push undo button once - nothing happens. On twice - it does what it should at once.
That is indeed exactly what your code does:
In imgMainMouseUp you add the current picture to the undo list, and
In btnUndoClick you retrieve the last bitmap from the undo list, which is the same as currently seen on the Image.
The solution - to this specific question - is to add the previous bitmap to the undo list instead of the current one.
Bonus
And to address David's comment concerning the leaking, your implementation leaks Bitmaps because:
The routines Pop and getLast return a newly local created Bitmap. This places the responsibility for its destruction on the caller ot the routines. Your MainForm code does not destroy those Bitmaps, thus they are memory leaks. The solution is to simply return the item in the array, instead of creating a new Bitmap.
In the Offset routine, you again create new Bitmaps and leak all previous ones. Just assign Queue[I] to Queue[I + 1].
In the Push method, you forget to free the last item.
The class does not have a destructor, which again places the responsibility for the destruction of all Bitmaps on the user of the object with the need to call Clean, which it does not. The solution is to add a destructor to your object which calls Clean.
Besides these leaks, there are more problems with your code. Here some fixes and tips:
Since dynamic arrays are zero-based, your isFull routine does not return True when it should. It should be implemented as Result := historyIndex = hSize - 1;
Your array is not a queue (FIFO), but a stack (LIFO).
Your Pop routine does not check for an empty list.
Altogether, your history class could better look like:
uses
SysUtils, Graphics;
type
TBitmapHistory = class(TObject)
private
FIndex: Integer;
FStack: array of TBitmap;
procedure Offset;
public
procedure Clear;
function Count: Integer;
constructor Create(ACount: Integer);
destructor Destroy; override;
function Empty: Boolean;
function Full: Boolean;
function Last: TBitmap;
function Pop: TBitmap;
procedure Push(ABitmap: TBitmap);
end;
implementation
{ TBitmapHistory }
procedure TBitmapHistory.Clear;
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 0 to Count - 1 do
FreeAndNil(FStack[I]);
FIndex := -1;
end;
function TBitmapHistory.Count: Integer;
begin
Result := Length(FStack);
end;
constructor TBitmapHistory.Create(ACount: Integer);
begin
inherited Create;
SetLength(FStack, ACount);
FIndex := -1;
end;
destructor TBitmapHistory.Destroy;
begin
Clear;
inherited Destroy;
end;
function TBitmapHistory.Empty: Boolean;
begin
Result := FIndex = -1;
end;
function TBitmapHistory.Full: Boolean;
begin
Result := FIndex = Count - 1;
end;
function TBitmapHistory.Last: TBitmap;
begin
if Empty then
Result := nil
else
Result := FStack[FIndex];
end;
procedure TBitmapHistory.Offset;
begin
FStack[0].Free;
Move(FStack[1], FStack[0], (Count - 1) * SizeOf(TBitmap));
end;
function TBitmapHistory.Pop: TBitmap;
begin
if not Empty then
begin
Result := Last;
Dec(FIndex);
end;
end;
procedure TBitmapHistory.Push(ABitmap: TBitmap);
begin
if Full then
Offset
else
Inc(FIndex);
FStack[Findex].Free;
FStack[FIndex] := TBitmap.Create;
FStack[Findex].Assign(ABitmap);
end;
Remarks:
There also exists a specialized class TObjectStack for this in the Contnrs unit which you could override/exploit.
There are also concerns with your MainForm code, but I politely leave that up to you to fix.

Highlight TPanel on mouse move

I'm trying to make app to show some information, It'll create Panels runtime and place info on it, each panel will be flat as on picture, also app will use runtime themes, so i'd not be able to change panel bg color on mouse move, I tried to place info on TSpeedButton :v O.o it has wonderfull highlight function when it's flat while app is using runtime theme, but the main problem is that images and labels aren't moving when i move speedbutton and i need this much, they just stay there..
I tried to edit TCustomPanel.Paint to see if panel will look like highlighted button, adding code at the end:
PaintRect := ClientRect;
Details := StyleServices.GetElementDetails(ttbButtonHot);
StyleServices.DrawElement(Canvas.Handle, Details, PaintRect);
but with no success..
also it's pretty hard to link some custom code OnClick event at runtime, e.g:
ShowMessage('custom message on each panel');
I have not got any idea on how to do this, hope some one will give me advice or show me some example..
btw, panel will be created this way:
var
P: TPanel;
begin
P := TPanel.Create(Self);
P.Left := 20;
P.Top := 100;
P.Width := 60;
P.Height := 20;
P.Visible := True;
P.Parent := Self;
#P.OnClick := #Showmessageproc; // somehow this way..
end;
App pic:
If i do so:
procedure TMyPanel.MouseMove(Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var
mEvnt: TTrackMouseEvent;
begin
inherited;
if not FMouseTracking then begin
mEvnt.cbSize := SizeOf(mEvnt);
mEvnt.dwFlags := TME_LEAVE;
mEvnt.hwndTrack := Handle;
TrackMouseEvent(mEvnt);
FMouseTracking := True;
showmessage('IN');
end;
end;
procedure TMyPanel.WMMouseLeave(var Msg: TMessage);
begin
if Msg.Msg = WM_MOUSELEAVE then showmessage('OUT');
Msg.Result := 0;
FMouseTracking := False;
if Assigned(FOnMouseLeave) then
FOnMouseLeave(Self);
end;
procedure G(Sender: TObject);
begin
showmessage('message');
end;
procedure TMainFrm.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
P: TMyPanel;
begin
P := TMyPanel.Create(Self);
P.Left := 20;
I := I + 100;
P.Top := I;
P.Width := 200;
P.Height := 80;
P.Visible := True;
P.Parent := Self;
#P.OnClick := #g;
end;
when I move mouse on runtime created panel, 2 msgbox appears, IN and OUT, "mousemove" works fine but "mouse leave" bad, also the mainc question is still actual. the problem is that that I can't get canvas of created panel to draw on. the example above could be achieved more simple way:
#P.OnMouseLeave := #onmouseleaveproc;
#P.OnMouseMove := #onmousemoveproc;
but with Canvas, everything is more difficult, somewhere i've read that canvas is protected in TCustomPanel.
Also there's another question: Is it possible to handle panel wich called e.g OnMouseMove ? because there maybe will be 30 of them (runtime created panels)
I've tried this way: (and it does not works)
type
TMyPanel = class(TPanel)
public
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent); override;
private
// FMouseTracking: Boolean;
// FOnMouseLeave: TNotifyEvent;
procedure CMMouseEnter(var msg: TMessage); message CM_MOUSEENTER;
procedure CMMouseLeave(var msg: TMessage); message CM_MOUSELEAVE;
protected
// procedure MouseMove(Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer); override;
published
// property OnMouseLeave: TNotifyEvent read FOnMouseLeave write FOnMouseLeave;
end;
constructor TMyPanel.Create(AOwner: TComponent);
begin
ControlStyle := ControlStyle - [csParentBackground] + [csOpaque];
inherited;
end;
procedure TMyPanel.CMMouseEnter(var msg: TMessage);
begin
inherited;
Color := clBlue;
{ Do Whatever }
end;
procedure TMyPanel.CMMouseLeave(var msg: TMessage);
begin
inherited;
Color := clRed;
{ Do Whatever }
end;
Simply, color does not changes. (color changes with themes OFF)
It's basically explained here for Delphi 6, but same concept I think. You want to define a custom windows message handler for your panel. This will give you basic mouse enter/exit capability. You can then play with setting TPanel properties from there to find something to your liking. For example, to mock a speed button, you might be able to just set the background color and change the border bevel accordingly. If that isn't adequate, you can write to the TPanel's Canvas directly (paint the behavior that you want to see) on mouse enter/exit to get the visual behavior you're after.
I created the following new component in Delphi and installed it. A new TColorPanel component showed up in a new MyComponents tab in the IDE. I then used this to put a TColorPanel on a new app and it responded properly to the mouse enter/leave events, changing the color as desired. I'm not sure how you made your app's panels as TMyPanel instead of standard TPanel. This is just how I tried it. I used your latest message handling code as-is.
unit ColorPanel;
interface
uses
WinTypes, WinProcs, Messages, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs,
ExtCtrls;
type
TColorPanel = class(TPanel)
public
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent); override;
private
procedure CMMouseEnter(var msg: TMessage); message CM_MOUSEENTER;
procedure CMMouseLeave(var msg: TMessage); message CM_MOUSELEAVE;
protected
// procedure MouseMove(Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer); override;
published
// property OnMouseLeave: TNotifyEvent read FOnMouseLeave write FOnMouseLeave;
end;
procedure Register;
implementation
procedure Register;
begin
RegisterComponents('MyComponents', [TColorPanel]);
end;
constructor TColorPanel.Create(AOwner: TComponent);
begin
ControlStyle := ControlStyle - [csParentBackground] + [csOpaque];
inherited;
end;
procedure TColorPanel.CMMouseEnter(var msg: TMessage);
begin
inherited;
Color := clBlue;
{ Do Whatever }
end;
procedure TColorPanel.CMMouseLeave(var msg: TMessage);
begin
inherited;
Color := clRed;
{ Do Whatever }
end;
end.
I'm not sure why yours isn't working, other than to determine how you declared your app's panels to be TMyPanel.

How do I create an alpha blended panel?

I'm trying to display a truly alpha blended TPanel in Delphi XE2. I've found quite a few attempts online, but none of them work correctly.
What I'm trying to achieve is a 'semi modal' form. A form that is displayed over the top of other controls with a faded background in a similar manner to that seen in web browsers.
I've got it working in a basic form, but it suffers from the following problems:
A large amount of flicker when resizing the panel.
If a control is moved over the top of the panel it leaves a trail.
Here's my efforts thus far (based on some code I found here).
unit SemiModalFormU;
interface
uses
Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, ExtCtrls;
type
ISemiModalResultHandler = interface
['{0CC5A5D0-1545-4257-A936-AD777E0DAFCF}']
procedure SemiModalFormClosed(Form: TForm);
end;
TTransparentPanel = class(TCustomPanel)
private
FBackground: TBitmap;
FBlendColor: TColor;
FBlendAlpha: Byte;
procedure ColorBlend(const ACanvas: TCanvas; const ARect: TRect; const ABlendColor: TColor; const ABlendValue: Byte);
procedure SetBlendAlpha(const Value: Byte);
procedure SetBlendColor(const Value: TColor);
protected
procedure CaptureBackground;
procedure Paint; override;
procedure WMEraseBkGnd(var msg: TWMEraseBkGnd); message WM_ERASEBKGND;
procedure WMMove(var Message: TMessage); message WM_MOVE;
procedure WMParentNotify(var Message: TWMParentNotify); message WM_PARENTNOTIFY;
public
constructor Create(aOwner: TComponent); override;
destructor Destroy; override;
procedure ClearBackground;
procedure SetBounds(ALeft, ATop, AWidth, AHeight: Integer); override;
published
property BlendColor: TColor read FBlendColor write SetBlendColor;
property BlendAlpha: Byte read FBlendAlpha write SetBlendAlpha;
property Align;
property Alignment;
property Anchors;
end;
TSemiModalForm = class(TComponent)
strict private
FFormParent: TWinControl;
FBlendColor: TColor;
FBlendAlpha: Byte;
FSemiModalResultHandler: ISemiModalResultHandler;
FForm: TForm;
FTransparentPanel: TTransparentPanel;
FOldFormOnClose: TCloseEvent;
private
procedure OnTransparentPanelResize(Sender: TObject);
procedure RepositionForm;
procedure SetFormParent(const Value: TWinControl);
procedure OnFormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction);
protected
procedure Notification(AComponent: TComponent; Operation: TOperation); override;
public
procedure ShowSemiModalForm(AForm: TForm; SemiModalResultHandler: ISemiModalResultHandler); virtual;
property ModalPanel: TTransparentPanel read FTransparentPanel;
published
constructor Create(AOwner: TComponent); override;
property BlendColor: TColor read FBlendColor write FBlendColor;
property BlendAlpha: Byte read FBlendAlpha write FBlendAlpha;
property FormParent: TWinControl read FFormParent write SetFormParent;
end;
implementation
procedure TTransparentPanel.CaptureBackground;
var
canvas: TCanvas;
dc: HDC;
sourcerect: TRect;
begin
FBackground := TBitmap.Create;
with Fbackground do
begin
width := clientwidth;
height := clientheight;
end;
sourcerect.TopLeft := ClientToScreen(clientrect.TopLeft);
sourcerect.BottomRight := ClientToScreen(clientrect.BottomRight);
dc := CreateDC('DISPLAY', nil, nil, nil);
try
canvas := TCanvas.Create;
try
canvas.handle := dc;
Fbackground.Canvas.CopyRect(clientrect, canvas, sourcerect);
finally
canvas.handle := 0;
canvas.free;
end;
finally
DeleteDC(dc);
end;
end;
constructor TTransparentPanel.Create(aOwner: TComponent);
begin
inherited;
ControlStyle := controlStyle - [csSetCaption];
FBlendColor := clWhite;
FBlendAlpha := 200;
end;
destructor TTransparentPanel.Destroy;
begin
FreeAndNil(FBackground);
inherited;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.Paint;
begin
if csDesigning in ComponentState then
inherited
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.SetBounds(ALeft, ATop, AWidth, AHeight: Integer);
begin
if (Visible) and
(HandleAllocated) and
(not (csDesigning in ComponentState)) then
begin
FreeAndNil(Fbackground);
Hide;
inherited;
Parent.Update;
Show;
end
else
inherited;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.WMEraseBkGnd(var msg: TWMEraseBkGnd);
var
ACanvas: TCanvas;
begin
if csDesigning in ComponentState then
inherited
else
begin
if not Assigned(FBackground) then
Capturebackground;
ACanvas := TCanvas.create;
try
ACanvas.handle := msg.DC;
ACanvas.draw(0, 0, FBackground);
ColorBlend(ACanvas, Rect(0, 0, Width, Height), FBlendColor, FBlendAlpha);
finally
FreeAndNil(ACanvas);
end;
msg.result := 1;
end;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.WMMove(var Message: TMessage);
begin
CaptureBackground;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.WMParentNotify(var Message: TWMParentNotify);
begin
CaptureBackground;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.ClearBackground;
begin
FreeAndNil(FBackground);
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.ColorBlend(const ACanvas: TCanvas; const ARect: TRect;
const ABlendColor: TColor; const ABlendValue: Byte);
var
BMP: TBitmap;
begin
BMP := TBitmap.Create;
try
BMP.Canvas.Brush.Color := ABlendColor;
BMP.Width := ARect.Right - ARect.Left;
BMP.Height := ARect.Bottom - ARect.Top;
BMP.Canvas.FillRect(Rect(0,0,BMP.Width, BMP.Height));
ACanvas.Draw(ARect.Left, ARect.Top, BMP, ABlendValue);
finally
FreeAndNil(BMP);
end;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.SetBlendAlpha(const Value: Byte);
begin
FBlendAlpha := Value;
Paint;
end;
procedure TTransparentPanel.SetBlendColor(const Value: TColor);
begin
FBlendColor := Value;
Paint;
end;
{ TSemiModalForm }
constructor TSemiModalForm.Create(AOwner: TComponent);
begin
inherited;
FBlendColor := clWhite;
FBlendAlpha := 150;
FTransparentPanel := TTransparentPanel.Create(Self);
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.SetFormParent(const Value: TWinControl);
begin
FFormParent := Value;
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.ShowSemiModalForm(AForm: TForm;
SemiModalResultHandler: ISemiModalResultHandler);
begin
if FForm = nil then
begin
FForm := AForm;
FSemiModalResultHandler := SemiModalResultHandler;
FTransparentPanel.Align := alClient;
FTransparentPanel.BringToFront;
FTransparentPanel.Parent := FFormParent;
FTransparentPanel.BlendColor := FBlendColor;
FTransparentPanel.BlendAlpha := FBlendAlpha;
FTransparentPanel.OnResize := OnTransparentPanelResize;
AForm.Parent := FTransparentPanel;
FOldFormOnClose := AForm.OnClose;
AForm.OnClose := OnFormClose;
RepositionForm;
AForm.Show;
FTransparentPanel.ClearBackground;
FTransparentPanel.Visible := TRUE;
end;
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.OnFormClose(Sender: TObject; var Action: TCloseAction);
begin
FForm.OnClose := FOldFormOnClose;
try
FForm.Visible := FALSE;
FSemiModalResultHandler.SemiModalFormClosed(FForm);
finally
FForm.Parent := nil;
FForm := nil;
FTransparentPanel.Visible := FALSE;
end;
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.Notification(AComponent: TComponent;
Operation: TOperation);
begin
inherited Notification(AComponent, Operation);
if (Operation = opRemove) then
begin
if AComponent = FFormParent then
SetFormParent(nil);
end;
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.OnTransparentPanelResize(Sender: TObject);
begin
RepositionForm;
end;
procedure TSemiModalForm.RepositionForm;
begin
FForm.Left := (FTransparentPanel.Width div 2) - (FForm.Width div 2);
FForm.Top := (FTransparentPanel.Height div 2) - (FForm.Height div 2);
end;
end.
Can anybody help me with the problems or point me to an alpha blend panel that already exists?
Thanks for all your suggestions. I've taken the input and created a new component that does exactly what I need. Here's what it looks like:
The comment that pointed me in the right direction was the one by NGLN that I upvoted. If you post it as the answer I'll accept it.
I tried to add the component code to this answer, but StackOverflow wouldn't format it correctly. However, you can download the source and a full demo application here.
The component provides the following functionality:
The semi modal form is a child of the main form. This means that it
can be tabbed to just like the other controls.
The overlay area is drawn correctly with no artefacts.
The controls under the overlay area are automatically disabled.
The semi modal form/overlay can be shown/hidden if required e.g.
switching tabs.
A SemiModalResult is passed back in an event.
There are still a number of small issues that I would like to iron out. If anybody knows how to fix them, please let me know.
When the parent form is moved or resized it needs to call the
ParentFormMoved procedure. This allows the component to
resize/reposition the overlay form. Is there any way to hook into
the parent form and detect when it is moved?
If you mimimise the main form, then restore it, the overlay form appears immediately, then the main form is animated back to it's previous position. Is there a way to detect when the main form has finished animating?
The rounded corners of the semi modal window are not too pretty. I'm
not sure there's much that can be done about this as it's down to the
rectangular region.
Your code does not show the form modally, and I wonder why you would not. But then, maybe I do not understand the term semi modal.
In any case, I think the idea to create a half-transparent form on which to show the actual dialog will do just fine:
function ShowObviousModal(AForm: TForm; AParent: TWinControl = nil): Integer;
var
Layer: TForm;
begin
if AParent = nil then
AParent := Application.MainForm;
Layer := TForm.Create(nil);
try
Layer.AlphaBlend := True;
Layer.AlphaBlendValue := 128;
Layer.BorderStyle := bsNone;
Layer.Color := clWhite;
with AParent, ClientOrigin do
SetWindowPos(Layer.Handle, HWND_TOP, X, Y, ClientWidth, ClientHeight,
SWP_SHOWWINDOW);
Result := AForm.ShowModal;
finally
Layer.Free;
end;
end;
Usage:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
FDialog := TForm2.Create(Self);
try
if ShowObviousModal(FDialog) = mrOk then
Caption := 'OK';
finally
FDialog.Free;
end;
end;

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