Resetting a program in delphi - delphi

I am doing this program in Delphi 7 and using a Page-Control do any of you have a quick way of resetting the Check Boxes and Combo Boxes that is op the page ? With out calling each Check Box and changing its Properties ? Because their is about 150 Check Boxes in the program and don't want to type every ones name out to reset it to unchecked ?
I Tried to use the following code :
var
i : Integer;
cb : TCheckBox;
cbx : TComboBox;
begin
ADOQuery1.SQL.Clear;
for i := 1 to (ComponentCount) do
Begin
if Components[i] is TCheckBox then
begin
cb := TCheckBox(Components[i]);
cb.checked := false;
end;
if Components[i] is TComboBox then
begin
cbx := TComboBox(Components[i]);
cbx.ItemIndex := -1;
end;
end;
End;
But I get a error List out od Bounds ? Any ideas why ?

Off the top of my head....This should run.
procedure ResetControls(aPage:TTabSheet);
var
loop : integer;
begin
if assigned(aPage) then
begin
for loop := 0 to aPage.controlcount-1 do
begin
if aPage.Controls[loop].ClassType = TCheckBox then
TCheckBox(aPage.Controls[loop]).Checked := false
else if aPage.Controls[loop].ClassType = TComboBox then
TComboBox(aPage.Controlss[loop]).itemindex := -1;
end;
end;
end;
edit: Corrected as pointed out by Remy

You could do something like this within the form:
for i := 0 to ComponentCount-1 do
if Components[i] is TCheckBox then begin
cb := TCheckBox(Components[i]);
cb.checked := false;
end;
end;

procedure ResetControls(Container: TWinControl);
var
I: Integer;
Control: TControl;
begin
for I := 0 to Container.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
Control := Container.Controls[I];
if Control is TCheckBox then
TCheckBox(Control).Checked := False
else
if Control is TComboBox then
TComboBox(Control).ItemIndex := -1;
//else if ........ other control classes
ResetControls(Control as TWinControl); //recursive to process child controls
end;
end;

Related

How to get text from found component?

I have a problem with Text inside of a found TEdit.
This is my code:
function TfrmGenerateExam.zlicz_liczby(Component: TControl): integer;
var
i, j: integer;
begin
Result := 0;
for i := 0 to Component.ComponentCount - 1 do
begin
for j := 0 to Panel.ComponentCount - 1 do
begin
if Components[j] is TEdit then
begin
Result := Result + ???;
end;
end;
end;
end;
In a nutshell:
I create dynamic panels with ComboBoxes, Edits, Buttons etc.
When I have some panels, I want to count the edits which are in panels, which are in ScrollBox:
What do I need to put here?
if Components[j] is TEdit then
begin
Result := Result + ???;
end;
The code provided does not match the screenshot shown. What is being passed as the Component parameter to zlicz_liczby()? Is it the Form itself? The ScrollBox? A specified Panel?
Let's just iterate the Panels in the ScrollBox directly. Try something more like this:
function TfrmGenerateExam.zlicz_liczby: Integer;
var
i, j: integer;
Panel: TPanel;
begin
Result := 0;
for i := 0 to ScrollBox1.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
Panel := ScrollBox1.ControlCount[i] as TPanel;
for j := 0 to Panel.ControlCount - 1 do
begin
if Panel.Controls[j] is TEdit then
Result := Result + StrToIntDef(TEdit(Panel.Controls[j]).Text, 0);
end;
end;
end;
That being said, as #AndreasRejbrand stated in comments, you should use an array instead. When you create a new TPanel with a TEdit on it, put its TEdit into a TList<TEdit>, for instance. If you destroy the TPanel, remove its TEdit from the list. And then you can simply loop through that list whenever needed, without having to hunt for the TEdit controls at all. For example:
private
Edits: TList<TEdit>;
procedure TfrmGenerateExam.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edits := TList<TEdit>.Create;
end;
procedure TfrmGenerateExam.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
begin
Edits.Free;
end;
function TfrmGenerateExam.FillScrollBox;
var
Panel: TPanel;
Edit: TEdit;
begin
...
Panel := TPanel.Create(Self);
Panel.Parent := ScrollBox1;
...
Edit := TEdit.Create(Panel);
Edit.Parent := Panel;
...
Edits.Add(Edit);
...
end;
function TfrmGenerateExam.zlicz_liczby: Integer;
var
i: integer;
begin
Result := 0;
for i := 0 to Edits.Count - 1 do
Result := Result + StrToInt(Edits[i].Text);
end;

Delphi XE6 firemonkey component alignment problems when added at runtime

i wanto dynamic add 5 TLable in my iOS app.
like this
Procedure Form1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject)
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 1 to 5 do
begin
with TLabel.Create(Self) do
begin
Parent := self;
Align := TAlignLayout.Top;
Height := 50;
Text := IntToStr(I);
end;
end;
end;
i think the order is 12345, but I get 15432.
What can I do to get the desired results?
You must give a chance to the aligning algorithm to do what you want.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
I: Integer;
begin
for I := 1 to 5 do
begin
with TLabel.Create(Self) do
begin
Parent := self;
Align := TAlignLayout.alTop;
Height := 50;
Position.Y := I*Height; //add this line
Text := IntToStr(I);
end;
end;
end;

Adding component to Firemonkey custom styles at runtime

I am making a custom list box for firemonkey.There I have customized a TSeachBox. In my custom style there is a TRectangle where i need to add TLabel at runtime.
I can add Lables at design time. But I can not see all the lables which are added at design time in this TRectangle. I've properly set the parent and owners of all the lables.
Any idea ?
below is the code :
procedure TCustomListBox.ColumnsChanged(Sender: TObject);
var
lPanel : TPanel;
lLabel: TLabel;
iCount : Integer;
begin
if Assigned(FSearchBox) then
Begin
if FSearchBox.FindStyleResource('headerstyle') <> nil then
lPanel := FSearchBox.FindStyleResource('headerstyle') as TPanel;
if Assigned(lPanel) and (lPanel is TPanel) then
begin
//Clear all the columns except whose Tag = 1
for iCount := lPanel.ChildrenCount - 1 downto 0 do
begin
if Assigned(lPanel.Children[iCount]) then
begin
if (lPanel.Children[iCount]).Tag = 0 then
lPanel.Children[iCount].Free;
end;
end;
iXPosition := 45;
//FColumns1 is columns which needs to be added.
for iCount := 0 to FColumns1.Count - 1 do
begin
FLabel := TLabel.Create(lPanel);
FLabel.Parent:= lPanel;
FLabel.Name := 'Col' + IntToStr(iCount);
FLabel.Visible := True;
FLabel.Position.X := iXPosition;
FLabel.Align := TAlignLayout.alLeft;
FLabel.Text := FColumns1[iCount].ColumnHeaderText;
FLabel.Width := FColumns1[iCount].ColumnWidth;
iXPosition := iXPosition + FColumns1[iCount].ColumnWidth;
end;
end;
End;
end;

How do I create ActionBars recursively at runtime?

I am writing a class which will map a large legacy application's TMainMenu hierarchy to TActionMainMenuBar items.
The most important method, which borrows heavily from a EDN CodeCentralC article by Steve Trevethen, looks like this. I apologize for the length, but this really is probably the shortest length of code I could meaningfully show in this case:
procedure TMainMenuSkin.DoLoadMenu(
ActionList: TCustomActionList;
Clients: TActionClients;
AMenu: TMenuItem;
SetActionList: Boolean = True;
bRecurseFlag:Boolean = False);
var
I: Integer;
J: Integer;
AC: TActionClientItem;
ca : TCustomAction;
newAction : TSkinnedMenuAction;
aci:TActionClientItem;
submenuitem : TMEnuItem;
procedure PopulateNodeFromMenuItem(menuitem:TMenuItem);
begin
newAction := TSkinnedMenuAction.Create(Application.MainForm);
menuitem.FreeNotification(newAction);
newAction.FMenuItem := menuitem;
newAction.Name := 'action_'+newAction.FMenuItem.Name;
FNewMenuActions.Add(newAction);
newAction.ActionList := ActionManager;
newAction.Tag := menuitem.Tag;
ca := newAction;
ca.ImageIndex := menuitem.ImageIndex;
ca.HelpContext := menuitem.HelpContext;
ca.Visible := menuitem.Visible;
ca.Checked := menuitem.Checked;
ca.Caption := menuitem.Caption;
ca.ShortCut := menuitem.ShortCut;
ca.Enabled := menuitem.Enabled;
ca.AutoCheck := menuitem.AutoCheck;
ca.Checked := menuitem.Checked;
ca.GroupIndex := menuitem.GroupIndex;
AC.ImageIndex := menuitem.ImageIndex;
AC.ShortCut := menuitem.ShortCut;
AC.Action := newAction;
end;
begin
if not Assigned(AMenu) then
exit;
AMenu.RethinkHotkeys;
AMenu.RethinkLines;
Clients.AutoHotKeys := False;
for I := 0 to AMenu.Count - 1 do
begin
AC := Clients.Add;
AC.Caption := AMenu.Items[I].Caption;
// Assign the Tag property to the TMenuItem for reference
AC.Tag := Integer(AMenu.Items[I]);
AC.Action := TContainedAction(AMenu.Items[I].Action);
AC.Visible := AMenu.Items[I].Visible;
// original sample code only created placeholders for submenus. I want to populate
// fully because I need the actions and their keyboard shortcuts to exist.
submenuitem := AMenu.Items[I];
if submenuitem.Count > 0 then
begin
if not bRecurseFlag then
AC.Items.Add // old busted way to work
else
begin
// How do I recursively populate the Action Clients menu?
DoLoadMenu(ActionList, AC.ActionClients, submenuitem, true);
end;
end
else
if ((AMenu.Items[I].Caption <> '') and (AMenu.Items[I].Action = nil) and
(AMenu.Items[I].Caption <> '-')) then
begin
PopulateNodeFromMenuItem( AMenu.Items[I] );
end;
AC.Caption := AMenu.Items[I].Caption;
AC.ImageIndex := AMenu.Items[I].ImageIndex;
AC.HelpContext := AMenu.Items[I].HelpContext;
AC.ShortCut := AMenu.Items[I].ShortCut;
AC.Visible := AMenu.Items[I].Visible;
end;
end;
The most important line above is this one, and it's also the one
that is wrong:
DoLoadMenu(ActionList, AC.ActionClients, submenuitem, true);
If the code is written like that, then I get all the menu items displayed in a flattened form. So I need something like AC.GetMeSubItems.ActionClients in the line above,
but I can't figure out what it is. AC is of type TActionClientItem and is a toolbar button itself also created at runtime.
What I can't figure out for the life of me is, if I need to populate the Actions list and the menu items all at once, recursively, how do I do it? Perhaps my thinking is constrained by the sample code I started out with here. It seems like I'm one line of code away from knowing how to do this.
I have a feeling that I'm just not understanding very well the complex hiearchical relationships of the various classes I'm messing with here.
Update: The following SEEMS to work, but I don't trust myself.
aci := AC.Items.Add;
DoLoadMenu(ActionList, aci.Items, submenuitem, true);
Here's some code that I once wrote or found somewhere and which seems to do what you want to achieve: it is a converter class which copies the items of a Mainmenu to an ActionMainMenubar. It has some issues, but hopefully you can catch the point how it works.
The component assumes that you have a completed MainMenu on a form. You also need a TActionManager and an empty TActionMainMenubar. You create an instance of the TActionbarConverter in the OnCreate event of the MainForm, and assign its properties correspondingly, something like this:
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
with TActionbarConverter.Create(self) do begin
Form := self;
ActionManager := Actionmanager1;
ActionMainMenubar := ActionMainmenubar1;
end;
end;
You can change properties of the ActionManager, or use your own ColorMap to modify the appearance.
I hope that I don't get banned here by posting almost 400 lines of code here (don't know how to upload files...).
unit ActnbarCnv;
interface
uses
Classes, Menus, Forms, ComCtrls, ActnList, ActnMan, ActnMenus,
StdStyleActnCtrls, XPStyleActnCtrls;
type
TActionbarConverter = class(TComponent)
private
FForm : TCustomForm;
FMainMenu : TMainMenu;
FMainMenuToolbar : TToolbar;
FActionManager : TActionManager;
FActionMainMenubar : TActionMainMenubar;
FNewMenuActions : TList;
procedure ActionMainMenuBar_ExitMenuLoop(Sender:TCustomActionMenuBar;
Cancelled: Boolean);
procedure ActionMainMenubar_Popup(Sender:TObject; Item:TCustomActionControl);
procedure SetActionMainMenubar(Value:TActionMainMenubar);
procedure SetActionManager(Value:TActionManager);
procedure SetForm(Value:TCustomForm);
protected
procedure AnalyzeForm;
procedure Loaded; override;
procedure LoadMenu(ActionList: TCustomActionList; Clients: TActionClients;
AMenu: TMenuItem; SetActionList: Boolean = True);
procedure Notification(AComponent: TComponent; Operation: TOperation); override;
procedure ProcessMenu;
procedure UpdateActionMainMenuBar(Menu: TMenu);
public
constructor Create(AOwner:TComponent); override;
destructor Destroy; override;
procedure Update;
published
property Form : TCustomForm read FForm write SetForm;
property ActionManager : TActionManager read FActionManager write SetActionManager;
property ActionMainMenubar : TActionMainMenubar read FActionMainMenubar write SetActionMainMenubar;
end;
//==============================================================================
implementation
//==============================================================================
uses
SysUtils;
//==============================================================================
{ TABMenuAction -
This class is a special ActionBand menu action that stores the TMenuItem
that it is associated with so that if it is executed it can actually call the
TMenuItem.Click method simulating an actual click on the TMenuItem itself. }
type
TABMenuAction = class(TCustomAction)
private
FMenuItem: TMenuItem;
protected
procedure Notification(AComponent: TComponent; Operation: TOperation); override;
public
destructor Destroy; override;
procedure ExecuteTarget(Target: TObject); override;
function HandlesTarget(Target: TObject): Boolean; override;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
destructor TABMenuAction.Destroy;
begin
if Assigned(FMenuItem) then FMenuItem.RemoveFreeNotification(Self);
inherited;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TABMenuAction.ExecuteTarget(Target: TObject);
begin
if Assigned(FMenuItem) then FMenuItem.Click;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
function TABMenuAction.HandlesTarget(Target: TObject): Boolean;
begin
Result := True;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TABMenuAction.Notification(AComponent: TComponent; Operation: TOperation);
begin
if (Operation = opRemove) and (AComponent = FMenuItem)
then FMenuItem := nil;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// TActionbarConverter
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
constructor TActionbarConverter.Create(AOwner:TComponent);
begin
inherited Create(AOwner);
FNewMenuActions := TList.Create;
if (AOwner is TCustomForm) then SetForm(TCustomForm(AOwner));
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
destructor TActionbarConverter.Destroy;
begin
FNewMenuActions.Free;
inherited Destroy;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.ActionMainMenuBar_ExitMenuLoop(Sender:TCustomActionMenuBar;
Cancelled: Boolean);
var
I: Integer;
AnAction: TObject;
begin
// Clear the top level menu sub item and add a single dummy item which
// will cause them to be regenerated on the next menu loop. This is done
// because the IDE's menus can be very dynamic and this ensures that the
// menus will always be up-to-date.
for I := 0 to FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items.Count - 1 do begin
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items[I].Items.Clear;
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items[I].Items.Add;
end;
// Any menuitems not linked to an action had one dynamically created for them
// during the menu loop so now we need to destroy them
while FNewMenuActions.Count > 0 do begin
AnAction := TObject(FNewMenuActions.Items[0]);
AnAction.Free;
FNewMenuActions.Delete(0);
end;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.ActionMainMenubar_Popup(Sender:TObject;
Item: TCustomActionControl);
begin
// If the tag is not zero then we've already populated this submenu...
if Item.ActionClient.Items[0].Tag <> 0 then exit;
// ...otherwise this is the first visit to this submenu and we need to
// populate the actual ActionClients collection.
if Assigned(TMenuItem(Item.ActionClient.Tag).OnClick) then
TMenuItem(Item.ActionClient.Tag).OnClick(TMenuItem(Item.ActionClient.Tag));
Item.ActionClient.Items.Clear;
TMenuItem(Item.ActionClient.Tag).RethinkHotkeys;
LoadMenu(FActionManager, Item.ActionClient.Items, TMenuItem(Item.ActionClient.Tag), False);
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.AnalyzeForm;
var
i : integer;
begin
FMainMenu := nil;
FMainMenuToolbar := nil;
if Assigned(FForm) then begin
for i:=0 to FForm.ComponentCount-1 do
if (FForm.Components[i] is TMainMenu) then begin
FMainMenu := FForm.Components[i] as TMainMenu;
break;
end;
for i:=0 to FForm.ComponentCount-1 do
if (FForm.Components[i] is TToolbar) then begin
FMainMenuToolbar := FForm.Components[i] as TToolbar;
if FMainMenuToolbar.Menu = FMainMenu
then break
else FMainMenuToolbar := nil;
end;
end;
ProcessMenu;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.Loaded;
begin
AnalyzeForm;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.LoadMenu(ActionList: TCustomActionList;
Clients: TActionClients; AMenu: TMenuItem; SetActionList: Boolean = True);
{ This method dynamically builds the ActionBand menu from an existing
TMenuItem. }
var
I: Integer;
AC: TActionClientItem;
begin
AMenu.RethinkHotkeys;
AMenu.RethinkLines;
// Use the existing hotkeys from the TMenuItem
Clients.AutoHotKeys := False;
for I := 0 to AMenu.Count - 1 do begin
AC := Clients.Add;
AC.Caption := AMenu.Items[I].Caption;
// Assign the Tag property to the TMenuItem for reference
AC.Tag := Integer(AMenu.Items[I]);
AC.Action := TContainedAction(AMenu.Items[I].Action);
AC.Visible := AMenu.Items[I].Visible;
// If the TMenuItem has subitems add an ActionClient placeholder.
// Submenus are only populated when the user selects the parent item of the
// submenu.
if AMenu.Items[I].Count > 0 then
AC.Items.Add // Add a dummy indicating this item can/should be dynamically built
else
if (AMenu.Items[I].Caption <> '')
and (AMenu.Items[I].Action = nil)
and (AMenu.Items[I].Caption <> '-')
then begin
// The TMenuItem is not connected to an action so dynamically create
// an action.
AC.Action := TABMenuAction.Create(self); //Application.MainForm);
AMenu.Items[I].FreeNotification(AC.Action);
TABMenuAction(AC.Action).FMenuItem := AMenu.Items[I];
FNewMenuActions.Add(AC.Action);
AC.Action.ActionList := FActionManager;
AC.Action.Tag := AMenu.Items[I].Tag;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).ImageIndex := AMenu.Items[I].ImageIndex;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).HelpContext := AMenu.Items[I].HelpContext;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).Visible := AMenu.Items[I].Visible;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).Checked := AMenu.Items[I].Checked;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).Caption := AMenu.Items[I].Caption;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).ShortCut := AMenu.Items[I].ShortCut;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).Enabled := AMenu.Items[I].Enabled;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).AutoCheck := AMenu.Items[I].AutoCheck;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).Checked := AMenu.Items[I].Checked;
TCustomAction(AC.Action).GroupIndex := AMenu.Items[I].GroupIndex;
AC.ImageIndex := AMenu.Items[I].ImageIndex;
AC.ShortCut := AMenu.Items[I].ShortCut;
end;
AC.Caption := AMenu.Items[I].Caption;
AC.ImageIndex := AMenu.Items[I].ImageIndex;
AC.HelpContext := AMenu.Items[I].HelpContext;
AC.ShortCut := AMenu.Items[I].ShortCut;
AC.Visible := AMenu.Items[I].Visible;
end;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.Notification(AComponent: TComponent;
Operation: TOperation);
begin
inherited;
if (Operation = opRemove) then
if (AComponent=FForm) then SetForm(nil);
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.ProcessMenu;
begin
if FMainMenu <> nil then begin
if FMainMenutoolbar <> nil then begin
FMainMenutoolbar.Menu := nil;
FMainMenutoolbar.Visible := false;
end;
FForm.Menu := nil;
if FActionManager=nil then begin
FActionManager := TActionManager.Create(self);
// FActionManager.Style := XPStyle;
end else
FActionManager.Actionbars.Clear;
FActionManager.Images := FMainMenu.Images;
FActionManager.Actionbars.Add;
if FActionMainMenubar=nil then begin
FActionMainMenubar := TActionMainMenubar.Create(self);
if (FMainMenuToolbar <> nil)
then FActionMainMenubar.Parent := FMainMenuToolbar.Parent
else FActionMainMenubar.Parent := FForm;
end;
FActionMainMenubar.ActionManager := FActionManager;
FActionMainMenubar.OnPopup := ActionMainMenubar_Popup;
FActionMainMenubar.OnExitMenuLoop := ActionMainMenubar_ExitMenuLoop;
UpdateActionMainMenubar(FMainMenu);
end;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.SetActionMainmenubar(Value:TActionMainMenubar);
begin
if Value=nil then begin
FActionMainMenubar := TActionMainMenubar.Create(self);
if FMainmenuToolbar <> nil
then FActionMainMenubar.Parent := FMainMenuToolbar.Parent
else FActionMainMenubar.Parent := FForm;
end else begin
FActionMainMenubar.Free;
FActionMainMenubar := value;
end;
Update;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.SetActionManager(value:TActionManager);
begin
if Value = nil then begin
FActionManager := TActionManager.Create(self);
FActionManager.Style := XPStyle;
end else begin
FActionManager := value;
// if FMainMenu <> nil then FActionManager.Images := FMainMenu.Images;
end;
Update;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.SetForm(value:TCustomForm);
begin
if FForm <> Value then begin
FForm := Value;
AnalyzeForm;
end;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.Update;
begin
AnalyzeForm;
end;
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
procedure TActionbarConverter.UpdateActionMainMenuBar(Menu: TMenu);
{ This routine should probably also check for Enabled state although it would
be very wierd to have a top level menu disabled. }
function RefreshItems: Boolean;
var
I: Integer;
begin
Result := FMainMenu.Items.Count <> FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items.Count;
if not Result then
for I := 0 to FMainMenu.Items.Count - 1 do
if AnsiCompareText(
FMainMenu.Items[I].Caption,
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items[I].Caption ) <> 0
then begin
Result := True;
break;
end;
end;
begin
if not (csLoading in FActionManager.ComponentState) and RefreshItems
then begin
// Clear any existing items and repopulate the TActionMainMenuBar
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items.Clear;
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].ActionBar := nil;
LoadMenu(FActionManager, FActionManager.ActionBars[0].Items, FMainMenu.Items);
FActionManager.ActionBars[0].ActionBar := FActionMainMenuBar;
// Update the size of the main menu
with FActionMainMenuBar do
SetBounds(
0,
0,
Controls[ControlCount-1].BoundsRect.Right + 2 + FActionMainMenuBar.HorzMargin,
Height
);
end;
end;
end.

How can I filter the contents of a combo box based on what's been typed?

We have a combo box with more than 100 items.
We want to filter out the items as we enter characters in combo box. For example if we entered 'ac' and click on the drop down option then we want it to display items starting with 'ac' only.
How can I do this?
Maybe you'd be happier using the autocompletion features built in to the OS. I gave an outline of how to do that here previously. Create an IAutoComplete object, hook it up to your combo box's list and edit control, and the OS will display a drop-down list of potential matches automatically as the user types. You won't need to adjust the combo box's list yourself.
To expand on Rob's answer about using the OnChange event, here is an example of how to do what he suggests.
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FComboStrings := TStringList.Create;
FComboStrings.Add('Altair');
FComboStrings.Add('Alhambra');
FComboStrings.Add('Sinclair');
FComboStrings.Add('Sirius');
FComboStrings.Add('Bernard');
FComboStrings.Sorted := True;
ComboBox1.AutoComplete := False;
ComboBox1.Items.Text := FComboStrings.Text;
ComboBox1.Sorted := True;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
begin
FreeAndNil(FComboStrings);
end;
procedure TForm1.ComboBox1Change(Sender: TObject);
var
Filter: string;
i: Integer;
idx: Integer;
begin
// Dropping down the list puts the text of the first item in the edit, this restores it
Filter := ComboBox1.Text;
ComboBox1.DroppedDown := True;
ComboBox1.Text := Filter;
ComboBox1.SelStart := Length(Filter);
for i := 0 to FComboStrings.Count - 1 do
if SameText(LeftStr(FComboStrings[i], Length(ComboBox1.Text)), ComboBox1.Text) then
begin
if ComboBox1.Items.IndexOf(FComboStrings[i]) < 0 then
ComboBox1.Items.Add(FComboStrings[i]);
end
else
begin
idx := ComboBox1.Items.IndexOf(FComboStrings[i]);
if idx >= 0 then
ComboBox1.Items.Delete(idx);
end;
end;
My brief contribution working with objects in the combobox:
procedure FilterComboBox(Combo: TComboBox; DefaultItems: TStrings);
function Origin: TStrings;
begin
if Combo.Tag = 0 then
begin
Combo.Sorted := True;
Result := TStrings.Create;
Result := Combo.Items;
Combo.Tag := Integer(Result);
end
else
Result := TStrings(Combo.Tag);
end;
var
Filter: TStrings;
I: Integer;
iSelIni: Integer;
begin
if(Combo.Text <> EmptyStr) then
begin
iSelIni:= Length(Combo.Text);
Filter := TStringList.Create;
try
for I := 0 to Origin.Count - 1 do
if AnsiContainsText(Origin[I], Combo.Text) then
Filter.AddObject(Origin[I], TObject(Origin.Objects[I]));
Combo.Items.Assign(Filter);
Combo.DroppedDown:= True;
Combo.SelStart := iSelIni;
Combo.SelLength := Length(Combo.Text);
finally
Filter.Free;
end;
end
else
Combo.Items.Assign(DefaultItems);
end;
You can handle the combo box's OnChange event. Keep a master list of all items separate from the UI control, and whenever the combo box's edit control changes, adjust the combo box's list accordingly. Remove items that don't match the current text, or re-add items from the master list that you removed previously.
As Rob already answered, you could filter on the OnChange event, see the following code example. It works for multiple ComboBoxes.
{uses}
Contnrs, StrUtils;
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
ComboBox1: TComboBox;
ComboBox2: TComboBox;
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
procedure ComboBoxChange(Sender: TObject);
procedure FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
private
FComboLists: TList;
procedure FilterComboBox(Combo: TComboBox);
end;
implementation
{$R *.dfm}
procedure TForm1.ComboBoxChange(Sender: TObject);
begin
if Sender is TComboBox then
FilterComboBox(TComboBox(Sender));
end;
procedure TForm1.FilterComboBox(Combo: TComboBox);
function Origin: TStrings;
begin
if Combo.Tag = 0 then
begin
Combo.Sorted := True;
Result := TStringList.Create;
Result.Assign(Combo.Items);
FComboLists.Add(Result);
Combo.Tag := Integer(Result);
end
else
Result := TStrings(Combo.Tag);
end;
var
Filter: TStrings;
I: Integer;
begin
Filter := TStringList.Create;
try
for I := 0 to Origin.Count - 1 do
if AnsiStartsText(Combo.Text, Origin[I]) then
Filter.Add(Origin[I]);
Combo.Items.Assign(Filter);
Combo.SelStart := Length(Combo.Text);
finally
Filter.Free;
end;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
FComboLists := TObjectList.Create(True);
// For Each ComboBox, set AutoComplete at design time to false:
ComboBox1.AutoComplete := False;
ComboBox2.AutoComplete := False;
end;
procedure TForm1.FormDestroy(Sender: TObject);
begin
FComboLists.Free;
end;

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