About Box Component
Information Sheet

Contents

• Description
• Compatibility
• Installation
• Demo Project
• Update History
• License and Disclaimer
• About the Author

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Description

This non-visual component encapsulates an About Box.

The component has string properties to display five different pieces of information in the about box. These properties are:

• Title – Contents appear in the window title. The default value is 'About'.
• ProgramName – The name of the program. This is the title of the application. The default value is the same as TApplications's Title property.
• Version – This version number of the program. Optional property – default is nothing.
• Copyright – A copyright message. Optional property – default is nothing.
• Notes – Up to three lines of notes. Optional property – default is nothing.

Alternatively, the about box can display information from a VERSIONINFO resource included in the program. This is accessed using a linked TPJVersionInfo component (see below) by using the about box's VersionInfo property. The values of the ProgramName, Version, Copyright and Notes properties are ignored and relevant string information program's version information is used in their stead.

The About box also displays an icon. This is the icon defined for the application (see the Icon property of TApplication). If no icon has been specified for the application the default Delphi icon is used.

The dialog's location when displayed can be explicitly set using the DlgLeft and DlgTop properties. If CentreDlg is set to True when the about box is centred. These properties act relative to the screen, the desktop work area or the owning control, depending on the value of thePosition property.

The appearance and location of the dialog's close button can be customised. Its appearance is governed by the ButtonGlyph, ButtonKind and AutoDetectGlyphs properties while the button's position and size are determined by the ButtonPlacing, ButtonWidth and ButtonHeight properties.

The HelpContext property allows Windows Help to be displayed for the dialog box when F1 is pressed.

Help file

A help file is included that integrates into the OpenHelp system of Delphi 3 to 7. The help file can be used independently of the IDE with Delphi 2 and Delphi 2005 onwards. This also applies to Delphi provided it is run on a 32 bit Windows platform.

Required component

TPJAboutBoxDlg requires that a DelphiDabbler Version Information Component (TPJVersionInfo) is installed in order to compile. The version of TPJVersionInfo required depends on whether the about box is being compiled under Delphi 1 or under Delphi 2 and later. The required versions are:

• The for use with Delphi 1.
• The for use with Delphi 2 and later.

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Compatibility

The unit name changed to PJAbout as at release 3. Programs using earlier releases will need to be modified (or to have an alias set in Delphi's Project Options) before being recompiled using the new version.

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Installation

TPJAboutBoxDlg, its help files and demo program are supplied in a zip file. Before installing you need to extract all the files from the zip file, preserving the directory structure. The following files will be extracted:

• PJAbout.pas – component source code.
• PJAbout.dfm – form file containing about box.
• PJAbout.hlp – component help file that integrates with the Delphi 3 to 7 OpenHelp system.
• PJAbout.als – a-link keyword file for integration with the Delphi 6 or 7 OpenHelp system.
• ReadMe.htm – this file.
• ChangeLog.txt – component's change log.
• 16\PJAbout.dcr – resource file containing a 16 bit component palette glyph for use with Delphi 1.
• 32\PJAbout.dcr – resource file containing a 32 bit component palette glyph for use with Delphi 2 and later.
• Demo\AboutBoxDemo.dpr – demo program project file.
• Demo\AboutBoxDemo.res – demo program's icon resource.
• Demo\AboutBoxDemo.cfg – compiler config file for demo program.
• Demo\FmDemo.pas – demo program main form source code.
• Demo\FmDemo.dfm – demo program main form.
• Demo\VerInfo.rc – source for demo program's version information resource.
• Demo\VerInfo.res – demo program's version information resource.

You can now proceed to install the component using the emphasised files above. Installation methods vary between Delphi versions, so follow the instructions that apply to your version below. Note that $(DELPHI) represents the path where the appropriate version of Delphi was installed. Similarly $(BDS) refers to the installation path of a version of the Borland Development System.

• Installation with Delphi 2005 & 2006
• Installation with Delphi 3 to 7
• Installation with Delphi 2
• Installation with Delphi 1

Installation with Delphi 2005 & 2006

The component must be installed into a Delphi Win32 design package. It is assumed that you will be installing into an existing package. You may decide to install into the "user" package: $(BDS)\Lib\dclusr.dpk.

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the component. This may be a subdirectory of your Borland Studio Projects or $(BDS)\lib folders.
2. Copy PJAbout.pas, PJAbout.dfm and 32\PJAbout.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start the Development System (selecting the Delphi Win32 personality if appropriate) then:
   • Open the required package. Select File | Open menu and choose a suitable package source file.
   • The package will now be displayed in the Project Manager with a .bpl extension. Right click the package's entry and select Add to display the Add dialog box. Enter the full path to PJAbout.pas in the Unit file name edit box (use the Browse button to navigate to the file). Click OK to add the component to the package.
   • Back in the Project Manager, check that PJAbout.pas, PJAbout.dfm and PJAbout.dcr appear under the package's Contains node. If so, right click the package's entry again and select Compile. If the resulting compilation succeeds a message should be displayed confirming that TPJAboutBoxDlg has been registered. The component should now appear in the "DelphiDabbler" section of the Tool Palette. (Note this will only appear when a form is selected in the designer).
   • If the component does not appear the package may not have been installed. Install it from the Project Manager by selecting the package's Install right click menu option.
   • Close the package project using the File | Close menu item. Accept any prompt that offers to save the package project.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJAbout.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The supplied help file cannot be integrated with the IDE's help system. However it can be used independently of the IDE, albeit with reduced functionality.
6. The demo program can be loaded into Delphi and compiled and run as required.

Installation with Delphi 3 to 7

The component must be installed into a design package. It is assumed that you will be installing into an existing package. You may wish to use the "user" package named dclusr.dpk or dclusrXX.dpk (where XX is a version number). This package can be found in $(DELPHI)\Lib.

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the component. This may be a subdirectory of your $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
2. Copy PJAbout.pas, PJAbout.dfm and 32\PJAbout.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start Delphi then:
   • Choose the Component | Install Component menu option to display the Install Component dialog box. Ensure the Into existing package tab is selected. Enter the full path to PJAbout.pas in the Unit file name edit box (use the adjacent Browse button to navigate to the file). Choose the required package from the Package description combo box, or by navigating to the package using Browse. Click OK to confirm your selections.
   • A confirmation dialog box may displayed, querying whether it is OK to rebuild and reinstall the package. Click Yes to proceed.
   • The package will now be built and a dialog box should be displayed stating that the TPJAboutBoxDlg component has been installed. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box.
   • The component will appear on the "DelphiDabbler" palette.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJAbout.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The provided help file can be integrated with the IDE's OpenHelp system. Delphi 6 and 7 also require the use of the supplied .als file. The simplest way to install help is to use my Component Help Installer Expert (v2.2.1 or later). If you prefer to install manually, this article explains the process.
6. The demo program can be loaded into Delphi and compiled and run as required.

Installation with Delphi 2

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the component. This may be a subdirectory of your $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
2. Copy PJAbout.pas, PJAbout.dfm and 32\PJAbout.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start Delphi 2 then:
   • Select the Component | Install menu option to display the Install Components dialog box.
   • Click the Add button to display the Add Module dialog box.
   • click the Browse button. Choose PJAbout.pas from the resulting standard file open dialog box and click Open.
   • This returns you to the Install Components dialog box. Click OK to rebuild the component library.
   • TPJAboutBoxDlg should now appear on the "DelphiDabbler" tab of the component palette.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJAbout.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The supplied help file cannot be integrated with the IDE's help system. However it can be used independently of the IDE, albeit with reduced functionality.
6. The demo program can be loaded into Delphi 2 and compiled and run as required.

Installation with Delphi 1

1. Decide upon a suitable location into which to install the component. This may be a subdirectory of your $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
2. Copy PJAbout.pas, PJAbout.dfm and 16\PJAbout.dcr to the chosen installation folder.
3. Start Delphi 1 then:
   • Select the Component | Install menu option to display the Install Components dialog box.
   • Click the Add button to display the Add Module dialog box.
   • Click the Browse button. Choose PJAbout.pas from the resulting standard file open dialog box and click OK.
   • This returns you to the Install Components dialog box. Click OK to rebuild the component library.
   • TPJAboutBoxDlg should now appear on the "DelphiDabbler" tab of the component palette.
4. If you wish you can now delete PJAbout.pas from the chosen installation folder.
5. The supplied help file cannot be integrated with the IDE's help system. However, if you are running Delphi 1 on a 32 bit Windows platform, the help file can be used independently of the IDE, albeit with reduced functionality.
6. Please note: The demo program will not compile under Delphi 1.

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Demo Project

A demo program is included in the download that can be used to exercise the component. This program can be compiled with any 32 bit version of Delphi, but does not work with Delphi 1.

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Update History

A complete change log is provided in a text file that is included in the download.

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License and Disclaimer

This source code is subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this program except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/.

Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.

The Original Code is PJAbout (About Box Component).

The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Peter Johnson (http://www.delphidabbler.com/).

Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright © 1999-2005 Peter Johnson. All Rights Reserved.

All relevant trademarks are acknowledged.

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About the Author

I'm Peter Johnson – a hobbyist programmer living in Ceredigion in West Wales, UK, writing write mainly in Delphi. My programs are available for download from: http://www.delphidabbler.com/.