TPJMessageDialog Component

Contents

• Description
• Compatibility
• Installation
• Known Issues
• Update History
• License and Disclaimer
• About the Author

Description

This component provides a customisable Windows message dialog box. The component wraps the Windows MessageBoxIndirect API call. It enables various icons to be displayed and various arrangements of buttons to be used. Help is supported.

Compatibility

The component is compatible with Delphi 2, 3 and 4. It may work correctly in Delphi 5 but this has not been tested. The help file integrates with the IDE only with Delphi 3 and 4.

Installation

In these instructions $(DELPHI) is to be taken to represent the path where the appropriate version of Delphi was installed. For example, if you have Delphi 2 installed on the default installation path then $(DELPHI) is equivalent to C:\Program Files\Borland\Delphi 2.0.

Installation with Delphi 2

1. Unzip the file pjmsgdlg.zip into a folder.
2. Copy the files PJMessageDialog.pas and PJMessageDialog.dcr to the folder from where you wish to install the component into the Delphi Component Palette. This will probably be an existing folder where you keep the library components - say the default $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
3. Start Delphi. Select the Options | Install Components menu option. Click the Add button, then the Browse button and navigate to the PJMessageDialog.pas file in the folder where you placed it. Click OK to recompile the components library.
4. You can now delete PJMessageDialog.pas from the place where you copied it if you wish. The component will appear on a palette called PJ Stuff. You can move the component to a different palette as required, or hack the source code (before installing the component) by finding the Register procedure at the end of the code and changing the string 'PJ stuff' to the name of the required palette.

Note: the help file is designed for use with Delphi 3 and 4 and is not compatible with the Delphi 2.

Installation with Delphi 3 & Delphi 4

1. Unzip the file pjmsgdlg.zip into a folder, preserving the directory structure.
2. Copy the files PJMessageDialog.pas and PJMessageDialog.dcr to where you wish to install the component into the Delphi Component Palette. This will probably be a sub-folder of the $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
3. Install the component into the palette by chosing the Component | Install Component menu option. The following instructions assume you are installing into the default "users components" package:
   • Select the "Into exisiting package" page of the Install Components dialogue box.
   • Browse to the folder where you saved PJMessageDialog.pas and select the file.
   • Ensure that the "Package file name" edit box contains $(DELPHI)\lib\dclusrXX.dpk (where XX=30 for Delphi 3 and XX=40 for Delphi 4).
   • Accept that the package will be rebuilt.
   • A dialogue box should be displayed saying that TPJMessageDialog has been added to the component palette.
4. You can now delete PJMessageDialog.pas from the place where you copied it if you wish. The component will appear on a palette called PJ Stuff. You can move the component to a different palette as required, or hack the source code (before installing the program) by finding the Register procedure at the end of the code and changing the string 'PJ stuff' to the name of the required palette.
5. The simplest way to install the help file is to use the PJSoft Component Help Installer Expert, available from my website. To install manually, proceed as follows (where X=3 or 4 depending on the version of Delphi):
   • Copy PJMessageDialog.hlp to whichever folder you wish to install it to.
   • Edit DelphiX.cfg (in $(DELPHI)\Help), adding the line :Link PJMessageDialog.hlp to the end of the section labelled "Third party help".
   • Edit DelphiX.cnt (in $(DELPHI)\Help), adding the line :Index PJSoft Message Dialog Component=PJMessageDialog.hlp towards the end of the index section.
   • Using RegEdit open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Help and add a new string value named PJMessageDialog.hlp whose value is the path where you copied the help file (probably ($DELPHI)\Help).

Known Issues

No bugs reported to date.

Update History

Release 1.0 of 06/04/2001
PJMessageDialog v1.0 of 30/03/2001

• Original version with help file and HTML documentation.

License & Disclaimer

This component is copyright © P.D.Johnson, 2001.

The source code and help files can be freely distributed on a not-for-profit basis providing that:

1. the source code is not altered.
2. this file is distributed with it unchanged

By not-for-profit I mean that you may recover out of pocket expenses incurred in distributing the code, but should not make a profit from this.

If you discover any bugs in this implementation, or if you have any update suggestions, please contact me on peter.johnson@openlink.org.

Please do modify the code for you own use. I'd like to see any changes you make - I could incorporate them into future versions. Please notify me of changes on at the above e-mail address.

This software is provided as is - no warranty is given as to its suitability for any purposes to which you may wish to put it.

About the Author

I'm Peter Johnson - a hobbyist programmer living in Ceredigion in West Wales, UK. I write mainly in Delphi, but occasionally dabble in C, C++ and Java. My programs are available for download on my web-site: http://www.pjsoft.contactbox.co.uk/.

I can be contacted by e-mail on peter.johnson@openlink.org.