Experts and Wizards in Delphi

Whenever we create a new Project or Form through the File-New menu of the Delphi IDE we are just one step away from some magic.

Built-in Wizards

Delphi has several built-in Wizards designed to guide you through the application creation process. Some of these are Dialog Wizard, Application Wizard, Database Form Wizard, Quick Report Wizard, WebServer Application Wizard, ActiveX Control Wizard, etc.

If you've ever tried an Wizard (like Database Form Wizard), you know what power they can bring to you. If you weren't, you should really try one; wizards will enhance your development experience, trust me.

Custom Wizards

Unfortunately, developing custom Wizards isn't documented in the manuals or on-line help files. However, if you want to familiarize yourself with developing custom Wizards than following articles will help a lot:
 

Opening doors - getting inside the IDE

This article, by Delphi R&D member, provides an overview of the ToolsAPI. Readers will learn how to enhance the Delphi IDE.

Opening Doors: Notes On the Delphi ToolsAPI by its Creator - Part 2

The second Delphi Open ToolsAPI article, by Delphi R&D member, gives developers a "cookbook" format, with step-by-step instructions, for creating an IDE extension in Delphi.

OTA: Visual design of Wizards

This article describes how to implement OpenTools wizards as data modules and creators as components so they can be desinged visually in the IDE.

Creating a Web Search Wizard using the OpenTools API

How to create a wizard the remembers its position and state in the desktop speedsettings.

Delphi Debug Expert

Use this Open Tools expert for Delphi to add a "Run with Debug" and "Run Without Debug" menu item to your IDE.

Creating IDE Extensions with the Delphi Open Tools API

The APIs are under the umbrella "OTAPI", which is an acronym for Open Tools API. In this RAD in Action topic, we will explore a number of these APIs, and learn how to use them to create simple extensions

How To Write Delphi Wizards

Use Delphi to extend the IDE with four kinds of Experts: Standard, Project, Form and AddIn Experts. This article has focus on writing and integrating Wizards with Delphi.

"Hacking" the Delphi Environment

"What we really want to do is create a single wizard that we can use to customize the Delphi environment in many different ways."

Delphi Open Tools API

"Whether you need to automate repetitive tasks, create powerful, interactive template for creating forms and projects, or extend Delphi's IDE, the Tools API is your ticket to making your programming job easier."

How to create and add new menu item to Delphi IDE

How to create and add new menu item to Delphi IDE.

Open Tools API FAQ

The purpose of this FAQ is not to teach somebody how to use the Open Tools API, but rather it is a reference that is intended to answer many of the questions you will have as you work with the Open Tools API.

   And now: Magic
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