Articles Index

Creating, Parsing and Manipulating XML Documents with Delphi
Everything you need to know about Delphi and the Extensible Markup Language. Find out about creating and parsing XML documents, look for parser components and more.

How to Accurately Measure Elapsed Time Using High-Resolution Performance Counter
The TStopWatch Delphi class implements a very accurate process execution timer and provides a set of methods and properties that you can use to accurately measure elapsed time.

How to Send Information (String, Image, Record) Between Two Applications
Learn how to send the WM_CopyData message between two Delphi applications to exchange information and make two applications communicate. The accompanying source code demonstrates how to send a string, record (complex data type) and even graphics to another application.

Serialize / Stream (Read/Write) Configuration Settings
Learn how to save published properties of a class into a stream / file and read back. Use it to store your Delphi application specific configuration data.

THook Delphi Class with Source Code
Put shortly, a hook is a function you can create as part of a dll or your application to monitor the 'goings on' inside the Windows operating system. Hooks.pas ensures hooking in Delphi applications is easy.

Allow your Delphi Forms to Accept Dropped Files from Window Explorer
While drag and drop is implemented in the VCL, to accept files from dragged from the Windows Explorer you need to handle a few shell api messages. Here's how to accept files dropped from the Windows explorer to a Delphi application.

Get the Active (Focused) Control Outside of your Delphi application
When a user is working within your application, to grab the (handle of the) active control - the one with the input focus, you can simply use Delphi's "Screen.ActiveControl" property. Let's say you need to display something like a hint window below the currently active control - you would need to know the bounding rectangle (TRect) of this control that is not inside your application. Here's how using Delphi.

Close Previous Application Instances / Ensure One Instance Running
If, for whatever the reason, you need to terminate the running instance(s) of your application when the user decides to start a new instance, you need to find a mechanism to notify all the running instances (and optionaly) close them. This article shows you one such mechanism when using Delphi.

Display a TopMost System Modal Message Box
If you really want to grab the user attention and stop him from doing anything else, you need to be able to display a system-modal topmost message box even when your application is not active. Here's how when using Delphi.

Message in the Bottle
One of the keys to traditional Windows programming is handling the messages sent by Windows to applications. Handling Windows Messages the Delphi way!

Display a Password Dialog when Restoring a Delphi Application from the TaskBar
Suppose you have a data-critical type of application where you would not want a non-authored user to work with the data. What if you need to display a password dialog *before* the application is restored to make sure an authorized user is accessing it? Here's how to do it in Delphi.

Display a LogIn / Password Dialog Before the Main Form is Created
If you need to implement some kind of authorization for your Delphi application you might want to display a login / password dialog *before* the main form is created and displayed to the user. In short, the idea would be to create, display, and destroy the "login" dialog before creating the main form. Here's how.

Delphi IDE Add-In: Simple About Delphi Programming RSS Reader
With the "Current Headlines" Delphi IDE Add-In you can get the About Delphi Programming RSS feed without even leaving the Delphi IDE. Full source code for a simple Delphi IDE menu wizard included!

Listening to the Clipboard: Clipboard Delphi Spy with Custom Clipboard Formats
Extending the clipboard's flexibility and functionality from Delphi. Taking control over the Clipboard with custom formats. Coding Delphi to receive clipboard change notifications.

Intercepting Keyboard Input with Delphi - Implementing a Keyboard Hook
Intercepting keyboard input for controls that cannot receive the input focus. Working with keyboard hooks in Delphi.

Understanding and Using Windows Callback Functions in Delphi
Simply put, a callback function is a routine in your program that Windows calls. A good example of a Windows API functions that require callback functions are enumeration functions. LEarn how to use Windows Callback in Delphi applications.

An introduction to working with Windows Registry
Some basic facts and code samples on using Delphi and the Windows Registry database.

Drag a Delphi Form Without the Caption Bar
No title bar! How can we drag such a window? It's easy and fun: let's make a Delphi form move by clicking (and dragging) in it's client area.

Creating and Using DLLs from Delphi
A Dynamic Link library, or DLL, is a collection of routines (small programs) that can be called by applications and by other DLLs. Using Delphi, we can write and use our own DLLs, and we can call functions in DLLs developed with other systems / by other developers. Find out how.

Customizing the System Menu
What if you want to add a custom item to the system menu of an application, or delete/change the default Close caption, or even add some bitmap to it? This article shows how to handle (add, delete, change, add bitmap,...) your own system menu items and how and where to process them, by using Windows API and Delphi.

Create a Windows Start-Up Manager
How to build a program (using Delphi) that allows a user to control which applications will run when Windows starts up. Full source code (heavily documented) included.

How to Create a Windows Shortcut (.LNK) File
Creating a standard Windows shortcut file from Delphi.

Executing and Running Applications and Files from Delphi Code
Executing and Running Applications and Files from Delphi Code.

How to Hook the Mouse to Catch Events Outside of your application
Learn how to track the mouse activity even when your application is not active, sits in the Tray or does not have any UI at all. By installing a system wide (or global) mouse hook you can track what the user is doing with the mouse and act accordingly.

DLLs Made Simpler
This article is aimed at removing the fear of writing DLLs for beginners. A lot of beginners think DLLs are really complex, when actually they are pretty simple

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