TMessagePanel Readme File
This component is considered freeware and may be used in whatever
fashion you want. I am not responsible for your laziness after
seeing how easy it is to display messages now. Actually, I threw
this component together because I found myself using the same
technique in all my programs.
This freeware component gives you a quick and easy way to display
messages in your applications. Just drop one on a form and you
have a ready made message display system. It's not sophisticated,
fancy or high-priced. It's simple and free.
The concept is simple. Drop the component on the form and
set the fonts for normal messages and for error messages. Then set
the color of the panel that displays the messages for both the
normal and error messages. I tend to use the default values, which
is why they are the default. :)
To have the message panel size itself and center itself on
the form, just leave the AutoCenter and AutoSize properties set to
true. If you want to control the position and size yourself, then set
them to false and set the PanelTop, PanelLeft, PanelHeight and
PanelWidth properties.
Properties of TMessagePanel:
AutoCenter: set to true to let component center itself
AutoSize: set to true to let component size itself based on text
BevelWidth: set the bevel width of the displayed panel
Boundaries: used to control the placement of the message panel
within a certain area of the parent form. If AutoCenter
is true and the boundaries are set, the panel is
centered in this area.
Color: the panel color for normal messages
Dots: string of characters to blink at end of text (default "...")
DotsInterval: seconds to wait between blinking dots
DotsOn: true/false depending on whether to show blinking dots
ErrorColor: the color of the panel for error messages
ErrorFont: the font for error messages
Font: the font for normal messages
KeepOnPause: option to keep existing message after using the pause method
PanelHeight: height of the display panel if manually controlling it
PanelLeft: left side of the panel if manually positioning it
Margin: pixels to provide spacing for messages when AutoSize is true
15 is the minimum used when DotsOn is true to ensure enough
space between the edges of the panel and the text for the "..."
MaxPause: maximum number of seconds to use when DisplayInfoPause is
used. This keeps you from typing errors in your code and
having a message displayed indefinately. (default 10 seconds)
Set this to zero to ignore the maximum seconds.
MinWidth: minimum width of panel when AutoSize is true (default 300 pixels)
PanelTop: top of the panel when manually controlling it
PanelWidth: width of the panel when manually controlling it
There are only 3 methods to this component (besides the usual Create and OnDestroy):
DisplayInfo: puts a message on screen until you take it off
DisplayInfoPause: displays a message for a given amount of
seconds
GetDisplayInfo: returns the current message being displayed
There are also 2 events published:
OnChange: occurs anytime the message is set or cleared
OnDestroy: occurs when you free the component and it is destroyed
Here's an example of how easy it is.
1. Create a new application.
2. Drop a TMessagePanel and a button on the form.
3. In the OnClick event for the button, add these lines:
MessagePanel1.DisplayInfoPause('This is a normal message to display.', 3);
MessagePanel1.DisplayInfoPause('Here is an error message for you.', 3, true);
MessagePanel1.DotsOn := true;
MessagePanel2.DisplayIntoPause('Message text with blinking dots', 3);
4. Run the application and click the button.
Any questions or comments may be directed at me (gently please) at:
Woody
[email protected]
