Using Delphi 5 Forms with Vista

I have developed code with Delphi 5 for a long time. However, with Vista 64, the main forms (the user interface) do not display correctly .. and, in fact, are unusable .. when the Delphi defaults are used.

I developed the mcVistaSucks component which helps to solve these problems.

This page documents the results of various configurations. In theory, there are 4 important boolean (true/false) parameters, yielding 16 combinations. However, since form.AutoScroll is always false (it must be for the application to display in Vista), only 8 testcases are necessary.

I have written one totally trivial program to demonstrate the problem. (It is identical to Button3_Anchored.exe .. with only the mcVistaSucks component added.) The only difference in the various *.exe files is the setting of the parameters. The executables are located in the zip file. Basically, the forms contain 3 buttons

One on the left that saves a jpeg of the form image .. just to simplify creating this help page.
One near the lower right hand corner .. but not touching the border
One near the lower right hand corner that is pinned (anchored) to that corner

The form size is fairly small (250x150) so that screen captures can be displayed at full size.

Basics | Examples | Comment | References

Basics

In order to get the forms to work in Vista, the following properties must be changed.

TForm.Autoscroll must be false: If this is not done, then the wrong form size is used in Vista. In addition, objects anchored to the right and bottom edges of the form will be rendered in the wrong place in Windows XP when Form.Scaled is false.
If TForm.Scaled is false, then TForm.Font.Name must be something other than MS Sans Serif: In Vista, when the font is MS Sans Serif, it is automatically replaced with a larger font and, unless scaling is enabled, some text will no longer fit inside the buttons.

If you really want AutoScroll to be true (I do), set it in mcVistaSucks (or in FormCreate .. at that point, the damage is already done .. I mean - prevented).

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  form1.AutoScroll := true;
end;

Examples

This is just a basic form with 3 buttons. The original form is Button3_Anchored.exe. All the other forms contain a mcVistaSucks component with various parameters set. All 9 programs display exactly the same under Windows XP.

However, Vista is a different story. By default, the component makes the application render the same size in both XP and Vista. In fact, all the settings render the application at approximately the same size in both operating systems except when

Form1.Scaled = true 
mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = true

This is by design - both properties must be true for the scaling to occur.

The automatic appearance of the scrollbars was tested for every *.exe file by manually resizing the forms. In all cases, they appear on both operating systems when mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll is true, but not when it is false.

Note that the font in the title bar is different.

XP	Vista	Comment
		This is the basic form without the mcVistaSucks1 component Button3_Anchored.exe Form1.Autoscroll = true Form1.Scaled = true mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = na mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = na XP - All 3 buttons are visible Vista - The vertical scrollbar is gone, enlarging the form will not make Button 3 visible
		The original form with the Vista Fix (mcVistaSucks) component - default values Fixed_default.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = true mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = true mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = false XP - Same as without the component Vista - Almost identical to XP
		Fixed_TTT.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = true mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = true mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = true Vista - Uses Vista scaling to enlarge the form
		Fixed_TFT.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = true mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = false mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = true Vista - Uses Vista scaling to enlarge the form
		Fixed_TFF.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = true mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = false mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = false Vista - Almost identical to XP
		Fixed_FTF.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = false mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = true mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = false Vista - Almost identical to XP
		Fixed_FTT.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = false mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = true mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = true Vista - Almost identical to XP
		Fixed_FFF.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = false mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = false mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = false Vista - Almost identical to XP
		Fixed_FFT.exe Form1.Autoscroll = false Form1.Scaled = false mcVistaSucks1.Autoscroll = false mcVistaSucks1.AllowVistaScaling = true Vista - Almost identical to XP

Comment

The component is a complete success .. but only for the form it is placed on.

As a future enhancement, I might add a property that allows the component to automatically modify all the forms in a project. However, I am not sure how it would work with dynamic forms that are created as needed .. such as mcTearOff_Windows. (Actually, those already look ok .. so maybe they don't need a fix.)

I might add properties to control the title bar and menu fonts .. since they have a similar problem. However, until I modify a program that uses menus, there is no rush.

Author: Robert Clemenzi