Using Delphi 5 Forms with Vista - Patches
As explained in
Using Delphi 5 Forms with Vista,
it is possible to recompile a program so that it will operate
in either XP or Vista.
This page presents an alternate approach that can be used
for Delphi programs when you don't have the source.
Resource Hacker
| Details
Resource Hacker
I assume that everyone knows that the form properties are stored
as ascii text in the associated *.dfm file. When a program is compiled,
the dfm file is stored as one of the program resources.
Resource Hacker
(a FREEWARE utility) allows you to view, modify,
add, and delete resources in Win32 executables.
The general procedure is to
- Open the *.exe file
- Navigate to the dfm information (under RCData)
- Make any changes you want
- Click the Compile Script button
- Save the changes - this automatically creates a backup
Note that programs written with Microsoft compilers save the same type of data ..
but in a different format.
Details
To convert a Delphi executable to work with Vista, you must
- Change Width to ClientWidth
- Change Height to ClientHeight
- Set AutoScroll to False
Specifically, just change
to
AutoScroll = False
ClientWidth = 912
ClientHeight = 507
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If you want the exact same size application as in Windows XP,
you will also want to
- Set Scaled to False
- Set Font.Name to microsoft sans serif
The width and height will be a little too large, but they are easy to adjust.
Author:
Robert Clemenzi