Thursday, March 13, 2025

Delphi FMX Air.Style Missing 'scrollboxstyle' Definition

I've been upgrading my flagship software product Zilch, from Delphi 5 VCL to Delphi 11 FMX. I'm finally in the report development phase. I'm using the FMX version of FastReports.

Things have been going along quite well, other than the typical stumbling around, which happens when learning the ins and outs of a new component suite (FastReports).

Back in May 2024, I decided to implement a dark theme after watching Ian Barker's presentation called "The fundamental secrets of good UI design". https://www.youtube.com/live/TL2YVio_eTo

During this presentation Barker pleads with the audience to include a dark theme option because it makes life much easier for people like him. Those who suffer with severe cataracts.

I am very meticulous about my work. Borderline obsessive. After spending nearly 4 weeks creating, tweaking, previewing, re-tweaking a report I finally decided to see what it looks like in dark mode. That's when I got hit with an access violation.

My first reaction was WTF! 😡

FMX.StdCtrls

I spent 3 months or more back in May 2024 testing and trying several different FMX styles. I finally settled on the Air.Style after making several customizations. And now this happens. Just when I thought I was getting close to wrapping up this project. WTF! 😡

Inside my application I'm using the StyleManager. I call:

TStyleManager.SetStyleFromFile( <FullFilePath> )

<FullFilePath> is the full file path of the modified version of Air.Style I'm using inside my program. I remember trying Dark.Style early on but I didn't like the brownish-copper glow effect so I opted for the Air.Style.

I quickly tried setting the <FullFilePath> to Dark.Style and tested it again, IT WORKED! 😎

Okay, so there is something different between Air.Style and Dark.Style. I searched both .STYLE files looking for "TScrollBar".

It turns out that Air.Style is missing the definition for StyleName = 'scrollboxstyle'.

I copied the complete 'scrollboxstyle' definition from Dark.Style and pasted it inside Air.Style and IT WORKED!

Payoff Savings Report - Air.Style

I'm glad this was a quick fix. Here is the complete 'scrollboxstyle' definition for anyone that would like to modify the Air.Style so it works with FastReports.

object TLayout
  StyleName = 'scrollboxstyle'
  DesignVisible = False
  Height = 131.000000000000000000
  Position.X = 254.000000000000000000
  Position.Y = 435.000000000000000000
  Width = 334.000000000000000000
  object TLayout
    StyleName = 'background'
    Align = Contents
    Locked = True
    Height = 131.000000000000000000
    Width = 334.000000000000000000
    object TLayout
      StyleName = 'content'
      Align = Client
      Height = 115.000000000000000000
      Width = 318.000000000000000000
    end
    object TScrollBar
      StyleName = 'vscrollbar'
      Align = Right
      Height = 115.000000000000000000
      Orientation = Vertical
      Position.X = 318.000000000000000000
      Width = 16.000000000000000000
    end
    object TScrollBar
      StyleName = 'hscrollbar'
      Align = Bottom
      Height = 16.000000000000000000
      Orientation = Horizontal
      Position.Y = 115.000000000000000000
      Width = 334.000000000000000000
    end
    object TSmallScrollBar
      StyleName = 'vsmallscrollbar'
      Align = Right
      Height = 8.000000000000000000
      Orientation = Vertical
      Margins.Left = 2.000000000000000000
      Position.X = 99.000000000000000000
      Position.Y = 2.000000000000000000
      Visible = False
      Width = 8.000000000000000000
    end
    object TSmallScrollBar
      StyleName = 'hsmallscrollbar'
      Align = Bottom
      Height = 8.000000000000000000
      Orientation = Horizontal
      Margins.Top = 2.000000000000000000
      Position.X = 2.000000000000000000
      Position.Y = 113.000000000000000000
      Visible = False
      Width = 150.000000000000000000
    end
    object TLayout
      Align = Contents
      Height = 131.000000000000000000
      Width = 334.000000000000000000
      object TLayout
        Align = Bottom
        Height = 20.000000000000000000
        Position.Y = 111.000000000000000000
        Width = 334.000000000000000000
        object TSizeGrip
          StyleName = 'sizegrip'
          Align = Right
          Locked = True
          Height = 20.000000000000000000
          Position.X = 314.000000000000000000
          Width = 20.000000000000000000
        end
      end
    end
  end
end

Update: March 16, 2025

I'll have to give the new Delph 12.3 command-line style converter tool (vsf2fm.exe) a try. Hat Tip to Ray Konopka for pointing me in this direction.

I just installed Delphi 12.3 and used the vsf2fm.exe command-line tool and converted the Carbon.vsf to Carbon.style and it works perfectly.

Update: March 18, 2025

Just tried targeting macOS and the Carbon.style looks fantastic.

Enjoy!
Semper Fi
Gunny Mike
https://zilchworks.com

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Delphi Tip of the Day: FMX FastReport Text Object (TfrxMemoView)

I've been playing around with FastReport in FMX. To be honest, I've been struggling a bit. So, today I decided to go back to square one and work through the FMX documentation on the FastReport website. https://www.fast-report.com/public_download/docs/FRVCL/online/en/index.html

"Hello, World" report example... No Problem.

"The "Text" object... No Problem.

HTML-tags in the "Text" object... Doesn't work as advertised.

The "Text" object (TfrxViewMemo) is extremely powerful. It accepts simple HTML tags that lets you modify a single text field in some really cool ways. It's kind of like a mini "Rich Text" object.

Here is a what a working example is supposed to look like:

That is one text field with multiple effects applied to separate sections:

Bold
Italic
Bold and Italic
Superscript
Subscript
Color

I ran into an issue when I followed the example to create the "Orange" text. It didn't work. The Original example from the FastReports did not turn the text orange.

Using <font color="#FF8030"> did not display the text in orange. The text between the opening and closing font tags did not display at all. Seeing that the "red" font tag worked, I tried using the color name "orange". And it worked.

I then tried using the Alpha Color of #FFFF8030 and it also worked.

I'm glad I was able to make the FastReport example work. The text object is very powerful. I experimented with several different Delphi Color name constants and they also worked. I did run into an issue with some of the obsolete color name constants, such as MoneyGreen. The FastReport designer did not recognize "MoneyGreen" as a valid integer. It did however take the MoneyGreen HEX equivalent of #FFC0DCC0.

I decided to create a the following cheat sheet of all the font color names that FastReport text object will recognize.

Name	Color	HEX Code
`Aliceblue`	`Aliceblue`	`#FFF0F8FF`
`Antiquewhite`	`Antiquewhite`	`#FFFAEBD7`
`Aqua`	`Aqua`	`#FF00FFFF`
`Aquamarine`	`Aquamarine`	`#FF7FFFD4`
`Azure`	`Azure`	`#FFF0FFFF`
`Beige`	`Beige`	`#FFF5F5DC`
`Bisque`	`Bisque`	`#FFFFE4C4`
`Black`	`Black`	`#FF000000`
`Blanchedalmond`	`Blanchedalmond`	`#FFFFEBCD`
`Blue`	`Blue`	`#FF0000FF`
`Blueviolet`	`Blueviolet`	`#FF8A2BE2`
`Brown`	`Brown`	`#FFA52A2A`
`Burlywood`	`Burlywood`	`#FFDEB887`
`Cadetblue`	`Cadetblue`	`#FF5F9EA0`
`Chartreuse`	`Chartreuse`	`#FF7FFF00`
`Chocolate`	`Chocolate`	`#FFD2691E`
`Coral`	`Coral`	`#FFFF7F50`
`Cornflowerblue`	`Cornflowerblue`	`#FF6495ED`
`Cornsilk`	`Cornsilk`	`#FFFFF8DC`
`Crimson`	`Crimson`	`#FFDC143C`
`Cyan`	`Cyan`	`#FF00FFFF`
`Darkblue`	`Darkblue`	`#FF00008B`
`Darkcyan`	`Darkcyan`	`#FF008B8B`
`Darkgoldenrod`	`Darkgoldenrod`	`#FFB8860B`
`Darkgray`	`Darkgray`	`#FFA9A9A9`
`Darkgreen`	`Darkgreen`	`#FF006400`
`Darkgrey`	`Darkgrey`	`#FFA9A9A9`
`Darkkhaki`	`Darkkhaki`	`#FFBDB76B`
`Darkmagenta`	`Darkmagenta`	`#FF8B008B`
`Darkolivegreen`	`Darkolivegreen`	`#FF556B2F`
`Darkorange`	`Darkorange`	`#FFFF8C00`
`Darkorchid`	`Darkorchid`	`#FF9932CC`
`Darkred`	`Darkred`	`#FF8B0000`
`Darksalmon`	`Darksalmon`	`#FFE9967A`
`Darkseagreen`	`Darkseagreen`	`#FF8FBC8F`
`Darkslateblue`	`Darkslateblue`	`#FF483D8B`
`Darkslategray`	`Darkslategray`	`#FF2F4F4F`
`Darkslategrey`	`Darkslategrey`	`#FF2F4F4F`
`Darkturquoise`	`Darkturquoise`	`#FF00CED1`
`Darkviolet`	`Darkviolet`	`#FF9400D3`
`Deeppink`	`Deeppink`	`#FFFF1493`
`Deepskyblue`	`Deepskyblue`	`#FF00BFFF`
`Dimgray`	`Dimgray`	`#FF696969`
`Dimgrey`	`Dimgrey`	`#FF696969`
`Dodgerblue`	`Dodgerblue`	`#FF1E90FF`
`Firebrick`	`Firebrick`	`#FFB22222`
`Floralwhite`	`Floralwhite`	`#FFFFFAF0`
`Forestgreen`	`Forestgreen`	`#FF228B22`
`Fuchsia`	`Fuchsia`	`#FFFF00FF`
`Gainsboro`	`Gainsboro`	`#FFDCDCDC`
`Ghostwhite`	`Ghostwhite`	`#FFF8F8FF`
`Gold`	`Gold`	`#FFFFD700`
`Goldenrod`	`Goldenrod`	`#FFDAA520`
`Gray`	`Gray`	`#FF808080`
`Green`	`Green`	`#FF008000`
`Greenyellow`	`Greenyellow`	`#FFADFF2F`
`Grey`	`Grey`	`#FF808080`
`Honeydew`	`Honeydew`	`#FFF0FFF0`
`Hotpink`	`Hotpink`	`#FFFF69B4`
`Indianred`	`Indianred`	`#FFCD5C5C`
`Indigo`	`Indigo`	`#FF4B0082`
`Ivory`	`Ivory`	`#FFFFFFF0`
`Khaki`	`Khaki`	`#FFF0E68C`
`Lavender`	`Lavender`	`#FFE6E6FA`
`Lavenderblush`	`Lavenderblush`	`#FFFFF0F5`
`Lawngreen`	`Lawngreen`	`#FF7CFC00`
`Lemonchiffon`	`Lemonchiffon`	`#FFFFFACD`
`Lightblue`	`Lightblue`	`#FFADD8E6`
`Lightcoral`	`Lightcoral`	`#FFF08080`
`Lightcyan`	`Lightcyan`	`#FFE0FFFF`
`Lightgoldenrodyellow`	`Lightgoldenrodyellow`	`#FFFAFAD2`
`Lightgray`	`Lightgray`	`#FFD3D3D3`
`Lightgreen`	`Lightgreen`	`#FF90EE90`
`Lightgrey`	`Lightgrey`	`#FFD3D3D3`
`Lightpink`	`Lightpink`	`#FFFFB6C1`
`Lightsalmon`	`Lightsalmon`	`#FFFFA07A`
`Lightseagreen`	`Lightseagreen`	`#FF20B2AA`
`Lightskyblue`	`Lightskyblue`	`#FF87CEFA`
`Lightslategray`	`Lightslategray`	`#FF778899`
`Lightslategrey`	`Lightslategrey`	`#FF778899`
`Lightsteelblue`	`Lightsteelblue`	`#FFB0C4DE`
`Lightyellow`	`Lightyellow`	`#FFFFFFE0`
`Lime`	`Lime`	`#FF00FF00`
`Limegreen`	`Limegreen`	`#FF32CD32`
`Linen`	`Linen`	`#FFFAF0E6`
`Magenta`	`Magenta`	`#FFFF00FF`
`Maroon`	`Maroon`	`#FF800000`
`Mediumaquamarine`	`Mediumaquamarine`	`#FF66CDAA`
`Mediumblue`	`Mediumblue`	`#FF0000CD`
`Mediumorchid`	`Mediumorchid`	`#FFBA55D3`
`Mediumpurple`	`Mediumpurple`	`#FF9370DB`
`Mediumseagreen`	`Mediumseagreen`	`#FF3CB371`
`Mediumslateblue`	`Mediumslateblue`	`#FF7B68EE`
`Mediumspringgreen`	`Mediumspringgreen`	`#FF00FA9A`
`Mediumturquoise`	`Mediumturquoise`	`#FF48D1CC`
`Mediumvioletred`	`Mediumvioletred`	`#FFC71585`
`Midnightblue`	`Midnightblue`	`#FF191970`
`Mintcream`	`Mintcream`	`#FFF5FFFA`
`Mistyrose`	`Mistyrose`	`#FFFFE4E1`
`Moccasin`	`Moccasin`	`#FFFFE4B5`
`Navajowhite`	`Navajowhite`	`#FFFFDEAD`
`Navy`	`Navy`	`#FF000080`
`Oldlace`	`Oldlace`	`#FFFDF5E6`
`Olive`	`Olive`	`#FF808000`
`Olivedrab`	`Olivedrab`	`#FF6B8E23`
`Orange`	`Orange`	`#FFFFA500`
`Orangered`	`Orangered`	`#FFFF4500`
`Orchid`	`Orchid`	`#FFDA70D6`
`Palegoldenrod`	`Palegoldenrod`	`#FFEEE8AA`
`Palegreen`	`Palegreen`	`#FF98FB98`
`Paleturquoise`	`Paleturquoise`	`#FFAFEEEE`
`Palevioletred`	`Palevioletred`	`#FFDB7093`
`Papayawhip`	`Papayawhip`	`#FFFFEFD5`
`Peachpuff`	`Peachpuff`	`#FFFFDAB9`
`Peru`	`Peru`	`#FFCD853F`
`Pink`	`Pink`	`#FFFFC0CB`
`Plum`	`Plum`	`#FFDDA0DD`
`Powderblue`	`Powderblue`	`#FFB0E0E6`
`Purple`	`Purple`	`#FF800080`
`Red`	`Red`	`#FFFF0000`
`Rosybrown`	`Rosybrown`	`#FFBC8F8F`
`Royalblue`	`Royalblue`	`#FF4169E1`
`Saddlebrown`	`Saddlebrown`	`#FF8B4513`
`Salmon`	`Salmon`	`#FFFA8072`
`Sandybrown`	`Sandybrown`	`#FFF4A460`
`Seagreen`	`Seagreen`	`#FF2E8B57`
`Seashell`	`Seashell`	`#FFFFF5EE`
`Sienna`	`Sienna`	`#FFA0522D`
`Silver`	`Silver`	`#FFC0C0C0`
`Skyblue`	`Skyblue`	`#FF87CEEB`
`Slateblue`	`Slateblue`	`#FF6A5ACD`
`Slategray`	`Slategray`	`#FF708090`
`Slategrey`	`Slategrey`	`#FF708090`
`Snow`	`Snow`	`#FFFFFAFA`
`Springgreen`	`Springgreen`	`#FF00FF7F`
`Steelblue`	`Steelblue`	`#FF4682B4`
`Tan`	`Tan`	`#FFD2B48C`
`Teal`	`Teal`	`#FF008080`
`Thistle`	`Thistle`	`#FFD8BFD8`
`Tomato`	`Tomato`	`#FFFF6347`
`Turquoise`	`Turquoise`	`#FF40E0D0`
`Violet`	`Violet`	`#FFEE82EE`
`Wheat`	`Wheat`	`#FFF5DEB3`
`White`	`White`	`#FFFFFFFF`
`Whitesmoke`	`Whitesmoke`	`#FFF5F5F5`
`Yellow`	`Yellow`	`#FFFFFF00`
`Yellowgreen`	`Yellowgreen`	`#FF9ACD32`
`Osolete Color Names Use HEX Code`
`LtGray`	`LtGray`	`#FFC0C0C0`
`MedGray`	`MedGray`	`#FFA0A0A0`
`DkGray`	`DkGray`	`#FF808080`
`MoneyGreen`	`MoneyGreen`	`#FFC0DCC0`
`LegacySkyBlue`	`LegacySkyBlue`	`#FFF0CAA6`
`Cream`	`Cream`	`#FFF0FBFF`

Enjoy!
Semper Fi
Gunny Mike

https://zilchworks.com

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Tip of the Day - Everyday is an Etch-A-Sketch

Sometimes all you need is a little motivation.

Everyday is an Etch-A-Sketch.

Sometimes, every hour is an Etch-A-Sketch.

And sometimes, every minute is an Etch-A-Sketch.

Happy New Year,

Gunny Mike

https://www.zilchworks.com

Friday, December 27, 2024

I Got Complacent—and Here’s What I Learned

The Frog in the Beaker Parable:

If a frog is placed in a beaker of boiling water, it will immediately jump out to save itself. However, if the frog is placed in a beaker of lukewarm water that is slowly heated, the frog will remain in the water, not noticing the gradual rise in temperature. Eventually, the water will reach a boiling point, and the frog will perish because it failed to react to the slow, incremental change.

Moral of the Story:

The parable serves as a warning against complacency and the failure to act in the face of slow, incremental changes that can lead to disastrous outcomes. It’s a lesson often applied in business, personal life, or societal contexts, emphasizing the importance of staying vigilant, recognizing warning signs, and taking proactive steps to prevent negative outcomes.

My Story:

I spent most of 2024 in a beaker of lukewarm water. If I'm honest with myself, it probably started in sometime in 2023. Perhaps even earlier than that. I had gotten complacent. I was totally unaware it was happening to me.

The first sign I realized something was wrong is when my July 2024 software payment from MyCommerce/Digital River was late. This had happened once before in October 2023. A quick email to support was all that was required. So, I sent off an email. I received a response saying they had put a new ticket system in place. I created an account and opened a ticket. And...crickets. 🦗

August turned into September, which turned into October. And now I'm missing July, August, and September payments.

It was October and I started thinking about some of the other Delphi products I have purchased in the past and the user buying experience. I even sent Ray Konopka an email asking him what shopping cart system he put in place on https://www.raize.com/. Ray was gracious with his time and quickly responded.

It was at that point I realized this was not going to be a weekend just project. I also realized just how widespread the Digital River/MyCommerce/Share-It situation was. I wasn't the only one. 👇😓
https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/15/digital_river_runs_dry_hasnt/

The solution I wanted was a Merchant of Record (MOR). I wanted someone else to handle all the interactions with customers. I just wanted to put links on my website to a shopping cart page.

Complacency Turned Into a Rabbit Hole 🐇🕳

I narrowed down my search to two MORs; FastSpring and Paddle. I crunched the numbers and decided to go with Paddle. I created an account with Paddle and submitted my website for verification.

Your Website Has Been DENIED!

My website was denied with no specifics other than it did not meet Paddle's standards. So, I signed up with FastSpring. I was also denied by FastSpring.

Turns out that I did not have the adequate GDPR processes in place. I needed to severely update my website. I need to add a Consent Banner and all the necessary webpages; Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy.

The Consent Banner. Oh yeah that little popup thingy that lets visitors accept which cookies they want to allow. And one of those cookies is Google Analytics.

This lead me down the path of implementing Google Tag Manager. I ignored all the warning messages Google Analytics had bee showing me about the change to GTM.

I'm a do it yourself kind of guy so I was looking for a "do it yourself consent banner." I settled on Klaro https://github.com/klaro-org

So I spent three whole weekends implementing Google Tag Manager, Klaro, and updating my website to interact with the new consent banner.

I added the three necessary webpages; Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and resubmitted to both Paddle and FastSpring. It took about a week to 10 days but I was now APPROVED!

Paddle

I started looking around the back-end in Paddle for how to set up a shopping cart with a download button. After several hours of reading the documentation I gave up. I sent an email to my sales rep asking for help. After several back and forth emails, it turns out that what I needed was "Paddle Classic" (a completely different system) from Paddle Billing. I gave up and switched over to FastSpring.

FastSpring

I found FastSpring to be very intuitive. And of course I was thoroughly testing all the pieces. I found a flaw in the "Invoice Email" which directly affects the download link. Unfortunately you cannot modify the email templates until your go live. The process of going live took another week to 10 days.

I finally got everything in place and ready to go just after Thanksgiving.

SEO vs AEO (Ask Engine Optimization)

Last week I discovered a few things.

I have found myself using ChatGPT more than Google when I want answers. Real answers. And last week I learned about Ask Engine Optimization (AEO).

Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) dead? Maybe? Maybe not? Read this post from Dave Collins at Software Promotions. https://www.softwarepromotions.com/news/seo-is-dead-again/

I also discovered https://www.perplexity.ai/ The first question I asked Perplexity was "Who are ZilchWork's direct competitors?"

I also found this fantastic website, Answer Socrates https://answersocrates.com/

Zilch - Complacent For Almost 7 Years

I haven't just been complacent, I've been asleep at the wheel. I've enjoyed a software product with a funny name "Zilch" for years. I noticed my sales have been steadily declining. I just assumed it was do to the look and feel of my current desktop software begin stuck in the 640 X 480 pixel mode. Wrong!

What I failed to notice was a modern product called Zilch was taking the world by storm. Zilch launched in 2018 (that's almost 7 years ago). It's not for paying off debt like my software... it's for buying products. It puts people in direct contact with products without using credit cards.

Hopefully you can lean from some of my mistakes.

Use the comments and share how you have been complacent!

Enjoy!
Semper Fi
Gunny Mike
https://www.zilchworks.com

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Delphi Tip of the Day: The Delphi Magazine Total Collection

I'm always looking for ways to improve my Delphi skills. Sometimes, this takes me down a rabbit hole. And each time, these little side trips never answer "Yes" to the question "Will this help me ship?"

Last week I went down the "global variables are bad" rabbit hole. 🐇🕳

Global Variables Are Bad

I opened my copy of "The Delphi Magazine Total Collection" looking for some inspiration. And, I found a 6 Part series called "Effective Delphi Class Engineering" written by David Baer. I'm slowly working my way through these articles.

Issue: 57	Effective Delphi Class Engineering 1: Crossing The Chasm David Baer kicks off a new series of articles aimed at all of us who are reluctant, confused or ill-informed on what object-oriented development is all about. The goal is to demonstrate, clearly and without jargon-loaded obfuscation, how to design, create and use Delphi classes to make your development more productive.
Issue: 59	Effective Delphi Class Engineering 2: Welcome To The Machine David Baer continues his series on practical object orientation by putting Delphi’s object machinery under a magnifying glass. He examines topics such as memory management, method calling, protocols and other compiler- related issues.
Issue: 60	Effective Delphi Class Engineering 3: Skyrocketing Property David Baer thinks properties are wonderful and this month gives us insights and advice on how they can best be put to use in our classes.
Issue: 62	Effective Delphi Class Engineering Part 4: The TObject Of My David Baer focuses on inheritance in this part of his popular series on object oriented development in Delphi.
Issue: 63	Effective Delphi Class Engineering Part 5: You Are TEgg Man... I AM TWalrus David Baer has not gone mad (though he may have been listening to too many old Beatles albums!): this instalment of his series continues his practical real-world discussion of polymorphism and inheritance.
Issue: 65	Effective Delphi Class Engineering Part 6: To Talk Of Many Things David Baer concludes his series on developing Delphi classes with a miscellany of sound advice, ranging from events to exceptions, RTTI and message handling.

Part 1 of Baer's series of articles, refenced short paper written by Marco Cantu called "When RAD is bad", which I found it on the internet archive.

https://web.archive.org/web/20001120081900/http://community.borland.com/devnews/article/1,1714,10463,00.html

But that's not all I found. I found a download link to the entire "The Delphi Magazine Total Collection Issues 1 - 139 (April 1995 to March 2007)" ⏬

https://archive.org/details/the-delphi-magazine-total-collection

Enjoy,
Semper Fi
Gunny Mike
https:\\zilchworks.com

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Sell Me This Pen!

OMG! I wish I had known this years ago. The Marine Corps taught me the Xerox Personal Selling Skills 3 (PSS3 = Needs Satisfaction) method. They turned me into a "regurgitator". If I had seen this video in 1994, it would have made a HUGE difference.

Show Me! Don't Tell Me!

HaveDemand your mentor model
the sales behavior for you!

Enjoy!
Semper Fi,
Gunny Mike
https:\\zilchworks.com

Sunday, September 1, 2024

Delphi Tip of the Day: How to Keep Your Code Folded in Delphi 12

I like the "Code Folding" feature of Delphi. However, I noticed that every time I reopened a project in Delphi 12 where I had previously folded the code, the code was no longer folded.

To keep your code folded in Delphi 12 you need to turn on the Save project desktop when closing option inside the IDE.

Tools > Options > IDE > Saving and Recovering

This option is unchecked in the default, out-of-the-box setup.

Delphi 12 also includes a new feature called Save editor state when closing a tab any time.
https://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Athens/en/Saving_and_Recovering

Save editor state when closing a tab any time

When selected, the current state for the views is saved before closing it. State info includes collapsed regions, cursor/caret position, and bookmarks.

This allows you to close and reopen a tab within the same editing session, and when the tab is reopened it will display exactly as it was when it was closed. This is similar to the Save project desktop when closing setting but functions all the time, not just when closing and reopening a whole project.

This option can only be enabled when Save project desktop when closing is checked.

Let me know in the comments what other out-of-the-box tweaks you like to make to a brand new Delphi install.

Enjoy!
Semper Fi,
Gunny Mike
https://zilchworks.com