Difference between revisions of "LMD VCL 2013 - News"

Latest revision as of 18:51, 10 July 2013

General

Support for IDEs and operating systems

Compatible with Delphi and C++ Builder XE2 - X4, including 64bit support for XE2 and higher! The next Delphi/C++Builder release will be support almost immediately after public availability.
Supported IDEs
- Delphi 6, 7, Delphi 2005 - 2010, XE, XE2, XE3, XE4
- C++ Builder 6, 2006 - 2010, XE, XE2, XE3, XE4
- Delphi 2005.NET - Delphi 2007.NET
- Turbo (2006) Professional versions for Delphi, C++ and Delphi.NET
- All corresponding Studio Products (BDS 2006, CRS 2007, CRS 2009, RAD Studio 2010, XE, XE2 etc.)
Supported operating systems
- Win98 and WinNT4 or better (including Windows 7 + 8).

For recent Delphi releases LMD VCL package support same platforms as the VCL which is included in the IDE (e.g. Delphi 2009 officially supports Win2k or better only).

64bit support (Delphi XE2 and higher)

All packages were ported to 64bit. Exception: Compatibility controls (dcllmdlegacy) can not be used in 64bit applications.
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Package naming conventions

Sinde LMD VCL 2012 package names have been changed to be more consistent with VCL naming convention. LMD version number and IDE version number were removed from package names. Runtime package names are prefixed now with "lmdrt", design-time package names with "dcllmd". Some examples of generated package file names are: lmdrtdocking.dcp, lmdrtdocking.bpi, lmdrtdocking.lib, dcllmddocking.dcp, dcllmddocking.bpi, dcllmddocking.lib. IDE version suffix is still included in generated "bpl", e.g. lmdrtdocking_170.bpl.

This change simplifies porting projects (supposed they are compiled with run-time packages) to another IDE version. Since package references contain neither IDE version nor LMD platform version, migrating to a future IDE version will require no changes.
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LMD 2013 Reg Utility

On user request the new 2013 RegUtility installier copy all files to the %APPDATA%\LMD Innovative folder (instead of system folder in previous release). As known from previous releases the new reg utilities recognize earlier license files (regardless whether they are stored in system or appdata folder), so that only one reg utility is required for current and previous licenses.
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LMD 2013 DevUtil

The DevUtil tool (available for LMD VCL Complete Subscription customers with SVN access) was improved. It is now easier than ever to switch between different workspaces (sets of component packages), even leaving the current IDE is no longer required! All new functionality will be described on the [LMD VCL - DevUtil|DevUtil description] page.
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Free license of NG 2013 packages/Suite

LMD-Tools, ElPack and LMD IDE-Tools user will receive a subset of the new NG Controls suite (e.g. DialogPack). LMD VCL Complete user will receive license for all 4 new packages (LMD Serialization Pack, DialogPack, ValidatorPack and HTMLPack).
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Requesting Previous Licenses

Any registered LMD 2013 customer can request any license back to LMD-Tools 8, ElPack 6 and IDE-Tools 1 (for Delphi 5 support or compatibility issues). Earlier licenses are not available.
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LMD Tools

General

Integration of Touch based features where missing (Touch property, OnGesture Events etc.)
Continued and improved support for VCL Styles (available in Delphi/C++ Builder XE2 and higer)
Support of new operating systems (Windows 2012 Server, Windows 8)

Source Changes

LMDProcs.pas

TLMDPathPrefix - new items: ppAppData, ppCommonAppData, ppUser, ppCommonDocuments
LMDCreatePathPrefix was extended to support new PathPrefix identifiers

LMDShUtils

TLMDSystemFolder (and TLMDRootFolder) - new Items: fCommonAppData, sfCommonDocuments

LMDSysIn.pas

New platform types (TLMDSysPlatform): pfWin2008server, pfWin2008R2Server, pfWin8, fWin2012Server
New global variables: LMDSIWindows8, LMDSIWindowsWindows8Up

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Controls

TLMDIniCtrl: New target XML. Besides that, helper routines for several cases were added (e.g. check, whether registry can be written in usermode (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE), %APPDATA% path etc.).
TLMDPageControl enhancements (colors for tabs etc.)
Enhancements for system controls like TLMDStarter + TLMDOneInstance
New system controls like TLMDClipBoard
TLMDFlyoutController: a component that makes selected control to flyout when mouse

pointer is near window's top/bottom/sides. See demo in \demos\lmdcore\delphi\LMD Megademo\DemosCore\LMD Ext\LMDFlyoutController folder.

ListBox + ComboBox controls: Several new features like gradient lines and headers added
On user request for several controls ValueList support was added (e.g. ComboBox controls)

LMD DockingPack

Extensive rework of internal engine and support of enhanced new and unique features (like e.g. tabbed document zones, advanced hotspot areas) to continue our aim to provide the best available docking solution for Delphi/C++Builder!
New features are:
[+] New document-tabs scrolling feature has been implemented. New TLMDDockManager.ScrollDocTabs, TLMDDockZone.FirstTab, TLMDDockZone.ScrollToTab, TLMDDockZone.IsTabInView properties/methods has been added. Scroll-left and scroll-right tab area buttons has been added to styles.

[+] New tabbed documents list button and popup menu is implemented.

[+] New tabbed documents feature, which allows to organize application documents in tabs - just like in Delphi or Microsoft™ Visual Studio!
[+] Fully reworked style engine: stretchable 32-bit bitmaps which are based on XML style definitions.
[+] New TLMDDockManager.UseTabbedDocs property which allows to turn tabbed documents feature on/off.
[+] New TLMDDockPanel.ClientKind property, which allows to specify whether the panel is part of the document area.
[+] New TLMDDockManager.OnGetClientKind event, which allows to specify whether the client (including non-panel clients) is a tool panel or a document.
[+] New big-cross hotspot and its additional active areas (hsaDocsLeft, hsaDocsTop, hsaDocsRight, hsaDocsBottom) which reflect new tabbed documents feature.
[+] New Metropolis VS2012 style. VS2010 and VS2005 styles were also updated.
[*] Old TLMDDockManager.Style property and all its sub-properties are no longer available. It has been replaced with new public TLMDDockManager.Style property, which is a reference to the engine style object. New StyleName published property for design-time access.
[+] New TLMDDockPanel.OnClose event with CloseAction var parameter. New Release method, which allows asynchronous destruction of the panel (like in TForm).
[+] Floating form maximization feature preview (not finished yet, will be finalized until LMD 2013.1 platform release).
[-] Panel client area invalidation has been improved to reduce child controls re-drawings.

Other Packages

Besides DockingPack most extensive changes will be performed on LMD RichPack and LMD StoragePack (changes might be available in initial LMD 2013.0 release).
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