Delphi - how to save and load a panel including its controls

not sure if I understand... but you want:
1. create components at run-time
2. be able to edit them (move around form, resize, etc.)
3. when closing app you want to store settings
4. next time you start-up your app all settings should be restored

am I right?

ziolko.

Not quite - I have written an editor program to create components at run time and to load and save them to a main panel. (using readcomponent and writecomponent) This is so I can use these 'panel files' for another application which uses them to signify the state of operation of a piece of industrial control equipment. (An MMI panel)
I use panels, free labels, labels on panels and a simple graphic of type TImage on these panels.
On the editor program I can tag each piece of text and use the tag to change the text, or colour of the graphic, programatically when displayed on the MMI program.
Hope you can understand me!!
The panel itself containing panels., labels etc is saved with its edited positions, tags, colours etc.
Everything works OK, but I cant help feeling that theres a simpler way! The problem is that there is apparently a small memory leak when swapping the panels in the MMI app. This does not appear all the time unfortunately, although I have tried using 'Denomo' memory leak detector.
The section of code causing the leak appears to be in this area:
- denomo gives an error of this type (ST is stack trace and 'clone2' is the name of one of the sub panels being loaded in.)
00CB7184  BlockSize: 16 String: Ref: 1 Len: 6 "clone2"
    ST: 0042A760 [Classes] [TReader.ReadRootComponent] [6539]
    ST: 004279EC [Classes] [TStream.ReadComponent] [4975]
I'm working on this at the moment, but the problem may lie in the current panel file being loaded.

Regards,
Chris

Procedure update_panel;
var
Temp: TComponent;
tc:tcontrol;
x,I:integer;
sf:string;
S: Tfilestream;
begin
  with form1 do
  begin
  for x:=(panel1.ControlCount-1) downto 0  do
   panel1.controls[x].free;
   temp:=nil;
   sf:='panel21.dat';// filename
   if fileexists(sf) then
       S := Tfilestream.Create(sf, fmopenread);    
    try
      while not (s.position = s.size) do
      begin // read component and add to form
       temp:=nil;
       temp := s.readcomponent(nil);
       if (temp<>nil) and (temp.Name <> 'Panel1') then // do not insert panel1 for PC
        begin
          if temp.ClassType = Tpanel then
            begin // must be child panel
            (temp as Tpanel).caption:='';
         
            (temp as tpanel).Parent := form1.Panel1; // must be sub panel
            end; // all panels now loaded
          // now load free components
          if temp.classtype = Tlabel then
          (temp as tlabel).Parent := form1.Panel1; // must be sub panel
          if temp.classtype = TjvxShape then
            (temp as tjvxshape).Parent := Panel1;
        end
        else freeandnil(temp);
      end;
    finally
      s.Free;
    end;

    with panel1 do
    begin
      Height := 480; // in pixels
      Width := 640;  
      Top := 0;
      left := 0;
    end;
  end; //with form1 - screen loaded
   temp:=nil;
  end;

also I can see in your code that once you call:
form1.Panel1
while in other place
Panel1

it would be better to unify this, if your procedure is method of a form and this form has Panel1 use just Panel1 (or Self.Panel1)
if this procedure is simple procedure or method of object other than Form1 then pass parameter to this proceudre, for instance:

procedure update_panel(APanel: TPanel);
begin
...
 for x:=(APanel.ControlCount-1) downto 0  do
...
end;

it really better not to use global variable Form1

ziolko

See my comments in
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Programming/Languages/Pascal/Delphi/Q_23558967.html

The LoadDialog and SaveDialog can be VERY easily modified to accept a TPanel.

ABJECT APOLOGIES!!
I have neglected this question because my hard drive went down two days before my family holiday. I have just returned and I am now in the process of resurrection! Will test my software in the next couple of days!
Chris

ABJECT APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE!!
I have neglected this question because my hard drive went down two days before my family holiday. I have just returned and I am now in the process of resurrection! Will test my software in the next couple of days!
Chris

No trouble, Chris.

Thanks all - As far as I can see, memory leak has been vanquished!!