TPJVersionInfo Component (32 bit)

Contents

• Description
• Compatibility
• Installation
• Known Issues
• Update History
• License and Disclaimer
• About the Author

Description

This is a 32 bit non-visual component for Delphi 2 to 6 that encapsulates file version resource information contained in a file.

The component reads information from the file's VERSIONINFO resource. If the file has no such resource then this component returns no information. The HaveInfo property informs whether the component has been able to get version information from the file. The 32 bit version of TPJVersionInfo can access variable file information for each language provided in the resource.

The file from which resource information is gleaned is determined by the FileName property. Setting the file name property to the empty string makes the component read information from the executable file in which it embedded. Apart from the usual Name and Tag properties the FileName property is the only design-time property of the component. With the exception of the property that selects the language for which variable file information is to be returned, all other properties are read only. These properties present the information from the VERSIONINFO resource to the user. See the help file for further information.

The component introduces no new methods and it has no events.

Limitations

This version of the component makes calls to the 32 bit Windows API. It is not suitable for compilation using the 16 bit Delphi 1 compiler.

Further information

For detailed information about file version information refer to the Win32 SDK.

Compatibility

This version of the component works only with 32 bit versions of Delphi. It has been tested with Delphi versions 2, 3, 4 and 6. It is assumed to work correctly with Delphi 5. A separate version of the component is available for 16 bit Delphi 1.

The unit name has changed to PJVersionInfo in this release of the code - this means that programs using earlier versions will need to be modified (or to have an alias set in Delphi's Project Options) before being recompiled using the new version.

This component is backward compatible with previous 32 bit releases. In previous releases the help file was designed for integration with the Delphi 2 IDE but was not compatible with the OpenHelp system used from Delphi 3 onwards. From this release the help file has been updated to integrate with the Delphi 3 and later IDE. It is no longer compatible with the Delphi 2 IDE, although can be used separately.

Installation

In these instructions $(DELPHI) is to be taken to represent the path where your 32 bit version of Delphi was installed. For example, if you have Delphi 4 installed on the path C:\Program Files\Borland\Delphi4 then $(DELPHI) represents that path.

Installation with Delphi 2

Note that although the provided help file gives information about using the component it cannot be linked into the Delphi 2 environment.

1. Unzip the component's .zip file into a folder, preserving the directory structure.
2. Copy the files PJVersionInfo.pas and PJVersionInfo.dcr to the folder from where you wish to install the component into the Delphi Component Palette. This will probably be an existing folder where you keep the library components - say the default $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
3. Start Delphi. Select the Options | Install Components menu option. Click the Add button, then the Browse button and navigate to the PJVersionInfo.pas file in the folder where you placed it. Click OK to recompile the components library.
4. You can now delete PJVersionInfo.pas from the place where you copied it if you wish. The component will appear on a palette called PJ Stuff. You can move the component to a different palette as required, or hack the source code (before installing the component) by finding the Register procedure at the end of the code and changing the string 'PJ stuff' to the name of the required palette.

Installation with Delphi 3 and later

1. Unzip the component's .zip file into a folder, preserving the directory structure.
2. Copy the files PJVersionInfo.pas and PJVersionInfo.dcr to the folder from where you wish to install the component into the Delphi Component Palette. This will probably be a sub-folder of the $(DELPHI)\lib folder.
3. Install the component into the palette by choosing the Component | Install Component menu option. The following instructions assume you are installing into the default "users components" package:
   • Select the "Into existing package" page of the Install Components dialogue box.
   • Browse to the folder where you saved PJVersionInfo.pas and select the file.
   • Ensure that the "Package file name" edit box contains $(DELPHI)\lib\dclusrX0.dpk (where X is the version number of Delphi).
   • Accept that the package will be rebuilt.
   • A dialogue box should be displayed saying that TPJVersionInfo has been added to the component palette.
4. You can now delete PJVersionInfo.pas from the place where you copied it if you wish. The component will appear on a palette called PJ Stuff. You can move the component to a different palette as required, or hack the source code (before installing the program) by finding the Register procedure at the end of the code and changing the string 'PJ stuff' to the name of the required palette.
5. The simplest way to install the help file is to use the PJSoft Component Help Installer Expert, available from my website. To install manually, proceed as follows (replace X is your version of Delphi):
• Copy PJVersionInfo.hlp to whichever folder you wish to install it to.
• Create a text file named PJVersionInfo.cfg in your Delphi Help folder. Enter the following two lines:
   :Index PJSoft Version Info Component=PJVersionInfo.hlp
   :Link PJVersionInfo.hlp
  
• Edit the DelphiX.cnt file (where is is your Delphi version) and add the line:
     :Include PJVersionInfo.cfg
• Using RegEdit open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Help and add a new string value named PJVersionInfo.hlp whose value is the path where you copied the help file (probably ($DELPHI)\Help).

Known Issues

• None known.

Update History

Unreleased
VerInfo v1.0 of 26/04/1998

• Original version - 16 bit only.

Unreleased
VerInfo v2.0 of 06/12/1998

• Revised for use with Win32. Not compatible with v1.0 which continued to be used with 16 bit Delphi (see vinfo16.htm for continued update history of v1).

Release 2.0.1 of 08/07/1999
VerInfo v2.0.1 of 09/04/1999
(This release also included Release 1.0 of 16 bit VerInfo v1.0.1 - see vinfo16.htm for details).

• Changed palette where component installs to "PJ Stuff" from "Own".
• Added HTML documentation (shared documentation with Release 1.0.1).

Release 2.1 of 28/11/1999
VInfo v2.1 of 28/11/1999
(Separated 16 bit and 32 bits versions into separate releases).

• Changed unit name from VerInfo to VInfo to allow component to install under Delphi 3 & 4 (VerInfo clashes with an existing unit in these versions).
• Removed superfluous conditional compilation directives.
• Updated HTML documentation to separate 16 bit from 32 bit version, to to include installation notes for Delphi 3/4 and to include update history.

Release 3.0 of 17/02/2002
PJVersionInfo v3.0 of 17/02/2002

• Added ability to access all "translations" stored in a file's version information, rather than just first one. This has been done so that code using earlier versions of this component should continue to work unchanged.
• Added new property to expose fixed file information record.
• Added new "string array" property to give access to string information by name: this property can access any custom string information if the name is known.
• Added properties to return number of "translations" and to select index of "translation" to be used.
• Added properties to return language and character set codes in addition to descriptive strings.
• All string info, language and character set properties now return values from the currently selected translation (which defaults to the first translation maintaining backward compatibilty).
• Empty FileName property now accesses name of host application per command line rather than using Application.ExeName.
• CharSet property now returns '' for unknown value rather than 'Unknown'.
• Renamed TVersionNumber record to TPJVersionNumber.
• Replaced Tvs_FixedFileInfo record with use of Windows unit defined type TVSFixedFileInfo
• Renamed unit to PJVersionInfo.
• Changed component palette from PJ Stuff to PJSoft.

License & Disclaimer

This component is copyright © P.D.Johnson, 1998-2002.

The source code and help files can be freely distributed on a not-for-profit basis providing that:

1. the source code is not altered.
2. this readme file is distributed with it unchanged

By not-for-profit I mean that you may recover out of pocket expenses incurred in distributing the code, but should not make a profit from this.

If you discover any bugs in this implementation, or if you have any update suggestions, please contact me on peter.johnson@openlink.org.

Please do modify the code for you own use. I'd like to see any changes you make - I could incorporate them into future versions. Please notify me of changes on at the above e-mail address.

This software is provided as is - no warranty is given as to its suitability for any purposes to which you may wish to put it.

About the Author

I'm Peter Johnson - a hobbyist programmer living in Ceredigion in West Wales, UK, writing mainly in Delphi. .My programs are available for download on my website: http://www.pjsoft.contactbox.co.uk/.

I can be contacted by e-mail on peter.johnson@openlink.org.