Copyright© Kambiz R. Khojasteh. All rights reserved.
Get future component updates from http://www.delphiarea.com.

DESCRIPTION

TPicShow is an image slider control with 127 transactional effects in pure Delphi code. The major characteristics of TPicShow are:

• Image transaction can be controlled programmatically
• Image can be stretched or centered in the client area of the control
• Control can show a background image as centered, stretched, or tiled
• Transaction process can use a separated thread
• New transactional effects can be easily implemented and added to the control
• Can be compiled as windowed or non-windowed control

TDBPicShow is the data-aware version of TPicShow with ability to load bitmap or jpeg images (natively) from a blob field.

IMPORTANT NOTE: TPicShow and TDBPicShow as default are windowed controls. If you want to use them as non-windowed controls, you have to edit PicShow.pas and remove the definition of WINCONTROL_PICSHOW compiler symbol. Of course, as non-windowed control you may see some flickers during image transitions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Special thanks to:

• <k3nx@hotmail.com> for help on D5 support.
• Douglass Titjan <support@delphipages.com> for help on D5 support.
• Jerry McLain <jkmclain@srcaccess.net> for manual control idea.
• M. R. Zamani <M_R_Zamani@yahoo.com> for adding 8 effects (110..117).
• Elliott Shevin <ShevinE@aol.com> for adding 4 effects (123..126).
• Ken Otto <ken.otto@enviros.com> for adding native JPEG support to TDBPicShow and fixing a memory leak bug.
• Gary Bond <gary.bond@tesco.net> for name of the transitions.

KEY PROPERTIES

• AutoDisplay: Boolean (TDBPicShow only)
  Determines whether the control automatically displays the contents of a graphic BLOB in the database control.
  
  
• AutoSize: Boolean
  If set to true, Automatically sizes the control to the size of the loaded image if any is loaded.
  
  
• BgMode: TBackgroundMode
  TBackgroundMode = (bmNone, bmTiled, bmStretched, bmCentered)
  Determines how the control displays the background image on its client area.
  
  

  bmNone		Ignores the background image.
  bmTiled		Fills the client area of the control by the background image as tiled.
  bmStretched		Fills the client area of the control by stretching (or shrinking) the background image.
  bmCentered		Draws the background image on the center of the control's client area.

  
  
• BgPicture: TPicture
  Contains the background image of the control.
  
  
• Busy: Boolean (Read-only)
  Determines whether the control is performing an image transition.
  
  
• Center: Boolean
  If set to true and control's client area is larger than the loaded image, the image will be centered within the control's boundaries.
  
  
• Color: TColor
  Determines the background color of the control.
  
  
• DataField: String (TDBPicShow only)
  Specifies the field of dataset, which contains the image data.
  
  
• DataSource: TDataSource (TDBPicShow only)
  Links the control to a dataset.
  
  
• Delay: Word
  Determines the amount of delay in milliseconds before showing the next frame of the transition.
  
  
• Empty : Boolean (Read-only)
  Determines whether any image is loaded into the control.
  
  
• Picture: TPicture (Published in TPicShow only)
  Contains the image that the next call to Execute will show it.
  
  
• Progress: TPercent
  TPercent = 0..100
  Determines the current state of the running transition. When Busy property is false, changing this property has no effect.
  
  
• Reverse: Boolean
  If set to true, automatic transactions plays in reverse.
  
  
• Stretch: Boolean
  If set to true, when the control's client area is larger than the loaded image, the image it will be stretched (or shrinked) to fit within the control's boundaries.
  
  
• StretchFine: Boolean
  Determines the behavior of the Stretch property. If set to true, the image's aspect ratio remains unchanged.
  
  
• Step: Word
  Determines the amount of change in Progress in automatic transition.
  
  
• Style: TShowStyle
  TShowStyle = 0..127
  Specifies the index of the transition effect that will be used. By setting this property to zero, an OnCustomDraw event will be fired just before showing a new frame.
  
  
• StyleName: String
  Specifies the name of the transition effect that will be used.
  
  
• Threaded: Boolean
  If set to true, the control use a separated thread for the transition process.
  
  
• ThreadPriority: TThreadPriority
  TThreadPriority = (tpIdle, tpLowest, tpLower, tpNormal, tpHigher, tpHighest, tpTimeCritical)
  Determines the thread's scheduling priority relative to other threads in the process.

KEY METHODS

• procedure Execute
  Initials the transition and if Manual property is set false, starts it. If Manual property is set to true, after calling this method you can change the value of Progress property.
  
  
• procedure Clear
  Clears the client area of the control. Notice that calling this method does not clear the image loaded into Picture property.
  
  
• procedure Stop
  Stops the running transition.

KEY EVENTS

• OnAfterNewFrame: TCustomDrawEvent
  TCustomDrawEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Picture, Screen: TBitmap) of object
  This event is triggered just after creating a new frame of the transition and before drawing it on the control's client area.
  
  
• OnBeforeNewFrame: TCustomDrawEvent
  TCustomDrawEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Picture, Screen: TBitmap) of object
  This event is triggered just before creating a new frame of the transition.
  
  
• OnChange: TNotifyEvent (TPicShow only)
  Occurs when content of Picture property changed.
  
  
• OnComplete: TNotifyEvent
  Occurs just after ending the transition effect. Calling Stop method does not fire this event.
  
  
• OnProgress: TNotifyEvent
  Occurs just after drawing a frame of the transition on the client area of the control.
  
  
• OnCustomDraw: TCustomDrawEvent
  TCustomDrawEvent = procedure(Sender: TObject; Picture, Screen: TBitmap) of object
  If Style property set to 0, this event is triggered when the control needs to create a new frame of the transition. The Picture parameter is the original image and the Screen parameter is a bitmap that you should update it.
  
  
• OnMouseEnter: TNotifyEvent
  Occurs when the mouse pointer moves over the control.
  
  
• OnMouseLeave: TNotifyEvent
  Occurs when the mouse pointer moves off from over the control.
  
  
• OnAfterLoadPicture: TNotifyEvent (TDBPicShow only)
  Occurs when a new picture is loaded into the control.
  
  
• OnBeforeLoadPicture: TNotifyEvent (TDBPicShow only)
  Occurs when a new picture is being load into the control.

HISTORY

• 2.62 (December 29, 2001)
  - Support for Delphi 6.0 Added.
  - Now controls as default are windowed controls. To change them from windowed control to non-windowed control, edit PicShow.pas and remove the definition of WINCONTROL_PICSHOW compiler symbol.
  
  
• 2.61 (April 18, 2001)
  - New property StyleName added. This property is as same as Style property but uses name of the transition instead of its index (Thanks to Gray Bond).
  
  
• 2.60 (February 21, 2001)
  - Native JPEG support added to TDBPicShow (Thanks to Ken Otto)
  - OnAfterLoadPicture and OnBeforeLoadPicture added events added to TDBPicShow (Thanks to Ken Otto)
  - A memory leak bug fixed (Thanks to Ken Otto)
  
  
• 2.50 (September 7, 2000)
  - 5 new effects added; now 127 effects (Thanks to Elliott Shevin for 4 of these effects).
  - Component editor improved.
  
  
• 2.40 (June 16, 2000)
  - TDBPicShow is data-aware version of TPicShow that added to this version of the component set.
  
  
• 2.32 (June 14, 2000)
  - Since to this version, TPicShow only was a windowed control. Now, TPicShow can be a windowed or non-windowed control depending to definition of WINCONTROL_PICSHOW compiler directive.
  
  
• 2.31 (June 12, 2000)
  - OnBeforeNewFrame and OnAfterNewFrame events added.
  
  
• 2.30 (February 27, 2000)
  - Memory leak bug fixed.
  
  
• 2.20 (February 6, 2000)
  - Now, all styles can be played as reverse.
  - Reverse property added.
  - Now the value of Progress property can be manually decremented for all styles.
  - OnMouseEnter and OnMouseLeave events added
  - the parameters of OnCustomDraw event changed.
  - Some comments added to the source of demo application.
  
  

• 2.11 (February 1, 2000)
  - A minor bug fixed.
  
  

• 2.10 (January 31, 2000)
  - 5 new effects added; now 122 effects.
  - Property editors placed in a separate unit (Delphi 5 consideration).
  - Known bugs fixed.
  
  
• 2.00 (December 12, 1999)
  - Manual animation control added (Thanks to Jerry McLain for the idea).
  - Now all styles, play the image with an equal speed.
  - Stretch can keep the image aspect ratio.
  - Delay, Manual, Progress, StretchFine, and ThreadPriority properties added.
  - OnCustomDraw and OnProgress events added.
  
  
• 1.50 (November 17, 1999)
  - now Delphi 3.0 is supported.
  - Icon support added.
  
  
• 1.40 (November 16, 1999)
  - 8 new effects added; now 117 effects (Thanks to M. R. Zamani for these effects).
  - All reported bugs fixed.
  
  
• 1.30 (November 11, 1999)
  - BgMode and BgPicture properties added.
  - 32 new effects added; now 109 effects.
  - Thread management improved.
  
  
• 1.20 (November 9, 1999)
  - Empty property added.
  - OnChange event added.
  - Stop method added.
  - 30 new effects added; now 77 effects.
  - all known bugs fixed.
  
  

• 1.10 (November 6, 1999)
  - Busy property added.
  - Some bugs fixed.
  
  

• 1.00 (November 5, 1999)
  - Initial release with 47 effects.
  

LICENSE

PicShow family components are freeware. You may copy component's files AS LONG AS YOU COPY ALL OF THEM. If you want to change the source code in order to improve the components' features, performance, etc. please send me the new source code so that I can have a look at it. The changed source code should contain descriptions what you have changed, and of course your name. The only thing you MAY NOT CHANGE is the ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

DISCLAIMER

PicShow family components are provided "AS IS" without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software is with you. The author is NOT liable for any DAMAGES resulting from the use and misuse of the components, especially he is NOT liable for DAMAGES that were caused BY ANY VERSION WHICH HAS NOT BEEN PROGRAMMED BY THE AUTHOR HIMSELF.