As I work with multiple Delphi versions on the same computer it happens frequently that I simply double click on a project and the wrong IDE starts. It then either tells me that the .dproj file format is invalid (if it was created with a later version) or it updates an older file format to the format which that IDE uses.
While I solved this problem for projects which only get compiled with a particular Delphi version by using a batch file, this fails when a project is in the process of being migrated to a new version. In that case there will be one .dpr file and two or more .dproj files for that project. e.g.
- myproject.dpr
- myproject.2007.dproj
- myproject.xe2.dproj
- myproject.10-3.dproj
Where the suffix tells me which Delphi version to use. It is actually a nice feature of the IDE that there can be multiple .dproj files for a given .dpr file.
Unfortunately there is no easy way to just double click on one of the .dproj files to open it in the correct IDE.
Enter dzBdsLauncher:
It’s a simple tool that I register as the default program for .dproj files. It checks the file name passed to it for a suffix, and automatically starts the correct IDE for it.
It reads the executable name of the installed bds.exe from the registry, so it does not need any configuration.
It does not work if there is no suffix. In that case, you simply double click the .dpr file instead of the .dproj file. If I find the time I will enhance it to check the .dproj file for the Delphi version that created it and start the correct IDE based on that. Unfortunately this is more complex than you’d think.