GExperts 1.3.14 experimental twm 2019-09-08 released

I just released GExperts 1.3.14 for all supported Delphi versions.

Apart from the bug fixes to the source code formatter there are the following changes:

  • Export and Import entries for the Tools menu (blog post)
  • Copy and paste for Delphi Tool menu entries (blog post)
  • The Uses Clause Manager builds its list of identifiers in the background so it should now take less than a second to display the identifier list.
  • Since Delphi XE3 and later no longer allow creating components with subcomponents (the OTAPI function for that crashes – bug report here), GExperts no longer supports these components in the Replace Components expert.
  • The Delphi Tool Properties dialog now gets resized so the list of macros can be displayed without scrolling.
  • Added incremental search to Code Proofreader dictionary
  • Keep StringGrid selection visible when focusing other controls in the Rename Components configuration dialog. (Patch by Achim Kalwa)
  • Fix for bug #129 The “Other Properties” list in the Rename Components Configuration is not saved if the list is empty. (Patch by Achim Kalwa)
  • New “Focus Code Editor” expert, provides a keyboard shortcut Shift+F6 to focus the code editor window.
  • Improved output in the Keyboard Shortcuts window: Modifier keys are shown in a separate column. The list can be sorted by clicking on the title column.
  • Workaround for bug #127: Open File now always sets the focus to the code editor when a file was opened.
  • Separate configuration dialog for printing in class browser moved to a new tab in the standard configuration dialog
  • Moved the “Parse map file” option to the main search dialog of Grep
  • Fix for bug #124: Error while installing multiple design packages
  • Partial bugfix for Grep search in form files (bug #120): If multiline search is *not* active, no matches are found. Not sure this fixes the problem that is originally reported in #120 since I was never able to reproduce the problem.
  • Also add a size grip to the GExperts configuration dialog (Patch by Achim Kalwa)
  • Unfold source at found position for Previous / Next identifier editor expert
  • Unfold source when jumping to code editor from procedure list
  • More flexible Convert Strings expert
  • Lots of small improvements to the code base that are not visible to the user.

Please note that the naming scheme has changed. The files are now called GX<DelphiVersion>_<GExpertsVersion>_experimental_twm_<date>.exe. where the GExperts version is now fully spelled out as 1.3.14 rather than 1.3E.

There is also one change that some of you might not like:
I was getting lots of emails containing feature requests and bug reports that were sent via the bug report / feature request dialog in GExperts. Since I usually don’t have the time to immediately attend to them they tend to accumulate in my inbox and clutter it until I find the time to wade through them and usually create a feature request or bug report on SourceForge. This process is not only time consuming but also error prone.

I prefer to work on the actual program rather than being my own secretary. So, from now on the the dialog mentioned above links to the appropriate page on SourceForge instead.

Yes, that means I expect my users who want some bug to be fixed or a feature added to invest the effort to:

  • Create an account on SourceForge if they don’t have one.
  • Write a detailed bug report / feature request, including screen shots if that’s helpful.
  • Answer any questions that might arise from these reports via SourceForge.

If you don’t like this, think about your attitude. You are getting this tool for free after all and nobody forces you to use it. (Yes, I have received some rather disturbing emails when I asked people to file a bug report on SourceForge instead of sending them to me or posting them in some forums. Please remember: I don’t get paid for my work on GExperts, you are not my customers, therefore I don’t need to be “service minded” as somebody called it.)

The new version is available for download on the GExperts download page.