Free Components Package

The Free Components package contains several utility components, units, and functions for Delphi. The package is provided as-is, and can be used and distributed freely. For more information, see the Readme.txt file included in the package ZIP file. Download now...

New - the NTCpuTim unit (not included in the package) lets you retrieve CPU usage information. Download NTCpuTim.zip.

Notes

The code has been tested under Delphi 7.0. Previous versions are not currently supported, but most of the code should run on Delphi version 3.0 or higher.
The ZIP file includes the source for a runtime package (SPFree.dpk) and a design-time package (SPFDsn.dpk). These packages were built using Delphi 7.0. In other versions of Delphi, simply create two packages. The only files that should be included in the design-time package are SPFReg.pas and SPFReg.dcr. All other files should be placed in a runtime-only package.

Package Contents

Components

	TSPClipboardMonitor - Monitors the clipboard and fires an event when the content of the clipboard changes.
	TSPMailSlot - A wrapper around the Win32 mailslot object. The component allows interprocess and networked communication using mailslots.
	TSPAppInfo - Provides easy access to application version information.
	TSPNetworkBrowser - A component that browses network resources, such as computers, shares, and printers.
	TSPComputerList - This component extends the browsing capabilities of TSPNetworkBrowser and returns a list of computers on the network, including server information, such as the server operating system. The code works on both Windows 95/98-type systems and NT-class machines, which use a different networking library.
	TSPCompComboBox - A combo box that uses TSPComputerList to let the user select a computer. The search for computers runs as a background thread, so users can move on without waiting for the lengthy browse process to finish.

Classes and Functions

	TInstanceManager class - Use this class to allow just a single instance of your application to run. When the user tries to activate a new instance, the original instance is notified, and the new instance's command line is passed to the old instance.
	GetSummaryInformation function - Reads summary information from OLE documents (such as those produce by Microsoft Office applications).
	GetFileContentsFromIFilter function - This function reads the contents of files using the indexing service's filter implementation. The indexing service is installed on Windows 2000/XP machines (and NT machines running the Option Pack). This function lets you read the contents of a variety of files recognized by the indexing service without knowing the internal file format. An ActiveX DLL implemeting this function is also available here.