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Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme for Delphi Rio: A Guide to Modern and Elegant VCL Applications



Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme for Delphi Rio




If you are a Delphi developer who wants to create modern and beautiful applications for Windows 10, you might be interested in using the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme for Delphi Rio. This theme allows you to change the appearance of your Delphi IDE and your VCL applications according to the Windows 10 theme mode (dark or light). In this article, we will explain what are VCL Styles, what are the benefits of using them, how to apply them to your Delphi applications, and how to install and use the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme. We will also show you how to customize and create your own VCL Styles using the Bitmap Style Designer tool.




Windows 10 IDE Dark,Light VCL Style Theme for Delphi Rio



Introduction




What are VCL Styles?




VCL Styles are a feature of the Visual Component Library (VCL) that allows you to change the look and feel of your Delphi applications by applying predefined or custom themes. Similar to Windows themes, VCL Styles make it easy to radically change the appearance of your VCL applications, giving your application that extra level of polish and professionalism. You can choose from a variety of built-in styles or download additional styles from the GetIt Package Manager or from third-party sources. You can also create your own styles using the Bitmap Style Designer tool.


What are the benefits of using VCL Styles?




Using VCL Styles has many advantages for both developers and users. Some of them are:



  • VCL Styles make your applications more attractive and consistent with the latest design trends.



  • VCL Styles allow you to support different themes for different platforms, such as Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux.



  • VCL Styles enable you to adapt your applications to different user preferences, such as dark or light mode, high contrast, accessibility, etc.



  • VCL Styles improve your productivity by reducing the need to manually design and code every UI element.



  • VCL Styles simplify your maintenance by allowing you to update or change the appearance of your applications with minimal effort.



How to apply VCL Styles to your Delphi applications?




Applying VCL Styles to your Delphi applications is very easy. You just need to follow these steps:



  • In the Delphi IDE, go to Project -> Options -> Appearance.



  • Select the available styles that you want to include in your application. You can also add more styles by clicking on GetIt or Custom.



  • In the Project Manager, right-click on your project and select Add -> New -> Other -> Delphi Files -> Resource File.



  • Name the resource file as "Styles.res" and save it in the same folder as your project.



  • In the Resource Editor, right-click on an empty area and select Add -> Resource From File.



  • Browse to the folder where the style files are located (usually C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\21.0\Styles) and select one or more style files that you want to add. The style files have a ".vsf" extension.



  • Save and close the resource file.



  • In your project source code, add a line like this: $R 'Styles.res'



code>}


  • Run your application and enjoy the new style.



You can also change the style at runtime by using the TStyleManager.SetStyle method with a different style name as a parameter. You can get the list of available styles by using the TStyleManager.StyleNames property.


Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme




What is the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme?




The Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme is a custom VCL Style created by Rodrigo Ruz that allows you to change the appearance of your Delphi IDE and your VCL applications according to the Windows 10 theme mode (dark or light). This theme is compatible with Delphi Rio and later versions, and it supports high DPI and scaling. The theme consists of two styles: Windows 10 IDE Dark and Windows 10 IDE Light. The Windows 10 IDE Dark style gives your IDE and applications a dark and elegant look, while the Windows 10 IDE Light style gives them a bright and clean look. You can switch between the two styles by changing the Windows 10 theme mode in the Settings app or by using a keyboard shortcut (Windows + Ctrl + T).


How to install and use the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme?




To install and use the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme, you need to follow these steps:



  • Download the theme files from this GitHub repository: https://github.com/RRUZ/vcl-styles-plugins



  • Extract the zip file and copy the "VCLStylesinno.dll" file to the "bin" folder of your Delphi installation (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\21.0\bin).



  • Copy the "Windows10 Dark.vsf" and "Windows10 Light.vsf" files to the "Styles" folder of your Delphi installation (usually C:\Users\Public\Documents\Embarcadero\Studio\21.0\Styles).



  • Run the Delphi IDE and go to Tools -> Options -> User Interface -> Form Designer.



  • Select "VCLStylesinno.dll" as the Embedded Designer option and click OK.



  • Restart the Delphi IDE and enjoy the new theme.



To use the theme for your VCL applications, you need to follow the same steps as described in the previous section on how to apply VCL Styles to your Delphi applications. Just make sure to select either "Windows10 Dark" or "Windows10 Light" as the style name.


How to customize and create your own VCL Styles?




If you want to customize or create your own VCL Styles, you can use the Bitmap Style Designer tool that comes with Delphi. This tool allows you to edit or create bitmap-based styles for your VCL applications. You can access this tool by going to Tools -> Bitmap Style Designer in the Delphi IDE. The Bitmap Style Designer has a graphical user interface that lets you modify or create various elements of a style, such as colors, fonts, images, borders, margins, etc. You can also preview your changes in real time and save your style as a ".vsf" file. For more information on how to use this tool, you can refer to this documentation: http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Rio/en/Bitmap_Style_Designer


Conclusion




Summary of the main points




In this article, we have learned what are VCL Styles, what are the benefits of using them, how to apply them to your Delphi applications, and how to install and use the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme. We have also learned how to customize and create your own VCL Styles using the Bitmap Style Designer tool. By using VCL Styles, you can make your Delphi applications more attractive and consistent with the latest design trends.


Call to action and resources




If you are interested in learning more about VCL Styles and how to use them effectively, you can check out these resources:



  • http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/Rio/en/VCL_Styles_Overview: This is the official documentation on VCL Styles from Embarcadero.



li>https://github.com/RRUZ/vcl-styles-plugins: This is the GitHub repository where you can find the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme and other plugins for VCL Styles.


  • https://www.delphistyles.com/: This is a website where you can buy or download premium VCL Styles for your Delphi applications.



  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wX4Y7W0LZo: This is a video tutorial on how to use VCL Styles in Delphi by Alister Christie.



We hope you have enjoyed this article and learned something new. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. And if you liked this article, please share it with your friends and colleagues who might be interested in Delphi development. Thank you for reading!


FAQs




Q: What is the difference between VCL Styles and FireMonkey Styles?




A: VCL Styles are for VCL applications, which are Windows-only applications that use the native Windows controls and APIs. FireMonkey Styles are for FireMonkey applications, which are cross-platform applications that use custom-drawn controls and graphics. FireMonkey Styles are not compatible with VCL Styles and vice versa.


Q: How can I disable VCL Styles for some controls or forms?




A: You can disable VCL Styles for some controls or forms by setting their StyleElements property to an empty set. For example, Button1.StyleElements := []; will disable VCL Styles for Button1.


Q: How can I change the color of a specific element in a VCL Style?




A: You can change the color of a specific element in a VCL Style by using the TStyleManager.SetSystemColor method. For example, TStyleManager.SetSystemColor(clBtnFace, clRed); will change the color of the button face to red. You can also use the TStyleManager.SystemColor property to get or set the system colors as a whole.


Q: How can I make my VCL application support high DPI and scaling?




A: You can make your VCL application support high DPI and scaling by enabling the PerMonitorV2 manifest option in your project options. This option will make your application aware of the DPI and scaling settings of each monitor and adjust accordingly. You also need to use VCL Styles that support high DPI and scaling, such as the Windows 10 IDE Dark, Light VCL Style Theme.


Q: How can I debug or troubleshoot issues with VCL Styles?




A: You can debug or troubleshoot issues with VCL Styles by using the TStyleManager.IsCustomStyleActive property to check if a custom style is active, the TStyleManager.ActiveStyle property to get the name of the active style, and the TStyleManager.LoadFromFile method to load a style from a file. You can also use the TStyleManager.OnStyleChanged event to handle style changes at runtime. dcd2dc6462


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