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I just upgraded to 10.2.3 (Tokyo) from Seattle on a laptop running Windows 10. I use & need some Scalabium components (by Mike Shkolnik) and have attempted to install the latest version from the downloaded .pas files - which are 10.2.3-compatible. I've had no trouble last time I installed those components for Seattle, but I do it only every few years.

I think that I have installed that package - the components show up in the IDE - but with some wrinkles: I must have done something wrong.

Here are the symptoms:

  1. When I start Delphi, all icons show on all IDE component tabs on the Component toolbar. All's good. [see first screen capture] [First image - initial look]1

  2. When I open my project (from the Startup Layout), my code appears OK, then there is a 1-2 second wait, then ALL icons, from ALL component tabs - disappear, not just from the SMComponents tab. Gone.[see second screen capture]
    Second image - icons have disappeared

  3. With my project still open, if I click again on Tools > Options > Component Toolbar, two things happen [see third screen capture]:

    • A> The Tools > Options > Component Toolbar pop-up contains all the correct icons for all the components of all tabs (pages) - no change there.

    • B> However, behind it, on the IDE, all the icons are back, in all the tabs, not just the SMComponents tab! It's a miracle! Third image - the IDE Icons have re-appeared

  4. When I close the Options window, the IDE icons disappear again - we're back to the second picture above. Quite counter-productive.

Any suggestions on what might cause this (probably something I clobbered...) would be welcome.

Thanks!

Jack N.
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  • What happens if you make a form active in the IDE instead of a code editor window? Do the components come back? – Ken White May 28 '18 at 23:55
  • I assume that you mean hitting F12 (switch from code to form layout). I just did that, and the icons came back! My hopes are that this suggests an approach that might restore normal conditions... – Jack N. May 29 '18 at 21:00
  • It just confirms what I suspected. The IDE component palette is context-sensitive depending on what you're doing, and only shows the items that are applicable in that context. When you're designing a form, all components are visible. When you're in design view on a datamodule, only non-visual components are available (as visual components can't be placed in a datamodule). When you're in the code editor, nothing is available (in the old palette layout) because you can't drop components into the code editor. (The new palette layout is different; it will display items from File->New.) – Ken White May 29 '18 at 22:40
  • (continued) So what you're seeing are *normal conditions*; the IDE is working exactly as it was designed to work. – Ken White May 29 '18 at 22:41
  • Thanks Ken - indeed, the icons are shown or hidden based on the type of unit being worked on - i.e. a DataModule has only icons that pertain to data access. I ran some additional tests and it seems that in my case, the IDE keeps the icons even when the focus is on a non-visual unit - say a Class definition unit. I have been using Delphi since release 3 (!) but have never observed this odd behaviour before. At least now I can actually resume work. I'll post here if something additional crops up. Thanks for your suggestion and advice! – Jack N. May 30 '18 at 15:23
  • This was a change made several years ago (XE, maybe?). I find occasional third-party components that seem to confuse the IDE, and that may be what you're experiencing. I don't see it as an issue, personally; if the component isn't going to be available for use, there's not much reason to display it on the palette. With the new palette layout (instead of the old one you're using), it's pretty handy to narrow the search when you're working in a non-form context (a datamodule, for instance). – Ken White May 30 '18 at 22:26
  • Thanks Ken. I have found that the principles and process of components and packages aren't explained well anywhere. The information I have found (on various sites & documents) never define the terms and concepts; they just jump in with jargon - so you'd understand what is being said **if** you already know it - which isn't too productive. Anyway, I got it working but dread the next time I have to do this yet again. I would appreciate it if you could point me to places where this is explained well - I'd like to understand this better. – Jack N. Jun 01 '18 at 14:37
  • http://docwiki.embarcadero.com/RADStudio/en/Working_with_Packages_and_Components_Index – Ken White Jun 05 '18 at 12:46

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