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 Dr.Bob's Convert2 - Delphi 3-to-2.x Form Conversion
See Also: Dr.Bob's Convert 3 to convert Delphi 4.x Forms to Delphi 3.x

For those of you who made some stuff in Delphi 3 already, but need to port it down to Delphi 2: note that there are several new VCL components in Delphi 3. And that's not all: there are also new properties added to existing components, such as ImeName and ImeMode to TEdit, and CharSet to TFont (and hence also as subproperty of the TForm component).

I've written a little command-line utility CONVERT2.ZIP (116,615 bytes) to strip those Delphi 3 properties from all your forms, so you can recompile them using Delphi 2 again (note: you need CONVERT3 if you want to downgrade Delphi 4 Forms). The utility now works directly with ".DFM" files (and accepts wildcards such as "*.DFM"), so no need to run Borland's CONVERT anymore. It leaves a ".TXT" and ".BAK" file behind. The ".BAK" is the ".TXT" but with the Delphi 3 properties included (which are also removed from the original ".DFM" file).
Of course, you should always make a backup of your original program before running CONVERT2.EXE. This utility works for me, it's free to use by anyone, but I will not be held responsible for any damage or loss of data.

Usage: convert2.exe delphi3.dfm
where delphi3.dfm is a Delphi 3 Form (may contain wildcards)

For an overview of the 78 new components: convert2.exe /?
For new properties for a specific component: convert2.exe /? classname

There are 78 new VCL components in Delphi 3, and 869 new properties in total. The new VCL components are as follows (output from convert2.exe):

And I didn't even include the new internet components that come with Delphi 3!

Oh yes, CONVERT2.EXE also sets the Scaled property of each TForm component to False...


Convert2 is freeware, provided as-is, but use at your own risk (I cannot be held responsible for anything that goes wrong while using this tool), but I'm open to feedback, suggestions and other comments by e-mail to info@eBob42.com.
This webpage © 1995-2009 by Bob Swart (aka Dr.Bob - www.drbob42.com). All Rights Reserved.