Title: The Loaded function
Question: The constructor 'Create' can not be used in many cases for certain actions
because its fired when a component is dropped into a form. In some cases you
might want to do something inside the compone
Answer:
A typical scenario is that all properties are set at runtime via the object-
inspector and when the application is started - the component does
automatically its job.
This is done with the Loaded function !
After a component reads all its property values from its stored description, it
calls a virtual method called Loaded, which provides a chance to perform any
initializations that might be required.
TMyComponent = class(TComponent)
private
protected
procedure Loaded; override;
public
published
end;
...
procedure TMyComponent.Loaded;
begin
inherited;
if (not (csDesigning in ComponentState)) then
begin
// do some things
end;
end;
This is also very usefull to implement a copy protection for components
(within the dcu-file).