TStyledTaskDialog Demo

Overview

This comprehensive demo showcases the TStyledTaskDialog component, demonstrating how to create modern, styled message dialogs and task dialogs with custom buttons, hyperlinks, command links, and auto-click features.

What You'll Learn

• Using TStyledTaskDialog vs. standard TTaskDialog
• Creating styled message dialogs
• Adding custom buttons and command links
• Implementing hyperlinks in messages
• Using auto-click (countdown) dialogs
• Verification checkboxes
• Expanded text sections
• Footer text
• Custom button widths and alpha blending

Dialog Types

The demo includes multiple ways to show dialogs:

1. Native Dialogs (Standard VCL)

• Native MessageDlg: Delphi's standard message dialog
• Native TaskDialog: Delphi's task dialog (Windows Vista+)
• Native ShowMessage: Simple message box

2. Styled Dialogs

• StyledMessageDlg: Styled replacement for MessageDlg
• StyledTaskDialog: Full-featured styled task dialog
• StyledShowMessage: Simple styled message

Message Dialog Functions

Simple Messages

// Standard
ShowMessage('Hello World');

// Styled
StyledShowMessage('Hello World');

Message Dialogs with Buttons

// Standard MessageDlg
if MessageDlg('Delete this item?', mtConfirmation,
  [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
  DeleteItem;

// Styled MessageDlg
if StyledMessageDlg('Delete this item?', mtConfirmation,
  [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
  DeleteItem;

Task Dialogs with Title

// Standard TaskDialog
TaskMessageDlg('Confirm Delete',
  'Are you sure you want to delete this item?',
  mtConfirmation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0);

// Styled TaskDialog
StyledTaskMessageDlg('Confirm Delete',
  'Are you sure you want to delete this item?',
  mtConfirmation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0);

Dialog Types (TMsgDlgType)

The demo shows all message types:

Type	Icon	Use Case
mtWarning	Warning	Caution messages
mtError	Error	Error notifications
mtInformation	Info	Informational messages
mtConfirmation	Question	Confirmation questions
mtCustom	None	Custom dialogs

Standard Buttons

Available button combinations:

// Single button
[mbOK]

// Yes/No
[mbYes, mbNo]

// Yes/No/Cancel
[mbYes, mbNo, mbCancel]

// OK/Cancel
[mbOK, mbCancel]

// Abort/Retry/Ignore
[mbAbort, mbRetry, mbIgnore]

// All buttons
[mbYes, mbNo, mbOK, mbCancel, mbAbort, mbRetry, mbIgnore, mbAll, mbHelp]

Default Button

Specify which button is default (Enter key):

StyledMessageDlg('Save changes?', mtConfirmation,
  [mbYes, mbNo, mbCancel], 0, mbYes);  // Yes is default

Hyperlinks in Messages

Add clickable links to dialog messages:

LMessage :=
  'The file was created: ' +
  StringToHRef('C:\Windows\System32\license.rtf', 'license.rtf') + sLineBreak +
  'You can run: ' +
  StringToHRef('C:\Windows\System32\Notepad.exe', 'Notepad Editor') + sLineBreak +
  'You can open folder: ' +
  StringToHRef('C:\Windows\System32\') + sLineBreak +
  'You can visit site: ' +
  StringToHRef('http://www.ethea.it', 'www.Ethea.it');

StyledTaskMessageDlg('File Operations', LMessage,
  mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);

Hyperlink Types

• File paths: Opens the file
• Executables: Runs the program
• Folders: Opens in Explorer
• URLs: Opens in default browser

Using TStyledTaskDialog Component

For advanced features, use the component directly:

var
  Dialog: TStyledTaskDialog;
begin
  Dialog := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
  try
    Dialog.Caption := 'Application';
    Dialog.Title := 'Confirm Action';
    Dialog.Text := 'Do you want to proceed?';
    Dialog.CommonButtons := [tcbYes, tcbNo];
    Dialog.DefaultButton := tcbYes;

    // Execute dialog
    if Dialog.Execute then
    begin
      if Dialog.ModalResult = mrYes then
        PerformAction;
    end;
  finally
    Dialog.Free;
  end;
end;

Custom Buttons

Add custom buttons with command links:

Dialog.CommonButtons := []; // Clear common buttons

// Add custom button with command link
with Dialog.Buttons.Add as TTaskDialogButtonItem do
begin
  Caption := 'Retry';
  CommandLinkHint := 'Retry the operation...';
  ModalResult := mrRetry;
  Default := True;
end;

with Dialog.Buttons.Add as TTaskDialogButtonItem do
begin
  Caption := 'Cancel';
  CommandLinkHint := 'Cancel and return...';
  ModalResult := mrCancel;
end;

// Enable command links
Dialog.Flags := Dialog.Flags + [tfUseCommandLinks];

Auto-Click Feature

Dialogs can auto-close after a delay:

// Auto-click after 5 seconds
StyledTaskDialog.AutoClickDelay := 5000;
StyledTaskDialog.AutoClick := True;

// Or use the function parameter
StyledTaskMessageDlg('Auto-closing dialog',
  'This will close in 5 seconds',
  mtInformation, [mbOK], 0, mbOK,
  5000);  // 5000ms = 5 seconds

The button background color is drawn progressively for each second of AutoClickDelay duration.

Expanded Text

Add collapsible detail text:

Dialog.ExpandedText :=
  'Technical Details:' + sLineBreak +
  'Error Code: 0x80004005' + sLineBreak +
  'Module: DataAccess.dll' + sLineBreak +
  'Function: Connect';
Dialog.ExpandButtonCaption := 'Show Details';

Footer Text

Add footer information:

Dialog.FooterText := 'For more information, visit www.example.com';
Dialog.FooterIcon := tdiInformation;

Verification Checkbox

Add a "Don't show again" option:

Dialog.VerificationText := 'Don''t show this message again';
Dialog.Flags := Dialog.Flags + [tfVerificationFlagChecked];

// Check if user checked it
if Dialog.Execute then
begin
  if tfVerificationFlagChecked in Dialog.Flags then
    SaveSetting('DontShowAgain', True);
end;

Custom Button Width

Adjust button width:

StyledTaskDialog.ButtonsWidth := 120;  // 120 pixels

Alpha Blending

Set dialog transparency:

StyledTaskDialog.AlphaBlend := True;
StyledTaskDialog.AlphaBlendValue := 240;  // 0-255 (255 = opaque)

Style Families

Choose button style family for the dialog:

InitializeStyledTaskDialogs('Bootstrap');
// Now all styled dialogs use Bootstrap buttons

InitializeStyledTaskDialogs('Angular-Light');
// Now all styled dialogs use Angular buttons

Initialization

Initialize dialog defaults in your application startup:

begin
  Application.Initialize;

  // Initialize StyledTaskDialogs with Bootstrap buttons
  InitializeStyledTaskDialogs(
    True,                    // Use title in MessageDlg
    Screen.MessageFont,      // Font to use
    False,                   // Use command links
    'Bootstrap',             // Button family
    255,                     // Alpha blend (255 = opaque)
    120,                     // Button width
    32,                      // Button height
    -1);                     // Auto-click delay (-1 = disabled)

  Application.CreateForm(TMainForm, MainForm);
  Application.Run;
end;

Error Handling

Show errors with styled dialogs:

procedure TForm.ShowError(Sender: TObject; E: Exception);
var
  LTitle: string;
begin
  LTitle := GetErrorClassNameDesc(E.ClassName,
    E is EAccessViolation);

  StyledTaskMessageDlg(LTitle, E.Message,
    mtError, [mbOK], E.HelpContext);
end;

// In FormCreate:
Application.OnException := ShowError;

Demo Features

The demo form includes:

Controls

• Dialog Type: Choose message type
• Buttons: Select which buttons to show
• Default Button: Choose default button
• Title: Set dialog title
• Message: Set dialog message text
• Caption: Set dialog window caption
• Expanded Text: Collapsible details
• Footer Text: Footer information
• Verification Text: Checkbox text
• Main Icon: Dialog icon type

Options

• Use Command Links: Enable command link buttons
• Use Title in MessageDlg: Show title in simple dialogs
• Auto Click: Enable countdown auto-close
• Auto Click Delay: Countdown duration

Test Buttons

• Native ShowMessage: Standard Windows message
• Styled ShowMessage: Styled message
• Native MessageDlg: Standard message dialog
• Styled MessageDlg: Styled message dialog
• Native TaskDialog: Standard task dialog
• Styled TaskDialog: Styled task dialog
• Use DialogComp (Native): Standard TTaskDialog component
• Use DialogComp (Styled): TStyledTaskDialog component

Advanced Examples

Progress Dialog

Dialog.Title := 'Processing...';
Dialog.Text := 'Please wait while processing';
Dialog.CommonButtons := [tcbCancel];
Dialog.Flags := Dialog.Flags + [tfShowProgressBar];
Dialog.Execute;

Radio Button Dialog

with Dialog.RadioButtons.Add do
begin
  Caption := 'Option 1';
  Enabled := True;
end;

with Dialog.RadioButtons.Add do
begin
  Caption := 'Option 2';
  Enabled := True;
end;

if Dialog.Execute then
  ShowMessage('Selected: ' + Dialog.RadioButton.Caption);

Animated Dialogs (with Skia4Delphi)

If Skia4Delphi is installed:

{$IFDEF SKIA}
StyledTaskDialog.UseAnimations := True;
{$ENDIF}

This enables Lottie animations in dialogs.

Technical Details

Source Location

Demos/source/StyledDialogDemoForm.pas

Dialog Units

• Vcl.StyledTaskDialog.pas - Main dialog component
• Vcl.StyledTaskDialogFormUnit.pas - Dialog form base
• Skia.Vcl.StyledTaskDialogAnimatedUnit.pas - Animated version (optional)

Supported Versions

All Delphi versions (XE6+)

Key Functions

Function	Description
StyledShowMessage()	Simple message
StyledMessageDlg()	Message with buttons
StyledTaskMessageDlg()	Task dialog with title
InitializeStyledTaskDialogs()	Set default options

See Also

• TStyledTaskDialog Reference - Complete technical documentation
• TStyledButton Reference - Dialog buttons