TStyledCategoryButtons - Technical Reference

Overview

TStyledCategoryButtons extends TCategoryButtons with styled button rendering and additional layout options for categorized button lists.

Class Hierarchy

TWinControl
  └─ TCategoryButtons
      └─ TStyledCategoryButtons

Unit

Vcl.StyledCategoryButtons

Description

TStyledCategoryButtons maintains full compatibility with TCategoryButtons while adding modern styling capabilities, image positioning options, caption alignment, and per-item and per-category style customization.

Key Features

• Full TCategoryButtons compatibility: All standard properties and events
• Categorized buttons: Organize buttons into collapsible categories
• Styled button items: StyleFamily/Class/Appearance for each item
• Flexible image positioning: Left, Right, Top, Bottom, Center
• Caption alignment: Left, Center, Right
• Flat appearance option: Modern flat button style
• Per-item and per-category styling: Custom styles
• Notification badges: Badge support for button items

Main Properties

Layout Properties

Property	Type	Description
ButtonOptions	TCategoryButtonOptions	Layout options (boFullSize, boShowCaptions, boBoldCaptions, boUsePlusMinus, boCaptionLeftAlign)
ButtonFlow	TCategoryButtonFlow	Button flow (cbfVertical, cbfHorizontal)
ButtonWidth	Integer	Width of buttons
ButtonHeight	Integer	Height of buttons
ImagePosition	TStyledImagePosition	Image position relative to caption
CaptionAlignment	TStyledCaptionAlignment	Caption alignment
Flat	Boolean	Flat button appearance

Styling Properties

Property	Type	Description
StyleFamily	TStyledButtonFamily	Default style family for all items
StyleClass	TStyledButtonClass	Default style class for all items
StyleAppearance	TStyledButtonAppearance	Default appearance for all items
StyleDrawType	TStyledButtonDrawType	Button shape
StyleRadius	Integer	Corner radius

Categories and Items

Property	Type	Description
Categories	TButtonCategories	Collection of button categories
SelectedItem	TButtonItem	Currently selected button item
Images	TCustomImageList	ImageList for button icons

TButtonCategory Properties

Each category can have:

Property	Type	Description
Caption	String	Category caption
Collapsed	Boolean	Category collapsed/expanded state
Items	TButtonItems	Button items in this category

TButtonItem Properties

Each button item can have:

Property	Type	Description
Caption	String	Button caption
ImageIndex	TImageIndex	Image index
Hint	String	Hint text
Enabled	Boolean	Enable/disable item
StyleFamily	TStyledButtonFamily	Override default style family
StyleClass	TStyledButtonClass	Override default style class
StyleAppearance	TStyledButtonAppearance	Override default appearance
NotificationBadge	TNotificationBadgeAttributes	Badge configuration

Usage Examples

Basic CategoryButtons

var
  CatButtons: TStyledCategoryButtons;
  Cat: TButtonCategory;
  Item: TButtonItem;
begin
  CatButtons := TStyledCategoryButtons.CreateStyled(Self,
    BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY,
    btn_primary,
    BOOTSTRAP_NORMAL);
  CatButtons.Parent := Self;
  CatButtons.Align := alLeft;

  Cat := CatButtons.Categories.Add;
  Cat.Caption := 'File Operations';

  Item := Cat.Items.Add;
  Item.Caption := 'Open';
  Item.ImageIndex := 0;
end;

CategoryButtons with Image Positioning

CatButtons := TStyledCategoryButtons.CreateStyled(Self,
  ANGULAR_LIGHT_FAMILY,
  acl_primary,
  ANGULAR_RAISED);
CatButtons.Parent := Self;
CatButtons.ImagePosition := sipImageLeft;
CatButtons.CaptionAlignment := scaLeft;
CatButtons.ButtonHeight := 40;

Per-Item Styling

CatButtons := TStyledCategoryButtons.CreateStyled(Self,
  BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY,
  btn_secondary,
  BOOTSTRAP_NORMAL);

// Customize specific items
Cat := CatButtons.Categories[0];
Cat.Items[0].StyleClass := btn_primary;
Cat.Items[1].StyleClass := btn_success;
Cat.Items[2].StyleClass := btn_danger;

See Also

• TStyledButtonGroup - Simple button group
• TStyledToolbar - Toolbar component