TStyledTaskDialog - Technical Reference

Overview

TStyledTaskDialog is an advanced task dialog component that replaces MessageDlg and TaskDialog with fully customizable dialogs featuring styled buttons and optional animations.

Class Hierarchy

TComponent
  └─ TCustomTaskDialog
      └─ TStyledTaskDialog

Unit

Vcl.StyledTaskDialog

Description

TStyledTaskDialog provides a modern, fully customizable alternative to standard Windows dialogs. It supports styled buttons, custom icons, animations (via Skia4Delphi), progress bars, command links, radio buttons, verification checkboxes, and much more.

Key Features

• Styled buttons: Full StyleFamily/Class/Appearance support
• Custom icons: ImageList or animated icons (Lottie files via Skia4Delphi)
• Progress bar: Determinate or marquee progress indicators
• Command links: Large clickable areas with descriptions
• Radio buttons: Multiple-choice options
• Verification checkbox: "Don't show this again" option
• Expandable content: Collapsible additional information
• Footer: Optional footer area with text and icon
• Auto-click: Automatic button click after delay
• Full customization: Complete control over appearance

Main Properties

Dialog Content

Property	Type	Description
Title	String	Dialog title/caption
Text	String	Main message text
ExpandedText	String	Additional expandable information
ExpandButtonCaption	String	Caption for expand button
FooterText	String	Footer text
VerificationText	String	Verification checkbox text

Icons

Property	Type	Description
MainIcon	TTaskDialogIcon	Main icon (tdiNone, tdiWarning, tdiError, tdiInformation, tdiShield, tdiQuestion)
CustomMainIcon	TIcon	Custom icon instead of standard
FooterIcon	TTaskDialogIcon	Footer icon
MainIconSize	Integer	Size of main icon

Buttons

Property	Type	Description
CommonButtons	TTaskDialogCommonButtons	Standard buttons ([tcbOk, tcbYes, tcbNo, tcbCancel, tcbRetry, tcbClose])
CustomButtons	TTaskDialogButtons	Custom button collection
DefaultButton	TTaskDialogCommonButton	Which button is default
DialogButtonsFamily	TStyledButtonFamily	Style family for buttons

Style Properties

Property	Type	Description
UseTitleInMessageDlg	Boolean	Show title in simple message dialogs
UseCommandLinks	Boolean	Use command link style for buttons
AlphaBlendValue	Byte	Dialog transparency (0-255)

Progress Bar

Property	Type	Description
ProgressBar.Min	Integer	Minimum progress value
ProgressBar.Max	Integer	Maximum progress value
ProgressBar.Position	Integer	Current progress position
ProgressBar.State	TProgressBarState	State (pbsNormal, pbsError, pbsPaused)
ProgressBar.Style	TProgressBarStyle	Style (pbstNormal, pbstMarquee)

Radio Buttons

Property	Type	Description
RadioButtons	TTaskDialogButtons	Radio button options
DefaultRadioButton	Integer	Default selected radio button

Animations (Skia4Delphi)

Property	Type	Description
UseAnimations	Boolean	Enable Lottie animations for icons
UseAnimationLoop	Boolean	Loop animation continuously
UseAnimationInverse	Boolean	Play animation in reverse

Auto-Click

Property	Type	Description
AutoClick	Boolean	Automatically click button after delay
AutoClickDelay	Integer	Delay before auto-click (milliseconds)

Behavior

Property	Type	Description
Flags	TTaskDialogFlags	Dialog behavior flags
Position	TPoint	Custom dialog position
HideSystemCloseButton	Boolean	Hide X button in title bar

Events

Event	Description
OnDialogCreated	Dialog form created (before shown)
OnDialogShow	Dialog is being shown
OnDialogConstructed	Dialog constructed (after shown)
OnDialogDestroyed	Dialog closed and destroyed
OnButtonClicked	Button clicked (can cancel)
OnHyperlinkClicked	Hyperlink in text clicked
OnRadioButtonClicked	Radio button selected
OnVerificationClicked	Verification checkbox clicked
OnExpanded	Expandable content shown/hidden

Usage Examples

Simple Message Dialog

uses
  Vcl.StyledTaskDialog;

begin
  StyledMessageDlg('File saved successfully!', mtInformation, [mbOK], 0);
end;

Confirmation Dialog

var
  Dlg: TStyledTaskDialog;
begin
  Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
  try
    Dlg.Title := 'Confirm Delete';
    Dlg.Text := 'Are you sure you want to delete this file?';
    Dlg.MainIcon := tdiWarning;
    Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbYes, tcbNo];
    Dlg.DefaultButton := tcbNo;
    Dlg.DialogButtonsFamily := BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY;

    if Dlg.Execute then
      if Dlg.ModalResult = mrYes then
        DeleteFile(FileName);
  finally
    Dlg.Free;
  end;
end;

Dialog with Custom Buttons

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Choose Action';
  Dlg.Text := 'What would you like to do?';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiInformation;

  with Dlg.CustomButtons.Add do
  begin
    Caption := 'Save and Continue';
    ModalResult := 100;
  end;

  with Dlg.CustomButtons.Add do
  begin
    Caption := 'Discard Changes';
    ModalResult := 101;
  end;

  Dlg.DialogButtonsFamily := BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY;

  if Dlg.Execute then
    case Dlg.ModalResult of
      100: SaveAndContinue;
      101: DiscardChanges;
    end;
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Dialog with Progress Bar

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Processing';
  Dlg.Text := 'Please wait while files are being processed...';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiInformation;
  Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbCancel];
  Dlg.ProgressBar.Style := pbstMarquee;  // Indeterminate progress

  Dlg.Execute;
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Dialog with Radio Buttons

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Choose Format';
  Dlg.Text := 'Select export format:';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiQuestion;
  Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbOk, tcbCancel];

  Dlg.RadioButtons.Add.Caption := 'PDF Document';
  Dlg.RadioButtons.Add.Caption := 'Excel Spreadsheet';
  Dlg.RadioButtons.Add.Caption := 'Word Document';
  Dlg.DefaultRadioButton := 0;

  if Dlg.Execute and (Dlg.ModalResult = mrOk) then
    case Dlg.RadioButton.ID of
      0: ExportToPDF;
      1: ExportToExcel;
      2: ExportToWord;
    end;
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Dialog with Verification Checkbox

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Important Information';
  Dlg.Text := 'This is an important message.';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiInformation;
  Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbOk];
  Dlg.VerificationText := 'Don''t show this message again';

  Dlg.Execute;

  if tfVerificationFlagChecked in Dlg.Flags then
    // Save preference not to show again
    SaveSetting('ShowImportantMessage', False);
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Dialog with Expandable Content

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Error Occurred';
  Dlg.Text := 'An error occurred while processing your request.';
  Dlg.ExpandedText := 'Technical details:' + #13#10 + ExceptionMessage;
  Dlg.ExpandButtonCaption := 'Show Details';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiError;
  Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbOk];

  Dlg.Execute;
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Auto-Close Dialog

Dlg := TStyledTaskDialog.Create(Self);
try
  Dlg.Title := 'Operation Complete';
  Dlg.Text := 'This dialog will close automatically in 5 seconds.';
  Dlg.MainIcon := tdiInformation;
  Dlg.CommonButtons := [tcbOk];
  Dlg.AutoClick := True;
  Dlg.AutoClickDelay := 5000;

  Dlg.Execute;
finally
  Dlg.Free;
end;

Global Dialog Configuration

// In project DPR file
uses
  Vcl.StyledButton, Vcl.ButtonStylesAttributes, Vcl.StyledTaskDialog;

begin
  Application.Initialize;

  // Set default button style
  TStyledButton.RegisterDefaultRenderingStyle(
    btRounded,
    BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY,
    btn_primary,
    BOOTSTRAP_NORMAL
  );

  // Initialize styled dialogs with font and button family
  InitializeStyledTaskDialogs(
    True,                  // Use styled dialogs
    Screen.MessageFont,    // Dialog font
    BOOTSTRAP_FAMILY       // Button family
  );

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

Helper Functions

StyledMessageDlg

Replacement for MessageDlg:

function StyledMessageDlg(const Msg: string; DlgType: TMsgDlgType;
  Buttons: TMsgDlgButtons; HelpCtx: Longint): Integer;

StyledTaskMessageDlg

Alternative task dialog function:

function StyledTaskMessageDlg(const Title, Msg: string; DlgType: TMsgDlgType;
  Buttons: TMsgDlgButtons; HelpCtx: Longint): Integer;

InitializeStyledTaskDialogs

Configure global dialog settings:

procedure InitializeStyledTaskDialogs(
  AUseStyledDialogs: Boolean;
  ADialogFont: TFont;
  ADialogButtonsFamily: TStyledButtonFamily);

Important Notes

• Replaces MessageDlg: Use StyledMessageDlg instead of MessageDlg
• Animations: Require Skia4Delphi for Lottie animation support
• Custom Forms: Can use custom dialog forms via TStyledTaskDialogForm
• DPI Aware: Automatically scales with DPI changes
• Modal Result: Returns standard modal results (mrOk, mrCancel, etc.) or custom values

See Also

• TStyledButton - Styled button used in dialogs
• AutoClick Guide - Auto-click feature documentation