I have been using the TRichView RTF editor in C++ Builder XE. I needed PDF creation for my project, and had been planning to use the Gnostice eDocEngine product, which has a component for exporting from TRichView. However, the Gnostice eDocEngine installation failed for both the TRichView and THtmlViewer components.
I considered other PDF creation libraries mentioned on the TRichView website. However, the llionsoft product does not work with amy versions of C++ Builder since 2006 (according to their website), and the wPDF license prohibits sending PDF files created by it over the Internet (and one of the important functions of my program is emailing the .pdf’s created). Thus, since I would not be able to email the .pdf’s created by wPDF, that license was unacceptible. Gnostice has a much better license.
In reviewing the error message, it appeared that the Gnostice component was not finding the TRichView component, because TRichView was installed into C++ Builder rather than into Delphi.
The solution was to install TRichView into Delphi, so that Gnostice could find it, but so that C++ Builder could also use it. Sergey Tkachenko (the author of TRichView) helpfully provided this info to do that:
Well, there is a way for installing a Delphi package both for Delphi and C++Builder.
How to do it
1) Uninstall all RichView-related C++Bulder packages. Delete all RichView-related obj hpp and dcu files.
2) Open RVPkgDXE.dproj, right click in the Project Manager, choose “Options”.
In the Options dialog, choose Build configuration (combobox)=”Base”. On the page Delphi Compiler | Output – C/C++, choose C/C++ Output file generation = Generate all C++Builder files. OK to close the dialog. Save the package and install.
Repeat for all RichView packages.
3) In all your projects, change references from RVPkgCBXE to RVPkgDXE and so on.Differences from the old approach:
- HPP files are not placed in the same directory as pas-files, they are placed in $(BDSCOMMONDIR)hpp (such as Documents and SettingsAll UsersRad Studio8.0hpp)
- OBJ files are not created. Instead, they are assempled in LIB file placed in $(BDSCOMMONDIR)Dcp (such as RVPkgDXE.lib)
In the final point, once you do this, you will have to add the TRichView .lib files into the project manually, since C++ Builder will no longer do that. That’s inconvenient, but not a deal-killer.
The Gnostice eDocEngine installation for TRichView only works when TRichView is installed in Delphi. Thus, I had to uninstall and reinstall the entire TRichView stack.
I had to remove all of the .bpl, .hpp, etc. files so they wouldn’t be found, and everything installed into C++ Builder was uninstalled using Components / Install
Then, reinstall the entire stack into Delphi, but for each component, be sure to set the ‘Create All C++ Files’ for each one. That creates the .hpp files, etc. in the /Users/Public/Documents/RadStudio/8.0 (for XE) folders.
Most components will require the previously-installed and used components put into the Requires portion of the project. You will know that is needed because, on installation (or sometimes use) you will get an error that a component cannot be installed because it contains a unit that is also used by another component. When you get that error, it means you have to go back and add the other component (which was compiled first) into the required section of the new, later component.
Ultimately, it was possible to install the TRichView eDocEngine connector by installing into Delphi first, and then into C++ Builder (it didn’t work when installing into Delphi and C++ Builder at the same time)
FastReport connectors installed without problem. I could not get the THtmlViewer connector to install using the automatic installation program, but it did install using the same technique — install into Delphi, creating the C++ Builder files. The installation program produces a log file (which is named by the installation program when it fails).
The THtmlViewer component installation program failed. The manual installation went as follows:
Build the gtHtmlVwExpD15.dproj project first. It does not install, and the context menu in Delphi does not offer an Install option. Then, build and then install DCLgtHtmlVwExpD15.dproj . Having created the C++ Builder files, the HTMLViewer connector for eDocEngine worked.
Obviously, this will only work if you have RAD Studio rather than just C++ Builder.
The same technique worked for the DevExpress ExpressPrinting component. The automated install failed because it requires (in the literal sense) the Delphi-only version of the DevExpress libraries. However, I was able to get a manual install to work by first loading the gtXPressExpD15.dproj project (from the Source folder of the eDocEngine installation) into Rad Studio. I changed the project to Activate the Release build, and to create all C++ files. However, the build failed because of the requirement for the Delphi-only library. I therefore removed the reference to that library, and added a reference to dxPSCoreRS15.dcp from the DevExpress Library folder. The build then succeeded. Then, I loaded the DCLgtXPressExpD15.dproj project, activated the Release build, changed the project options to create the C++ files (no need to change the requires), and the Build and then Install succeeded, and I was able to use the component in my Delphi and C++ Builder projects.
For the PDFToolkit (starting with 3), the installation went OK, but compiling a program with a TgtPDFViewer component fails with a slew of link errors, starting with “Unresolved external ‘GdipCloneMatrix’ referenced from c: . . . GTPDF32DXE.LIB . Goolging those functions reveal that they are part of the GDI library. The solution was to add the gdiplus.lib library into the project. That file is in the C:Program Files (x86)EmbarcaderoRAD Studio8.0libwin32releasepsdk folder. Right click on the project, select Add. . ., and pick that file to add to the project. Then, it will compile and run.
As of this writing, the PDFToolkit version 4 installation program does not work. It includes the gtPDFViewer.hpp file, which tries to include files such as System.SysUtils.hpp, System.Classes.hpp, and Vcl.Controls.hpp. None of those files exist. Of course, there are files such as SysUtils.hpp, Classes.hpp, Controls.hpp, and Forms.hpp, and includes for those files would work. However, PDFTooklit version 3 does install correctly.
Update Dec 8, 2011: PDFToolkit version 4 (4.0.1.105) does the same thing when installed in both C++ Builder XE and C++ Builder XE2, becauses the XE2 installation causes an extra include of the XE2 files EVEN IN XE PROJECTS. The workaround is not to install the XE2 version, only the XE version. Then, the file compiles, but the link still fails. According to an email from Gnostice:
Please add the following lib’s into your project before building the Project
(PDF toolkit installation path)PDFtoolkit VCLLibRADXEgtPDFkitDXEProP.lib
(PDF toolkit Installation path)SharedLibRADXEcbcrypt32.lib
(PDF toolkit Installation path)SharedLibRADXEcbgdiplus.lib
(PDF toolkit Installation path)SharedLibRADXEfreetype2.lib
(PDF toolkit Installation path)SharedLibRADXEgtPDF32DXE.lib
(PDF toolkit Installation path)SharedLibRADXEgtusp.lib
With those changes, a project using the PDF Toolkit 4 compiles and links. Hopefully they will come up with a fix for the install problem before my other libraries are ready for use with XE2.