The "Hidden Features" series here on StackOverflow has generated some really interesting feedback. So what about my favorite IDE, Delphi? What are some hidden features there?
I'll start with one of my own:
You can invoke inline find by typing Ctrl+E, then typing your search term.
CTRL + Shift + C generates method header from body description and vice-versa.
CTRL + Shift + Space gives a hint with method signature when editing a method call
Ctrl-Shift + Up/Down jumps between declaration and implementation of a routine
Ctrl-Alt + Up/Down performs a word search on the symbol that the cursor is currently located on
(EDIT: not entirely correct it seems, I think it comes from GExperts - without it, this shortcut will navigate to the next/previous function/method body)
declaring a typed constant inside a routine will actually act like a static variable with local scope, e.g.:
{$WRITEABLECONST ON}
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
const
i: Integer = 0;
begin
Inc(i);
ShowMessageFmt('You clicked me %d times!', [i]);
end;
Ctrl-Shift-0 .. Ctrl-Shift-9 sets marker (or clears if caret is in marked line)
Ctrl-0 .. Ctrl-0 jumps to marker
Ctrl-Shift-Enter finds references for current symbol (where caret is) in the project
the build order of projects in a project group can be changed with Ctrl+Up/Down
(though I would prefer drag&drop)
For me, the most important 'hidden' feature in RAD Studio is that it can be extended with experts. GExperts, DDevExtensions and ModelMaker Code Explorer are on my 'must-use' list and I cannot live without them (links to products and some description).
Ctrl-Alt + '.' - Comment out the selected block of code
Ctrl-Alt + ',' - Reverse the above
Ctrl-Shift + I - Indent selected block
Ctrl-Shift + U - UN-Indent selected block
In the object inspector, if you hold the [CTRL] key when you double click a property that is linked to another component it takes you to that component. A linked property is in colored maroon.
The debugger enhancements:
CTRL-Click on any identifier takes you to the declaration of that identifier.
CTRL-O-C enables block selection in the editor.
CTRL+SHIFT+I indents selected code CTRL+SHIFT+U unindents selected code
CTRL+K+N converts the selection to UPPERCASE CTRL+K+O to convert it to lowercase
You can incrementally search for an item in the Object Inspector.
CTRL-J invokes live templates -- I think Live Templates are one of the most powerful and most under utilized features in the IDE. More info on Live Templates:
http://delphi.wikia.com/wiki/Delphi_Live_Templates http://dn.codegear.com/article/37468 http://delphi.wikia.com/wiki/Live_Templates_Technical_Info
Up until Delphi 2007 you could drag two different components from the pallet to the form at the same time by using Shift selecting one, and then dragging a different one. I guess someone thought that was a bug and removed it though.
Ctrl+/ to comment/uncomment a block of code.
The problem with CTRL+Alt+"." and Crtl+Alt+"," is that it unmarks the block. I also like having the same key combination toggle the comments on and off.
Introduced after Delphi 7. Possibly in Delphi 2005.
Ctrl-Shift-E invokes the rename refactor. It's available in Delphi 2005+. It allows you to quickly rename a function or variable and all references to it via one pop up dialog. This is the best refactor in the IDE imho.
Second best rename trick is too highlight a block of code, click on the icon that appears in the left hand gutter, then select and rename the variable you want to rename. This will rename all copies of that variable within the selection. This is most useful for renaming a local variable to split it from another copy of it.
Including extensions, the must have extension from GExperts is GDebug. It's comprised of a unit and an executable.
When you include the unit you insert send messages through out your code to notify you of events, variable values, progress, etc.
The executable creates a system tray icon that simply captures all the messages and time stamps them.
The messages work inside and out of the IDE, but it's rather easy to drop some checks for 'DebugHook <> 0' into the gdebug.pas unit if you want to mute it when not debugging.
This simple tool has greatly simplified my life for situations where I don't want to setup break points, steps, hit counts, watches, etc. or for situations where the behavior is sporadic, different under the ide or not even necessarily erroneous.
With CN Pack
CTRL-V jumps to var block and back
CTRL-/ comments in/out selected lines
With G-Experts
CTRL-SHIFT-S opens up a grep search (and replace) is waaaay better than searching using windows.
I prefer it even to google desktop search, which incidentally has a delphi source code plug in.
uses windows
outputdebugstring('my debug info')
I automap "ods" -> "outputdebugstring(pansichar(format("|",[]))"
and use CTRL-J to auto-do it. Very handy, you can use CN-Pack debugviewer, or sysinternals, or whatever to view the debug messages, it's way better than messageboxes and no on yells at you when you leave them in the build!
You probably know that Alt+F7 and Alt+F8 navigate back/forward through the results of a "Find in Files"
But did you know that when the compiler spits out a list of errors during compilation that Alt+F7 and Alt+F8 now navigate through the errors.
I'm not sure if this still works in newer versions, but up until at least Delphi 7, you can go to the Help|About dialog, hold down ALT and type TEAM.
Probably not so hidden but:
Ctrl + alternating between K and I block indents code to the right.
Ctrl + alternating between K and U block indents code to the left.
Ctrl+Click on a line in the Code completion popup (invoke via Ctrl+Space) to jump to the definition of the symbol.
Resize the Code completion popup (invoke via Ctrl+Space) by dragging its borders. The new size will be remembered.
Hidden deep in Delphi's help (Delphi 7 at least) is how to use macros (useful for repetitive tasks):
Tip: you can use any keyboard shortcuts available while recording the macro (e.g. Ctrl+C for copy, Ctrl+V for paste).
If you press Ctrl+Space while in the interface section of a class, you will get a list of methods you can override and properties you can publish. Methods listed in red must be implemented (they're abstract or from an interface).
I did not discover this until recently, but now I use it a lot. If you press Ctrl-Shift-Enter while the cursor is over an identifier, you can see the places that identifier is referenced in your entire project. Very useful if you are trying to figure out where a change is happening or what you will break if you change something.
Navigating methods in a unit:
Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down - move to previous/next method Ctrl+Alt+Home/End - move to the first/last method in the unit
Introduced after Delphi 7. Works in Delphi Delphi 2006, but I'm not sure about Delphi 2005.
Alt+End: to navigate through opened windows in the IDE (undocked view).
Ctlr+Y: to delete the current line
Alt+Up: same as Ctrl+Click or Find declaration
Alt+Arrow Left/Right: navigate through your 'Find declarations'
Team pictures
Tested in Delphi 2007 and 2009.
Bonus: - Help|About - Hold down the Alt key and type G U N G L A
Select a unit or the project in the Project Manager and rename it using either F2/Inplace Edit or by changing it in the Obejct Inspector, and it does essentially the same thing as Save As...
Auto-correct in the Editor
There are a handful of words I seem to regularly mistype, such as stirng for string, tehn for then, etc.
So, I define a Live Template that is keyed off the incorrectly spelled word that automatically changes it to the correct spelling. eg, this one to convert tehn to then:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<codetemplate xmlns="http://schemas.borland.com/Delphi/2005/codetemplates" version="1.0.0">
<template name="tehn" invoke="auto">
<description>Auto-correct tehn into then</description>
<author>Malcolm Groves</author>
<code language="Delphi" context="methodbody" delimiter="|"><![CDATA[then |end|]]></code>
</template>
</codetemplate>
My favorites, for fast keyboard-only navigation between many (open) units in the Delphi editor :
Ctrl + Alt + F12 opens up the top-right dropdown menu of opened units
Ctrl + F12 opens up a window with all units of the current project (or project-group if you check the mark for it)
Shift + F12 opens up a window with all forms of the current project (or project-group if you check the mark for it)
Also have a look at the DevExtensions plugin which improves upon those dialogs in various useful ways. For example : One thing I like about this extension is, that it allows substring filtering (instead of the start-of-string searching that the original "View Unit" dialog offers)!
Ctrl + E -> incremental search. In case you find "Ctrl+F" with the dialogue too much of an hassle.
Code folding:
This and others shortcuts in a little unknown wiki.
The command line switch -np starts Delphi without loading the last used project.
In the editor, you can hold down the alt key and drag select to perform a block selection.
Ctrl+Arrows moves control one pixel.
Ctrl+Shift+Arrows moves control several pixels.
Another nice feature is Sync Edit Mode, invoked by selecting several rows and pressing ctrl + shift + j (or clicking the icon that appears on the left). This allows you to change all instances of the same text at once, e.g. variable names, function calls...
Open a new edit window with the View / New Edit Window menu item. This is particularly useful if you have a second monitor on which you can put the new edit window.