Delphi Custom popup/dropdown, how?

Question

I want to make a custom dropdow/popup menu with a shadow nicely beneath it. The problem is that it is not a standard menu and I need to put some components on the popup/dropdown. So basically I want a dropdown I can do whatever I want with, not being limited to simple menuitems. I want it to act like a normal popupmenu problem is where do I start. Any solutions? References?

Answer 1

You can use TPopupMenu and provide custom drawing. This is done by setting

PopupMenu1.OwnerDraw := True;

Then code the OnMeasureItem() or OnAdvancedDrawItem() Event to determine the size you need for the custom painting. Then code the OnDrawItem() Event to paint the canvas as desired.

This article details on custom implementation of these these events.

Answer 2

It sounds like you want a form that looks like a popup menu, but contains components.

It is easier if you have a component that has an OnMouseDown event, like the TPanel shown in this sample, and you just pop up a second form which contains the controls you wanted to pop up:

procedure TForm3.JvPanel1MouseDown(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
  Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
begin
  if Button=mbRight then
        FDown := true
  else
        FDown := false;
end;

procedure TForm3.JvPanel1MouseUp(Sender: TObject; Button: TMouseButton;
  Shift: TShiftState; X, Y: Integer);
var
  pt:TPoint;
begin
  if Button=mbRight then begin
        FDown := true;
        pt.X := jvPanel1.Left;
        pt.Y := jvPanel1.Top+jvPanel1.Height;


        pt := ClientToScreen(pt);
        Form4.Position := poDesigned;
        Form4.BorderStyle := bsNone;
        Form4.Left := pt.X;
        Form4.Top := pt.Y;
        Form4.Show;
  end;

end;

That handles the form showing itself, and positioning itself to look like a popup. the second form hiding itself, is easy too:

procedure TForm4.FormDeactivate(Sender: TObject);
begin
 Hide;
end;

Answer 3

For what it is worth, the drop shadow aspect of the popup has now been tackled and solved in this question.