TurboPack SynEdit

A syntax-highlighting editor component for Delphi and C++ Builder, supporting both VCL (Windows) and FMX (cross-platform) frameworks.

Compatible with Delphi 12 Athens or later. You can also access the 11 Alexandria, 10.3 Rio, 10.2 Tokyo and 10.1 Berlin releases.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. What's New
3. Architecture
4. Package Names
5. Installation
6. Demos
7. Testing
8. Building from Source

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Introduction

SynEdit is a syntax highlighting edit control, not based on the Windows common controls. It includes:

• 66 language highlighters (Delphi, C++, Python, JavaScript, HTML, XML, SQL, and many more)
• 189 Omni highlighter configurations for additional languages via INI-based definitions
• VCL editor (TCustomSynEdit) — full-featured Windows editor with DirectWrite rendering, code folding, completion proposals, printing, spell check, OLE drag-drop, and accessibility
• FMX editor (TCustomFMXSynEdit) — cross-platform editor with FMX Canvas rendering, syntax highlighting, keyboard input, selection, multi-caret editing, word wrap, clipboard, undo/redo, file I/O, code folding, search/replace, completion proposals, OLE drag-drop, macro recording, plugin support, printing (abstract provider), and spell check (abstract provider)

All highlighters are shared between VCL and FMX — write once, highlight everywhere.

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What's New

See What's New.md for detailed information on recent additions including:

• TSynDelphiSyn — Modern Delphi highlighter with multiline string literals, code folding, and Delphi 13 keyword support
• IDE Settings Importer — Design-time tool to import your Delphi IDE color scheme and editor preferences into SynEdit components
• Multi-Caret Editing — Multiple carets (Alt+Click), column selection (Alt+Shift+Arrows), select matching text (Ctrl+Shift+W), with shared architecture between VCL and FMX
• FMX Editor — Cross-platform FireMonkey editor with syntax highlighting, multi-caret editing, word wrap, clipboard, undo/redo, file I/O, code folding, search/replace, completion proposals, OLE drag-drop, macro recording, printing, spell check, and plugin support

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Architecture

SynEdit uses a three-layer architecture:

┌────────────────────┐  ┌────────────────────┐
│  Source/VCL/        │  │  Source/FMX/        │
│  40 Vcl.* units     │  │  20 FMX.* units     │
└─────────┬──────────┘  └─────────┬──────────┘
          └──────┬───────────────-┘
                 │ uses
      ┌──────────▼──────────┐
      │  Source/ (shared)    │
      │  66 highlighters     │
      │  189 Omni configs    │
      │  Core types & buffer │
      └─────────────────────┘

• Shared (no prefix): Platform-independent units — highlighters, text buffer, types, key commands, spell-check providers
• VCL (Vcl.* prefix): Windows-specific — DirectWrite, OLE, printing, accessibility
• FMX (FMX.* prefix): Cross-platform — FMX Canvas rendering, FMX scrollbars, FMX clipboard

See Architecture.md for the full technical reference including directory structure, package dependencies, unit scope resolution, build order, and contributor guidelines.

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Package Names

Delphi

Package	Type	Description
SynEditSharedDR	Runtime	Shared core — types, text buffer, 66 highlighters
SynEditDR	Runtime	VCL editor and supporting units
SynEditDD	Designtime	VCL component registration and property editors
SynEditFMXDR	Runtime	FMX editor and supporting units
SynEditFMXDD	Designtime	FMX component registration

C++ Builder

Package	Type	Description
SynEditSharedCR	Runtime	Shared core
SynEditCR	Runtime	VCL editor
SynEditCD	Designtime	VCL component registration
SynEditFMXCR	Runtime	FMX editor
SynEditFMXCD	Designtime	FMX component registration

Build order: Shared → VCL/FMX Runtime → VCL/FMX Designtime

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Installation

TurboPack SynEdit is available via the GetIt Package Manager where you can quickly and easily install and uninstall it.

To manually install into your IDE:

1. Clone or unzip into a directory (e.g., d:\SynEdit).

2. Start RAD Studio.

3. Add these directories to the IDE's library path:

   • Source — shared units
   • Source\Highlighters — language highlighters
   • Source\VCL — VCL editor units
   • Source\FMX — FMX editor units (if using FMX)

   For C++ Builder, also add the hpp subdirectory (e.g., Source\hpp\Win32\Release) to the IDE's system include path.

4. Open and install the designtime packages from Packages\11AndAbove\:

   • VCL: Build SynEditSharedDR.dpk, then SynEditDR.dpk, then install SynEditDD.dpk
   • FMX: Build SynEditFMXDR.dpk, then install SynEditFMXDD.dpk

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Demos

VCL Demos (Demos/VCL/)

Demo	Description
HighlighterDemo	Browse all language highlighters with sample source
EditAppDemos	SDI, MDI, and Workbook editors with file I/O and search/replace
CompletionProposalDemo	Code completion popup
Folding	Code folding with Delphi highlighter
SearchReplaceDemo	Find and replace functionality
SimpleIDEDemo	Mini IDE with editor and output pane
PrintDemo	Printing support
MarkdownViewer	Markdown rendering
SpellCheck	Windows spell-check integration

FMX Demos (Demos/FMX/)

Demo	Description
HighlighterDemo	Browse 13 language highlighters with syntax coloring
EditApp	Single-document editor with menus, file I/O, clipboard, undo/redo, and auto highlighter detection
FeaturesDemo	Comprehensive feature showcase with options panel, search/replace, completion proposals, code folding, and event log

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Testing

Two DUnitX test suites run headless with FailsOnNoAsserts enabled and exact-value assertions throughout.

• FMX — 428 tests across 34 fixtures covering buffer, caret, code folding, commands, content, highlighter, options, search, undo/redo, spell check, bug-fix regressions, cross-platform fixes, word wrap, selection, clipboard, editing edge cases, color conversion, completion proposal logic, highlighter folding (Delphi, HTML, XML, CSS), auto-indent, pixel coordinate mapping, scrollbar sizing, bookmarks, gutter bands, multi-caret editing, drag-drop, macro events, hooked command handlers, and macro recording.
• VCL — 95 tests across 5 fixtures covering Hunspell provider, Windows spell-check COM provider, spell check component integration, drag-drop, and macro recording.

build_fmx_tests.bat

Test projects: Tests/FMX/FMXSynEditTests.dproj, Tests/VCL/VCLSynEditTests.dproj

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Delphi 12+ (RAD Studio 12+)
• Packages must be built in dependency order (see Architecture.md)

Build Scripts

Script	Description
build_delphi.bat	Build all Delphi packages (shared + VCL + FMX)
build_all_win32.bat	Build all packages for Win32 (Delphi + C++ Builder)
build_vcl_demos.bat	Build all VCL demo applications
build_fmx_demo.bat	Build FMX demo applications
build_fmx_tests.bat	Build FMX DUnitX test suite

Quick Build (Delphi command line)

rsvars.bat
msbuild SynEditSharedDR.dproj /t:Build /p:Config=Release /p:Platform=Win32
msbuild SynEditDR.dproj /t:Build /p:Config=Release /p:Platform=Win32
msbuild SynEditFMXDR.dproj /t:Build /p:Config=Release /p:Platform=Win32

Platform Support

Platform	Delphi	C++ Builder
Win32	All packages	All packages
Win64	All packages	Known ilink64 generics limitation

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License

See LICENSE for details. SynEdit is dual-licensed under the MPL 1.1 and LGPL 2.1+.