Hello,

I'm trying to dynamically create instances of FlowChartX on a Delphi 5 program.

If I simple use the TFlowChart.Create method, I get a license error message (on computer where the program & dll are deployed) because the control runtime key has not been specified.

I certainly need to use API calls.
Actually, it seems it can get an IFlowChart interface instance with the code below,
but I do not know how to convert it to a regular TFlowChart object...

Does anyone have managed to create dynamical instances of FlowChartX in Delphi?

???

Thank you for your help.


uses
FLOWCHARTLib_TLB,
ActiveX,
Ole2,
olectl,
....


function CreateLicensed :IFlowChart;
var
  fc :IFlowChart ;
  key :String;
  icf : IClassFactory2;

begin
  key := '<put license key here>';

  icf := nil;
  fc := nil;
  if (S_OK = CoGetClassObject(OLE2.TGUID(Class_FlowChart),
                  CLSCTX_ALL, 0,
                  OLE2.TGUID(IID_IClassFactory2),
                  icf)) then
  begin

    icf.CreateInstanceLic(nil, nil,
                         OLE2.TGUID(IID_IFlowChart),
                         StringToOleStr(key), fc);
  end;
  Result := fc;
end;

If you have the source code of the TFlowChart wrapper class, try finding where CreateInstance is called and replace it with CreateInstanceLic(... key ...)

By TLB do you mean the FlowchartX type library file?

I meant the TFlowChart wrapper class, in a TFlowChart.pas or some similar file generated by Delphi, should use a CreateInstance call to get an IFlowChart pointer to the new flowchart. If you replace that part of TFlowChart with the code Fred posted above, TFlowChart.Create should work fine.

Can't you derive from the Frame component that hosts the flowchart ? And what's there in the TFlowChart.Create method ? I can install an old Delphi copy here and play with that, but not before we release the new FlowChart.NET version in a couple of days because we're quite busy with it...

Hello,

glavcho :
1- Yes I can derive and extend the Frame, but of course not the Flowchart class embeded in it.
So it means that my object is now a Frame+FlowChart combo : I guess I can go on with that.


2- When I said the class I wrote is not a component, I mean it can not be used directly within the Delphi IDE in design mode to draw forms (it must be a bit extended to be registered in the IDE).


I do not say that your solution doesn't work, but that I feel it is just a work around;
I thought it would be possible to simply create the licensed component itself!
but it's ok if there is no other way.


Just for info, about the TLB file you mentionned earlier : it also contains the TFlowChart class and the connection with the ActiveX interfaces, but there is no CreateInstance in it (and no TFlowChart.Create method literally).
It's because it derives from a TOleControl Delphi Class; and I don't known now what I must/can add to the final class to create licensed component. But maybe it is here that we must dig...

thank you.

I'm a fool I guess !!!!!!!!

After looking into the VCL source code, and not understanding why the dynamic instanciation was not working,
I did the test again and I found eventually that there is no problem : Delphi seems to correctly handles dynamic creation of licensed ActiveX.
???


The final explanation is simple : I was fooled by our first test program which was somehow compiled on a computer where the ActiveX was incorrectly installed!!!


Glavcho, I am sorry about the time you may have lost on this "false" problem (and believe me, I more sorry about the time I lost myself).

thank you for your help anyway.

No, there is no Create method with a key parameter.
Yes, the license key is actually embedded in the TFlowChart (FLOWCHARTLib_TLB.pas unit) generated by Delphi when you import the ActiveX in the IDE.

Of course, this key is present on FLOWCHARTLib_TLB.pas only on computers where the ActiveX has been correctly installed;
Thus, programs compiled on computer with developper licence will work fine on deployement computers (provided that you've copied and registered the FlowChartPro.dll there)

On the other hand, on deployement computer (or if you uninstall the developper license), you can compile you program but it will raise an exception at runtime!!!!