Declaration

TImageEnFolderMView = class(TImageEnMView);

Description

The TImageEnFolderMView component is a descendent of TImageEnMView, but is designed specifically for displaying the content of file folders.


While much of TImageEnFolderMView's functionality can be replicated in TImageEnMView using FillFromDirectory, there are a number of features that are only available in this control:
◼ Dragging and dropping files from Windows
◼ Cut, copy and paste files from Windows Explorer
◼ Automatic refreshing when folder contents change
◼ Display of the Windows Explorer popup menu
◼ File functions to move, copy, rename and delete files
◼ Display of folders on connected cameras and other devices
◼ In-built file navigation, keyboard shortcuts and other functions

To use TImageEnFolderMView, specify a Folder and the file types that you wish to display. For more control you can specify your own file mask, exclusion mask and sort order.

For rapid UI development TImageEnFolderMView provides a set of actions, plus you can use all actions of TImageEnMView.

Navigating to the "Drives" folder:


TImageEnFolderMView supports VCL Theming:


Note: For a simpler component to display files of a folder, use TIEFileListBox, which shows icons rather than thumbnails

Overview

Display Styles

TImageEnFolderMView includes five standard styles. Ensure you set AutoAdjustStyle := True; so that setting the style automatically updates all relevant properties.

Thumbnail Performance

Because a TImageEnMView may potentially load and store thousands of files, you should optimize your settings to ensure the best performance. Take note of the following:

• Most importantly, decide whether to load and store full size images, or just preview thumbnails. If you are loading the content of a multi-page file, such as TIFF, for editing and display, then generally you will want StoreType=ietNormal. However, if you are displaying thousands of photos from a folder, for example, then you are better to use load only thumbnails (StoreType is ietThumb or ietFastThumb)
• Load images only on demand (i.e. as they are displayed or needed). To do this, ensure the LoadOnDemand parameter is set for AppendImage, InsertImage, FillFromDirectory or FillFromList. Or if you are just loading a single file with many pages, use LoadFromFileOnDemand
• Lock updating while performing batch operations (LockUpdate/UnlockUpdate)
• Consider options to load EXIF thumbnails or Windows Explorer thumbnails
• Choose a good balance between quality and speed when setting the ThumbnailResampleFilter
• Increasing the size of the image cache can help with general performance, especially when StoreType=ietFastThumb
• Set DeprioritizeLargeImages to a size larger than most images to prevent very large images from slowing the display

Recommended Defaults

For compatibility, some of the default options of TImageEnFolderMView are not the recommended ones. Here are some suggested changes:

• Enable AutoAdjustStyle so you that setting Style will automatically update relevant layout properties:
    ImageEnMView1.AutoAdjustStyle := True;
• Enable ShowThumbnailHint to show file details when hovering over a thumbnail:
    ImageEnMView1.ShowThumbnailHint := true;
• Enable selection of multiple files:
    ImageEnMView1.EnableMultiSelect := true;
• Sort by filename considering any digits within the name, e.g. img1.jpg, img10.jpg, img11.jpg, img2.jpg, img20.jpg will be sorted as img1.jpg, img2.jpg, img10.jpg, img11.jpg, img20.jpg
    IEFolderMView.SortOptions := [ iesNaturalSorting ];
• Use form fonts for thumbnail text:
    ImageEnMView1.ParentFont := True;

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts are supported:

Note: Configure or disable individual keyboard shortcuts using KeyboardShortcuts

Demos

Example

procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
begin
  // Setup TImageEnFolderMView
  IEFolderMView1.AutoAdjustStyle   := True;       // Enable so that setting "Style" will automatically update all relevant properties
  IEFolderMView1.GridWidth         := -1;         // Automatically adjust the column count to match the control width
  IEFolderMView1.ThumbWidth        := 150;        // Increase size of thumbnails
  IEFolderMView1.ThumbHeight       := 140;        // Increase size of thumbnails
  IEFolderMView1.ShowThumbnailHint := true;       // Show file details when hovering over a thumbnail
  IEFolderMView1.EnableMultiSelect := true;       // Enable selection of multiple files
end;


// Now display the images of a folder in the grid
IEFolderMView1.Folder := 'C:\MyImages\';
IEFolderMView1.FileTypes := iefAllImages;   // Images only
IEFolderMView1.SortOrder := iesbImageSize;  // Sort by image dimensions


// Alternatively you can fill the control manually
// Note: Some functionality will be unavailable such as pasting and dragging files to the folder
IEFolderMView1.LockUpdate();
IEFolderMView1.Folder := '';
IEFolderMView1.AppendFile( 'C:\image.jpg' );
IEFolderMView1.AppendFile( 'D:\WordDoc.docx' );
IEFolderMView1.AppendFile( 'D:\Documents\' );        // Only the icon for the folder, not all the files it contains
IEFolderMView1.FillFromDirectory( 'C:\MyImages\' );  // Add all the files it contains
IEFolderMView1.RefreshSorting();                     // Sort all files
IEFolderMView1.UnlockUpdate();

Methods and Properties

Embedded Components

Folder Display

File Operations

Display

Editing

Image Access

Image Information

Image Text

Thumbnail Appearance

Thumbnail Spacing

Input/Output

Selections

Checkboxes

User Interaction

ScrollBars

Single Frame View

Other

Internal

Events

Folder Events

User Interaction Events

Loading Events

Paint Events

Other Events

 Unique to TImageEnFolderMView

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