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• Overview
• Rapid Application Development DirectDraw
• Details of the TDx_Draw_Library
• Components of the TDx_Draw_Library
• More Information

The TDx_Draw_Library is a library of 24 Borland C++ Builder (BCB) rapid application development (RAD) components
that "wrap" all available DirectDraw(tm) functionality into easy-to-use BCB Visual Component Library (VCL) components,
supplying a complete framework for harnessing all the power of DirectDraw(tm) and Borland C++ Builder.

These components make DirectDraw(tm) very easy to use, make DirectDraw(tm) work with Borland C++ Builder,
have many added extras designed to help you mix DirectDraw(tm) and Borland C++ Builder - quickly and easily.

All components come complete with full source code, project files, auto-installer, full [F1] context-sensitive help
covering all of DirectDraw(tm) plus additional features, and demos with full source code.

• Draw Images Very Quickly
• Draw Images Using Blit Effects
• Overlay Images (ie: images with z-ordering)
• Setup & Rotate Color Palettes
• Apply Clip Regions
• Apply Gamma Effects
• Use Pixel Formats
• Stream Output from Video Ports



• Draw all images quickly and efficiently
• Draw images on any or all hardware devices

• Realtime bit-blitting of many images
• Realtime modification of image data
• Realtime control of image blitting effects, including image rotation, palette translations, etc.
• A new programming paradigm, rapid application development DirectDraw, or "RAD DirectX" for short.

• Fully optimized for BCB and the VCL
• A solution to integration problems between BCB and DirectX where necessary.
• Automatic error detection & redirection to easy-to-use OnError() events.
• Automatic callback handling & redirection to easy-to-use OnEnum...() events.
• Simple integration with BCB paint routines that use a TCanvas component for drawing.
• Simple resource management with fully integrated CreateFrom..(), LoadFrom...() and SaveTo..() functions.

• Rapid Application Development DirectDraw(tm)

• An overview of the TDx_Library

The TDx_Draw_Library components are available to drag & drop to visually create a BCB application that uses DirectDraw.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
void __fastcall TForm1::Button1Click(TObject *Sender)
{
// create an interface to the default DirectDraw device
if (Dx_Draw1->Create(NULL))
  {
  // make sure we have exclusive access to this device
  Dx_Draw1->SetCooperativeLevel( Application->Handle, DDSCL_FULLSCREEN | DDSCL_EXCLUSIVE );

  // setup to create a primary surface
  DDSurfaceDesc1->SCaps = DDSCaps1;
  DDSurfaceDesc1->SCaps->Caps = DDSCAPS_PRIMARYSURFACE;

  // create a primary surface
  if (Dx_DrawSurface1->Create( DDSurfaceDesc1, Dx_Draw1))
    {
    // create an offscreen surface from a file
    if (Dx_DrawSurface2->CreateFromFile( Dx_Draw1, "TEST.BMP" ))
      {
      // display the test image while stretching it to fit the entire screen
      Dx_DrawSurface1->Blt( NULL, Dx_DrawSurface2, NULL, 0, NULL );

      // destroy the offscreen surface
      Dx_DrawSurface2->Destroy();
      }
    // destroy the primary surface
    Dx_DrawSurface1->Destroy();
    }
  // destroy the DirectDraw interface
  Dx_Draw1->Destroy();
  }
}

• Details of the TDx_Draw_Library.

The 24 TDx_Draw_Library components :-

• supply advanced 2d graphics support to BCB applications
• automatically handle everything related to DirectDraw(tm)
• are quite "smart" - they fully maintain everything required to make DirectDraw(tm) work very well inside BCB
• supply an easy to use toolset designed to remove the vast majority of effort required to utilize DirectDraw(tm)
• let you focus mostly on the creative side of using DirectDraw(tm) rather than the underlying SDK technology

• simple surface auto-creation from .bmp files
• automatic cross-updating of relevant datasets
• automatic callback translations to easy-to-use BCB OnAAA() events

• Simple management of everything related to DirectDraw(tm)
• Simple access to all available DirectDraw(tm) functionality
• Automatic creation, destruction and maintenance of DirectDraw(tm) interfaces
• Automatic creation of draw surfaces from .bmp files
• Easy access to image data
• Easy access to image format information
• Easy static or dynamic image data storage
• Easy manipulation of blitting and blitting effects
• Easy access to all display devices
• Comprehensive BCB context-sensitive help [ press F1 in BCB ]

• Components of the TDx_Draw_Library

The table below contains details on each TDx_Draw_Library component, and also contains links to individual reference pages ( context sensitive version is available within BCB at the press of the F1 key ) :-

COMPONENT LOGO	COMPONENT NAME	WRAPPER TYPE	COMMENT
	TDDBltFX	Wrapper	The TDDBltFX component wraps a single DDBLTFX structure. It describes various effects applied to a surface during a bit-blit operation, including various settings for alpha channels, nonstandard raster operations, standard raster operations, color keys, surface fills, pattern fills, surface rotations and z-buffers for a directdraw surface. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDBLTFX). The internal fDDBLTFX.dwSize structure member is automatically set to this value when calling the Clear() method. A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDBLTFX structure and auto-resetting the internal fDDBLTFX.dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDBltFX component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDCaps	Wrapper	The TDDCaps component wraps a single DDCAPS structure. It describes the capabilities of a particular DirectDraw device, including: Alignment Settings, Alpha Settings, Color Key Capabilities, General Capabilities, Video Ports Settings, Overlay Settings, Alpha FX Capabilities, General FX Capabilities, Non-Local-Video Blit Capabilities, FourCC Capabilities, Palette Capabilities, Raster Operations, System-To-System Blit Capabilities, Video-To-System Blit Capabilities, Free Video Memory and Total Video Memory Settings. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDCAPS). The internal fDDCAPS.dwSize structure member is automatically set to this value when calling the Clear() method. A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDCAPS structure and auto-resetting the internal fDDCAPS.dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDCaps component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDColorControl	Wrapper	The TDDColorControl component wraps a single DDCOLORCONTROL structure. It describes color controls such as brightness, color enable, contrast, gamma, hue, saturation and sharpness that can be applied to a primary surface, an overlay surface or a video port and can be used to define color controls to be applied to the primary surface. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDCOLORCONTROL). The internal fDDCOLORCONTROL.dwSize structure member is automatically set to this value when calling the Clear() method. A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDCOLORCONTROL structure and auto-resetting the internal fDDCOLORCONTROL.dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDColorControl component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDColorKey	Wrapper	The TDDColorKey component wraps a single DDCOLORKEY structure. It describes color key or color range information for a directdraw surface that is being bit-blitted or overlaid. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDCOLORKEY). A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDCOLORKEY structure. The DDCOLORKEY structure does not contain a dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDColorKey component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDDeviceIdentifier	Wrapper	The TDDDeviceIdentifier component wraps a single DDDEVICEIDENTIFIER2 structure. It describes the driver description, device id, device identifier, driver name, driver version, driver revision, subsystem id, vendor id and certification level for a particular directdraw device. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDDEVICEIDENTIFIER2). A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDDEVICEIDENTIFIER2 structure. The DDDEVICEIDENTIFIER2 structure does not contain a dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDDeviceIdentifier component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDGammaRamp	Wrapper	The TDDGammaRamp component wraps a single DDGAMMARAMP structure. It describes the red, green and blue components of a gamma ramp that is applied to the primary directdraw surface. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDGAMMARAMP). A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDGAMMARAMP structure. The DDGAMMARAMP structure does not contain a dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDGammaRamp component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDOverlayFX	Wrapper	The TDDOverlayFX component wraps a single DDOVERLAYFX structure. It describes various effects applied to an overlay surface during an overlay operation, including alpha settings, source & destination color keys, effects settings and source & destination surfaces used as overlay alpha channels. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDOVERLAYFX). The internal fDDOVERLAYFX.dwSize structure member is automatically set to this value when calling the Clear() method. A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDOVERLAYFX structure and auto-resetting the internal fDDOVERLAYFX.dwSize structure member. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDOverlayFX component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDPixelFormat	Multi - Wrapper	The TDDPixelFormat component wraps and manages any number of DDPIXELFORMAT structures. It describes the raw pixel format information for a directdraw surface including various bit depths, bit masks, bump maps, general format, FourCC codes, luminence masks, RGB color masks, RGB bit-depths, stencil bit depths, YUV color masks and YUV bit-depths and z-buffer bit-depths. Additional functionality :- An ArraySize property that determines the total # of internal DDPIXELFORMAT structures maintained by the TDDPixelFormat component. A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDPIXELFORMAT). All internal fDDPIXELFORMAT[index].dwSize structure members are set to this value when calling the Clear() and ClearAll() methods. A SizeAll property for determining the byte size of all internal DDPIXELFORMAT structures, equivalent to ArraySize * Size. A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the specified internal DDPIXELFORMAT structure and auto-resetting the specified fDDPIXELFORMAT.dwSize structure member. A ClearAll() method for clearing the contents of all internal DDPIXELFORMAT structures and auto-resetting all fDDPIXELFORMAT[index].dwSize structure members. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDPixelFormat component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event.
	TDDSCaps	Wrapper	The TDDSCaps component wraps a single DDSCAPS structure. It describes the capabilities of a directdraw surface including surface flags and more surface flags. Additional functionality :- A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDSCAPS). A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDSCAPS structure. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDSCaps component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event. Special Note :- To use the TDDSCaps component (optional), link it to a TDDSurfaceDesc component using the TDDSurfaceDesc::SCaps property. Once linked, the TDDSCaps will be automatically maintained to contain the same data as is in the parent TDDSurfaceDesc. Also, you can use one TDDSCaps, and link it on-the-fly to many different TDDSurfaceDesc components. For more information, refer to the TDDSurfaceDesc component immediately below.
	TDDSurfaceDesc	Wrapper	The TDDSurfaceDesc component wraps a single DDSURFACEDESC2 structure. It describes the properties of a directdraw surface, including bit depths, number of back buffers in the flip chain, color keys, general flags, width, height, pitch, pixel format, refresh rate and texture stage. Additional functionality :- A SCaps property which can be linked to a TDDSCaps component to enable retrieval of the caps information. A PixelFormat property which can be linked to a TDDPixelFormat component to enable BCB-style usage of the DDPIXELFORMAT structure stored inside the DDSURFACEDESC2 structure. A Size property for determining the sizeof(DDSURFACEDESC2). A Clear() method for clearing the contents of the internal DDSURFACEDESC2 structure. An OnError() event that is called whenever any problems occur inside the TDDSurfaceDesc component. An ErrorValue property for determining the value of the last error result that triggered the OnError() event. Special Note :- The DDSURFACEDESC2 structure contains it's own internal DDSCAPS and DDPIXELFORMAT structures. In the TDx_Library, these are called "structures in structures" and are all handled generically, with additional properties being created and relevant code added to each DirectX function. These additions work together to automatically "map" the internal structures of linked components and keep data accurate. For example, the DDSURFACEDESC2 structure contains a DDSCAPS structure internal to the DDSURFACEDESC2 structure. In the TDx_Draw_Library, an additional property "SCaps" has been created that can be linked to a TDDSCaps component. Once linked, the TDDSCaps component's internal DDSCAPS structure is (when required) identical to the DDSCAPS structure internal to the DDSURFACEDESC2. There will be much more information describing the internal TDx_Library processes soon.
	TDDVideoPortBandwidth	Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortBandwidth component wraps a single DDVIDEOPORTBANDWIDTH structure. It describes the bandwidth chararacteristics for an overlay surface, including it's interpretation capabilities, color keying stretch factor, overlay stretch factor and y-interpolation.
	TDDVideoPortCaps	Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortCaps component wraps a single DDVIDEOPORTCAPS structure. It describes the capabilities and alignment restrictions of a video port, including alignment boundaries, crop boundaries, crop width, prescale width, general capabilities, video port effects, current settings, video port height, video port width, actual number of autoflip surfaces, optimal number of autoflip surfaces, filter taps, preshrink along an axis and video port id.
	TDDVideoPortConnect	Multi - Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortConnect component wraps and manages multiple DDVIDEPORTCONNECT structures. It describes a video port connection, including general capabilities, physical pin width and video port type identifiers.
	TDDVideoPortDesc	Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortDesc component wraps a single DDVIDEOPORTDESC structure. It describes a video port including field height, field width, raw bandwidth, time frames, vbi width, video port id and video port type.
	TDDVideoPortInfo	Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortInfo component wraps a single DDVIDEOPORTINFO structure. It describes the transfer of data from a video port to a surface, including crop area, pixel format, x origin, y origin, prescale width, prescale height, vbi height, vbi input format, vbi output format and general settings.
	TDDVideoPortStatus	Wrapper	The TDDVideoPortStatus component wraps a single DDVIDEOPORTSTATUS structure. It describes the status of a video port including it's current settings, if it's currently in use and video port type, a pointer to a TDDVideoPortConnect component.
	TDx_Draw	Interface	The TDx_Draw component wraps and manages a single IDirectDraw7 interface. This is the main root component of the TDx_Draw_Library, everything else ultimately requires this component. It supplies direct access to a particular DirectDraw device interface, and is used to interact with a video hardware (graphics card) and display devices (monitors). It can be used to create a directdraw interface, create a clipper, create a surface, enumerate all devices, destroy a directdraw interface, duplicate a surface, enumerate display modes, enumerate surfaces, evaluate a display mode, reset the win32 display surface, get available video memory, retrieve a devices capabilities, retrieve a device identifier, retrieve current display mode settings, retrieve FourCC codes, retrieve the win32 display surface, retrieve the monitor frequency, destroy a directdraw device, retrieve the video hardware scanline, get a surface from a Device Context, get the vertical blank status, restore all surfaces, restore the default display mode, set the cooperative level, set the display mode, start a test to determine available display modes, test the current cooperative level and wait for a vertical blank to complete. Additional functionality :- OnCreate(), OnDestroy() and OnError() events triggered during creation, destruction, and whenever any error occurs. A modified DDEnumerate() method which automatically calls the OnDDEnumerate() callback event, which makes responding to device enumeration simple. A modified EnumDisplayModes() method which automatically calls the OnEnumDisplayModes() callback event, which makes responding to display mode enumeration simple. A modified EnumSurfaces() method which automatically calls the OnEnumSurfaces() callback event, which makes responding to surface enumeration simple. An ErrorValue property for determination of the last error result returned from DirectDraw(tm) or the TDx_Draw_Library.
	TDx_DrawClipper	Interface	The TDx_DrawClipper component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawClipper interface. It manages clip lists that can be applied to a surface to produce clipping effects. It can be used to create a clipper interface, destroy a clipper interface, set & retrieve a clip list, set & retrieve the window handle associated with the clipper and determine if the clip list has changed.
	TDx_DrawColorControl	Interface	The TDx_DrawColorControl component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawColorControl interface. It manages color controls that can be applied to a surface. It can be used to create a color control interface, destroy a color control interface, retrieve color controls and set color controls.
	TDx_DrawGammaControl	Interface	The TDx_DrawGammaControl component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawGammaControl interface. It manages gamma controls that can be applied to a surface. It can be used to create a gamma ramp interface, destroy a gamma ramp interface, retrieve gamma ramps and set gamma ramps.
	TDx_DrawPalette	Interface	The TDx_DrawPalette component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawPalette interface. It manages palettes that can be applied to a surface. It can be used to create a palette interface, destroy a palette interface, get palette capabilities, get palette entries, load a palette from a file, load a palette from a resource and set palette entries.
	TDx_DrawSurface	Interface	The TDx_DrawSurface component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawSurface7 interface. This is the second most important component of the TDx_Draw_Library. The IDirectDrawSurface7 interface handles all image related data inside directdraw surfaces and contains many options you can use to display your image data very quickly. It can be used to create a surface interface, destroy a surface interface, create a surface from a file, create a surface from a surface, load a surface from a file, load a surface from a surface, manage a surface flip-chain, bit-blit (display) images, set & retrieve uniqueness values, enumerate surfaces in the flip chain, enumerate overlay z-orders, page flip, get the bit-blit status, retrieve surface capabilities, set & retrieve a clipper, set & retrieve color keys, retrieve a device context, retrieve a surface's DirectDraw interface, retrieve the current flip status, set & retrieve the level of detail, set & retrieve the overlay position, set & retrieve the surface's palette, retrieve the surface's pixel format, set & retrieve a texture surface's priority, retrieve the surface's pixel format, set & retrieve private data, set & retrieve a surface's description, determine if a surface has been lost, lock & access a surface's internal image data, lock a surface into non-paging memory, save a surface to a file, update an overlay surface's position and update an overlay surface's z-order.
	TDx_DrawVideoPort	Interface	The TDx_DrawVideoPort component wraps and manages a single IDirectDrawVideoPort interface. It channels live content from a video port to a surface. It can be used to create a video port interface, destroy a video port interface, use a new surface for the next output frame, retrieve bandwidth info, set & retrieve color controls, retrieve field polarity, retrieve input formats, retrieve output formats, retrieve the current scanline, retrieve the video signal status, set the surface used for video playback, start video playback, stop video playback, update video playback and wait for vertical sync.
	TDx_DrawVideoPortContainer	Interface	The TDx_DrawVideoPortContainer component wraps and manages a single IDDVideoPortContainer interface. It creates and manipulates video ports. It can be used to create a video port container, destroy a video port container, create a video port, enumerate video ports, retrieve connection information for a video port and query the status of a video port.