for Delphi5, Delphi6, Delphi7
| Russian version | Copyright (C) by Kladov Vladimir, 2001-2004 |
Delphi 5 version BPL
(262K)
Delphi 6 version BPL
(263K)
Delphi 7 version BPL
(266K)
Additional files (macros, substitutions, sounds: 169K)
The Fast Type Expert is intended to make the life of Delphi programmers easier. With this tool, the process of typing of the code becomes easy and fast (and even more easier and faster in the last Delphi versions, with its code template and code completion already provided by Delphi IDE). Some additional ways are provided to insert/edit code and to navigate in the unit source.
The first instrument is new pop-up window with a list of words, found suitable to complete current input. Several ways are provided to use it, and a lot of adjustable options to configure it. To find out words, several dictionaries can be used simultaneously: self-teaching dictionary, fixed dictionary, words from current unit and words from all units loaded into IDE editor. See also "Options dialog" section about available adjustments.
Also, several shortcuts are provided to perform some tasks easy. (It is possible to assign another key combination to shortcut commands). E.g., it is possible using CTRL+] to jump between begin and end, repeat and until, then and else, {$IFxxx} and {$ENDIF}, and also between correspondent parenthesizes '(' and ')', '[' and ']'. And, CTRL+[ jumps to the upper level of the same brackets, listed above. Combinations CTRL+U and CTRL+L can be used to convert current word or selection to the upper or lower case correspondently. Another combination is very useful for non-English programmers. With CTRL+E, it is possible to convert characters, incorrectly typed in another (national) keyboard layout to English (and back again from English).
Once more optional feature is auto-inserting closing up parenthesizes or quote when open one is typed on keyboard. (I.e., typing single '(' leads to insert '( )' into editing text and placing caret between inserted parenthesis).
Additionally, capabilities to store keystroke sequences as macros and execute its later, and to define your own automatic substitutions are added.
Finally, with sound schemes provided it is possible to insonify your work in the IDE editor. If sounds are carefully selected for different events and keyboard keys, this allows to work faster and to avoid some mistakes while editing with the keyboard (and to see at the screen rarely).
Installation is very simple:
When installation complete, You can find new menu item in Delphi IDE menu under item Tools | Fast Type Expert ... Use it to open options dialog.
The are a lot of options, available to adjust. Open options dialog at any time using menu in Delphi IDE: Tools | Fast Type Expert... or pressing Ctrl+Shift+O. Following tabs are available:
General tab is to determine some general options: where to store options and dictionary, language of the Options Dialog itself.
Replace tab is to determine which keyboard keys are used with pop-up list, containing words found suitable for auto-complete input.
First group determines, which keys are used to accept word currently selected (in pop-up list) and to replace word under caret with such word immediately:
Additional options of this tab are following:
Words list tab is to select pop-up list timeout and behavior options.
Options of this tab determine when and how pop-up list with words available for replace is appearing and disappearing.
Rules tab is to select show pop-up list options.
Exclusions tab is to manage words, preventing pop-up list to show if such one is just before a caret in the IDE editor.
Hide after words - uncheck this box to stop
preventing popup for all words listed.
Case sensitive - case of words is taking into
account.
New - press the button to add new word.
Remove - press the button to remove selected
word(s).
Move up, Move down - control
words order.
Dictionary tab is to set dictionary options.
Self-teaching - if you uncheck this box, the
dictionary stops from collecting new often-used / often-replaced words and word
combinations.
Fixed dictionary - use (also) fixed.dic file as
a fixed dictionary. Edit fixed dictionary manually.
Words from all opened units - very expensive
option. Use it only if you have sufficiently power workstation.
Words from current unit - less expensive, but
still resource-capacious option. Use it only if you have power workstation.
Entries limit - set a smaller value to use less
memory resources. Old words in more often cases will be lost.
Auto merge when changed on disk - each merge
require some time, this is not very optimized process. Therefore, in many cases merging is
not required. So, when you are asked about merging just refuse it.
Confirmation before merging - use this box to
allow confirmation, if you answered "no more ask" when last time confirmed.
AutoSave group - select auto-save options
(default value is recommended for most cases).
Mouse tab is to set some actions for mouse events.
Sound tab is to set sound events. There is a default sound set provided, to use together with the Fast Type expert, but you can set your own sounds if you wish.
Shortcuts tab is to set shortcuts for some additional operations provided with the Fast Type Expert, and to set some miscellanous options (just to reuse free space left on this tab, but also affected with additional Fast Type operations).
Shortcuts are provided for following additional operations in Delphi IDE editor:
| Operation | Shortcut by default |
| Level up for begin-end, try-end, until-repeat, {$ifdef}-{$endif}, "("-")", "["-"]" and other similar blocks | Ctrl+[ |
| Switch between begin-end, try-end, until-repeat, {$ifdef}-{$endif}, "("-")", "["-"]" and other similar parenthesis | Ctrl+] |
| Convert current word / selection to upper case | Ctrl+U |
| Convert current word / selection to lower case | Ctrl+L (press twice to upper-case only the first character in the word) |
| Convert erroneously typed word / selection to / from English | Ctrl+E (useful for non-English users to correct typo) |
| Restore immediately just after replace from a list | Shift+Bksp |
| Start and stop recording macro | Ctrl+Shift+Num[5] (Num Lock should be ON for such selection) |
| Execute last recorded (or played) macro | Num[5] (Num Lock should be ON for such selection) |
| Execute macro from a list of all available macros | Ctrl+Num[5] |
| Show Fast Type Expert Options dialog | Ctrl+Shift+O |
Other options in Shortcuts tab:
Fast work with huge text (No ReDo). Redo become unavailable in the IDE Editor, but working with huge sources
become sufficiently faster. Turn this option ON, if you work with sources of size more
then 1Mbyte.
Automatic unquote '', "". If checked, typing quote character adds a pair quote for it, moving caret
just between those two.
Automatically close ), ], }. If checked, typing opening bracket adds a corresponding closing bracket an
most cases (except some special cases, e.g. in string constant).
Symmetric spaces (<-|->). If checked, typing several spaces just after opening bracket (when the caret
is between of two brackets), and then non-space is typed, adds the same amount of spaces
just before closing bracket.
At the end of the line only. Automatic close brackets does not work if you areediting existing line in
the editor, and there are some non-space characters following the caret.
Enter does not divide line (Shift+Enter used). May be can be useful for somebody.
Macros tab is to define and manage macros. The Fast Type Expert allows you to set up not only a single macro (as Delphi IDE allows to you with CTRL+SHIFT+R, CTRL+SHIFT+P) but a set of named and short-cut'ed macros. A small set of power macros already prepared, and you can just load it to start using it. In many cases these are more convenient then Delphi's Code Templates. And it is possible to record new macros at any time (Ctrl+Shift+Num[5] by default). In part, it is possible to use inner Find (Ctrl+F) operation while recording the macro, and using this inner Find garantees that the pattern defined there will be used always while playing the macro. Shortcuts defined for macro, are overriding existing Delphi IDE shortcuts, so if you still want to use some overriden key shortcuts, (re-)define another shortcuts for macros.
Substitutions tab is to define automatic substitutions. This is very powerful tool, even much power the Delphi IDE standard Code Templates. You define a substitution rule using some kind of regular expressions, and get in result a set of additional typing rules, which can help you type text much faster then usually (but some experience is required).
About tab always will show that this is "Unregistered evaluation copy". Just ignore this line, it means nothing, but my laziness to have time to make the Fast Type shareware and to become always supporting it...
Web: http://xcl.cjb.net/fasttype or http://kol.thaddy.co.uk (main page: http://xcl.cjb.net or http://kol.thaddy.co.uk is my KOL-related Web-Page).
My e-mail is provided in text file readme.txt. Please do not disturb me with suggestions, asking me to support Fast Type, asking to get sources etc.: I do not plan to spend a lot of time to it, and I do not plan to open sources. I just use it since 2001 and totally happy with it (so it is very bug-fixed and tested well by myself from the first build, though I decided to publish it only near the end of 2004). You may also do not wait that this Tool could ever be updated or improved in future.
With regards, Vladimir Kladov.