Setup

How to install TEgFireGrid, which units to use, and the tools it adds to the Form Designer.

Installation

TEgFireGrid is distributed as precompiled binaries only: the design-time and runtime packages (.bpl, .dcp) and the compiled units (.dcu) for the four platforms (Windows 32 and 64-bit, Android 32 and 64-bit). Run the installer with the Delphi IDE closed; it:

copies the binaries to its installation folder, under Library\Delphi13\<platform>;
adds those folders to the IDE’s library path of each platform;
registers the design-time package, so the grid appears on the component palette;
copies the runtime package to the IDE’s bin and bin64 folders;
installs this manual (EgFireGrid.chm) and registers it with the IDE’s help.

Nothing needs to be compiled or added to the library path by hand. The installer is for Delphi 13 (RAD Studio 13); it installs for the Windows user who runs it.

Package	Role
`EgFireGridR370.bpl`	Runtime package: the grid itself
`EgFireGridD370.bpl`	Design-time package: the palette entry, the Columns editor and Arrange Columns

Units

Unit	Role
`EgFireGrid`	The component: `TEgFireGrid`, its columns and most of its types. The unit to add to your `uses` clause.
`EgFireGrid.RowSource`	Declares `TEgFireGridRowId` and `TEgFireGridDataKind`: add it only to a unit that names one of them (for example to keep the result of `SelectedRowIds`).
`EgFireGrid.DataSetRowSource`	The link between the grid and the dataset (internal).
`EgFireGrid.XLSXExport`	The `.xlsx` writer used by `ExportToXLSX` (internal).

The internal units never need to appear in your own uses clause.

Design-time use

Drop a TEgFireGrid on a form from the EasyGate page of the component palette and set its DataSource: with an open dataset the grid shows its data in the Form Designer, with a default column per field.

Columns editor. Double-click the grid, or choose Columns Editor… in its menu, to edit Columns. The Add All Fields button adds a column for every field that has none; each column is then selected in the Object Inspector to set its properties.
Arrange Columns. Choose Arrange Columns in the grid’s menu (it shows a check mark while on) to size and move the columns with the mouse on the form: drag a column’s edge to size it, drag a title to move the column, click a title or a cell to select that column in the Object Inspector. A double-click on the grid, or the menu item again, ends the mode. It works on the columns of Columns, not on default columns, which are not stored.

Title clicks, sorting and editing do nothing in the Form Designer.

Deployment

Windows. The grid is linked into the application; if the application is built with runtime packages, deploy EgFireGridR370.bpl with it.
Android. The grid is linked into the application: there is nothing to deploy for it.

Demo edition

The Demo edition has the same features as the full edition, with these limits:

Windows: the grid works only while the Delphi IDE is running. Without it, creating a grid shows the message “The Delphi IDE must be running for this component to work.” and ends the application.
Android: the grid shows the text EgFireGrid Demo over its rows.