Installation

Before you begin

Close the Delphi IDE before running the installer. Installing packages while the IDE is open may cause the registration to fail or require a manual restart.

Running the installer

Run the appropriate installer for your Delphi version and edition:

• EgStrParserSetup-2.0.0-D12.exe — Standard edition, Delphi 12
• EgStrParserSetup-2.0.0-D13.exe — Standard edition, Delphi 13
• EgStrParserProSetup-2.0.0-D12.exe — Pro edition, Delphi 12
• EgStrParserProSetup-2.0.0-D13.exe — Pro edition, Delphi 13
• EgStrParserDemoSetup-2.0.0-D12.exe — Demo edition, Delphi 12
• EgStrParserDemoSetup-2.0.0-D13.exe — Demo edition, Delphi 13

Follow the wizard. The installer requires administrator privileges to write to Program Files and to update the Delphi registry entries.

Windows security warning

The installers are digitally signed with a self-signed code-signing certificate. Windows SmartScreen may display a blue warning dialog with the message “Windows protected your PC” or “Unknown publisher” before the installer runs. This is expected and does not indicate a problem with the file.

To proceed, click More info in the warning dialog, then click Run anyway. If the dialog shows a publisher name of Easygate, Lda., the file is the original unmodified installer.

Two installation types are offered:

• Full — all available components: VCL and FMX packages, core DCU, documentation, and parser source code (Pro edition only).
• Custom — choose which components to install individually.

The core DCU component is always installed and cannot be deselected. The available optional components are:

• VCL packages — runtime and design-time packages for VCL applications.
• FMX packages — runtime and design-time packages for FireMonkey applications.
• Documentation — the library manual in PDF and CHM format, in English and Portuguese.
• Parser source code — Pro edition only.

In Full mode all optional components are installed. In Custom mode all components are shown pre-selected (matching the Full selection) and can be individually deselected.

What the installer does

The installer performs the following steps automatically:

1. Copies the compiled packages (.bpl, .dcp, .dcu) to the installation directory under Lib\.
2. Registers the design-time packages in the Delphi IDE by writing to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Embarcadero\BDS\<version>\Known Packages.
3. Adds the library subdirectories for the selected package components (VCL and/or FMX) to the Delphi library search path in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Embarcadero\BDS\<version>\Library\Win32 and \Win64. Core DCU paths are not added automatically; add them per-project as described in Using the core DCU.
4. If a previous version of EgStrParser is detected, it is uninstalled first.

Registration is performed per-user (HKEY_CURRENT_USER), so it applies only to the current Windows user account.

Verifying the installation

Open the Delphi IDE. Open the Component Palette (View > Tool Palette) and search for TEgStrParser. The component should appear in the Easygate category. If the component does not appear, go to Component > Install Packages, locate the EgStrParser design-time package in the list, and ensure it is checked.

Uninstalling

Use Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program and select EgStrParser. The uninstaller removes all files copied by the installer and removes the library paths and Known Packages entries from the Delphi registry. Files created or modified after installation (for example, source files copied to a project directory) are not removed.

Pro edition — source files

The Pro edition installer includes the parser library source files as an optional component. Run EgStrParserProSetup-2.0.0-D12.exe or EgStrParserProSetup-2.0.0-D13.exe and select Full to install all components including source, or Custom to choose individually.

The files EgStrParser.pas and EgStrParserComp.pas are copied to <install dir>\Source\. To use them in a project, add that directory to the project search path, or copy them directly to the project directory.

Using the core DCU

The core DCU lets you compile the parser directly into your application without requiring the runtime package (.bpl). Each platform folder contains two DCUs: EgStrParser.dcu (the parsing engine) and EgStrParserComp.dcu (the TEgStrParser component).

The DCU is installed to:

<install dir>\Lib\Delphi370\Win32\Release\core\   (Win32, Delphi 13)
<install dir>\Lib\Delphi370\Win64\Release\core\   (Win64, Delphi 13)
<install dir>\Lib\Delphi290\Win32\Release\core\   (Win32, Delphi 12)
<install dir>\Lib\Delphi290\Win64\Release\core\   (Win64, Delphi 12)

To use it, add the appropriate path to your project search path (not the global Delphi library path) and add EgStrParser and, if needed, EgStrParserComp to the uses clause. The TEgStrParser component is available through the core DCU; ParseInput can also be called directly without the component.

The installer does not add the core DCU paths to the global Delphi library path, to avoid conflicts with the package DCUs already registered there.

Example — adding the path in the project options:

1. Open Project > Options > Building > Delphi Compiler.
2. In Search path, add the core DCU path for your target platform and Delphi version (e.g. C:\Program Files\Easygate\EgStrParser\Lib\Delphi370\Win64\Release\core).
3. In your unit, add EgStrParser to the uses clause and call ParseInput directly.

uses EgStrParser;

var
  R: TParseResult;
begin
  R := ParseInput('10/2/26 ~ 11/2/26', itDate);
  if R.ResultType = otRange then
    ShowMessage(R.SQLExpression);
end;