Any tool to suggest unit reference automatically for Delphi 2010?

17
votes

MS Visual Studio has a great feature: it automatically suggests the units to add in using clause when you typing the code with refrences to absent standard classes.

Is there any 3-rd party tool to implement similar feature for Delphi?

I'm tired to add all those SysUtils, Windows, Messages etc in each new unit.

6
delphireferenceautocompletedelphi-2010delphi-units
+1 That's a great feature in VS that is sorely lacking in RAD Studio - David Heffernan
+1 what David said + it shouldn't be too complicated to parse all units from "paths" and store them in a sqlite db or something light so that when you press CTRL+SPACE and type something that's not related to units already included, it should show options like "declare type|class|etc." or "include unit X" if it finds what you're typing... - user497849
When you use code completion the unit will be added when it's not already there. So it is possible. - The_Fox
in Win7 (and may be Vista) you can add *.pas files to indexing in Control Panel.. so after typing for exmaple WM_CLOSE in start menu search string you will get some results.. of course it's not tool for delphi.. but it is handy to find needed units; see screenshot: img204.imageshack.us/img204/7278/123qav.png - teran

6 Answers

12
votes

If the unit which contains the reference is not yet in the uses list, this is how I save many manual steps:

  • right-click on the underlined (error-insighted) text
  • choose “Refactoring | Find Unit…“.

A dialog will present the available unit which contains the unknown type or symbol, and a mouse click adds the selected unit to the uses list of the current file.

2
votes

CNPack Input Helper can sugest and autocomplete units (sorry for another answer, but I can't comment other).

CNPack unfortunately don't auto-add units from place of code input but you can:

  • Copy a word from cursor place (CNPack->Editor enchancements->Tabset/Button->Clipboard operations->Cut/copy token...).
  • Eventually search this word in source files (grep) to identify unit.
  • Use CNPack->Toggle Uses/Include Field (Ctrl+u) and start typing and use CNPack->Input Helper sugestion/autocompletion, or IDE/GExperts/CNPack use unit future
  • Back to place of code edition
2
votes

The JCL includes the "Uses Wizard." It watches for compilation errors mentioning "Undeclared identifier," and when it sees one, it automatically adds the unit where that identifier is declared.

The package JclUsesExpert.dpk is only available for certain Delphi versions. I don't know if that's because the plug-in doesn't work in later versions, or if someone merely neglected to copy the project into later versions' folders.

1
votes

This is not a tool to suggest references, it only cleans up unneeded unit clauses.

CnPack IDE Wizards is an excellent opensource plugin for Delphi.
http://www.cnpack.org/index.php?lang=en

I use its Uses cleaner feature a lot. There is a menu item:
CnPack->Project Enhancements->Use Unit

I think this can be helpful for your needs.

0
votes

Or maybe you can try this: http://www.epocalipse.com/products.htm

Unit Expert

"A freeware Delphi add-in that allows you to quickly open units and also add them to the uses clause."

I never tried this expert but it semms promising.

0
votes

The rFindUnit IDE extension is the enhanced version of built-in "Refactoring | Find Unit…" function suggested by @mjn above.