how to add comment in delphi form

Question

I want to add some comments the automatically generated form (dfm) files. In pas we can comment using // or {} but how to add comment in dfm?

Is it possible to add comment? I tried add comment at end of dfm but when i reopen comment gets deleted.

thanks or help.

Answer 1

No, that is not possible. A DFM file is nothing but a representation of the object structure. Normally you shouldn't read nor write any DFM file directly (unless you know exactly what you do). Earlier versions of Delphi used the internal binary format for DFM files, which can still be achieved by changing a setting. There is no place for comments in that, too.

Update: You can still write your documentation right above the declaration of the control in the PAS file.

Answer 2

Published component properties are written to the DFM file, and the IDE manages that entire process. Any unsupported content in the DFM will be discarded the next time the IDE opens the form, which you have already observed.

Workaround: If you just want to add comments to a small number of components, you could easily write a component wrapper and add one new published property where you could add a comment through the property editor. Kind of a hokey workaround, but doable... The drawback is that your comments would be compiled into the EXE.