RAD Studio: Object Inspector, Structure, and Palette Explained
Delphi’s RAD Studio (Rapid Application Development Studio) provides a powerful IDE
(Integrated Development Environment) for building applications visually. The three
main tools that help in designing forms and managing components are:
1. Object Inspector
2. Structure Pane
3. Tool Palette
1. Object Inspector
The Object Inspector allows you to modify properties and events of components
(buttons, labels, forms, etc.) at design-time without writing code.
Key Features:
• Displays Properties (appearance, size, position, text, etc.) of selected objects.
• Shows Events (OnClick, OnKeyPress, OnChange) where you can assign event
handlers.
• Provides a categorized or alphabetized list of properties and events.
Example: Changing a Button’s Properties in the Object Inspector
1. Select a TButton on the form.
2. In the Object Inspector, change:
o Caption → "Click Me" (Changes the text on the button).
o Left → 100, Top → 50 (Moves the button).
o Enabled → False (Disables the button).
3. Click on the Events tab and double-click OnClick to create an event handler in
code.
2. Structure Pane
The Structure Pane (Structure View) shows a hierarchical tree of all components on
the form, making it easy to navigate between objects.
Key Features:
• Displays all components and their relationships (nested inside containers like
TPanel).
• Helps organize complex forms with multiple UI elements.
• Allows quick selection of objects for editing in the Object Inspector.
3. Tool Palette
The Tool Palette provides all available components (VCL and FMX controls) that you
can drag onto your form.
Key Features:
• Components are categorized:
o Standard: TButton, TLabel, TEdit, TCheckBox, etc.
o Additional: TGroupBox, TBitBtn, etc.
o Dialogs: TOpenDialog, TSaveDialog, etc.
o Database: TDataSource, TTable, etc.
o Win32: TTimer, TProgressBar, etc.
• You can search for components quickly.
Example: Adding a Button to the Form
1. Open the Tool Palette.
2. Go to the Standard category.
3. Drag a TButton onto the form.
4. Modify its properties using the Object Inspector.
Summary of Differences
Feature Function
Object Inspector Modifies properties and events of selected components.
Structure Pane Shows a hierarchical tree of all objects in the form.
Tool Palette Provides a list of UI components to drag onto the form.
RAD Studio IDE toolbar
Several icons used for project management, debugging, and running applications.
Below is an explanation of the most common icons in this toolbar:
1. File & Project Management Icons
New File/Project – Creates a new file or project.
Open File/Project – Opens an existing Delphi project or source file.
Save – Saves the current file.
Save All – Saves all open files in the project.
2. Debugging & Execution Icons
▶ Run (F9) – Compiles and runs the project.
⏯ Pause Execution – Pauses the running program for debugging.
■ Stop Execution – Stops the running application.
Toggle Breakpoint – Adds or removes a breakpoint for debugging.
3. Debugging & Error Checking
Step Over (F8) – Runs the current line of code without stepping into functions.
Step Into (F7) – Steps into the next function or method.
Step Out (Shift+F8) – Completes the current function and returns to the caller.
4. Build & Compile Icons
Compile – Compiles the project without running it.
Build – Recompiles all project files.
Deploy – Deploys the application to a target platform.
These icons help in coding, debugging, and running applications efficiently in
Delphi's RAD Studio.