[SOLVED] Import Type Library

[AMarchant]

Hello

There was some discussion in this BugTracker thread which seemed to suggest that importing type libraries would be an option from one of the Lazarus menus (probably tools), but in my new 1.0.10 install there is no such menu item.

Can someone tell me where to find it? Thank you in advance

[BigChimp]

Documentation here:
http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/LazActiveX

Please make sure you installed the component in Lazarus as instructed on that page.

[AMarchant]

Excellent, thank you very much indeed.

EDIT: OK, next problem, I don't have a package listed called "LazActiveX", and there is no file under my Lazarus directory called "LazActiveX.lpk" - again this is Lazarus 1.0.10 with FPC 2.6.2, default installation.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/1809/zf2c.png

Is this something I need to download separately? Thank you again

[JuhaManninen]

EDIT: OK, next problem, I don't have a package listed called "LazActiveX", and there is no file under my Lazarus directory called "LazActiveX.lpk" - again this is Lazarus 1.0.10 with FPC 2.6.2, default installation.

It is only in Lazarus trunk (= development version). I can recommend it, it is safe and stable most of times. First make sure you have FPC installed and working.
Then get Lazarus trunk with :
 $  svn co http://svn.freepascal.org/svn/lazarus/trunk lazarus
or similar thing with TortoiseSVN. More info here:
  http://wiki.lazarus.freepascal.org/Getting_Lazarus
(but you don't need FPC trunk for using Lazarus trunk).

[AMarchant]

Ah, I see - thank you!

OK, I'm working through the process described on the "Getting Lazarus" and "Getting Lazarus" wiki pages.
I've installed TortoiseSVN.

I've skipped the "To get Lazarus for the first time" since it's already installed, and gone down to the "To update Lazarus sources" section.

It says:

Open Windows Explorer
Right click on the source directory

So, first problem, there is no "source" directory under my lazarus folder. There's one under FPC, but I'm updating Lazarus, and not FPC, right?

Second problem, the screenshot on that page shows the context menu for TortoiseSVN with an entry that says "SVN Update", but there is no entry in the context menu like that when I right click on a folder, I've only got "SVN Checkout":

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3223/2c6.png

Any help? Thanks again

[BigChimp]

First you need to checkout which gets the initial set of files from the repo, then (and when updating in future) you can update to get any updates.

I'd be surprised if the instructions didn't mention this?!?

[AMarchant]

Ah-huh, thank you for the clarification!

EDIT: OK, I was confused again. Now that I've followed the steps on the wiki page from top-to-bottom, it all seems to be going well. It was the "get lazarus for the first time" that threw me, since Lazarus is already installed - but I see now that it means "get Lazarus source for the first time" rather than the entire install

[JuhaManninen]

... since Lazarus is already installed - but I see now that it means "get Lazarus source for the first time" rather than the entire install

Don't ever never try to mix the installed release version sources with sources got from revision control (SVN)!
To avoid extra confusion please uninstall and remove the release version before proceeding. They can co-exist but it will be an "advanced lesson" after you get trunk running.
1. Uninstall existing Lazarus
2. Install FPC 2.6.2 if not done yet.
3. Checkout Lazarus trunk sources from SVN.
4. "make all"
That's about it.

[AMarchant]

Thanks for the advisement - somehow I misinterpreted your earlier message where you said:

First make sure you have FPC installed and working

- to mean I needed to already have FCP *and* Lazarus installed before proceeding. But that was entirely down to my comprehension error. I do have a mix now (of SVN and installer code/units), but it seems to be working OK, and I've already imported the library I needed.

I'll use this to check whether it will be possible to do what I want to do with Lazarus/FPC and then start again if it proves to be viable.

Much appreciated!

[JuhaManninen]

I do have a mix now (of SVN and installer code/units), but it seems to be working OK, and I've already imported the library I needed.
I'll use this to check whether it will be possible to do what I want to do with Lazarus/FPC and then start again if it proves to be viable.

Great! If it works then no need to start over again.
Yes, different Lazarus sources can easily co-exist in separate directories. I was just over-cautious with my advice because people are having so many problems with installing and running it.
Most problems originate from trunk snapshots. They include FPC compiler. Then people install other compiler version without knowing how to configure them. Then they copy a new snapshot on an old one...
Updating a snapshot from SVN is one common experiment, too, because "the sources are already there". Sometimes it feels unreal how many problems people can create with installing and running Lazarus.

I personally can recommend trunk directly from SVN. There is also a Git mirror available.
A revision control system lets you update quickly and keeps network traffic low. It is the only way to go if you report bugs and want to test their fixes immediately, or you make patches yourself.

[AMarchant]

Excellent, thank you again You've been most helpful