Alexander Halser

I have a Delphi FMX app that runs fine on anything from macOS Big Sure to Sonoma. Just on the latest Sequoia release, it doesn't start. It seems, that this has to do with new sandbox restrictions. Any ideas what to change in the entitlements to make it run on Sequoia? The app is signed and notarized, compiled with Delphi 11.3. This is the crash log I get on Sequoia (from a different mac, not my development machine): 2024-11-07 08:43:02.786318 <Notice>: Last log repeated 1 times 2024-11-07 08:43:02.785852 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018) <Notice>: internal event: WILL_SPAWN, code = 0 2024-11-07 08:43:02.785996 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018) <Notice>: service state: spawn scheduled 2024-11-07 08:43:02.785999 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018) <Notice>: service state: spawning 2024-11-07 08:43:02.786053 <Notice>: Coalition Cache Hit: app<application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018(501)> [985] 2024-11-07 08:43:02.786105 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018) <Notice>: launching: launch job demand 2024-11-07 08:43:02.787814 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: xpcproxy spawned with pid 1131 2024-11-07 08:43:02.787872 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: internal event: SPAWNED, code = 0 2024-11-07 08:43:02.787875 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: service state: xpcproxy 2024-11-07 08:43:02.787956 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: internal event: SOURCE_ATTACH, code = 0 2024-11-07 08:43:02.813870 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: service state: running 2024-11-07 08:43:02.813881 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: internal event: INIT, code = 0 2024-11-07 08:43:02.813884 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: job state = running 2024-11-07 08:43:02.814097 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: Successfully spawned SnipSVG[1131] because launch job demand 2024-11-07 08:43:02.845832 (pid/1131 [SnipSVG]) <Notice>: uncorking exec source upfront 2024-11-07 08:43:02.845882 (pid/1131 [SnipSVG]) <Notice>: created 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355264 (pid/1131 [SnipSVG]) <Notice>: shutting down 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355286 (pid/1131 [SnipSVG]) <Notice>: cleaning up 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355364 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: exited due to exit(217), ran for 567ms 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355370 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: service state: exited 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355381 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: internal event: EXITED, code = 0 2024-11-07 08:43:03.355386 (gui/501/application.SnipSVG.16305011.16305018 [1131]) <Notice>: job state = exited ... My entitlements list:

Problem solved. It wasn't the permissions, but a native NSToolbar control. This toolbar contained two NSToolbarSidebarTrackingSeparator items, which were used to create a vertical separator bar on the toolbar. While this had worked before, it's illegal for macOS 15. Only one of this item type is permitted.

I am using TEmbeddedWB (an extended version of TWebBrowser, the "latest" from GitHub from 2011) in a VCL application, where it works just fine. The very same code compiled with 64 bit, however, crashes on some pages/scripts. The crash comes from C:\Windows\System32\jscript9.dll and reads: First chance exception at $00007FFF99D9840. Exception Class $C00000090 with message "c00000090 FLOAT_INVALID_OPERATION' It can be duplicated with a very simple test app in Delphi 10.1 or 10.3. If I use a standard TWebBrowser instead of TEmbeddedWB, it runs fine both as 32 and 64 bit. So I assume it is some declaration issue in one of the old units of TEmbeddedWB, that are not compatible with 64 bit. Any suggestions what to look for in the code?

Signed and notarized, as explained above. Shouldn't that be sufficient?

The error reporting solution from JustAddCode that you mention in your tutorial does work reasonably well. While the line numbers are pretty odd, it at least delivers the function name. I was able to solve the problem on macOS with this tool.

Bringing up this topic again... I have managed to get a stack trace report on macOS, but I am not entirely sure what to do with it. There is a Windows app called "addr2line.exe", which I assume is supposed to parse the file that contains the debug symbols (for macOS that would be MyAppName.dSYM, right?). Then I have to feed it the addresses that I got from the error log. And it should return unit and line number where the error actually occurred. However, addr2line.exe doesn't seem to understand the format of the .dSYM file. Is this because it expects a Windows executable? Probably yes. Do I have to do this on the Mac with a macOS version of this tool? If yes, which is it? My stack trace looks like this: OS Version: macOS (Version 11.6.7) Product Version: 1.0.0 Product Name: FmxApp Platform: OSXARM64 Config: Debug DateTime: 31_10_24 10_41_00 Log-File: FmxApp-31_10_24-10_41_00.log Stack trace: 00000001024C8000:000000010254298C: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102D1EC24: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102A20750: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102A85428: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102A20D98: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C8A50C: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C2A308: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C2A66C: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C17394: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:00000001024CB438: FmxApp 0000000192AA5000:0000000192C69DC8: AppKit 0000000192AA5000:0000000192C6915C: AppKit 0000000192AA5000:0000000192C68034: AppKit 0000000192AA5000:0000000192F35194: AppKit 0000000192AA5000:0000000192AD78A0: AppKit 00000001024C8000:00000001024CB260: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C10CCC: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C10C14: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102C7E464: FmxApp 00000001024C8000:0000000102D1EF24: FmxApp Modules: AppKit: FmxApp:304f03e2f8d59eb00757a868fa075d26 Title: Application Error Message: Access violation at address 0000000102D1EE30, accessing address 0000000000000000

The Windows D2D implementation in FMX in FMX.Canvas.D2D.pas always assumes a premultiplied alpha. This is probably the source of the problem. Anders Melander can perhaps comment on that with more expertise than I have. D2D1_ALPHA_MODE (dcommon.h) - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn One option to solve it would be to write a TCustomBitmapCodec for raw PNG data and load/save your PNGs through this codec exclusively. If SKIA is an option for you, install SKIA and enable it for your app. SKIA effectively implements its own canvas and its own image codecs, leaving your PNG file as it is. I tested your example image with SKIA enabled and the bitmap stays the same, no matter how often it is loaded and saved. Obviously, the SKIA codecs do a better job.

IMO the gestures are designed for real touchscreens and not for touchpads. I believe this has never worked with touchpads. Anyway, I have implemented a solution for myself by patching FMX.Platform.Mac, which was already patched anyway to work around the Sonoma scaling bug on MacOS. This is certainly not for everyone, but works like a charm. It uses the Angle parameter for an alternative zoom gesture (Angle is used in rotation gestures, for zoom it's always zero). Your app needs to respond to this accordingly. Most importantly, it doesn't break regular zoom gestures coming from real touch screens. procedure TFMXViewBase.magnifyWithEvent(event: NSEvent); var ... begin ... if FGestureControl <> nil then begin LTouches := event.touchesMatchingPhase(NSTouchPhaseTouching, NSView(Super)); if LTouches.count >= 2 then begin LTouchesArray := LTouches.allObjects; LTouch := TNSTouch.Wrap(LTouchesArray.objectAtIndex(0)); LDeviceSize := LTouch.deviceSize; FEventInfo.Distance := 0; //reset the distance // Find the greatest distance between the touches. for I := 0 to LTouches.count - 2 do begin LTouch := TNSTouch.Wrap(LTouchesArray.objectAtIndex(I)); LPoint := LTouch.normalizedPosition; for J := 1 to LTouches.count - 1 do begin LTouch := TNSTouch.Wrap(LTouchesArray.objectAtIndex(J)); LPoint2 := LTouch.normalizedPosition; Distance := Round(Sqrt(Sqr(LPoint.x * LDeviceSize.width - LPoint2.x * LDeviceSize.width) + Sqr(LPoint.y * LDeviceSize.height - LPoint2.y * LDeviceSize.height))); if Distance > FEventInfo.Distance then FEventInfo.Distance := Distance; end; FEventInfo.GestureID := igiZoom; if Supports(FGestureControl, IGestureControl, GestureObj) then GestureObj.CMGesture(FEventInfo); FEventInfo.Flags := []; end end {ECS/ALEX} else if LTouches.count = 0 then begin FEventInfo.Distance := 0; FEventInfo.Angle := event.magnification; FEventInfo.GestureID := igiZoom; if Supports(FGestureControl, IGestureControl, GestureObj) then GestureObj.CMGesture(FEventInfo); FEventInfo.Flags := []; end; end {ECS/ALEX} else //send the message up the responder chain NSView(Super).magnifyWithEvent(event); end;

No, I haven't. But the magnifyWithEvent comes reliably and this is what Delphi actually evaluates. I am not that deep into native MacOS development, so I rather stay with the methods that Delphi already implements.

The problem is in FMX.Platform.Mac: procedure TFMXViewBase.magnifyWithEvent(event: NSEvent); var ... begin ... if FGestureControl <> nil then begin LTouches := event.touchesMatchingPhase(NSTouchPhaseTouching, NSView(Super)); {ECS/ALEX Here comes our problem: LTouches.count is zero, that's why the gesture event is not fired. I assume that we have to deal with "event.magnification" to determine "FEventInfo.Distance". } if LTouches.count >= 2 then begin LTouchesArray := LTouches.allObjects; LTouch := TNSTouch.Wrap(LTouchesArray.objectAtIndex(0)); LDeviceSize := LTouch.deviceSize; ... I am currently experimenting with the event.magnification value (which is a float value), to match FEventInfo.Distance in a way that the example from the official docs keeps working the way it promises, but doesn't. However, I have a hard time to believe that this has never worked. If Emba has dedicated examples, there must have been a time when this did work properly. It perhaps depends on the MacOS version. My own version of MacOS that I'm using for testing is relatively old (Big Sur), with a second Mac used by one of my colleagues running Sonoma. The gesture is not fired on either machine, but may have been working on OS versions < Big Sur. If it has never worked with touchpad gestures, it might have worked and still work with a real touch screen. Is anyone competent to comment on that - does the igiZoom gesture work as advertised with touch screen Mac (we don't have them here, so I cannot test this)?

Yes, rotate works as described in the docs. Zoom and pan do not. There's no event at all for these. The pan gesture (swiping up or down with 2 fingers) obviously gets translated into a mouse wheel message.

So, it's officially broken, despite documentation says the opposite? Gestures in FireMonkey - RAD Studio (embarcadero.com)

I wonder if you found a solution for this. The rotate gesture seems to be the only gesture that works with a MacOS trackpad. Everything else - simply broken.

When pressing the Windows key plus the right or left arrow key simultaneously, the window is moved to fill the right or left half of the screen, respectively. This works for FMX forms as well, out of the box. At least with D11, not sure about older FMX versions. However, when you release the Win key, Windows usually offers (if enabled in global settings) a list of windows to fill the other half of the screen. And this is the issue I am wondering about: A VCL form is shown in this "also snap..." list. An FMX form is not shown. I assume that either a param in CreateParams is responsible for this behavior, or a Windows message needs to be handled to enable it (which is implemented in VCL but not in FMX for Windows). Does anyone know what causes the FMX window to be hidden and how to overcome it?

Sure. Winapi.Windows.pas and SetWindowLong would be difficult to compile anyway for MacOS, iOS and Android 😉 Are there any other negative side effects known?

Partial answer: in VCL the behavior is triggered by MainFormOnTaskbar := true; More detailed answer: it is the param WS_EX_APPWINDOW in the window GWL_EXSTYLE that makes the window appear (automatically set by MainFormOnTaskbar). In FMX, the main form can be made visible in the selection list by setting the form's (Windows) window handle manually: procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); var WND: HWND; begin wnd := FmxHandleToHWND(self.handle); SetWindowLong(wnd, GWL_EXSTYLE, GetWindowLong(wnd, GWL_EXSTYLE) or WS_EX_APPWINDOW); //now the form is visible in the "Also snap..." list end; New question: Any known downside or side effects due to this modification?

Not that I know of, but MS Edge keeps installing new stuff on it's own...

Nope. Delphi 11.3 without Skia, just FMX with GDI+. WebP works on MacOS as well, probably iOS, too.

I just realized, more or less by accident, that an FMX TBitmap can load WebP image files. I tested a few of them, but they seem to be all perfectly fine. bmp := TBitmap.create; bmp.LoadFromFile('C:\Users\Alexander\Pictures\_test.webp'); bmp.SaveToFile('C:\Users\Alexander\Pictures\_test.png'); //works bmp.SaveToFile('C:\Users\Alexander\Pictures\_test.webp'); //this fails! The load dialog in the IDE does not include webp, so you cannot select it. You can rename a webp image to ".bmp" and load it though. Internally, the TFixedMultiResBitmap converts it to PNG data, which heavily increases the binary image data stored in the form. It's like you had used a PNG in the first place. So, when using webP for UI display, it probably makes sense to store them as RC_DATA resources and load from a resource stream at runtime. Saving WebP fails with an error. The webp feature seems to come from the operating system. GDI+ explicitly mentions WEBP among other formats: Image File Format Constants (Gdiplusimaging.h) - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn Does anyone know since when GDI+ supports WebP? Was this implemented in Windows 8 or Windows 10? I am pretty sure that Windows 7 GDI+ did not support it. Which means that an FMX app that runs on Win7 would not be able to load it at runtime.

Place 2 images inside the button and make them visible/invisible at runtime.

Registration of the url scheme will open your app, when such a link is being clicked (e.g. "myregisteredprotocol://this&is&url&data=whatever"). However, to receive and decode the url part, your application must implement the IURLEventHandler interface and add an event handler. Send me a PM if you need code for that.

On MacOS and iOS it's called CFBundleURLTypes. CFBundleURLTypes | Apple Developer Documentation Your app registers a url scheme in info.plist and once installed, you can address and open the app through the registered protocol, similar to Windows.

We have just released an open-source Delphi implementation for a HTML-based cross-platform application help system. Information page: Ziphelp - an open cross-platform help format Direct download link: https://www.helpandmanual.com/download/delphi-ziphelp-demo-source.zip About Ziphelp On the surface, Ziphelp is basically HTML in a compressed zip archive, hence the name. Pack any folder with HTML files into a zip archive and you are good to go. But Ziphelp is more than that, it is a protocol based on the standard sitemap protocol, designed to give a help viewer (here: the Delphi implementation) extended information about the content of the help system. That is help context numbers, help keywords, associative keywords, page titles. This information is missing in a standard sitemap.xml. Ziphelp extends the sitemap protocol and enables direct communication of an app with the help system. The Ziphelp protocol is not just for zip archives. It works inside an archive, with uncompressed folders or with HTML content loaded directly from a website. A Delphi desktop app may be deployed with local application help, uncompressed, zipped or embedded. A mobile or web application might not ship with local HTML content, but refer to an online version instead. The mechanism is the same in both cases and the TZiphelp component implements this for Delphi. Demo Application A demo app for VCL and FMX (Win/MacOS) is included. The demo builds on standard Delphi components (TWebBrowser) to display the help system.

eWriter is an always compressed single-file format, created by our tool Help+Manual. It has a couple of advantages over simple zipped HTML, but is a proprietary format. Ziphelp, on the other hand, is an open protocol. Maybe zipped, maybe not, you choose. You can create it with standard tools and view it with Delphi's on-board components. That's the entire point of this endeavour: a format/protocol for application help, that is open on both ends (creator and viewer) without dependency on any particular tool. Between 3 and 20 lines of code. Check out the VCL example in the download file. It implements all help methods including F1 help with standard TControl.HelpContext and TControl.HelpKeyword properties, plus a validity check [of context numbers] and iteration of parent controls. If you want to skip the latter, you are basically down to 3-5 lines of code. Does not apply. If you want to zip-pack your HTML content, you most probably distribute it with your app. If you choose the online version, then there's no zip.

A personal preference, no technical obstacle. A mobile app I want to be lean and small. So, I'd put the help system on the app's website and let it refer to the online version, displaying the help in the regular system browser. The demo has an option that illustrates this (though the demo uses its internal TWebBrowser to display the result). In other words: I would not use the zip functionality for a mobile app and rather remove the reference to system.zip in ziphelp.pas for those platforms with a compiler switch (plus the single line that uses it). The rationale behind this consideration is that a mobile app goes to one of the stores and automated updates are very likely, minimizing the risk of a version mismatch between app and help. Furthermore I expect a mobile device to be online anyway. Both points may not apply to a desktop app. But it's really a personal preference.