A component named DotNetForm already exists.????

[Ian Branch 127]

Hi Team,

D10.4.1, Win 10.

Of late when I start D10.4.1 I have been getting the above error message as Delphi/IDE starts up.

It used to happen infrequently and closing/restarting Delphi normally restored normal service.

Of late it has become more prevalent requiring multiple restarts of Delphi before a normal start happens.

If I OK the error and let it continue I end up with Delphi windows scattered on the screen.

I have done a search of all .pas & .dfm files on my PC and can't find any 'DotNetForm' component.

I have also removed third party stuff like GExperts & cnPack but it still persists.

Open to any thoughts/suggestions.

 

Regards & TIA,

Ian

[Dave Nottage 557]

30 minutes ago, Ian Branch said:

If I OK the error and let it continue I end up with Delphi windows scattered on the screen.

That can happen when a desktop (.dst) file becomes "invalid". Try renaming whatever your startup layout is (default is C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Embarcadero\BDS\21.0\Startup Layout.dst) and restart Delphi - it should recreate the .dst file.

[Ian Branch 127]

Thanks Dave,

That seems to have fixed it OK.

There seems to be some corrupting interaction happening with Tools|Saving and Desktop|'Save project desktop when closing'.

If I enable that checkbox, open a project, do nothing with the project, do a close all for the project then close Delphi, all good.

If I enable that checkbox, open a project, do nothing with the project, and close Delphi without closing the project specifically, the original 'DotNetForm' issue returns.  :-(

 

Is it just me or is there a bug here?

 

Regards,

Ian

[Dave Nottage 557]

This seems related: https://quality.embarcadero.com/browse/RSP-31075

[Ian Branch 127]

Hi Dave.  Yes.  Similar.

I can work without saving project desktops for now but it will be nice to get it fixed.

I have added my Vote for the issue.

Ian

[Baron Software 2]

I have been experiencing this problem for the past month where i have to rename or delete the startup layout.dst. I was wondering if it has anything to do with the last service patch i installed.  It never happened prior to this.

[Ian Branch 127]

Hi Baron,

I couldn't say but all things are possible. 🙂

It still happens from time to time but I live with it att.

 

Ian

Edited February 3, 2021 by Ian Branch

[Baron Software 2]

Now it is constantly happening whenever i open the IDE.  Removed the startup layout but it doesn't do the trick at all.

[RockWallaby 1]

Has anyone managed to find a solution for this? 

 

I'm getting this message more frequently now.  I get it when starting the IDE and when closing projects.  I also get it with some property editors.

 

I have tried all of the fixes suggested here without success.

[dummzeuch 1505]

Maybe somebody who experiences this problem could use an IDE Explorer plug-in to find out what kind of form this is? That could give you a clue about the cause and how to avoid it.

(I never saw that error, but I rarely use this IDE version.)

[RockWallaby 1]

On 1/15/2022 at 6:57 PM, dummzeuch said:

Maybe somebody who experiences this problem could use an IDE Explorer plug-in to find out what kind of form this is? That could give you a clue about the cause and how to avoid it.

(I never saw that error, but I rarely use this IDE version.)

Do you have any suggestions on what plug-ins could be used?

[dummzeuch 1505]

There are three plugins with that name. I linked them all in my blog post.

https://blog.dummzeuch.de/delphi-ide-explorer-expert/

[RockWallaby 1]

2 hours ago, dummzeuch said:

There are three plugins with that name. I linked them all in my blog post.

https://blog.dummzeuch.de/delphi-ide-explorer-expert/

Thank you! I'll check them out.

[RockWallaby 1]

Thanks again for mentioning those plugins.  IDE Explorer revealed that it's something called TMetricsView.

 

Anyone know what that's for?  I'm wondering if I can disable it.

 

 

[dummzeuch 1505]

There are several forms that display metrics. And yes, it's probably possible to disable it by removing some package. No idea which one though. Maybe the package names might give you a clue. The GExperts PE Information expert will show you the classes a package exports, so that might also help to find it.

 

I'm glad my hint helped a bit.