How can I use TBitmapAnimation in Delphi?

TBitmapAnimation is a component that can be used to animate a sequence of bitmap images in Delphi. Here is an example of how to use TBitmapAnimation:

1. First, you need to add the TBitmapAnimation component to the component palette of your Delphi IDE.
2. Next, you can drop the TBitmapAnimation component onto your form.
3. You can then set the properties of the component, such as the AutoPlay property, to automatically play the animation when the form is created.
4. You can set the animation’s images by assigning a TImageList to the Images property of the TBitmapAnimation component.
5. You can also set the animation’s frame rate, the number of times the animation is repeated, and the animation’s loop behavior by setting the properties FrameRate, RepeatCount and Loop respectively.
   
   Delphi/Pascal

   procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin BitmapAnimation1.AutoPlay := True; BitmapAnimation1.Images := ImageList1; BitmapAnimation1.FrameRate := 30; BitmapAnimation1.RepeatCount := 0; BitmapAnimation1.Loop := True; end;

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   procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject); begin   BitmapAnimation1.AutoPlay := True;   BitmapAnimation1.Images := ImageList1;   BitmapAnimation1.FrameRate := 30;   BitmapAnimation1.RepeatCount := 0;   BitmapAnimation1.Loop := True; end;

   
   You can also use the Start and Stop methods to start and stop the animation programmatically.
   
   Delphi/Pascal

   procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); begin BitmapAnimation1.Start; end; procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject); begin BitmapAnimation1.Stop; end;

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   procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); begin   BitmapAnimation1.Start; end;   procedure TForm1.Button2Click(Sender: TObject); begin   BitmapAnimation1.Stop; end;

   
   It’s important to note that TBitmapAnimation component uses the images of a TImageList component and it’s a good practice to have the same size for all images in the list, also the animation’s images must be in the same format (color depth, pixel format, etc.).

   Also, you can use the OnStart and OnStop events to perform specific actions when the animation starts or stops.

   Here are a few more things you can do with the TBitmapAnimation component:

   • You can use the CurrentFrame property to get or set the current frame of the animation.
   • You can use the FrameCount property to get the total number of frames in the animation.
   • You can use the OnProcess event to perform an action for each frame of the animation. This can be useful for updating the status of the animation or for creating a custom animation effect.
   • You can use the OnFinish event to perform an action when the animation finishes. This can be useful for performing cleanup tasks or for starting a new animation.
   • You can use the OnChangeFrame event to perform an action when the current frame of the animation changes. This can be useful for updating the status of the animation or for creating a custom animation effect.
   • You can use the Transparent property to enable or disable transparency for the animation. When transparency is enabled, the transparent pixels in the images will not be drawn, allowing the background to show through.
   • You can use the Quality property to set the quality of the animation, this property can be set to High, Medium, or Low

   It’s important to note that, TBitmapAnimation component is a lightweight component and it doesn’t have a memory management system, so it’s a good practice to free the resources used by the component when you are done using it.