Release Notes

Go Up to What's New

These Release Notes contain important information that might not appear in the main product documentation. We recommend that you read this page in its entirety.

Installing, Uninstalling, and Upgrading RAD Studio

Before you install, uninstall, or upgrade the product, read the following files, for your chosen language (xx can be en, de, fr or ja):

• radstudio_install_xx.htm: lists the system requirements, as well as installation and upgrade procedures.
• radstudio_license_xx.rtf: contains your Software License and Support agreement.
• radstudio_deploy_xx.htm: contains information about deployment.

Read the latest version of the radstudio_install_xx.htm file, available at the following locations:

• Installation Notes.
• The installation directory. The default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\22.0

Offline Installer

• Download the installer and the.gof file to the same folder
• Start the installler

It will automatically detect the offline mode, and it will use the offline image to install the RAD Studio features.

If you use the offline installer, RAD Studio will not be able to access the GetIt Package Manager until you manually switch to "online mode". To do this, we recommend using the GetItCmd.exe tool: GetItCmd.exe -c=useonline

You can manually switch to “offline mode” using the following command: GetItCmd.exe -c=useoffline

Update Documentation inside IDE

You can update documentation inside IDE by downloading the CHM from this page

• Go to the latest version and click on .ZIP.
• Save the file
• Unzip the file inside $(BDS)\Help\Doc
• Access the Run command (Win+R)
• Type "regedit"
• Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Embarcadero\BDS\22.0\Help\HtmlHelp1Files
• Replace the entry for IDE Topics Help with the path that contains the new CHM file, e.g., $(BDS)\Help\Doc\Alexandria-CHM-en.chm

Previous Versions and Migration

RAD Studio Includes Licenses for Previous Versions

Licenses for previous product versions are included with your 11.x Alexandria license.

• Delphi 11.x Alexandria includes licenses for Delphi Sydney, Rio, Tokyo, Berlin, Seattle, XE8, XE7, XE6, XE5, XE4, XE3, XE2, XE, 2010, 2009, 2007, and 7.
• C++Builder 11.x Alexandria includes licenses for C++Builder Sydney, Rio, Tokyo, Berlin, Seattle, XE8, XE7, XE6, XE5, XE4, XE3, XE2, XE, 2010, 2009, 2007, and 6.

For more information about licenses, see the radstudio_license_xx.rtf file in the RAD Studio installation directory.

Upgrading Projects When Opening

When using RAD Studio 11.x Alexandria to open a project that was created with a previous version of RAD Studio, RAD Studio automatically upgrades the project. Upgraded projects are no longer compatible with previous versions of RAD Studio.

Always create a backup of a project before you open it with a newer version of RAD Studio.

Firewalls May Block GetIt Installation Files

If you have a firewall blocking .7z files, GetIt installation will fail.

Windows

DLLs are exporting RTL methods

When linking a 64-bit application to a DLL's import library in the Project Manager, the library is placed on the linker's command line, connecting the linker to the __CPPdebugHook symbol in the DLL's import library, rather than its own internal RTL symbol. To prevent this from happening, link to the import library using the #pragma link or #pragma comment and remove the reference to the import library in the Project Manager. This forces the linker to look at the symbols in the import library at the end, hence linking to the correct __CPPdebugHook symbol in it's own RTL.

Issues when rebuilding an MSBuild for a second time

When rebuilding an MSBuild with or without the additional resource file for a second time, the check on whether to build the project version resource file or not happens before the clean step of rebuild.

To prevent this from happening, perform a clean followed by a build:

> msbuild /t:clean project.cbproj

> msbuild /t:build project.cbproj

Linux

Wrong PAServer Error Message shown on Ubuntu Server 16.04 LTS

Enabling Use launcher application in the Run|Parameters dialog uses xterm as the default launcher application for Linux targets. When running PAServer on Ubuntu Server 16.04 LS, an error message is shown indicating that a file cannot be created. The error message is incorrect since it cannot launch xterm on Ubuntu Server 16.04 LTS which is expected. Xterm can be installed separately and is part of the client distributions of Ubuntu.

FireMonkey

Names Must Be Assigned to All Components Before Creating a New View in the Form Designer

If you open an older FireMonkey app in 10.4 Alexandria, you might encounter the following error message:

 Cannot inherit from form 'FormName".  It contains a component with a blank name property.

The Views Inheritance system requires that you assign a name to all components before you can create a new View in the Form Designer.

macOS 64-bit

Inspecting/evaluating structures on macOS 64-bit

Structures passed as parameters by value into a method on macOS64 may display the wrong values in the debugger.

Expanding changed inspected values on macOS 64-bit

A variable which can be expanded when inspected to see the values of fields inside it will not show updated sub-values in the debugger UI after the value of the variable has changed.

Evaluation on macOS 64-bit is case-sensitive

For technical reasons, evaluation on macOS 64-bit (such as expressions in the Evaluate/Modify dialog) is case-sensitive. This is the same as iOS 64-bit. You may also need some C++-style syntax in some situations, such as using a 0x prefix for hex values instead of $.

FireDAC

Using Run-Time Packages with C++ FireDAC DataSnap Driver

If you use the FireDAC DataSnap driver in 64-bit C++ applications built with run-time packages, you might receive an error at run time. To avoid the error, you need to add DataSnapClient to the run-time packages, following these steps:

1. Project > Options > Packages > Runtime Packages.
2. In the Runtime package import libraries field, add DataSnapClient to the list.

This setting resolves the problem and adds DataSnapClient.bpi to the link line rather than DataSnapClient.a.

64-bit Windows C++ Application with a FireDAC Component Might Raise Error

The following error is raised when attempting to compile an application using a single FireDAC component, when the platform is Windows x64 with static linking:

c:\program files (x86)\embarcadero\studio\<n.n>\Bin\CodeGear.Cpp.Targets : warning : Warning: Out of memory
c:\program files (x86)\embarcadero\studio\<n.n>\Bin\CodeGear.Cpp.Targets(2751,5): error MSB6006: "ilink32" exited with code 2.

The workaround is not to link FireDAC statically in Win64 C++ apps.

RTL

RTL upgrades

The string helper GetHashCode method no longer uppercases

Starting with RAD Studio Sydney GetHashCode member no longer creates an uppercase version of the string before calculating the hashcode. Therefore, strings that only differ in case produce different hash codes. To illustrate:

if 'Hello'.GetHashCode = 'HELLO'.GetHashCode then
   ShowMessage('True')
 else
   ShowMessage('False');

Starting with RAD Studio Sydney, it shows a False message. In earlier versions, it shows True.

Database

Repopulating datasets

Repopulating a bound TClientDataSet or TFDMemTable may be slower than the initial time. To work around this issue, we have added a new EmptyDataLink method to TBindSourceDB.

Android

JDK Path Issues

Due to a bug of the Java Development Kit (JDK), the deployment path of a project must not contain non-ASCII characters for the Android target platform.

Patching string.h file for Android

While using the C++ Builder for creating an FMX application for Android, especially if you use the Offline Installer. Please follow these steps to patch the string.h file manually:

1. Double click the error message.
2. The IDE opens the string.h file.
3. Go to the line containing the following comment:

   /* Const-correct overloads. Placed after FORTIFY so we call those functions, if possible. */
   

4. Change the line after the comment mentioned above as shown below:

   Before	#if defined(__cplusplus) && defined(__clang__)
   After	#if defined(__cplusplus) && defined(__clang__) && ((__clang_major__ > 3) || (__clang_minor__ > 4))

Please refer to the example below as it displays how does your code should change when generating a .diff:

--- string.h.orig
+++ string.h.modified
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@
 #endif
 
 /* Const-correct overloads. Placed after FORTIFY, so we call those functions, if possible. */
-#if defined(__cplusplus) && defined(__clang__)
+#if defined(__cplusplus) && defined(__clang__) && ((__clang_major__ > 3) || (__clang_minor__ > 4))
 /*
  * Use two enable_ifs, so these overloads don't conflict with + are preferred over libcxx's. This can
  * be reduced to 1 after libcxx recognizes that we have const-correct overloads.

Android Manifest File Updates in 11.x

New FireMonkey projects created in a new directory do not need the step mentioned below for using the built-in IDE support for the Android platform. If you have an existing FMX project for the Android platform from a previous RAD Studio version, you need to delete AndroidManifest.template.xml from your project directory, which will be recreated automatically in 11.x.

Android 30 API support

The new releases include a different set of Java libraries, which makes old projects incompatible. When you open an Android project build with an older version of RAD Studio, you need to:

• Navigate to the Projects dockable window.
• Select Android 32-bit or Android 64-bit as the active target platform.
• Right-click on the Libraries node.
• Click on the Revert System Files to Default menu item.

Modifying Variable value Expression

When using Android 32-bit in an FMX Delphi project, the Evaluate/Modify function is not working as expected.

When users modify the variable by choosing a new value for the expression, the value does not modify as expected.

C++ FMX Header and Footer projects require system libraries on Android

If you create a new C++Builder FireMonkey application using one of the standard templates, including the Header and Footer projects, and compile it for Android, a compiler error shows up due to the templates referring to older versions of the Java system libraries. To resolve the issue, select the Libraries node under Android in the project configuration and use the local menu command Revert System Files to Default.

iOS

Working with the iOS Storyboard

For new FireMonkey projects created in a new directory, no additional steps are required for using the built-in IDE support for the storyboard.

If you have an existing FMX project for the iOS platform from a previous RAD Studio version, you need to delete the info.plist.TemplateiOS.xml from your project directory.

There are two different steps to customize the storyboard launch screen support for iOS in 10.4, depending on whether you’re using your own compiled storyboard or starting with a new one using what’s provided in 10.4.

Option 1) User supplies his own compiled storyboard and asset catalog (*.storyboardc and Assets.car). In order to use that with 10.4, follow the steps below:

• Uncheck *.launchscreen from being deployed in Project | Deployment
• If the name of the storyboard file is not LaunchScreen.storyboard, you will need to edit the info.plist.TemplateiOS.xml, and replace the "<%StoryboardInfoPListKey%>" with the updated "UILaunchStoryboardName key/value"
• Open Project | Deployment and add the compiled storyboard and asset catalog files

Option 2) User modifies the default storyboard and asset catalog provided by the IDE. If you’re using this option, follow the steps below:

• Edit the LaunchScreen.storyboard and Assets files in LaunchScreen.TemplateiOS as needed
• Open Project | Deployment and add additional launch screen images to be deployed if any

The info.plist.TemplateiOS.xml and LaunchScreen.TemplateiOS templates can be found in the following location:

a. <bds>\ObjRepos\<locale>\iOS
b. %APPDATA%\Embarcadero\BDS\21.0
c. the location where the project is located.

The IDE looks for these templates in the following order: Project directory, %APPDATA% directory, and ObjRepos directory.

Launching iOS fails with PAServer 22

When trying to compile and run a project on Debug mode, it fails with a number of error messages on the PAServer 22. In order to solve this;

1. Open terminal. and type the following commands

cd /Applications/PAServer-22.0.app/Contents/MacOS

env PYTHONHOME=/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7 ./paserver

C++ Toolchains

Specifying Dependent and Required Packages When Using a Component in a C++ Package

When using an existing component in a C++ package, the IDE does not automatically add the dependent (required) package for the component. You need to perform this step manually.

Without the relevant dependent (required) packages, the C++ package might fail to link because the linker cannot locate .obj files that must be initialized when that component is used. To avoid such linker errors, you need to add the package of the component and its dependencies to the Requires node of your C++ package (in the Projects Window).

The following example illustrates how to determine the required packages for a component and eliminate the Unable to open 'xxx.obj linker errors by creating a dummy VCL Forms Application that uses the component.

By default, a newly-created C++ Multi-Device Application links with the .rtl and .fmx packages, as shown by the *.bpi files listed on the linker line (viewable in View > Messages):

Ilink32 command line:

c:\BDSLoc\bin\ilink32.exe ... -aa -V5.0 -Tpe  c0wfmx32w rtl.bpi fmx.bpi memmgr.lib sysinit.obj .\Win32\Debug\Project30.obj .\Win32\Debug\Unit26.obj , .\Win32\Debug\Project30.exe , .\Win32\Debug\Project30.map , import32.lib cp32mti.lib , , Project30.res

When you add new components, the IDE calculates dependent packages and adjusts the link line. To see this, add the component you want to use in a C++ Package to the Multi-Device Form. This example uses the component TFDSchemaAdapter. Now rebuild the application. You will see that several new .bpi files have been added to the link line:

Ilink32 command line:

c:\BDSLoc\bin\ilink32.exe ... -aa -V5.0 -Tpe  c0w32w rtl.bpi fmx.bpi FireDACCommonDriver.bpi FireDACCommon.bpi xmlrtl.bpi dbrtl.bpi FireDAC.bpi FireDACSqliteDriver.bpi memmgr.lib sysinit.obj .\Win32\Debug\Project30.obj .\Win32\Debug\Unit26.obj , .\Win32\Debug\Project30.exe , .\Win32\Debug\Project30.map , import32.lib cp32mti.lib , , Project30.res

These new .bpi files are the packages on which your component depends. In the case of TFDSchemaAdapter, the .bpi files are:

FireDACCommonDriver.bpi FireDACCommon.bpi xmlrtl.bpi dbrtl.bpi FireDAC.bpi FireDACSqliteDriver.bpi

So to use the TFDSchemaAdapter component in a C++ Package, you need to explicitly add each one of these bpi files as 'Required' references in the IDE (see Packages (Delphi)).

Downloading DirectX Header Files

We only ship DirectX headers inside the Microsoft Windows Platform SDK. If you encounter errors such as "d3d.h file not found", the HPP generated for that Delphi unit contains #include <D3D*.hpp>. You can do either of the following:

• Add a {$NOINCLUDE Winapi.D3DX9} directive to the unit that uses the D3D unit and regenerate the HPP file of that unit. The regenerated HPP will not contain the #include <Winapi.D3DX9.hpp>.
• Download the DirectX SDK that the D3D header relies upon. You can download the DirectX SDK for free from Microsoft. For more information, see Where is the DirectX SDK? (Windows).

C++

C++ Code Formatter

In RAD Studio 11.x Alexandria, you may find that formatting C++ code does nothing. Selecting the menu item or pressing Ctrl+D has no effect nor any message box. This happens because the formatter DLL cannot load the VC++ runtime it depends on.

To fix this, you have to install the "Microsoft Visual C++ 2015, 2017 and 2019 Redistributable (x86)".

C++ does not support iOS 16 SDK

To submit applications to the App Store, we suggest users link with the iOS 15.5 SDK from Xcode 13.4.

IDE

Renamed iOS Project Might Fail at Run Time or When Debugging

Renaming a project in the IDE can cause an iOS app to fail at run time and debug time. To correct the issue, do the following:

1. Select Project > Deployment.
2. In the Deployment Manager, click the Revert To Default speed button.

Version Info Settings Inheritance

To include version information in a project targeting Windows, do not change the key values on the All Platforms target. Instead, change the values individually for each platform (32-bit and 64-bit). The targets do not inherit the values properly from the All platforms target.

Open Tools API: IOTAIDEThemingServices

As of RAD Studio 10.4, IOTAIDEThemingServices inherits from IOATAIDEThemingServices250. This change in an inheritance hierarchy may mean any code in your pluggings referring to this interface may require a change when upgrading to more recent versions of RAD Studio.

ActiveX Controls fail with ATL 7.1

There are some controls built with an old version of ATL (v7.1 or earlier) that fail when running in a DEP-enabled process. For security reasons, the IDE (i.e., bds.exe) has DEP enabled by default, so these controls may fail if they are used while designing a Form. A workaround to instruct the OS to disable DEP for a specific process is to run this PowerShell script:

Set-ProcessMitigation -Name C:\Embarcadero\Studio\22.0\bin\bds.exe -Disable DEP
Set-ProcessMitigation -Name C:\Embarcadero\Studio\22.0\bin\bds.exe -Disable HighEntropy
Set-ProcessMitigation -Name C:\Embarcadero\Studio\22.0\bin\bds.exe -Disable BottomUp

It is not recommended to disable these features permanently, only temporarily for the use of an old ActiveX control in the IDE's designer.

InterBase

InterBase 2020 Edition in RAD Studio 11.x Alexandria

This note pertains to users who have both an earlier version of RAD Studio and RAD Studio 10.3 Rio installed on the same machine. In this note, the mention of RAD Studio also implicitly includes Delphi and C++Builder editions.

Each version of RAD Studio includes a license for a version of InterBase:

Product	InterBase Version
RAD Studio XE3	InterBase XE3 Developer Edition
RAD Studio XE4	InterBase XE3 Developer Edition
RAD Studio XE5	InterBase XE3 Developer Edition
RAD Studio XE6	InterBase XE3 Developer Edition
RAD Studio XE7	InterBase XE3 Developer Edition
RAD Studio XE8	InterBase XE7
RAD Studio XE9	InterBase XE7
RAD Studio Berlin	InterBase XE7
RAD Studio Tokyo	InterBase XE7
RAD Studio Rio	InterBase 2017
RAD Studio Alexandria	InterBase 2020

Since all these RAD Studio license suites are visible system-wide, only one license of InterBase can be used at any time.

For example, if you are running the "InterBase XE3 Developer Edition" that comes with RAD Studio XE6, you cannot start a simultaneous instance of the "InterBase XE3 Developer Edition" that comes with RAD Studio XE7. You cannot start a simultaneous instance of the InterBase 2020 edition that comes with RAD Studio 10.4 Alexandria either. When you try, you receive an error dialog that states "InterBase licensing error", and the InterBase log shows "Registration file error: License is in use by another instance of InterBase".

For more information about running multiple instances of InterBase, see Multiple Instances section in the Operation Guide document.

Workaround for InterBase Licensing Errors

1. Stop all your instances of InterBase. Also, if you have set up this instance as a Windows Service, please disable it in the system Service Control Panel.
2. Start the instance of InterBase that you want to use. It should now launch successfully with the proper license.

The aforementioned RAD Studio versions and the applications built by them, can also work with the updated InterBase 2020 edition installed with RAD Studio 10.4 Alexandria. Have your older IDE tools and applications connect to your database via TCP loopback to this InterBase instance. For example:

localhost/gds_db:<dbpath>

In older versions of RAD Studio, you might also want to select Tools > Options > Environment Options > Environment Variables and add the following new "User overrides" entries for making local client connections.

Variable	Value
IB_Protocol	gds_db
InterBase	C:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\Studio\22.0\InterBase2020

Long Term Known Issues

PLATFORM environment variable

HP Computers include an environment variable named PLATFORM which if set to any other value other than "Win32", or "Win64" causes the following error when compiling:

Invalid PLATFORM variable "(value)". PLATFORM must be one of the following:

• Windows: Win32 or Win64
• Android: Android32Arm
• iOS: iOSSimulator32, or iOSDevice64
• Mac: OSX64
• Linux: Linux64

Follow these steps to remove the PLATFORM environment variable from your system:

1. On your desktop, right click on My Computer.
2. Select Properties.
3. Depending on your OS, select either the Advanced tab, or Advanced system settings
4. Click the Environment Variables button
5. Find the Platform environment variable and click the Delete button

PROFILE environment variable

A PROFILE environment variable set on your system causes the following error when compiling a C++ project:

c:\program files (x86)\embarcadero\studio\19.0\bin\CodeGear.Profiles.Targets(37,5): error : Specified profile not found: 'C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Embarcadero\BDS\19.0\true.profile'

Follow these steps to solve this issue:

1. On the IDE go to Tools > Options > Environment Options > Environment Variables.
2. In the User System Overrides variable options, select PROFILE and click Edit...
3. Set the PROFILE value to an empty string (“”).

Common Issues

Problem	Workaround
Hexadecimal values are prefixed w/ leading 0x, not the expected $	None
Expressions are case-sensitive	You must use the case that matches what was used in the code
The suffix use to format an evaluated expression does not work	None
Strings are double-quoted, not single-quoted	None

External Software

Issues might occur for applications debugged in an environment that includes a third-party keyboard switcher such as the Yandex Punto Switcher. If the application is closed by Windows, and an access violation is raised by the application, please ignore this access violation error.

Translation Tools

As of RAD Studio 10.3 Rio, the translation tools available in the product, both for VCL (Integrated Translation Editor) and for FireMonkey (TLang), are officially deprecated and removed from active support. Both features are still available in Rio but it is recommended to reduce your project reliance on them. RAD Studio is teaming up with third-party vendors to offer alternative options.

See Also

• Installation Notes
• New features and fixed issues