Spawning external applications The Inprise newsgroups are a great source of information for C++Builder programmers. It seems that barely a day goes by without someone asking the question, "How do I execute an external application from my program?" This article will explain how to spawn an external application from within your program using the ShellExecute, WinExec, and CreateProcess Windows API functions. We'll also show you how to make your application wait until a spawned external program has terminated before continuing on. Click here for more.

Using callbacks in DLLs
By far, the most common use of DLLs is where the calling program simply calls functions in the DLL. Sometimes, however, the calling application needs periodic information from the DLL while a process is taking place. Callbacks allow you to do just that. This article will show you how to implement a callback function in a DLL.
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Using TChart with C++Builder Professional and Client/Server The C++ Builder 3.0 professional and Client/Server edition ships with a VCL component called TChart. It's a powerful tool for creating charts and graphs, but the TChart printed documentation and online Help were (unfortunately) created for Delphi--leaving the C++ programmer with a bit of guesswork. Click here for more.

Modifying a button to represent a new component You may want to modify a base class button to represent a new component. To do so, start the Image Editor, then open one of the .dcr files in the \CBuilder\LIB\Obj directory. Copy the bitmap from the open file to the Clipboard. Next, create a new .dcr file and paste the bitmap into it. Modify the bitmap as desired and save. When you rebuild the component library, the bitmap you modified will appear in the Component Palatte.

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