Getting Started with Form-based Applications in Lazarus
Introduction
The following topics will help you to use Lazarus to write simple form-based applications using buttons, edit boxes, labels and labelled edits. You will learn about the essential code and files that comprise an application and how to create an application from existing unit and form files. You can then follow our tutorial on form-based applications to learn how to use further components such as the string grid, DBGrid, DBEdit, DBMemo, timer, dialogue boxes and the form's canvas.
In the instructions we will give the key combinations for actions where possible. This table shows ways of firing commonly used actions in the order they appear in the Lazarus menu structure.
| Menu | Action | Button (showing tool-tip) | Short-cut Key(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open file |  |
Ctrl+O | |
| Save all files | Shift+Ctrl+S | ||
| Show Object Inspector | F11 | ||
| Open View project units dialogue |  |
Ctrl+F12 | |
| Open View project forms dialogue |  |
Shift+F12 | |
| Swap view of form/unit |  |
F12 | |
| Open Create a new project dialogue | |||
| Add file showing in editor to project | Shift+F11 | ||
| Run program | 
|
F9 |
For the screenshots in the following topics we have dragged the dialogue boxes to convenient sizes, so do not expect yours to look exactly the same.
Click on the first topic title below, to continue:
- Writing your First Form-based Application using Lazarus
How to write your first form-based "Hello World" application using Lazarus - Simple data input
How to input data to a form-based application using Lazarus - Using two forms
How to use more than one form in Lazarus applications - Creating a form-based application using existing files
How to create a Lazarus application using existing .lfm, .pas and .lpr files - Using a Lazarus Project Information (.lpi) File
How to use a .lpi file to save and load project information
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