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CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

Markdown Shell Extensions is a Delphi project providing Windows shell integration for markdown files:

  • MDShellExtensions.dll (32/64-bit) - Windows shell extension library providing Preview Handler and Thumbnail Provider for markdown files in Windows Explorer
  • MDTextEditor.exe - Standalone markdown text editor with live HTML preview

Build Commands

Prerequisites

  • Delphi 12 or 13 (RAD Studio)
  • Inno Setup 6 (for installer)

Building with Delphi IDE

Open Source\MDShellExtensionsGroup.groupproj which contains:

  • MDShellExtensions32.dproj - 32-bit shell extension DLL
  • MDShellExtensions.dproj - 64-bit shell extension DLL
  • MDTextEditor.dproj - Markdown editor application

Building via Command Line

# Set up Delphi environment (adjust path to your installation)
call "C:\BDS\Studio\37.0\bin\rsvars.bat"

# Build individual projects
msbuild.exe "Source\MDShellExtensions.dproj" /target:Clean;Build /p:Platform=Win64 /p:config=release
msbuild.exe "Source\MDShellExtensions32.dproj" /target:Clean;Build /p:Platform=Win32 /p:config=release
msbuild.exe "Source\MDTextEditor.dproj" /target:Clean;Build /p:Platform=Win64 /p:config=release
msbuild.exe "Source\MDTextEditor.dproj" /target:Clean;Build /p:Platform=Win32 /p:config=release

DLL Registration (requires Administrator)

# Register 32-bit DLL
%systemroot%\SysWoW64\regsvr32 "Bin32\MDShellExtensions32.dll"

# Register 64-bit DLL
%systemroot%\System32\regsvr32 "Bin64\MDShellExtensions.dll"

# Unregister uses same commands with /u flag

Important: Close all Windows Explorer instances before registering/unregistering as the DLL stays loaded in memory.

Building Installer

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Inno Setup 6\iscc.exe" "Setup\MDShellExtensions.iss"

Architecture

Core Components

Shell Extension DLL (MDShellExtensions.dpr):

  • MDShellEx.PreviewHandler - Implements Windows Preview Handler (IPreviewHandler) for Explorer preview pane
  • MDShellEx.ThumbnailHandler - Implements thumbnail provider (IThumbnailProvider) for file icons
  • MDShellEx.ContextMenuHandler - Right-click context menu integration
  • MDShellEx.PreviewForm - VCL form rendered in Explorer preview pane
  • Uses GUIDs for 32-bit and 64-bit variants (defined in MDShellEx.PreviewHandler.pas)

Editor Application (MDTextEditor.dpr):

  • MDTextEditor.EditorMainForm - Main editor form with tabbed interface
  • MDShellEx.Settings - User preferences and theme management
  • MDShellEx.Resources - Shared resources (images, icons)

Key Dependencies (in Ext folder)

  • MarkdownProcessor - Markdown to HTML conversion
  • HTMLViewer - HTML rendering component
  • SynEdit - Syntax highlighting editor
  • SVGIconImageList - SVG icon support
  • StyledComponents - VCL styled components
  • Skia4Delphi - Image format support (webp, wbmp)
  • Image32 - SVG rendering

Supported File Extensions

Defined in MDShellEx.Misc.pas: .md, .mkd, .mdwn, .mdown, .mdtxt, .mdtext, .markdown

Output Directories

  • Bin32\ - 32-bit binaries
  • Bin64\ - 64-bit binaries
  • Setup\Output\ - Installer output

Theme Support

The application supports Windows light/dark themes. Theme selection is managed via TThemeSelection enum in MDShellEx.Settings.pas:

  • tsAsWindows - Follow Windows theme
  • tsDarkTheme - Force dark theme
  • tsLightTheme - Force light theme

MDTextEditor - Detailed Architecture

Main Form Structure (MDTextEditor.EditorMainForm.pas)

TfrmMain - Main application form implementing:

  • IDragDrop interface for file drag-and-drop support
  • Tabbed document interface via TPageControlEx
  • Split view with collapsible menu (TSplitView)
  • Markdown toolbar with formatting buttons (TStyledToolbar)

TEditingFile - Class representing each open document:

  • SynEditor: TSynEdit - Syntax highlighted markdown editor
  • HTMLViewer: THTMLViewer - Live HTML preview panel
  • FMarkDownFile: TMarkDownFile - Parsed markdown content (from MarkdownProcessor)
  • TabSheet: TTabSheet - Tab in the PageControl
  • Splitter: TSplitter - Resizable splitter between editor and preview
  • Key methods: ReadFromFile, SaveToFile, ShowMarkDownAsHTML, UpdateRootPath

Actions and Features

File Operations (ActionList):

  • acNewFile, acOpenFile, acSave, acSaveAs, acSaveAll
  • acClose, acCloseAll, acQuit
  • OpenRecentAction - Recent files menu
  • acSaveHTMLFile, acSavePDFFile - Export functionality

Edit Operations:

  • acEditCut, acEditCopy, acEditPaste, acEditSelectAll, acEditUndo
  • acSearch, acReplace, acSearchAgain
  • acZoomIn, acZoomOut, acRefresh

Markdown Toolbar Actions (ToolbarActionList):

  • Headers: acHeader1, acHeader2, acHeader3
  • Links/Media: acLink, acImage, acTable
  • Text Formatting: acBold, acItalic, acStrike, acUnderline, acCode, acMarker
  • Subscript/Superscript: acSubscript, acSuperscript
  • Lists: acUnorderedList, acOrderedList
  • Blocks: acBlockquote, acHorizontalRule

Layout Modes (TLayoutMode in Settings):

  • lmBoth - Show both editor and HTML preview side-by-side
  • lmMarkDown - Show only markdown editor
  • lmHTML - Show only HTML preview
  • Actions: acLayoutBoth, acLayoutMarkDown, acLayoutViewer

Print/Export:

  • actnPrint, actnPrintPreview, actnPrinterSetup, actnPageSetup
  • PDF export via vmHtmlToPdf.pas (uses SynPDF + HTMLViewer)

Settings System (MDShellEx.Settings.pas)

TSettings (base class):

  • Font settings: MDFontName, MDFontSize, HTMLFontName, HTMLFontSize
  • Theme: StyleName, ThemeSelection, UseDarkStyle
  • Layout: SplitterPos, LayoutMode, ViewerPercentSize
  • Markdown dialect: ProcessorDialect (TMarkdownProcessorDialect)
  • UI options: ButtonDrawRounded, ToolbarDrawRounded, MenuDrawRounded
  • PDF page settings: PDFPageSettings record
  • Settings stored in INI file format

TEditorSettings (extends TSettings):

  • HistoryFileList - Recently opened files
  • OpenedFileList - Files open at last session (restored on startup)
  • CurrentFileName - Active file
  • DownloadFromWEB - Allow loading remote images
  • AutoRefreshWhenEditing - Real-time preview updates
  • LightActiveLineColor, DarkActiveLineColor - Editor active line colors
  • SynEdit options: Gutter, RightEdge, LineSpacing, Bookmarks, WordWrap

TPreviewSettings (for shell extension preview):

  • Lighter configuration for Explorer preview pane
  • Settings stored in %APPDATA%\MDShellExtensions\PreviewSettings.ini

Key Visual Components

  • TSynEdit - Markdown text editor with syntax highlighting
  • THTMLViewer - HTML rendering for preview (supports local file links, images)
  • TPageControlEx - Extended PageControl with close buttons on tabs (PageControlHook.pas)
  • TStyledToolbar/TStyledButton - Themed toolbar buttons (from StyledComponents)
  • TSplitView - Collapsible side menu panel
  • TStyledCategoryButtons - Menu items in split view

Event Flow

  1. User edits markdown in SynEditor
  2. SynEditChange event triggers UpdateMDViewer
  3. TEditingFile.ShowMarkDownAsHTML converts markdown to HTML via TMarkDownFile
  4. HTML rendered in THTMLViewer component
  5. Clicking links in preview: HtmlViewerHotSpotClick handles navigation/file opening

Configuration Files

Editor settings location (in order of precedence):

  1. Same folder as executable: MDTextEditor.ini
  2. AppData: %APPDATA%\MDShellExtensions\EditorSettings.ini

Preview handler settings:

  • %APPDATA%\MDShellExtensions\PreviewSettings.ini