Why does THotKey not have an Align property and how can I add it?

Question

In a Delphi 10.4.2 32-bit VCL Application in Windows 10, I tried to use a THotKey control to enter hotkeys. Since I use the Align property a lot to create a neat UI, I wondered why THotKey does not have an Align property. Even TRzHotKeyEdit, TJvHotKey, and TJvDotNetHotKey do not have an Align property.

Is it possible to simulate a THotkey.Align property? Or is there another HotKey control with an Align property?

Answer 1

Create a unit to use it as a new component derived from THotKey:

unit ExtHotKey;

// Published the Align property

interface

uses
  System.Classes,
  Vcl.ComCtrls;

type
  TExtHotKey = class(THotKey)
  published
    property Align;
  end;

procedure Register;

implementation

procedure Register;
begin
  System.Classes.RegisterComponents('PAComponents', [TExtHotKey]);
end;

end.

Then insert it into a new or existing package and install the package.

After that, the Align property is available in the Object Inspector and it works perfectly: