Delphi 7

The following will apply to all version of Delphi up to version 7, as well as all versions of
C++Builder up to version 6. For Delphi/C++Builder 2006, see the second part of this
article.
When trying to install Delphi 7 on Windows Vista, we get an error message, claiming that
"this program has know n compatibility issues".

You can check for solutions online, but that won't help much. For now, just click on "Run
program" to run the Delphi Installer anyway.
Using the Delphi Installer, you can install Delphi 7 (as well as other applications like
InterBase). You won't get any problems during the installation.

After Installation
When starting the installed version of Delphi 7, I got the error message from F igure 1
again. This time, when clicking on the "Run program" button, Delphi would start, but
with an error message telling us that Delphi is unable to (i.e. not allowed to) rename
delphi32.$$$ to delphi32.dro.

And after clicking on OK, Delphi would open, but without an open project. Since I always
start Delphi 7 w ith the -np flag, I didn't even notice the different. However, starting a
new project also results in the above error message: being unable to rename the
Delphi32.$$$ file to Dephi32.dro.
The reason clearly is that the Delphi32.exe application is not allowed (by Windows Vista)
to write in the Delphi7\Bin directory.
Modify Permissions
To solve this, we need to allow the users of the laptop to "modify" the contents of this
directory, as shown in the next screenshot:

Apart from the Delphi7\Bin directory, we must also allow the users of the laptop to
"modify" the contents of the Delphi7\Projects directory so compiled applications (and
packages) can be produced.
Note that any other directory you need to write to (like unit output directories) must also
be opened up before you can actually compile and run the Delphi 7 applications.
The screenshot belows shows Delphi 7 running with a new VCL application open.
Compiling and running Delphi 7 applications also works fine after the aforementioned
two changes. And now that Delphi 7 is up-and-running, I can "migrate" some Win32
applications to Windows Vista, making use of the new UI features. The only remaining
issue is the integrated help, using WinHelp, which no longer works on Windows V ista.
According to KB917607, starting with Windows Vista, the Windows Help program w ill not
ship as a component of Windows. Also, third-party programs that include .hlp files are
prohibited from redistributing the Windows Help program together with their products!
Users who want to view 32-bit .hlp files must download the program from the Microsoft
Dow nload Center, and then install it on their computers. Unfortunately, the download for
Windows Help is "still in development", but will (hopefully) be available in time for the
consumer release of Windows Vista (early 2007).