Csv Delphi DLL Reference Documentation

Csv

Current Version: 10.1.2

A class for reading and updating CSV files. Provides methods for accessing cell contents by name or index, updating cells, reading and setting column names, etc.

Create/Dispose

var
myObject: HCkCsv;

begin
myObject := CkCsv_Create();

// ...

CkCsv_Dispose(myObject);
end;

function CkCsv_Create: HCkCsv; stdcall;

Creates an instance of the HCkCsv object and returns a handle (i.e. a Pointer). The handle is passed in the 1st argument for the functions listed on this page.

procedure CkCsv_Dispose(handle: HCkCsv); stdcall;

Objects created by calling CkCsv_Create must be freed by calling this method. A memory leak occurs if a handle is not disposed by calling this function.

Properties

AutoTrim

function CkCsv_getAutoTrim(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putAutoTrim(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

If True, then the strings returned by GetCell and GetCellByName are auto-trimmed of whitespace from both ends.

Crlf

function CkCsv_getCrlf(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putCrlf(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

If True, then CRLF line endings are used when saving the CSV to a file or to a string (i.e. for the methods SaveFile, SaveFile2, SaveToString). If False then bare LF line-endings are used.

DebugLogFilePath

procedure CkCsv_getDebugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putDebugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCsv__debugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

Example showing how to use DebugLogFilePath.

Delimiter

procedure CkCsv_getDelimiter(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putDelimiter(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCsv__delimiter(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

The character that separates fields in a record. It is a comma by default. If the Delimiter property is not explicitly set, the CSV component will detect the delimiter when loading a CSV. (Semicolons are typically used in locales where the comma is used as a decimal point.)

Note 1: If the default comma delimiter is not desired when creating a new CSV, make sure to set this property before adding rows/columns to the CSV.

Note 2: If the application explicitly sets the delimiter to the vertical bar character ("|"), and if the EnableQuotes property was never explicitly set, then EnableQuotes will default to False. This is because when vertical bars are used, quotes are most likely to be treated the same as other characters.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

EnableQuotes

function CkCsv_getEnableQuotes(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putEnableQuotes(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

If True, then the double-quote characters cause the quoted content, including CR's, LF's, and delimiter chars to be treated as normal text when reading/writing CSVs. The default is True.

More Information and Examples

CSV Enable Quotes

EscapeBackslash

function CkCsv_getEscapeBackslash(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putEscapeBackslash(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.44

If True, then the backslash character is treated as an escape character when reading/writing CSVs. The default is False.

HasColumnNames

function CkCsv_getHasColumnNames(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putHasColumnNames(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Set to True prior to loading a CSV if the 1st record contains column names. This allows the CSV parser to correctly load the column names and not treat them as data.

More Information and Examples

CSV Load from String

LastErrorHtml

procedure CkCsv_getLastErrorHtml(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCsv__lastErrorHtml(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

LastErrorText

procedure CkCsv_getLastErrorText(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCsv__lastErrorText(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

Concept of LastErrorText LastErrorText Standard Information

LastErrorXml

procedure CkCsv_getLastErrorXml(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCsv__lastErrorXml(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

LastMethodSuccess

function CkCsv_getLastMethodSuccess(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putLastMethodSuccess(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.

NumColumns

function CkCsv_getNumColumns(objHandle: HCkCsv): Integer; stdcall;

The number of columns in the 1st row, which may be the row containing column names if HasColumnNames is True.

NumRows

function CkCsv_getNumRows(objHandle: HCkCsv): Integer; stdcall;

The number of data rows. If the CSV has column names, the 1st row is not included in the count. Also, empty lines containing only whitespace characters that follow the last non-empty row are not included.

UncommonOptions

procedure CkCsv_getUncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putUncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCsv__uncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.88

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. Chilkat may from time to time define keywords, which if present, change behavior in some way. If multiple keywords are needed, set this property to the comma separated list of keywords.

The following keywords are defined:

QuotedCells (v9.5.0.96) Forces all cell contents to be double-quoted when emitting the CSV to a file or string
QuotedColumnNames (v9.5.0.96) Forces all column names to be double-quoted when emitting the CSV to a file or string
EMIT_BOM (v9.5.0.93) Causes Chilkat to emit the utf-8 BOM (byte order mark) when writing the CSV to a file (assuming the CSV is written using utf-8).

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

VerboseLogging

function CkCsv_getVerboseLogging(objHandle: HCkCsv): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCsv_putVerboseLogging(objHandle: HCkCsv; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

Version

procedure CkCsv_getVersion(objHandle: HCkCsv; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCsv__version(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

How to get the Chilkat version at runtime.

Methods

DeleteColumn

function CkCsv_DeleteColumn(objHandle: HCkCsv;
index: Integer): wordbool; stdcall;

Deletes the Nth column. (The 1st column is at index 0.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Delete Column

DeleteColumnByName

function CkCsv_DeleteColumnByName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
columnName: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Deletes a column specified by name.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Delete Column by Name

DeleteRow

function CkCsv_DeleteRow(objHandle: HCkCsv;
index: Integer): wordbool; stdcall;

Deletes the entire Nth row. (The 1st row is at index 0.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

GetCell

function CkCsv_GetCell(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    row: Integer;
    col: Integer;
    outStr: HCkString): wordbool; stdcall;
function CkCsv__getCell(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    row: Integer;
    col: Integer): PWideChar; stdcall;

Returns the contents of the cell at row, col. Indexing begins at 0. (The topmost/leftmost cell is at 0,0)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

CSV Get Contents of Cell

GetCellByName

function CkCsv_GetCellByName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    rowIndex: Integer;
    columnName: PWideChar;
    outStr: HCkString): wordbool; stdcall;
function CkCsv__getCellByName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    rowIndex: Integer;
    columnName: PWideChar): PWideChar; stdcall;

The same as GetCell, but the column is specified by name instead of by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

CSV Get Contents of Cell using Row Index and Column Name

GetColumnName

function CkCsv_GetColumnName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    index: Integer;
    outStr: HCkString): wordbool; stdcall;
function CkCsv__getColumnName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    index: Integer): PWideChar; stdcall;

Returns the name of the Nth column.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples

CSV Get Column Names

GetIndex

function CkCsv_GetIndex(objHandle: HCkCsv;
columnName: PWideChar): Integer; stdcall;

Returns the column index for a given column. Returns -1 if no column exists with the columnName.

GetNumCols

function CkCsv_GetNumCols(objHandle: HCkCsv;
row: Integer): Integer; stdcall;

Returns the number of columns for a specific row. If the row is larger than the number of rows in the CSV, a zero is returned.

InsertColumn

function CkCsv_InsertColumn(objHandle: HCkCsv;
index: Integer): wordbool; stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Inserts a new and empty column before the Nth column. (The 1st column is at index 0.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Insert Column

LoadFile

function CkCsv_LoadFile(objHandle: HCkCsv;
path: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads a CSV from a file. It is assumed that the CSV file contains ANSI characters.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

LoadFile2

function CkCsv_LoadFile2(objHandle: HCkCsv;
filename: PWideChar;
charset: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads a CSV from a file. The charset specifies the character encoding of the CSV file. A list of supported character encodings may be found on this page: Supported Charsets.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

Read Japanese utf-8 CSV File

LoadFromString

function CkCsv_LoadFromString(objHandle: HCkCsv;
csvData: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads a CSV document from an in-memory string variable.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Load from String

RowMatches

function CkCsv_RowMatches(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    rowIndex: Integer;
    matchPattern: PWideChar;
    caseSensitive: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

Compares the contents of an entire row to a wildcarded match pattern where "*" can be used any number of times to match 0 or more of any character. Returns True if a match was found, otherwise returns False. If caseSensitive is True, then the pattern match is case sensitive, otherwise it is case insensitive.

SaveFile

function CkCsv_SaveFile(objHandle: HCkCsv;
path: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Saves a CSV to a file. The output file is written using the ANSI character encoding.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

SaveFile2

function CkCsv_SaveFile2(objHandle: HCkCsv;
filename: PWideChar;
charset: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Saves a CSV to a file. The charset specifies the character encoding to use for the CSV file. The text data is converted to this charset when saving. A list of supported character encodings may be found on this page: Supported Charsets.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

Write utf-8 CSV Compatible with Excel

SaveToSb

function CkCsv_SaveToSb(objHandle: HCkCsv;
sb: HCkStringBuilder): wordbool; stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.93

Clears the contents of sb and writes the entire CSV into sb.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

SaveToString

function CkCsv_SaveToString(objHandle: HCkCsv;
outStr: HCkString): wordbool; stdcall;
function CkCsv__saveToString(objHandle: HCkCsv): PWideChar; stdcall;

Returns the entire CSV as a string.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

SetCell

function CkCsv_SetCell(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    row: Integer;
    col: Integer;
    content: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Sets the contents for a single cell in the CSV. The content may include any characters including CRLF's, double-quotes, and the delimiter character. The Save* methods automatically double-quote fields with special chars when saving. The Load* methods automatically parse double-quoted and/or escaped fields correctly when loading.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Set Cell by Index or Name CSV Append New Row

SetCellByName

function CkCsv_SetCellByName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    rowIndex: Integer;
    columnName: PWideChar;
    contentStr: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

The same as SetCell, except the column is specified by name instead of by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Set Cell by Index or Name

SetColumnName

function CkCsv_SetColumnName(objHandle: HCkCsv;
index: Integer;
columnName: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Sets the name of the Nth column. The first column is at index 0. This method would only return False if an invalid index is passed (such as a negative number).

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples

CSV Set Column Name

SortByColumn

function CkCsv_SortByColumn(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    columnName: PWideChar;
    ascending: wordbool;
    caseSensitive: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

Sorts the rows in the CSV by the contents of a specific column. If ascending is True, the sort is in ascending order, otherwise descending order. If caseSensitive is True then the sorting is case sensitive.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

SortByColumnIndex

function CkCsv_SortByColumnIndex(objHandle: HCkCsv;
    index: Integer;
    ascending: wordbool;
    caseSensitive: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

Sorts the rows in the CSV by the contents of a specific column index. If ascending is True, the sort is in ascending order, otherwise descending order. If caseSensitive is True then the sorting is case sensitive.

Returns True for success, False for failure.