Cert Lazarus Pascal Reference Documentation

Cert

Current Version: 11.6.0

Chilkat.Cert

Load, inspect, validate, and use X.509 certificates throughout Chilkat.

Chilkat.Cert is the central certificate object used throughout Chilkat for TLS, S/MIME, PKCS7/CMS, PDF signing, XML signing, code signing, decryption, certificate stores, smart cards, HSMs, PKCS#11, and cloud-based signing. It provides a broad set of features for loading certificates, inspecting certificate fields, checking validity, accessing private keys, building chains, checking revocation status, exporting certificate data, and diagnosing certificate-related problems.

Load certificates

Load public certificates from PEM, DER, Base64, files, strings, binary data, certificate stores, PFX/P12 files, smart cards, and other sources.

Inspect certificate details

Read subject and issuer fields, serial numbers, fingerprints, validity dates, key usage, extensions, SAN values, and other X.509 information.

Private key access

Work with certificates backed by private keys from PFX/P12 files, OS certificate stores, smart cards, HSMs, PKCS#11 modules, or cloud signing providers.

Trust and validation

Build and inspect certificate chains, verify signatures, check expiration, examine trust-related information, and work with revocation data.

Use across Chilkat

Pass Cert objects to other Chilkat classes for TLS client authentication, S/MIME, signing, encryption, decryption, and verification.

Export and diagnostics

Export certificate data in common formats and use detailed diagnostic output to troubleshoot loading, validation, private-key, chain, or store problems.

Common pattern: Use certificate-only formats such as PEM or DER when only the public certificate is needed. Use PFX/P12, an OS certificate store, smart-card loading, PKCS#11 linking, HSM integration, or cloud-signing configuration when a private key operation is required.

Create / Free

uses
  Chilkat.Cert;

var
  obj: TCert;
begin
  obj := TCert.Create;
  try
    if not obj.IsValid then
      raise Exception.Create('Failed to create a TCert instance.');

    // ... use obj ...

  finally
    obj.Free;
  end;
end;
constructor Create;

Allocates the underlying CkCert object and returns a new TCert instance. Simply adding Chilkat.Cert to the unit's uses clause is enough to locate and bind to the Chilkat shared library (DLL / .so / .dylib) at runtime — no separate load step is required. Check obj.IsValid after calling Create; it is False if the underlying library could not be found/loaded or the object could not be allocated (for example, when unlicensed).

destructor Destroy; override;

Every TCert created by calling Create should eventually be released by calling .Free (inherited from TObject). The destructor automatically disposes the underlying CkCert handle. A native (unmanaged) memory leak occurs if the object is never freed.

Properties

AuthorityKeyId
property AuthorityKeyId: string read GetAuthorityKeyId;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The authority key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.35.

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AvoidWindowsPkAccess
property AvoidWindowsPkAccess: Boolean read GetAvoidWindowsPkAccess write SetAvoidWindowsPkAccess;

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If True, then any method that returns a certificate will not try to also access the associated private key, assuming one exists. This is useful if the certificate was installed with high-security such that a private key access would trigger the Windows OS to display a security warning dialog. The default value of this property is False.

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CertVersion
property CertVersion: Integer read GetCertVersion;

The version of the certificate (1, 2, or 3). A value of 0 indicates an error -- the most likely cause being that the certificate object is empty (i.e. was never loaded with a certificate). Note: This is not the version of the software, it is the version of the X.509 certificate object. The version of the Chilkat certificate software is indicated by the Version property.

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DebugLogFilePath
property DebugLogFilePath: string read GetDebugLogFilePath write SetDebugLogFilePath;

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.

More Information and Examples
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Expired
property Expired: Boolean read GetExpired;

Has a value of True if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has expired. (This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers.)

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ExtendedKeyUsage
property ExtendedKeyUsage: string read GetExtendedKeyUsage;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a string containing a comma separated list of keywords with the extended key usages of the certificate. The list of possible extended key usages are:

  • serverAuth - TLS WWW server authentication
  • clientAuth - TLS WWW client authentication
  • codeSigning - Signing of downloadable executable code
  • emailProtection - Email protection
  • timeStamping - Binding the hash of an object to a time
  • OCSPSigning - Signing OCSP responses

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ForClientAuthentication
property ForClientAuthentication: Boolean read GetForClientAuthentication;

True if this certificate can be used for client authentication, otherwise False.

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ForCodeSigning
property ForCodeSigning: Boolean read GetForCodeSigning;

True if this certificate can be used for code signing, otherwise False.

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ForSecureEmail
property ForSecureEmail: Boolean read GetForSecureEmail;

True if this certificate can be used for sending secure email, otherwise False.

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ForServerAuthentication
property ForServerAuthentication: Boolean read GetForServerAuthentication;

True if this certificate can be used for server authentication, otherwise False.

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ForTimeStamping
property ForTimeStamping: Boolean read GetForTimeStamping;

True if this certificate can be used for time stamping, otherwise False.

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IntendedKeyUsage
property IntendedKeyUsage: LongWord read GetIntendedKeyUsage;

Bitflags indicating the intended usages of the certificate. The flags are:
Digital Signature: 0x80
Non-Repudiation: 0x40
Key Encipherment: 0x20
Data Encipherment: 0x10
Key Agreement: 0x08
Certificate Signing: 0x04
CRL Signing: 0x02
Encipher-Only: 0x01

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IsRoot
property IsRoot: Boolean read GetIsRoot;

True if this is the root certificate, otherwise False.

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IssuerC
property IssuerC: string read GetIssuerC;

The certificate issuer's country.

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IssuerCN
property IssuerCN: string read GetIssuerCN;

The certificate issuer's common name.

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IssuerDN
property IssuerDN: string read GetIssuerDN;

The issuer's full distinguished name.

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IssuerE
property IssuerE: string read GetIssuerE;

The certificate issuer's email address.

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IssuerL
property IssuerL: string read GetIssuerL;

The certificate issuer's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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IssuerO
property IssuerO: string read GetIssuerO;

The certificate issuer's organization, which is typically the company name.

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IssuerOU
property IssuerOU: string read GetIssuerOU;

The certificate issuer's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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IssuerS
property IssuerS: string read GetIssuerS;

The certificate issuer's state or province.

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LastErrorHtml
property LastErrorHtml: string read GetLastErrorHtml;

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.

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LastErrorText
property LastErrorText: string read GetLastErrorText;

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.

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LastErrorXml
property LastErrorXml: string read GetLastErrorXml;

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.

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LastMethodSuccess
property LastMethodSuccess: Boolean read GetLastMethodSuccess write SetLastMethodSuccess;

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. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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OcspUrl
property OcspUrl: string read GetOcspUrl;

If present in the certificate's extensions, returns the OCSP URL of the certificate. (The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is an Internet protocol used for obtaining the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.)

More Information and Examples
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PrivateKeyExportable
property PrivateKeyExportable: Boolean read GetPrivateKeyExportable;

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Indicates whether the private key was installed with security settings that allow it to be re-exported.

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Revoked
property Revoked: Boolean read GetRevoked;

True if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has been revoked. This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers. Note: If this property is False, it could mean that it was not able to check the revocation status. Because of this uncertainty, a CheckRevoked method has been added. It returns an integer indicating one of three possible states: 1 (revoked) , 0 (not revoked), -1 (unable to check revocation status).

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Rfc822Name
property Rfc822Name: string read GetRfc822Name;

The RFC822 name of the certificate. (The RFC822 name is one part of the Subject Alternative Name extension of a certificate, if it exists. It is often the only part of the SAN.)

If the certificate contains a list of RFC822 names then this property will return the comma separated list of names.

Starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.85, to get the complete Subject Alternative Name extension as XML, use the SubjectAlternativeName property.

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SelfSigned
property SelfSigned: Boolean read GetSelfSigned;

True if this is a self-signed certificate, otherwise False.

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SerialDecimal
property SerialDecimal: string read GetSerialDecimal;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

The certificate's serial number as a decimal string.

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SerialNumber
property SerialNumber: string read GetSerialNumber;

The certificate's serial number as a hexidecimal string.

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Sha1Thumbprint
property Sha1Thumbprint: string read GetSha1Thumbprint;

Hexidecimal string of the SHA-1 thumbprint for the certificate. (This is the SHA1 hash of the binary DER representation of the entire X.509 certificate.)

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SignatureVerified
property SignatureVerified: Boolean read GetSignatureVerified;

Returns True if the certificate and all certificates in the chain of authority have valid signatures, otherwise returns False.

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SmartCardFailReason
property SmartCardFailReason: Integer read GetSmartCardFailReason;
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Set after calling LoadFromSmartcard. Possible values are:

  • 0 - No failure. The call to LoadFromSmartcard was successful.
  • 1 - No smartcard or USB token was detected.
  • 2 - The SmartCardPin was provided and the PIN login failed. (Note: Chilkat only PIN authenticates if PKCS11 was the chosen means for communicating with the smartcard.)
  • 3 - The certificate matching the specified criteria was not found.
  • 99 - Some other undefined failure. Consult the LastErrorText for more information.

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SmartCardNoDialog
property SmartCardNoDialog: Boolean read GetSmartCardNoDialog write SetSmartCardNoDialog;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

If set to True, then no dialog will automatically popup if the SmartCardPin is incorrect. Instead, the method requiring the private key on the smart card will fail. The default value of this property is False, which means that if the SmartCardPin property is incorrect, a dialog with prompt will be displayed.

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SmartCardPin
property SmartCardPin: string read GetSmartCardPin write SetSmartCardPin;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Can be set to the PIN value for a certificate / private key stored on a smart card.

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SubjectAlternativeName
property SubjectAlternativeName: string read GetSubjectAlternativeName;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

The subject alternative name (SAN) name of the certificate returned as XML. See the examples linked below.

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SubjectC
property SubjectC: string read GetSubjectC;

The certificate subject's country.

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SubjectCN
property SubjectCN: string read GetSubjectCN;

The certificate subject's common name.

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SubjectDN
property SubjectDN: string read GetSubjectDN;

The certificate subject's full distinguished name.

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SubjectE
property SubjectE: string read GetSubjectE;

The certificate subject's email address.

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SubjectKeyId
property SubjectKeyId: string read GetSubjectKeyId;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The subject key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.14.

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SubjectL
property SubjectL: string read GetSubjectL;

The certificate subject's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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SubjectO
property SubjectO: string read GetSubjectO;

The certificate subject's organization, which is typically the company name.

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SubjectOU
property SubjectOU: string read GetSubjectOU;

The certificate subject's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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SubjectS
property SubjectS: string read GetSubjectS;

The certificate subject's state or province.

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TrustedRoot
property TrustedRoot: Boolean read GetTrustedRoot;

Returns True if the certificate has a trusted root authority, otherwise returns False.

Note: As of version 9.5.0.41, the notion of what your application deems as trusted becomes more specific. The TrustedRoots class/object was added in v9.5.0.0. Prior to this, a certificate was considered to be anchored by a trusted root if the certificate chain could be established to a root (self-signed) certificate, AND if the root certificate was located somewhere in the Windows registry-based certificate stores. There are two problems with this: (1) it's a Windows-only solution. This property would always return False on non-Windows systems, and (2) it might be considered not a strong enough set of conditions for trusting a root certificate.

As of version 9.5.0.41, this property pays attention to the new TrustedRoots class/object, which allows for an application to specificallly indicate which root certificates are to be trusted. Certificates may be added to the TrustedRoots object via the LoadCaCertsPem or AddCert methods, and then activated by calling the TrustedRoots.Activate method. The activated trusted roots are deemed to be trusted in any Chilkat API method/property that needs to make this determination. In addition, the TrustedRoots object has a property named TrustSystemCaRoots, which defaults to True, which allows for backward compatibility. It will trust CA certificates stored in the Windows registry-based certificate stores, or if on Linux, will trust certificates found in /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt.

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UncommonOptions
property UncommonOptions: string read GetUncommonOptions write SetUncommonOptions;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string, and should typically remain empty. Possible comma separated keywords can include:

  • CheckRevokedCacheOnly: Added in v11.2.0. In the CheckRevoked method, prevents network access and only checks the cached revocation information on the local computer.

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ValidFromStr
property ValidFromStr: string read GetValidFromStr;

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate becomes (or became) valid. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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ValidToStr
property ValidToStr: string read GetValidToStr;

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate expires. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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VerboseLogging
property VerboseLogging: Boolean read GetVerboseLogging write SetVerboseLogging;

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.

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Version
property Version: string read GetVersion;

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

More Information and Examples
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Methods

BuildCertChain
// certChain is a TCertChain object.
function BuildCertChain(certChain: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Builds the certificate chain in certChain containing all the certificates (including this one), in the chain of authentication to the trusted root (if possible). If this certificate object was loaded from a PFX, then the certiicates contained in the PFX are automatically available for building the certificate chain. The UseCertVault method can be called to provide additional certificates that might be required to build the cert chain. Finally, the TrustedRoots object can be used to provide a way of making trusted root certificates available.

Note: Returns True even if certificate chain is not completed to the root. The certificate chain's ReachesRoot property can be examined to see if the chain was completed to the root.

On Windows systems, the registry-based certificate stores are automatically consulted if needed to locate intermediate or root certificates in the chain. Chilkat searches certificate stores in the following order. See System Store Locations for more information.

  1. Current-User CA Certificate Store
  2. Local-Machine CA Certificate Store
  3. Current-User Root Certificate Store
  4. Local-Machine Root Certificate Store
  5. Current-User MY Certificate Store
  6. Local-Machine MY Certificate Store
  7. Current-User ADDRESSBOOK Certificate Store (if it exists)
  8. Local-Machine ADDRESSBOOK Certificate Store (if it exists)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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CheckRevoked
function CheckRevoked: Integer;

Returns 1 if the certificate has been revoked, 0 if not revoked, and -1 if unable to check the revocation status.

Note: This method is only implemented on Windows systems. It uses the underlying Microsoft CertVerifyRevocation Platform SDK function to check the revocation status of a certificate. (Search CertVerifyRevocation to get information about it.) Starting in v11.2.0, the keyword "CheckRevokedCacheOnly" can be included in the UncommonOptions to prevent the Microsoft revocation handler from accessing any network based resources for revocation checking. In other words, just check the cached revocation information on the local computer.

Non-Windows (and Windows) applications can send an OCSP request as shown in the example below.

More Information and Examples
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CheckSmartCardPin
function CheckSmartCardPin: Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Verifies that the SmartCardPin property setting is correct. Returns 1 if correct, 0 if incorrect, and -1 if unable to check because the underlying CSP does not support the functionality.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertDerBd
// cerData is a TBinData object.
function ExportCertDerBd(cerData: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the digital certificate in ASN.1 DER format to a BinData object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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ExportCertDerFile
function ExportCertDerFile(const path: string): Boolean;

Exports the digital certificate to ASN.1 DER format binary file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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ExportCertPem
function ExportCertPem: string;

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted string.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertPemFile
function ExportCertPemFile(const path: string): Boolean;

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertXml
function ExportCertXml: string;

Exports a certificate to an XML format where the XML tags are the names of the ASN.1 objects that compose the X.509 certificate. Binary data is either hex or base64 encoded. (The binary data for a bits ASN.1 tag is hex encoded, whereas for all other ASN.1 tags, such as octets, it is base64.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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ExportToPfxBd
// pfxData is a TBinData object.
function ExportToPfxBd(const password: string;
    includeCertChain: Boolean;
    pfxData: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to pfxData. The password is what will be required to access the PFX contents at a later time. If includeCertChain is True, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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ExportToPfxFile
function ExportToPfxFile(const pfxFilename: string;
    const pfxPassword: string;
    bIncludeCertChain: Boolean): Boolean;

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to a PFX (.pfx or .p12) file. The output PFX is secured using the pfxPassword. If bIncludeCertChain is True, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX output file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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FindIssuer
// Return value is a TCert object.
function FindIssuer: TChilkatBase;

Finds and returns the issuer certificate. If the certificate is a root or self-issued, then the certificate returned is a copy of the caller certificate. (The IsRoot property can be check to see if the certificate is a root (or self-issued) certificate.)

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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GetEncoded
function GetEncoded: string;

Returns a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format, which can be passed to SetFromEncoded to recreate the certificate object.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetExtensionAsText
function GetExtensionAsText(const oid: string): string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Returns the certificate extension data as a string. This method should only be called for those extensions with text values NOT stored as binary ASN.1. In most cases, applications should call GetExtensionAsXml because most extensions contain ASN.1 values that need to be decoded..

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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GetExtensionAsXml
function GetExtensionAsXml(const oid: string): string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the certificate extension data in XML format (converted from ASN.1). The oid is an OID, such as the ones listed here: http://www.alvestrand.no/objectid/2.5.29.html

Note: In many cases, the data within the XML is returned base64 encoded. An application may need to take one further step to base64 decode the information contained within the XML.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetExtensionBd
// bd is a TBinData object.
function GetExtensionBd(const oid: string;
    bd: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Returns the certificate extension data specified by oid in bd.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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GetIssuer
// issuer is a TCert object.
function GetIssuer(issuer: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Finds and returns the issuer certificate in issuer. If the certificate is a root or self-issued, then the certificate returned is a copy of the caller certificate. (The IsRoot property can be check to see if the certificate is a root (or self-issued) certificate.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetPrivateKey
// privKey is a TPrivateKey object.
function GetPrivateKey(privKey: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Loads the privKey with the certificate's private key, if it exists. Returns False if the certificate has no associated private key.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetPrivateKeyPem
function GetPrivateKeyPem: string;

Exports the certificate's private key to a PEM string (if the private key is available).

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetPubKeyDer
// bd is a TBinData object.
function GetPubKeyDer(preferPkcs1: Boolean;
    bd: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's public key in ASN.1 DER format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 selects which format to return.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetPublicKey
// pubKey is a TPublicKey object.
function GetPublicKey(pubKey: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Loads the pubKey with the certificate's public key.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetSignature
// bd is a TBinData object.
function GetSignature(bd: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's signature.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetSpkiFingerprint
function GetSpkiFingerprint(const hashAlg: string;
    const encoding: string): string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.55

Returns the SPKI Fingerprint suitable for use in pinning. (See RFC 7469.) An SPKI Fingerprint is defined as the output of a known cryptographic hash algorithm whose input is the DER-encoded ASN.1 representation of the Subject Public Key Info (SPKI) of an X.509 certificate. The hashAlg specifies the hash algorithm and may be sha256, sha384, sha512, sha1, md2, md5, haval, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320. The encoding specifies the encoding, and may be base64, hex, or any of the encoding modes specified in the article at the link below.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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GetSubjectPart
function GetSubjectPart(const partNameOrOid: string): string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a part of the certificate's subject by name or OID. The partNameOrOid can be a part name, such as CN, O, OU, E, S, L, C, or SERIALNUMBER, or it can be an OID such as 2.5.4.3.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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HashOf
function HashOf(const part: string;
    const hashAlg: string;
    const encoding: string): string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Returns an encoded hash of a particular part of the certificate. The part may be one of the following:

  • IssuerDN
  • IssuerPublicKey
  • SubjectDN
  • SubjectPublicKey

The hashAlg is the name of the hash algorithm, such as sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, md5, etc. The encoding is the format to return, such as hex, base64, etc.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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HasPrivateKey
function HasPrivateKey: Boolean;

Returns True if a private key associated with the certificate is available.

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IsEcdsa
function IsEcdsa: Boolean;
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Returns True if certificate is ECDSA-based (i.e. has an ECDSA key).

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IsRsa
function IsRsa: Boolean;
Introduced in version 10.1.0

Returns True if certificate is RSA-based (i.e. has an RSA key).

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LinkPkcs11
// session is a TPkcs11 object.
function LinkPkcs11(session: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Links to the certificate's private key located on an HSM (smart card, token, or cloud HSM). Once linked, the certificate can be used for signing where the signing occurs on the HSM. See the example below for more detailed information.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadByCommonName
function LoadByCommonName(const cn: string): Boolean;

This method searches for a certificate with the specified common name (CN) on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadByEmailAddress
function LoadByEmailAddress(const emailAddress: string): Boolean;

This method searches for a certificate with the specified email address on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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LoadByIssuerAndSerialNumber
function LoadByIssuerAndSerialNumber(const issuerCN: string;
    const serialNumber: string): Boolean;

This method searches for a certificate with the specified issuer common name (issuerCN) and serial number (serialNumber) on different operating systems. - On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadBySubjectOid
function LoadBySubjectOid(const oid: string;
    const value: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

This method searches for a certificate containing a subject part matching the oid and value. On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

More Information and Examples
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LoadByThumbprint
function LoadByThumbprint(const thumbprint: string;
    const encoding: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

This method searches for a certificate with the specified thumbprint. The thumbprint is passed as a string using the encoding specified by encoding (such as base64, hex, etc.).

On Windows, it searches the Local Machine and Current User certificate stores. - On macOS and iOS, it searches the Default and System Keychains. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and ready for use.

Note: Chilkat v10.0.0 or later is needed for Apple Keychain.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadFromBase64
function LoadFromBase64(const encodedCert: string): Boolean;

Loads an ASN.1 or DER encoded certificate represented in a Base64 string.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadFromBd
// certBytes is a TBinData object.
function LoadFromBd(certBytes: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads an X.509 certificate from data contained in certBytes.

Note: The certBytes may contain the certificate in any format. It can be binary DER (ASN.1), PEM, Base64, etc. Chilkat will automatically detect the format.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadFromFile
function LoadFromFile(const path: string): Boolean;

Loads a certificate from a .cer, .crt, .p7b, or .pem file. This method accepts certificates from files in any of the following formats:
1. DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER)
2. Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER)
3. Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard - PKCS #7 Certificates (.P7B)
4. PEM format
This method decodes the certificate based on the contents if finds within the file, and not based on the file extension. If your certificate is in a file having a different extension, try loading it using this method before assuming it won't work. This method does not load .p12 or .pfx (PKCS #12) files.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadFromSmartcard
function LoadFromSmartcard(const certSpec: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Important: It's important to set the SmartCardPin property before calling this method.

Loads a certificate and its associated private key (if available) from a connected USB token or smart card. This function works on Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Alpine Linux. If multiple USB tokens and/or smartcards are connected to the system, then each will be searched and the first matching certificate will be loaded.

The certSpec can have the following formats and values:

  • Empty String: Passing the empty string is the most common way to call this function. Pass the empty string when only one HSM (USB token or smart card) is connected to the system, and it contains only one certificate with a private key. The HSM can contain other certificates, but Chilkat will automatically choose and load the certificate that has the associated private key also located on the HSM.
  • cn=<cert subject common name>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified subject common name (CN).
  • subjectdn_withtags=<distinguished name with tags>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified DN with tags. For example, subjectdn_withtags=C=US, O=Example Corporation, OU=IT Department, CN=www.example.com
  • subjectdn=<distinguished name without tags>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified DN without tags. For example, subjectdn=US, California, San Francisco, Example Corp, Engineering, www.example.com, support@example.com
  • issuercn=<subject hex serial:issuer common name>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hex serial number and an issuer with the specified common name. For example, 01020304: Let's Encrypt Authority X1
  • serial=<hex serial number>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hexidecimal serial number.
  • thumbprint=<hex SHA1 thumbprint>: Finds and loads the certificate having the specified hexidecimal SHA1 thumbprint.
  • policyoid=<certificate policy OID>: Finds and loads the certificate having a policy OID equal to the specified value, such as 2.16.840.1.101.2.1.11.39.
  • o=<subject organization>: Finds and loads the certificate having the O subject part equal to the specified value.
  • c=<subject country>: Finds and loads the certificate having the C subject part equal to the specified value.
  • l=<subject locality>: Finds and loads the certificate having the L subject part equal to the specified value.
  • ou=<subject organizational unit>: Finds and loads the certificate having the OU subject part equal to the specified value.
  • st=<subject state>: Finds and loads the certificate having the ST subject part equal to the specified value.
  • e=<subject email>: Finds and loads the certificate having the E subject part equal to the specified value.

On Windows systems, certSpec can specify a CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider) name, such as YubiHSM Key Storage Provider. This option is retained for legacy support, as Chilkat initially handled USB tokens and smartcards only on Windows via CSPs. Chilkat now supports HSMs across multiple platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Alpine Linux) and uses various methods to communicate with HSMs, including PKCS11, macOS Keychain services, Windows ScMinidriver, MsCNG, and legacy Windows CryptoAPI. Chilkat automatically detects the HSM make/model and selects the optimal communication method.

Some possible CSP values are:

  • Microsoft Smart Card Key Storage Provider
  • Microsoft Base Smart Card Crypto Provider
  • Bit4id Universal Middleware Provider
  • YubiHSM Key Storage Provider (starting in v9.5.0.83)
  • SafeSign Standard Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SafeSign Standard RSA and AES Cryptographic Service Provider
  • eToken Base Cryptographic Provider
  • cryptoCertum3 CSP
  • FTSafe ePass1000 RSA Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SecureStoreCSP
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v2.0
  • Gemalto Classic Card CSP
  • PROXKey CSP India V1.0
  • PROXKey CSP India V2.0
  • TRUST KEY CSP V1.0
  • Watchdata Brazil CSP V1.0
  • Luna Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Luna SChannel Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Safenet RSA Full Cryptographic Provider
  • nCipher Enhanced Cryptographic Provider
  • MySmartLogon NFC CSP
  • NFC Connector Enterprise
  • ActivClient Cryptographic Service Provider
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v1.0
  • Oberthur Card Systems Cryptographic Provider
  • Athena ASECard Crypto CSP
  • many others...

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPem
function LoadPem(const strPem: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the certificate from a PEM string.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPfxBd
// pfxData is a TBinData object.
function LoadPfxBd(pfxData: TChilkatBase;
    const password: string): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads the certificate from the PFX contained in pfxData. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPfxFile
function LoadPfxFile(const pfxPath: string;
    const password: string): Boolean;

Loads a PFX file. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadTaskResult
// task is a TTask object.
function LoadTaskResult(task: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Loads the certificate from a completed asynchronous task.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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PemFileToDerFile
function PemFileToDerFile(const fromPath: string;
    const toPath: string): Boolean;

Converts a PEM file to a DER file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SaveToFile
function SaveToFile(const path: string): Boolean;

Saves a certificate object to a .cer file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SetCloudSigner
// json is a TJsonObject object.
function SetCloudSigner(json: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Provides information for a cloud signing service to do the signing via a remote signing server. Current supported services are AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, and ARSS (Aruba Remote Signing Service). See the examples below.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SetFromEncoded
function SetFromEncoded(const encodedCert: string): Boolean;

Initializes the certificate object from a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SetPrivateKey
// privKey is a TPrivateKey object.
function SetPrivateKey(privKey: TChilkatBase): Boolean;

Used to associate a private key with the certificate for subsequent (PKCS7) signature creation or decryption.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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SetPrivateKeyPem
function SetPrivateKeyPem(const privKeyPem: string): Boolean;

Same as SetPrivateKey, but the key is provided in unencrypted PEM format. (Note: The privKeyPem is not a file path, it is the actual PEM text.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Unload
function Unload: Boolean;
Introduced in version 11.0.0

Unload the certificate, which could mean closing a PKCS11 session if the certificate was loaded from a smart card.

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UploadToCloud
// jsonIn is a TJsonObject object.
// jsonOut is a TJsonObject object.
function UploadToCloud(jsonIn: TChilkatBase;
    jsonOut: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

This is an open-ended method to accomodate uploading the private key to a cloud service, such as AWS KMS, or Azure Key Vault. For details, see the examples below.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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UseCertVault
// vault is a TXmlCertVault object.
function UseCertVault(vault: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Adds an XML certificate vault to the object's internal list of sources to be searched for certificates for help in building certificate chains and verifying the certificate signature to the trusted root.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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VerifySignature
function VerifySignature: Boolean;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Verifies the certificate signature, as well as the signatures of all certificates in the chain of authentication to the trusted root. Returns True if all signatures are verified to the trusted root. Otherwise returns False.

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X509PKIPathv1
function X509PKIPathv1: string;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Returns the base64 representation of an X509PKIPathv1 containing just the calling certificate. This is typically used in an X.509 Binary Security Token. It is a PKIPath that contains an ordered list of X.509 public certificates packaged in a PKIPath. The X509PKIPathv1 token type may be used to represent a certificate path. (This is sometimes used in XAdES signatures.)

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Events

Chilkat for Pascal supports three synchronous event callbacks: OnAbortCheck, OnPercentDone, and OnProgressInfo. Each is a property of the class; assign a method of one of your own objects (an of object handler) to receive the callbacks, or assign nil to unhook. The handler types are declared in the Chilkat.Base unit:

TChilkatAbortCheckEvent   = function(Sender: TChilkatBase): Boolean of object;
TChilkatPercentDoneEvent  = function(Sender: TChilkatBase; PctDone: Integer): Boolean of object;
TChilkatProgressInfoEvent = procedure(Sender: TChilkatBase; const Name, Value: string) of object;

All Chilkat methods are synchronous, so callbacks are invoked on the thread that called the method -- if the method was called from the main thread, it is safe to access UI elements from the handler. The HeartbeatMs property controls the frequency of OnAbortCheck callbacks (the default of 0 means no AbortCheck events fire). Returning True from an OnAbortCheck or OnPercentDone handler aborts the running method.

AbortCheck
// TChilkatAbortCheckEvent = function(Sender: TChilkatBase): Boolean of object;
property OnAbortCheck: TChilkatAbortCheckEvent;

Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.

More Information and Examples

Event callback implementation:

// A handler is a method of one of your own classes, e.g. a form:
function TMyObject.CertAbortCheck(Sender: TChilkatBase): Boolean;
begin
  // Called every HeartbeatMs milliseconds while a method is running.
  // Return True to abort the method; return False to continue.
  Result := False;
end;

To add an event handler:

cert := TCert.Create;
cert.HeartbeatMs := 250;   // fire OnAbortCheck 4 times per second
cert.OnAbortCheck := MyObject.CertAbortCheck;
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PercentDone
// TChilkatPercentDoneEvent = function(Sender: TChilkatBase; PctDone: Integer): Boolean of object;
property OnPercentDone: TChilkatPercentDoneEvent;

This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.

To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to True. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.

More Information and Examples

Event callback implementation:

// A handler is a method of one of your own classes, e.g. a form:
function TMyObject.CertPercentDone(Sender: TChilkatBase; PctDone: Integer): Boolean;
begin
  // PctDone ranges from 1 to 100.
  WriteLn('Percent done: ', PctDone);
  // Return True to abort the method; return False to continue.
  Result := False;
end;

To add an event handler:

cert := TCert.Create;
cert.OnPercentDone := MyObject.CertPercentDone;
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ProgressInfo
// TChilkatProgressInfoEvent = procedure(Sender: TChilkatBase; const Name, Value: string) of object;
property OnProgressInfo: TChilkatProgressInfoEvent;

This event callback provides tag name/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.

Note: Some Chilkat methods don't fire any ProgressInfo events.

More Information and Examples

Event callback implementation:

// A handler is a method of one of your own classes, e.g. a form:
procedure TMyObject.CertProgressInfo(Sender: TChilkatBase; const Name, Value: string);
begin
  WriteLn(Name, ': ', Value);
end;

To add an event handler:

cert := TCert.Create;
cert.OnProgressInfo := MyObject.CertProgressInfo;
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