With Total Commander 8, Total Commander is now also available in 64-bit. Since plugins are simple dlls, and 64-bit programs can only load 64-bit dlls, a plugin needs to be re-compiled with a 64-bit compiler to work with 64-bit Total Commander.

 

IMPORTANT: A 64-bit plugin must have the same name as the 32-bit plugin and be in the same directory, but '64' must be appended to the extension. Example: filesystem.wcx -> filesystem.wcx64. 64-bit-only plugins must also end with '64'.

 

Since all 64-bit Windows versions support Unicode, it's sufficient to write a 64-bit Unicode-only plugin. However, if your existing 32-bit plugin only supports ANSI functions, you can port it without modifications to 64 bit. Total Commander 64-bit also supports the ANSI functions if it cannot find the Unicode functions. 64-bit Unicode plugins do not have an extension starting with 'u', they have the normal 'wcx64' extension.

 

All integer parameters in plugin functions remain 32-bit (e.g. in C: int, long, DWORD; Delphi: integer, dword), only pointers and handles are 64-bit wide now. Recompiling a program or dll with a 64-bit compiler usually takes care of this automatically without needing many changes. Problems can arise when converting pointers to integer or vice versa. Make sure to use 64-bit integer variables (e.g. size_t in C, ptrint or ptruint in Lazarus) for such operations.

 

 

 

If you have Visual Studio Professional 2005 or later, a 64-bit compiler is already included. If you use the free Express version or Visual Studio 2003, you need to install the Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) in addition to Visual Studio Express.

 

Here is how to add 64-bit support to an existing plugin:

1. Check the toolbars in Visual Studio: There are comboboxes for the compile type (Debug or Release), and one which shows "Win32".

2. Open the one showing "Win32", and click on the "Configuration manager".

3. Click on "New" in the Active Solution Platform list (right side). A new dialog box "New Solution Platform" will be shown.

4. In the upper field, choose "x64"

5. In the lower field, "copy from", choose "Win32"

6. Make sure the checkbox "Create new project platform" is on

7. Click OK

See also: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/9yb4317s.aspx

8. Now you can switch in the same project between Win32 and x64. Switch to x64.

9. Open the settings of your project.

10. You should set the following options:

     C++ - Code generation - runtime library: Multi-threaded-Debug (/Mtd) <- not multithreaded debug dll !

     Linker - General - output file: wcx/pluginname.wcx64

 

1. Visual Studio Express C++ edition:

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/products/2010-editions/visual-cpp-express

2. Windows Software Development Kit (SDK):

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/bb980924.aspx

 

 

There is a 64-bit Lazarus/Free Pascal available, which can be used to create 64-bit dlls. Total Commander itself was compiled with Lazarus as a 64-bit application. There are menu items in the "Tools" menu to convert Delphi projects and forms to Lazarus.

 

Lazarus/Free Pascal works a bit differently from Delphi, so some functions may need to be changed. Here are the problems encountered when porting Total Commander:

1. Free pascal is different -> Use {$MODE Delphi} in all *.pas files to handle functions the Delphi way

2. strnew creates a NIL pointer when the passed pchar is 0 bytes long. -> Use your own strnew function.

3. Windows messages below WM_USER are not passed to the windows procedure. -> Use SetWindowLongPtr to subclass the window

4. The calculation  p-buffer  is not working when p is a pwidechar, buffer an array of widechar -> use p-pwidechar(@bufffer)

5. INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE is incorrectly set to 0 instead of -1 in lcltype.pp! -> Put "windows" at end of "uses" command.

 

You should download and install the 64-bit daily snapshot from

http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/

Click on "Daily snapshots", then on e.g. Lazarus + fpc 2.4.4     win64

The final releases are very outdated, so the snapshots usually work much better.