--- product: Chilkat product_version: 11.7.0 language: pascal language_label: Lazarus Pascal class: Global license: free deprecated: false reference_html: https://www.chilkatsoft.com/refdoc/pascal_GlobalRef.html --- # Chilkat Global — Lazarus Pascal — v11.7.0 > Chilkat 11.7.0 · language=pascal · class=Global > Other versions: replace `11.7.0` in this URL. Other languages: `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0//classes/Global.md`. > Language-wide rules (install, unlock, error model, strings/bytes): `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/pascal/guide.md`. ## Purpose **Unlock Chilkat and configure library-wide defaults, diagnostics, and async behavior.** `Chilkat.Global` is the Chilkat class for library-wide initialization, licensing, default behavior, diagnostics, and thread-pool control. Its most important method is `UnlockBundle`, which should be called once at application startup before using other Chilkat classes. It also provides settings for DNS caching, ANSI code page behavior, NTLM version, IPv6 preference, verbose TLS logging, async task execution, thread-pool limits, thread-pool logging, and special PKCS#7 encoding behavior. **Library unlocking** Call `UnlockBundle` once during application startup to unlock Chilkat components for use throughout the process. **Global defaults** Configure process-wide defaults such as ANSI code page handling, DNS caching behavior, IPv6 preference, and NTLM version selection. **Diagnostics and logging** Enable additional diagnostic behavior such as verbose TLS logging and thread-pool logging when troubleshooting difficult runtime issues. **Async thread pool** Control the limits and behavior of Chilkat's internal thread pool used by asynchronous task-based methods. **Network-related behavior** Adjust DNS and IP-version preferences that can affect how Chilkat classes resolve names and establish network connections. **Compatibility options** Set specialized process-wide options for interoperability scenarios, such as special PKCS#7 encoding behavior. **Common pattern:** Create a `Chilkat.Global` object at application startup, call `UnlockBundle` once, then set any process-wide defaults before creating and using other Chilkat objects. Treat these settings as application-wide configuration, not per-object state. For an extended overview, see [Global Class Overview](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/global_class_overview.asp). ## Object creation, unlocking and error handling **Create / Free** ```pascal uses Chilkat.Global; var obj: TGlobal; begin obj := TGlobal.Create; try if not obj.IsValid then raise Exception.Create('Failed to create a TGlobal instance.'); // ... use obj ... finally obj.Free; end; end; ``` `constructor Create;` Allocates the underlying CkGlobal object and returns a new TGlobal instance. Simply adding **Chilkat.Global** 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 TGlobal created by calling `Create` should eventually be released by calling `.Free` (inherited from `TObject`). The destructor automatically disposes the underlying CkGlobal handle. A native (unmanaged) memory leak occurs if the object is never freed. ## Members common to every Chilkat class Documented once per language in `common-members.md`; listed here so this page is self-contained. | Property | Signature | Access | Meaning | |---|---|---|---| | `DebugLogFilePath` | `property DebugLogFilePath: string read GetDebugLogFilePath write SetDebugLogFilePath;` | read/write | If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. | | `LastErrorHtml` | `property LastErrorHtml: string read GetLastErrorHtml;` | read-only | Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. | | `LastErrorText` | `property LastErrorText: string read GetLastErrorText;` | read-only | Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. | | `LastErrorXml` | `property LastErrorXml: string read GetLastErrorXml;` | read-only | Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. | | `LastMethodSuccess` | `property LastMethodSuccess: Boolean read GetLastMethodSuccess write SetLastMethodSuccess;` | read/write | Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: `True` means success, `False` means failure. | | `VerboseLogging` | `property VerboseLogging: Boolean read GetVerboseLogging write SetVerboseLogging;` | read/write | If set to `True`, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. | | `Version` | `property Version: string read GetVersion;` | read-only | Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0" | ## Member index | Member | Kind | Signature | |---|---|---| | `AnsiCodePage` | property, read/write | `property AnsiCodePage: Integer read GetAnsiCodePage write SetAnsiCodePage;` | | `AutoQBDecode` | property, read/write | `property AutoQBDecode: Boolean read GetAutoQBDecode write SetAutoQBDecode;` | | `DefaultNtlmVersion` | property, read/write | `property DefaultNtlmVersion: Integer read GetDefaultNtlmVersion write SetDefaultNtlmVersion;` | | `DnsTimeToLive` | property, read/write | `property DnsTimeToLive: Integer read GetDnsTimeToLive write SetDnsTimeToLive;` | | `EnableDnsCaching` | property, read/write | `property EnableDnsCaching: Boolean read GetEnableDnsCaching write SetEnableDnsCaching;` | | `MaxThreads` | property, read/write | `property MaxThreads: Integer read GetMaxThreads write SetMaxThreads;` | | `PreferIpv6` | property, read/write | `property PreferIpv6: Boolean read GetPreferIpv6 write SetPreferIpv6;` | | `ThreadPoolLogPath` | property, read/write | `property ThreadPoolLogPath: string read GetThreadPoolLogPath write SetThreadPoolLogPath;` | | `UncommonOptions` | property, read/write | `property UncommonOptions: string read GetUncommonOptions write SetUncommonOptions;` | | `UnlockStatus` | property, read-only | `property UnlockStatus: Integer read GetUnlockStatus;` | | `UsePkcsConstructedEncoding` | property, read/write | `property UsePkcsConstructedEncoding: Boolean read GetUsePkcsConstructedEncoding write SetUsePkcsConstructedEncoding;` | | `VerboseTls` | property, read/write | `property VerboseTls: Boolean read GetVerboseTls write SetVerboseTls;` | | `DnsClearCache` | method | `function DnsClearCache: Boolean;` | | `FinalizeThreadPool` | method | `function FinalizeThreadPool: Boolean;` | | `ThreadPoolLogLine` | method | `function ThreadPoolLogLine(const str: string): Boolean;` | | `UnlockBundle` | method | `function UnlockBundle(const bundleUnlockCode: string): Boolean;` | ## Properties ### Global.AnsiCodePage `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · AnsiCodePage · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```pascal property AnsiCodePage: Integer read GetAnsiCodePage write SetAnsiCodePage; ``` The default ANSI code page is determined at runtime based on the computer where the application happens to be running. For example, the ANSI code page for an application running on a Japanese computer is likely to be Shift_JIS (code page 932), whereas on a US-English computer it would be iso-8859-1 (or Windows-1252 which is essentially a superset of iso-8859-1). If there is a desire for the Chilkat library to use a specific ANSI code page regardless of locale, then this property should be set to the desired code page. The default value of this property is the ANSI code page of the local computer. ### Global.AutoQBDecode `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · AutoQBDecode · property · read/write · since 10.0.0` ```pascal property AutoQBDecode: Boolean read GetAutoQBDecode write SetAutoQBDecode; ``` If set to `True`, then `Q` or `B` encoded strings can be passed in any string argument to any Chilkat method, and Chilkat will automatically decode the string before using it. This is meant to be a convenient way to use non-usascii literal strings in your source code. See the links below for an example and for a discussion about non-usascii literal strings. See also: - [Avoid Non-usascii Literal Strings in Source Code](https://cknotes.com/avoid-non-usascii-literal-strings-in-source-code/) ### Global.DefaultNtlmVersion `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · DefaultNtlmVersion · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.52` ```pascal property DefaultNtlmVersion: Integer read GetDefaultNtlmVersion write SetDefaultNtlmVersion; ``` Selects the default NTLM protocol version to use for NTLM authentication for HTTP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP, and HTTP proxies. The default value is 2. This property may optionally be set to 1. ### Global.DnsTimeToLive `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · DnsTimeToLive · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```pascal property DnsTimeToLive: Integer read GetDnsTimeToLive write SetDnsTimeToLive; ``` If DNS caching is enabled, this is the time-to-live (in seconds) for a cached DNS lookup. A DNS lookup result older than this expiration time is discarded, and causes a new DNS lookup to occur. A value of 0 indicates an infinite time-to-live. The default value of this property is 0. ### Global.EnableDnsCaching `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · EnableDnsCaching · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```pascal property EnableDnsCaching: Boolean read GetEnableDnsCaching write SetEnableDnsCaching; ``` Controls whether DNS domain lookups (to resolve to IP addresses) are cached in memory. The default value is `False`, meaning that DNS caching is disabled. ### Global.MaxThreads `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · MaxThreads · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.52` ```pascal property MaxThreads: Integer read GetMaxThreads write SetMaxThreads; ``` The maximum number of thread pool threads. The default value is 100. The maximum value is 500. Note: Asynchronous worker threads are created on as needed up to the maximum. ### Global.PreferIpv6 `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · PreferIpv6 · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.70` ```pascal property PreferIpv6: Boolean read GetPreferIpv6 write SetPreferIpv6; ``` If `True`, then use IPv6 over IPv4 when both are supported for a particular domain. The default value of this property is `False`, which will choose IPv4 over IPv6. Note: Setting this property has the effect of also setting the default value of the PreferIpv6 property for other classes. ### Global.ThreadPoolLogPath `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · ThreadPoolLogPath · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.52` ```pascal property ThreadPoolLogPath: string read GetThreadPoolLogPath write SetThreadPoolLogPath; ``` If set, indicates the path of a log file to be used by the thread pool thread and each of the pool worker threads for logging async activity. Chilkat always appends to the log file. If the log file already exists, then new information will be appended. ### Global.UncommonOptions `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · UncommonOptions · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.90` ```pascal property UncommonOptions: string read GetUncommonOptions write SetUncommonOptions; ``` This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string, and should typically remain empty. ### Global.UnlockStatus `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · UnlockStatus · property · read-only · since 9.5.0.62` ```pascal property UnlockStatus: Integer read GetUnlockStatus; ``` Indicates the unlocked status for the last call to UnlockBundle. The possible values are: 0. Not unlocked. (Still in locked state.) 1. Unlocked with in fully-functional trial mode. 2. Unlocked using a valid purchased unlock code. Note: If UnlockBundle is called with a purchased unlock code, the UnlockStatus is correctly set to the value 2. This value is intentionally sticky. If a subsequent and redundant call to UnlockBundle happens, it is effectively a `No-Op` because the library is already unlocked. The UnlockStatus will not change. If however, if the 1st call resulted in UnlockStatus = 1, and THEN the unlock method is called again with a purchased unlock code, the UnlockStatus should change from 1 to 2. ### Global.UsePkcsConstructedEncoding `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · UsePkcsConstructedEncoding · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.70` ```pascal property UsePkcsConstructedEncoding: Boolean read GetUsePkcsConstructedEncoding write SetUsePkcsConstructedEncoding; ``` This property should typically be left at the default value of `False`. If set to `True`, then Chilkat will use a constructed ASN.1 encoding for PCKS7 data. (This is an internal implementation option that normally does not matter, and should not matter. Some PKCS7 receiving systems might be picky, and this option can be used to satisfy this requirement.) ### Global.VerboseTls `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · VerboseTls · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.78` ```pascal property VerboseTls: Boolean read GetVerboseTls write SetVerboseTls; ``` If set to `True`, then causes extremely verbose logging (in LastErrorText) all TLS connections in any Chilkat class. This property should only be used for troubleshooting TLS problems. The default value is `False`. Note: This property only has effect on Chilkat objects not yet created. Set the property first, then instantiate the Chilkat object. ## Methods ### Global.DnsClearCache `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · DnsClearCache · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```pascal function DnsClearCache: Boolean; ``` This function clears the Chilkat in-memory DNS cache, which stores hostname-to-IP address mappings to avoid repeated DNS lookups. **Note:** - The DNS cache is shared across all Chilkat objects, so clearing it will impact all such objects. - Chilkat's DNS caching respects the TTL (time to live) of DNS records. If the TTL has expired since the initial lookup, Chilkat will perform a new DNS query and update the cache with the latest IP address. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Global.FinalizeThreadPool `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · FinalizeThreadPool · method · since 9.5.0.56` ```pascal function FinalizeThreadPool: Boolean; ``` Called to stop and finalize all threads in the thread pool, and causes the thread pool thread to exit. The following behaviors exist in **v9.5.0.64 and later**: - All remaining asynchronous tasks are automatically canceled. - Restores the thread pool to it's pristine state where no background threads are running. It is a good idea to call this method at the very end of a program, just before it exits. This is especially true for programs written in VBScript, VB6, FoxPro, and PowerBuilder. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Global.ThreadPoolLogLine `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · ThreadPoolLogLine · method · since 9.5.0.77` ```pascal function ThreadPoolLogLine(const str: string): Boolean; ``` Logs a line to the thread pool log file. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Global.UnlockBundle `Chilkat 11.7.0 · pascal · Global · UnlockBundle · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```pascal function UnlockBundle(const bundleUnlockCode: string): Boolean; ``` Unlocks the entire Chilkat API for all classes. This should be called once at the beginning of a program. Once unlocked, objects of any Chilkat class may be instantiated and used. To unlock in fully-functional 30-day trial mode, pass any string, such as `Hello`, in `bundleUnlockCode`. If a license is purchased, then replace the `Hello` with the purchased unlock code. After calling UnlockBundle once, the instance of the Global object may be discarded/deleted (assuming the programming language requires explicit deletes). Multiple calls to UnlockBundle are harmless. If the Chilkat API is already unlocked, the duplicate calls to UnlockBundle are no-ops. **Important:** Unlocking sets a flag in memory to indicate the unlocked status. There are no licensing files, and there is no communication with any Chilkat servers. This means your application, script, etc. must call UnlockBundle once at the start each time it runs. The good thing is that your application can run on any computer -- there are no licensing files to worry about. Also: If an application forgets to call UnlockBundle, Chilkat will automatically unlock in trial mode, and this will eventually fail when the trial runs out. If you purchased a license, it is very important to make sure you call UnlockBundle with the purchased unlock code. Returns True for success, False for failure.