The Wireless Communication Library consists of three frameworks — Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Serial — and each can be installed independently. This guide covers both distribution formats and the IDE-specific steps for each edition.

You can download each framework as an executable installer or as a 7Zip archive. To unzip the archive, use 7-Zip. If anything below does not match what you see, or you run into an issue during installation, contact us.

The Wireless Communication Library 8 does not require any installation. Unpack the archive and use it directly.

Before you start

Before installing a registered version, make sure you have completely removed any demo version of the same framework. This matters most for the .NET Edition: Visual Studio copies third-party assemblies into a project's build folder, and even after installing the registered version, an old demo assembly in the build output will still be used at runtime. Clear the project's build folder before the first run.

Registered packages are distributed as EXE installers with a password. If you cannot use an installer for any reason, you can unpack it manually — the procedure is described below.

.NET assemblies

Each framework in its .NET Edition relies on a small set of shared and framework-specific assemblies. Knowing them helps when you need to reference DLLs directly or clean up a build folder.

Bluetooth Framework uses wclCommon.dll, wclCommunication.dll, wclDri.dll, and wclBluetoothFramework.dll. Serial Framework uses wclCommon.dll, wclCommunication.dll, and wclSerialFramework.dll. Wi-Fi Framework uses wclCommon.dll, wclDri.dll, and wclWiFiFramework.dll.

If your application uses more than one framework at once, the shared assemblies — wclCommon.dll, wclCommunication.dll, and wclDri.dll — come from the newest package you have. Do not mix assemblies from different framework versions.

From an EXE installer

If you downloaded an EXE installer, unpack the ZIP archive that contains it first, then run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

Sometimes an installer cannot be used — for example, in a locked-down environment. The registered version, which is normally redistributed only as an installer, can still be unpacked manually. The installers are built with Inno Setup, and can be opened with Inno Unpacker.

Use one of the following commands from a terminal. For the demo version:

innounp framework_installer_name -x

For the registered version, add the password with the -p switch:

innounp framework_installer_name -x -pPWD

Replace framework_installer_name with the EXE file name and PWD with the password that came with your registered package. When the command completes, a folder named {app} appears with all the framework's files inside. From this point the installation continues exactly as if you had unpacked a 7Zip archive — follow the sections below for your edition.

From a 7Zip archive

After unpacking, the framework folder contains four subdirectories. Demo holds sample projects. Doc holds offline documentation. Lib holds the framework's compiled binaries — its contents vary between editions. Source holds the framework's source code, which is available in the C++ and VCL editions, and in the .NET Edition with source code.

If you already have any previous installation of the framework, or a different framework from the same family, copy the unpacked files into the same folder and overwrite the existing files.

.NET Edition

The .NET Edition requires no additional installation steps. Open the sample solutions and build them, or reference the framework's DLL files from the Lib folder of the framework package directly from your own project.

If you installed the framework using the EXE installer, the assembly references are registered in the Global Assembly Cache and can be picked from the Add Reference dialog in Visual Studio.

C++ Edition

The C++ Edition also requires no special installation. Open the sample solutions and build them, or add the framework's libraries and headers to your own project.

The library files are in the Lib folder, sorted by Visual Studio version. The header files are in the Source folder. To link the framework into your project, add the appropriate Lib subfolder to the linker's library search path, add Source to the include search path, and link against the framework's .lib files. Both steps can be done through the project's property pages or with a #pragma comment(lib, ...) directive in code.

By default, all C++ editions are built as static libraries with the /MT option. If you need a different runtime configuration, contact us and we will try to provide libraries with the required build options for testing. For production use, we recommend purchasing the version with source code so you can rebuild the framework with any configuration you need.

VCL Edition

The VCL Edition requires a few more steps than the other editions. You need to copy some BPL files into your IDE's binary folders, install the design-time packages, and add the framework's library paths to the IDE's search directories.

Copy BPL files

Open the Lib folder. Inside you will find a set of subfolders: Common, Communication (not present for Wi-Fi Framework), and the framework's own folder — Bluetooth, Serial, or WiFi depending on which framework you installed.

Start with the Common folder. Open it and find the subfolder that corresponds to your Delphi or RAD Studio version. For versions below XE, copy wclCommon.bpl into your IDE's Bin folder, typically located at c:\Program Files (x86)\{studio_dir}\Bin. For RAD Studio XE, the full path is c:\Program Files (x86)\Embarcadero\RAD Studio\8.0\bin.

Starting with RAD Studio XE2, the folder contains two subfolders — Win32 and Win64. Copy wclCommon.bpl from the Win32 folder into your IDE's Bin folder, and copy wclCommon.bpl from the Win64 folder into your IDE's Bin64 folder.

Do the same for the Communication folder — the package is wclCommunication.bpl — and for the framework's own folder. The package names are wclBluetoothFrameworkR.bpl for the Bluetooth Framework, wclSerialFrameworkR.bpl for the Serial Framework, and wclWiFiFrameworkR.bpl for the Wi-Fi Framework.

If you use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Framework, also copy files from the DRI folder. The package is wclDri.bpl.

Install components

The next step is to install the framework's design-time packages, which register the components in the IDE's Tool Palette.

For RAD Studio XE or below, the design-time package is in {app_folder}\Lib\{framework_name}\{ide_ver}. For RAD Studio XE2 or above, the design-time package is in {app_folder}\Lib\{framework_name}\{ide_ver}\Win32.

Here {app_folder} is where you unpacked the framework, {framework_name} is Bluetooth, Serial, or WiFi, and {ide_ver} is your IDE's version code — see the section below for the full list.

The design-time package names are wclBluetoothFrameworkD.bpl for the Bluetooth Framework, wclSerialFrameworkD.bpl for the Serial Framework, and wclWiFiFrameworkD.bpl for the Wi-Fi Framework.

Open the IDE's Install Packages dialog (Component → Install Packages), click Add..., navigate to the design-time package folder, and select the corresponding D.bpl file.

Add library paths

The final step is to add the framework's binary folders to the IDE's library search paths. The binary folders are located under Lib, inside the same Common, Communication, DRI, and framework-name subfolders you copied the BPL files from. Each folder contains a further subfolder named after your IDE version.

Use {app_folder} for the unpack location and {ide_ver} for your IDE version code. Starting with RAD Studio XE2, each IDE version folder contains two subfolders — Win32 and Win64. Paths to both must be added.

Bluetooth Framework

Needs all four paths: {app_folder}\Lib\Common\{ide_ver}, {app_folder}\Lib\Communication\{ide_ver}, {app_folder}\Lib\DRI\{ide_ver}, and {app_folder}\Lib\Bluetooth\{ide_ver}. Under RAD Studio XE2 and above, each path gains a \Win32 or \Win64 suffix.

Serial Framework

Needs three paths: {app_folder}\Lib\Common\{ide_ver}, {app_folder}\Lib\Communication\{ide_ver}, and {app_folder}\Lib\Serial\{ide_ver}. Same Win32 / Win64 rule applies.

Wi-Fi Framework

Needs three paths: {app_folder}\Lib\Common\{ide_ver}, {app_folder}\Lib\DRI\{ide_ver}, and {app_folder}\Lib\WiFi\{ide_ver}. Same Win32 / Win64 rule applies.

The full set of IDE version codes is listed below. Each code corresponds to the subfolder name inside the framework's binary directories.

  • C++ Builder 6 — C6
  • Delphi 6 — D6
  • Delphi 7 — D7
  • Delphi 2005 — D2005
  • Developer Studio 2006 — D2006
  • RAD Studio 2007 — D2007
  • RAD Studio 2009 — D2009
  • RAD Studio 2010 — D2010
  • RAD Studio XE — DXE
  • RAD Studio XE2 — DXE2
  • RAD Studio XE3 — DXE3
  • RAD Studio XE4 — DXE4
  • RAD Studio XE5 — DXE5
  • RAD Studio XE6 — DXE6
  • RAD Studio XE7 — DXE7
  • RAD Studio XE8 — DXE8
  • RAD Studio 10 Seattle — D10
  • RAD Studio 10.1 Berlin — D101
  • RAD Studio 10.2 Tokyo — D102
  • RAD Studio 10.3 Rio — D103
  • RAD Studio 10.4 Sydney — D104
  • RAD Studio 11 Alexandria — D11
  • RAD Studio 12 Athens — D12
  • RAD Studio 13 Florence — D13

How to add the paths for your IDE

C++ Builder 6

No paths need to be added to the IDE.

Delphi 6 and Delphi 7

  1. Open Environment Options (Tools → Environment Options).
  2. Switch to the Library tab.
  3. Add the required paths to the Library path field.
  4. Click OK to save the changes.

Delphi 2005 and Developer Studio 2006

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library - Win32.
  5. Add the required paths to the Library path field.
  6. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio 2007, 2009, and 2010

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library - Win32.
  5. Add the required paths to the Library path field.
  6. Expand C++ Options.
  7. Select Path and Directories.
  8. Add the required paths to the Include Path field.
  9. Add the required paths to the Library Path field.
  10. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio XE

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library.
  5. Add the required paths to the Library path field.
  6. Expand C++ Options.
  7. Select Path and Directories.
  8. Add the required paths to the Include Path field.
  9. Add the required paths to the Library Path field.
  10. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio XE2

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library.
  5. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  6. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library path field.
  7. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  8. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library path field.
  9. Expand C++ Options.
  10. Select Path and Directories.
  11. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  12. Add the required Win32 paths to the Include Path field.
  13. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library Path field.
  14. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio XE3 through XE8

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library.
  5. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  6. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library path field.
  7. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  8. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library path field.
  9. Expand C++ Options.
  10. Select Path and Directories.
  11. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  12. Add the required Win32 paths to the System Include Path field.
  13. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library Path field.
  14. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  15. Add the required Win64 paths to the User Include Path field.
  16. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library Path field.
  17. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio 10 Seattle, 10.1 Berlin, and 10.2 Tokyo

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Environment Options.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library.
  5. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  6. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library path field.
  7. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  8. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library path field.
  9. Expand C++ Options.
  10. Select Path and Directories.
  11. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  12. Switch to the Classic Compiler tab.
  13. Add the required Win32 paths to the System Include Path field.
  14. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library Path field.
  15. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  16. Add the required Win64 paths to the User Include Path field.
  17. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library Path field.
  18. Click OK to save the changes.

RAD Studio 10.3 Rio through 13 Florence

  1. Open Options (Tools → Options).
  2. Expand Language.
  3. Expand Delphi Options.
  4. Select Library.
  5. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  6. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library path field.
  7. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  8. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library path field.
  9. Expand C++ Options.
  10. Select Path and Directories.
  11. Select 32-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  12. Switch to the Classic Compiler tab.
  13. Add the required Win32 paths to the System Include Path field.
  14. Add the required Win32 paths to the Library Path field.
  15. Select 64-bit Windows from the Selected Platform dropdown.
  16. Add the required Win64 paths to the User Include Path field.
  17. Add the required Win64 paths to the Library Path field.
  18. Click OK to save the changes.

That completes the installation. You can now open the framework's demo applications or start your own project. If any step does not match your IDE version, contact us.