1 01 TECH TIPS

For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

Dim i As Integer

WELCOME TO THE FOURTH EDITION OF THE VBPJ TECHNICAL TIPS SUPPLEMENT!

These tips and tricks were submitted by professional developers using Visual Basic 3.0, Visual Basic 4.0, Visual Basic for Applications, and Visual Basic Script. The tips were compiled by the editors at Visual Basic Programmers Journal. Special thanks to VBPJ Technical Review Board members Doug Haynes, Karl E. Peterson, and Phil Weber for testing all the code. Instead of typing the code published here, download the tips from the Registered Level of The Development Exchange at http://www.windx.com. If youd like to submit a tip to Visual Basic Programmers Journal, please send it to User Tips, Fawcette Technical Publications, 209 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California, USA, 94301-2500. You can also fax it to 415-853-0230 or send it electronically to [email protected] or [email protected]. Please include a clear explanation of what the technique does and why it is useful, indicate if its for VBA, VBS, VB3, or VB4, 16- or 32-bit version. Please try to limit code length to 20 lines. Dont forget to include your e-mail and mailing address. Well pay you $25 if we publish your tip.

For i = 1 To num_lines msg = msg & Chr(13) & Chr(10) Next NL = msg End Function

Bret Cutler, Layton, Utah

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

AUTOSELECT TEXT BOX CONTENTS

Users often find it faster to retype the entire contents of a text box rather than position the cursor within the data, and then edit the data. This is especially true if the length of the data is short or if the data isnt visible, as with a password field, for example. Double-clicking or using a mouse to select the controls contents is slow and inconvenient. I created this small routine to automatically select all data within a control. I place this routine in a code module so that its accessible from all forms. I call this routine from a controls GotFocus event. This way, the data is selected if the user tabs to or clicks on the control, or if a data validation routine does a SetFocus:
Private Sub MyTextBox_GotFocus() AutoSelect MyTextBox End Sub

The AutoSelect routine is quite simple:

Sub AutoSelect(SelObject As Control) ' The AutoSelect routine "selects" the ' controls entire contents as if it were ' doubled-clicked. SelObject.SelStart = 0 If TypeOf SelObject Is MaskEdBox Then SelObject.SelLength = Len(SelObject.FormattedText) Else If TypeOf SelObject Is TextBox Then SelObject.SelLength = Len(SelObject.Text) End If End If End Sub

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

EASY CR/LF PADDING

When I write text in message boxes, labels, and so on, and I need to include a carriage return/line feed, I use this function, passing it the number of CR/LFs I need. This saves a lot of typing and looking up of ASCII values:
Sub cmdDelete_Click() msg = "Are you sure you want " & _ "to delete this item?" & NL(2) & "Press OK" rc = MsgBox(msg, 4 + 32 + 256, "Confirm Delete") ... end sub Function NL(num_lines As Integer) As String '*************************************** ' This function returns a New Line ' character for the number of times ' passed to the function. '*************************************** Dim msg As String

Kevin Forth, St. Clair Shores, Michigan

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Provide your users with a quick way to clear their messy desktop of extraneous forms by dropping this code into the Click event of a command button:
For Each Form In Forms If Form.Name <> Me.Name Then Unload Form End If Next Form

James Bell, Charlotte, North Carolina

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

CALCULATE AGE USING DATEDIFF

Use the function DateDiff to calculate an individuals exact age based on birth date. DateDiff first calculates the total number of days an individual has been alive and then divides by 365.25 to account for leap years. The Int function truncates the division results by removing the decimal and not rounding:
Function CalcAge(datEmpDateOfBirth as Variant) as Integer CalcAge = Int(DateDiff(y,datEmpDateOfBirth,Date())_ /365.25) End Function

If FalseClick Then Exit Sub FalseClick = True CommonDialog1.DialogTitle = "Open File" CommonDialog1.filename = "*.*" CommonDialog1.DefaultExt = ".*" CommonDialog1.CancelError = True CommonDialog1.Filter = "All Files (*.*)|*.*" On Error Resume Next CommonDialog1.Action = 1 If Err = CDERR_CANCEL Then FalseClick = False Exit Sub End If On Error GoTo 0 DoEvents 'allow for recursion FalseClick = False End Sub

Michael Finley, Clarendon Hills, Illinois

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

PREVENT UNWANTED RECURSION

A bug affecting the Sheridan 3D Controls appears in VB 4.0a. I dont believe it was in 4.0, and I am certain it was not in 3.0. In any case, even if you use 4.0, you should pay attention because the newer OCX may be installed already on users machines when your apps are distributed. I use the Sheridan command buttons quite a bit for their ability to display an icon as well as text, and I ran into this problem when I installed VB 4.0a. If the user double-clicks on a common dialog box (for example, to select a file), and the double click is physically located above a Sheridan 3D command button, the Click procedure of that command button will be fired. To test this, start a new project and place a Sheridan command button and a common dialog control on Form1. In the Click procedure of the command button, include this code:
Private Sub SSCommand1_Click() Const CDERR_CANCEL = &H7FF3 CommonDialog1.DialogTitle = "Open File" CommonDialog1.filename = "*.*" CommonDialog1.DefaultExt = ".*" CommonDialog1.CancelError = True CommonDialog1.Filter = "All Files (*.*)|*.*" On Error Resume Next CommonDialog1.Action = 1 If Err = CDERR_CANCEL Then Exit Sub End If On Error GoTo 0 End Sub

The DoEvents function is required in any procedure that is so short that the last statement executes before the recursion begins. I hope this workaround can help others fix the same problem. Michael P. Rose, Kingwood, Texas

VB3
Level: Intermediate

OBTAINING SYSTEM DATE FORMAT

The DateCheck function is useful when you use the Masked Edit control for entering the date according to the system format. Some countries use the MM/DD/YYYY format, and other countries, like India, use the DD/MM/YYYY format. Instead of hardcoding the Masked Edit controls format as well as mask properties, use this function to set the required date format according to the control panel settings. In the General declaration section of the module, define this:
Declare Function GetProfileString Lib _ "Kernel" ( Byval Sname$, ByVal Kname$, Byval Def$, _ Byval Ret$, Byval Size% ) as integer global datemask as variant global dateformat as variant Sub DateCheck() Dim Strsecname as string Dim Strkeyname as string Dim Varsuccess as variant Dim Strretdate as string Dim Strretsep as string Dim Strchar as string * 1 Strsecname = "Intl" Strkeyname = "sShortDate" Strretdate = string$(11,0) Varsuccess = GetProfilestring_ (Strsecname,Strkeyname,"",Strretdate,_ Len(Strretdate)) Strsecname = "Intl" Strkeyname = "sDate" Strretsep = String$(2,0) Varsuccess = GetProfileString_ (Strsecname,Strkeyname,"",_Strretsep,Len(Strretsep)) Strretsep = Left$(strretsep,1) Strchar = Ucase$(Left$(strretdate,1)) datemask = "##" & Strretsep & "##" & Strretsep & "####" Select case strchar case "D" : dateformat = "DD" _ & strretsep & "MM" & strretsep & "YYYY" case "M" : dateformat = "MM" _

Run the program, click on the command button, and when the common dialog appears, move it so that the name of any file appears over the button. Double-click on the file name. The common dialog will disappear and a new one will appear, resulting from the SSCommand1_Click event firing again. The solution is to declare a static flag variable, FalseClick, within the buttons Click event. Then change the code in the SSCommand1_Click procedure to read:
Private Sub SSCommand1_Click() Const CDERR_CANCEL = &H7FF3 Static FalseClick As Boolean

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

& strretsep & DD & strretsep & "YYYY" case "Y" : datemask = "####" _ & Strretsep & "##" & strretsep & "##" dateformat = "YYYY" & _ strretsep & "MM" & strretsep & "DD" End select End Sub

In the Form_Load event, call the DateCheck procedure to get the current date format, and assign format and mask properties of the Masked Edit control:
Sub Form_Load() DateCheck ' Call the datecheck procedure Mskdd.format = dateformat Mskdd.mask = datemask End Sub

Dim File As String File = Dir1.Path If Right$(File, 1) = "\" Then File = File & "himem.sys" Else File = File & "\" & "himem.sys" End If ' Chuong Van Huynhs tip If Dir$(File) <> "" Then MsgBox "himem.sys exists !" End If End Sub

Without testing to see if the path already ends with a backslash, as it would when its the root directory, an error occurs because of the string c:\\himem.sys. Michel Rohan, Menthonnex Sous Clermont, France

S. Saravanan, Selaiyur, Madras, India

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

TRIMMED TO FIT
This piece of code trims long file names to fit into forms captions, text boxes, and other limited spaces. The code allows you to specify the number of characters a file name must be before it performs the trimming. For example, if the label can hold 50 characters, then you would type LongDirFix(nFile,50). Its as simple as that. Heres the code:
Function LongDirFix(Incomming As _ String, Max As Integer) As String Dim i As Integer, LblLen As Integer, StringLen As Integer Dim TempString As String TempString = Incomming LblLen = Max If Len(TempString) <= LblLen Then LongDirFix = TempString Exit Function End If LblLen = LblLen - 6 For i = Len(TempString) - LblLen To Len(TempString) If Mid$(TempString, i, 1) = "\" Then Exit For Next LongDirFix = Left$(TempString, 3) + _ "..." + Right$(TempString, Len(TempString) - (i - 1)) End Function

LONG FILE NAMES CAN BE CONFUSING

If you want to open Paint with a file from your application, its better to convert the path of the file you want to open from long to short names. Doing so is wise because in some situationsif your path contains spaces, for examplePaint may refuse to work properly. Before passing a file name to Paint, convert it to short names with this routine, which takes advantage of the Win32 API:
Declare Function GetShortPathName Lib "kernel32 Alias _ "GetShortPathNameA" (ByVal lpszLongPath As String, _ ByVal lpszShortPath As String, _ ByVal cchBuffer As Long) As Long Function ShortName(LongPath As String) As String Dim ShortPath As String Const MAX_PATH = 260 Dim ret& ShortPath = Space$(MAX_PATH) ret& = GetShortPathName(LongPath, ShortPath, MAX_PATH) If ret& Then ShortName = Left$(ShortPath, ret&) End If End Function

Shafayat Kamal, Wallington, New Jersey

This trick may prove useful with any application you pass file names to. It would be smart to try passing strange file names/paths to make sure. Andrea Nagar, Torino, Italy

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

USE RLES TO REDUCE EXE SIZE

Many programs use a splash screen to display the logo of the program. The logo is usually made by an image. You used to store it as a BMP (uncompressed) in an image box. Perhaps you dont know that you also can put an RLE image (compressed bitmap PaintShop Pro supports this format) within VB4. Select the image, click on All Files, and select your RLE file. The size of your EXE will decrease and your app may load faster. Theres a tradeoff, however, in the fact that it will be smaller to read from disk, but it will consume more time as its decoded to the screen. Andrea Nagar, Torino, Italy

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

FILE EXISTS? REVISION

To adapt the tip File Exists? (see 101 Hot Tech Tips for VB Developers, Supplement to the August 1996 issue of VBPJ, page 7) to a directory list box, it is necessary to control the error that occurs when the user selects the root (C:\):
Sub Dir1_Change

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

WHERE DOES IT END?

When using the line-continuation character facilitythe combination of a space followed by an underscore (_) used in the development environment to extend a single logical line of code to two or more physical linesit can be difficult to determine where the sentence begins and ends. One easy way to avoid this difficulty is to set a breakpoint in the desired line. The line will be set to the breakpoint color, becoming an obvious code line. To remove the breakpoint from the Run menu, choose Toggle Breakpoint (F9) again. To set a breakpoint, position the insertion point anywhere in a line of the procedure where you want execution to halt. From the Run menu, choose Toggle Breakpoint (F9). The breakpoint is added, and the line is set to the breakpoint color defined in the Editor tab of the Options dialog box. Jose Alberto Marques da Silva, Coimbra, Portugal

SHELLING MS INTERNET MAIL

If you are using the new mail program that can be downloaded for free from Microsofts Web site, you can run it from within your program. Simply add this command to a command button:
X = Shell("C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /root,C:\WINDOWS\ _ Internet Mail.{89292102-4755-11cf-9DC2-00AA006C2B84}", 3)

Note that for this example, the Windows directory name is hard coded. For a production app, call the GetWindowsDirectory API and use that return value instead. Fred Lyhne, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

REFER TO COLUMNS IN A DBGRID CONTROL

Columns in a DBGrid control are bound to database fields. However, the index number of a column doesnt tell you which field it represents. Therefore, referring to DBGrid1.Columns(0).Value is not very descriptive. Its better to introduce variables with clear names, which are bound to specific columns. In the declarations section of the form, for example, the code reads:
Dim ColOrder_ID As Column Dim ColArticle_ID As Column Dim ColAmount As Column

CHEAP GRAPHIC BUTTONS

You can use the Wingdings font to put simple graphics on a standard command button. Put a standard command button on a form, and in the Properties window, change the buttons font to Wingdings. Load the Character Map application that comes with Windows, and change the font to Wingdings. Select the picture you want and copy it to the clipboard. Now change back to VB and select the Caption property for the command button in the Properties window. Paste the new character in the Caption property (you can also use the Keystroke that is shown at the bottom of the character map window). You can make the picture bigger by changing the font size. This method is useful if you dont need color graphics and dont want the additional overhead of a 3-D command button. Be forewarned that its possible your user might have removed this font from his or her system, and this could cause unexpected runtime errors. David Moulton, Knoxville, Tennessee

In the Form_Load event of the form, the code reads:

With DBGrid1 Set ColOrder_ID = .Columns(0) Set ColArticle_ID = .Columns(1) Set ColAmount = .Columns(2) End With

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

REMEMBER SWAP? CORRECTION

The tip Remember SWAP? [101 Hot Tech Tips for VB Developers, Supplement to the August 1996 issue of VBPJ, page 13] has a common error. This line actually creates three variants and one string, rather than the four strings desired:
Dim a, b, c as string * 4

Its no longer necessary to refer to DBGrid1.Columns(0).Value, for example, but you can use ColOrder_ID.Value instead. ColOrder_ID is, of course, the same as DBGrid1.Columns(0). If any property value of DBGrid1.Columns(0) changes, the same property value of ColOrder_ID changes accordingly, and vice versa. Later on, when you insert a database field into the grid, you change only the index numbers of the columns in the code of the Form_Load event. George van der Beek, Nieuw Lekkerland, The Netherlands

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

The line should read:

Dim a as string * 4 Dim b as string * 4 Dim c as string * 4

MAKE COLUMNHEADERS THE PERFECT WIDTH

When youre dynamically adding ColumnHeaders to a ListView control at run time, you may not know how long the text for the header will be, so the user must readjust the width of the column to see it. But by making a label with its Visible property set to False, and its Autosize property set to True, you can fill up the

Timothy J. Hoffmann, El Segundo, California

4

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

label with the same text thats going to be in the header. Then use Label1.Width in the Add argument for the ColumnHeader:
Private Sub Command1_Click( ) Dim ColumnText as String, clmx as ColumnHeader ColumnText = _ "A very long header for " & "the ListView control" Label1.Caption = ColumnText set clmx = ListView1.ColumnHeaders.Add_ (, , ColumnText, Label1.Width) ListView1.View = lvwReport End Sub

VB3, VB4 16
Level: Advanced

GET/PUT ARRAYS TO D ISK

The API functions _hwrite and _hread can be useful for writing arrays directly to files and, at some later time, reading these files directly into arrays having the same structure. They are fast and easy to use:
'this API function is used to write arrays to binary files: Declare Function hwrite Lib "Kernel" Alias "_hwrite" _ (ByVal hFile As Integer, _ hpbBuffer As Any, ByVal cbBuffer As Long) As Long 'this API function is used to read arrays from binary files: Declare Function hread Lib "Kernel" Alias "_hread" _ (ByVal hFile As Integer, _ hpbBuffer As Any, ByVal cbBuffer As Long) As Long

Rich Wigstone, Hoffman Estates, Illinois

VB3
Level: Beginning

HIDDEN MDI CHILDREN

Hide an MDI child form with a non-sizable border style (0 or 1) using this code in the MDI childs Form_Load event:
form1.Move form1.Left, form1.Top, 0, 0

Use a label control covering the visible area of the form to allow switching on and off:
If form1.Height = 0 Then form1.Move form1.Left, form1.Top, _ form1!Label1.Width, form1!Label1.Height Else form1.Move form1.Left, form1.Top, 0, 0 End If

The next routine writes a two-dimensional integer array (integer_array) to a binary file (binary_file) with the API function hwrite. The array can later be read back from the file with a nearly identical routine calling the hread API function. It is straightforward to modify this procedure for other sizes and types of arrays (except for arrays of user-defined types and variable-length strings), but it cannot be made generic over any number of array dimensions because of the way these API functions are called:
Sub WriteIntegerArrayToFile_ (ByVal binary_file As String, _ integer_array() As Integer) Const INTEGER_BYTE_SIZE = 2 Dim binary_file_handle As Integer, _ dos_file_handle As Integer Dim bytes_written As Long, bytes_to_write As Long 'get the size of the array in bytes: bytes_to_write = _ (UBound(integer_array, 1) - _ LBound(integer_array, 1) + 1) _ (UBound(integer_array, 2) - _ LBound(integer_array, 2) + 1) _ INTEGER_BYTE_SIZE 'open the file in binary mode: binary_file_handle = FreeFile Open binary_file For Output As binary_file_handle dos_file_handle = _ FileAttr(binary_file_handle, 2) 'make the API call: If dos_file_handle <> 0 Then bytes_written = _ hwrite(dos_file_handle, integer_array ( _ LBound(integer_array, 1), _ LBound(integer_array, 2)), _ bytes_to_write) End If Close binary_file_handle End Sub

The form remains loaded but invisible and is immediately available when required. The label control should consume no extra resources. This method provides a quick popup window within MDI. Ross Gourlay, Edinburgh, Scotland

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

DISPELLING PERFORMANCE MYTHS

Omitting the counter from a Next statement does not speed up a For loop. Calling a procedure in a BAS module is not slower than calling a procedure contained in the same FRM module. The only exception is the first call to any procedure in a BAS module because VB loads BAS modules on first reference. Because VB is interpreted, the overhead of interpretation far outweighs the time it takes to execute the actual code that does the work. Wrong. References to control properties, for example, can be two to three orders of magnitude slower than references to simple variables. Pat Dooley, Cleveland, Ohio

Dave Doknjas, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

DEBUGGING USING THE QUERY TOPVALUES PROPERTY

I speed up the debugging of applications with queries that return large record sets by using Access 95 to temporarily set the TopValues within the query stored in the MDB. VB4 cannot get at the TopValues property of a stored query. This method allows the query to run in context without any artificial tests in VB to reduce its output. Open the MDB with Access 95. Select the Queries tab. Highlight the query. Click on Design, then right-click. Select Properties and click again. Change the TopValues property and save the query design. To reverse the change, set TopValues to All. Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB3
Level: Beginning

Public MyDB As Database Public MyRS As Recordset Dim TestVariant As Variant Set MyDB = OpenDatabase("testjet3db") Set MyRS = MyDB.OpenRecordset("NameTable") 'Sample Calls TestVariant = ScreenForNull(MyRS![FirstName]) TestVariant = ScreenForNull(MyRS![FirstName], " ") Public Function ScreenForNull(aField As Variant, Optional _ ByVal DefaultReturn As Variant) As Variant If IsNull(aField) Then If Not _ IsMissing(DefaultReturn) Then ScreenForNull = DefaultReturn Else ScreenForNull = "" End If Else ScreenForNull = aField End If End Function

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

FIXED DIALOG FORMS IN VB3

A VB3 form that has a fixed double border does not show the forms icon in the upper left-hand corner if you have the control box set to True. Heres a way to have a double border (3-D dialog border) form that sports a visible icon as well as the standard close X in the upper right-hand corner, similar to the VB4 Fixed Dialog form. Choose the form you want and set BorderStyle to 2 - Sizable, ControlBox to True, and MaxButton and MinButton to False, and set the forms icon to your applications ICO file. Place this code in the form events:
(general) (declarations) Dim MeHeight As Integer Dim MeWidth As Integer Sub Form_Load () MeHeight = Me.Height MeWidth = Me.Width End Sub Sub Form_Resize () Me.Height = MeHeight Me.Width = MeWidth End Sub

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Advanced

AUTOMATICALLY UPGRADE WORKSTATION EXES

Im programming for a LAN and quite often I add requested features to the program. The LAN is set up so that each workstation is running its own copy of the program and is only reading/writing data files on the server. This arrangement has significantly increased the startup speed of the program; however, when the EXE file is changed, all the workstation programs must be changed. I get around having to go to each station with this program:
Private Sub Form_Load() On Error GoTo errorhandler ' the Command function Returns the ' argument portion of the command ' line used to launch Microsoft ' Visual Basic or an executable ' program developed with Visual Basic. ' ie:(thisprog.exe c:\localdir\prgcopied.exe ' k:\servrdir\prgtocopy.exe) If FileDateTime(Left(Command$, _ InStr(Command$, " ") - 1)) < _ FileDateTime(Mid$(Command$, _ InStr(Command$, " ") + 1)) Then ' case the file does not exist ' locate the form designed to your pref. Top = (Screen.Height - Height) / 2 Left = (Screen.Width - Width) / 2 ' containing a label label1 = "Copying " & Mid$(Command$, InStr_ (Command$, " ") + 1) & _ " to your hard_disk..." ' make the form it visible so the ' operator has something to look ' at while the program is copied Visible = True Refresh ' copy file as per parameters in Command$ FileCopy Mid$(Command$, _ InStr(Command$, " ") + 1), _

When the user tries to resize the form, the sizing rectangle will be visible, but the form will snap back to its former size. Ken Zinn, Miamisburg, Ohio

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

NULL HANDLING IN DATABASE I/O

Nulls are still a problem in VB3/VB4they cause unexpected errors. To handle them, you can read the MDB field into a variant, which can hold a null and then test for it later, or replace all nulls with blank strings to protect the application. To me, nulls serve no logical purpose. I prefer to eradicate them immediately. I have developed a family of I/O pick-up routines that I use at the physical interface next to the database field:

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

Left(Command$, InStr(Command$, " ") - 1) End If 'start the program x = Shell(Left(Command$, InStr(Command$, " ") - 1), 3) End Exit Sub errorhandler: If Err = 53 Then 'file not found Resume Next 'copy the file anyway Else 'trap other errors MsgBox "Error # " & Err & Chr(10) & Error _ & Chr(10) & "program will be terminated" End End If Exit Sub End Sub

VB3
Level: Intermediate

PRINTING PROBLEM WITH WIN95

Microsoft is currently working on a printing problem. Visual Basic 3.0 applications running in Windows 95 cannot print to shared printers with an embedded space. If a shared printer has an embedded space in the computer or printer name, the Visual Basic application will generate an Error 482. To work around this problem, change the computer or shared printer name to a name without an embedded space, or create a local printer and redirect the output to the shared printer with an embedded space (see Windows 95 online help). Add this code to your Visual Basic 3.0 applications to check for the error. Warning your users with a polite message box is more tolerable than an Error 482 message. This code assumes that you have declared the Windows API functions GetVersion and GetProfileString:
Function Win95PrintBug () Dim LongReturn As Long, IntegerReturn As Integer, _ PortName As String Dim StringReturn As String * 256, _ NullString As String * 256 LongReturn = GetVersion () If LongReturn = 0 Then Win95PrintBug = False 'Code for failed GetVersion call Else LongReturn = LongReturn And &HFFFF& 'Mask-Off upper two bytes If LongReturn = (95 * 256) + 3 _ Then ' (Minor Version * 256) _ ' + Major Version Code for Windows 95 ' operating system IntegerReturn = GetProfileString ("windows", _ "device", NullString, StringReturn, 256) StringReturn = Left$ _ (StringReturn, IntegerReturn) StringReturn = Right$ _ (StringReturn, Len(StringReturn) - _ InStr(StringReturn, ",")) PortName = Trim$ (Mid$ (StringReturn, InStr_ (StringReturn, ",") + 1)) If InStr(PortName, " ") <> 0 Then Win95PrintBug = True ' VB 3.0 cannot print to this port Else Win95PrintBug = False ' VB 3.0 can print to this port End If Else Win95PrintBug = False ' Operating ' system is not Windows 95 End If End If End Function

Fred Lyhne, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

AUGMENTING ERROR$
In many places, I include Error$ as picked up in an error trap in a descriptive message. I use a function to expand its meaning. I call the function TSS for Time Stamped String to keep it short. It works something like this:
MsgBox TSS(Error$) & " in Mytest" Public Function TSS (ByVal aString As String) If Len(aString) Then TSS = aString & " at " & CStr(Now) Else TSS = "Error$ is Blank at " & CStr(Now) End If End Function

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

CALLING ON WORD
Microsoft Word exposes the WordBasic object. Through this object, you can execute WordBasic statements. The WordBasic statements and functions can be used as methods of the WordBasic object. Most WordBasic method names match the menu selection available in Word, and the parameters match the dialog items:
'Declare form level Dim wd As Object Sub CreateWordObject( ) Set wd = CreateObject ("Word.Basic") wd.FileNewDefault wd.FontSize 20 wd.Insert "Hello, World" wd.FileSaveAs "Hello.Doc" wd.FileClose

If you are familiar with Microsoft Word, you know that each method name corresponds to the menu name concatenated by submenu option names, and the functionality is the same as in Word. You can also use the Word Macro recorder to create code and then copy that code to your Visual Basic application. Shikha Arora, Detroit, Michigan

For more information, check out the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q130650. Clinton D. Hess, Ocoee, Florida

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

MANAGE FOCUS WITH MDI TOOLBARS

While developing MDI applications in VB 4.0, you probably have noticed that the cursor on the MDI child disappears when you click on the toolbar on the MDI parent. You cannot navigate through Tab or any other key. To avoid this problem, put this one line of code in the MouseUp event of every Toolbar object:
Private Sub tbMain_MouseUp(Button As Integer, Shift _ As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) me.setfocus End Sub

HardLockTable = False MsgBox Error$ & " error " & _ "in HardLockTable trying " & _ "to " & whichAction & " " & _ aTable Resume HardLockTableErrorExit End Function

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

NEW FEATURE ALLOWS DATA STRUCTURES TO BE MORE COMPLEX

VB4 allows you to create data structures that are more dynamic than previous versions allowed, thanks to the possibility of having dynamic arrays within types. For example, a tree structure with three levels can be created with user-defined types and dynamic arrays:
Private Type LeafType 'well let the leaves be integers Leaf As Integer End Type Private Type BranchType 'a branch is an array of leaves: Branch() As LeafType End Type 'a tree is an array of branches: Private Tree() As BranchType

Rajeev Madnawat, Sunnyvale, California

VBA, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

HARD-LOCK A TABLE
In many applications, I want to make absolutely sure that the data in a Jet table doesnt get modified under any circumstances. I hard-lock the table in addition to using any system-level security to protect it. Also, this hard lock stays with the MDB if it is issued with an application. Place the expression True=False into the ValidationRule property of the table to lock it. The Jet evaluates this expression to False and blocks updates to the table:
'Declarations Public MyDB As Database Dim Dummy As Integer 'Sample calls Dummy = HardLockTable("UnLock", "TestTable") Dummy = HardLockTable("Lock", "TestTable") Function HardLockTable_ (ByVal whichAction As String, _ ByVal aTable As String) As Integer On Error GoTo HardLockTableError 'Default return HardLockTable = True Select Case whichAction Case "Lock" MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationRule = "True=False" MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationText = _ "This table locked via " & _ "ValidationRule on " & Now Case "UnLock" MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationRule = "" MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationText = "" Case "TestThenUnLock" If MyDB.TableDefs(aTable)._ ValidationRule = "True=False" Then MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationRule = "" MyDB.TableDefs(aTable).ValidationText = "" End If End Select HardLockTableErrorExit: 'subFlushDBEngine 'optional, see next suggestion Exit Function HardLockTableError:

This next code sets up a tree with three branches. The first branch has three leaves, the second branch has two leaves, and the third branch has five leaves:
ReDim Tree(1 To 3) 'three branches ReDim Tree(1).Branch(1 To 3) 'three leaves on the first branch ReDim Tree(2).Branch(1 To 2) 'two leaves on the second branch ReDim Tree(3).Branch(1 To 5) 'five leaves on the third branch

You can add other fields to allow parts of the tree other than the leaves to store data. Dave Doknjas, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

REGARDING VALIDATING NUMERIC INPUT

The tip you published on page 70 of the September 1996 issue of VBPJ on Validating Numeric Input was a good tip. However, the function failed to take into account the use of the comma (,) as the decimal separator. The United States uses the period, but Europeans tend to use the comma. To correct this problem, use the value of the sDecimal variable from win.ini. David S. McBride, Scottsdale, Arizona

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

CODE ALL KEYPRESS EVENTS IN ONE MOVE

Do you need to tab through all those edit boxes? Are you tired of coding all of their KeyPress events? If so, set the tab indexes as you normally would. Then set the form key preview to True. In the form KeyPress event, enter this code:
If KeyAscii = 13 Then SendKeys "{Tab}" KeyAscii = 0 End If

Printer.Print Clipboard.GetText () 'Form Feed in case printer needs it 'to print the last page. Printer.NewPage 'End the print job. Printer.EndDoc 'Unmark the Sub or Function. SendKeys "{HOME}", True End Sub

This will tab to all the controls, so if you dont want to tab to a command button, set its tab stop to False. Mark Patenaude, Santee, California

Move the form to a spot you want it to appear in when running. Compile it to an EXE file. Run it along with Visual Basic. When you want to print a sub or function, make sure the cursor is in the Sub or Functions code box, and click on the Print Sub button. Printer.EndDoc called immediately after Printer.NewPage ensures that no blank page is printed. Kenneth L. Creel, Lynden, Washington

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

A FAST WAY TO CHANGE CASE

Do you need to convert user input to all upper case in VB3? All the ways I have seen to force user input to all upper case is to make calls to the Chr and UCase functions in the variant or string form, in addition to calling the Asc function. Why not use integers only, eliminating calls to these functions? This method is easy because the only difference between lower and upper case letters is bit five. The number 223 conveniently has all bits except bit five: Lower case a = 01100001 Upper case A = 01000001 Number 223 = 11011111
Sub AllUppers (KeyAscii As Integer) 'If KeyAscii is in range, then 'perform bit-wise comparison and assign result. If KeyAscii > 96 And KeyAscii < 123 Then KeyAscii = _ (KeyAscii And 223) End Sub

TEST FOR LEAP YEAR

The tip Leap Year Rules [101 Hot Tech Tips for VB Developers, Supplement to the August 1996 issue of VBPJ, page 22] illustrated how to easily determine if any given year is a leap year. I believe I can offer a simpler, smaller function that does the same thing. Simply pass in the year you are testing, append that year to 02/29/, and use the IsDate function to see if that is a valid date. If 02/29/xx is not a valid date, then you know it is not a leap year:
Function IsLeap(sYear As String) As Integer If IsDate("02/29/" & sYear) Then IsLeap = True Else IsLeap = False End If End Function

Michael Willeson, Tea, South Dakota

VB3
Level: Intermediate

PRINT A SINGLE SUB OR FUNCTION

Need a fast way to print only one sub or function in VB3 that also takes care of the problem some printers have in printing the last page? Create a small form with one command button. Change the buttons Caption to Print Sub. Add this code to the buttons Click event:
Sub Command1_Click () 'Make sure VB has the focus. AppActivate "Microsoft Visual Basic" 'Clear the Clipboard just in case. Clipboard.Clear 'Select the Sub or Function and copy 'it to the Clipboard. SendKeys "^{HOME}" & "^+{END}" & "%EC", True 'Print the Clipboard

If you have multiple text controls needing this input, put the Sub in a code module, and call it from the KeyPress event of the Text controls whenever you need it. Similarly, 32 = 00100000, so to convert from upper to lower case, use:
If KeyAscii > 64 and KeyAscii < 91 Then KeyAscii = _ (KeyAscii Or 32)

Kenneth L. Creel, Lynden, Washington

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

TABLE CHECKER
I use a housekeeping routine to check the state of tables during system initialization. The routine tests whether the table is in a collection, whether the table has data, and whether the table is local or attached. The routine helps to establish the state of the application at startup. For example, a table name that appears in the Tables collection can be either attached or local. If it is attached and the second MDB where it resides is not present, this state is only discovered when the application first attempts to access it. Usually, an error condition occurs in the middle of application logic. I prefer to test for this condition at the beginning as opposed to being surprised later on. I perform a trial read on the attached table:
Public MyDB As Database Dim Dummy As Integer Set MyDB = OpenDatabase("testjet3db") 'Sample call Dummy = CheckTable("NameTable", "readarecord", "local") 'More sophisticated call to trial read an attached table If Not CheckTable("AnotherTable", _ "readarecord", "attached") Then 'weve got trouble in River City End If Function CheckTable(ByVal whichTable As String, _ ByVal whichTest As String, _ ByVal whichAttach As String) As Integer Dim ErrorStage As String Dim aTable As Recordset ' This is a comprehensive table checker ' which tests for: ' .is the table in the collection ' .is it attached or local as the case may be ' NOTE: have found subtle differences in ' how DAO Find FindNext ' commands behave wrt attached and ' local tables ' message boxes are useful in ' debugging, can be removed On Error GoTo CheckTableError 'Set Default return condition CheckTable = True ErrorStage = " Test for table in collection " If Not CheckIfTableInCollection(whichTable) Then CheckTable = False MsgBox ErrorStage & whichTable _ & " failed in CheckTable" Exit Function End If ErrorStage = "SetTable" Set aTable = MyDB.OpenRecordset(whichTable) ErrorStage = "Test read a record " If whichTest = "readarecord" Then aTable.MoveFirst End If ErrorStage = "Test attachment status " Select Case whichAttach Case "attached" If InStr(MyDB.TableDefs(whichTable).Connect, _ "DATABASE=") = 0 Then CheckTable = False

MsgBox ErrorStage & whichTable & _ " failed " & whichAttach & _ " in CheckTable" End If Case "local" If MyDB.TableDefs_ (whichTable).Connect <> "" Then CheckTable = False MsgBox ErrorStage & whichTable & _ " failed " & whichAttach & _ " in CheckTable" End If Case "dontcare", "" End Select CheckTableErrorExit: If ErrorStage <> "SetTable" Then aTable.Close End If Set aTable = Nothing Exit Function CheckTableError: CheckTable = False MsgBox Error$ & " ErrorTrap " & _ ErrorStage & " " & whichTable _ & " failed in CheckTable" Resume CheckTableErrorExit End Function Function CheckIfTableInCollection_ (ByVal TableName As String) _ As Integer ' This function checks that the tables ' collection has a table ' it looks for tables by name and ' returns true/false setting Dim i% CheckIfTableInCollection = False For i% = MyDB.TableDefs.Count - 1 _ To 0 Step -1 DoEvents If TableName = Trim$(MyDB._ TableDefs(i%).Name) Then CheckIfTableInCollection = True End If Next i% End Function

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB3, VB4 16
Level: Intermediate

MANIPULATE THE HEIGHT OF THE LIST-BOX ITEM(S)

These two routines enable you to get the height of an item of a list box in terms of pixels, and they also enable you to set the height of all the list-box items to a given value in pixels:
Declare Function SendMessage Lib _ "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, _ ByVal wParam As Integer, 1Param As Any) As Long Const WM_USER = &H400 Const LB_GETITEMHEIGHT = (WM_USER + 34) Const LB_SETITEMHEIGHT = (WM_USER + ee) Const WM_SETREDRAW = &HB 'Height is returned in terms of pixels Function ListBox_getItemHeight (1st as Control) As Integer 'Retrieve the height of the listbox

10

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

'item ListBox_getItemHeight = SendMessage ((1st.hWnd), _ LB_GETITEMHEIGHT, 0, &) End Function 'Sets the height of the items of the 'listbox to a specified one. Sub ListBox_setRowHeight (1st As Control, 1Height As Long) Dim ignore as integer ignore = SendMessage ((1st.hWnd), LB_SETITEMHEIGHT, 0, _ ByVal 1Height) 'Refresh the listbox ignore = SendMessage ((1st .hWnd), WM_SETREDRAW, True, 0&) End Sub

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

CREATE NUMERIC-INPUT TEXT BOXES

In almost every applications project you come across, fields necessitate the use of numeric text boxestext boxes that should accept only numeric values. You can deal with this situation by either using a Masked Edit control or by writing code in the KeyPress event procedure of every text box. Here is an alternative method for accomplishing the same objective that can be used with the 32-bit version of VB4. The advantage of this method is that it eliminates the need to write code in every text box. Also, because this method is applicable to the basic textbox behavior of control in VB4, you dont need to worry about the specific behavior of the Masked Edit control. To see how this method works, load a new project and insert a new module, Module1, into it. Now insert these statements in the declarations section of Module1:
Declare Function SetWindowLong Lib "user32" Alias _ "SetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, ByVal nIndex As Long, _ ByVal dwNewLong As Long) As Long Declare Function GetWindowLong Lib "user32" Alias _ "GetWindowLongA" (ByVal hwnd As Long, _ ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long Sub NumericEdit(TheControl As Control) Const ES_NUMBER = &H2000& Const GWL_STYLE = (-16) Dim x As Long Dim Estyle As Long EStyle = GetWindowLong(TheControl.hwnd, GWL_STYLE) EStyle = EStyle Or ES_NUMBER x = SetWindowLong(TheConrol.hwnd, GWL_STYLE, EStyle) End Sub

Vishwanath Khasarla, Waltham, Massachusetts

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

QUICK TEST FOR WEEKEND

To test whether a date falls on a weekend, you might be inclined to do this:
nDay = weekday (sDate) If (nDay = 1) or (nDay = 7) Then 'It's a weekend End If

However, you can use VBs MOD operator to perform the test in roughly half the time:
If (Weekday (sDate) MOD 6 = 1) Then 'Its a weekend End If

Phil Weber, Tigard, Oregon

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

SHORTCUT FOR 16/32-BIT DEVELOPMENT

Here is a tip that should make life simpler for all VB programmers doing mixed 16/32-bit development in VB4 under Windows 95. I have three additional items in my project menu. These items, Open Win16, Make Win16 EXE File, and Run Win16 Project, allow me to develop in either 16- or 32-bit versions of VB4 at the click of a mouse button. To get this result, start REGEDIT and find the subkey VisualBasic.Projects under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Then add three subkeys under this key. These keys are Open Win16, Make Win16 EXE File, and Run Win16 Project. Under each of these keys, add another subkey and name it Command. Now set the value of Command. For Win16, set the value to c\vb\vb.exe %1. Note that REGEDIT automatically adds the opening and closing quotes. For Win16 EXE File, set the value to c:\vb\vb.exe /m %1. For Run Win16 Project, set the value to c:\vb\vb.exe /r %1. These paths assume that the 16-bit version of VB4 is installed under c:\VB. If you have installed 16-bit VB4 in another folder, substitute its path for c:\vb\vb.exe. Now you can conveniently open, run, and make EXE files in either Win16 or Win32. Lalit Bhargava, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Next, insert a new form into the project. Add a text box, Text1, to this form and place this code in the Form_Load event procedure:
Call NumericEdit(Text1)

Vinit Budhiraja Fountain Valley, California

VB4 16/32
Rank: Beginning

DONT FORGET YOUR REFERENCES

If you get the error User-defined type not defined on a line where you are declaring a database, go to Tools, then go to References, and select the appropriate DAO library. John Muller, Woodstock, Georgia

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

11

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16
Level: Intermediate

SET CURSOR TO CONTROL BY DEFAULT

Sometimes it is useful to set a cursor to determine control when a form is loadingafter the form is done loading, the cursor stays on the control you have ordered:
Type pointapi x As Integer y As Integer End Type 'Sets the mouse cursor position in 'screen coordinates Declare Sub SetCursorPos Lib "User" _ (ByVal x As Integer, ByVal y As Integer) 'Converts client point to screen coordinates Declare Sub ClientToScreen Lib "User" _ (ByVal hWnd As Integer, lpPoint As pointapi) Sub SetCursorToDefaultControl (Control As Control) Dim Pnt As pointapi Dim x As Integer Dim y As Integer Pnt.x = Pnt.y = 0 'Determine coordinates left top corner of Control Call ClientToScreen(Control.hWnd, Pnt) x = Pnt.x + Control.Width/ _ (2 * (Scree.ActiveForm.Left + Control.Left)/Pnt.x) y = Pnt.y + Control.Height/ _ (2 * (Screen.ActiveForm.Top + Control.Top)/Pnt.y) Call SetCursorPos(x, y) End Sub

mand line with full path. Here you give the action name as Register and press Browse to select the regsvr32.exe file. Normally, Regsvr32.exe resides in the Windows directory. Now the entry looks like C:\Windows\Regsvr32. Press OK to save the action. Then, for Unregister, give the action name as Unregister and press Browse to select the regsvr32.exe file. Add the parameter /u for unregister. Now the entry looks like C:\Windows\Regsvr32 /u. Remember, when adding a parameter, the path name should follow the MS-DOS path convention. By pressing the right mouse button on any OCX file listed in the Explorer, you will see the Register and Unregister option. Select the appropriate action to perform. The same procedure can be done for any file type. Using this option of Explorer, you can edit any existing action on any file type shown in the list, as well as remove the actions or the whole entry for the selected file type. System Builders International, New Dehli, India

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

SCROLLABLE VIEWPORT FOR A PICTURE

Its easy to make a scrollable viewport for a picture in both VB3 VB4. In addition to a picture, you can also use other objects that grow. First, create a new form. Place a picture box on the form, name it picParent, and resize it. This will be the viewport. Place a picture box inside the other picture box (picParent) and name it picPICTURE. The value of the Left and Top properties must be zero. This one will contain the picture you want to view. Next, place a vertical scrollbar on the right of the picParent Picture. Name it vsbPict. This scrollbar should have the same Top and Height values as picParent. Do the same with a horizontal scrollbar. Place it on the bottom of picParentthe Left and Width values should be equal to picParent. Name it hsbPic. In both scrollbars, set the LargeChange property to the height and width of picParent, respectively. Then place this code on the declarations section of Form1. You can also copy this code to the Scroll event:
Private Sub hsbPIC_Change() picPicture.Left =hsbPIC.Value End Sub Private Sub vsbPIC_Change() picPicture.Top =vsbPIC.Value End Sub Private Sub picPicture_Resize() If picPicture.Height > picParent.Height Then vsbPIC.Max =picParent.Height - picPicture.Height Else vsbPIC.Max = 0 End If If picPicture.Width > picParent.Width Then hsbPIC.Max =picParent.Width - picPicture.Width Else hsbPIC.Max =0 End If vsbPIC.Value = 0 hsbPIC.Value = 0 End Sub

Aleksandr Dvigubskiy, Brooklyn, New York

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

ADD NEW FILE TYPE INTO THE REGISTRATION ON THE FLY

In reference to Unregister a DLL with the Right Mouse Button in Win95 [VBPJ March 1996, page 72], I would like to suggest a tip that is much easier to use and edit. Any Win95 or NT 4.0 user can easily customize this tip. The tip given in the March issue had restrictions. It has no edit facility because the lines have to be coded and not all users can understand the code. Using Windows Explorer, you can easily perform all the operations. First, open Windows Explorer and select Options in the View menu. You will see the tab, which has two optionsView and FileTypes. Select the FileTypes tab, where you can see all the registered file types. They have three buttonsNewType, Remove, and Edit. If you want to register an OCX file type, press the NewType Button. You will see an AddNewFileType dialog. Next, specify the Description of the file type, Associated extension, and Actions. Enter the description as OCX File. In the Associated extension, type OCX. Suppose you want to add a Register actionpress the New button, and you get the NewAction dialog. Next, specify the action name and browse to select the application file, which will perform the given action or give the com12

Every time you load a new picture, the scrollbars will adjust to its size. Write the code to load the pictures, and write other code to deal with exceptions to the rules. Joel Paula, Carcavelos, Portugal

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

AVOID THE VALIDATION ROUTINE AUTOMATICALLY RESIZE WHEN THE USER PRESSES CANCEL CONTROLS
When a user presses the Cancel button, the control that previously had focus triggers its LostFocus event, which is where many programs do their validity checking. If the input wasnt filled, as is often the case when the user clicks on Cancel, the validation may display a message. The user wont expect this after clicking on Cancel, and shouldnt ever see it. To avoid this problem, add a form-level variable to indicate if Cancel has been clicked on. In the Cancels MouseDown event, set it to True. In the MouseUp event, set it back to Falsethis way the LostFocus event occurs between the two. One more catchif the user activates the Cancel button with a mouse-down click on the Cancel button, changes his or her mind, and moves the mouse off the Cancel button and then mouseups, you still have it set to Cancel. So set it to False in the MouseMove event of the parent of the Cancel button. To avoid doing validations, check against your Cancel Pressed variable. Jed Walker, Denver, Colorado Sometimes you need to change the size of controls by changing the size of a container. For example, try this:
Private Sub Form_Resize() Picture1.Align = vbAlignLeft Picture1.Align = vbAlignTop End Sub

Every sizing event that changes the forms size also changes the size of the picture box. Make sure that the control you want to resize has the align property. Uwe Pryka, Bochum, Germany

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

ACCESSING SECURED DATABASES FROM VB4, REVISITED

The tip, Accessing Secured Databases from VB4 [VBPJ September 1996, page 81], is not entirely accurate. There are several ways to secure an Access database. If the database itself is protected with a password, but no user access rights or passwords have been assigned, then the method described will not work when using the DAO3032. In order to access an Access95 database protected with a password using the DAO3032, the workspace must be created with a blank password and user name. Then the database must be opened with a blank administrator, but with this parameter: PWD=[password]. This method opens the database properly without assigning users particular passwords. Generally, this is useful when a front end accesses a database located in a distributed manner, where the user access is actually stored in the MDB itself. David Schneider, Phoenix, Arizona

CLEAN AND COMPACT YOUR CODE

The last thing you should do before creating your final EXE is clean your code. This tip explains how to clean the garbage from your project that is sometimes left behind from moving procedures in and out of different project files. Doing so will make your project files smaller and, in some cases, eliminate possible GPFs due to code being left behind by only deleting a pointer to the code. This routine works for forms and module files. Start Visual Basic and load your project. Make sure that all your code windows are closed. Highlight the first file in your project window. Then select Save Text from the File menu. Click on OK to save the file in text format. Highlight the same file in the project window. Click on the View Code button in the project window. Select Load Text from the File menu. Find and highlight the previously saved file (FormName.txt). Click on Replace. Finally, close the code window. Repeat the same steps for each file in the project and then save your project. This procedure will remove the transparent dead code left over from deleting code or moving procedures in and out of different project files. You will be able to see the results in the size of your project files after you run this routine for each file in your project and save your project. This cleaning can also prevent GPFs that are caused sometimes by this transparent dead code. This routine does not remove code that is moved to the general declaration section of a file because you changed a controls name. It removes old data you thought you deleted, but you actually deleted only a reference pointer to it. The code is still there, but it is transparent in the code windows. Stefan Klein, Ridgeland, Mississippi

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

EFFECTIVE ERROR HANDLING

While working with classes in VB 4.0, we found that the errors raised from our classes were not being trapped at the form level. We used On Error Resume Next, but still the error was being raised in the class module. We changed the settings of the Advanced Tab from Options in the Tools menu to Break Unhandled Error, and it worked as we needed. So, if you want to raise an error from a class module in your application to the form, you must use the Err.Raise method to raise the error. The error will be handled in the form only if you set the option from Options in the Tools menu in the Advanced Tab to Break On Unhandled Error. Otherwise, the error is raised in the class itself because the default setting is Break On Class Module. System Builders International, New Delhi, India

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

13

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

STORED ACCESS QUERIES SPEED RESPONSE TIME

In general, stored Access queries are faster than embedded SQL in your VB application. It can be a great benefit to be able to send parameters to the query directly from VB. Saving these queries in Access also reduces the amount of code you must maintain directly in your VB app. These code segments show how to send a parameter to a stored Access query. Here is the example Access SQL query:
PARAMETERS ID Text; SELECT DISTINCTROW Host.IPAddress FROM Host WHERE Host.ID=[ID];

While GetModuleUsage(hInstChild) DoEvents Wend End If

This code relies on a 16-bit-only API function, GetModuleUsage. Several 32-bit workarounds have been published, but here is the simplest and most reliable solution Ive seen:
Declare Function OpenProcess Lib "Kernel32" _ (ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, _ ByVal bInheritHandle As Long, _ ByVal dwProcessId As Long) As Long Declare Function WaitForSingleObject Lib "Kernel32" _ (ByVal hHandle As Long, _ ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long) As Long Const SYNCHRONIZE = &H100000 Const INFINITE = &HFFFFFFFF Private Function SyncShell(ByVal pathname As String, _ windowstyle As Integer) As Boolean Dim ProcessID As Long Dim ProcessHandle As Long ' In VB4, an error occurs if Shell ' fails to start the program On Error GoTo SyncShell_Error ' Shell the program, get its handle, ' and wait for it to terminate ProcessID = Shell(pathname, windowstyle) ProcessHandle = OpenProcess(SYNCHRONIZE, True, ProcessID) WaitForSingleObject ProcessHandle, INFINITE SyncShell = True Exit Function SyncShell_Error: On Error GoTo 0 SyncShell = False Exit Function End Function

This code retrieves an IP address from an Access table, where the host ID in the table matches the host ID in the parameter. This code is stored in the Access database and has already been parsed and optimized. This is the key to gaining the performance benefits of stored queries. The Jet engine then uses this QueryDef when it is called from VB. Assume that there is a form with a data control on it. Here is the corresponding VB code to send the parameter:
Dim db As Database Dim rs As Recordset Dim qd As QueryDef Set db = dthosts.Database 'dthosts is a data control on a form Set qd = db.QueryDefs("aq_host") 'aq_host is the MS Access query name qd.Parameters("ID") = "MY_Host_ID" 'host ID is the parameter for this query Set rs = qd.OpenRecordset() 'open the recordset Set dthosts.Recordset = rs 'return the recordset to the data control

Bob Voges, Woburn, Massachusetts

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

You can now use this data control in conjunction with a listbox control (or whatever control you like) to display the data. You can also add multiple parameters by adding more qd.parameters to the middle section of this code. Insert, update, and delete queries (or action queries, as they are called in Access) can use parameters in the same fashion. Al Gehrig, Jr., Laguna Hills, California

PROTECT YOUR SCREEN SAVER FROM RESTARTING

When you create a screen saver in Visual Basic, you may sometimes utilize the command-line options such as /s to start a screen saver directly or /c to run the configuration. By simply using App.PrevInstance, your application may not detect the running screen saver and attempt to start another when the normal Windows screen saver time-out occurs. To ensure that Windows will detect the running screen saver, regardless of the use of command-line options, use this code:
Private Declare Function GetModuleHandle% Lib "Kernel" _ (ByVal lpModuleName$) Private Declare Function GetModuleUsage% Lib "Kernel" _ (ByVal hModule%) Sub StartUp() Dim Inst% Inst = GetModuleHandle(App.Path + _ "\" + CStr(Trim(App.EXEName) + ".scr")) If GetModuleUsage_ (GetModuleHandle(App.Path + "\" _ + CStr(Trim(App.EXEName) + ".scr"))) > 1 Then End End Sub

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

A BETTER SUBSTITUTE FOR GETMODULEUSAGE

To synchronously shell an application from a 16-bit VB application, some people write code like this:
Const HINSTANCE_ERROR% = 32 Dim hInstChild As Integer 'Shell program, if Shell worked, enter loop hInstChild = Shell(strExeName, intCmdShow) If hInstChild >= HINSTANCE_ERROR Then

14

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

Call the sub like this:

Sub Main() Call StartUp End

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

ODBC ERROR DISPLAY

I have seen many posters in the VB newsgroups that say they have received an ODBC error message such as 3146, but cant figure out why they got the message. I suspect that the vast majority of these posters did not update their error-handling procedures to use the DBEngine.Errors collection when VB4 was released. Using this collection usually gives them all the error messages they need to resolve the problem. I have created an error-handling subroutine that displays the correct error message based on whether the error is a DB error:
Public Sub ShowError() Dim sError As String Dim nI As Integer Dim sTitle As String sError = "" ' Determine whether or not this is a ' database error If DBEngine.Errors.Count > 0 Then If DBEngine.Errors(DBEngine.Errors.Count - 1)._ Number = Err.Number Then sTitle = "Database Error" For nI = 0 To DBEngine.Errors.Count - 1 sError = sError & DBEngine.Errors(nI) & _ vbCrLf Next sError = sError & vbCrLf End If End If If sError = "" Then sTitle = "Error" ' add the error string sError = sError & Err.description & vbCrLf End If ' beep and show the error Beep MsgBox sError, , sTitle End Sub

This method works well with Windows 3.11. You can use this basic idea with any application you write, not just screen savers. Uwe Pryka, Bochum, Germany

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

USE AN ICO FILE AS A MOUSE POINTER

If you want to use an ICO file as a mouse pointer, set the MousePointer property to 99-Custom. Then load the icon into the MouseIcon property:
Text1.MouseIcon= LoadPicture("c:\vb\icons\elements_ \earth.ico")

For the icon to appear as a mouse pointer, both of these properties must be set. Prashanti Doma, Inkster, Michigan

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

OLE AUTOMATION VERSUS STANDALONE MODE

There you are, creating an OLE server in Visual Basic. You go to Options in the Tools menu, select the Project tab, choose OLE Server, and click on OK. After compiling, you run the executable. Is it an OLE server? Unfortunately, its not. What makes a VB4 application an OLE server? You need at least one class module whose Public property is set to True and whose Instancing property is set to either Creatable SingleUse or Creatable MultiUse. At this point, however you still do not have an OLE server: you have an application that is OLE Automation-enabled. If you were to create an instance of the exposed class via OLE Automation from another application, then it would be an OLE server. If the application is run normally, it is a standalone application. What is the purpose of the StartMode option in the Project options? Is this strictly for the design environment? When you are testing an OLE server with two copies of Visual Basic running, the one with OLE Server chosen can be started and will continue running even if no form ever loads. This feature allows the second copy of VB to test OLE Automation against the first. In addition, the first creates a temporary registry entry so that early binding may be tested as well. On another note, dont forget about the StartMode property of the App object. You can determine whether the app was started as a standalone or as an OLE server. Excel, for example, makes use of this by showing itself if it is a standalone, or by hiding itself if it is run via OLE Automation. Peter W. DeBetta, Cary, North Carolina

Karl Costenbader, Sacramento, California

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

DIRECTORY REFERENCES IN CODE PROFILER

The Code Profiler does not properly handle relative directory references in the VBP file. If the file looks like this, Code Profiler aborts trying to process the CRW45 file:
Module=PASSMAN1; PASSMAN.BAS Module=CRW45; ..\CM4\CRW45.BAS

Code Profiler does not understand the context of the file reference. Before running the Profiler, change all the type relative references to full references:
Module=PASSMAN1; PASSMAN.BAS Module=CRW45; C:\DEV\CM4\CRW45.BAS

Timothy J. Hoffmann, El Segundo, California

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

15

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

MAKE TWO (OR MORE) LIST BOXES FOLLOW EACH OTHER

Suppose you have two list boxes side by sideone to display the name of a person, the other to display his or her e-mail address. If the boxes contain several entries, you want both boxes to scroll at the same time. For example, when the user uses the scrollbar of the Names list box, the lines of the e-mail list box remain at the level of the corresponding Names list-box lines. Unfortunately, the Click event of list boxes doesnt let you monitor the use of its scrollbar. The solution is to use a Timer in conjunction with the TopIndex property of your list boxes to compare and adjust the level of both boxes frequently. Set the Interval property of the Timer to 50, and type this simple line of code in the Timer event:
Private Sub Timer1_Timer() If List1.TopIndex <> List2.TopIndex Then _ List2.TopIndex = List1.TopIndex End Sub

USE THE MS DRAW APPLET TO DRAW LINES AND SHAPES

Rather than using Visual Basics line and shape objects when drawing complex graphic backgrounds on forms, use the MS Draw applet included with most Microsoft products to draw a Windows Metafile (WMF) graphic. Then paste the graphic into the form or image box. Because there are fewer objects on the form, it loads faster, is less cluttered during development, and the embedded WMF graphic rescales with no fuss if you need to resize the form. MS Draw also supports more graphical objects, such as arcs and free-form objects, than Visual Basic supports. To paste a WMF graphic into a form, select Drawing from the Insert menu of a Microsoft application, such as Works. MS Draw will start. Draw the background graphic, select all the objects by using the Select All command on the Edit menu, and copy them. In Visual Basic, select the form or image box, and paste the graphic into it. Frank Olivier, Jr., Jan Kempdorp, South Africa

Disable List2 so that the user is forced to use only the scrollbar of List1, but still sees the information displayed in List2. Eric Bernatchez, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Access, VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

GET OBJECT NAMES OUT OF JET COLLECTIONS AND INTO VB CODE

To maintain sanity, I use long descriptive names for tables and queries in Jet MDB files. This leads to errors when I type these names into VB code. To overcome this problem, I open the MDB using the appropriate version of Access. I then highlight the name I want in its collection. Edit Rename (Access 95) or File Rename (Access 2) brings up a rename window. I highlight the long name and copy it to the Clipboard using the Ctrl-C key combination. Edit Copy wont take because the rename window is modal. I cancel the rename window and then paste the long name into the VB code. Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

TRACK MODEM USE BY OTHER APPLICATIONS

With applications increasingly using modems, it is quite possible that users will start your application, forgetting that another application is already using the modemlike a fax machine, for example. The MS Comm object that comes with VB has a PortOpen property that returns the state of the modem. However, this property seems to work only when the modem is opened by the VB application in which the command is issued. Otherwise, PortOpen returns False even if, for example, a fax machine is running and is holding the modem port open to monitor incoming faxes. If you try to open the port, it will cause an error message. The only solution is to make an error-handling routine that detects if the port is open by provoking the error and handling it. In the handling routine, insert a MsgBox that tells the user to check for other applications and waits for an answer before resuming. Eric Bernatchez, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Advanced

SPEED TIPS
Reading data into and out of a VB program is straightforward. Most folks use the Input and Put statements in a ForNext loop. However, this straightforward technique takes time. Because I am impatient when it comes to machinesand that includes computersI use a time-tested technique to speed along the input and output of data files. The technique involves the use of strings. I use strings because Basic-type programs, including VB, make efficient use of strings. One distinct reason for using strings is that a specific size is not needed for the array definition. This provides some programming flexibility if you work with files of different lengths and formats. Also, and more to the point, data is input and output faster when the Input and Put statements move strings into and out of computer programs. Speed is the big advantage of using strings in conjunction

16

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

with the Input and Put statements, in lieu of embedding the statements in a ForNext loop. The speed increase is obvious with a few simple illustrations. Start with this program listing:
Open Path$ For Binary As #1 Datarray$ = Input(31680, #1) Workarray$ = Datarray$ Close

with the appropriate name you are looking for. Calvin Smith, San Francisco, California

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

This listing inputs a string named Datarray and copies that string to a work string named Workarray. I do this to maintain the integrity of the original data. As you can see, the code opens, inputs, copies, and closes a complete file in just four computer instructions. For comparison, look at a typical code listing to read this file. This is the simplified code listing:
Open Path$ For Binary As #1 For Position = 1 to 31680 Datarray$(Position) = Input(1,#1) Next Position Close

USE A PICTURE CONTROL TO CREATE A BEVELED PANEL

Occasionally, you may want to use on your form a beveled panel that allows you to designate a background bitmap. Rather than use a third-party control, you can use the Picture control provided as a core DLL function (non-OCX) in all versions of Visual Basic 4. Place a Picture control on your form, and set the Appearance property to 1 - 3D and the BorderStyle property to 1 - Fixed Single. This creates the bevel effect. Now set the Picture property to the desired image. You may now place controls directly on the picture control. Remember to set the Background Style property to 0 - Transparent for all controls where you would prefer the background image to be displayed. Marc Mercuri, Nashua, New Hampshire

This example inputs data with a ForNext loop. Although the number of programming lines may be relatively small, the number of computer instructions is large. To input the same file with a ForNext loop, the For, Next, and Input statements each need to be executed 31,680 times. Thats a whole heap of instructions when compared to executing the Input statement just once. The speed implication is obvious. My programming philosophy to output data follows the same techniqueeliminate data loops where possible. This example shows how this is easily accomplished without a data loop:
Open Path$ For Binary As #1 Put #1,,Workarray$ Close

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

VB 4.0 ADD-IN ERROR MESSAGES

The ability to write add-ins under VB 4.0 is a significant addition to the developers toolbox. However, writing and distributing add-ins can be fraught with many a mind-boggling experience. One of these is dealing with the mysterious message, Add-In Name could not be loaded. Remove it from the list of available Add-Ins? My experience has shown at least two causes for this error. The first reason is obvious. As in all good programs, you must prepare for any and all contingencies. Such preparation is even more necessary in an add-in. If your add-in encounters an untrapped error in the Connect event, the error is passed back to VB and the error message is displayed with no further explanation of what occurred. The obvious correction is to program for any and all errors. The second reason for the error is not so obvious. Registration problems can be particularly hectic for add-ins. The normal procedure for registering an out-of-process add-in (EXE) is to execute it, say from the File Manager. The add-in includes code to register itself with VB (VB.INI entry), and VB itself registers the add-in (OLE server) in the Reg.Dat file. However, if you later move the add-in to another directory, and reexecute it, the error message can occur again because of conflicting entries in the Reg.Dat file. I recently discovered REGCLEAN.EXE (32-bit) and REGCLN16.EXE (16-bit) that ship with VB 4.0 in the Tools\PSS Directory of the CD. After two years of installing and removing numerous software packages from my development system, my Reg.Dat file had become so large that REGEDIT would not run because of a lack of memory. I ran REGCLN16 on my Windows 3.1, and it found 729 errors in my Reg.Dat file. After I set it to automatically clean up the file, I could run REGEDIT again and the problem with unable to load add-in disappeared. Les Smith, Concord, North Carolina

Path$ is the output location and name of the file. Workarray is the string that holds the data to save. In summary, it is important to limit the length of ForNext and Do loops in any language. Long loops for I/O are real speed killers. Donald L. Parrish, Huntsville, Alabama

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

IS MAIL RUNNING?
Use this code to quickly determine whether Microsoft Mail is currently running:
Declare Function GetModuleHandle Lib _ "Kernel" (ByVal lpModuleName As String) As Integer Function IsMicrosoftMailRunning () On Error GoTo IsMicrosoftMailRunning_Err IsMicrosoftMailRunning = GetModuleHandle("MSMAIL") IsMicrosoftMailRunning_Err: If Err Then 'Do whatever you need to here End If End Function

You can also use this method to determine if just about any particular program is running. Simply replace the Mail references
Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal FEBRUARY 1997 17

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

COPYING MENU OBJECTS BETWEEN FORMS

One problem that occurs frequently is taking the menu structure from one form and placing it in another. Although my method of dealing with this dilemma requires a little effort, it does work well. Because forms are saved as text files (always in VB4, optionally in VB3), you can open up a form in Notepad or any other text editor. An excerpt may look something like this:
Begin VB.Menu mnuEdit Caption = "&Edit" Begin VB.Menu mnuEditItem Caption = "Cu&t" Index = 0 Shortcut = ^X End Begin VB.Menu mnuEditItem Caption = "C&opy" Index = 1 Shortcut = ^C End Begin VB.Menu mnuEditItem Caption = "&Paste" Index = 2 Shortcut = ^V End End

(ByVal lpBuffer As String, _ ByVal nSize As Integer) As Integer Function WinDirs$ (strDirNameNeeded$) On Error GoTo WinDirs_Err Dim strBuffer$ Dim iSize% Dim iResult% iSize = 256 strBuffer$ = Space$(iSize) Select Case strDirNameNeeded$ Case "WindowsDirectory" iResult% = wu_GetWindows_ Directory(strBuffer$, iSize) Case "WindowsSystemDirectory" iResult% = wu_GetWindows_ SystemDirectory(strBuffer$, iSize) End Select WinDirs$ = Left$_ (strBuffer$, iResult%) WinDirs_Err: If Err Then ' Do whatever you need to here End If End Function

Calvin Smith, San Francisco, California

VBA, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

SUBSTITUTE THE ARRAY FUNCTION FOR THE DATA STATEMENT

My first encounter with Visual Basic (VB1) was a letdown because I had become accustomed to using the original Basic DATA statement for loading numeric values. The statement was also useful for testing programs that processed sequential data streams. Unfortunately, both QBasic and Visual Basic didnt/dont support it. I must have researched the manuals for hours before giving up in frustration. The VB4 Array function allows an argument list to be assigned to a variant. The data can be retrieved as if it were being read sequentially. For anyone who needs to convert old style DATA statements to VB4, these code snippets may be of use:
'Declarations Option Base 1 Public MyData As Variant Public Sub Main() 'Like the old DATA statement MyData = Array(1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, _ 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9) 'Test the results Debug.Print MyRead(MyData), MyRead(MyData) End Sub Public Function MyRead(ByVal whichVariant) Static intI As Integer intI = intI + 1 MyRead = whichVariant(intI) End Function

This is a simple Edit menu with cut, copy, and paste options. You can copy this section, for example, and paste it into another form you have open in Notepad. Words to the wise: back up the files first (always be safe), and dont randomly paste the section in the recipient form. Make sure it is between other objects defined there. For example, insert the menu where the asterisk is:
Top = Width -30 = 7215

End * Begin MSComDlg.CommonDialog CMDialog1 Left = 0 Top = 0

Peter W. DeBetta, Cary, North Carolina

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

FIND THE NAME OF THE WINDOWS OR WINDOWS SYSTEM DIRECTORY

You can quickly find the name of the Windows or the Windows System director y. Just pass WindowsDirector y or WindowsSystemDirectory into this function:
Declare Function wu_GetWindows_ Directory Lib "Kernel" Alias _ "GetWindowsDirectory" _ (ByVal lpBuffer As String, _ ByVal nSize As Integer) As Integer Declare Function wu_GetWindowsSystem_ Directory Lib "Kernel" Alias _ "GetSystemDirectory" _

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

18

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

CREATE QUERIES ON THE FLY

Use VBs string-concatentation operator (&) to incorporate user input into SQL queries at run time. Assume, for example, that cboField is a combo box containing a list of fields in a table, and txtValue is a text box into which the user types a value to search for. Heres how to create a dynamic query that includes the users input:
sField = cboField sValue = txtValue SQL = "SELECT * FROM Table WHERE " & _ sField & " LIKE '" & sValue & "';"

As a result, Ive developed new programming style. My read / write and special functions are all in one routine selected by case logic based on descriptive strings. The strings are used only within the programs and are self documenting to some extent. Data is passed through a Public WorkVariant array:
Public MyDB As Database Public WorkVariant(10) As Variant Dim Dummy As Integer Set MyDB = OpenDatabase("testjet3db") 'Sample calls Dummy = NameTableIO(writerecord) Dummy = NameTableIO("readrecord") Public Function NameTableIO_ (ByVal whichAction As String) As Integer 'Assumes navigation to the record has 'been made externally Dim MyTable As Recordset Dim ErrorStage As String On Error GoTo NameTableIOError NameTableIO = True ErrorStage = "OpenRecordSet" Set MyTable = MyDB.OpenRecordset("NameTable") ErrorStage = "AfterOpen" Select Case whichAction Case "readrecord" WorkVariant(1) = MyTable![FirstName] WorkVariant(2) = MyTable![Age] Case "writerecord" MyTable.Edit MyTable![FirstName] = WorkVariant(1) MyTable![Age] = WorkVariant(2) MyTable.Update Case "validateage" 'specialized routine 'etc End Select NameTableIOErrorExit: If ErrorStage <> "OpenRecordSet" Then MyTable.Close End If Set MyTable = Nothing Exit Function NameTableIOError: NameTableIO = False MsgBox Error$ &_ " Error trap in NameTableIO " & _ "at " & ErrorStage & " Action: " & whichAction Resume NameTableIOErrorExit End Function

Note that you must surround the search value with quotes if you are searching a text field; no quotes are necessary if the target field contains numeric data. Claudia Vega Cach, Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

ENTERING SCIENTIFIC FORMULAS

I have developed this technique to use when I program long formulas. First, I declare descriptive variables for the mathematical elements. I prototype the formula using the digit 1 as a place holder for the variables. This allows me to review the structure of the formula and make sure it compiles. I keep a copy of the formula as an inline comment. I replace the place holders with the variable by using cut and paste. This is an example that calculates the volume of a cap of a sphere:
Public Const PI = 3.141592653589 Dim CapVolume As Single Dim SphereRadius As Single Dim CapHeight As Single 'Sample values SphereRadius = 9.35 CapHeight = 3.33 'Formula as prototype which is left in 'the code for the volume of the cap of a sphere 'CapVolume = PI * 1 * 1 * (3 * 1 - 1) / 3 CapVolume = PI * CapHeight * CapHeight _ * (3 * SphereRadius - CapHeight) / 3 'Reality check Debug.Print CapVolume

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

SUPPRESS SPACES IN A TEXT BOX

To prevent users from typing spaces in a text box, include this code in the KeyPress event of the text box:
Private Sub Text1_KeyPress(KeyAscii As Integer) If KeyAscii = 32 Then KeyAscii = 0 End If End Sub

A NEW DATA PROGRAMMING STYLE

While working on VB projects with associated Jet databases, I found that I was creating a lot of individual handling functions for reading, writing, and validating data. It was hard to keep track of changes made to the table structures and to their associated handling functions.

Meena Swaminathan, received by e-mail

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

19

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

BRANDING A JET MDB FILE

This routine allows a hidden table to be appended to the Tables collection in an MDB file. I use the table name as a brand or stamp. During development, I change the brand when design changes are made to the MDB file. Access tables with Msys and Usys preambles are treated as hidden objects by the Jet database engine. The default setting is hidden. The brand starts with UsysBRAND. I prefer using the table name to using a record in a predefined table because it is more difficult for a casual user to delete a table than it is to delete a record from a table:
Public MyDB As Database Public Const BrandString = "UsysBRAND" Dim Dummy As Integer Dim outputVariant Set MyDB = OpenDatabase("testjet3db") 'Some test calls Dummy = MDBrand("clearbrands") Dummy = MDBrand("stamp", "TheTestProject") If MDBrand("read", outputVariant) Then Debug.Print outputVariant End If If MDBrand("validate", "TheTestProject") Then Debug.Print "ProjectTest" End If Public Function MDBrand(ByVal whichAction As String, _ Optional aString) As Integer Dim MyTableDef As TableDef, _ MyField As Field Dim TempString As String Dim i% On Error GoTo MDBrandError 'Default MDBrand = False Select Case whichAction Case "clearbrands" For i% = MyDB.TableDefs.Count - 1 To 0 Step -1 If Mid$(LTrim$(MyDB._ TableDefs(i%).Name), _ 1, Len(BrandString)) _ = BrandString Then MyDB.TableDefs.Delete _ MyDB.TableDefs(i%).Name DoEvents DBEngine.Idle DoEvents MDBrand = True End If Next i% Case "read" For i% = MyDB.TableDefs._ Count - 1 To 0 Step -1 If Mid$(LTrim$(MyDB._ TableDefs(i%).Name), _ 1, Len(BrandString)) _ = BrandString Then MDBrand = True aString = Mid$(LTrim$(MyDB.TableDefs_ (i%).Name), Len(BrandString) + 1) End If Next i% Case "stamp" TempString = BrandString & aString & CStr(Now)

If Len(TempString) > 40 Then TempString = Mid$(TempString, 1, 40) End If Set MyTableDef = MyDB.CreateTableDef_ (TempString) Set MyField = MyTableDef._ CreateField("MyDate", dbDate) MyTableDef.Fields.Append MyField MyDB.TableDefs.Append MyTableDef Set MyField = Nothing Set MyTableDef = Nothing MDBrand = True Case "validate" For i% = MyDB.TableDefs.Count - 1 To 0 Step -1 If Mid$(LTrim$(MyDB.TableDefs(i%)._ Name), 1, Len(BrandString)) = _ BrandString Then If InStr(MyDB.TableDefs(i%)._ Name, aString) Then MDBrand = True End If End If Next i% End Select MDBrandErrorExit: Exit Function MDBrandError: MDBrand = False Resume MDBrandErrorExit End Function

Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

EXTRACT A FRAMES VALUE

I sure wish that the VB frames containing option buttons behaved more like Access option groups. In Access, if you have an option group containing several option buttons or toggle button controls, the option groups value property becomes the selected buttons option value. Therefore, to check which button was selected, you need to check only the value of the option group itself, not the value of the individual controls. In VB, however, the equivalent of the option group, the VB frame control, doesnt get a value. Instead, you are forced to check the value of each button to detect which one is currently selected. This process is bound to be slow and seems silly to me. For a simple workaround, create your option buttons as a control array. Attach code to the Click event of the option button array that sets the Tag property of the frame control to the Index of the control array. For example, if your frame is named fraGender and your option button control array is named optGender, the control arrays Event procedure would look like this:
Private Sub optGender_Click_(Index As Integer) fraGender.Tag = Index End Sub

Then, when you need to determine which value was selected, simply query the Tag property of the frame like this:
intGender = fraGender.Tag

Paul Litwin, Seattle, Washington

20

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VB4 32
Level: Intermediate

also add a parser to parse out the function call to accept parameters:
Dim CommandArray_() 'This parses the function into its parameters ParseCommand Label1.Caption, CommandArray_() 'CommandArray_(0) is the function name 'CommandArray_(1...n) are the parameters Select Case CommandArray_(0) Case "Add2Array" Add2Array Internal_(), CommandArray_(1) Case "DeleteFromArray" DeleteArray Internal_(), _ CommandArray_(1), CommandArray_(2) ... End Select

OVERLAY TRANSPARENCY FIX

The Overlay method (ImageList control) doesnt keep the transparent areas when using icons. If you execute this statement, you get ListImage #1 overlaid with ListImage #2, but the transparent areas are gone:
set Picture1.Picture = ImageList1.Overlay(1,2)

Here is my solution:
Set Picture1.Picture = _ ImageList1.ListImages(1).Picture Picture1.Scalemode = 3 'pixels Picture1.PaintPicture ImageList1._ ListImages(2).Picture, 0, 0

Alberto Perandones, Aarhus, Denmark

When I need to add a row to my array from outside my procedure (from an MDI parent, lets say) I set it to this, and away it goes:
Form1.Label1.Caption = "Add2Array 1"

VBA, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

Douglas Tarr, Berkeley, California

REMOVE COLLECTION ITEMS FASTER

You may have noticed that VB adds items to a collection much faster than it removes them. For example, on my machine, adding 20,000 random integers to a collection takes about four seconds, but removing them in a loop takes over 54 seconds:
For I = colTest.Count To 1 Step -1 colTest.Remove I Next

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

SMOOTHER CONTROL ANIMATION

If you ever tried making a Label scroll from the right side to the left side of the screen, you know how bad the result is. A traditional approach of doing so would be:
Public Sub Scrolling() Label1.Left = Screen.Width Do Label1.Left = Label1.Left - 15 ' 15 is the equivalent of 1 pixel DoEvents Loop Until Label1.Left <= -(Label1.Width + 15) End Sub

Because of the way VB indexes collections, it can remove items much more rapidly from the beginning of a collection than it can from the end. This code executes in only 1.5 seconds:
' Remove item 1, instead of item I ' (can loop in either direction) For I = 1 To colTest.Count colTest.Remove 1 Next

And, of course, if youre clearing an entire collection, its even faster to simply set it to Nothing:
' Runs in 0.35 seconds Set colTest = Nothing

VB makes too many redraws in a small period of time, so you can hardly read the text of the Label. The solution is to slightly increase the duration of each appearance of the Label so the human eye has enough time to see it. To obtain the same scrolling speed, you must increase the steps of the Label from 15 to 30, or even 60. Heres how to do it:
Public Sub Scrolling() Label1.Left = Me.Width Do Label1.Left = Label1.Left - 60 temp = Timer Do DoEvents Loop Until Timer - temp > 0.1 Loop Until Label1.Left <= -(Label1.Width + 15) End Sub

Phil Weber, Tigard, Oregon

VB3
Level: Beginning

FAKING PUBLIC FORM METHODS

Frequently, I need to pass an array to a procedure outside of the form where the array is declared. Declaring the array as global is not always the best solution, but if I can make the procedure that passes the array public, I can call that procedure from outside the form. The way to do this is to add a Label control to the form, and add a handler to the Label1_Change event. You can

Doing so also makes the animation independent of the CPUs speed. Eric Bernatchez, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

21

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

TRACK THE LAST FORM

I had to develop an application that worked in a similar way to an Internet browser, allowing the user to go back to the previous form. Although I could put the name of the last form into a global variable, the problem came in trying to show the form whose name was held in the variable, and the user would only be able to go back one form. I got around this by setting the Tag property equal to the name of the form, and by defining this variable to pass the form name between displayed forms:
Global from_form_tag As String

EXTRACT DELIMITED STRINGS

I find this function quite useful:
Function field _ (ByVal Source As String, _ ByVal delim As String, _ pos As Integer) As String 'This function accepts three parameters: 'Source - a source string with 'delimiters such as commas: 'first,second,third 'delim - the character used as a 'delimiter in the string: , 'pos - the ordinal position of the item 'to fetch: 3 ' 'The function returns a null string 'if the delimited position specified by 'pos is empty, or the delimited position 'does not exist because the string is 'too short (reference 7th position when '5 comma delimiters=6 fields). ' 'Examples: 'dayList$ = "Sun,Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,,Sat" ' 'dayName$ = Field(dayList$,",",3) 'would return "Tue" 'dayName$ = Field(dayList$,",",8) 'would return "" 'dayName$ = Field(dayList$,",",0) 'would return "Sun" 'dayName$ = Field(dayList$,",",6) 'would return "" ' 'Useful for reading sub-items from INI 'strings or manipulating a delimited 'database. 'Ex: Read the INI line device from the 'WIN.INI windows section. Use field() 'to retreive the printer port to use. 'port$ = field(iniline$,",",3) ' 'WIN.INI: '[Windows] 'device=HP LaserJet IID,HPPCL,LPT3: ' Source = Source & delim If pos = 0 Then pos = 1 For s% = 1 To pos - 1 delpos% = InStr(Source, delim) Source = Mid$(Source, delpos% + 1, _ Len(Source)) Next s% delpos% = InStr(Source, delim) If delpos% = 0 Then delpos% = _ Len(Source) + 1 field = Left$(Source, delpos% - 1) End Function

In each of the forms to include this functionality, define these form-level variables to store the name of the form that this form was shown from:
Dim from_form_this As String

When you need to show a form from which you want to be able to return, include this code:
Sub btn_nextform_Click () from_form_tag = Me.Tag frm_nextform.Show End Sub

The code sets the Global variable to the name of the calling form. Then, in the new form you are showing, include this code:
Sub Form_Activate () If from_form_tag <> "" Then from_form_this = from_form_tag End If from_form_tag = "" End Sub

This sets the form-level variable to the name of the previous form, which it retains until the form is unloaded, allowing a chain of forms to go back to. Finally, in order to return back to the previous form that was shown, include this code:
Sub Dim Dim For btnback_Click () i As Integer from_form As Form i = 0 To forms.Count - 1 If forms(i).Tag = from_form_this Then Set from_form = forms(i) from_form.Show Exit For End If Next 'i End Sub

This segment of code goes through each loaded form, comparing the Tag value of that form to the value held in the formlevel variable. When it finds the form, it sets a form variable to the found form and then shows it. Campbell Maffett, Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia

Joe Neubauer, received by e-mail

22 FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

CLOSE MDI CHILD WINDOWS

In an MDI application, use this code to add a menu option that will close all MDI child windows. First, create the menu entry Close &All under the Windows menu. Then add the this code in the Click event:
Sub mnuCloseAll_Click () Dim i As Integer For i = Forms.Count - 1 To 0 Step -1 ' Dont test main MDI form for ' MDIChild property! If Not Forms(i) Is MDIMain Then If Forms(i).MDIChild Then Unload Forms(i) End If End If Next i End Sub

sdirs(iLevel, iDirCount_ (iLevel)) = dir1.List(i) Next i Next j 'Load all the directory names in a list box List1 list1.Clear If iDirCount(iLevel) = 0 Then 'When no more sub-directories exist For i = 1 To iLevel For j = 1 To iDirCount(i) list1.AddItem sdirs(i, j) Next j Next i Exit Do End If Loop

Kumar Prabodh, received by e-mail

VB4 32
Level: Beginning

Abdul Semerkant, Flushing, New York

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

REPLACE TEXT IN A RICH TEXT BOX

The RichTextBox in VB4/32 is a real gem. Among other great features, it allows files of any size, breaking the annoying 64K limitation of 16-bit operating systems. The new control also has a useful method: Find. As its name implies, it is used to find strings in text files directly. There is no need to use the tedious workaround of coding with the InStr function. Unfortunately, the Find method is missing its natural pair, Replace. Therefore, you must write Replace code to complement the Find method. The main difficulty in writing Replace procedures is the length of both the FindString and ReplaceWithString. Obviously, there are three cases: =, >, and <. If the two strings are of equal length, no special care is needed. But in the other two cases, which occur frequently, you must do some extra work with the FindString (the OldString in my code). You need to add to it extra spaces if it is shorter than the ReplaceWithString. This way, you wont cut off characters from the next word in the file. If the FindString is longer than the ReplaceWithString, you must eliminate the trailing characters. This way, the ReplaceWithString does not have trailing spaces:
If Len(NewString) > Len(FindString) Then ' NewDummyString is a temporary ' string with extra spaces (" ") NewDummyString = DummyString + _ String(Len(NewString) - Len(findstring), " ") Mid(NewDummyString, 1, Len(NewString)) = NewString TempString = NewDummyString ElseIf Len(NewString) < Len(FindString) Then NewDummyString = DummyString + _ String(Len(FindString) - Len(NewString), " ") Mid(NewDummyString, 1, Len(FindString)) = NewString TempString = Left(NewDummyString, Len(NewString)) Else ' the strings are of equal length TempString = NewString End If rtfBox.SelStart = Pos rtfBox.SelLength = Len(FindString) rtfBox.SelText = TempString

GET ALL DIRECTORIES ON A DRIVE

This little routine retrieves the names of all directories on a drive into a list box using just a Drive ListBox and a DirListBox. The Drive ListBox is for convenience only, and the routine can be written to accept a passed drive letter. If the DirListBox is hidden, processing will be faster:
'Get all the directory names on a disk 'Useful when you want to search a disk for files 'Expand this code with a FileListBox to 'get all file names Dim iLevel As Integer, iMaxSize As Integer Dim i As Integer, j As IntegerReDim _ iDirCount(22) As Integer 'Maximum 22 levels of directories ReDim sdirs(22, 1) As String 'drive1 is a drive control using which 'user selects the drive 'dir1 is the directory control iLevel = 1 iDirCount(iLevel) = 1 iMaxSize = 1 sdirs(iLevel, iDirCount(iLevel)) = _ Left$(drive1.Drive, 2) & "\" Do 'iterate till no more sub-directories exist iLevel = iLevel + 1 iDirCount(iLevel) = 0 For j = 1 To iDirCount(iLevel - 1) dir1.Path = sdirs(iLevel - 1, j) dir1.Refresh If iMaxSize < (iDirCount(iLevel) + dir1.ListCount) Then ReDim Preserve sdirs(22, _ iMaxSize + dir1.ListCount + 1) As String iMaxSize = dir1.ListCount + iDirCount(iLevel) + 1 End If For i = 0 To dir1.ListCount - 1 iDirCount(iLevel) = _ iDirCount(iLevel) + 1 'count 'of sub-dirs

Ion Saliu, Cashtown, Pennsylvania

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

23

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

StatusPanelStack(StatusPanelSize) End If End Sub

AN INBETWEEN FUNCTION
This function returns True if the first number in the argument is in between the next two arguments. Use this function to detect collisions, and for many other useful numeric functions:
Function InBetween_ (ByVal Num As Variant, ByVal X As Variant, _ ByVal Y As Variant) As Boolean InBetween = False If IsNumeric(Num) And IsNumeric(X) _ And IsNumeric(Y) Then If X < Y Then If Num > X And Num < Y Then InBetween = True End If ElseIf Y < X Then If Num > Y And Num < X Then InBetween = True End If End If End If End Function

Jeff Trader, Liberty, Missouri

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

DETERMINING IF AN OBJECT HAS BEEN SET, REVISITED

I have a way to determine if an object has been set that is simpler and faster than the method offered in the tip, Determining If an Object Has Been Set [101 Hot Tech Tips for VB Developers, Supplement to the August 1996 issue of VBPJ, page 23]:
myObj Is Nothing 'where myObj is the object to test 'whether it has been set or not 'example: if myObj is Nothing then MsgBox ("myObj is not set") else MsgBox ("myObj is set") end if

For example:
X = IsBetween(1, 5, 3) X = IsBetween(2, 12, 6) 'X returns True 'X returns False

Ari Singh, Columbus, Ohio

Tony Keck, Brookville, Indiana

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Advanced

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

SET UP ODBC DATA SOURCE DURING INSTALLATION

Use this code to set up an ODBC data source during the installation procedure. If you create the setup program yourself, you can put this code in the setup1 A.frm. If you have ODBC installed on your computer, it provides a silent ODBC data-source setup:
'Declare in your VB module Declare Function SQLConfigDataSource Lib "ODBCINST.DLL" _ (ByVal hWnd As Integer, ByVal) fRequest As Integer, ByVal lpszDriver As String, _ ByVal lpsAttrib$) As Integer 'and then specify you data source info: Dim iRet as Integer Dim lpszAttributes As String lpszAttributes ="DSN=Data source name" & Chr$(0) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Description=New system on SQL6" & Chr$(0) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Server=yourserver" & Chr$(0) '91for TCP/IP lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Address=162.66.125.65,7024" & Chr$(0)) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "UseProcForPrepare=Yes" & Chr$(0) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Database=your database name" & Chr$(0) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Language=us_english" & Chr$(0) lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & "OEMTOANSI=No" & Chr$(0) 'network library lpszAttributes =lpszAttributes & _ "Network=wdbnovtc" & Chr$(0) & Chr$(0) iRet =SQLConfigDataSource(0, 1, "SQL _

STACK EM UP
A status panel on an MDI form is an ideal way to keep your user informed about what the system is currently doing. Often, you may have several nested processes that may write to that status panel as each one executes. Maintaining an accurate status through these nested processes can be messy, if not impossible. This code allows you to maintain a stack of statuses to allow for this type of nesting:
Global StatusPanelStack(1 To 10) As String Global StatusPanelSize As Integer Sub PushStatusPanel () StatusPanelSize = StatusPanelSize + 1 If StatusPanelSize > UBound(StatusPanelStack) Then Redim Preserve StatusPanelStack_ (1 To UBound(StatusPanelStack) + 10) As String End If StatusPanelStack(StatusPanelSize) _ = MDIMain.pnlMain.Caption End Sub Sub UpdateStatusPanel (StatusText As String) PushStatusPanel MDIMain.pnlMain.Caption = Trim$(StatusText) End Sub Sub PopStatusPanel () StatusPanelSize = StatusPanelSize - 1 If StatusPanelSize = 0 Then MDIMain.pnlMain.Caption = "Ready" Else MDIMain.pnlMain.Caption = _

24

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

Server", lpszAttributes) 'if you already have data source with 'the same name, display confirmation 'message; otherwise, setup ODBC If iRet <> 1 Then iRet =SQLConfigDataSource(setup1.hWnd, 1, _ "SQL Server", lpszAttributes) If iRet <> 1 Then MsgBox _ "Error during setup of the " & _ "Data Source. Install data " & _ "source manually" End If

VB4 16/32
Level: Beginning

ITERATING CONTROLS COLLECTION TO SET PROPERTIES

There are many cases when a VB form has quite a few text-box controlsany data entry form, for exampleand you want to clear the text of these text boxes frequently. For instance, every time you enter new data, you have to clear all text boxes to allow the user to enter new data. Thanks to the VB4 Controls Collection, you can do this in only one shot and save yourself a lot of time trying to figure out the names of those text boxes and setting values to an empty string for each of the text boxes. This subroutine does it all in only two lines of code. You only need to pass the Form name as the parameter to this subroutine (that is, Call gClearForm(Me)):
Public Sub gClearForm(FName As Form) Dim MyControl As Control For Each oMyControl In FName.Controls If TypeOf MyControl Is TextBox Then MyControl.Text = "" End If Next MyControl End Sub

Remember that some of the attributes depend on the way your SQL Server is set up. For example, if you exclusively use Named Pipes, the address parameter will not be included. Eugene Dvorkin Weehawken, New Jersey

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

FILTER USER KEYBOARD INPUT

This code removes the need for the Masked Edit control in most situations. It works with VB3 and VB4, although you need only the MouseDown and MouseUp events in Win95 to deal with builtin context menus. However, the user will not be able to paste legitimate numbers. Add this code as appropriate to your text box and users will be able to put in only numbers. You can modify it to work with any specific set of characters:
Option Explicit Dim tText As String Private Sub Text1_KeyPress(KeyAscii As Integer) Dim tKeyAscii As Integer 'Define some stuff tKeyAscii = 0 If KeyAscii >= Asc(0) And KeyAscii <= Asc(9) Then _ tKeyAscii = KeyAscii 'Make sure its a digit If KeyAscii = 8 Then tKeyAscii = 8 'or the backspace key KeyAscii = tKeyAscii 'Give them our filtered key. End Sub Private Sub Text1_MouseDown_ (Button As Integer, Shift As _ Integer, X As = Single, Y As Single) ' Relies on form-level variable to ' prevent changes via clipboard tText = Text1.Text End Sub Private Sub Text1_MouseUp_ (Button As Integer, Shift As _ Integer, X As = Single, Y As Single) 'Ignore their changes! Text1.Text = tText End Sub

You can also use this tip to do many other things, such as making all command buttons disabled, making List Indexes of all combo boxes -1, and so on. You only need to modify the If condition and property of that control. Adesh Jain, Newington, Virginia

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Intermediate

SWAP VALUES USING ONLY TWO VARIABLES

This code swaps values using two variables only:
Sub Form_Load () SwapThis Rnd(4) * 100, Rnd (5) * 100 End Sub

This routine swaps the values of A and B. There is no need to use a third variable:
Private Sub SwapThis (A As Integer, B As Integer) 'before the swap MsgBox "A = " & Str(A) & " B = " & Str(B) A = A + B B = A - B A = A - B 'After the swap MsgBox "A = " & Str(A) & " B = " Str(B) End Sub

Holland Rhodes, Martinez, California

Note that this code crashes with an overflow error if (A+B) > 32K. Edwin M. de Guzman, Houston, Texas

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

25

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

These easy steps will save you a lot of work. Gonzalo Medina Galup, Miami, Florida

REPLICATE MENUS
Press the Menu Design icon in VB. Make the menu follow these steps:
caption: name: index: Menu 1 mnuMain1 0

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

COLOR STATUS INDICATOR

Have you ever wanted to create a status bar that gave color indication in addition to the percentage? Lets say you desire this effect: >=0 and <50 >=50 and <75 >=75 and <=100 Green Yellow Red

Press the icon with the right arrow to create the menu popup. Add this code:
caption: name: idex: caption: name: index: caption: name: idex: Item 1 mnuItem1 1 Item 2 mnuItem1 2 Item 3 mnuItem1 3

Place a Sheridan 3D Panel on your form, change the name to pn3Status, clear the Caption property, and set the FloodType property to 1 (Left to Right). Then place this code on your form:
Private Sub SetStatus(value%) If value < 0 Or value > 100 Then Exit Sub pn3Status.FloodPercent = value pn3Status.FloodColor = _ RGB(-255 * (value >= 50), _ -255 * (value < 75), 0) End Sub

Repeat the second step, changing the Menu title from Menu 1 to Menu 2. When you see the menu in your form, save it. Call Notepad or Write to see how VB saves the form. Copy these lines:
Begin Menu mnuMain1 Caption = "&Menu 1" Index = 0 Begin Menu mnuItem1 Caption = "Item Index = 1 End Begin Menu mnuItem1 Caption = "Item Index = 2 End Begin Menu mnuItem1 Caption = "Item Index = 3 End End Begin Menu mnuMain2 Caption = "M&enu 2" Index = 0 Begin Menu mnuItem2 Caption = "Item Index = 1 End Begin Menu mnuItem2 Caption = "Item Index = 2 End Begin Menu mnuItem2 Caption = "Item Index = 3 End End

1"

This not only updates the percentage, but it changes the FloodColor accordingly. You can also put this into a Property procedure and make it public so that the status can be set from elsewhere in the project. To test this function, place this in a command button Click event:
For i = 1 To 100 SetStatus (i) Next

2"

3"

Peter W. DeBetta, Morrisville, North Carolina

VB4 16/32
Level: Intermediate

1"

CALL PROPERTY PROCEDURES WITH MULTIPLE PARAMETERS

Property procedures, which are new in VB 4.0, have a distinct calling convention. You can send any number of arguments to property procedures with only one restriction: the Property procedure Get should have one argument less than the Property procedure Let. Property procedures dont support Named arguments, and they cannot be called as normal procedures with multiple parameters. The only way to call these procedures is to have n-1 parameters on the left side and the nth argument on the right side of the assignment:
Property Let Test (arg1 As String, _ arg2 As String, arg3 As Integer) End Property 'calling the above property Test: Test(arg1,arg2) = arg3

2"

3"

Open the other file and paste it. Save the new file with another name, such as mnuHead. Each time you need to make a menu, you simply go to mnuHead, copy these lines, open the form, and paste it. Remember to save the form in text mode. If I need five, I only copy and paste five. Remember to insert the End of Begin Menu mnuMain1. Rename each of the items before you save the form.
26

The last argument should be on the right side of the assignment. K. Ramesh, Kottur, Madras, India

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

For even more tricks and tips go to http://www.windx.com

VBS
Level: Intermediate

DYNAMIC WEB PAGES WITH VBSCRIPT

Although most Visual Basic developers are accustomed to placing code only inside a sub or function, VBScript actually lets you write code that can be executed without a function call. Code written outside of a function is executed immediately when a Web page is displayed. This technique, known as immediate execution, is extremely useful for creating simple dynamic Web pages. This VBScript code shows a new Tip of the Month automatically when the Web page is loaded. Simply place the code directly in a Web page where you want the tips to appear:
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="VBS"> <! Dim strTip Select Case Month(Now) Case 1 strTip="Tip 1" Case 2 strTip="Tip 2" Case 3 strTip="Tip 3" Case 4 strTip="Tip 4" Case 5 strTip="Tip 5" Case 6 strTip="Tip 6" Case 7 strTip="Tip 7" Case 8 strTip="Tip 8" Case 9 strTip="Tip 9" Case 10 strTip="Tip 10" Case 11 strTip="Tip 11" Case 12 strTip="Tip 12" End Select Document.Write "<CENTER><H3>" & _ strTip & "</H3></CENTER> > </SCRIPT>

Declare Function GetModuleHandle Lib "Kernel" _ (ByVal lpModuleName As String) As Integer Sub Form_Load () Dim Handle As Integer Dim Counter As Integer Handle = GetModuleHandle("CommDlg.dll") ' Get the handle of 'the DLL you want to monitor Counter = GetModuleUsage(Handle) ' Get the number of usage. Debug.Print Str(Counter) ' Print on the debug window End Sub

Ramy Habashy, Agouza, Giza, Egypt

VBA, VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

CUT-AND-PASTE TRICK FOR POWER PROGRAMMERS

As a power programmer, I cut and paste incessantly. I end up with my right hand on the mouse clicking and highlighting, and my left hand on the keyboard playing the Ctrl, X, C, and V keys. My eyes are glued to the screen, and I cant afford to look at my left hand. Invariably, I make mistakes. The most common mistake I make is using Ctrl-X (delete) instead of Ctrl-C (copy). Luckily, Windows has the Undo function. But these mistakes still break my concentration and throw me off. To reduce these finger errors, I now home my left forefinger to the C key. Ive placed a piece of tape on it to give it a different feel. I use the forefinger for C and V and the middle finger for Z and X. Im considering hot-gluing a metal nut to the C key! Stan Mlynek, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

VBS
Level: Intermediate

USING COLLECTIONS IN VBSCRIPT

Just like Visual Basic, VBScript provides collections that allow easy access to the controls in a form. In VBScript, the controls collection is called the Elements Array. However, it behaves in a manner similar to the controls collection in VB. This code snippet shows how you can use a VBScript routine to easily change controls in the collection. In this case, you are simply clearing all the text boxes in a form:
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="VBS"> <! Sub Clear For i=0 To Document.Forms(1).Elements.Count-1 Document.Forms(1).Elements(i).Value="" Next End Sub > </SCRIPT>

Scot P. Hillier, New Technology Solutions Inc. http://www.vb-bootcamp.com

VB3, VB4 16
Level: Intermediate

MONITOR DLL USAGE

Many times, you want to monitor the usage of a DLL. You need to know how many instances of the DLL are loaded and used. This is especially useful during DLL development. During debugging, you must always make sure that no previous instance is loaded and that you are debugging the correct instance:
Declare Function GetModuleUsage Lib "Kernel" _ (ByVal hModule As Integer) As Integer

Scot P. Hillier, New Technology Solutions Inc. http://www.vb-bootcamp.com

Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal

FEBRUARY 1997

27

1 01 TECH TIPS
For VB Developers

VBS
Level: Intermediate

SIMULATING CONTROL ARRAYS IN VBSCRIPT

VBScript does not inherently support the concept of control arrays. This decent workaround, however, cuts a lot of excess coding. Use the Event attribute for any intrinsic HTML control to call a common routine. For example, this code passes an index to a common routine for an array of five intrinsic HTML button controls:
<SCRIPT LANGAUGE="VBS"> <! Sub cmdArray_Click(intIndex) MsgBox "You pushed the " & intIndex " button!" End Sub > </SCRIPT> <BODY> <FORM> <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" <INPUT TYPE="BUTTON" </FORM> </BODY>

Dim rs As Recordset Dim SQL As String SQL = "SELECT DISTINCT Field " & FROM Table;" Set rs = db.OpenRecordset(SQL, dbOpenSnapshot) If rs.RecordCount Then Do Until rs.EOF lstBox.AddItem rs!Field rs.MoveNext Loop End If

Then add this code to the list boxs Click event:

Private Sub lstBox_Click() Dim sFind As String Dim sCriteria As String ' Get selected item sFind = Trim$(lstBox.Text) If Len(sFind) Then ' Show first matching record in ' bound controls on form sCriteria = "[Field]='" & sFind & "'" datCtl.Recordset.FindFirst sCriteria End If End Sub

ONCLICK="cmdArray_Click(0)"> ONCLICK="cmdArray_Click(1)"> ONCLICK="cmdArray_Click(2)"> ONCLICK="cmdArray_Click(3)"> ONCLICK="cmdArray_Click(4)">

Claudia Vega Cach, Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

VB3, VB4 16
Level: Intermediate

Scot P. Hillier, New Technology Solutions Inc. http://www.vb-bootcamp.com

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

API SELECTS ITEMS IN COMBO BOX

One day I found myself having a lot of trouble with a combo box. I was getting error messages when I tried to save the ID in the list index from that particular combo to the record set. I would get errors like Invalid Use of Array in the line rs!id = cbo1.ItemData(cbo1.ListIndex). Sometimes, I would not even get the value of the list index after using the If cbo1.ListIndex = 1 Then before my save event would work. Now, I use the Windows API SendMessage. In the General Declarations section of the form, declare:
Private Declare Function SendMessage _ Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As Integer, _ ByVal wMsg as Integer, _ ByVal wParam As Integer, _ Iparam As Any) As Long Private Const CB_SelectString = &H14D

USE DOEVENTS TO SIMULATE MULTITHREADING

Its possible for VB apps to perform multiple tasks simultaneously if you put each task inside a DoEvents loop. Consider this code:
Do While bProcessing Me.Print Int(Rnd * 10) DoEvents Loop

As long as the form-level variable bProcessing is True, this loop generates and prints random numbers. The DoEvents at the bottom of the loop yields control to other processes, and to other code within the same app, allowing it to perform other activities simultaneously. Ion Saliu, Cashtown, Pennsylvania

Within the calling routine, declare:

Dim X As Integer Dim returnvalue As Integer

VB3, VB4 16/32

Level: Beginning

Place these two lines in your save procedure:

returnvalue = SendMessage(cbo1.hWnd, _ CB_SelectString, X, cbo1.Text) rs!id = cbo1.ItemData(cbo1.ListIndex)

USE A LIST BOX TO NAVIGATE A RECORD SET

Heres how to use a list box to find the first matching record in a record set. First, fill the list box with the unique values in a specific field:
28

Marcia Silva, San Diego, California

FEBRUARY 1997 Supplement to Visual Basic Programmers Journal