From ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack Tue Aug 23 23:10:52 1994
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From: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Subject: FAQ: comp.lang.basic.visual General Frequently Asked Questions
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                          GENERAL INFORMATION
                    about Microsoft's Visual Basic 
                 the COMP.LANG.BASIC.VISUAL newsgroup
                 ====================================

PREFACE:
This document is a compilation of frequently asked questions and their
answers about Visual Basic in general which have been gathered from the
comp.lang.basic.visual newsgroup.   Although some efforts have been
made to find obvious errors, there is no guarantee that the information in
this document is error-free.  The FAQ maintainer, or anyone else
associated with this document, assume NO liability for the content or use
of this document.  If you find any errors, please report them to the address
given below.

Most FAQs (including this one) are available at the anonymous ftp archive
site "rtfm.mit.edu".  All four parts of the VB FAQ may be found in the
directory "pub/usenet/news.answers/visual-basic-faq".

You can also have the VB FAQs e-mailed to you by sending a message
to "mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu" with ONLY the text "send
usenet/news.answers/visual-basic-faq/*" in the body of the message.

As the FAQ maintainers, we don't have time to explore all of the aspects
of Visual Basic.  we rely on your submissions to improve the quality and
inclusiveness of this document.  If you have found a VB hint, tip, trick,
work-around, etc., please write it up and send it to us!  Direct any
comments/suggestions/flames to one of these addresses:

  Peter Millard   ac150@freenet.buffalo.edu    -General and VBDOS FAQ
  Jan Haugland    Jan.Haugland@uib.no	       -VB/Win FAQ	
==========================================
Table of Contents

I.    The COMP.LANG.BASIC.VISUAL Charter:
II.   What is Visual Basic and Where can I get it?
III.  What's the difference between VB/Win & VBDOS?
IV.   What are the features of the Professional vs. the Standard
      editions of the VB products?
      A. VB/Win
      B. VBDOS
V.    What to do BEFORE you post. 

VI.   What are some good 3rd party books to learn vb?
VII.  What are some other VB resources and where can I get
      them?
VIII. Where can I get good Public domain, shareware, or
      freeware software for VB?
      A. FTP
           ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/programr/vbasic
           ftp.microsoft.com:
      B. BBS
      C. Compuserve
      D. America On-Line
IX.   Specific Question and Answer sections
      A.   VB/Win
      B.   VBDOS
X.    Appendix for FAQ POST #1

==========================================

I.    The COMP.LANG.BASIC.VISUAL Charter:

      COMP.LANG.BASIC.VISUAL is an unmoderated forum to
      share information about Microsoft's Visual Basic for Windows
      and MS-DOS, as well as the new "Application Basic" embedded
      in MS applications such as Word for Windows, Excel, and
      Access.

      Microsoft provides no Internet support channel for Visual Basic,
      so this group will let Visual Basic users get together to help
      each other, without requiring them to filter through unrelated,
      broader Windows programming issues.

II.   What is Visual Basic and Where can I get it?

      Visual Basic (often abbreviated 'VB') is a programming
      language initially developed by Microsoft to provide
      programmers with a quick and easy method of developing
      Windows applications.

      Visual Basic provides the programmer with an integrated
      environment where s/he can use tools to create a point and shoot
      interface and use event driven programming techniques.  A
      developer can quickly and easily create a user interface, then
      write the code to respond to specific events which occur as a
      result of user input. 

      The integrated development environment (IDE) has sophisticated
      editing and debugging tools which allow you to attach code
      quick to the interface created for each event which is applicable
      for any type of object on the interface. 

      Currently, there are two different "flavors" of Visual Basic. The
      original language was developed for Windows (often abbreviated
      'VB/Win') and will only create apps for it. Visual Basic for
      DOS (often abbreviated 'VBDOS') came along later as the
      demand for point-and-shoot applications grew. The two flavors
      are similar in programming techniques (they both use event-
      driven subroutines), however they remain vastly different
      products. 

      All current versions of Visual Basic are commercial applications,
      and thus should be availible at your local computer store. You
      can also get in contact with Microsoft.

III.  What's the difference between VB/Win & VBDOS?

      VB/Win gives you the capability of creating applications which
      run in Windows, while VBDOS gives you the ability to develop
      apps which do not need Windows to run and run in text mode
      using the extended character set to give the user the feeling of a
      graphical environment, while still remaining in a text mode. 

      VB/Win applications are compiled into a pseudo-code (p-code)
      file with an "EXE" extension.  When run, the p-code file
      accesses a run-time Dynamic Linked Library (DLL)
      (VBRUNx00.DLL) which interprets the p-code into
      Windows(tm) Aplication Programming Interface (API)
      instructions.  VB/Win cannot create a stand-alone application
      (i.e. an executable which does not need the VBRUNx00.DLL.). 
      Currently, applications developed using a particular version of
      VB/Win requires the same version of the run-time DLL. 
      Therefore, a VB application developed in VB/Win version 3.0
      will only work if the run-time DLL VBRUN300.DLL is installed
      in either the WINDOWS or SYSTEM directories.

      VBDOS can create both types of applications. Those that require
      a run-time module, or those that are a stand-alone .exe file.

IV.   What are the features of the Professional vs. the Standard
      editions of the VB products?

      A. VB/Win

           Both editions (version 3.0) include all of the basic graphic
           primitives (controls) that make Windows(tm) such a nice
           Graphical User Interface (GUI) to work with, such as: text
           boxes, message boxes, drop-down menus, combo boxes,
           Multiple Document Interface, File controls, etc.  Version
           3.0 added database capabilities by tying into the Microsoft
           Access database engine (a DLL that handles all the actual
           database file manipulation).
      
           The Professional Edition includes: more reference materials
           (manuals, Knowledge Base, Windows API information,
           etc.), more extensive database capabilities (ability to create
           databases), additional controls for serial port
           communications, masked text boxes, 3D "sculpted"
           controls, etc., Pen API support, and more!  Serious
           programmers and developers would be best served by the
           professional edition.  Most VB/Win users on the
           comp.lang.basic.visual newsgroup feel that the added
           features of the Professional Edition make it well worth the
           extra cost.  The Standard Edition is sufficient for small and
           fairly simple programs and "hobby" programmers.  Since
           Microsoft offers an upgrade path from the Standard to the
           Professional Edition, those who aren't sure they need the
           Professional Edition can start with the Standard Edition and
           move up when they're ready.

      
      B. VBDOS

           Both version of VBDOS load and run all existing QBasic
           and QuickBasic programs. With little or no effort, your
           QBasic and QuickBasic programs can use the compiler in
           Visual Basic for MSDOS to take advantage of optimized
           code generation and greater string capacity. The
           professional edition has the capability of loading and
           running Basic PDS programs designed for MS-DOS. 

           Both editions of VBDOS allow you to incrementally add
           forms, dialog boxes, and controls to existing applications
           without rewriting them. 

           The Professional editions of VBDOS includes 286 and
           386/486 specific code generation in its native code
           compiler. Also included is a high-speed alternate floating-
           point math library. The MOVE Overlay technology found
           in MS C/C++ 7.0 allows compiled programs to be up to
           16MB! Also included is the MS Source Profiler which
           allows you to fine tune your applications, stub files which
           allow you to remove run-time functionality your program
           does not use. The Professional edition also includes a
           powerful ISAM (Indexed Sequential Access Method)
           Database engine for developing database applications which
           can use database files up to 128MB.


           Here are the additional features you will find in the
           professional edition of Visual Basic for MS-DOS: 

           Feature                   Notes
           -----------------------------------------------------
           Help toolkit              create on-line help
           Setup toolkit             create distribution disks
           CodeView debugger         version 4.02
           Financial toolkit         functions from Microsoft Excel
           Present. graphics kit     make charts and graphs
           Matrix math toolkit       matrix operations
           Create custom controls    requires MS MASM
           Create custom rtms        Put your modules into RTM.
           Microsoft mouse driver    version 8.2a
            (NOTE: RTM = Runtime Module)
           
V.    What to do BEFORE you post. 

      First, consult the manuals included with Visual Basic.  The
      manuals *generally* do a good job explaining most of the basics
      of Visual Basic.  Expect to be flamed if you post a question to
      the newsgroup that is plainly answered in the manual! 

      Second, check the Knowledge Base (KB). The Knowledge Base
      is a file that documents many of the most common problems /
      bugs / questions that the VB technical support folks at Microsoft
      have encountered. The Knowledge Base comes standard with the
      Professional Edition, but Standard Edition users can get a copy
      of the Knowledge Base via ftp (see section VII), CompuServe,
      America On-line, or your local BBS. The file *should* be
      named something like "vbkb".

      Third, check the FAQ.  Since you are reading this document, I
      don't think much needs to be said here.  As a side note:
      PLEASE, encourage those who post frequently asked questions
      which are covered in this document to get and read the FAQ!  If
      we don't, people will just keep posting those same questions
      over and over.  Help us break this cycle of over-dependency on
      knowledgeable and kind-hearted newsgroup users.

      Forth, thoroughly test the problem you are encountering.  You
      are more apt to get some useful help if you can speak
      intelligently about the problem you are having and what you
      have done to try and fix or get around the problem.

      Finally, post to the COMP.LANG.BASIC.VISUAL newsgroup. 
      Helping each other with Visual Basic problems and questions is
      a lot about what this newsgroup is about.  If you've done your
      homework, you will probably be met with helpful responses to
      your inquiry.  Since both VB/Win and VBDOS users read this
      newsgroup, please prefix the subject line of your post with a
      note that indicates which type of VB you're using (i.e. "Subject:
      [VB/Win] Problem with DoEvents", "Subject: [VBDOS]
      Question on ISAM parameters").
 
VI.   What are some good 3rd party books to learn vb?
      We (the editors) have compiled a list of various books which
      cover a wide range of VB/Win subjects. Many of the books are
      personal reccommendations from various people on the net. The
      remaining books came from a keyword search of 'VISUAL' at
      the internet site BOOKS.COM. This site can be used to purchase
      books via credit card or you can use their database of books to
      find information as I have done. A complete list can be found at
      the end of this document. 

VII.  What are some other VB resources and where can I get
      them?

      The Knowledge Base (often abbreviated 'KB') is a file that
      documents many of the most common problems, bugs, questions,
      tips, fixes and work-arounds that the VB technical support folks
      at Microsoft have encountered.  The KB comes standard with the
      Professional Edition, but Standard Edition users can get a copy
      of the Knowledge Base via ftp (see section VIII), CompuServe,
      America On-line, or perhaps even your local BBS.  Many
      answers to common VB problems can be found in the KB.  This
      file is a must-have!
      Visual Basic Tips and Tricks is a compilation of useful VB code
      examples, a listing of the latest VB file versions and dates, and
      other useful information that isn't in the Knowledge Base.  VB
      Tips and Tricks is a Windows help file put together by Dave
      McCarter of DPM Computer Solutions.  It can be found at many
      places (including ftp.cica.indiana.edu) as "VBTIPSxx.ZIP",
      where xx is the version number (larger numbers represent newer
      versions).  It is updated on a monthly basis.

VIII. Where can I get good Public domain, shareware, or freeware
      software for VB?

      A. FTP
      VB/windows ftp sites:
      ---------------------
      ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/programr/vbasic
           Best/largest source for Visual Basic files, utilities, example
           programs, VBXs, etc.

      ftp.microsoft.com:
           Microsoft's anonymous ftp site.  There is a lot on this site
           so look around.  Here are some of the more useful
           directories:
           /Softlib/MSLFILES
               Get the Knowledge Base for VB here!  VBKB.EXE
               (929K) is the regular KB in windows help format.
               VBKB_FT.EXE (2,563K)is the same as VBKB.EXE
               but with text searching added.  Lot's of other good
               files in this directory.
           /MSDN
               Contains LOTS of Windows programming files and
               examples!  Get the index file MSDN-IDX.ZIP for a
               description of the files in this directory.  Suggestion:
               search the index file for the text "Visual Basic".
           /MSDN/VBTECH
               VB specific files.
           /DEVTOOLS/LANG/VB/PUBLIC
               Misc. VB files and updates.                          

      B. BBS

      I run a public BBS in Bellefonte, PA, which caters to
      programmers and UNIX users.  I have a fairly large-sized
      BASIC file section, with some Visual BASIC  files uploaded
      from users, and culled from various FTP sites.  I would 
      certainly welcome additional users interested in VB.

      The BBS is called the Centre Programmers Unit BBS, and can
      be reached at  814-353-0566.  The system is up 24 hours a day,
      7 days a week, and has a  USR Dual Standard
      (14.4HST/V.32bis) online.  There is no charge for access,  but I
      enforce a file upload/download ratio.  Here's my welcome
      screen:
                                                                    
                           You are invited to call:
                         The Centre Programmers Unit
                               Bellefonte, PA 
                      A gathering point for UNIX users,
                         and programmers of all types.
                ---------------------------------------------------      
                System size: 1.5Gb         Online: 24 hours, 7 days
      
            Modem: USR Dual Standard: 1200-14400 baud
                   MNP 1-5, v.32, v.32bis, v.42, v.42bis, HST
      
                (814) 353-0566             Sysop: Mike Loewen
      
           MSDOS programming tools and libraries, UNIX source, GNU, X
                   Select USENET Newsgroups. Linux.
           BBS users should login as 'bbs', 8N1, no password required.
                 email: mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us

      C. Compuserve
           Compuserve does have a fairly active basic forum. To
           acces this forum, type GO MSBASIC. Microsoft employees
           have been known to frequent this forum. May be useful for
           those last ditch pleas for some useful tidbit of information.

           Some Useful files in the MSBASIC forum:
           - VBBK05.ZIP:  List of books/mags dealing with VB.
           - MLIST4.ZIP:  Multi-column listbox. No 64K limit. 

      D. America On-Line
           America On-Line has a good selection of VB files and an
           active message area for discussing Visual Basic.

IX.   Specific Question and Answer sections

      A.   VB/Win - refer to the post titled: "comp.lang.basic.visual
           VB/Win Frequently Asked Questions".

      B.   VBDOS - refer to the post titled: "comp.lang.basic.visual
           VB/DOS Frequently Asked Questions".

X.    Appendix for FAQ POST #1
      ========================
      BOOK LIST for VB/Win
      ========================

      ---From: ian@monty.demon.co.uk (Ian Piper)

           Here, in descending order of usefulness (in my own
           personal opinion) are the VB books I use the most:

           1. Visual Basic Programmers guide to the Windows
           API, by Daniel Appleman. ISBN1-56276-073-4. If you
           only want to get one book on VB, this is the one. It covers
           the ground from simple to advanced programming very
           well. 

           2. The Waite Group's VB How-To, several authors, ISBN
           1-878739-09-3. This is the ISBN number for version 1 - I
           think it's been updated by now. Lots of examples to
           demonstrate each point. This is a close second.

           3. Visual Basic Utilities, by Paul Bonner, ISBN
           1-56276-106-4. This has some excellent learning stuff in it
           and also some advanced stuff, including how to write your
           own DLLs (!) using GFA-BASIC.

           4. Fun programming with VB, several authors, ISBN
           1-56529-106-9. This uses a half-dozen or so projects to
           illustrate how various programmers designed and built apps
           using VB.

           5. Windows 3.1 programming for mere mortals, by
           Woody Leonhard, ISBN 0-201-60832-4. This covers VB
           and WordBasic. Some very neat examples.

      ---From: tivadar@interaccess.com (John Quarto-vonTivadar)

           I found the following VERY useful, to the point that I
           don't even use the manuals anymore:

           6. The Visual Guide to Visual Basic for Windows, by
           Richard Mansfield, published by Ventura Press. This is a
           encyclopedia of the language itself. It supposes that you
           DO know how to program so basically (if you pardon the
           pun) it's a guide to VB's slang. I use this for referencing
           the grammar when i get a bug.

      ---From: idavidson@csu.edu.au (Ian Davidson)

           7. Visual Basic How-To, Robert Arnson, Daniel Rosen,
           Mitch Waite &  Jonathon Zuck: The Waite Group, 1992. 
           ISBN 1-878739-09-3.  Includes  disk.  Many practical
           examples & some sample custom controls.Introduces &
           expands on the use of API's.  An excellent book suitable
           for Beginners thru Advanced - one of my most-often-used 
           references.

           8. Learn Programming and Visual Basic with John
           Socha, John Socha:  Sybex, 1992.  ISBN 0-7821-1057-6. 
           Includes disk.  A useful introduction for absolute beginner
           programmers thru intermediate.


      -- From Gary Cornell:
           There's a new version of my book - it's been enlarged and
           updated. It's now called the Visual Basic 3 For Windows
           Handbook.
               
              Author   : Cornell, Gary
              Title    : Visual Basic 3 For Windows Handbook
              ISBN     : 0078819318 Dewey #  : 005.10
              Publisher: Osborne McGraw Hill
              Date Pub : 01/93

      --from Wallace Wang: 72662,1711 (Compuserve)
           Here's the information you requested. Thanks for including
           my book in your listing:

           Publisher name: IDG Books Publisher 
           address: 155 Bovet Road, Suite 310
                    San Mateo, CA 94402 
           Phone number: (415) 312-0650 
           Fax number: (415) 358-1260

           Book name: Visual Basic 3 For Dummies 
           Author name: Wallace Wang 
           When released: March 1994 

           50-word description: This book takes readers, 
               step-by-step, to understanding, learning, and writing
               Visual Basic programs. Explains how to use the most
               common features of Visual Basic for creating user
               interfaces and writing BASIC code. Includes a
               friendly dose of humor and easy to read explanations,
               this book also includes suggestions for finding
               additional information about Visual Basic. Intended
               audience: 

           Beginners Price: $19.95
           Disk of examples: No.

      ---From EDITOR: 
           The following books were those I found using a keyword
           search of 'VISUAL' at the internet site BOOKS.COM. This
           site can be used to purchase books via credit card or you
           can use their database of books to find information as I
           have done. 

           Author   : Nelson, Ross
           Title    : The Microsoft VB for Windows Primer
           ISBN     : 1556154771    Dewey #  : 005.10
           Publisher: Microsoft Pr  Date Pub : 11/92
      
           Author   : Orvis, William
           Title    : Do It Yourself Visual Basic for Windows
           ISBN     : 0672302594    Dewey #  : 005.10
           Publisher: Sams          Date Pub : 11/92

           Author   : Craig, John Clark
           Title    : Microsoft VB Workshop/Book and Disk
           ISBN     : 1556153864    Dewey #  :   5.26
           Publisher: Microsoft Pr  Date Pub : 09/91
      
           Author   : Murray, William H./Pappas, Chris H.
           Title    : Using VB : Writing Windows Apps
           ISBN     : 0201581450    Dewey #  :   5.43
           Publisher: Addison Wesley Pub. Co.
           Date Pub : 01/92

      ========================
      BOOK LIST for VBDOS
      ========================

           Author   : Hergert, Douglas A.
           Title    : Visual Basic Programming With DOS
           Applications
                   / Book and Disk
           ISBN     : 0553370995    Dewey #  : 005.00
           Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub
           Date Pub : 07/92


From ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack Tue Aug 23 23:11:02 1994
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From: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Subject: FAQ: comp.lang.basic.visual VB/Win Frequently Asked Questions
X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly.  When a saved or printed copy
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Expires: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 05:30:23 GMT
Reply-To: Jan.Haugland@uib.no (Jan Steinar Haugland)
Organization: Visual Basic FAQ Maintainers
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 05:30:29 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
X-Posting-Frequency: Posted on the 5th and 20th of each month.
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Keywords: FAQ VISUAL BASIC WINDOWS
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Last-modified: 13.08.94


                    VISUAL BASIC FOR WINDOWS (VB/Win)
                   Frequently asked Questions & Answers
                              Section IX - B


   TABLE OF CONTENTS:
   ******************

   A. PREFACE

   B. GENERAL VISUAL BASIC QUESTIONS

          1. Does VB/Win make standalone .EXE files?

          2. What is the current version of Visual Basic for Windows?

          3. Where can I get updated VB and other Microsoft files?

          4. Help! I am lost on ftp.microsoft.com.

          5. Where can I get good up-to-date information about VB?

          6. Are there any examples of commercial applications built
              using Visual Basic?


   C. COMMON VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS

          1. What's the difference between MODAL and MODELESS forms?

          2. When/Why should I use Option Explicit?

          3. Why does everybody say I should save in TEXT not BINARY?

          4. Is the Variant type slower than using other variable
              types?

          5. How do I make a text box not beep but do something else
              when I hit the Enter key?

          6. How do I implement an incremental search in
              list/dir/combo/file boxes?

          7. How do I get the Tab key to be treated like a normal
              character?

          8. How do I make an animated icon for my program?

          9. What is passing by reference?

          10. I get a "file not found" error on the IIF function when
              I distribute by program. Uh?

          11. Is there any way to pass a variable to a form apart from
              using global variables?

          12. How should dates be implemented so they work with other
              language and country formats?

          13. Can a VB application be an OLE server?

          14. How do I dial a phone number without using the MSCOMM
              VBX?
          15. I have [several] megabytes of memory. Why do I get an
              "out of memory" error?

          16. How do I mimic a toggle button?

          17. How do I get my application on top?

          18. Is there a way to break long lines in VB code?

          19. How do I remove/change the picture property of a control
              at design time?

          20. Is a [foo] VBX/DLL available as shareware/freeware?

          21. How do I make my applications screen-resolution
              independent?

          22. How do I do Peek and Poke?

          23. Why doesn't "my string" & Chr$(13) do what I want?

          24. How do I prevent multiple instances of my program?


   D. ADVANCED VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING ISSUES

          1. How do I tell when an application executed using the
              SHELL command is finished?

          2. How do I access C style strings?

          3. How can I change the printer Windows uses in code without
              using the print common dialog?

          4. Any tips for speeding up VB?

          5. How do I speed up control property access?

          6. How much gain in performance will I get if I write my
             number crunching routines in C instead of Visual Basic?

          7. How do you make a TEXTBOX read only? Or, how do I prevent
             the user from changing the text in a TEXTBOX?

          8. How can I create a VBX?

          9. How do you change the system menu (on the Control-Menu
             Box)?

          10. How do I play MID, WAV or other multimedia files?

          11. How can I call a 'hidden' DOS program from VB?

          12. How do I do drag & drop between applications?

          13. How do I use GetPrivateProfileString to read from INI
              files?

          14. How do I implement Undo?

          15. How do I create a window with a small title bar as in a
              floating toolbar?

          16. What is Pseudocode?

          17. Does VB support pointers to functions?

          18. How do I program the Novell NetWare API from VB?

          19. Some Visual Basic 4 rumours


   E. CALLING THE WINDOWS API AND DLLs IN GENERAL

          1. What is the Windows API?

          2. How do I call a DLL?

          3. What about DLL calls that require callbacks?

          4. Tips for calling DLLs (such as the Windows API)


   F. VISUAL BASIC AND DATABASES

          1. Why can't I use an index with my VB accessed database?

          2. Why does my compiled VB database app generate an error
              when it ran just fine in the design environment?

          3. Is the Access Engine and Visual Basic Pro good enough for
              database work?

          4. How do you avoid the "Invalid use of null" error when
              reading null values from a database?

          5. What is "NULL"?

          6. How can I access a record by record number?

          7. How about Access 2.0 compatibility?

          8. Tips for VB database programming:

          9. How come I get a "No Current Record" error when I use a a
              Data Control on an empty table?

          10. How can I speed up my VB database application?

          11. How do I get a bitmap picture in a field in an Access
              database?


   G. DISTRIBUTING VISUAL BASIC APPLICATIONS

          1. What are some tips for using Setup Wizard?

          2. Are there restrictions on what I can distribute with my
              VB program?

          3. What alternatives to setup wizard do I have?

          4. Do I need to worry about users who have Progman
              replacements such as Norton Desktop and PC Tools?

          5. Can I distribute my app without vbrunXXX.dll?

          6. Why won't my setup program install commdlg.dll et. al.?

          7. Where do I install VBXs and DLLs?


   H. MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND INFORMATION

          1. Multiple identifiers after the DIM statement can be
              confusing

          2. "Clean up" your project before final EXE compilation.

          3. Multiple END statements can be dangerous; or, The program
              that refused to terminate.

          4. What are the latest versions of the various files used by
              VB?


   I. VISUAL BASIC FOR APPLICATIONS (VBA)

          1. Any tips for VB/Win 3 programmers moving to VBA?

          2. Does VBA support VBXs?

          3. How do I access properties on my dialog boxes in VBA?

          4. How do I use database routines from Excel VBA?



A. PREFACE


   This document is a compilation of frequently asked questions and
   their answers about Visual Basic for Windows and Visual Basic for
   Applications which have been gathered from posts to the
   comp.lang.basic.visual newsgroup.  Although efforts have been made
   to find obvious errors, there is no guarantee that the information
   in this document is error-free. Neither the FAQ maintainer nor
   anyone else associated with this document assume ANY liability for
   the content or use of this document. If you find any errors, please
   report them to the address given below.

   This FAQ document is protected by international copyright
   regulations. Permission is granted to distribute it freely, both in
   electronic and written format, provided no charge is made. Also, do
   not make changes to this document without the consent of the
   maintainer. Usenet netiquette applies.

   Most FAQs (including this one) are available at the anonymous ftp
   archive site "rtfm.mit.edu". All parts of the VB FAQ may be found
   in the directory "pub/usenet/comp.lang.basic.visual".

   You can also have the VB FAQs e-mailed to you by sending a message
   to "mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu" with ONLY the text

      send usenet/news.answers/visual-basic-faq/*

   in the BODY of the message.

   In this document, whenever a long line of code must be split into
   two or more lines of text in the code examples, a | symbol will
   precede each line which should be appended to the line above it.

   As the FAQ maintainer, I don't have time to explore all of the
   aspects of Visual Basic. I rely on your submissions to improve the
   quality and inclusiveness of this document. If you have found a VB
   hint, tip, trick, work-around, etc., please write it up and send it
   to me!

   Jan Steinar Haugland (Jan.Haugland@uib.no), VB/Win FAQ maintainer

   Please note that my first language is not English. You can safely
   ignore all typos, but if you find an error that is so embarrassing
   you can't help pulling your hair and screaming loud, just send me a
   note and I'll correct it quietly. OK?

   I would like to thank all contributers, and also all those who have
   given constructive feedback. This FAQ is now widely distributed in
   the net community.

   Special thanks to the following people who have made many and
   invaluable contributions to the VB/Win FAQ:  Kris Nosack (the
   previous maintainer), Peter Millard, Nic Gibson, Mr. "D" (the
   anonymous contributor), George Tatge (gat@csn.org), Andy Dingley
   (dingbat@codesmth.demon.co.uk), and those I may have forgotten
   (sorry).

   Your help is GREATLY appreciated!


B. GENERAL VISUAL BASIC QUESTIONS


1. Does VB/Win make standalone .EXE files?

   VB/Win produces .exe files, but they are not standalone. All VB/Win
   programs must be distributed with the VBRUNx00.DLL file (where x is
   the major version number). This DLL must accompany all VB/Win
   programs, but only one such file should reside on every system
   where VB programs are used.

2. What is the current version of Visual Basic for Windows?

   VB/Win is currently at version 3.0

3. Where can I get updated VB and other Microsoft files?

   Microsoft Software Library (MSL) is accessible from the following
   services:

   - Compu$erve

     GO MSL
     Search for <filename.EXE>

   - Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
     Dial (206) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL

   - Internet (anonymous FTP)
     ftp ftp.microsoft.com
     Change to the \softlib\mslfiles directory
     (There are a LOT of files in this directory! It is not
     advisable to list all the files unless you have good time.
     See map below.)

4. Help! I am lost on ftp.microsoft.com.

   You're not alone. The organisation of this ftp site is *ugly*.

   Here's a *very* useful map. It was valid as of 16 June 1994; I have
   the impression they move things around just for fun!:

   |- [ADVSYS]
   |      |- [LANMAN]
   |      |- [MAIL]
   |      |- [MSCLIENT]
   |      |- [ODBC]
   |      |- [SNASRVR]
   |      |- [SQLSRVR]
   |      |- [WINNT]
   |      |- [WINSOCK]
   |
   |- [DESKAPPS]
   |      |- [ACCESS]
   |      |- [DRAW]
   |      |- [EXCEL]
   |      |- [FOX]
   |      |- [GAMES]
   |      |- [GRAPH]
   |      |- [MMAPPS]
   |      |- [MONEY]
   |      |- [MSPUB]
   |      |- [OFFICE]
   |      |- [POWERPT]
   |      |- [PROJECT]
   |      |- [VIDEO]
   |      |- [WORD]
   |      |- [WORDART]
   |      |- [WORKS]
   |
   |- [DEVELOPER]
   |      |
   |      |- [DEVTOOLS]
   |      |         |- [DELTA]
   |      |         |- [FOX]
   |      |         |- [LANG] -----
   |      |         |- [MAPI]      |- [BASIC]
   |      |         |- [TAPI]      |- [CCPP]
   |      |         |- [WIN32DDK]  |- [FORTRAN]
   |      |         |- [WIN32SDK]  |- [MASM]
   |      |         |- [WINSDK]    |- [MFC]
   |      |                        |- [MSVC32]
   |      |                        |- [MSVCWIN]
   |      |                        |- [TEST]
   |      |                        |- [VB]
   |      |       -----------------|-----------------------
   |      |      |                        |               |
   |      |     [KB]                   [PUBLIC]       [UNSUP-ED]
   |      |      |- README.TXT (Note 1)   |- INDEX.TXT  (empty)
   |      |      |- INDEX.TXT  (Note 2)   |- *.EXE (Note 3)
   |      |      |- [Q*    ]
   |      |
   |      |- [DRG] (Developer Relations Group)
   |      |
   |      |- [MSJ] (Source code from Systems Journal)
   |      |
   |      |- [MSDN] (Developers Network) (Note 4)
   |          |- [CD7] (some VB stuff, get index)
   |          |- [NEWUP] ('C' code for animation & pic edit control)
   |                      (also WHATHLP.ZIP)
   |
   |- [MISC] (Internet Engineering Task Force docs)
   |
   |- [MSATWORK]
   |
   |- [MSFT] (For MS Investors)
   |
   |- [PEROPSYS]
   |     |- [MMEDIA]
   |     |- [MOUSE]
   |     |- [MSDOS]
   |     |- [WFW]
   |     |- [WIN3X]
   |     |- [WIN-NEWS]
   |
   |- [SOFTLIB]
        |- SLLIST.TXT (files in [MSLFILES] 1200+ entries) (Note 5)
        |- [MSLFILES] (Note 6)

   Notes:
   1: Read this to understand the Q* directory structure.
   2: 1400+ entries.
   3: DLL/VBX updates.
   4: MSDN has been reorganised and many files have been renamed and
      put in [CD7].  If you see MSDN-IDX.ZIP, it's the index for the
      old file arrangement, ignore it.  The index/abstracts viewer
      (was msdn100.zip) is being updated by the author and should be
      available from CICA and mirrors in a few days.
   5: If you find 'duplicate' entries at the end of this file they
      are a list of additions/updates.
   6: Contains VBKB.EXE (VB_BUGS & VB_TIPS) 1.5Mb !
      VBKB_FT.EXE (VB_BUGS & VB_TIPS *with text search*) 4.2Mb !!

   Map with notes supplied by Richard Mason (richard@whitney.demon.co.uk)
   Please mail him direct if you discover any significant inconsistencies
   between this map and the real world.

5. Where can I get good up-to-date information about VB?

   If you do any VB programming at all, you really should get the
   latest copy of the Microsoft Knowledge Base from one of the sources
   listed above!  The filename is VBKB.EXE or VBKB_FT.EXE for the
   version with full text searching. The Knowledge Base is a Windows
   help formatted document that is updated almost monthly. (Beware:
   The files are huge, as noted above!)

   The EXE files on ftp.microsoft.com (and other places) are simple
   self-extracting files. They don't do any automatic updating of your
   system, just dump the file(s) inside them in the current directory
   on your disk, uncompressed and ready for use. Just replace the old
   files on your system with the new files (same name, usually).

   This FAQ (ahem) is a pretty good source as a digest of many of the
   VB issues that are discussed in the comp.lang.basic.visual
   newsgroup, but as such the information contained in this FAQ may
   not have been thoroughly tested or verified.

   For easier access to and use of this FAQ document, get the Windows
   Help file format FAQ doc by anonymous ftp to quasar.sba.dal.ca and
   look under /www/hlp. The .hlp version is made by Tim Roberts
   (TJR@SBACOOP.SBA.DAL.CA). It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

   Dave McCarter puts out a nice Windows help formatted document
   called "Visual Basic Tips and Tricks". A good resource with
   information that isn't found in the Knowledge Base. It can be found
   by anonymous ftp to ftp.cica.indiana.edu
   /pub/pc/win3/programr/vbasic/ as VBTIPS??.ZIP, where '??' is the
   version number (yes, get the one with the highest number).

   There is presently an effort to put together a VB code library so
   that VB users can share their best - and trickiest - programming
   work. The code library project is being spear headed by Hein Ragas
   who has managed to get a directory on CICA for code snippets to be
   deposited. Stayed tuned to comp.lang.basic.visual for more
   information.

   There's a VISBAS-L mailing list for Visual Basic. You can subscribe
   to this mailing list by sending an email to

     LISTSERV@tamvm1.tamu.edu

   Place the following text in the *body* of the message (no, not the
   subject line):

     SUB VISBAS-L Real Name

   Where Real Name is just that, *your full real name* not your email
   address. Note that the traffic on this list may overflow your
   mailbox if you have a limited mail buffer. Expect around 40-50
   messages every weekday, a bit less during weekends. Also, to
   unsubscribe, do as above but with "UNSUB" in the body of the
   message to the LISTSERV address, *not* to the VISBAS-L list address
   itself (Believe it or not, we usually receive 2-3 sub/unsub mails
   every day on the list, and we're really fed up!)

   Sorry, I know no mailservers or other Internet resources dedicated
   to VBA specifically. Send me any information you may have, and I'll
   bring it on.

   There are several Usenet newsgroups dedicated to MS Windows
   programming and use. There's recently been a major group creation
   process. Those groups that may be of special interest to VB
   programmers are marked with *:

   comp.os.ms-windows.misc
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc
   comp.binaries.ms-windows
   comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
   comp.os.ms-windows.announce
   comp.os.ms-windows.apps
   comp.os.ms-windows.nt.misc
   comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools     *
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32
   comp.os.ms-windows.setup                *
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.winhelp   *
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.networks
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.graphics
   comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.controls  *

   The latest groups have been added to split the enormous traffic on
   the *.misc groups down in managable chunks. However, the second
   group (.programmer.misc) contains lots of interesting info (mostly
   C related), if you have the time to read it all!

   Also note comp.lang.pascal which is a very good newsgroup for
   Pascal, including Borland Pascal and Turbo Pascal for Windows.

   Please don't use this guide to find out where you should crosspost
   VB questions. Check the charter for each group before posting to
   it. If you are sure that your crosspost is legitimate, please note
   the crossposting in the text.

   NOTE: PLEASE don't post VB stuff to comp.lang.visual. This group
   has *nothing* to do with Visual Basic, and the academics discussing
   "real" visual programming there are very, very annoyed at what they
   call "quasi-visual" stuff and postings about those languages to
   their group.

   If you have a Compu$erve account, you will find a forum for Visual
   Basic there, including some support from Microsoft:

   MS BASIC Forum    (GO MSBASIC)

   Message Sections Available:             Libraries Available:
    1 Forum News/Info                       1 MS Info and Index
    2 Setup Wizard/Kit                      2 Setup Wizard/Kit
    3 Data Access Objects                   3 Data Access Objects
    4 The Data Control                      4 The Data Control
    5 Programming Issues                    5 Programming Issues
    6 ODBC Connectivity                     6 ODBC Connectivity
    7 SQL Queries                           7 SQL Queries
    8 ProEdition Controls                   8 ProEdition Controls
    9 Calling API's/DLL's                   9 Calling API's/DLL's
   10 Using OLE/DDE                        10 VBWIN-ODBC/Database
   11 MSCOMM control                       11 MSCOMM control
   12 MCI/MAPI controls                    12 MCI/MAPI controls
   13 DOS Visual Basic                     13 DOS Visual Basic
   14 DOS and Mac Basic                    14 DOS and Mac Basic
   15 Suggestions/Mktg.                    15 Suggestions/Mktg.
   16 CDK                                  16 CDK
   17 3rd Party Products                   17 3rd Party Products

   There are magazines dedicated to VB. The best known is Fawcett
   Technical Publications' _Visual Basic Programmer's Journal_ (VSPJ).
   Phone 800-848-5523 (for US credit card orders) or 303-541-0610
   (int'l and US other orders), Email 74003.224@compuserve.com to
   Shirley Modric for subscription info. Address is 280 Second Street,
   Suite 200, Los Altos, CA 94022-3603 USA  (Note: for completeness
   other VB magazines should be listed, and I would like to receive
   info on those!)

6. Are there any examples of commercial applications built using
   Visual Basic?

   Profit by Microsoft was written mostly in Visual Basic. In fact,
   Profit was one of three programs selected as PC Magazine's Editor's
   Choice among Windows small business accounting packages.

   Microsoft uses VB extensively for smaller utilities. 3 of the small
   apps in the Windows and Windows for Workgroups Resource Toolkits
   are written in VB. Also, if you have the Microsoft Bookshelf CD-
   ROM, you will notice that the MVOPTION.EXE program, which is an
   "options" program for MS Viewer, is created in VB.

   Note: The existence of VBX files in a package doesn't ecessarily
   mean that it was written in VB. The most popular C++ compilers also
   support VBXes.


C. COMMON VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS


1. What's the difference between MODAL and MODELESS forms?

   MODAL forms are forms which require user input before any other
   actions can be taken place. In other words, a modal form has
   exclusive focus until it is dismissed. When showing a modal form,
   the program pauses at the SHOW command until the modal form is
   either hidden or unloaded. The internal MsgBox and InputBox forms
   are examples of modal forms. To show a form modally, use the
   syntax:

     MyForm.SHOW 1

   MODELESS forms are those which are shown but do not require
   immediate user input. MDI child forms are always modeless. To show
   a form modeless, use the syntax:

     MyForm.SHOW

2. When/Why should I use Option Explicit?

   Option Explicit forces you to declare all variables before using
   them. Opinions vary greatly on this subject. The main reason to use
   the OPTION EXPLICIT statement at the top of all modules is to
   minimize the amount of bugs introduced into your code by
   misspelling a variable name. Most variants of BASIC (including VB)
   have the capability to create variables 'on the fly' (without any
   declarations). This capability can be a double edged sword.

   At the minimum, some suggest using the DEFINT A-Z statement in leu
   of OPTION EXPLICIT. This statement will cause any variables which
   are created on the fly to be created as integers as opposed to
   variant (VB 3.0) or single precision (VB 1.0 and 2.0). (Integers
   take up less memory).

   The OPTION EXPLICIT statement causes VB to 'disable' its ability to
   create variables on the fly. Thus, all variables must be declared
   using a DIM or REDIM statement. All variables not declared will
   cause an error when the OPTION EXPLICIT statement is used. This
   will eliminate bugs caused by a misspelled variable. The option
   works module-wide, so you can have some modules with and some
   without this option in your project.

3. Why does everybody say I should save in TEXT not BINARY?

   Actually, saving in binary mode is a bit faster, so why do we
   recommend you to save in text?

   If you save the source and the project as text, it becomes ASCII
   (or really, ANSI) code that you can edit with any text editor or
   (if you are careful when you save) word processor. If you save in
   binary, only the VB development environment, current or later
   versions, will understand the code. The Setup Wizard can not scan
   binary projects. Also, source documenters and other programming
   tools usually require text mode. If you use text, you can use a
   simple text editor (ie. notepad) to cut and paste code from other
   source/form modules into your current project. Some 'tricks' (like
   making an array of 1 control into a single non-array control again)
   is easily done with an editor but not that easy in the environment.
   If you want to print your project to paper the file|print option in
   the VB environment is often not good enough; you may want to import
   the text files into your word processor. And, finally, if something
   goes wrong (only one byte is changed!) you may be out of luck in
   binary mode. In text mode you will more easily be able to fix it.

4. Is the Variant type slower than using other variable types?

   Generally, yes, if we are talking numeric variable types. The
   Variant type also increases memory overhead. To test the speed
   difference, try the following piece of code in something like a
   button_click event and keep the debug window on the screen:

     Dim Va As Variant
     Dim In As Integer
     T1! = Timer
     For i% = 1 To 32766
       Va = i%
     Next i%
     T2! = Timer
     Debug.Print "With variant:  "; Format$((T2! - T1!), "0.0000")
     T1! = Timer
     For i% = 1 To 32766
       In = i%
     Next i%
     T2! = Timer
     Debug.Print "With integer:  "; Format$((T2! - T1!),"0.0000")

   This test shows (on our test system) that integers are ~60% faster!
   However, for strings there where no real difference, or in some
   instances, variants were faster than strings for routines with
   heavy conversion usage. For the best result in your application,
   test your routines directly.

5. How do I make a text box not beep but do something else when I hit
   the Enter key?

   Put "something else" in your _KeyPress event, depending on what you
   really want. This code example makes *nothing* happen, for an
   extended period of time:

     Sub Text1_KeyPress (KeyAscii As Integer)
         If KeyAscii = 13 Then   '13 is Key_Return
            KeyAscii = 0
         End If
     End Sub

   This might not be a very nice thing to do, since your users usually
   have some intention when they press Enter. Often they will want to
   jump to the next control, like the Tab key does. To have the Enter
   key emulate the Tab key action, you will need to add the line
   'SendKeys "{tab}"' above 'KeyAscii=0' in the example above (Yes, I
   thought KeyAscii=9 works but it doesn't! Tab is obviously handled
   by Windows on a lower level).

   By the way, you'll also find this in the Microsoft VB Knowledge
   Base (see KB Q78305 and Q85562).

   Note: If MultiLine=True you will *not* want to disable the normal
   behaviour of the Enter key.

6. How do I implement an incremental search in list/dir/combo/file
   boxes?

   This is your lucky day. Dan Champagne (Dan_Champagne@dell.com) made
   some VB code (no DLLs are necessary!) which easily provides this
   feature for your applications:

     ' Code by Dan Champagne
     ' 4/18/94

     ' This code can be used to do an incremental search in either a
     ' list box, dir, combo, or a file box. The following code is set
     ' for a file box called FILE1. To make it work with a list box, or
     ' a file box with a different name, change all occurences of FILE1
     ' with whatever you or VB has named your list, combo, dir, or file box.
     ' There are two places where you will need to change these. They are
     ' on the last couple of lines in the KeyPress code.
     ' Also, thanks to John Tarr for helping debug the code.

     'In a .BAS file, add the following:
     'searchme$ is a global vaiable that will keep track of what the
     'user has typed so far.
     Global searchme$

     'The following needs to be on one line.
     Declare Function SendMessageBystring& Lib "User" ALIAS
     |"Send Message" (ByVal hWnd%, ByVal wMsg%, ByVal
     |wParam%, ByVal lParam$)

     Global Const WM_USER = &H400
     Global Const LB_SELECTSTRING = (WM_USER + 13)
     Global Const LB_FINDSTRING = (WM_USER + 16)

     'In File1 under keydown, add the following:
     'This checks if the user has pressed the up or down arrow.
     'If they have, reset searchme$ to "".
     If KeyCode = 40 Or KeyCode = 38 Then
        searchme$ = ""
     End If

     'In File1 under lostfocus, pathchange, patternchange, and click add:

     'If the user has done any of the above, reset the searchme$
     'string.
     searchme$ = ""

     'In File1 under keypress add:

     Dim result&

     Select Case KeyAscii
         Case 8     'Backspace
             If searchme$ <> "" Then
                 searchme$ = Left$(searchme$, Len(searchme$) - 1)
             Else
                File1.ListIndex = 0
             End If
             KeyAscii = 0
             Exit Sub
         Case 27    'Escape
             searchme$ = ""
             KeyAscii = 0
             Exit Sub
         Case 13    'Enter
             searchme$ = ""
             KeyAscii = 0
             Exit Sub
         Case Asc("a") To Asc("z"), Asc("A") To Asc("Z"), Asc("'"),
         |Asc("."), Asc(" "), Asc("0") To Asc("9")
             searchme$ = searchme$ & Chr$(KeyAscii)
             KeyAscii = 0
     End Select

     result& = SendMessageBystring(FILE.hWnd, LB_FINDSTRING,
     |0, searchme$)

     If result& = -1 Then
        searchme$ = Left$(searchme$, Len(searchme$) - 1)
     Else
        result& = SendMessageBystring(FILE1.hWnd, LB_SELECTSTRING,
        |-1, searchme$)
     End If

7. How do I get the Tab key to be treated like a normal character?

   You must set TabStop = False for ALL controls on the active form.
   Then you will be able to insert "tab" (chr 9) characters in
   controls like the text box.

   If you feel you need the Tab key to behave "normal" (ie. jump to
   next control) outside this specific control, it is trivial to
   emulate its functionality in code:

     Sub Command1_KeyDown (KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
       If KeyCode = 9 Then
         If Shift = 0 Then
            Command2.SetFocus 'Tab=Next control
         ElseIf Shift = 1 Then
            Command3.SetFocus 'Shift-Tab=Prev.ctrl.
         End If
       End If
     End Sub

   ...etc.

8. How do I make an animated icon for my program?

   For an example on how you change the icon for your application as
   it is displayed when it is minimized, see the example REDTOP in the
   \samples\picclip directory for VB/Win 3 Pro. This demonstrates a
   fancy animated icon.

9. What is passing by reference?

   Arguments are either passed by reference or by value. When they are
   passed by value, they cannot be changed by the procedure or
   function they are passed to. They *can* be altered when passed by
   reference, since passing by reference is just passing the address.

   Note that procedures are less strict about variable types when you
   use BYVAL. If you declare that your Sub takes a Variant, VB takes
   that seriously and gives a nasty "mismatch error" if you try to
   pass ie. a string to it. Make it ByVal (at the cost of some speed)
   and your sub will be more tolerant.
   Also note the following nasty trap:  Arguments are passed by
   reference unless enclosed by parentheses or declared using the
   ByVal keyword. [VBWin Language Ref., p. 55]

10.I get a "file not found" error on the IIF function when I
   distribute by program. Uh?

   There's a documentation error, since the manual does not tell you
   that the IIF function requires the file MSAFINX.DLL to be
   distributed with your application. No, IIF is not financial (I
   should know, I study finance right now, or at least I should be
   doing that ;-] ).

11.Is there any way to pass a variable to a form apart from using
   global variables?

   The standard workaround is to put an invisible text box (or caption
   or any other control that suits your use.) on the target form and
   access it by Form.textbox = "value". Then you can use the Change
   event of that control to do anything you want in that form. Also,
   check out the .Tag property which is a "what-you-want" property
   where you can hook any string you want onto a control. This
   property can also be accessed from other modules.
   [Dave Mitton (mitton@dave.enet.dec.com)]

12.How should dates be implemented so they work with other language
   and country formats?

   If you use ie. MM/DD/YY format dates in a program, you will get
   either a runtime-error (ie. month>12) or the wrong date (ie. March
   12 instead of December 3) when your program is used in Europe. And
   vice versa, of course. Even Microsoft's own example programs (like
   the MAPI sample) make this stupid mistake and fail miserably. Use
   the Format command to make sure you get the date you want. For
   example:

     strTodaysDate = Format[$](Now, "Short Date")

   As a side note, Microsoft has taken much heat on the newsgroup for
   VB's bad support for internationalization! Just try to make a date
   literal in source code that works everywhere as a little exercise.
   Answer elsewhere in this document. No prizes  :-)

13.Can a VB application be an OLE server?

   No. You'll have to use an external DLL/VBX. If you see any
   examples, please tell the newsgroup.

14.How do I dial a phone number without using the MSCOMM VBX?

   The MSCOMM VBX that comes with VB/Pro is great for creating
   communication programs, but it's overkill for dialing a phone
   number. Try the following code:

     PhoneNumber$ = "(123)456-7890"
     Open "COM2" For Output As #1   'or COM1
     Print #1, "ATDT" & PhoneNumber$ & Chr$(13)
     Close #1

15.I have [several] megabytes of memory. Why do I get an "out of
   memory" error?

   Unfortunately, Microsoft has been more famous for memory barriers
   than anything else. This is a late descendant of the infamous 640K
   barrier that has been plaguing us for years. Although Windows
   allows the user to access several megabytes of memory, it uses two
   limited (64K) memory areas called User Heap and GDI Heap for some
   specific data structures. Go to the Help|About box in Program
   Manager to see the percentage of free resources in the *most*
   exhausted heap. If these areas are exhausted, you are out of luck.
   VB programs are unfortunately rather greedy on these structures.
   Windows 4 is supposed to free us from this limitation...

   Note that every visible control (ie every button) is a window to
   Windows. Every new control takes up some bytes in the precious User
   heap.

   Also, there is another way to run out of memory in Windows, not
   related to VB. Windows requires free Upper Memory Area (UMA, also
   called Upper Memory Blocks, not to be confused with High RAM, which
   is the first 64K of extended memory) to do certain tasks. If you
   use QEMM or DOS 6+ MemMaker and you have many device drivers
   (network, etc) this area may have been filled up before you launch
   Windows. You will then be unable to start applications, even though
   you have plenty of free RAM. The problem can be solved with careful
   memory setup, but this is far beyond the scope of this FAQ.

   On a completely unrelated problem: When you run a program with an
   outline control with some ATI graphics cards, it may crash with
   just that error message. (see Knowledge Base Q100194 PRB: "Some ATI
   Video Drivers Hang When Using MSOUTLIN.VBX")

16.How do I mimic a toggle button?

   The only "fix" we know for this problem is to use a picture or
   image control to mimic the action of a button or button3d control.
   You need two bitmaps, one for buttonup and one for buttondown (and
   perhaps one more for inactive state). This is a kluge, we know.
   Look at the button bar used in the MDINOTE sample program supplied
   with VB for an example of this.

17.How do I get my application on top?

   To force a form to the front of the screen, do the following
   command:

     Form1.ZOrder

   To make the application *stay* on top, put the Zorder command in a
   Timer event repeatedly called, say, every 1000 msecs. This makes a
   "softer" on-top than other methods, and allows the user to make a
   short peek below the form.

   There are two different "Zorder"'s of forms in Windows, both
   implemented internally as linked lists. One is for "normal"
   windows, the other for real "topmost" windows (like the Clock
   application which is distributed with MS Windows). The Zorder
   command above simply moves your window to the top of the "normal"
   window stack. To make your window truly topmost, use the
   SetWindowPos API call like this:

     'Make these declares:
     Declare Function SetWindowPos Lib "user" (ByVal h%,
     |ByVal hb%, ByVal x%, ByVal y%, ByVal cx%, ByVal cy%,
     |ByVal f%) As Integer
     Global Const SWP_NOMOVE = 2
     Global Const SWP_NOSIZE = 1
     Global Const FLAGS = SWP_NOMOVE Or SWP_NOSIZE
     Global Const HWND_TOPMOST = -1
     Global Const HWND_NOTOPMOST = -2

     'To set Form1 as a TopMost form, do the following:
     res% = SetWindowPos (Form1.hWnd, HWND_TOPMOST, 0, 0,
     |0, 0, FLAGS)
     'if res%=0, there is an error

     'To turn off topmost (make the form act normal again):
     res% = SetWindowPos (Form1.hWnd, HWND_NOTOPMOST, 0, 0,
     |0, 0, FLAGS)

18.Is there a way to break long lines in VB code?

   There is unfortunately no line continuation character in VB/Win
   3.0. Excel 5 VBA does, however, use Space+Underscore (" _") as a
   line continuation character, and we hope this will be included in
   the next version of VB.

   There are a few tricks you can use to reduce line length, but
   unfortunately there is very little to do with DECLARE statements
   which can get very long.

   Print your source in landscape   :-/

19.How do I remove/change the picture property of a control at design
   time?

   Mark the (bitmap) or (icon) text in the property window and press
   Del or Backspace. "No!" I hear you cry, "It doesn't work". Well, it
   does if you first select the object from the combo box at the top
   of the Properties Window, and then immediately afterwards
   doubleclick (or paint over) the "(bitmap)" text and press Del.
   Alternatively, just click on another control, then click back to
   the first control. Now Del works. Who said "bug"?

   If you want to paste your picture directly into the VB program by
   pressing Ctrl-V when you are editing the picture property, you will
   have to use a semilar procedure: select the control, select the
   property, press Ctrl-V. If you try it again without deselecting the
   control first (or selecting it from the combo box), it doesn't
   work.

20.Is a [foo] VBX/DLL available as shareware/freeware?

   Part 4 of the FAQ is Adam Harris' excellent "Shareware Custom
   Controls List". Please consult this list before you post this
   question.

   The following type of controls are NOT known to be available as
   sw/pd/fw for Visual Basic, only as commercial toolboxes (If you
   feel like making any of these for VB and sharing it for a modest
   fee, you will become very popular!):

   a. ZModem communication control/source

   b. Rich Text Format-control or other mixed font/word processor
      control (rumours indicate that this will be in the Windows 4
      API, and therefor available from VB)

   c. Matrix math

   If any of these should be available, please tell us.

21.How do I make my applications screen-resolution independent?

   There are two methods: Either get a custom control that does the
   job for you, or you write lots of complicated code in the Load and
   Resize events.

   For the first option, check out VideoSoft's $hareware VSVBX.VBX
   (download VSVBX.ZIP from Cica or mirrors). It has a will of its
   own, as you will experience, but it's generally better than trying
   what is described below.

   For the brave (or stupid), try to write "screen resolution-smart
   code" in the form's Load event. If the form is resizable (normally
   it should be), you'll have to put some magic into the Resize event
   as well. There are 4 rules of thumb:

   a. Do not trust the form's height and width properties.  These
      measure the entire form, not the client area where your controls
      are.  To see this in action, create a simple applet with the
      only code being in the resize event which resets a line control
      from 0,0 to the form's width,height properties.  The top left
      corner is in the client area, the bottom right corner
      disappears.  The API call GetClientRect will return the size of
      the client area in pixels.  You can use the screen object's
      TwipsPerPixelX and TwipsPerPixelY properties to convert from
      pixels to twips. If that's not enough, GetWindowRect will return
      the actual size of the entire form, client and non-client areas
      combined.  GetSystemMetrics will return individual pieces of
      things like border width/hight, caption height, etc.

   b. Use the TextWidth and TextHeight properties.  You can use them
      off the form if all your controls share the same font, otherwise
      use them off of the given control.  I typically do a
      TextWidth("X") and TextHeight("X") to get a value which I use as
      a margin between controls.  I grab these values on startup, and
      multiply it by 2, 1.5, .75, .5, .25 to get varying margin sizes,
      depending on how close or far apart I want to space things. If
      your control has an autosize property, you may want to use it,
      and then calculate the maximum width of a control in a given
      "column" of controls on your screen and position all of them
      accordingly.

   c. Try not to resize your controls in the resize event.  You will
      spawn another resize event in the process.  Of course, you can
      use a flag to determine whether the resize event is the original
      event or the spawned one.  Using the load event, and setting the
      forms borders to fixed minimizes the amount of work you have to
      do.

   d. Make sure you use a consistant scale.  I don't even bother with
      the scale properties, but instead just convert pixels (from API
      calls) into twips and be done with it.  If you do use scale
      properties, be sure you convert your numbers correctly.  I had
      no end of difficulty when I failed to convert into twips with
      one number that was used in a series of calculations to position
      controls.  Also be sure all your controls share the same SCALE -
      - another nasty problem I had before I gave up on them
      completely.
      [Thanks to our generous anonymous source "D"]

22.How do I do Peek and Poke?

   VB provides no mechanism for this.  There are several 3rd party
   pkgs. which provide this.  Also, this often comes up in regards to
   the comm ports and you can many times do what you want with the
   mscomm.vbx.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

   See also the Shareware Custom Controls List FAQ file

23.Why doesn't "my string" & Chr$(13) do what I want?

   You need to also add a Chr$(10):  "my string" & Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)
   will give you a CR and LF.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

24.How do I prevent multiple instances of my program?

   In VB 3, the property App.PrevInstance is set to True if an older
   instance of the program already exist.

   The following piece of code, stolen from MS KB article Q102480,
   will activate the old instance and then terminate itself:

     Sub Form_Load ()
       If App.PrevInstance Then
          SaveTitle$ = App.Title
          App.Title = "... duplicate instance."      'Pretty, eh?
          Form1.Caption = "... duplicate instance."
          AppActivate SaveTitle$
          SendKeys "% R", True
          End
       End If
     End Sub

   Note that you shouldn't prevent multiple instances of your
   application unless you have a good reason to do so, since this is a
   very useful feature in MS Windows. Windows will only load the code
   and dynamic link code *once*, so it (normally) uses much less
   memory for the later instances than the first.


D. ADVANCED VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING ISSUES


1. How do I tell when an application executed using the SHELL command
   is finished?

   Shell() doesn't really return a task handle, it returns an instance
   handle. Any documentation that says otherwise is wrong. But never
   mind that; the answer to your question is to use the API call
   GetModuleUsage.

     'Put this in the general declarations of your form/module
     Declare Function GetModuleUsage Lib "Kernel" (ByVal
     |hModule As Integer) As Integer

     'Here's where you shell out to the other program
     intHandle = Shell("PROGRAM.EXE")
     Do While GetModuleUsage(intHandle) > 0
        DoEvents
     Loop
   [Kenn Nesbitt, Microsoft Consulting Services (kennn@netcom.com)]

2. How do I access C style strings?

   Use the 'lstrlen' and 'lstrcpy' calls found in the Kernel DLL.

3. How can I change the printer Windows uses in code without using the
   print common dialog?

   You can change the printer the VB 3.0 Printer object is pointing to
   programmatically (without using the common dialogs). Just use the
   WriteProfileString API call and rewrite the [WINDOWS],  DEVICE
   entry in the WIN.INI file!  VB will instantly use the new printer,
   when the next Printer.Print command is issued. If you get the old
   printer string before you rewrite it (GetProfileString API call),
   you can set it back after using a specific printer. This technique
   is especially useful, when you want to use a FAX printer driver:
   Select the FAX driver, send your fax by printing to it and switch
   back to the normal default printer.
   [Hajo Schmidt (hajo@bwl.bwl.th-darmstadt.de)]

   It is recommended (and polite, as we're multitasking) to send a
   WM_WININCHANGE (&H1A) to all windows to tell them of the change.
   Also, under some circumstances the printer object won't notice that
   you have changed the default printer unless you do this.

     Declare Function SendMessage(ByVal hWnd As Integer,
     |ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As Integer,
     |lParam As Any) As Long
     Global Const WM_WININICHANGE = &H1A
     Global Const HWND_BROADCAST = &HFFFF
     ' Dummy means send to all top windows.

     ' Send name of changed section as lParam.
     lRes = SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_WININICHANGE, 0,
     |ByVal "Windows")
   [Nic Gibson (nic@skin.demon.co.uk)]

4. Any tips for speeding up VB?

   Who said "code in C"???? ;-)

   a. When SHOWing a form with lots of bound controls, have a blank
      frame covering everything. Then, in the Form_Activate event, set
      the Frame.Visible = False. This greatly speeds the display of
      the form and hides ugly thrashing as the data controls
      initialize.
      [Christopher Biow (biow@cs.umd.edu)]

   b. Try to keep any Global definitions to a minimum.  Massive
      numbers of global variables really seem to slow VB Windows down
      (besides chewing up memory).  In other words, if you've pasted a
      lot of stuff from the globals.txt file, trim all definitions and
      variables you don't use in your application.

   c. Keep the total number of controls and forms used to a minimum
      (you've probably already guessed that).

   d. Keep fancy graphics to a minimum (another one you know).

   e. Try "pre-processing" in the background (using Do_Events).
      Doesn't really speed anything up, but often there is a lot of
      "idle" time while the user is selecting menu's, buttons and such
      - if you can do some calculations, image loading or whatever
      during this idle time your user perceives the application is
      faster than it really is.

   f. Hide often-used forms rather than unloading them. Unloading
      saves memory, but it takes longer to re-load a form than to
      simply "un-hide" it.
      [Tips b to f by Galen Raben (galenr@gr.hp.com)]

   The following tip is along the same lines, but with a code sample.
   They are provided by Andy Dingley (dingbat@codesmth.demon.co.uk):

   You're limited by the system as to how quickly you can go from
   calling frmMyForm.Show to being able to type into the controls, but
   you can make the form *appear* to display faster. One technique is
   to keep forms loaded, and just switch their visibility on and off.
   This is heavy on resource usage, and doesn't help for the first
   time they're shown.

   Most forms have some processing (eg. querying a table to fill a
   list box) that goes on when they're first opened, and this is what
   causes the most serious delay. It's possible to display the form,
   make its controls appear on screen, then do the slow processing
   before finally making the form "live". As the user can see things
   happening, the perceived delay is less obvious.

   Include the following code in your form:

     Option Explicit
     Dim FirstActivation as integer

     Sub Form_Activate
        DoEvents   'Allow the _Load event to be seen on screen
        If FirstActivation Then

           ' Do all the slow loading stuff here
           If FillComboBox <> 0 Then
              Unload Me 'If it all goes horribly wrong, then you
                        'can call Unload from an _Activate event
                        '(Which you can't do from the _Load event)
           End If
           FirstActivation = False
        End If
        Screen.MousePointer = DEFAULT
     End Sub

     Sub Form_Load
        FirstActivation = True
     End Sub

   Show the form by using:

     Screen.MousePointer = HOURGLASS
     frmMyForm.Show MODAL


   Bruce Garrett (bruceg@access2.digex.net) had the following tips
   from his VBITS 93 notes:

   - Polling a control for its properties directly is 10 to 20
     times slower then placing the property values you need into
     variables and testing the value of the variables.

   - Swap tuning: Modules are not loaded until used; put related
     code in the same modules, reduce the number of intermodule
     calls and keep modules small.

   - Binary file I/O is faster then Text/Random.

   There was also a lot of discussion about "apparent" speed i.e: how
   it looks on the screen as opposed to how fast it's chugging
   internally. It was noted that the cute little flashing menu items
   and exploding windows in the Mac amounted to a little razzle-dazzle
   to distract you from how long it took to actually load something
   and get it on the screen.  Keeping all your forms loaded but hidden
   until needed was suggested.  Also the use of progress indicators
   and a simple quickly loaded and drawn startup form. Also preloading
   data you expect to need.

5. How do I speed up control property access?

   Instead of using a property in a loop, you will be better off using
   a normal variable in the loop and then assign the variable once to
   the property afterwards. Also, when reading a property, you should
   read it once into a variable instead of using it in a loop.

   Sometimes it is not possible to simply put contents of a property
   into a variable. For example, if you are using a list box or you
   need to conserve memory. In these cases you can send the
   WM_SetRedraw message to the control to prevent redrawing. You can
   typically increase the speed 6-10 times - or even more.

     'Add the following declares:
     Declare Function SendMessage Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As
     |Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As
     |Integer, lParam As Any) As Long
     Const WM_SetRedraw = &HB

     'Add this to your code:
     Result% = SendMessage(Text1.hWnd, WM_SetRedraw, 0, 0)
     'redraw off
     'Do your stuff here!
     Result% = SendMessage(Text1.hWnd, WM_SetRedraw, 1, 0)
     'redraw on

   This same method applies to list boxes and other controls.

6. How much gain in performance will I get if I write my number
   crunching routines in C instead of Visual Basic?

   Probably the best solution to the number crunching problem is to
   write the number crunching routines as a custom control or a DLL,
   and plug it into a VB app. VB interface handling is not
   significantly slower than, say C++, and most of the wait is
   associated with Windows.

   Some real world experience speaks volumes about this one:

   I wrote some time consuming code in VB to solve a combinatorical
   (does this word exist in English?) problem. The code consists of
   one main recursive function, which calls itself very often. It took
   a night to compute a certain problem. I was rather disappointed and
   then decided to write the central routine in C++. It was a 1:1
   transcription. The routine was compiled with the MS C++-Compiler.
   It took only 22 Minutes for the same problem. Amazing, isn't it?
   The routine doesn't do any floating point arithmetic, only integer,
   and handles some arrays. The PC was a 33MHz 486. And the second
   amazing thing is, that a IBM RS6000 (560)-Risc-machine needed 17
   Min for the same code. I was the only one on the machine. I thought
   it should be much faster. The MS C++ seems to make very fast,
   optimized code. The optimization was configured to make fast code.
   [Christoph Steinbeck (steinbeck@uni-bonn.de)]

7. How do you make a TEXTBOX read only? Or, how do I prevent the user
   from changing the text in a TEXTBOX?

   There's a lot of ideas on this one. You can grab the _KeyPress and
   _KeyDown events and set them to zero. However, the best idea is to
   use the Windows API SendMessage function to tell the control to
   become read-only:

     'After making the following declarations...
     Global Const WM_USER = &H400
     Global Const EM_SETREADONLY = (WM_USER + 31)
     Declare Function SendMessage Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As
     |Integer ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As
     |Integer, lParam As Any) As Long

     'Then Try:
     SendMessage(Text1.hWnd, EM_SETREADONLY, 1, 0)
     [Pete Jones (pjones@csi.compuserve.com)]

   This will still allow the user to copy *from* the text box. If you
   need to disable this (why?), steal the Ctrl-C in the _KeyPress
   event.

8. How can I create a VBX?

   VBXs (Visual Basic eXtensions) are practically always written is C
   (Borland C++, but mainly MS VC++). You should refer to the _Control
   Development Guide_ (in VB Professional Features Vol. I) and any
   relevant documentation for your compiler. Followup questions should
   normally be directed to comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.* or
   comp.lang.c*.

   There are some example VBX's with C code supplied with VB3 Pro.
   You'll find them under the directory [VB]\CDK.

9. How do you change the system menu (on the Control-Menu Box)?

   You can turn off the minimize and maximize menu options by changing
   properties, but what if you need to remove the "close" option?

     'Make the following declares.
     Declare Function GetSystemMenu Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd
     |As Integer, ByVal bRevert As Integer) As Integer
     Declare Function RemoveMenu Lib "User" (ByVal hMenu
     |As Integer, ByVal nPosition As Integer, ByVal wFlags As
     |Integer) As Integer
     Global Const MF_BYPOSITION=&H400

     'Use the following code to remove the "close" option.
     SystemMenu% = GetSystemMenu (hWnd, 0)
     Res% = RemoveMenu(SystemMenu%,6, MF_BYPOSITION)
     '(also remove the separator line)
     Res% = RemoveMenu(SystemMenu%,6, MF_BYPOSITION)

   Adding menu items to the control menu is more complicated, since
   you need to respond to the events triggered when the user selects
   the new options. The newest Message Blaster (msgblast.vbx, see
   details in beginning of FAQ about how to get files) contains
   example code.

10.How do I play MID, WAV or other multimedia files?

   Use the MSMCI.VBX, provided with VB/Win Pro 3.0. You can also
   declare and call the MM-functions manually:

     Declare Function mciExecute Lib "MMSystem"
     |(ByVal FileName as String) As Integer

     Sub Form1_Click ()
         iResult = mciExecute("Play c:\windows\mkmyday.wav")
     End Sub

11.How can I call a 'hidden' DOS program from VB?

   If you run a DOS program minimized using the SHELL command, it will
   never complete. This is because DOS tasks by default are NOT setup
   to run in the background. The easiest way to get around this is to
   make a PIF file for the program you need to run with the
   "Background" option checked. Then SHELL to the PIF file to run the
   DOS program and it will return control to your VB application when
   it terminates.

   Tip: If you edit or replace the _DEFAULT.PIF file in the Windows
   directory to allow execution in background, this will apply to all
   DOS boxes that is not run with it's own .pif!

12.How do I do drag & drop between applications?

   Get the file FMDROP10.ZIP from ftp.cica.indiana.edu in the vbasic
   directory. It is a good VB example of drag & drop. You may also
   want to get the MSGBLAST VBX (3-64.ZIP at ftp.microsoft.com in the
   MSDN directory) since you will need to have access to Windows
   messages in order to do drag & drop - unless you get a VBX to do it
   for you.

   Also, the D&DSERVE example from Windows Tech Journal Aug 92
   includes a DLL for this purpose. This is available from some ftp
   sites.

   Short glossary for the confused ones  :-)
   Drag & Drop Client: the form you drop objects to/on
   Drag & Drop Server: the form you drag object(s) from

13.How do I use GetPrivateProfileString to read from INI files?

   There's a good example of accessing *.INI files in the Knowledge
   Base, but here's the basic idea:

     'You declare these API function as usual:
     Declare Function GetPrivateProfileString Lib "Kernel"
     |(ByVal lpApplicationName As String, ByVal lpKeyName
     |As Any, ByVal lpDefault As String, ByVal
     |lpReturnedString As String, ByVal nSize As Integer,
     |ByVal lpFileName As String) As Integer

     'Then in your code you do like below:
     strIniFile = "WIN.INI"
     strSection = "MyProgram"
     strKey = "Language"
     strDefault = "English"
     iLength = 70
     strReturn = String$(iLength, " ")  'Pad the string first!
     iResult = GetPrivateProfileString(strSection, strKey,
     |strDefault, strReturn, iLength, strIniFile)

   WARNING: Be aware that there was an ERROR in the Windows 3.1 API
   documentation that came with VB. Here's the scoop:

   Knowledge Base article Q110826 (DOCERR: GetPrivateProfileString
   Declaration Incorrect in API) corrects a documentation error for
   the GetPrivateProfileString function call as described in the
   Windows version 3.1 API Reference help file that shipped with
   Microsoft Visual Basic version 3.0 for Windows. The CORRECT
   declaration is as follows:

     Declare Function GetPrivateProfileString Lib "Kernel"
     |(ByVal lpApplicationName As String, ByVal lpKeyName
     |As Any, ByVal lpDefault As String, ByVal
     |lpReturnedString As String, ByVal nSize As Integer,
     |ByVal lpFileName As String) As Integer

   Note that the "ByVal" keyword was omitted from the second parameter
   in the online reference. This means that the function is passing
   the second parameter (lpKeyName) by reference. It needs to be
   passed by value.

   The most common problem that occurs when using the incorrect
   declaration is that when the function is called, it returns a copy
   of "lpdefault" in the "lpReturnedString" parameter instead of the
   actual value referenced by KeyName.

14.How do I implement Undo?

   For most controls, you will have to keep track of changes yourself.
   There's no magic involved, just some coding. However, if you use
   the standard Text box or Combo box, Windows provides a "free" undo
   function for you!

     'Do the following declares:
     Declare Function SendMessage Lib "User" (ByVal hWnd As
     |Integer, ByVal wMsg As Integer, ByVal wParam As
     |Integer, lParam As Any) As Long
     Global Const WM_USER = &h400
     Global Const EM_UNDO = WM_USER + 23

     'And in your Undo Sub do the following:
     UndoResult = SendMessage(myControl.hWnd, EM_UNDO, 0, 0)
     'UndoResult = -1 indicates an error.

15.How do I create a window with a small title bar as in a floating
   toolbar?

   Download the MSGBLAST VBX from ftp.microsoft.com (filename "8-
   3.ZIP") or (better) from ftp.cica.indiana.edu. The example files
   provide an example of a form with a small title. When you see it,
   you'll understand why I haven't include a full explanation here!

16.What is Pseudocode?

   VB/Win does not generate machine code like most compilers do.
   Instead it creates what is called pseudocode (a real misnomer,
   IMO). A good explanation is given below:

   A bit of history: the original P-code was an instruction set for a
   "virtual Pascal" machine. This came with a portable Pascal compiler
   written at ETH in Zuerich. The portable compiler produced
   instructions for this phony machine which had an instruction set
   ideally suited to the stack and heap management of Pascal.  To
   executed portable Pascal programs, you had two choices: either
   write an interpreter for P-code, or translate the small set of P-
   code instructions (there were about 80) into assembler; assemble
   it; and run it at native speed.  Thus "P-code" originally stood for
   "Portable" or "Pascal" code. The broader meaning, "pseudo-code"
   came later. P-code was widely popularized by the UCSD Pascal
   system, a small workstation that was implemented entirely in Pcode
   and interpreted. It was sold for some years, and one company even
   re-did the microcode for a PDP-11 microchip to interpret P-code.
   The original Borland Turbo Pascal had obvious similarities to the
   UCSD system although it was not interpreted. The dialect was
   virtually identical.  Today P-code is used extensively in Microsoft
   apps, for two reasons. First, it is much more compact than  native
   code; so the apps are smaller. Second, having an interpreter at the
   core of an app makes it much easier to customize and extend. That
   is why VB is becoming the heart of the MS major apps.  It is simply
   not true that P-code apps run much slower than native apps. The
   slowdown is determined by the granularity of the interpreted
   routines. If every little thing is an interpreted op, the slowdown
   might be as much as 3-to-1 for the 80x86 architecture, or about 2-
   to-1 for the Motorola 68000 family (which is better suited to
   writing interpreters).  But in practice, modern P-code systems have
   large-scale instructions, each of which is executed by a big
   compiled subroutine. These subs run at native speed, so the
   overhead of the interpreter is occasional at worst.
   [Roger E. Ison (r_ison@csn.org)]

   It is also possible that since the code may not need recompilation
   to run on other platforms *if* the run-time interpreter is first
   ported, VB applications can become very portable. This depends on
   Microsoft's long-term plans.

   A note on the word "pseudocode": I wrote above that it is a
   misnomer, and I stand on that. Pseudocode is *really* the pascal-
   like (mostly) explanation of an algorithm that is intended for
   human readers, not computers. But since somehow the term pseudocode
   stuck to the psaudo-machine-code created by VB the word is used
   here.

17.Does VB support pointers to functions?

   No, it does not.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

18.How do I program the Novell NetWare API from VB?

   Tom Tregilgas (Tom.Tregilgas@InfoB.unisg.ch) had a lot of
   information on this one. Normally I leave it to the other FAQ parts
   to list books & how-to-get-info's, but since this topic is very
   specific and more NetWare than VB I include all the stuff here for
   your convenience:

   If you are interested in seeing how Visual Basic can be used for
   NetWare programming, obtain the following files from your friendly
   neighboorhood Novell FTP Mirror site.

   Mirror sites are (according to ftp.novell.com):
         Novell Germany              ftp.novell.de
         Netherlands                 ftp.rug.nl
         United Kingdom              ftp.salford.ac.uk
         Logan, Utah                 netlab2.usu.edu
         New Zealand                 tui.lincoln.ac.nz
         Tuscaloosa, Alabama         risc.ua.edu
         Ottowa, Ontario, CA         novell.nrc.ca
         Boston, Mass                bnug.proteon.com

   novlib\11\nivb.zip                Netware Interface for Visual Basic
   novlib\11\nwtest.zip              NetWare Test for Visual Basic

   There are also two Novell App Notes on the subject of using NetWare
   with Visual Basic (although this is _NOT_ supported by Novell...)
   which are:

   October 92      Interfacing Visual Basic for Windows and NetWare
   July 93         A NetWare Interface for Visual Basic

   The AppNotes can be obtained by contacting the Novell Research
   Order Desk, FAX: +1 303 294-0903, Voice 800 377-4136, +1 303 297-
   2725.  Address as follows:

   Novell Research Order Desk
   1601 Park Avenue West
   Denver, CO 80216-5199

   AppNotes are $95/year ($135 outside US)

   Here are a few books which might help you out to figure the calls
   out:

   Windows Development on NetWare Systems, Lori Gauthier and Sue
   Whitehead (c) 1994, Windcrest, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0850
   (McGraw-Hill) $34.95 Comes with disk This book also tells you how
   to "upgrade" to the currently supported SDK calls

   NetWare System Interface Technical Overview, Novell (c) 1990,1989
   (Addison-Wesley), $32.95 (describes Novell's C Network Compiler
   API's)

   Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Windows API, Daniel Appleman
   Ziff-Davis Press, 5903 Christie Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608, $34.95
   Comes with disk

   It should be mentioned that the APIs included with the NIVB are
   _not_ current, and for this purpose, you should get the Novell SDK
   kit. Also, Novell will not support NIVB, but you can sometimes get
   some helpfrom Compu$erve, or from others on the Infobahn <g>

   Good luck!

   p.s. It behooves you to become a member in the PDP (Professional
   Developer's Program) since you get the AppNotes (& Bullets!)
   for...free.

   p.p.s. Novell does NOT support the NIVB...

   p.p.p.s. Also, no docs come with it.  You'll probably need the
   Client C SDK kit to be able to really _use_ the code.

   p.p.p.p.s. To make things even better, the calls in NIVB are fairly
   old, and not of the Client C SDK kit variety.  However, there _are_
   books which could help you out, e.g. "NetWare System Interface
   Technical Overview", by Novell. ISBN:0-201-57027-0, published by
   Addison-Wesley Publishing co, $32.95 US, $42.95 in Canada.

19.Some Visual Basic 4 rumours

   First, we have no special information. This is just rumours,
   guessing, gossip! But since there are many questions about this on
   the newsgroup, *and* Microsoft gives these controlled leakages
   through their beta testers, we bring on some of it (Please, don't
   start discussing NDA's on this group again!):

   a. Two versions: 32-bit and 16-bit

      Like Visual C++ 1.5, VB 4 will come with compilers for the 16-
      bit API from Windows 3.1 as well as a real 32-bit compiler (or
      pseudocompiler) for Windows 4 (Chicago) bundled together.

   b. New features will probably be inherited from VBA

      1)   Line continuation character " _" (space+underscore)

      2)   WITH statement, known from Pascal, to save typing and make
           code cleaner. An example:

             With Form1
               With Text1
                 Bold = true
                 FontName = "New Times Roman"
               End With
             End With

      3)   FOR EACH .. NEXT statement allows you to make changes to a
           group of objects at once better than FOR..NEXT. Object
           groups are also something you may have to work closer with
           in VB4.

      4)   An OPTIONAL statement allows you to leave some Variant
           parameteres undefined when calling a user-defined sub or
           function. Also in VBA is an ARRAY function that returns an
           array form a list supplied as parametres, and a special
           optional ParamArray optional parameter of Variants.

      5)   Boolean data type. Integer does the job, but this type can
           preserve space if Microsoft codes it right.

      6)   Byte data type? No, VBA does not support this. We can
           dream, however.

   c. VBX is dead. Long live OCX!

      You may not feel for celebrating this either, but the 32 bit VB
      4 will not support the old 16-bit VBX'es. The 16-bit version of
      VB 4 will support them for backwards compatibility, but be aware
      that OLE 2 and OCX is the way of the future, at least if
      Microsoft gets it as they want.


E. CALLING THE WINDOWS API AND DLLs IN GENERAL


1. What is the Windows API?

   The Windows API (Application Program Interface) is a collection of
   Dynamic-Link Libraries (DLLs) that do most of the common things in
   Windows. Calls to the Windows API gives you access to routines that
   do things like drawing menu bars, manipulating bitmaps, playing
   sound files, and pretty much every other function of Windows.

2. How do I call a DLL?

   Basically, you declare a DLL procedure which you can call in your
   VB program which in turn passes data to and/or retrieves data from
   the DLL. You should read the section of the VB manual that talks
   about calling DLLs ("Chapter 24  Calling Procedures in DLLs" in the
   VB 3.0 Programmer's Guide). This chapter covers the basics of using
   the Windows API DLLs and calling DLLs in general. Beyond that you
   may want to find a good book on this subject since it is too large
   to cover here (see the Book Listing in the Appendix of the General
   FAQ - Part 1). Don't be too intimidated!  Using DLLs (especially
   many of the Windows API functions) is quite easy, once you learn
   how to call them. In fact, many of the newer DLLs include VB-
   compatible modules!

3. What about DLL calls that require callbacks?

   VB does not support callbacks, but various extensions can help.

   Dan Appleman's "Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Windows API"
   comes with a floppy disk which code samples and tools. It also
   includes a VBX which supports the callbacks which many API calls
   require. Dan is also founder and president of Desaware which sells
   more extensive tools, including SpyWorks, for VB developers.
   [Walter Hill (whill@netcom.com)]

4. Tips for calling DLLs (such as the Windows API)

   a. Using the BYVAL keyword is critical. Using it when you're
      supposed to call by reference and (more common) not using it
      when you are to give a value to the external function are the
      single most common mistakes. Wrong calling convention can often
      result in a General Protection Fault (GPF) or, even worse,
      corruption of another applications' data.

   b. Check return and parameter types. For return types, a C function
      declared as "void" means you use a Sub not a Function.

   c. Initialize strings by padding it to the necessary length! If you
      pass a string that is too short to the API it will happily write
      past the end of the string and possibly corrupt data.

   d. Use Option Explicit. A typing error that results in a bug in the
      VB source will occasionally cause a GPF when you call external
      code.

   e. It's a jungle out there! Check parameter values as there is no
      type checking outside VB. If you make a mistake, you'll often
      get a GPF.

   f. Save before you run! You may even need to restart Windows after
      a GPF, since DLL's often aren't unloaded properly. As a second
      option you can check out WPS (Windows Process Status) which is
      distributed with VB/Pro and placed in the CDK directory. This
      utility allows you to kick out any module (EXE, DLL) from memory
      (shooting yourself in the foot if you want to. WPS is a nice way
      to find out what DLLs are actually used, but save your work
      first!).


F. VISUAL BASIC AND DATABASES


1. Why can't I use an index with my VB accessed database?

   There is a mistake in the docs which says you can set the active
   index for a recordset. You can't. The data control uses the primary
   key for tables and physical order (I think) for dynasets.
   [Nic Gibson (nic@skin.demon.co.uk)]

2. Why does my compiled VB database app generate an error when it ran
   just fine in the design environment?

   You can thank Microsoft for documenting this topic so poorly. When
   you compile your VB database application, you must also have an INI
   file for it which provides the correct pointers to the appropriate
   database drivers. Therefore, if your application is named
   "INVOICE.EXE", you will need to have a properly configured
   "INVOICE.INI" file in your Windows directory. The file,
   EXTERNAL.TXT, that came with VB should explain all about it.

3. Is the Access Engine and Visual Basic Pro good enough for database
   work?

   That, of course, depends. Generally the answer is "yes", but you
   may need some third-party add-on products.

   These are the major weaknesses of VBPro's database functions:

   a. Limited data controls: No add, delete or search button; no bound
      list box or masked edit control and - the worst - no bound grid!

   b. No run-time query builder ("how good is your user in SQL?") or
      report builder.

   c. No direct advanced control of the Access 1.1 (or 2) Database
      Engine (ie. security, optimization, etc).

   The good news is that lots of companies are willing to sell you
   products which address one or more of the above weaknesses.

   Also, if you build a database application with advanced database
   relations, it can be a good idea to build the database itself with
   Access and the front-end with VB.

4. How do you avoid the "Invalid use of null" error when reading null
   values from a database?

   If you try to retrieve a null value (empty field) from a database,
   you will get the error: "Invalid use of Null". Here is one way to
   get around this problem:

   I've worked around this problem with the following code:

     TextBox.Text = MyTest.Fields("TestFld") & ""

   This code converts the Null-Value into an empty string.
   [Ralf Metzing (rmm@dragon.stgt.sub.org)]

5. What is "NULL"?

   Contrary to popular belief, Null is not nothing. It's even less
   than nothing.   8^)

   The VB documentation describes all the horrors of misunderstanding
   the infamous NULL. Since people don't read the documentation, we
   feel like informing that

     If ThisVarIsNull = NULL then DoSomething

   will *always* fail, and the DoSomething can't possibly be executed.
   You *must* use IsNull(ThisVarIsNull) which will return True if the
   var is Null (phew!).

   If you want to find out why someone came to think of this strange
   value, read some relational database theory.
6. How can I access a record by record number?

   Use a counter or index field and access the record with this.

   It is *impossible* to ask a relational database system to give you
   ie. "field number 3 in record number 10" since by definition a
   relational database does not have row or column numbers. Databases
   allowing direct access like that is not even remotely relational.

   Access (and therefore, VB) is about as close to a real relational
   database system as you can get.

7. How about Access 2.0 compatibility?

   You need the compatibility layer availability. The file COMLYR.EXE
   is in the MSBASIC library on Compuserve. This file provides all the
   items necessary for compatibility between VB 3.0 and Access 2.0.
   [Fred Griffin (72321.3230@compuserve.com)]

   The file COMLYR.EXE can be downloaded from ftp.microsoft.com. It is
   located in the directory /softlib/mslfiles.

8. Tips for VB database programming:

   a. Use Access and QBE. Once it's "working" (even if the parameters
      are hardcoded), then open up View.SQL and copy the stuff from
      the SQL window into your VB code. If you need to insert VB
      variables, try testing this under Access by using parameters
      instead. They're then nice & easy to spot when it comes to
      converting into VB - I always call my parameters "PR_xxxx", so I
      can just search my VB code for this to find any instances that
      I've missed.

   b. It never works first time. So put an error handler into your VB
      code that copies the contents of SQLStr onto the clipboard,
      should the query fail. Now it's quick & easy to switch back to
      Access, find a scratch query and paste the erroneous SQL into
      that. It's *much* easier to debug a SQL query in Access, after
      the variables have been merged in, than it is to do it blind
      from VB.

   c. Use carriage returns to break up your SQL. One before each
      reserved word is sensible. They're not significant in SQL. I
      assume you're not stupid enough to put them in the middle of
      field names - unfortunately Debug.Print is!

   d. When merging in the contents of a variable (building a SQL query
      in a VB string), it should *always* be surrounded by an
      ampersand and 3 double quotes, or an ampersand and 2 mixed
      quotes, depending on your local conventions:

        SQLStr = SQLStr & "WHERE Username <= """ & Username$ """ "

        or

        SQLStr = SQLStr & "WHERE Username <= '" & Username$ "' "

   e. If you're using dates, then it will *always* be one quote, a
      hash and an ampersand:

        SQLStr = SQLStr & "WHERE Start_Date <= #" &
        |Format$(CutOffDate,"Long Date") & "# "

   f. Another tip with dates is to format them with the long date
      format, not the short date. This is then safe against the
      transatlantic reversal of month & day position.

   g. If you're merging in a field/table name, enclose it in square
      brackets. That way the SQL will still be valid if the variable
      contains spaces:

        SQLStr = "SELECT * FROM [" & TableName$ "] ;"

      When building SQL strings in VB, then you'll often do this on
      several lines, concatenating SQLStr with the new string. If you
      leave a space at the end of every string, then you can guarantee
      you won't have problems with the text from successive lines
      running into each other.

   h. If you're using Access 1, you'll keep running into the 1024
      character limit on the length of a SQL string. Keep the table &
      field names short, especially if many JOINs are concerned. Using
      underscores in names is shorter than spaces, as you don't need
      the extra 2 characters for the square brackets around them. If
      your SQL is slightly too long, then you'll probably see a
      "Missing semicolon" error, even though the semicolon is
      obviously there (To you, anyway!).

   i. Making a QueryDef is a complicated process that is often slower
      than executing the query ! Don't mess with the .SQL property, as
      that is equally slow (Access needs to do a lot of work to turn
      SQL into its internal query format). Two ways around this: Use
      ready-built queries, written with Access. If you need to merge
      in values from variables, then use a query with parameters.
      Setting parameter values is quick to execute.

   j. If you really need to build SQL on the fly -- you need to build
      an ad hoc query, or to supply table or field names (which can't
      be done with query parameters), then try using:

        database.Execute SQLStr

      As this doesn't build a QueryDef, then it's quick.
      [All tips a to j by Andy Dingley(dingbat@codesmth.demon.co.uk)]

9. How come I get a "No Current Record" error when I use a a Data
   Control on an empty table?

   Well, this is a "feature" courtesy of Microsoft.  KB article
   Q106494 explains this in detail.  Basically, the workaround is to
   add an empty record to the table before the user can do anything
   (or before you try to do any Moves on the Table).
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

10.How can I speed up my VB database application?

   KB article Q109830 gives some hints.  Things you should do include:

   - Use Snapshots when possible.
   - Use transactions whenever possible.
   - Use Dynasets when possible.
   - Use SQL action queries when possible.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

11.How do I get a pitmap picture in a field in an Access database?

   See p.466 of the Visual Basic (3.0) Programmer's Guide. It contains
   a section called "Using Bound Picture Box and Image Controls".
   Basically you have to bind the VB PictureBox to a field in the
   Access DB, set the .Picture property in the PictureBox, and then
   move to the next record or something. VB will then store your
   picture in Access in a form in which it can be retrieved by VB in
   the future.

   If you store the pictures in Access directly (using Access), VB
   won't be able to read them (using VB 3.0 and Access 1.1).

   You can also store the picture's filename as a text field in the
   database and use LoadPicture() to load that file into the VB
   PictureBox.
   [Tim Shea (shea@marcam.com)]


G. DISTRIBUTING VISUAL BASIC APPLICATIONS


1. What are some tips for using Setup Wizard?

   There were loads of bugs in the setup utilities supplied with VB3.
   Be sure to get the newest version of SETUPKIT (usually called
   SETUPK.EXE or -.ZIP). It is available from the sources listed in
   the beginning of this document, and in the General FAQ.

   Alternatively, if you have the older versions, you may have to
   manually remove the line referring to OLE2UI.DLL in the file
   SETUPWIZ.INI. See later in this document for dates of newest files
   on ftp.microsoft.com.
   Follow the instructions in SETUPK.TXT exactly. The files actually
   belong in two separate directories. Not placing them correctly can
   create strange and unusual side effects -- none of them good(!)

   Set all involved EXE, DLL and VBX files to Read-Only so that the
   setup program doesn't modify them.
   [Charles F. Mulks (21667cfm@msu.edu)]

   A *very* good tip. Actually, make all executables on your system
   read-only. If not, you can get a sharing violation if you try to
   run the same DOS executable twice at the same time.

   Also, the source code for a SETUP program is *included* with VB3
   Pro. It is quite trivial to tailor it to your specific needs.

   The question remains: Is SetupWiz good? No! Good enough? Perhaps.

2. Are there restrictions on what I can distribute with my VB program?

   The documentation tells what parts of the Visual Basic kit you can
   freely distribute: the VBX files, some DLL's and what the SetupKit
   includes on your distribution diskettes. Reading software license
   agreements may be more boring than asking the newsgroup, but is
   nevertheless a good idea. 8^)

   There have been some rumours on the newsgroup that you can't
   redistribute programs written with VB freely. This is nonsense. All
   applications created with VB can be redistributed freely without
   royalties (as long as you don't distribute proprietary external
   files).

   The rumours probably originated when Microsoft announced that they
   will not sell kits allowing third-party software to include the
   Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) system.

3. What alternatives to setup wizard do I have?

   Perhaps the best one is to simply modify the setup app which is
   supplied with VB.  Look in your VB directory for the setupkit\
   setup1 directory.  There you will find everything you need to do a
   complete setup program.  This sample setup is coded to install a
   few sample app files and create a program group.  You can comment
   out those lines and change to your files and program mgr. group.
   There are also a few global variables you will want to change.  All
   of this is contained in the comments in the code.

   Using this, and the distribution information in the manual telling
   you about which files to distribute with your app will make things
   much easier than using the setup wizard (IMNSHO).

   There are also several third party setup products available.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

4. Do I need to worry about users who have Progman replacements such
   as Norton Desktop and PC Tools?

   Earlier versions of those products and some others do not respond
   properly to the DLL commands to create groups and items.  More
   recent versions do.  All you can do in this case is to include some
   information in your readme.txt file that instructs users of those
   products to shut them down and start up program manager before
   installing.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

5. Can I distribute my app without vbrunXXX.dll?

   If you are sure that your users have it or can get it, you can
   easily distribute your app without vbrunXXX.dll.  Simply remove the
   file from your distribution disk or zip file and and ALSO remove it
   from the setup.lst file.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

6. Why won't my setup program install commdlg.dll et. al.?

   There are a couple of DLLs that are almost always in use by
   windows.  Commdlg.dll is the most common example.  When faced with
   this problem, there is no easy way out.  The full explanation is
   several pages long and beyond the scope of this FAQ.  The general
   idea is as follows:

   Your setup program will need to create a .BAT file to expand and
   then copy these files.  Then, it will need to shutdown Windows
   (see ExitWindowsExec API call) and run the .BAT file.  Then it will
   need to restart windows and continue your setup program.  Your
   setup program should delete the temporary .BAT file that is no
   longer needed.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]

7. Where do I install VBXs and DLLs?

   PLEASE- this is one place where everybody's life is much easier if
   you will follow Microsoft's recommendations.  All PUBLIC VBXs and
   DLLs should be installed in the windows/system directory!  A
   "PUBLIC" DLL or VBX is any which can be purchased on the open
   market.  In other words, if another VB programmer might possibly
   use the same VBX or DLL, install it in the
   system directory.

   If you have written private VBXs or DLLs that will never be used by
   any program but yours, you can install them in the same directory
   where you install your application files.

   There are lots of good reasons for doing this, but it makes a short
   novel to rehearse them all.
   [George Tatge (gat@csn.org)]


H. MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND INFORMATION


1. Multiple identifiers after the DIM statement can be confusing

   Some programmers with background from Pascal can try the following

     Dim iA, iB, iC as Integer

   and think that all these 3 variables end up as Integer. In fact,
   the first two end up as default data type, normally Variant.

   Instead you should do

     Dim iA as Integer
     Dim iB as Integer
     Dim iC as Integer

   which takes up more space, but gives you room to comment your
   variables (hint, hint); *or*

     Dim iA%, iB%, iC%

   which does the whole job.

2. "Clean up" your project before final EXE compilation.

   When you are ready to compile your VB project into your 'finished'
   EXE, be sure to save the project files, exit VB, restart Windows,
   run VB, load your project and go straight to compiling. Otherwise,
   your EXE may be larger in file size than necessary due to 'garbage'
   getting included in the EXE. For some reason, VB does not fully
   clean up all of the previously used variables or objects that you
   may have been playing with while developing your program so these
   get included in your EXE even though they aren't used. Other VB
   users have even advocated saving all the project files as ASCII,
   then loading the ASCII files before compiling to further "clean up"
   the resulting EXE file.

3. Multiple END statements can be dangerous; or, The program that
   refused to terminate.

   Suggestion: put the END statement used to exit your program *only*
   in the Form_Unload event of the main form. Whenever you want to end
   the program, just tell the main form to unload.

   Some have reported that after their program have (supposedly)
   terminated, it still appears in the task list. This can happen if
   you only hide secondary forms and forget to unload them when you
   end/unload the main form.

   Also note that the Stop-button on the button-bar of the integrated
   development environment doesn't really unload anything. It *nukes*
   the program, which generally is a good idea since it could be a bug
   in it that caused it to be stuck in an eternal loop or something.

4. What are the latest versions of the various files used by VB?


   Date       File to download  Updates files    Description
   *********************************************************

   3/7/94     BTR110.EXE        BTRV110.DLL      Btrieve IISAM Driver

   3/7/94     DATAINDX.EXE      DATAINDX.DOC     "Data Access Guide"
                                                 Index

   3/7/94     GENERIC.EXE       \VB\CDK\GENERIC  Sample custom control
                                                 source

   3/7/94     VBGRID.EXE        GRID.VBX         Grid control

   3/7/94     VBHC505.EXE       HC.EXE, HCP.EXE  WinHelp compiler

   3/7/94     MSAJT.EXE         MSAJT110.DLL     Access Database Engine

   3/8/94     MSCOMM.EXE        MSCOMM.VBX       Serial
                                                 Communications\control

   3/7/94     ORA110.EXE        ORACLE.TXT       Updated ORACLE.TXT file

   6/27/94    SETUPK.EXE        SETUP.EXE        Setup Toolkit

   3/7/94     VBRUN300.EXE      VBRUN300.DLL     Visual Basic Runtime
                                                 Library

   3/7/94     XBS110.EXE        XBS110.DLL       XBase IISAM Driver


   There is an article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base that points to
   each of these files and provides more detailed information about
   the update. To find these articles, query the Microsoft Knowledge
   Base using the file name and the word "update3.00".

   Note the NEW SETUPKIT update!
   [Thanks to Marks Harrop <harrop@werple.apana.org.au>]

   Please inform the FAQ maintainer about newer versions.


I. VISUAL BASIC FOR APPLICATIONS (VBA)


1. Any tips for VB/Win 3 programmers moving to VBA?

   You are in for some surprises. VBA is more unlike VB 3 than most
   people thought. Especially the development environment is very
   different, and the language puts more emphasis on objects. The
   latter is a trend you can get used to for VB also.

   For Excel 5 VBA, be aware that the environment is based on the
   "workbook" idea Microsoft stole from Borland. Your controls will be
   placed in one sheet, and the code will be in another.
   Doubleclicking on the control to open the code window doesn't help.
   You have to use the "Tools|Assign Macro" menu option.

   Also, be aware that the list of events is nowhere close to what VB3
   supports! No GotFocus, no MouseMove, no nothing. You'll be very
   confused if you try to look for "events" in the VBA docs!

2. Does VBA support VBXs?

   No. If Microsoft have its way, VBX is a dead end. There will never
   be 32-bit VBXs, but OCXs using OLE 2. VBA is more a subset of VB 4
   than VB 3, but it does not fully support OCX yet. It will, though.

3. How do I access properties on my dialog boxes in VBA?

   As noted above, VBA is a cultural chock for VB programmers. If you
   create a textbox in VBA, call it txName and try to

     cMyVar=txName.Text

   the impolite interpreter will give you a "variable not defined"
   error.

   The magic is objects. You have to

     Dim txName as Object
     Set txName = DialogSheets("NameDialog".EditBoxes("txName"))

   And then you can access your properties like you used to in good
   ol' VB 3. (Anyone volunteer to beat senseless the guy who thought
   out this?)

4. How do I use database routines from Excel VBA?

   The documentation is somewhere between sparse and inexistant on
   this topic. Any info on VBA and SQL would be much appreciated.

   Here Microsoft breaks the tradition and you *can't* use database
   objects, at least not the way you do in VB. Also, forget dynasets.

   I know nothing about databases in VBA. I just bring on the
   following tips from various magazines:

   Both SQLOpen and QueryGetData require a 'connection string'. That's
   about what the doc's say about the parameter. What is it? The doc
   is also tragically void of useful examples. Someone dug up the
   following example:

     "DSN=My data file;DBQ=c:\access\data.mdb;FIL=RedISAM;"

   which is about as understandable as it looks. If you use an empty
   string, you get a dialog which also can give you the string into a
   spreadsheet cell.

   Also, search for SQLREQUEST in the *main* help file for Excel 5
   (not the VBA help!) for these examples of connection_string's:

   dBASE             DSN=NWind;PWD=test
   SQL Server        DSN=MyServer;UID=dbayer;PWE=123;Database=Pubs
   ORACLE            DNS=My Oracle Data Source;DBQ=MYSER VER;
                     |UID=JohnS;PWD=Sesame

   There's a KnowledgeBase on Excel 5 on ftp.microsoft.com. Last time
   I looked, it was void of database stuff. Still, it may be a good
   idea to download it as the situation may have changed now.


   *** END OF VB/WIN FAQ DOCUMENT ***





From ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack Tue Aug 23 23:11:09 1994
Newsgroups: comp.lang.basic.visual,comp.answers,news.answers
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From: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Subject: FAQ: comp.lang.basic.visual VB/DOS Frequently Asked Questions
X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly.  When a saved or printed copy
                    is over 6 months old, please obtain a new one.
Expires: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 05:30:36 GMT
Reply-To: ac150@freenet.buffalo.edu (Peter G. Millard)
Organization: Visual Basic FAQ Maintainers
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 05:30:38 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
X-Posting-Frequency: Posted on the 5th and 20th of each month.
Message-ID: <visual-basic-faq-dos-1-777447036@freenet.buffalo.edu>
Followup-To: comp.lang.basic.visual
Summary: Frequently asked questions concerning Visual Basic for DOS.
Keywords: FAQ VISUAL BASIC DOS
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Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: visual-basic-faq/dos

Last-Modified: 06/10/94

                   VISUAL BASIC FOR DOS (VBDOS)
                Commonly asked Questions & Answers
                         Section IX - B
               -----------------------------------

PREFACE:
This document is a compilation of frequently asked questions and their
answers about Visual Basic for DOS which have been gathered from the
comp.lang.basic.visual newsgroup.   Although some efforts have been
made to find obvious errors, there is no guarantee that the information in
this document is error-free.  The FAQ maintainer, or anyone else
associated with this document, assume NO liability for the content or use
of this document.  If you find any errors, please report them to the address
given below.

Most FAQs (including this one) are available at the anonymous ftp archive
site "rtfm.mit.edu".  All four parts of the VB FAQ may be found in the
directory "pub/usenet/news.answers/visual-basic-faq".

You can also have the VB FAQs e-mailed to you by sending a message
to "mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu" with ONLY the text "send
usenet/news.answers/visual-basic-faq/*" in the body of the message.

As the FAQ maintainer, I don't have time to explore all of the aspects of
Visual Basic.  I rely on your submissions to improve the quality and
inclusiveness of this document.  If you have found a VB hint, tip, trick,
work-around, etc., please write it up and send it to me!
  Peter Millardac150@freenet.buffalo.edu   - VBDOS FAQ maintainer

Table of Contents:
1.   How do I use (create) global variables in VBDOS?
2.   Does VBDOS make standalone .exe files?
3.   What is the current version of the VBDOS compiler?
4.   How do I not make a text box beep when I hit the enter key?
5.   How does Visual Basic handle shelled tasks? How do I find out
     when they are finished.
6.   How do I break lines of long text into multiple lines of text in
     the msgbox?
7.   What's the difference between MODAL and MODELESS
     forms?
8.   When/Why should I use Option Explicit?
9.   Why doesn't PRINT or CLS from a frm module work?
10.  How do I invoke FKey traps which won't be triggered by other
     keys which share the same KeyCode?
11.  How do I boost memory available to VBDOS.EXE (the IDE)?
12.  My program runs in the IDE, but won't run when compiled??
13.  MISC. Programming TIPS:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.   How do I use (create) global variables in VBDOS?
     1.1. VBDOS provides the user with two types of global variables.
          These are both used in declarations of variables.

          To share variables between all subs and functions in a specific
          module, use the SHARED keyword. This makes that specific
          variable global _in that module_. For example:

                  DIM SHARED CancelFlag AS INTEGER

          would make the variable CancelFlag a global variable in that
          module.

          To share global variables between separate modules, use the
          COMMON keyword. For example:

                 COMMON SHARED CancelFlag AS INTEGER

          would make the variable global between all modules that this
          common statement appears in, and since we are using the
          SHARED keyword also, this will also be shared in all the subs
          and functions in the modules which this declare statement
          appears. All COMMON statements must be matched between
          modules which the variables should be global in. For example,
          if you have one set of 10 COMMON statements in one module,
          and a different set of 10 COMMON statements in another
          module in the same project, you will get a 'Type Mismatch
          Error'. Make all COMMON blocks identical in all the modules
          in a specific project. (See Misc. Programming Tips Below).

2.   Does VBDOS make standalone .exe files?
     2.1. VBDOS can compile programs in two different ways (user
          option). It can compile programs to use a RUNTIME file (like
          a DLL) or can be compiled as a standalone .exe file. 

3.   What is the current version of the VBDOS compiler?
     3.1. VBDOS is currently at version 1.0

4.   How do I not make a text box beep when I hit the enter key?
     4.1. Put "something else" in your _KeyPress event, depending on
          what you really want. This code example makes *nothing*
          happen, for an extended period of time:

          Sub Text1_KeyPress (KeyAscii As Integer)
              If KeyAscii = 13 Then   '13 is Key_Return
                   KeyAscii = 0  '0 (zero) is nothing
              End If
          End Sub

          This might not be a very nice thing to do, since your users
          usually have some intention when they press Enter. Usually
          they will want to jump to the next control, like the Tab key
          does. You will then change the line KeyAscii=0 to KeyAscii=9
          (Key_Tab) in the example above. 

          BTW, you'll also find this in the Microsoft VB
          KnowledgeBase. They add that you should set the MultiLine
          property to False. Of course.

5.   How does Visual Basic handle shelled tasks? How do I find out
     when they are finished.
     5.1. In VBDOS, all shelled tasks are completed before control
          returns to the program. No tasks are done while the DOS
          command is being executed.

6.   How do I break lines of long text into multiple lines of text in the
     msgbox?
     6.1. Use the append a chr$(13) to the end of the string to break
          lines into multiple lines. EG:

               msg$ = "This is line 1" + chr$(13)
               msg$ = msg$ + "This is line 2"
               MSGBOX msg$

7.   What's the difference between MODAL and MODELESS forms?
     7.1. Modal forms are forms which require user input before any
          other actions can be taken place. In other words, a modal form
          has exclusive focus until it is dismissed. When showing a
          modal form, the program pauses at the SHOW command until
          the modal form is either hidden or unloaded. The internal
          MSGBOX and INPUTBOX$ forms are examples of modal
          forms. To show a form modally, use the syntax:
          MyForm.SHOW 1

     7.2. Modeless forms are those which are shown but do not require
          immediate user input. Most child forms (in a MDI application)
          are typically modeless. To show a form modeless, use the
          syntax: MyForm.SHOW

8.   When/Why should I use Option Explicit?
     8.1. Opinions vary greatly on this subject. The main reason to use
          the OPTION EXPLICIT statement at the top of all modules is
          to minimize the amount of bugs introduced into your code by
          misspelling a variable name. Most variants of BASIC
          (including VB) have the capability to create variables 'on the
          fly' (without any declarations). This capability can be a double
          edged sword.

          At the minimum, it is suggested to use the DEFINT A-Z
          statement in leu of OPTION EXPLICIT. This statement will
          cause any variables which are created on the fly to be created
          as integers as opposed to single precisions. (Integers take up
          less memory). 

          The OPTION EXPLICIT statement causes VB to 'disable' it's
          ability to create variables on the fly. Thus, all variables must be
          declared using a DIM or REDIM statement. All variables not
          declared will cause an error when the OPTION EXPLICIT
          statement is used. This will eliminate any bugs when a variable
          is misspelled.

9.   Why doesn't PRINT or CLS from a frm module work?
     9.1. To print information to the screen bypassing the desktop, the
          commands must be issued from a .BAS module. All
          PRINT/CLS output from a form module is directed to the nul:
          device.

10.  How do I invoke FKey traps which won't be triggered by other keys
     which share the same KeyCode?
     10.1.     To trap the only FKeys in events you need to use a
               combination of the KeyDown, KeyPress, and KeyUp
               events. 

          The basic concept for this is that _all_ keys trap the UP &
          DOWN events, while only 'printable' characters trigger the
          KeyPress event. Thus, when a character key is pressed, it will
          trigger the KeyDown, the KeyPress, then the KeyUp events (in
          that order). While a FKey (or arrow, or tab, etc...) will trigger
          the KeyDown, then the KeyUp events (in that order). 

          The following code uses a textbox tag property to decide
          whether a printable character is pressed or not.

               SUB Text1_KeyDown()
                    Text1.tag = "key"
               END SUB

               SUB Text1_KeyPress()
                    Text1.tag = ""
               END SUB

               SUB Text1_KeyUp()
                  IF Text1.tag = "key" then
                    '--PUT F-KEY HANDLER HERE----
                  ELSE
                    '--PUT OTHER KEY HANDLERS HERE----
                  END IF
               END SUB

11.  How do I boost memory available to VBDOS.EXE (the IDE)?
     11.1.     Try to have as much EMM available as possible.
               VBDOS.EXE allocates subroutines & functions which are
               < 16K into EMM.
     11.2.     To make more conventional mem availble, use the /S:n
               switch. This will make VBDOS.EXE use a specific
               amount of conventional memory. A good compromise
               between speed & memory is /S:340. The lower the n
               value, the slower the environment runs.
     11.3.     Running out of DGROUP usually causes most 'out of
               memory' errors. Possible causes are:
          11.3.1.Too many subs & functions exist. Each one takes up
               46 bytes of DGROUP.
          11.3.2.   Large static arrays. All static arrays are stored in
                    DGROUP. If a DIM statement is for a COMMON
                    SHARED statement, the array becomes static. Make
                    the COMMON SHARED statement appear before
                    the DIM statement to make the array Dynamic &
                    therefore will not be stored in DGROUP.
          11.3.3.   Variable Overhead. Each var has a 4 byte overhead
                    for _each_ module. For multiple modules projects
                    which use lots of Global (COMMON) statements,
                    this overhead is repeated for _each_ module.
     11.4.     Possible causes for running out conventional memory:
          11.4.1.   Not enough EMM.
          11.4.2.   Subs or functions which exceed 16K.
          11.4.3.   Large arrays. Non-variable length string arrays can
                    be stored in EMM using the /ea switch.

12.  My program runs in the IDE, but won't run when compiled??
     12.1.     Arrays are dynamic by default in the IDE, but when they
               are compiled, they are static by default. Therefore, they
               are stored in DGROUP instead of the far heap. Use
               '$DYNAMIC to make all arrays dynamic or use REDIM
               instead of DIM.
     12.2.     Program generates a "program memory overflow" during
               compile. You need to break a single module into multiple
               ones.

     
13.  MISC. Programming TIPS:
     13.1.     When useing the form designed, to continuously draw
               controls of a specific type, hold down the control key
               when clicking on the appropriate control from the tool-
               box.
     13.2.     Use the INCLUDE statement to manage large numbers of
               COMMON SHARED statements, user defined data types,
               or external function DECLARES. To use an include file,
               simply put all the VBDOS statements that will be shared
               into a single file. Save the file as something appropriate.
               (Typical naming convention is to use an extension of .BI
               for basic include files). Then simply insert the line:
                        'INCLUDE: 'foobar.bi'
               into either your .BAS module, or the module level code
               in a form. 


From ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack Tue Aug 23 23:11:14 1994
Newsgroups: comp.lang.basic.visual,comp.answers,news.answers
Path: ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack
From: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Subject: FAQ: comp.lang.basic.visual VB/Win Shareware VBX List
X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly.  When a saved or printed copy
                    is over 6 months old, please obtain a new one.
Expires: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 05:30:43 GMT
Reply-To: harris@cs.uchicago.edu (Adam Harris)
Organization: Visual Basic FAQ Maintainers
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 05:30:45 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
X-Posting-Frequency: Posted on the 5th and 20th of each month.
Message-ID: <visual-basic-faq-vbx-shareware-1-777447043@cs.uchicago.edu>
Followup-To: comp.lang.basic.visual
Summary: Listing of Shareware VBX's for Visual Basic for Windows.
Keywords: FAQ VISUAL BASIC VBX SHAREWARE
Sender: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Supersedes: <visual-basic-faq-vbx-shareware-1-776151067@cs.uchicago.edu>
Lines: 489
Xref: ankh.iia.org comp.lang.basic.visual:14009 comp.answers:3271 news.answers:9764

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: visual-basic-faq/shareware-vbx-list

NOTICE: A greatly updated version of the Shareware Custom Controls list
        will be available sometime.  It will be posted to comp.lang.basic.visual
        as soon as it is done.  In the mean time this older list will have
        to do.


                         Shareware Custom Controls

                               20-Feb-94
    Inaccuricies and editorializing are the sole responsibility of 
    Adam Harris (harris@cs.uchicago.edu), who would appreciate any 
    corrections or dissenting opinions.  Archive names are from 
    major ftp sites.  Names at your favorite site may vary.  All 
    prices are in US$ and do not include S&H charges (usually $2-$3).

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  Alarm

Control: alarm1.vbx                    Archive: alarm11.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $10.00
    Ver: 1.1
 Keywds: schedule

Triggers events, like the timer, but using specific times rather than 
intervals.  Wildcard matching elegantly allows you to trigger events at 
regular intervals (i.e., every 10 minutes).

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 BarCode

         
Control: barcod1.vbx                     Archive: barcod11.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                    Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.1                               
 Keywds: data

Generates bar codes, in 4 different styles.  Can be bound to a data 
field.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  BmpLst

Control: bmplst1.vbx                   Archive: bmplst16.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $20.00
    Ver: 1.6
 Keywds: list, graphic

List box with pictures, vertically aligned over a caption.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 Calendar

Control: calendar.vbx                  Archive: vbcal.zip
 Author: Rijnhaave Office Automation     Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: calendar

Wierd and buggy date entry box with pop-up calendar.  No customization, 
no documentation.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 CTLWhWnd

Control: ctlwhwnd.dll                  Archive: vbhwnd.zip
 Author: Jonathan Zuck                   Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: api

One function, ControlhWnd, which returns the hWnd for a given control.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 EndTask

Control: entask.dll                    Archive: entask.zip
 Author: Jeff Simms                      Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: task

Intercepts "End Task" from the Task Manager.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                         File and Disk Space Info

Control: dfinfo1.vbx                   Archive: dfinfo14.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.4
 Keywds: disk, file

Two controls provide technical statistics of a drive and extended file 
information, respectively.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        File Manager Drag and Drop

Control: fmdrop1.vbx                   Archive: fmdrop10.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: file, drag-drop

Enables drag and drop of single or multiple files from the File Manager 
or what have you.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                              Four Controls

Control: <see below>                   Archive: vb4ctrls.zip
 Author: Jeng Long Jiang                 Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: graphic, status

Four graphic controls:  vmeter.vbx and hmeter.vbx are "flooding" status 
gauge controls; spin.vbx (!) is a spin tool.  The best of the lot seems 
to be 3dlabel.vbx, which is actually a button which holds states like a 
toolbar button.  No documentation.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                               FXTools Demo

Control: fximage.vbx                   Archive: fxtool.zip
 Author: ImageFX                         Price:
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: demo, graphic

Demo of the FXTools suite of VB controls (fxlabel.vbx and fximage.vbx).  
An impressive collection of wipes, fades, block text, drop shadows, etc.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                            Grinning Jack Deck

Control: vbcards.dll                   Archive: vbcards.zip
 Author: Richard R. Sands                Price: $0.00
    Ver: 1.01p
 Keywds: game

Provides a bitmap collection of cards, including a joker, and basic card 
API.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 GT Icon

Control: gticon.dll                    Archive: gticon.zip
 Author: George R. Torralba              Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: icon, drag-drop

Assigns and retrieves the DragIcon property of controls.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                               GT List Box

Control: gtlist.vbx                    Archive: tlstvbx2.zip
 Author: George R. Torralba              Price: $15.00
    Ver: 2.0
 Keywds: list, graphic

List box with some extra properties to let you set tab positions, 
control the existance of scroll bars, color items in the list, or 
associate bitmaps with items.  [Free for non-commercial use.]

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                              GT Toolbar Kit

Control: gttbar.vbx                    Archive: gttbar01.zip
 Author: George R. Torralba              Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: toolbar, graphic, status

GT Toolbar provides a toolbar button, represented by a cell of a toolbar 
bitmap.  Registered users can use the picture property to define their 
own toolbar graphics.  (You can't force the button to stay in down 
state, unfortunately.)  GT Panel is a stripped down 3d panel useful for 
as a container for toolbars or status boxes.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                             Ini File Manager

Control: inicon2.vbx                   Archive: inicon26.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $5.00
    Ver: 2.6
 Keywds: ini

Provides an interface to reading and writing ini files, including 
win.ini, or application specific ini files.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  InpOut

Control: inpout.dll                    Archive: inpout.zip
 Author: Jay Munro                       Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: io

An INP and OUT replacement, written in assembler and used like the 
QuickBasic routines.  Includes source.  (For some reason Mr. Munro saw 
fit to include Software Assist's SCFILE package -- the dll is actually 
very small.)

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  JoyStk

Control: joystk1.vbx?                  Archive: joystk10.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: io

Provides an interface to up to two joysticks.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 MailSlot

Control: mslot1.vbx                    Archive: mslot10.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $30.00
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: mail

Mail slot interface.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                Menu Event

Control: menuev2.vbx                   Archive: menuev21.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $10.00
    Ver: 2.1
 Keywds: menu, status

Emits menu events while the highlight travels over entries in the menu 
bar, before the _click event is called.  Good in combination with 
dynamic status boxes.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                             Message Blaster

Control: msgblast.vbx                  Archive: tbox100.zip
 Author: Ed Staffin                      Price: $0.00
    Ver: 1.1
 Keywds: toolbar, graphic

Provides a floating palette, complete with tiny title bar, which you can 
use in conjunction with an MDI form.  Message notification is rather 
crude and hacky.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                               MhFormScroll

Control: mhfs200.vbx                   Archive: mhfs200.zip
 Author: MicroHelp                       Price: $0.00
    Ver: 2.0
 Keywds: scroll

Add scroll bars to a form or a container.  Crashed my computer, so I 
don't know if it works.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 MListBox

Control: mlistbox.vbx                  Archive: mlist110.zip
 Author: Mike Warning                    Price:
    Ver: 1.1
 Keywds: list

Multiple selection list box with ability to find strings, associate 
numeric data with list items, and set tabs with some precision.  
Variable pricing scheme.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                MouseWatch

Control: mwatch.dll                    Archive: mwatch.zip
 Author: User Friendly, Inc.             Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: mouse, status

Dynamically tracks mouse position, emitting _KeyDown events to the 
form.  Good for dynamic hinting, a la Word Perfect.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 OpenDlg

Control: opendlg.vbx                   Archive: opendl.zip
 Author: Zane Thomas                     Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: graphic

Does the same thing as cmdialog.vbx.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                         PBClone Windows Library

Control: pcbwin.dll                    Archive: pcbwin.zip
 Author: Thomas Hanlin III               Price: $19.95
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: math, utility

A suite of utility routines:  number of floppy or comm ports, checksums, 
bit operations, etc.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                              Percentage Bar

Control: percnt2.vbx                   Archive: percnt23.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $10.00
    Ver: 2.3
 Keywds: graphic, status

Very nice 3D style percentage bar, effectively replacing threed's 
flooding SSPanel.  Doesn't have wierd flood types like SSPanel 
(circular, right to left), but does include text color reversal over the 
flood, bevelled floods, and no flashing at all.  A much more standard 
look.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  Prompt

Control: prompt.vbx                    Archive: prompt11.zip
 Author: Andrew S. Dean                  Price: $15.00
    Ver: 1.1
 Keywds: cli

Textbox variant for command-line-style input.  Includes argument parsing 
into words and a history capacity.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  QCards

Control: qcard.dll                     Archive: qcard.zip
 Author: Stephen Murphy                  Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: game

Deck of cards with card support functions.  Can work with 2 decks at a 
time, no jokers.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  RoText

Control: rotext1.vbx?                  Archive: vbrotfnt.vbx
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $15.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: label, font, graphic

Provides rotatable labels, TrueType only.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  SoundX

Control: soundx1.vbx                   Archive: soundx12.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $10.00
    Ver: 1.2
 Keywds: matching

Metaphone and Soundex text matching algorithms let you search by phonic 
affinity.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 spSound

Control: winsound.dll                  Archive: spsoun.zip
 Author: Alfred J. Giordano              Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: sound

Provides low-level port-based sound routines.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                ToolButton

Control: toolbutn.vbx                  Archive: vbtool20.zip
 Author: Brett Foster                    Price: $0.00
    Ver: 2.0b
 Keywds: toolbar, help, graphic

Full-feature toolbar buttons, with up to 6 states (for attributes).  Use 
your own image and break it into cells of graphic buttons, or use the 
suite of standard buttons.  Also includes ContextHelp control (same vbx) 
to assist with help management.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 VBCTL3D

Control: vbctl3d.vbx                   Archive: vb3d.zip (?)
 Author: Bernd Beeks & Jeff Sims         Price: $29.00
    Ver: 1.32
 Keywds: graphic

When added to a form, transforms standard controls into embedded, 3d 
controls.  Covers labels, message boxes, check boxes, even menus and 
user-specified controls (by class name).  Does not allow you to specify 
bevel width or depth.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 VBPoint

Control: vbpoint.dll                   Archive: vbptr.zip
 Author: Jonathan Zuck                   Price: $0.00
    Ver:
 Keywds: api

Two routines: convert long pointers (LP) to VB strings, and copy strings 
to another address (another LP).

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                     VideoSoft Custom Control Library

Control: vsvbx.vbx                     Archive: 3dctrls or v
 Author: VideoSoft                       Price: $45.00
    Ver: 2.2a
 Keywds: matching, graphic

Three controls:  3D Elastic, a smart container which resizes it's 
contents automatically, embeds contained controls in true 3d style, and 
can be nested to provide code-free window splitter bars; Awksome, a text 
parser based on the AWK language; and IndexTab, which groups controls 
with a hypercard looking tabbed notepad.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 VTSocket

Control: vtsocket.vbx                  Archive: vtsocket.zip
 Author: Visual Technology Products      Price: $50.00
    Ver: 1.0b
 Keywds: comm

Windows sockets support.  Does not support UDP sockets, out of band, or 
broadcasting.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                 WinSock

Control: vbwsk.vbx                     Archive: vbwsk01a.zip
 Author: Brian Syme                      Price: $0.00
    Ver: 0.1a
 Keywds: comm

Provides access to Windows Sockets API.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                                  ZipInf

Control: zipinf1.vbx                   Archive: zipinf10.zip
 Author: Mabry Software                  Price: $10.00
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: compress

Provides thorough information about the files in a zip archive.  Does 
not uncompress files or deal with other sorts of archives.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


From ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack Tue Aug 23 23:11:20 1994
Newsgroups: comp.lang.basic.visual,comp.answers,news.answers
Path: ankh.iia.org!uunet!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!xmission!u.cc.utah.edu!park.uvsc.edu!knosack
From: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Subject: FAQ: comp.lang.basic.visual VB/Win Commercial VBX List
X-Content-Currency: This FAQ changes regularly.  When a saved or printed copy
                    is over 6 months old, please obtain a new one.
Expires: Wed, 7 Sep 1994 05:30:52 GMT
Reply-To: blpwang@acs.ucalgary.ca (Alvin Wang)
Organization: Visual Basic FAQ Maintainers
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 05:30:58 GMT
Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
X-Posting-Frequency: Posted on the 5th and 20th of each month.
Message-ID: <visual-basic-faq-vbx-commercial-1-777447052@acs.ucalgary.ca>
Followup-To: comp.lang.basic.visual
Summary: Listing of Commercial VBX's for Visual Basic for Windows.
Keywords: FAQ VISUAL BASIC VBX COMMERCIAL
Sender: knosack@park.uvsc.edu (Kris Nosack)
Supersedes: <visual-basic-faq-vbx-commercial-1-776151077@acs.ucalgary.ca>
Lines: 1399
Xref: ankh.iia.org comp.lang.basic.visual:14010 comp.answers:3272 news.answers:9765

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: visual-basic-faq/commercial-vbx-list

    Last-modified: 07/04/94
    Author: Alvin Wang
    All rights reserved.  Permission given for non-profit 
    redistribution as long as copyright retained.

              Commercial Visual Basic for Windows Products
    The next release will be produced from an Access database that will be
    available from CICA.  I will also be releasing a viewer program with some
    Query by Example capabilities.  This has been delayed by work schedules.
    I added some more information.

    Inaccuracies and editorializing are the sole responsibility of 
    Alvin Wang (blpwang@acs.ucalgary.ca), who would appreciate any 
    corrections or dissenting opinions.  

    All prices are in US funds unless otherwise stated.

 Contacting the Editor
 3553 31 Street NW, Suite 100
 Calgary, AB, T2L 2K7
 
 New Reviews of Products
 SpyWorks/VB
 Version Stamper- VB
 HelpBreeze
 Formula One


 AREAS Covered 
 Accounting Source
 Charting Libraries
 Communications Libraries
 Database Access Libraries
 Debuggers
 Drawing Libraries
 Email Libraries
 File Viewers
 General Libraries
 GIS Libraries
 Grid Libraries
 Help File Creation Tools
 Hypertext Libraries
 Imaging Libraries
 Mainframe Access Libraries
 Midi Libraries
 Misc Libraries
 Multimedia Libraries
 Network Libraries
 Pen Libraries
 Print Tools
 Programming Tools
 Project Management Tools
 Report Writers
 Scientific/Statistical Libraries
 Special Effects Libraries
 Speech Libraries
 Spelling Libraries
 Spreadsheet Libraries
 Telephone Management Libraries
 Test Tools
 Text Libraries
 Word Processing Libraries
 User Interface Libraries
 
 Appendix A - Addresses of companies

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - ACCOUNTING SOURCE
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Accounting System Developer's Kit
 Author: Bayou City Systems                     Price: $
    Ver:                                    Royalties: Depends
    Keywds: ACCT SOURCE AP GL AY PAY


       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - CHARTING LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                ChartPro
 Author: Sub Systems Inc.                       Price: $399.00
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: DLL Chart CSOURCE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Graphics Server SDK
 Author: Pinnacle Publishing Inc                Price: $249.00
    Ver: 2.0                                Royalties: ??
    Keywds: DLL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - COMMUNICATIONS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Crystal Comm
 Author: Crystal Software                       Price: $179
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: DLL COMM

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                PDQComm for Windows
 Author: Crescent Software                      Price: $149.00
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX COMM

 I have found this product to be very well written.  I am waiting for
 the latest version.  The technical support group was very helpful
 with my problems with previous versions.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

             Microhelp Communications

 Author: MicroHelp Inc.                         Price: $149
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: DLL COMM

     
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - DATABASE ACCESS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
             
                Aware/VBX
 Author: FarPoint Technologies                  Price: $69.95
    Ver: 1.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Bridgit
 Author: Unelko Corp                            Price: $69.95
    Ver: 3.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access DLL DBASE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                CodeBasic
 Author: Sequiter Software                      Price: $249.95
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX DBASE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
               
                Controls for Btrieve
 Author: Smithware Inc                          Price: $249.95
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX Btrieve

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Multilink/VB2               
 Author: Q+E                                    Price: $399
    Ver: 2.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX

 This is the only control that I am aware of that offers Query by 
 Example.  It is a very impressive and stable tool.  The error handling
 is more robust than the JET engine.  It over 30 databases but I only
 tested a few.  They all worked fine.  I really like the ease of use but
 there are more tools available for the JET engine.
       
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Paradox Engine
 Author: Borland International                  Price: $495
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: ??
 Keywds: DLL PARADOX
 
 I used this with C and found it to be very reliable and reasonably
 quick.
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Visual Basic Pro
 Author: Microsoft                              Price: $495
    Ver: 3.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX
 Commnt: The JET engine is the standard.

 This is the standard.  You need the data access control for many of 
 the third party tools.  It is the engine supplied with Access 1.0.
 The biggest problem that I have is the lack of support for Access
 security.  The phone support is impossible but I like the Fax Back 
 support.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Visual/db Database Manager
 Author: AJS Publishing                         Price: $149 Network $299
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: ??
 Keywds: Data-Access VBX DBASE
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Watcom SQL for Windows
 Author: Watcom                                 Price: $395
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: ??
 Keywds: DB SQL
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - DEBUGGING TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
               PinPoint
 Author: Avanti Software Inc.                   Price: $199
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: NA
 Keywds: DEBUG
   
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - DRAWING/GRAPHICS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                3D Tools for VB

 Author: Micro System Options                   Price: $149
    Ver:                                    Royalties: ??
    Keywds: DLL 3D RENDER

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                VBX Artist

 Author: Bennet-Tec Information Systems         Price: $250/$275
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX DRAWING

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Visio

 Author: ShapeWare Corporation                  Price: $199
    Ver: 2.0                                Royalties: None
    Keywds: OLE DRAWING

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - EMAIL LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
  
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - FILE VIEWERS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
              VBVIEWER

 Author: Microhelp Inc.                         Price: $99
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX VIEW
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - GENERAL LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                QuickPak Professional for Windows

 Author: Crescent Software                      Price: $199.00
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX CALENDAR METER FORM PICTURE HYPERTEXT ETC

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                VB/Muscle

 Author: MicroHelp Imc.                         Price: $199.00
    Ver: 2.1
 Keywds: DLL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - GIS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Map Server 2
 Author: Geosoft Ltd                            Price: 299 Pounds
    Ver:                                    Royalties: None
 Keywds: DLL MAPPING

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - GRID LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
                Data Widgets 
 Author: Sheridan Software Systems              Price: $129
    Ver:
 Keywds: Grid Data-Aware VBX

 This grid has a different way of implementing pull downs, which 
 takes a bit of fiddling to get working but it is worth it.  There 
 is a great deal of speed improvement since it only reads in as much
 as required.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Grid/VBX
 Author: FarPoint Technologies                  Price: $??
    Ver: 1.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: Grid Data-Aware VBX

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                
                TrueGrid Pro 

 Author: APEX Software Corporation              Price: $99.95
    Ver: 2.1c
 KeyWds: Grid Data-Aware VBX

 A very easy to use grid.  The nicest feature is that memo fields can be 
 pulled down for in place editting.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - HELP FILE CREATION TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        ForeHelp
 Author: ForeFront                              Price: $ 395
    Ver: 1.0                                    Royalties: None
 KeyWds: HELP 

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
                        HelpBreeze
 Author: Solutionsoft                           Price: $ 349
    Ver: 1.6                                    Royalties: None
 Demo File: HLPBRZ.ZIP on CICA
 KeyWds: HELP WINWORD
 
 This program creates help files and needs Word for Windows 2.x or 6.x.
 There are benefits to using a program that needs Winword since you can
 import your manual and turn it into your help file.  The program runs on
 top of Word by adding a toolbar and more selections to your pulldown menus.
 The jumps are simulated quite well.  The icons on the new toolbar are
 just the first letter of the command so its good that it has popup help 
 balloons.  
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        Windows Help Magician

 Author: Software Interphase Inc.               Price: $
    Ver: ???						 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: HELP
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - HYPERTEXT LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        Hypertext Manager

 Author: Braintree Ltd.                         Price: $89
    Ver: ???						 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: HYPERTEXT
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - IMAGING LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        Accusoft Image Format Library

 Author: Accusoft Corporation                   Price: $295.00
    Ver: 4.0						 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX JPEG IMAGE 

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                      ImageKnife/VBX PRO

 Author: Media Architects                       Price: $299.00
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX JPEG IMAGE DATA-AWARE TWAIN

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        ImageMan/VB

 Author: Data Techniques Inc.                   Price: $299
    Ver: 3.0						 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX JPEG IMAGE 

 Their support is pitiful.  I have been waiting for my free upgrade for 
 six months and the response is always that it is in the mail.  I could have
 bought an upgrade for the cost of long distance calls but I wouldn't
 be sure that I would get it.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        Imagestream/VB

 Author: Visual Tools                           Price: $295.00
    Ver: ?? 						 Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX JPEG IMAGE 

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        Lead Tools/VB

 Author: LEAD Technologies                      Price: $295.00
    Ver:                                      Royalty: None
 KeyWds: VBX JPEG IMAGE 

 A very reliable VBX.  It's forte is its proprietary CMP compression but
 it reads and writes most others.  That is most but not all.  Some of the
 newer programs promise more but I can't compare.  The tech support is
 very responsive.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        Metaview Imaging Control for VB

 Author: Metafile Information Systems           Price: $995.00
    Ver: 2.1                                  Royalty: None
 KeyWds: VBX TIF IMAGE ANNOTATE

 This VBX enables you to add hotspots and stickies to TIFF images.  The demo
 needs more work to demonstrate the features better.  It read the Winfax TIFF
 but not the Coreldraw or Microsoft Chart TIFF.  Unfortunately, the manual was
 only 56 pages and didn't explain what kind of TIFF was required.  It just
 implied that it could read all TIFFs.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        Picture++

 Author: Rainbow Imaging                        Price: $425.00
    Ver:					              Royalty: ??
 KeyWds: IMAGE 

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                        Vision Tools

 Author: Evergreen Technologies                 Price: $495.00
    Ver:					              Royalty: $195-$95
 KeyWds: VBX IMAGE MEDICAL

 The only control that I have found that accesses medical images but
 you should contact them to see if yours if covered.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - MAIL ACCESS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                VB/NotesLink

 Author: Brainsorm Technologies                Price: $795
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: ??
 Keywds: VBX NOTES

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Open Mail System

 Author: Raindrop Software                     Price: $??
    Ver: 1.0                               Royalties: ??
 Keywds: DLL MAIL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - MAINFRAME ACCESS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                QuickApp

 Author: DCA                                   Price: $??
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX MAINFRAME

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Rumba SDK

 Author: WallData                              Price: $7500
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX MAINFRAME

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                TransPortal Pro

 Author: Frustrum Group                        Price: $??
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: DLL MAINFRAME 3270 5250 VT100

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - MIDI LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - MISC LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                        AutoData SDK II

 Author: AutoData Systems             Price: $295.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: DLL OCR BARCODE DATA ENTRY FORM


       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - MULTIMEDIA LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Media Shop

 Author: Motion Works                 Price: $299.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: ??
 KeyWds: VBX ANIMATE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                MediaKnife/VBX

 Author: Media Architects             Price: $299.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: ??
 KeyWds: VBX ANIMATE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        NETWORK LIBRARIES         
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                IPX Toolkit

 Author: Intelec Systems              Price: $295.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX Network

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                NetPak Pro For Windows

 Author: Crescent Software            Price: $179.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX Network

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
              	MicroHelp Network Library

 Author: MicroHelp                    Price: $99.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX Network

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - PEN LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - PRINT TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

              	Code Print Pro

 Author: Pinnacle Publishing Inc      Price: $99.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: NA
 KeyWds: PRINT TOOL CODE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
              	Pretty Printer

 Author: Aardvark Software            Price: $79.99
    Ver:                          Royalties: NA
 KeyWds: PRINT TOOL CODE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - PROGRAMMING TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			Installit/VBX
 Author: HPI                                   Price: $??
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: INSTALL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			PCVS for VB
 Author: Intersolv                             Price: $??
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: PROJECT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			VB Assist
 Author: Sheridan Software Systems             Price: $179
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: PROG TOOL ASSIST

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			VB Compress
 Author: Whippleware                           Price: $99.95
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: COMPRESS

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			VB Project Works
 Author: Young Software Works                  Price: $??
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: PROJECT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			Version Stamper-VB
 Author: DesaWare                              Price: $??
    Ver: 1.0
 Keywds: VERSION

 If you distribute software based on VB, you probably have a problem
 insuring that your clients have the correct version of all the VBXs and
 DLLs required.  I often have a problem with users deleting files and 
 restoring incorrect versions.  This program is distributed with your 
 application and solves that problem.  It passed all the simple tests
 that I tried.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Microsoft Project

 Author: Microsoft                             Price: $695
    Ver: 4.0                               Royalties: $695
 Keywds: OLE PROJECT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - REPORT WRITERS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Crystal Reports Pro

 Author: Crystal Services                      Price: $129.00
    Ver: 3.0                               Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX REPORT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                MicroHelp Report Generator

 Author: MicroHelp Inc.                        Price: $189.00
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX REPORT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


                R&R Report Writer

 Author: Concentric Data Systems Inc.          Price: $249-395
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: REPORT
 This report writer had the most painful method of passing parameters
 that I have ever seen.  You have to use a common file to pass parameters.
 The only nice feature that I found was the compatibility with a DOS version.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 
                ReportSmith

 Author: Borland International                 Price: $299
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: ??
 Keywds: OLE REPORT
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - SCIENTIFIC/STATISTICAL LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                QuickPak Scientific

 Author: Crescent Software                     Price: $149.00
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: ??
 Keywds: DLL MATH

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                SPSS Developer's Kit

 Author: SPSS                                  Price: $495
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: ??
 Keywds: STAT OLE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - SPECIAL EFFECTS LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                FXTools/VB

 Author: ImageFX                               Price: $129.00
    Ver: ??                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX FX

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - SPEECH LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			Phonetic Engine 400
 Author: Speech Systems Inc.                    Price: $1195+
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: $995+
 Keywds: VBX SPEECH

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - SPELLING LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                  Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine
 Author: Wintertree Software Inc.                Price: $299
    Ver: 2.3                                 Royalties: None
 Keywds: SPELL DLL

      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

               Microhelp SpellPro

 Author: MicroHelp Inc.                        Price: $129.00
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: VBX SPELL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Spell Time
 Author: Sub Systems                            Price: $389
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: None
 Keywds: SPELL DLL CSOURCE

      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

               SpelTool VB

 Author: Turbo Toolware                        Price: $??
    Ver: ??
 Keywds: VBX SPELL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                VT-Speller
 Author: Visual Tools                           Price: $149
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX SPELL OLE

        =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - SPREADSHEET LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Excel
 Author: Microsoft                              Price: $$
    Ver: 5.0                                Royalties: $$
 Keywds: OLE Spreadsheet

 The documentation is sparse on OLE Automation but it is well worth the 
 effort.  The problem is the cost in dollars and resources of using this
 solution.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Formula One
 Author: Visual Tools                           Price: $295
    Ver: 1.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX Spreadsheet OLE

 The only VBX that I know is Excel compatible.  I like Excel because I 
 used to teach it so I found this very easy to use and much cheaper than
 Excel.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                Spread/VBX
 Author: Farpoint                               Price: $245
    Ver: 2.0                                Royalties: None
 Keywds: VBX Spreadsheet

 It is not as easy to use as Excel.  The demo application was very 
 helpful.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - TEST TOOLS
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                SQA Team Test

 Author: SQA Inc.                               Price: $
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: NA
    Keywds: TEST

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - TEXT LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                ZyIndex Developer's Toolkit

 Author: ZyLAB                                  Price: $
    Ver: ??                                 Royalties: ??
    Keywds: VBX TEXT SEARCH

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - Thesaurus LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                ThesDB Thesaurus Database
 Author: Wintertree Software Inc.               Price: $299
    Ver: 2.1                                 Royalties: None
 Keywds: THESAURUS DLL

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - VIRTUAL REALITY
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                WorldToolKit

 Author: SENSE8                                 Price: $795
    Ver: 2.0                                Royalties: ??
    Keywds: VBX VR

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Category - WORD PROCESSING LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                ALLText

 Author: Bennet-Tec Information Systems         Price: $125/$150
    Ver: 3.0                                Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX TEXT

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                ALLText HT/Pro

 Author: Bennet-Tec Information Systems         Price: $350/$375
    Ver: 3.0                                Royalties: None
    Keywds: VBX TEXT HYPERTEXT DATA-AWARE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                Word

 Author: Microsoft                              Price: $495
    Ver: 6.0                                Royalties: $495
    Keywds: OLE WP TEXT SPELL

 OLE Automation requires WordBasic and the documentation is hard to find.
 It performs much faster than DDE once you get past loading word.  
 Another massive product from Microsoft.
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        USER INTERFACE LIBRARIES
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			3D Gizmos
 Author: MicroHelp                    Price: $9.00
    Ver: ??                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI DATA-AWARE

 The look is very nice but the lookups cause a lot of overhead in loading
 a screen.  It preloads all the lookup data so a few good sized lookups
 and your user will fall asleep waiting for the screen.

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			3D Widgets
 Author: Sheridan Software Systems    Price: $109.00
    Ver: ??                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI DATA-AWARE

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			Custom Control Factory
 Author: DesaWare                     Price: $??
    Ver: 2.0                         Royalties: None
 KeyWds: UI


       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			Kollibri
 Author: European Software Connection Price: $249.00
    Ver: ??                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                NICE ( Natural Interface for Computing Environments )
 Author: NCR                          Price: $
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                VB/Magic Controls

 Author: AJS publishing Inc.          Price: $149.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

                SpyWorks/VB

 Author: DesaWare                     Price: $149.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI

 If you like msgblast.vbx, you'll love this tool.  It allows you to
 do some amazing things with VB that you thought would require C++.
 The examples are quite impressive.  The other capabilities like 
 checking to see how much resources are being consumed are very useful.
 Basically, this allows you to do anything that can be done in Windows
 using VB.  This is at the expense of making it much easier to crash
 Windows.
 
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			ToolsKan VB

 Author: Kansmen Corp                 Price: $99.00
    Ver: 1.0                      Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI

       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

			VSVBX

 Author: AJS publishing Inc.          Price: $49.00
    Ver:                          Royalties: None
 KeyWds: VBX UI TAB AWK ELASTIC


       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
        Appendix A - Addresses of Companies
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
       =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 Aarvark Software
 800-482-2742
 201-833-4355
 201-833-1216		Fax
 Compuserve 70544,1372
 972 Sheffield Road
 Teaneck, NJ, USA	07666
 Products: Pretty Printer

 Accusoft Corporation
 800-525-3577
 508-898-2770
 508-898-29662		Fax
 112 Turnpike Road
 PO Box 1261
 Westborough, MA, USA	01581
 Products: Accusoft Image Format Library

 AJS Publishing 
 800-992-3383
 310-215-9135           Fax
 PO Box 83220
 Los Angeles, CA, USA   90083
 VB/MAgic Controls
 
 APEX Software Corporation
 412-681-4343
 412-681-4384			Fax
 Internet information:	truegrid@apexsc.com
 Internet orders:	tgorders@apexsc.com
 CompuServe:		71053,1062
 Anonymous FTP:		ftp.apexsc.com (demos and patches)
 Mailing list:		tglist-request@apexsc.com (announcments, patch notices)
 4516 Henry Street
 Pittsburgh, PA, USA    15213
 Products: Truegrid, Agility
 
 Avanti Software Inc.
 800-758-7011
 415-329-8999
 415-329-8722
 Compuserve: 76260,266
 385 Sherman Avenue, Unit 6
 Palo Alto, CA, USA	94306
 Products: PinPoint

 AutoData Systems
 800-662-2192
 612-941-8180
 612-941-7312			Fax
 10365 West 70th Street
 Eden Prairie, MN USA		55344-3446

 Bayou City Systems
 713-777-3736
 713-777-3746			Fax
 8535 Triple Crown Drive
 Houston, TX, USA		77071
 Products: Accounting Systems Developer Kit

 Bennet-Tec Information Systems
 516-433-6283
 516-822-2679			Fax
 71201.1075@compuserve.com
 10 Steuben Drive
 Jericho, NY, USA		11753
 Products: AllText, Alltext Pro, VBX Artist, Picscroll, FileIcon&DragDrop
 ScatterPlot3D, Tlist
 Comment: The second price is the cost for non-US customers.  The only company
 with a differential pricing policy.

 Borland
 800-366-6464 ext 8034  USA
 800-461-3327           Canada
 408-461-9000
 408-461-8088			Fax
 1800 Green Hills Road
 Scotts Valley, CA		95067-0001
 Products: Visual Solutions, Paradox Engine

 Brainstorm Technologies
 617-492-3399
 24 Thorndike Street
 Cambridge, MA USA 02141
 Products: VB/NotesLink

 Braintree
 800-745-4645
 718-224-4728			Fax
 42-42 204th Street
 Bayside, NY, USA		11361
 Products: Hypertext Manager. Ad Hoc Data Viewer, Security Toolkit

 Concentric Data Systems Inc.
 508-366-1122
 508-366-2954			Fax
 110 Turnpike Road
 Westboro, MA, USA		01581
 Products: R&R Report Writer

 Crescent Software
 800-352-2742           Toll Free Sales
 203-438-5300           Tech Support
 203-431-4626           Fax
 11 Bailey Avenue
 Ridgefield, CT USA     06877-4505
 Products: QuickPak Pro, PDQComm, QuickPak Scientific, NetPak PRk, XREF
 
 Crystal Services
 1050 West Pender Street, Suite 2200
 Vancouver, BC, Canada   V6E 3S7
 Products: Crystal Reports, Crystal Reports Pro, Crystal Reports Server

 Crystal Software
 906-822-7992
 906-822-7994			Fax
 329 Fire Lake Road
 Crystal Falls, MI, USA	49903
 Products: CrystalCOMM

 Data Techniques Inc.
 800-868-8003
 704-682-4111
 704-682-0025 			Fax
 704-682-4356			BBS
 Products: ImageMan/VB

 DCA
 800-348-3221 ext 59BB
 Products: QuickApp

 Desaware
 408-377-4770
 408-371-3530 			Fax
 5 Town & Country Village #790
 San Jose, CA 95128
 Products: Custom Control Factory, Spyworks VB, Version Stamper/VB
 
 Distinct 
 408-781-0781
 408-366-2101		Fastfacts
 408-741-0795		email
 mktg@distinct.com
 Products: Distinct TCP/IP

 EllTech Development
 800-553-1327
 404-928-8960
 404-924-2807			Fax
 4374 Shallowford Industrial Parkway
 Marietta, GA, USA 		30066
 Products: Compression Plus, Fax Plus
 
 European Software Connection
 913-832-2070
 913-832-8787			Fax
 PO Box 1982
 Lawrence, KS, USA	66044-1982
 Products: Kollibri
 
 Evergreen Technologies
 207-326-8300
 207-326-8333			Fax
 Main Street, PO Box 795
 Castine, Maine, USA		04421
 Products: Vision Tools

 Farpoint Technologies
 804-378-0432
 804-378-1015			Fax
 569 Southlake Blvd
 Richmond, VA, USA	23236
 Products: Aware/VBX, Grid/VBX, Spread/VBX

 ForeFront
 303-499-9181
 5171 Eldorado Springs Drive
 Boulder, CO, USA 	80303
 Products: ForeHelp

 Frustrum Group Inc.
 800-548-5660
 212-338-0721
 212-984-0690			Fax
 90 Park Avenue, Suite 1600
 New York, NY, USA	10016
 Products: TransPortal Pro

 Geosoft Ltd
 44-532-344000
 44-532-465071			Fax
 Unit 3M Springfield House
 Hyde Terrace
 Leeds LS2 9LN, UK
 Products: Map Server 2

 HPI
 800-448-4154
 205-880-8705			Fax
 205-880-8785			BBS
 sales@instalit.com
 917C Willowbrook Drive
 Huntsville, AL, USA	35802
 Prpducts: Installit/VBX
 
 ImageFX
 716-272-8030
 2021 Brighton-Henrietta TL Rd.
 Rochestor, NY, USA		14623
 Products: FXTools

 Imagesoft Incorporated
 516-767-2233
 516-767-9067           Fax
 516-767-9074           BBS
 UUCP Address: mcdhup!image!info
 2 Haven Avenue
 Port Washington, NY, USA 11050
 Products: ObjectTrieve for VB

 Intelec Systems
 501-221-3600
 501-221-7412		Fax
 10201 West Markham, Suite 101
 Little Rock, AR, USA		72205
 Products: IPX Toolkit

 Intersolv
 800-547-7827
 44-727-812812
 1700 NW 167th Place
 Beaverton, OR, USA	97006
 Products: PCVS for VB

 Kansmen Corp
 408-263-9881
 Products: ToolsKan VB

 LEAD Technologies
 800-637-4699
 704-549-5532
 704-548-8161			Fax
 8701 Mallard Creek Rd.
 Charlotte, NC, USA		28262
 Products: LEADTOOLS/VB

 Media Architects
 503-297-5010
 503-297-6744			Fax
 1075 NW Murray RD, Suite 230
 Portland, OR, USA		97229-5501
 Products: ImageKnife/VBX Pro, MediaKnife VBX

 Metafile Information Systems Inc.
 507-286-9232
 507-286-9065			Fax
 421 First Avenue SW
 Rochester, MN,USA		55902
 Products: Metaview Imaging Control

 MicroHelp Inc.
 404-516-0898
 4359 Shallowford Industrial Parkway
 Marietta, GE, USA      30066
 Products: HighEdit
 
 Microsoft
 One Micosoft Way
 Redmond, WA, USA	98052-6399
 800-950-3535			USA
 800-563-9048			Canada
 206-936-8661			Other
 Products: VB, VB Pro, Excel, Word, Project, 
 
 Micro System Options
 206-868-5418
 PO Box 95167
 Seattle, WA, USA	98145-2167
 Products: 3D Graphic Tools for VB

 MotionWorks
 800-800-8476
 415-541-9333
 415-541-0555	Fax
 524 Second Street
 San Francisco, CA, USA	94107
 Products: Motion Works MediaShop
 
 NCR Corporation
 Imformation Products
 2651 Satellite Blvd.
 Duluth, GA, USA        30136-9711
 Products: NICE

 Pinnacle Publishing Inc.
 800-231-1293
 206-251-5057		Fax
 PO Box 888
 Kent, WA, USA		98035-0888
 Products: Graphics Server SDK, Code Print Pro

 Q+E Software
 800-876-3103   Dept M010
 919-859-2220
 919-859-9334           Fax
 5540 Centerview Drive, Suite 324
 Raleigh, NC, USA       27606
 Products: Q+E Multilink VB/2

 Rainbow Imaging Inc.
 212-794-2717
 212-861-8145		Fax
 460 East 79Street
 New York, NY, USA		10021-1425
 Products: Picture++

 Raindrop Software
 214-234-2611
 833 Arapaho, Suite 104
 Richardson, TX, USA		75081
 Products: Open Mail System

 ReportSmith Inc.
 800-446-3446
 415-312-8673			Fax
 2755 Campus Drive, Suite 205
 San Mateo, CA, USA		94403
 Products: ReportSmith

 Sense8 Corporation
 415-331-6318
 415-331-9148		Fax
 1001 Bridgeway, #477
 Sausalito, CA, USA 94965
 Products: WorldToolKit

 Sequiter Software Inc.
 403-437-2410
 403-436-2999		Fax
 Products: CodeBasic, CodeReporter

 ShapeWare Corporation
 800-446-3335 Ext 48Y
 520 Pike Street, #1800
 Seattle, WA, USA	98101
 Products: Visio

 Sheridan Software Systems
 800-VBDirect
 516-753-0985
 516-753-3661           Fax
 516-753-5452           BBS
 71222.3522@compuserve.com
 35 Pinelawn Road
 Melville, NY USA       11747
 Products: Data Widgets, VB Assist,

 Smithware, Inc
 800-828-7438
 615-860-3500
 615-868-5397           Fax
 75470,546              Compuserve
 590-5654               MCI
 1052 Madison Square
 Madison, TN, USA       37115
 Products: Controls for Btrieve

 Software Interphase Inc.
 401-397-2340
 401-397-6814		Fax
 401-397-4601		BBS
 82 Cucumber Hill Rd.
 Foster, RI, USA			02825

 SolutionSoft
 408-736-1431
 408-736-4013		Fax
 75210.2214@compuserve.com
 999 Evelyn Terrace West, Suite 86
 Sunnyvale, CA 94086
 Products: HelpBreeze, ViewerBreeze available soon
 
 Speech Systems Inc.
 303-938-1110
 303-938-1874			Fax
 2945 Center Green Court South
 Boulder, CO, USA		80301-2275
 Products: Phonetic Engine 400

 SPSS Inc.
 800-525-4971
 444 North Michigan Avenue
 Chicago, IL 			60611
 Products: SPSS Developer Kit

 SQA Inc.
 800-228-9922
 617-932-3280			Fax
 10 State Street
 Woburn, MA, USA			01801
 Products: SQA TeamTest

 Stylus Innovation
 617-621-9545
 617-621-7862			Fax
 One Kendall Square
 Building 1500
 Cambridge, MA, USA		02139
 Products: Visual Voice

 Sub Systems Inc.
 800-447-6819
 617-438-8901
 617-438-0311			Fax
 159 Main Street, #8C
 Southam, MA, USA		02180
 Products: TE Developer's Kit, ReportEase, Spell Time, ChartPro

 SuccessWare
 909-699-9657
 909-695-5679			Fax
 27349 Jefferson Avenue
 Temecula, CA, USA		92590
 Products: SIxBase/VB

 TeraTech
 800-447-9120          
 301-977-2224
 301-963-0436           Fax
 301-963-7478           BBS     9600-N-8-1
 3 Choke Cherry Rd, Suite 360
 Rockville, MD, USA     20850
 Products Dazzle/VB, 

 Turbo Toolware
 602-497-4780
 745 N. Gilbert Road
 Ste. 124-125
 Gilbert, AZ, USA 85234
 Products Speltool VB

 Unelko Corp.
 602-991-7272
 602-483-7674	Fax
 7428 E Karen Drive
 Scottsdale, AZ, USA	85260
 Products: Bridgit

 Visual Tools
 800-884-8665
 913-599-6500
 913-599-6597           Fax
 Compuserve: 72204, 3521
 15721 College Blvd
 Lenexa, KS, USA        66219
 Products: Formula One, VT-Speller
 
 WallData Inc.
 208-883-4777
 206-885-9250		Fax
 17769 NE 78th Place
 Redmond, WA, USA	98052-4992
 Products: Rumba SDK

 Wang Labs
 800-639-9264
 508-967-1125		Fax
 1 Industrial Avenue
 Lowell, MA, USA		01851
 Products: OPEN/Image

 Watcom
 800-265-4555
 519-886-3700
 519-747-4971		Fax
 415 Phillip Street
 Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3X2
 Products: Watcom SQL
 
 WhippleWare
 800-241-8727
 617-242-8727
 617-241-8496			Fax
 20 Cedar Street 
 Charleston, MA, USA		02129
 Products:VB Compress

 Wintertree Software Inc.
 613-825-6271
 CompuServe: 72060,3056
 43 Rueter St.
 Nepean, Ontario
 Canada K2J 3Z9

 Young Software Works
 212-982-4127
 212-673-1715			Fax
 Compuserve 76703, 4343
 PO Box 185, Cooper Station
 New York City, NY, USA		10276-0185
 Products: VB ProjectWorks
 
 ZyLAB
 800-544-6339
 708-459-8000
 100 Lexington Drive
 Buffalo Grove, IL	60089
 Products: ZyIndex


