August 20, 1997

Calling a function or procedure incurs some overhead. If you have atwo-line function that is called from only three places, you might considerputting those three lines in the functions themselves

When passing controls as parameters, make the function that is receivingthe parameter accept the specific object type instead of generic types.The exception to this is when multiple types of objects

If AutoRedraw is set to True, VB keeps a bitmap of the form in memorythat it uses to redraw the form after another window in front of it isclosed. Because

I often see questions in the VBPJ forum about comparative speedsfor different methods of performing actions in code. In many cases, a simplegeneralization of which is fastest cannot be made.

When unloading a form, use the following piece of code behind a Closebutton: Unload This code should also be put in the Form_Unload() event handlerfor that form: Set = Nothing

If you set a VB file’s DOS attribute to read-only, VB will show itwith a red lock in the project window and prevent it from being overwritten.This is a handy

Have you ever wanted to make that pesky scroll bar disappear when itis not needed, and reappear when the text exceeds the viewable area ofthe text box? Setting the scroll

The best way to save information about an application’s options, suchas toolbar positioning, is to write the settings to an INI file. To doso, two Windows API functions must be

Pressing Alt and F4 will close any window with a control box. Becauseyou can’t choose Alt and F4 as a shortcut key combination from the menudesigner, you must place it