Tip Bank

DevX - Software Development Resource

Multiple compilation constants

Visual Basic’s documentation does not explain how to specify more than just one conditional compilation constant in the Advanced tab of the Options dialog. The correct way is using a

DevX - Software Development Resource

SystemDirectory – The path of the System directory

Private Declare Function GetSystemDirectory Lib “kernel32” Alias _ “GetSystemDirectoryA” (ByVal lpBuffer As String, _ ByVal nSize As Long) As Long ‘ The path of the System directoryFunction SystemDirectory() As String

DevX - Software Development Resource

Convert Hexadecimal numbers

While Visual Basic offers the Hex$ function that converts a decimal value into its hexadecimal equivalent number, it seems that the inverse function is missing. Not true. Try out this

DevX - Software Development Resource

Storing objects in the Tag property

The Tag property exposed by many Windows Common Controls (including TreeView’s Node objects and ListView’s ListItem objects) is more versatile than the ListBox and ComboBox controls’ ItemData property, because it

DevX - Software Development Resource

Caution when moving or resizing forms

Any action that affects a form’s size or position should be inhibited when the form is minimized or maximized, because this causes a runtime error 384. Always double check your

DevX - Software Development Resource

Determine how a control got the focus

At times it might be convenient to know how a given control got the focus, namely by means of the Tab key, an associated hotkey or a click of the

DevX - Software Development Resource

The status of mouse buttons

Visual Basic lets you test the state of mouse buttons only inside a MouseDown, MouseMove, or MouseUp event procedure. To determine the current state of mouse buttons you can use

DevX - Software Development Resource

ComputerName – The name of the local computer

Private Declare Function GetComputerName Lib “kernel32” Alias _ “GetComputerNameA” (ByVal lpBuffer As String, nSize As Long) As Long’ Returns the name of the computer.Function ComputerName() As String Dim buffer As