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Tip Bank

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Fetch Contents of URL

The Java core API provides classes in the java.net package to handle basic networking functions. The URL class represents a pointer to a network resource, like the actual address. The

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Play WAV Sounds from Resource Files

Everyone loves a good sound bite. You can use the PlaySound() function in the Windows Multimedia DLL (WINMM.DLL) to play a wave (WAV) file that is stored as a resource.

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Display Tooltips

You can easily duplicate the tooltips that appear when you float the mouse over a button in Microsoft’s products. This code displays the tooltip in the lower right-hand corner of

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Random Values Without Duplicates

This code produces a “random” sequence of integers between specified Lower and Upper values without duplication. On the first call to the Shuffle routine with new values for Upper and

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Change Display Settings on the Fly

When writing a game for Windows 95, set the display resolution to 640-by-480, set the color palette to True Color when it runs, and restore it to its initial mode

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Comment Multiple Lines

VB provides only single-line comment functions: “REM” and “‘”. If you’re looking for another way to comment out a block of code, use conditional compilation in VB4 instead. Define “COMMENT

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Write Less CPU-Bound Animations

When doing animation, such as scrolling a label or using picture boxes, I first used the method described by Eric Bernatchez (“Smoother Control Animation,” “101 Tech Tips for VB Developers,”

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Use Subscripts and Superscripts

You can use subscripts and superscripts in a RichTextBox control. To prevent the control from truncating text that is raised or lowered too far, reduce the characters’ size accordingly: Private

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Export Data to ISAM Databases

Use this code to get data out to different formats without requiring a complete copy of the DBMS on the user machine. Create a new project with a command button,