If you need to reference every control on a form, using the Controlscollection will be faster than referencing every control directly. Forexample, if you have four command buttons on a

If your app uses database or other functions that can return Null variants,your app will crash sooner or later with that dreaded “Invalid Useof Null” error. Preventing it is simple:

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

Here’s the code I used to trap the Tab key and use it to generate a”real” tab in a text box: ‘ Trap the tab key to allow tabs in

When working in Windows, it is very easy to lose a minimized icon onthe desktop. Or you may forget you have an application running and tryto open it again from

When updating the values of several records in a loop, put a BeginTrans,CommitTrans around the loop. This will significantly speed up the updateprocess: BeginTrans Do Until dsData.EOF dsData.Edit dsData!sState_cd =

To allow the Enter key to function as a Tab, enter this code in theKeyPress event of your text boxes: Sub Text1_KeyPress (KeyAscii As Integer) If KeyAscii = 13 Then

To select multiple, nonconsecutive rows (a tagged list) in SheridanSoftware’s DataGrid (which is a part of its Data Widgets package), firstset the SelectionTypeRow property of the DataGrid to TagList. For

To create a 3-D text box, place a text box in a 3-D Panel and set thepanel’s AutoSize property to “Autosize Child to Panel.” Thenset the BevelOuter and BevelWidth properties

To add AutoTab to text boxes that have a set MaxLength, add this codeto the text box Change event: Sub Text1_Change () If Len(Text1) = Text1.MaxLength Then SendKeys “{Tab}” End

The latest trend in Windows programs is the use of a 3-D look thatmakes windows and controls appear to be three-dimensional. As a result,a number of tools for adding the

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.

If you work with INI files, save yourself hours of work and downloadthe INIFILE.BAS module I’ve uploaded to the VBPJ and MSBASIC Forumson CompuServe (file KPINI.ZIP). There’s no charge for

There are lots of ways to test for whether a given file exists. Themost common method is to use the Dir$ function. If Dir$ returns a nullstring, then the file

To use a bitmap or other graphics in the client space of MDI forms,the only trick is getting the hWnd for that window so that you can useGDI functions on

When you’re using VB’s built-in database functionality, you’re likelyto get a corrupted database sooner or later. Use this code to open yourdatabases and automatically repair any corrupt ones: On Local

Most professional applications have an Undo menu option under the Editmenu. If you want to have an undo feature for every text box, you may thinkyou need to create a

It is sometimes useful to determine the amount of Windows resourcesavailable. You can show percentage of free resources in an about box, forexample, or to detect memory leaks in a

VB strips comments out in the final .EXE file, so use as many commentsas you need.

Ever wanted to add a “Search for Help on…” item in themenu bar? Here’s the secret: ‘Declares and Constant for Help Menu Declare Function WinHelp% Lib “User” _ (ByVal hWnd%,

Question: Is there a way to target dynamicly created html from a form in one frame to another using perl? Answer: Sure thing.

VB4 not only allows you to create OLE Automation servers, butto debug the server and the calling application simultaneously.If you want to create a remote OLE server, set the Instancingproperty