When you want your bound controls to be updated in reaction toa user click in a list box or combobox, add this code to the click-event(or double-click event) of the

Here’s how to create an etched or disabled icon using an icon editor:1. Change all filler color to light gray. 2. Change the outline to dark gray (usually from black).

When users are comfortable using the Enter key to proceed to the nextfield, you can allow them to continue their old habits. You need very littlecoding to accomplish this. Set

Most developers know about VB4’s Conditional Compilation feature, where you can declare WindowsAPIs for 16-bit and 32-bit operating systems: #If Win#32 then ‘If running in 32-bit OS Declare SomeApi….#Else ‘If

I ran across an interesting problem trying to install VB4 EnterpriseEdition in the Windows 3.1 environment. The new version of VBuses the Registry database, which in Win 3.1 is limited

There are many times when you may not want to allow more than one instanceof your application to be launched. In such cases, your program needs todetermine if an instance

Most things in VB4, including the VBA and VB engines, are OLEobjects. In some cases, objects can expose properties or methodswith the same name as in another object. Theoretically, the

To allow different INI files for different users on the same machine,use the command line to specify the specific INI file path and file name.Add a check to see if

You can achieve some cool form wipes with judicious use of the Movemethod. For example, to draw a curtain from right to left use this routine: Sub WipeRight (Lt%, Tp%,

Use these easy algorithms to obtain the current Date, Time, and Decimal delimiters used by Windowswithout resorting to Locale Settings or API calls: DateDelimiter = Mid$(Format(Date, _ “General Date”), 3,

What do you do when you get a GPF in VB.EXE? Remember that Windows requiresyou to ensure memory integrity when calling API functions. A GPF in VB.EXEcan be produced if

When you set the ControlBox property to False and BorderStyle as a fixed window, you can get a windowwithout the title bar. If you add a menu to the window

If your application’s current directory is D:OldDir, the callChDir(C:NewDir) will change the C Drive’s default directory toNewDir, but the application’s current directory will remain D:OldDir.It seemed to me that ChDir

While in design mode, the tab order may get out of sequence, especiallyif you add a control after all the others are set in place. You can setthe TabOrder sequence

This code enables and/or disables functions during design andtesting. The code can remain during initial deployment withoutaffecting the end user. Make sure the path string being searchedis part of your

Here you are in VB3, you have loaded the compatibility layer for Jet2.0, and you are using ODBC. In this configuration, the ODBC queries willalways run in asynchronous query execution

Using Visual Basic’s GetSetting function might cause an error, particularly in certain situations when using itunder 16-bit operating systems with INI files. If there’s no specific entry in the INI

You’re probably familiar with the Mid function, which returnsa substring of a specified number of characters from its stringargument. But are you aware that Mid can also be used to

Use Debug.Print “Entering event …” without breakpointsto trace events if they seem to act funny. Don’t use break points withMsgBoxes–they can alter the event sequence.

To move a control or form to a new location, you can set the Leftand Top properties to new values: frmCustomer.Left = frmCustomer.Left + 100 frmCustomer.Top = frmCustomer.Top + 50

Eliminate “leading-zeros” in a text string in this interestingway: instring$ = “00030” ‘ set the string with some leading-zeros’ now to get rid of them….instring$ = CStr(Cint(instring$))’ now instring$ should

Use this as a fast way to paint the background of any form witha really cool “fading” color (lighter at top to darkerat bottom). To specify base color, pass True/False

This syntax is much faster than using an If.Then.Else construct to detectnull or zero-length fields, and it will ensure that an error will not occur.For strings: Dim sVar As String.sVar

I use this procedure to center my forms. With frmParent, the lastloaded form is centered against the parent form. Otherwise, it’scentered against the screen. I always center forms in the

Use the SendKeys function to exploit the delete functionalityof many grid and spreadsheet controls that have a delete functionality.Use this functionality without writing code to delete each rowif your form

Whenever you use For.Next loops, it is faster NOT to use the countername after Next (of the For.Next loop). In nested loops, it produces significantlyfaster code. Sub Form_Load ()Dim TStart!Dim

You can use relative references to specify file paths in your MAK file.For example: Path=”..SETUPDISK1.” When you use relative references,you can move entire directory structures in File Manager without havingto

A while back, I wrote a simple orders application that allowedusers to query and update order information. The application workedfine, but lacked a user activity log. It was difficult for

When you first start using the VB database functions, you might wonderwhy they call its engine JET–it seems to not fly. Using databasetransactions (search the online help for BeginTrans) might