Sometimes a runtime error only manifests itself after an EXE ismade and not in debug mode. This can be hard to track down, evenwith message-box statements. Use the code profiler

I like to use the Constant.txt file Microsoft has been kind enoughto provide. For a new project, copy Constant.txt to a new filesuch as MyConst.txt. Place MyConst.txt in the same

This code will prevent a beep when you hit [ENTER] or [TAB] ina text box whose maximum character limit has been reached: Sub Form_KeyPress (keyascii As Integer)’Eliminate beep if {ENTER}

In VB4 the TypeOf statement works with any valid object type,not just forms and controls. This allows you to pass objects ofdifferent classes to the same procedure for a class-specific

Here is a tip to help with missing or mispositioned text. Thisfailing code works fine with VB3: ClsPrint Spc(10); “Enter Your Name”;currentx = 0currenty = currenty + 1Print Spc(10); “Enter

A tip on page 48 of the March 1996 issue of VBPJ statesthat an ODBC error message occurs when using VB3 with the Access2.0 compatibility layer. An error occurs if

It is well known that VB3 is not always as conscientious as itshould be about unloading all the forms in an application whentheapplication terminates. Because unloading all the forms for

Just before performing your final ‘make EXE,’ switch your desktopcolor scheme and see just how many backgrounds you have hard-coded!(Sadly, several excellent shareware controls fail here, VBPJcontributors are guilty of

The Lost_Focus and Got_Focus events are the most-used events for implementing validation and texthighlighting. Wouldn’t it be nice to respond instantly to these events and to do it from a

Set the AutoRedraw property to True and the benefits and trade-offsinclude much faster repaints and some wasted memory. If your formis resizable, you waste a lot of memory, because the

Visual Basic doesn’t have a procedure like the DLookUp function that Access has. You can use thisprocedure in VB to receive the Name of an object by ID: Public Function

The ElasticForm subroutine, part of CodeBank’s standard procedurelibrary, automatically repositions and sizes all controls on anSDI form when the user or code resizes the form. To use the routine,simply lay

Because MDI forms don’t have a border property, the user can drag the borders and distort the size of theMDI form. If the user tries to resize the form, I

Ever wished you could use the Save parameter outside of a Validate event? Have you noticed that if abound control is changed and you set DataChanged back to False, Save

This tip has been published more than once on pages of VBPJ(See “99 of the Hottest Tech Tips For VB Developers,”Supplement to the February 1996 issue of VBPJ, page 17).This

Much of the ease of use of Windows 95 comes from the fact thatits user interface objects have their own context menus, whichcan be accessed through a simple right-click of

While we are speaking of SendMessage, there is another trick youmay find interesting enough to include in your programming habits.When used with some particular messages, the lParam argument isreally considered

I was surprised to learn that the SWAP command was not implementedin Visual Basic when I read a letter in the February 1996 issueof VBPJ requesting that Microsoft bring to

Are your programs not executing instructions in VB4 that wereexecuting in VB3? Try this in Qbasic, VB3, and VB4: BEEP: BEEP: BEEP If you F8-step through this very complex code,

Most programmers want their applications to look like commercial software, so they want to add their ownhelp files. How do you open the contents of a Windows help file in

If you are you unhappy with Microsoft’s comment in the help (“Note:You cannot specify where a common dialog box is displayed”),but like the idea of common dialog controls, try this.

To make icons look better, Windows 95 uses three standard-size icons;16-by-16, 32-by-32, and 48-by-48. These three standard sizes should beincluded in any ICO file you create for inclusion in your

The User Tip submitted by Nick Bulka in the January 1996 issueof VBPJ was interesting, but, as with so much code, improvable: Sub TextHiLite( t as TextBox ) t.SelStart =

With the advent of long file names in Windows 95, it may be necessary to display a trimmed version of a path in a text box or label. The following

If your users have the option to type a directory where they wantfiles installed, they may type a directory that doesn’t existor a directory that is several levels below another

To center a form, you only need one API call, no UDTs, and two constants. This solution is based on thefact that GetSystemMetrics reflects real estate taken up by the

In a collection object, such as the ListItems collection from the ListView control, or simply a generic VBcollection object, you can specify a key to uniquely identify the item. Documentation

In VB4, DBGrid’s columns can be referenced using object variables. Thisreduces the amount of typing required and makes code more readable. Thecode is also more efficient because the full name

I have found a solution to the problem of GetModuleUsage not workingin 32-bit VB4. The TaskID returned by Shell can be used by AppActivatelike this: TaskID = Shell(“DOSAPP.EXE”, _ vbNormalFocus)