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The Latest

Implementation of Public Forms and Class Variables

The implementation of Public variables in forms and classes changed with Visual Basic 5.0. VB4 implementspublic variables in forms and class modules as if they’re regular variables, using pointers to

Hide All Project Windows

When working with multiple projects, it’s easy to get confused by the many windows active on the screen atthe same time. However, you can temporarily hide all the windows related

Customize VB Toolbars

Here are a few simple ways you can customize your VB5 IDE: Add tabs to the custom control toolbox by right-clicking on the General button and selecting the Add Tab

Not all Templates are Created Equal

Unlike templates in other Office 97 products, Word 97 templates provide a business-application engine thatremains separate from the documents that use that engine. Template-based Excel workbooks andPowerPoint presentations include a

Center Forms on Screen

A popular code snippet lets you center any form on the screen, regardless of the current screen resolution. You now can reach the same result by simply assigning the value

Don’t Create Aliased Variables

Never pass a global variable as an argument to a procedure that also accesses the variable directly. If you’re 100 percent sure you adhered to this rule within your application,

Default Values for Optional Parameters

If you ever programmed under VB4, you probably took advantage of the powerful Optional parameters. VB5 enhanced them in several ways: they can be of any type now (not only

Don’t Auto-Optimize for Fast Code

If you take a look at VB’s native code optimization options for the first time, you might be tempted to click on “Optimize for Fast Code” right away. Strange as

Comment and Uncomment Blocks of Code

Visual Basic 5.0 lets you comment a block of code in a snap and uncomment it later. This feature is useful in the debug phase, when you don’t want to

Combo Box Event

Two problems can arise when a confused user scrolls up or down with the mouse and then makes a selection with the Enter Key. First, the down arrow fires two

Caligari update

Question: What’s happening with Caligari and its VRML tools (trueSpace, VRML, Pioneer, etc.)? Answer: Caligari has rethought its approach to VRML and has integrated the features you may have seen

What are the alternatives to VRML?

Question: What are the alternatives to VRML? Answer: There are a variety of proprietary alternatives to VRML available for use over the Internet. Perhaps the best known at the moment

What is the “second Web”?

Question: What is this “second Web” I keep hearing about? Is it marketing hype, or a new technology? Answer: It’s a mixture of the two. Perhaps inspired (or provoked) by

Sybase login creation from PB

Question: How can I create a Sybase login from a PowerBuilder front-end application using sp_addlogin? The normal way of executing stored procedures ? for example, declare procname for procedure ?

Deploying a PowerBuilder Window plug-in

Question: How can we distribute the PB deployment kit (Upgrade version) to our remote end-users? Also, do we have to distribute any drivers for Oracle, or can they reside on

Printing Access reports from VB

Question: I understand that it is possible to print reports stored in a backend Access .mdb file from Visual Basic. Is it possible, and if so, how is it done?

Windows API

Question: I’m writing a program which needs to clean up the temp files which are in the Temp directory as define by the Temp Environment setting. I don’t want the

MDI applications

Question: I am trying to build a form that can be loaded as either MDI or SDI. If a use the SetParent API to force the window to be a

Creating PowerBuilder executable

Question: I want to create an independent PowerBuilder executable. Which DLLs should I include, and how do I package them with my application so that it runs on a computer

Developing PB apps w/SQL Server as back-end

Question: Is it possible to develop applications in PB using Microsoft SQL Server as the back-end? Answer: PowerBuilder has excellent support for MS SQL Server. Here at Powersoft, we have

Evolution of Visual Basic

Question: How did VB originate, where did it originate from, what is it main purpose or function. Who basically saw it as a need for its future uses? Answer: This

Using Global Class Objects

Question: I have a general class that has the following amongst other stuff.Public Property Get Status() As String Status = stattxtEnd PropertyPublic Property Let Status(vNewValue As String) stattxt = vNewValueEnd

Searching the Registry

Question: Using VB 5.0, how can I detect the default browser and launch it to go to user selected site? Answer: This information is located in the Registry under this

16-Bit Programs

Question: Is there ANY way to write a program in Visual Basic 5.0 for Windows 95 and then have people running Windows 3.1 be able to use it? Answer: Nope.

Using Multiple Data Control

Question: I have two Data controls on a form, Data1 and Data2, both with data bound text boxes on the form, linked to them. Based on a common field (also

Return values from ancestor events

Question: How can I determine the return value of an ancestor event from its descendant?For example, the PFC_addrow event of the PFC datawindow. If I were to extend this event,