VISUAL BASIC

PREFACE

About this document

This document is a compilation of frequently asked questions and their answers about Visual Basic for Windows and Visual Basic for Applications which have been gathered from posts to the comp.lang.basic.visual.* newsgroups. Although efforts have been made to find obvious errors, there is no guarantee that the information in this document is error-free. Neither the FAQ maintainer nor anyone else associated with this document assume ANY liability for the content or use of this document. If you find any errors, please report them to the address given below.

This FAQ document is protected by international copyright regulations. Permission is granted to distribute it freely, both in electronic and written format, provided no charge is made. Also, do not make changes to this document without the consent of the maintainer. Usenet netiquette applies.

All product copyrights and trademarks acknowledged. Visual Basic is extremely © Microsoft Corporation.

Where to get the VB/Win FAQ

You can read and download the most recent FAQ from http://home.sol.no/jansh/vb/default.htm This is the home of the VB/Win FAQ.

For backwards compatibility with the "old dirtroad track" somewhere outside the so-called information highway, I still include the following slightly outdated information:

Most FAQs (including the old text-only version of this) are available at the anonymous ftp archive site "rtfm.mit.edu". All parts of the VB FAQ may be found here:

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/comp.lang.basic.visual.misc/

Alternative FTP Sites:
The following are alternative sites to rtfm:

North America:
ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.answers
Europe:
ftp.uni-paderborn.de/pub/FAQ
ftp.Germany.EU.net/pub/newsarchive/news.answers
grasp1.univ-lyon1.fr/pub/faq
ftp.win.tue.nl/pub/usenet/news.answers
ftp.sunet.se/pub/usenet
Asia:
nctuccca.edu.te/USENET/FAQ
hwarang.postech.ac.kr/pub/usenet/news.answers

(FYI: "rtfm" stands for "Read The ******* Manual". I kid you not!)
[Andre van Meulebrouck (vanmeule@ils.nwu.edu)]

You can also have the old text VB FAQs e-mailed to you by sending a message to

"mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu" with ONLY the text

send usenet/comp.lang.basic.visual.misc/*

in the BODY of the message.

Alternative mailservers for those who have no ftp access

ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com or ftpmail@cs.uow.edu.au
bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu or ftpmail@lth.se
bitftp@dearn or to bitftp@vm.gmd.de (Europe only)
ftpmail@ftp.uni-stuttgart.de
ftpmail@grasp.insa-lyon.fr or ftpmail@ieunet.ie
bitftp@plearn.edu.pl or bitftp@plearn (Europe)
ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk or ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu
[thanks to Jakob Faarvang <jakobf@apexsc.com>]

For all mailservers:

Use the "index" command to get a list of files available at the site.
Use the "help" command to get more detailed instructions.
(NOTE: commands are in BODY of mail message!)

Note that a Web-browser like Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer easily can access an ftp site, view and download files. The ftp address on the top of this point (ftp://...) is formatted for these browsers; just copy and paste the text directly into the "URL" line.

Kudos & comments

In this document, whenever a long line of code must be split into two or more lines of text in the code examples, a | symbol will precede each line which should be appended to the line above it.

As the FAQ maintainer, I don't have time to explore all of the aspects of Visual Basic. Neither have I time or knowhow to personally answer direct technical questions. I rely on your submissions to improve the quality and inclusiveness of this document. If you have found a VB hint, tip, trick, work-around, etc., please write it up and send it to me!

Mohammed A. Bouji <Bouji@mabtek.com>

Please note that my first language is not English. You can safely ignore all typos, but if you find an error that is so embarrassing you can't help pulling your hair and screaming loud, just send me a note and I'll correct it quietly. OK?

This document is a collective effort! I would like to thank all contributers, and also all those who have given constructive feedback. This FAQ is now widely distributed in the net community.

Special thanks to the following people who have made many and invaluable contributions to the VB/Win FAQ: Kris Nosack (the previous maintainer), Peter Millard, Nic Gibson, Mr. "D" (the anonymous contributor), George Tatge <gat@csn.org>, Andy Dingley <dingbat@codesmth.demon.co.uk>, Ayn Shipley <ashipley@hookup.net> and those I may have forgotten (sorry).

John McGuire <jmcguire@jax.jaxnet.com>, a longtime VB user, went through the FAQ and found lots of things worth his comments. Many of his corrections and suggestions are implemented throughout. Thanks!

Everybody: Your help is GREATLY appreciated!

For more details contact the webmaster