Lesson II - Moving Around In Visual Basic
Visual Basic 4 and 5's layouts are similar except VB4 doesn't
have a fixed window (you can drag everything around - even the menu bar)
whereas all of VB5's windows and menus are contained within a single window.
VB4's layout is more flexible but you may get irritated by the "invisible"
background and you might also lose some of your windows off screen. VB5's
layout on the other hand is more claustrophobic but very well organized.
Both share the same editing tools and menu bars. In this lesson we shall
discuss the menu bar, the properties window, the code window, the project
window, the tool bar and the form windows.
The Menu Bar
The menu bar is located right at the top of the screen just like in any
other windows program. In VB4 you can drag the menu bar around so that it
doesn't always appear at the top of the screen (be careful not to lose it
by dragging it off screen!). It contains the standard menus such as File,
Edit, View etc. We will discuss the individual menus in later lessons.
The Properties Window
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The properties window controls all the properties and behavior of all your objects. Properties vary from object to object as the values and properties in the Properties window changes when you select different objects. You can resize the window for your convenience. To access the Properties window either hit "F4" on your keyboard or click View/Properties in the menu bar. |
The Form Windows
The basic object in VB is the form. It is a template where all visible
objects are placed. It is basically the "window" that the user
sees when you run your program. In VB the form also resembles a window.
You can switch between several forms in VB. In VB4 you can see your forms
as individual programs when you press Ctrl-Tab (Windows 3.11) or on the
Start bar (Windows 95). In VB5 you can navigate through the Projects window.
The Code Windows
Each object in VB can have it's own code that determines what happens
to it when you click it, move your cursor over it and so on. The main programming
is done here. To access the code window of any object (including a form)
just double click it or select it and hit "F7" on your keyboard.
The Project Window
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The Project Window lists all the available forms and modules (code without forms) you can access these forms, code for these forms and code for modules through the Project window. In VB5 you can have more than one project. To access the Project window just press Ctrl-R on your keyboard or click View/Projects in the menu bar. |
The Access Bar
The tool bar in VB is just like any other access bar in windows. It provides
shortcuts to commands from the menu bar. Standard commands like Save and
Open in addition to some commands found only in VB like Play and New Form.
To find out more about these shortcuts just move your mouse cursor over
them and wait for a description box to appear. The access bar is located
below the Menu bar - both are located in a single dialogue box in VB4.
Well, thats all you need to know to navigate through VB. In the next lesson we shall discuss VB programming and Common controls.
Back to Learning Visual Basic.
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