Contents
VerLook Table of Contents:

Program overview.

What is version stamping ?

Why should I care about version numbers ?

Printing

Program limitations.

This ‘n’ That.

Feedback and registration form.

Copyright notice and disclaimers.

Acknowledgements


overview

Program overview.

VerLook is a program  created with Microsoft Visual Basic 3.0 for viewing and printing the version resource contained in Windows dll, fot ,vbx ,drv and exe files.

VerLook examines both the FixedFileInfo structure and the StringFileInfo strings contained in the files. This information is then formatted into a single string and presented in a text box for viewing or printing.


FixedFileInfo: A data structure containing numeric version information and various flags indicating the type of file.


StringFileInfo: Version information in string form. There may be multiple entries to support different languages.


stamping
What is version stamping ?

It is resource created in a file by a compiler. The version resource contains information about the file in both numeric and string form. This information can be used by a installation program to insure it installs the correct files on your system. By viewing the version resource you can tell what operating system the file is for, what type of file it is (Application,Font,Dll,Driver,etc.), the legal copyright, the product the file is for and many other things. Unfortunately not all vendors provide this information. So don't be surprised if VerLook indicates that no version information is available in a certain file.


Why care ?
Why Should I care about version numbers ?

The Windows environment is loaded with dlls from just about every program installed on your system. These play a role which will become even more important as OLE 2.0 becomes implemented in more applications. Some of these dlls are used by more than one program. That's good because it saves space on your drive. But it can lead to problems. Let's say you have a program which has installed a dll then you install another program which uses the same dll, but a later version. When you try to start the program you just installed you may get the message " Couldn't open dll (file name)" or "Outdated dll (file name) file". You must then rename or delete the older version of the dll to enable your newly installed program to run correctly. That's where VerLook comes in. If you used it prior to your installation process, you could have a printed record of the dll that is giving you problems and where it is located on your system.


Printing
Printing:

VerLook sends the contents of the text box to Windows print manager in strings which are 80 characters long. When the total number of lines equals 60 a new page is generated. Be sure to select your printer and configure it prior to printing with VerLook. You will have to do this with Windows print manager because VerLook does not have that capability at this time.


Limitations
Limitations:

VerLook retrieves the version stamping information and compiles it into a single string which is then sent to a text box. If this string exceeds about 32 K in size you are going to get a message telling you VerLook can not read the directory you are in due to a excessively large string.

That’s all the limitations I know of at this time. If you find any, please let me know.


This ‘n’ That

This is the first edition of VerLook and I would be grateful for any comments. Really,any comments! Please take the time to fill out the registration form. Let me know what improvements or features should be added.

  I am thinking of placing the version info in a database so a record could be kept on disk. I also want to change the printing function to allow the user greater control.

Whatever is done will depend a lot on comments received.


Form
 Feedback and registration form:

You have the option of printing this form or using the Copy to Clipboard button copying it to the clipboard and pasting it into the word processor of you choice.

Name: ____________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________

City:_____________________  State: ________________

Zip: ________________

Where did you obtain this copy of VerLook ?

_____________________________________________________

Type of Computer(name,cpu):_________________________________

Type of Monitor(Color,Size,Resolution):____________________

_____________________________________________________

Features you would like added:______________________________

_____________________________________________________

Any Gripes or problems ?:___________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

Please Mail the completed form to:

William E. Booth

513 Lake Sardis Dr.

Slidell, LA 70461-3625


Disclaimers
Copyright notice and disclaimers.

VerLook Copyright © 1993 William E. Booth,All Rights Reserved.

You have a right to use,copy,upload and distribute this software as long is no fee is charged except for a small disk copying and mailing fee not to exceed $6.00 U.S. per disk.

No part of this software may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any other language or computer language in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, whether it be electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, except as described above without prior written consent of William E. Booth.

William E. Booth disclaims all warranties as to this software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, functionality, data integrity or protection.

Visual Basic and Windows area trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Trademarks of other companies mentioned in this documentation appear for identification purposes only and are the property of their respective companies.


Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements:

I would like to thank the many unsung heros of the Visual Basic community that do so much without pay to keep the language alive. The members of the Microsoft Basic Forum on Compuserve and the Visual Basic Forum on Fido net can always be relied on for lively and interesting discussions. Also Ms. Dee Dee Walsh and the Microsoft Visual Basic Development Team.

I would also like to offer a special thanks to Mr. Daniel Appleman the author of the  Visual Basic Programmers Guide To The Windows API.  Ziff-Davis Press, ISBN 1-56276-073-4.

In my opinion this book is a must have and has done more for Visual Basic programming than any other.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my wife June for graciously putting up with a Techno-Weeny.