VB-Designer ShortCuts Version 2.0 10/21/1994 Copyright (c) 1994 All Rights Reserved OVERVIEW VB-Designer ShortCuts provides efficient access to existing Microsoft Visual Basic design mode functions such as: Adding and removing VBX files to or from the Project List Box Enabling, disabling and modifying the Form View drawing grid Arranging and hiding Code windows Finding text in Code windows Finding Proceduress in Code windows Loading and unloading Code and Form View windows Exposing and hiding the Palettes and VBX Properties List Box Launching Microsoft Visual Basic Help The one additional function provided is the Source Code Librarian to save and retrieve code fragments and notes BINARY PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS The executable binary is provided free with NO warranty of any kind either expressed or implied. THE USER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for making judgments regarding the application, safety and reliablity of VB-Designer ShortCuts. The user must assume any and all risks and liabilities. Only copies of the UNMODIFIED ORIGINAL archive file may be distributed. Distrubutions MUST NOT be charged for with the exception of nominal media, shipping and download fees. If you do not agree then do not use the program. SOURCE CODE VB-Designer ShortCuts was developed using Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition Version 3.0 and requires no additional DLLs aside from Microsoft's VBRUN300.DLL. Arrangements to acquire source code for fifty dollars US ($50.00) can be made by contacting Lee Still (LStill301) by electronic mail at America Online. Source is to be used by the licensee for developing personal applications of any kind OR creating applications for Commercial/Shareware distribution that use fragments of the code and do not directly copy, mimic or compete with the same features that VB-Designer ShortCuts implements. The licensee may only make copies of the source for the purpose of backup, NO distribution of any kind is permitted. TESTING This program has run satisfactorily on two different 486 platforms running Microsoft Windows For Workgroups Version 3.11 and Microsoft Visual Basic Version 3.0. INSTALLATION The archive file contains this file and the executable file. Unpack the archive, move the executable file to any directory, ensure Microsoft's VBRUN300.DLL resides in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory (which it must if you have installed and run Microsoft Visual Basic). OPERATION WARNING: If another Microsoft Visual Basic application is concurrently running then this program will most likely terminate it's execution when the 'Unload' button is clicked. If Microsoft Visual Basic is already loaded and in the design mode then VB-Designer ShortCuts will attempt to set grid alignment on, show grid on, and set the grid dimensions to 60 by 60 when it starts up. If Microsoft Visual Basic is not loaded the program will attempt to load it and issue a termination dialog box if unsuccessfull. To accomplish an automatic load Microsoft Visual basic (VB.EXE) must be in the search path (DOS PATH environment variable). If Microsoft Visual Basic is loaded but in the [run] or [break] mode then a termination dialog box is displayed advising the user that the program must be loaded with Visual Basic in the [design] mode. Exit VB-Designer ShortCuts prior to exiting Microsoft Visual Basic to avoid error messages. VB-Designer ShortCuts will then position the Microsoft Visual Basic controls at the lower right hand corner of the screen on top of the VB-Designer ShortCuts window. CLICKING THE GREY BAR at the top of the VB-Designer ShortCuts control panel will alternately switch between displaying the Microsoft Visual Basic controls and then it's own controls. A short help message is displayed in the grey bar when the mouse pointer covers a control. Project files are opened when the Project 'Open' button is clicked. Project files are saved when the Project 'Save' button is clicked. To add a VBX control that resides in the \windows\system directory to the Project List Box click the 'Add VBX' Button. A menu containing all VBX files found is created that displays each file's icon and file name. Click on a VBX's icon to add it to the Project List Box. The window can be hidden by selecting an icon or clicking on a blank portion of the VBX Menu Form or destroyed by clicking on the System Menu's 'Close' entry. Project files are created when the Project 'New' button is clicked. To expose or hide the Project list box click the Project button 'Show' or 'Hide'. This button displays the next exposure status of the list box and causes the Project list box to flip to the oposite state when clicked. Project executable file is built by clicking the 'Make' button. The Form View drawing grid dimensions can be modified by clicking on and entering numbers between 30 and 1180 in the X and Y text boxes and then clicking the 'Set Grid Size' button. The Form View drawing grid can be exposed or hidden by clicking on the 'Show' check box. The Form View align-to-grid function can be enabled and disabled by clicking on the 'Align' check box. Program execution is controlled by the 'Go'(Run/Pause Program), 'Step I'(Single Step Program INTO a subroutine), 'Step O" (Single Step Program OVER a subroutine), 'BrkPt'(Set/Reset Breakpoint), and 'Reset'(Halt and reset program) buttons. The Debug label's color reflects the current run state: Red when stopped, Green when running and Dark Yellow when in the break mode. The 'Watch' (Microsoft Visual Basic Instant Watch) button displays the contents of a variable or result of a expression that is defined by the mouse pointer. Code windows can be moved to a cascade arrangement by clicking on the 'Cascade' button. Repeated clicking of the Cascade button will rotate the windows in the cascade stack. Code windows can be moved to a side by side arrangement by clicking the 'Tile' button. Repeated clicking of the Tile button will exchange the first and last tiled windows. Selecting a Code window and clicking the Tile button will move it to the leftmost window. NOTE: The bottom boundary for window arrangement functions is the top of the VB-Designer ShortCuts window which leaves room for icon display in the lower left portion of the desktop in 800X600 or greater screen sizes. Code windows can be shrunk and moved to the upper right corner of the desktop by clicking the 'Hide' button. When hidden the button's label changes to 'Restore' which when clicked will restore all Code windows to their original position. The Find Dialog Box can be popped up by clicking the 'Find' button. The 'Next' button can be clicked to find the next occurrence of a string specified in the last Find Dialog Box. The 'Proc.' button can be clicked to popup the Procedures Dialog Box. After a procedure is selected the Code windows are tiled with the selected procedure appearing in the left hand Code window. The 'Code' button can be clicked to load all files in Code View that are currently visible in the Project Dialog Box. To load all Code files make sure that the Project Dialog Box is large enough in the vertical axis to expose all the file names. The 'Form' button can be clicked to load all files in Form View. The same file name exposure requirement must be met as when loading Code View files. Unfortunately any .BAS files visible also load, just press the 'Hide' button to remove them if they are in the way. The 'Unload' button can be clicked to unload all Code and Form View windows and currently executing Microsoft Visual Basic programs from the desktop. The Tools Palette, Color Palette and VBX Properties List Box can be exposed and hidden (toggled) by clicking their associated 'Show' and 'Hide' buttons. The Source Code Librarian can be popped up by clicking the 'Lib' button. It is a utility to store frequently (or not so frequently) used code fragments, subroutines, notes, etc. Help appears in blue bar at the bottom of the screen. When a control is covered by the mouse pointer a short help message is displayed for that control. The database is maintained in the windows directory unless overridden by the environment variable SRCLIB_PATH. The environment variable must include the drive, directory and file name ([Drive]:\WINDOWS\VBDSC.DBF is default). COMMENTS Because this program is bolted on and not built in, the operation may not always be as smooth as one would like. However, I have used this for a while, adding features as I saw the need, and feel that it saves time. Please forward your comments to Lee Still (LStill301) by electronic mail at America Online. END OF DOCUMENT.