Using Visual Basic 6: (Special Edition Using)

Special Edition Using Visual Basic 6 is organized to serve as an easy to use reference. Individual topics and material are organized so they are easy to locate and read.Special Edition Using Visual Basic 6 also teaches Visual Basic in a straightforward manner. It is assumed that the reader is new to Visual Basic. The book will teach programming with Visual Basic in a steady, consistent pace.After teaching the reader the Visual Basic programming language, the book progresses into more advanced topics. Such hot topics include creating ActiveX controls, using Visual Basic with Active Server Pages, VB database programming, and more. Because of its straightforward approach, Special Edition Using Visual Basic 6 covers more topics in more detail than equivalently sized books. New: This new edition incorporates changes to Visual Basic 6. Additionally, the authors are adding additional hands-on examples throughout the book, making it even easier to learn the topics within Visual Basic.

Table of Contents:
(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with From Here...) I. GETTING STARTED WITH VISUAL BASIC. 1. Starting Out with Visual Basic. What is a Computer Program? Computer Programs and Programming Languages. Visual Basic Is a Smart Language. The Importance of Designing Your Program. 2. Creating Your First Program. Creating Your Programs User Interface. Getting Information From the User. Changing a Forms Properties. Coding Your Programs Actions. Running Your Program. 3. Visual Basic Building Blocks. Forms. Using Controls. Exploring Properties. A First Look at Methods and Events. Form Properties Revisited. 4. Using Visual Basics Default Controls. Introduction to the Intrinsic Controls. Working with Text. Controls for Making Choices. Special-Purpose Controls. Working with Multiple Controls at Designtime. Working with the Controls Collection. II. PROGRAMMING WITH VISUAL BASIC. 5. Responding to the User with Event Procedures. Introducing Events. Handling Events in Your Programs. Understanding Event Sequences. 6. Giving More Control to the User: Menus and Toolbars. Creating a Menu Bar. Setting Up the Main Items. Creating Pop-Up Menus. Using Toolbars in Visual Basic. Using the CoolBar Control. 7. Using Dialog Boxes to Get Information. Keeping the User Informed. Getting Information from the User. Using Built-In Dialog Boxes. Creating Your Own Dialog Boxes. 8. Using Variables and Constants to Store Information. Introduction to Variables. Variable Declarations. Variable Arrays. Determining Where a Variable Can Be Used. Keeping a Variable Local. Using the Option Explicit Statement. Whats Different About Constants. 9. Visual Basic Programming Fundamentals. Writing Statements. Using Assignment Statements. Using Math Operations. Working with Strings. Formatting Results. 10. Controlling the Flow of Your Program Code. Making Decisions in Your Program. Working with Loops. Debugging Your Programs. Error Trapping. 11. Managing Your Project: Sub Procedures, Functions, and Multiple. Forms. Using Procedures and Functions. Working with Multiple Forms. Managing Components in Your Project. Controlling How Your Program Starts. III. VISUAL BASIC PROGRAM COMPONENTS. 12. Microsoft Common Controls. Introduction to the Common Controls. The ImageList: A Fundamental Common Control. Organizing Your Data. Accepting User Input. Reporting Status and Progress. 13. Working with Control Arrays. Introducing Control Arrays. Creating a Control Array. Working with Control Arrays. Using a Control Array in Your Programs. Creating a Menu Item Array. Loading and Unloading Controls at Runtime. 14. Creating ActiveX Controls. ActiveX Basics. Creating an ActiveX Control. Testing the ActiveX Control. Compiling Your Control. Enhancing an ActiveX Control. Using the ActiveX Control Interface Wizard. Using the Property Pages Wizard. Creating a User-Drawn ActiveX Control. 15. Extending ActiveX Controls. Using the Ambient Object to Maintain Uniformity. Properties of the Ambient Object. Introducing the Extender Object. Building the Calculator Control. Creating Property Pages. Control Error Handling. 16. Classes: Reusable Components. Understanding Classes. Building Class Modules. Creating an ActiveX DLL. Creating Classes That Contain Collections. Using the Class Builder. IV. VISUAL BASIC INTERFACES. 17. Multiple Document Interface Applications. Introducing MDI Applications. Creating a Simple MDI Program. Creating Multiple Instances of a Form. Working with Menus. Managing the Children. Creating a Sample Application - An MDI Contact Manager. Optimizing Your MDI Application. Creati ng an MDI Application Framework. 18. Proper Interface Design. Designing Effective Forms. User PC Differences. Dealing with User Expectations. 19. Using Visual Design Elements. Using Graphics. Working with Text and Fonts. V. ADVANCED PROGRAMMING TOPICS. 20. Accessing the Windows API. Understanding the Windows API. Using the Windows API in Visual Basic. Useful API Calls. 21. Working with Files. File Functions in Visual Basic. Working with Text Files. Random Files - Creating Your Own File Format. INI Files. 22. Using OLE to Control Other Applications. Working with Word Objects. Working with Excel. Using the OLE Container Control. 23. Masters Toolbox. Caller ID with Visual Basic. Building a Screen Saver in Visual Basic. SQL Server to Access Database Table Export Program. Understanding the Sample Program. Using the Windows API to Create Transparent Images. VI. VISUAL BASIC AND DATABASES. 24. Database Basics. Designing a Database. Implementing Your Design. Using Visual Data Manager. Creating a Database with Other Tools. Why Use a Program Instead of Visual Data Manager? 25. The Data Control and Data-Bound Controls. Understanding the Data Control. Getting Acquainted with Bound Controls. Creating a Simple Application. Creating Forms Automatically. 26. Using Data Access Objects (DAO). Introduction to DAO. Setting Up a DAO Project. Opening an Existing Database. Deciding Which Recordset Type to Use. Using Dynasets. Placing Information Onscreen. Positioning the Record Pointer. Using Filters, Indexes, and Sorts. Considering Programs That Modify Multiple Records. Understanding Other Programming Commands. Introducing Transaction Processing. 27. Using Remote Data Objects (RDO). Database Access Philosophies. Working with ODBC. The Remote Data Objects. Using the RemoteData Control. 28. Using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO). Introducing ADO. Using the ADO Data Control. Using the DataGrid Control. Using ActiveX Data Objects. Disconnected Recordsets. 29. Creating Reports. Creating a Simple Report. Enhancing Your Data Reports. Using Crystal Reports. VII. VISUAL BASIC AND THE INTERNET. 30. Using VBScript. Introduction to VBScript. Tools Used with VBScript. The VBScript Language. Using VBScript in Internet Explorer. The Windows Scripting Host. 31. Active Server Pages. Introduction to Active Server Pages. Creating ASP Files. Database Access with Active Server Pages. The ASP Objects. Using Your Own ActiveX DLL with ASP. The IIS Application Project. 32. ActiveX Documents. Understanding ActiveX Documents. Creating Your First ActiveX Document. Exploring the UserDocument Object. Using the Hyperlink Object in Your Document. Using the ActiveX Document Migration Wizard. Creating a More Complex Document. Programming Additional Documents. 33. Visual Basic and Other Uses of the Internet. Adding Browser Functionality to Your Application. Programming E-Mail. Using the Internet Transfer Control. VIII. APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Introduction to the Development Environment. Understanding the Environments Key Features. Starting Up. The Visual Basic Work Area. Appendix B. Packaging Your Applications. Compiling Your Program. Packaging a Standard EXE Project. Packaging ActiveX Components. Appendix C. SQL Summary. Defining SQL. Using SELECT Statements. Specifying the Data Sources. SQL Action Statements. Using Data-Definition-Language Statements. Using SQL. Creating SQL Statements. Optimizing SQL Performance. Passing SQL Statements to Other Database Engines. Index.