Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell

To create professional applications, developers need extensive knowledge of Visual Basic controls and their numerous properties, methods, and events.
This quick reference documents the steps involved in using each major VB control, the order in which their events are fired, and the unexpected ways in which their properties, methods, and events interact.
Visual Basic has been described as a visual interface design package to which the programmer attaches snippets of code. Although this definition has been contested by some, no one would contest that Visual Basic's interface design component -- and therefore its forms and controls - are central to Visual Basic. To create a professional application, the developer
needs extensive knowledge of Visual Basic controls, and of their numerous properties, events, and methods. Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell is the book that documents Visual Basic controls thoroughly.

Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell is divided into two sections. The first contains a detailed summary of Visual Basic Professional Edition's intrinsic and custom controls. Each chapter provides the following information about a control:

• A general description of the control, including its usage and purpose
  
• Control tasks -- that is, the tasks that are typically
  executed when creating or managing a control
  
• The most important properties that define the behavior andappearance of the control
  
• The major events fired by a control and to which code can be assigned
  
• In cases where their timing may be important, the order in which related multiple events are fired
  
• The most important methods that are available for managing a control or accessing its functionality
  
• The ways in which the control unexpectedly interacts with changes in its state or in that of the Visual Basic environment. Typically, these undocumented or little documented side effects give developers enormous difficulty.

The second section consists of separate alphabetical references to Visual Basic's properties, methods, and events. Along with providing basic documentation for each property, method, and event, the entries in this section contain a wealth of information not always available
from the documentation, including:

• Whether a property is available at design-time and/or run-time
  
• The data type returned by a property or method
  
• Tips and hints for using the property, method, or event effectively

Visual Basic Controls in a Nutshell is an ideal book for Windows programmers who are looking for detailed and organized information on Visual Basic controls. This book is written by an experienced Visual Basic programmer and is filled with precisely the kind of information that his
work -- and that of any experienced VB programmer -- constantly requires. Its depth and quality will make it an indispensable addition to the library of every experienced Visual Basic programmer. With its companion volume,
VB & VBA in a Nutshell: The Language, it serves to thoroughly document Microsoft Visual Basic.

About the Author

Evan Dictor has developed software in a wide variety of languages on
numerous platforms. He has used Visual Basic extensively for years, first as a prototyping tool and later as a full-time development tool.A Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer, today he develops and supports Visual Basic applications nationally as a contract programmer based out
of South Florida. In his spare time, Evan composes MIDI music and does woodworking.

Table of Contents

 Preface  
 Part I. Introducing VB Controls
 Chapter 1. Introduction 
 Creating Instances of Controls  
 Properties, Methods, and Events  
 Working with Controls  
 Chapter 2. Common Control Features 
 Control Tasks  
 OLE Drag and Drop Tasks  
 Data-Binding Tasks  
 Chapter 3. The Form 
 Form Tasks  
 Order of Events  
 Interactions  
 Chapter 4. The MDI Form 
 MDI Form Tasks  
 Example  
 Order of Events  
 Interactions  
 Part II. Reference
 Chapter 5. Controls 
 Chapter 6. Properties 
 Chapter 7. Methods 
 Chapter 8. Events 
 Part III. Appendixes
 Appendix A. Visual Basic Colors 
 Appendix B. Key Codes 
 Index