Visual Basic 6 Step by Step Comments and Corrections (195269)

MORE INFORMATION

Page iv: Changes To "Michael's Top 10 Web Sites" List

Page iv contains "Michael's Top 10 Web Sites"

The first site is listed as:

The URL for the site has actually changed to:

Page xvii: Support URL has changed

Page xvii: Support URL for Microsoft Press has changed.

Change: To:

Page xxv: Support URL has changed

Page xxv: Support URL for Microsoft Press has changed.

Change: To:

Page 35: Error In Step 2

There is an error in step 2 on page 35.

Change:
"Type End, and press the Down arrow key."

To:
"Type End and press the Down arrow key."

Page 91: "menu list" should be "dialog box"

Change:
"The caption and name for the Time command appear in the menu list"

To:
"The caption and name for the Time command appear in the dialog box"

Page 118: Program Statements Are Covered in Lesson 2

On page 118, in the first paragraph it states that you learned about program statements in Lesson 1. Actually, program statements were not introduced until Lesson 2.

Change:
"As you learned in Lesson 1, a line of code in a Visual Basic program is called a program statement."

To:
"As you learned in Lesson 2, a line of code in a Visual Basic program is called a program statement."

Page 135: Incorrect Formula

Page 135; two lines above the subheading Working With Visual Basic Operators:

Change:

Area=2Pi r^2

To:

Area=Pi r^2

Page 197: Error In Code Sample

Page 197 contains a code error in the "Lesson 7 Quick Reference" section

Change:
"If InpName = "Trotsky" Then ExitFor"

To:
"If InpName = "Trotsky" Then Exit For"

Page 225: Use Resume with Label Rather Than Resume Next with Label

On page 225, in the last sentence of the first paragraph change "Resume Next" to "Resume".

Change:
"A good way to skip over the error handler is to use the Exit Sub Statement; or you can use Resume Next with a label that directs Visual Basic to continue executing below the error handler."

To:
"A good way to skip over the error handler is to use the Exit Sub Statement; or you can use Resume with a label that directs Visual Basic to continue executing below the error handler."

Page 252: Incorrect Forward Reference

On page 252, the parenthetical statement that concludes the second paragraph has an incorrect forward reference.

Change:
"(The Move method also lets you adjust the height and width of an object. See the One Step Further section later in this lesson for an example.)"

To:
"(The Move method also lets you adjust the height and width of an object. See Expanding and Shrinking Objects While a Program is Running later in this lesson for an example.)"

Page 307: Explanation Of Dimensions Technically Incorrect

Chapter 11, page 307, "Declaring a Fixed-Size Array"

The syntax for a fixed-size array is given as:

   Public ArrayName(Dim1Elements, Dim2Elements, ...) As DataType
				

The explanation indicates that "Dim1Elements is the number of elements in the first dimension of the array, and Dim2Elements is the number of elements in the second dimension of the array (additional dimensions can be included)."

Since arrays in Visual Basic start with zero, Dim1Elements and Dim2Elements are the number of elements plus one. These statements should be reworded to be more accurate.

Change to:

Page 335: Error In Sample Code Table

The table on page 335 contains an incorrect code sample.

Change:

start% = InStr("bob", "bobby")

To:

start% = InStr("bobby", "bob")

Page 361: Delete Underline Character

On page 361 in step 7, the underline character (_) at the end of the first code line should be deleted. The prompt string continues to the next line and should be typed into Visual Basic as one line.

Change:

   prompt$ = "Enter the new record, and then click _
				

To:

   prompt$ = "Enter the new record, and then click
				

Page 392: Code Modification For Excel 2000 Compatibility

On page 392, the 7th line of sample code will need to be modified to be compatible with Microsoft Excel 2000. All the Microsoft Office Automation examples were written originally for Microsoft Office 97, which was the current version when Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 was released.

Change:

Set xl = CreateObject("Excel.Sheet")
				

To:

Set xl = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
				

Page 467: Problems Loading Project in Lesson 18

On page 467, in Lesson 18: "Run the FreeMem program", when opening the FreeMem project file, the mscomctl.ocx file will not load. When you proceed with step one on page 467, you will receive a message that says that the mscomctl.ocx "could not be loaded--continue loading project?"

WORKAROUND:
When you receive the message, click Yes. An "error during load" message will appear. Click OK.

With the FreeMem project open, select project from the File menu, and then click Components. In the Components window, make sure the Controls tab is selected, scroll down to Microsoft Windows Common Control 6.0 and click the check box to select it. The file location should read, C:Windows\System\mscomctl.ocx. Click Apply and then Close. The progress bar is added to the tool box.

In the Project window double-click Form1 (FreeMem.frm) to view the object. You will receive another "error during load" message. Click OK. Delete the first pictureBox named pgbPhysMem and replace it with a progress bar of the same name.

Delete the second pictureBox named pgbVirtMem and replace it with a progress bar of the same name.

Continue the exercise from step 2 on page 467.

Page 536-551: MyDHTML7 May Display An Error When Executed

Page 536-551, Lesson 22:
If you attempt to run the MyDHTML7 application, you may experience an error such as "Type Mismatch". To avoid any errors, perform the following steps:

1. Start Lesson 22 using the project you created in Lesson 21.
2. On Page 545 change:
   

    Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty(BaseWindow.Document, "Wins")
   						

   To:
   

      Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
   						

3. On page 546 change:

         x = GetProperty(BaseWindow.Document, "Wins")
         Result.innerText = "Wins: " & x + 1
         PutProperty BaseWindow.Document, "Wins", x + 1
      End If
      End Function
   						

   To:
   

         x = GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
         Result.innerText = "Wins: " & x + 1
         PutProperty Document, "Wins", x + 1
      End If
      End Function
   						

4. On page 547 change:

      PutProperty BaseWindow.Document, "Wins", x + 1
   						

   To:

      PutProperty Document, "Wins", x + 1
   						

MORE INFORMATION Lesson 22 was written with an early version of Visual Basic 6.0. The released version of Visual Basic 6.0 generates slightly different code for DHTML applications than the pre-release version. For example, the pre-release and released versions of PutProperty and GetProperty have different parameters.

Pre-release version:

Sub PutProperty(strName As String, vntValue As Variant)
Function GetProperty(strName As String) As Variant
				

Released version:

Sub PutProperty(objDocument As HTMLDocument, strName As String, vntValue As Variant, Optional Expires As Date)
Function GetProperty(objDocument As HTMLDocument, strName As String) As Variant
				

Depending on the book printing, the code in the book that calls PutProperty and GetProperty is different.
Printing 1-2:

   Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty("Wins")
   x = GetProperty("Wins")
   PutProperty "Wins", x + 1
				

Printing 3-9:

   Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty(BaseWindow.Document, "Wins")
   x = GetProperty(BaseWindow.Document, "Wins")
   PutProperty BaseWindow.Document, "Wins", x + 1
				

Printing 10+:

   Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
   x = GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
   PutProperty Document, "Wins", x + 1
				

Depending on the book printing, the code on the CD will be different.
Printing 1-9:

   Sub PutProperty(strName As String, vntValue As Variant)
   Function GetProperty(strName As String) As Variant
   Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty("Wins")
   x = GetProperty("Wins")
   PutProperty "Wins", x + 1
				

Printing 10+:

   Sub PutProperty(objDocument As HTMLDocument, strName As String, vntValue As Variant, Optional Expires As Date)
   Function GetProperty(objDocument As HTMLDocument, strName As String) As Variant
   Result.innerText = "Wins: " & GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
   x = GetProperty(Document, "Wins")
   PutProperty Document, "Wins", x + 1
				

Due to a change in the browser object model, the code "Basewindow.Document" generates an error in Internet Explorer 5.0. Using just "Document" should work correctly in Internet Explorer 4.0, Internet Explorer 5.0, and Internet Explorer 5.5.

Whether Lesson 22 will run correctly without modification depends on the following conditions:

1. The book printing.
2. Whether Lesson 22 was started using the reader's Lesson 21 project or the Lesson 21 project on the CD.
3. The version of Internet Explorer being used.

Page 537: Steps For Deleting An Element May Not Work

On page 537, the steps for deleting a text element on the page may not work.

Change:

1. Click the Blank1 element in the tree view pane.
   The element is selected and is highlighted in both the tree view pane and the right pane.
2. Press the Del key.
   The text element is deleted permanently from the page.

To:

1. Click the Blank1 element in the tree view pane.
   The element is selected.
2. Right-click the Blank1 element and select Delete from the shortcut menu.
   The text element is deleted permanently from the page.

Page 539: Coin Image May Display Blue Border

Once you have completed Step 3, on page 539, you may notice that the coin image displays with a blue border. To correct this, you will need to set the Border property for the Image element to 0.

The following steps will correct the problem.

1. Make sure the Image element is selected.
2. In the Properties window, scroll to the Border property, and click the text box to the right of the property.
3. Type 0 in the Border property and press Enter to ensure the Image element does not display a border.
4. Click the Save Project button on the Visual Basic toolbar to save your changes.

Page 548: Warning May Appear When Using Internet Explorer 5.0

The following note should be added to the bottom of page 548:

Note: If you are using Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later, you may see a dialog box warning you that the ActiveX control on the current page may be unsafe. Click Yes to allow the page to run--the ActiveX controls you are using are fully tested and safe.

Page 552-553: Correction To Lesson 22 Quick Reference

On page 552, at the bottom of the page, change:
PutProperty "Wins", x + 1

To:
PutProperty Document, "Wins", x + 1

On page 553, at the top of the page, change:
x = GetProperty("Wins")

To:
x = GetProperty(Document, "Wins")

Page 572: Correct Path

On page 572, in the shaded box, the last paragraph provides a pathname to a database. However, the 0 in "Less03" does not appear in this pathname and should be added to match the actual path to the database file on the practice CD.

Change:
C:\Vb6Sbs\Less3\Students.mdb

To:
C:\Vb6Sbs\Less03\Students.mdb

Page 594-597: Revised Instructions For Creating Custom Data Environment

The steps outlined on pages 594-597, in the "Create a custom data environment" section of lesson 24 were created with an early version of Visual Basic 6.0. Additional steps may be necessary and are not included in the instructions.

Revised Instructions:

1. On the Visual Basic Project menu, click the Add Data Environment command.
2. In the Data Environment window, right-click Connection1, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu. The Provider tab of the Data Link Properties dialog box appears, which allows you to select the provider you want to use to access your data.
3. On the Provider tab make sure Microsoft OLE DB Provider For ODBC Drivers is selected and then click Next. The Connection tab is displayed, which prompts you for the source of your data.
4. Click the Use Data Source Name option button, if it is not already selected, click Student Records in the drop-down list box, and click OK.
5. Click the Add Command button on the Data Environment toolbar.
   The Add Command button creates a new ActiveX data object in the Data Environment.
6. To set the unique attributes of this data object, right-click Command1 in the Data Environment window and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
7. In the Command1 Properties dialog box, type InstuctorTable in the Command Name text box.
   InstructorTable will be the name of your recordset object when you use this ADO command later.
8. Click the drop-down list box to the right of the Database Object option button, and click the Table type.
9. Click the Object Name drop-down list box, and click the Instructors table.
10. Click OK to create the InstructorTable command in the Data Environment.
11. Click the plus sign next to the InstructorTable command to expand the table and see its fields.
12. Open the Project window, and click the DataEnvironement1 designer.
13. On the File menu, click the Save DataEnvironment1 As command.
14. Type Instruct, and press Enter.
    If you are told that this file already exists on your system, choose a new name to protect the original version.

Last Page: Correction To Software Requirements

On the CD-ROM information page at the back of the book change the third sentence to exclude Visual Basic 6.0 Learning Edition. Lessons 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 require the Professional or Enterprise Editions of Visual Basic 6.0.

Change:
"To use these files, you'll need Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Learning Edition, Professional Edition or Enterprise Edition."

To:
"To use these files, you'll need Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition or Enterprise Edition."

Microsoft Press is committed to providing informative and accurate books. All comments and corrections listed above are ready for inclusion in future printings of this book. If you have a later printing of this book, it may already contain most or all of the above corrections.