GPS Application tutorial & source code .NET

Introduction
What is it that GPS applications need to be good enough to use in a commercial environment, such as in-car navigation? Also, how does the process of interpreting GPS data actually work? In this two-part series, I will cover both topics and give you the skills you need to write a commercial-grade GPS application that works with a majority of GPS devices in the industry today.

One Powerful Sentence
This first part in the series will explore the task of interpreting raw GPS data. Fortunately, the task is simplified thanks to the National Marine Electronics Association (www.nmea.org) which introduced a standard for the industry now in use by a vast majority of GPS devices. To give developers a head start, I chose to use some Visual Studio.NET source code from my “GPS.NET Global Positioning SDK” component. (The code is stripped of features like multithreading and error handling for brevity.)

NMEA data is sent as comma-delimited “sentences” which contain information based on the first word of the sentence. There are over fifty kinds of sentences, yet an interpreter really only needs to handle a few to get the job done. The most common NMEA sentence of all is the “Recommended Minimum” sentence, which begins with “$GPRMC.”
Author: Jon Person

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Migrating from MS Access to mySQL

In an era where data becomes volumetric in every business, much attention has been given to proper database management and the ease of data access. Businesses that use Access begin to look for an alternative which allows better database performance, higher reliability, higher flexibility, yet inexpensive.

With the numerous choices available in the market, considering you don’t want to put too much investment on it, only one, MySQL, stands out from the crowd. MySQL’s flexibility allows you to deploy it cross various platforms, it also allows multiple user access concurrently. If you wish, you can still continue to do your data administration through Access as a front end. However, despite the various MySQL’s features overtaking Access, whether or not to migrate your data from Access to MySQL still need an in-depth consideration.

In this paper, I will firstly discuss about whether or not to migrate your Access data to MySQL. Then, I will cover about the considerations, planning and preparations which you should made before migrating your data. After all the planning and preparation stages has been finished, I will illustrate to you how the migration can be done with the help of Navicat, a MySQL database administration GUI.

by Allen Lee, Read full article...

Moving From Visual Basic To The VB.net Shoppingcart

The introduction of the VB.net shoppingcart caused a chasm to form among developers. This new computer language differed in many ways from the Visual Basic language that came before it. Like with all changes in any aspect of society, some people were very receptive to the new language and others wanted to hang on to the way that things once were. Since its initial release, the new VB.net language has been improved upon and more people are finding it to be an adequate developers’ language. However, not everyone has had an easy time making the switch.

When the VB.net shopping cart was first released, debate sprung up as to whether this was simply a new version of the old Visual Basic language or whether it should be considered an entirely separate product. While the basic idea of the language was the same, the implementation of it was very different. This is comparable to written languages, which use the same alphabet; the letters are the same but that doesn’t mean that someone whose primary language is Spanish will be able to read a document written in English.

The changes that were made in the new developers’ language essentially altered many of the interface features that existed in previous versions. People who like the new VB.net shoppingcart believe that these changes allow for a more open approach to new development. However, those who weren’t happy with the change felt that the new language was more difficult to work with and that the cost of learning and implementing the new system would be too high. Nevertheless, the new system has prevailed, albeit with some modifications.

For developers who are just starting to get used to VB.net, there are tools available to make it easier to make the switch. Microsoft’s VB.net website contains a learning center which provides information necessary to assist developers in understanding this new language. It has online papers and videos which break down the changes that occurred between the old Visual Basic and the new language. It also provides text and video data to assist with learning this new language whether you are a developer used to Visual Basic or a brand new developer.

In addition to the learning center, there are numerous tutorials available online. Microsoft as well as others have created these tutorials to make it easy to not only learn the general language but also to learn how to take individual actions on this new type of system. For example, someone who was designing a general VB.net e-commerce storefront but who didn’t know what steps to take to add the VB.net shoppingcart could hunt down an online tutorial and learn what needed to be done to add that cart.

Of course, not everyone is going to find that this language makes sense to them. There remain other languages out there that developers can work with. Some find that the open source versions of VB.net are easier to begin working with and provide more flexibility in creating new products. This may be particularly true of software developers who are working with the system and trying to create something that isn’t yet on the market. Other developers find that an entirely different computer language is the right course for them and may switch to working with non-Microsoft platforms to further their work.

The VB.net shoppingcart language seems to be something that is here to stay, at least for the time being. As more developers get accustomed to using this language, a more widespread appreciation of it may be seen. Inevitably, this system will be replaced by something else since the language of computers is always evolving.


About the author
Andy West is a writer for AspDotNetStorefront, a premier http://vb.net shoppingcart and storefront provider. Visit http://www.aspdotnetstorefront.com/t-sdk.aspx for you shopping cart needs. Article Source

Key to LCD Interfacing

Liquid crystal display is very important device in embedded system. It offers high flexibility to user as he can display the required data on it. But due to lack of proper approach to LCD interfacing many of them fail. Many people consider LCD interfacing a complex job but according to me LCD interfacing is very easy task, you just need to have a logical approach. This page is to help the enthusiast who wants to interface LCD with through understanding. Copy and Paste technique may not work when an embedded system engineer wants to apply LCD interfacing in real world projects.

You will be knowing about the booster rockets on space shuttle. Without these booster rockets the space shuttle would not launch in geosynchronous orbit. Similarly to understand LCD interfacing you need to have booster rockets attached! To get it done right you must have general idea how to approach any given LCD.This page will help you develop logical approach towards LCD interfacing.

First thing to begin with is to know what LCD driver/controller is used in LCD. Yes, your LCD is dumb it does not know to talk with your microcontroller. LCD driver is a link between the microcontroller and LCD. You can refer the datasheet of LCD to know the LCD driver for e.g. JHD 162A is name of LCD having driver HD44780U.You have to interface the LCD according to the driver specification. To understand the algorithm of LCD interfacing user must have datasheet of both LCD and LCD driver. Many people ignore the datasheets and end up in troubles. If you want to interface LCD successfully you must have datasheets.
Download the Free Step-by-Step Guide

Why people ignore datasheets? Most of us do not like to read 100 pages of datasheet. But for a accurate technical specification datasheets are must. I will show you a technique to manipulate a datasheet within minutes.

First thing to find out in datasheet is the features viz. operating voltage, type of interface, maximum speed for interface in MHz, size of display data RAM, number of pixels, bits per pixel, number of row and columns.

You must have the pin diagram of LCD.Pin diagram of LCD driver can be omitted.

Study the type of communication protocol whether it is parallel or serial interface. Check how LCD discriminates data bytes and command bytes, which pins on LCD are used for communication. Study Interface timing diagram given in the datasheet.
From datasheet of LCD driver find out whether hardware reset is required at startup, what is the time of reset pulse, is it active low and which pins of LCD are to be toggled.

Major task in LCD interfacing is the initialization sequence. In LCD initialization you have to send command bytes to LCD. Here you set the interface mode, display mode, address counter increment direction, set contrast of LCD, horizontal or vertical addressing mode, color format. This sequence is given in respective LCD driver datasheet. Studying the function set of LCD lets you know the definition of command bytes. It varies from one LCD to another. If you are able to initialize the LCD properly 90% of your job is done.

Next step after initialization is to send data bytes to required display data RAM memory location. Firstly set the address location using address set command byte and than send data bytes using the DDRAM write command. To address specific location in display data RAM one must have the knowledge of how the address counter is incremented.


Author:
Nimish Dave. GetACoder.com network

How to create your own VB add-in features

Visual Basic Programmers usually create add-ins because they feel short of features when working with Microsoft tools or it seems at times that Microsoft hasn't yet developed the tool we need.
Obviously, Microsoft can't design features to fulfill each and every programmer needs, so it made Visual Basic (VB) an extensible product, thereby providing the way for VB developers to create their own add-in features.
Here's some samples, tools and how-to articles to help you create your own Visual Basic Add-in project.

1. Visual Basic Add In Tips & sample code
   
2. Free Visual Basic Refactoring Add-in for Visual Studio Developers
   
3. How To Create a Visual Basic Automation Add-in for Excel Worksheet Functions
   
4. Points to take care with Visual Basic Add-In
   
5. Multi-Language Add-In for Visual Basic (shareware)
   
6. Success writing a Visual Basic add-in for MCE! (thegreenbutton forum)
   
7. Code Template Add-In for Visual Basic Version 2.0
   
8. Visual Open Project Add-In.
   Add-In for Visual Basic 6.0 that allow easy and quickly open Your projects.
   
9. Context! VB 1.0. (shareware)
   A Visual Basic Add-In which has been designed to short-cut the process of developing context sensitive popup help forVisual Basic 5 and 6 applications.
   
10. Visual Basic 6.0 Procedure Sort Add-In.
    The Procedures Sort Add-In is a great add-in for those who like well-organized code. You can use it to sort your procedures in the active CodeWindow alphabetically. It preserve all you procedure attributes, which you normally loose when you do it manually. Event-handlers and Interface-implementations will be placed at the end of your code.
    
11. Creating a Text-to-speech add-in for Microsoft Word 2007 with Visual Studio 2008
    

Useful tips to secure your SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) produced by Microsoft. Its primary query language is Transact-SQL with it's most popular version Sql server 2005.

You can determine what version SQL Server is running by running:

Select @@version (Where @@Version is a system level variable that holds the current version).

How do I restict clients by IP Address?

As the SQL Server has no built-in support for restricting clients by IP address, the most common work-arounds are firewalls, IPSec, or third-party network layer filters to allow only certain source IP addresses and target TCP ports (the port on which SQL Server is listening).

What are some things I can do to secure my SQL Server?

- Keep up to date on SQL Server service packs and patches
- Audit SQL Server accounts for weak passwords
- Restrict access to the SQL Server to only trusted clients
- Use Windows Only authentication where possible
- Store SQL Server backup files in a secure location and encrypted
- Disable all netlibs if the SQL Server is local-only
- Regularly scan the installation with Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer

How to applying SQL Server Service Packs


Giles is a Sketch Artist, Asian Blogger and loves SQL Servers.
Article Source: Free Article Directory - Search And Submit Articles

The Growing Trend Of A Computer Programming Degree

Computers and the Internet have streamlined their way into the homes of people all over the world. Currently, more than three-quarters of homes in the United States have a computer. The abundance of computers all over the nation provides numerous career opportunities and degree programs associated with technology. One program that has become more and more popular since the boom of the computer is a computer programming degree. Gaining a degree in this program offers benefits such as being able to work from home and job security, which is an important benefit in any career field.

In 2006, CNN Money named software engineers as the number one job in the United States. The reason why software engineering is a huge career field is due to the fact that practically every part of the business world is in need of software engineers. From financial establishments to institutions of higher education, many organizations house their own Information Technology department raising the need for individuals who are knowledgeable in computer programming.

Computer programming goes far beyond the basics of normal computer programs. Knowledge in math and problem solving are key elements to being a successful computer programmer, along with more advanced and intricate computer skills. These skills are enforced through a series of classes and course work that emphasizes the importance of problem solving and math in the technology world. These skills are important due in part to the fact that in computer programming, there is no set of guidelines to follow when trying to correct a problem. Therefore, computer programs are required to analytically evaluate a situation to come up with the best possible solution to fixing the problem. Receiving a computer programming degree will give students these important skills to become successful software engineers and computer programmers.

There are many different sides to computer programming, such as Internet applications, databases and networks that students must learn while receiving a computer programming degree. Through course work, students will learn to design and implement popular web applications, such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C# and Java. Students will also learn analyzing, designing, building and implementing database-driven websites. Knowledge in these subject fields, along with analytical and mathematical skills combine to give students the experience and confidence they need to be successful in the computer programming world.

Along with the technical aspect of this career field, a computer programming degree also offers course work in different areas. These courses include education, communications and science among other areas of interest. Course work associated with a degree in computer programming offers the foundation for a well-rounded education. Not only will students be well versed in designing computer programs and following them through to implementation, but they will also learn to clearly communicate with their colleagues and explore different career fields made possible by a degree in computer programming.

Along with obtaining a computer programming degree, students following a computer programming curriculum will be given the tools necessary to complete required exams. These exams include becoming a Microsoft Certified Professional as well as a Microsoft Certified Application Developer. Successfully completing these exams opens a door for an endless amount of career opportunities upon completion of the degree. If an individual is interested in the Internet, website development may be the perfect job. On the other hand, if a student is more of an individual and interested in creating a computer program from scratch they would find working as a program developer more fascinating. There are endless possibilities once an individual receives their degree, and whatever their passion may be, there is a job out there for everyone.



About the author Andy West is a freelance writer for Virginia College. Virginia College offers many courses to help you obtain your Computer Programming Degree. Please visit Virginia College at http://www.vc.edu/site/program.cfm?programID=16 to select the program that is right for you. Source: Article Maniac Free Article Directory

15 Stretegies for enhancing your memory

Dr. Thorne is the clinical director at the Center for Development and Learning (http://www.cdl.org/) a nonprofit organization that specializes in the development and dissemination of research, knowledge, and best practices that impact teaching and learning.

The following strategies are offered to help students develop a more efficient and effective memory. I think this is very useful whether you are student or not. This listing is by no means exhaustive, but rather is meant as a place to begin.

1. Take the mystery away.

The first and perhaps most important strategy is to insure that all students understand how memory works and identify their particular profiles of memory strengths and challenges. Then, students should be taught memory management strategies.

2. Give directions in multiple formats.

Students benefit from being given directions in both visual and verbal formats. In addition, their understanding and memorizing of instructions could be checked by encouraging them to repeat the directions given and explain the meaning of these directions. Examples of what needs to be done are also often helpful for enhancing memory of directions.

3. Teach students to over-learn material.

Students should be taught the necessity of "over-learning" new information. Often they practice only until they are able to perform one error-free repetition of the material. However, several error-free repetitions are needed to solidify the information.

4. Teach students to use visual images and other memory strategies.

Another memory strategy that makes use of a cue is one called word substitution. The substitute word system can be used for information that is hard to visualize, for example, for the word occipital. These words can be converted into words that sound familiar that can be visualized. The word occipital can be converted to exhibit hall (because it sounds like exhibit hall). The student can then make a visual image of walking into an art museum and seeing a big painting of a brain with big bulging eyes (occipital is the region of the brain that controls vision). With this system, the vocabulary word the student is trying to remember actually becomes the cue for the visual image that then cues the definition of the word.

5. Give teacher-prepared handouts prior to class lectures.

Class lectures and series of oral directions should be reinforced by teacher-prepared handouts. The handouts for class lectures could consist of a brief outline or a partially completed graphic organizer that the student would complete during the lecture. Having this information both enables students to identify the salient information that is given during the lectures and to correctly organize the information in their notes. Both of these activities enhance memory of the information as well. The use of Post-Its to jot information down on is helpful for remembering directions.

6. Teach students to be active readers.

To enhance short-term memory registration and/or working memory when reading, students should underline, highlight, or jot key words down in the margin when reading chapters. They can then go back and read what is underlined, highlighted, or written in the margins. To consolidate this information in long-term memory, they can make outlines or use graphic organizers. Research has shown that the use of graphic organizers increases academic achievement for all students.

7. Write down steps in math problems.

Students who have a weakness in working memory should not rely on mental computations when solving math problems. For example, if they are performing long division problems, they should write down every step including carrying numbers. When solving word problems, they should always have a scratch piece of paper handy and write down the steps in their calculations. This will help prevent them from loosing their place and forgetting what they are doing.

8. Provide retrieval practice for students.

Research has shown that long-term memory is enhanced when students engage in retrieval practice. Taking a test is a retrieval practice, i.e., the act of recalling information that has been studied from long-term memory. Thus, it can be very helpful for students to take practice tests. When teachers are reviewing information prior to tests and exams, they could ask the students questions or have the students make up questions for everyone to answer rather than just retelling students the to-be-learned information. Also, if students are required or encouraged to make up their own tests and take them, it will give their parents and/or teachers information about whether they know the most important information or are instead focused on details that are less important.

9. Help students develop cues when storing information.

According to the memory research, information is easier retrieved when it is stored using a cue and that cue should be present at the time the information is being retrieved. For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to represent the names of the Great Lakes – Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. The acronym is a cue that is used when the information is being learned, and recalling the cue when taking a test will help the student recall the information.

10. Prime the memory prior to teaching and learning activities.

Cues that prepare students for the task to be presented are helpful. This is often referred to as priming the memory. For instance, when a reading comprehension task is given, students will get an idea of what is expected by discussing the vocabulary and the overall topic beforehand. This will allow them to focus on the salient information and engage in more effective depth of processing. Advance organizers also serve this purpose. For older students, CliffNotes or other similar study guides for pieces of literature are often helpful aids for priming the memory.

11. Use Post-Its.

The use of Post-Its for jotting down information can be helpful for students who have short-term memory or working memory challenges.

12. Activate prior knowledge.

In order to enhance the likelihood that students will elaborate on new incoming information, teachers should activate their prior knowledge and make the new information meaningful to them. An easy way of accomplishing this task is to ask, “What do you know”, “What do you want to know”.

13. Give extended time.

If students have difficulty with the speed of retrieving information from memory, they should be given extended time for taking tests so that a true picture of what they know may be gained.

14. Use multisensory methods.

When learners, both young and old, experience something through multiple senses, they are much more likely to remember it. Use a Multisensory approach by engaging as many of the senses as possible when teaching (seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting).

15. Review material before going to sleep.

It should be helpful for students to review material right before going to sleep at night. Research has shown that information studied this way is better remembered. Any other task that is performed after reviewing and prior to sleeping (such as getting a snack, brushing teeth, listening to music) interferes with consolidation of information in memory.

Gadwin Prinscreen, tools to create screenshots and print easily

Gadwin PrintScreen, a tool that makes possible to create screenshots that can be easily saved or printed in just a single keystroke.
Capture portions of a screen, save it to a file, copy it to Windows clipboard, or send it through email with very less efforts when you use this tool. This tool can instantly capture screens and create screenshots suitable for saving or printing. The useful tool comes to use when you would like to; display your product on the web, enhance technical or sales documents, and make your presentations bolder by adding capture.
It is also capable to capture and print or save computer screen data. The other features include; supports numerous hotkey combinations, the utility allows you to directly copy the screen to the clipboard, allows to capture full screen, or capture a specific window, supports six different image formats, and much more.
The must have utility is compatible with Windows 98/Me/2000/2003/XP/Vista, or Windows NT 4.0SP6.

Download Gadwin Printscreen
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Free VB Tools Installation Package

Install Simple is a very compact (60 KBytes) and powerful program to build your Installation packages in seconds instead of hours!

Setups are packed into single exe-file for easy distribution.
The extractor module has extremely small size (only 13 KBytes overhead over compressed data size). Using a very practical and intuitive assistant, you can establish parameters for the installation process of your product for any Windows platform.
It's designed for anyone who distributes applications, data files, graphic images or whatever else you want to distribute!

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
1. PC compatible Pentium 60 processor or faster system
2. Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista
3. 4 Mb RAM or higher

Download InstallSimple 1.35
Visit Publisher website

Copyright (c) 2007-2008, Russian New Logic. All rights reserved.

Add Explorer Style Rename Capability to TreeView Control

Q192170
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual Basic Learning Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
The following procedure can be used to edit the node name on the TreeView side of the Windows Explorer:

- Click on a node with focus to place it in edit mode.
- Remove all the text from the Node label.
- Move focus to a different Node.

You receive the following error message:
You must type in a file name.
Focus returns to the Node you were editing and you remain in edit mode.
If you hit the Esc Key, the original text is placed back in the Node label.

MORE INFORMATION
This sample demonstrates how to achieve the same effect using the TreeView control in Visual Basic. It also shows how to verify that when a user edits a Node label that it is not left blank.

Step-by-Step Example
Create a new standard EXE project. Form1 is created by default.
From the Project menu, select Components, check "Microsoft Windows Common Controls 6.0," and then click OK.

Add a TreeView and Timer control to Form1.
Add the following to the code window of Form1:

Option Explicit

Dim sNodeText As String ' to hold the node text

Private Sub Form_Load()
'Add some nodes to the TreeView
TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test"
TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test 1"
TreeView1.Nodes.Add , , , "test 2"
End Sub

Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
' Put the TreeView in edit mode
TreeView1.StartLabelEdit
Timer1.Enabled = False
End Sub

Private Sub TreeView1_AfterLabelEdit(Cancel As Integer, _
NewString As String)
' Make sure that we have a value in the Label
If Len(NewString) < interval =" 100" enabled =" True"> 0 Then
sNodeText = TreeView1.SelectedItem.Text
End If
End Sub

Private Sub TreeView1_KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer)
' If the user hits the Esc key then restore the old label
If KeyCode = vbKeyEscape Then
TreeView1.SelectedItem.Text = sNodeText
End If
End Sub

Save and run the project. Click on a Node to select it, then click on it again to place it in edit mode.
Follow steps as described in the Summary above. When you hit the ESC key, you will see that the old value for the Node label has been restored.

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1998. All Rights Reserved.
Contributions by Brian Combs, Microsoft Corporation.

Additional query words: kbDSupport kbDSD kbVBp kbVBp500 kbVBp600 kbCmnCtrls kbTreeView
Keywords : kbGrpDSVB
Issue type : kbhowto
Technology : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVBA500 kbVBA600 kbVB500 kbVB600

MD5 Hash Calculator Module for Vb6

MD5 calculator is a simple application which will calculate the MD5 hash of a given file. Can be used with big files (some GB). It features a progress counter and a text field from which the final MD5 hash can be easily copied to the clipboard.

MD5 Hash Calculator implemented for VB6 (Module). You can add the module to your project with easy step:

MD5 API

1. Check if the dll is on System or System32
2. if Not then do the following steps:

• Copy the file to your windows\system directory.
• Do NOT Register the DLL

Download MD5 Hash Calculator for VB6

First Pocket Projector from 3M

This is the first tiny Pocket Projector from 3M set to launch on September 30, In a dark room, it could project a big enough image to be the ultimate cheap-o home theater. The projector will sell for a mere $359. It doesn’t have a speaker, so you’ll have to get that separately.

The MPro110 is pretty basic looking on the outside—just a grey box. But it gets the job down. A VGA input lets you plug in a laptop; and the composite video jack will take output from a digital camera, PSP, iPod, iPhone, or most any handheld device (though video-out is still pretty rare on cellphones). A thumbwheel on the front allows you to focus.

The standalone projector goes on sale September 30. In a year or so, 3M hopes to squeeze it into cellphones.

3M had been planning to make a formal announcement in a few weeks, which is why we held off talking about it. But their German division got so begeistert about the new product that they just spit out their own announcement.

3M Beats Everyone to the Micro Projector Business!

Office Goodies, VBA tools & tips for MS. Office

Tools and Tips for MS Office.

Among them are:
- OfficeTSVN (Tortoise SVN for Office/VBA)
- LogAddin (logging for Office/COM)
- CmdArgs (Command Argument processing for Excel, Word and Powerpoint) and
- various tips for dealing with Office VBA intricacies.

Visit here to view the Office Goddies complete download list.

Minatek FlatFle Converter 1

Some applications create data exports or "print-outs" using a fixed-width scheme, where a field always appears at a specific location with the data following it. These can be tricky to use in an application. This utility allows you to define where these fields are and then have your custom software load the data file and appear as a dataset to you.

This free utility allows you to define fields in a fixed-width or separated-values data file and consume such a file in your custom .Net application as a dataset, file, Excel spreadsheet, or XML document.

Download Minatek Flatfile Converter 1
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Add and manage skins for your VB project.

Add and manage skins for your Visual Basic project with Skin Control Light 1.0.

Adding an attractive skin to your application is as easy as dropping the control on the form and adding 1 line of code. It is compatible to work with Aligned Controls and Visual Basic Menus are features.
There is no need to write special code for resizing events or activation\deactivation of the skin control as the control automatically moves all controls contained on a form to compensate for skin borders.

Download Skin Control Light 1.0 (1.95MB)
Visit Publisher's website

How to add your application to Windows Startup

This small tips will help to starting your application when Windows boots using various ways.

1. Add a string entry in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. The entry's name should be the name of your application (ex: MyApp). Its value must be the short path to your application (ex. C:\Windows\MyApp.exe).
   
2. Display Modal Message Box on Window's Startup.
   Windows can display a modal dialog box when it boots. You can specify the dialog’s caption and text. Add or change:
   HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
   LegalNoticeCaption = "enter the caption"
   LegalNoticeText = "enter the text"
   
   or
   
   HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
   LegalNoticeCaption = "enter the caption"
   LegalNoticeText = "enter the text"
   

Related tips on How to add your application to Windows Startup from codeproject.com

Suppressing Window's Start Up Logo
To suppress the animated Microsoft logo bitmap edit C:\MSDOS.SYS using Notepad.
Be sure you can view hidden and system files in Explorer to see this file.
You can also enter C: then ATTRIB -R -S -H MSDOS.SYS at a DOS prompt.
Once you edit the file, find the [Options] line and insert logo=0 as the next line.
If you see a line that says logo=1, delete it. then save the file.
The logo will not display the next time you boot up.

RapidKey: autotext and macros for Windows

RapidKey is a simple application conveniently puts frequently used text fragments closer at hand. Now you can use your macros and autotext in all applications and improve your Windows system functionality.

RapidKey's system-tray icon allows you to store frequently used text, create macros, and provide quick access to your favorite folders and desktop shortcuts. Create and store text snippets and easily access them using a hot-key combination, or record keyboard and mouse movements to easily create time-saving macros. You also can use the Fast Macro feature, which allows you to quickly record and play a temporary macro using hot keys.

Placing your mouse over RapidKey's icon displays the amount of free memory and total memory available on your hard drive. With its multiple time-saving features, RapidKey can benefit any user who frequently works with the same text or performs the same repetitive actions.


Download Rapidkey here

Pay per download: a new method in software campaign

This is a new fresh info especially for software Authors, AdLandmark offers SoftPPD (Software Pay Per Download) as a new method to promote and distribute your software fast, cheap and easy.

If you want your software can appear for free on many well known download sites and software related vertical marketing sites then try to use the service from this site. You just need to open an account, create your campaign, and you only pay a fee when a customer in your selected countries downloads your software completely.

Features:

• Users can download your software directly
• You only need to pay for the first unique & completed download
• Only customers from selected countries can download your software
• Control your budget and software campaigns in real time
• Long term 60-day conversion tracking


• Thorough and immediate report capability

Advantages:
Traditional Pay Per Click (PPC) ads are to send the user to your website, but most of them leave without downloading your software, and you pay merely a visitors fee. AdLandmark SoftPPD service allows the user to download the free trial version of your software directly, using the shareware Try-Before-You-Buy advantage.

Visit Adlandmark

Free Powerful Download Manager

If you want faster downloads with no risk of incomplete downloads, can pause, resume, schedule and accelerate downloads from websites, then this tool is for you, NetPumper is an advanced download manager that will help you get the most out of your internet connection, easy to use and has built in support for Anti-leech.com

With NetPumper you can download an unlimited amount of files at the same time, schedule when to download them and have full control over the bandwidth usage.

Key features:

• Accelerate your downloads
• Automatically resume download if connection breaks
• Download scheduler
• Concurrent downloads of several files
• Bandwidth controller
• Pause/resume downloads
• Compatible with Internet explorer, Firefox and Opera
• Fully Anti-Leech.com compatible

Download NetPumper now
Visit Pubhisher's website
Tracker id: NP_0233(needed for Anti-Leech integration)

CopyProjectLite, the simple way to copy

CopyProjectLite 1.0 is a small VB utility but very useful, it helps you to copy Your VB Project to a new location, it's very very simple job right? but did you ever found how hard even just to copy a current VB project to to another directory, computer, or floppy or zip disk? I did and I had trouble to run the program because I lost some required files that came from another folder directory.

For that case, CopyProjectLite do the great job, now you can easily copy your VB project to a new location with no worry. All project files and related documents are copied to the new directory.

You can use this free VB tools to create new projects based on old projects, back up your projects, get only the files actually used in your project and test your code on a different computer.


Download CopyProjectLite 1.0 for Free - [Link #1 | link #2 ]
Visit Publisher's website

Accessing MYSQL database using ADO.NET

This article will show you how to access MySQL server database using ODBC data provider. There are two ways to access MySQL Server database using ODBC data providers.
First, using ODBC data source name and second by passing connection string direct in the OdbcConnection object.

Using MySQL Database
Working with different data sources is only a matter of changing the connection string. You can access a MySQL database either using a DSN or using the direct database name in the connection string. You can use a database name directly as shown in the following code:

Dim connectionString as string = "Driver={MySQL};SERVER=localhost;DATABASE=NorthwindMySQL;"

Or you can use an ODBC DSN, as you can see from the following code that I’ve used TestDSN DSN to connect to the data source:

Dim conn As New OdbcConnection("DSN=TestDSN")

To test this code, create a Windows application and add a DataGrid control to the form and write code listed in Listing below (on the form load).
As you can see in Listing this code is similar to the code you saw earlier. It creates a connection, a data adapter, fills the dataset from the data adapter, and sets the dataset’s DefaultViewManager as the DataGrid control’s DataSource property.

'Listing: Accessing a MySQL database
Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As Object, e As System.EventArgs)
Dim connectionString As String = "Driver={MySQL};SERVER=localhost;DATABASE=NorthwindMySQL;"'
Dim conn As New OdbcConnection(connectionString)
conn.Open()
Dim da As New OdbcDataAdapter("SELECT CustomerID, ContactName, ContactTitle FROM Customers", conn)
Dim ds As New DataSet("Cust")
da.Fill(ds, "Customers")
dataGrid1.DataSource = ds.DefaultViewManager
conn.Close()
End Sub 'Form1_Load


Note:
For sample database you can convert Nortwind Access database to MYSQL database, and make sure you replace your database name, table, user ID and password.(Phillip N)

Free Setup Maker By Its Best

• Inno Setup - Best of Freeware
  Inno Setup is a free installer for Windows programs, Support for all 32-bit Windows versions including for the latest Windows 2000/XP wizard style. It's create a single EXE to install your program for easy distribution online or on disk in standard wizard interface, Full source code is available, features include; Creation of shortcuts anywhere, including in the Start Menu and on the desktop. Creation of registry and .INI entries. Customizable setup types, e.g. Full, Minimal, Custom. Complete uninstall capabilities. Installation of files. Silent install and uninstall.
  »» Download Inno Setup 5.2.3.exe (1,385kb) - Visit website

• Inno Setup Extensions (pascal scripting) - Best script added
  Inno Setup Extensions is currently based on Inno Setup 2.0.6 and adds 'advanced Pascal scripting' to Inno Setup. The advanced Pascal scripting feature adds lots of new possibilities to customize your Setup at run-time.
  »» Download Inno Setup Extensions 3.0.6.2 (1,3Mb) - Visit website


• FS ZIP Extractor - best of modify
  FS ZIP Extractor (FSZIPX) is a freeware zip self-extractor stub that allows you to create self-extracting zip archives that are run as an executable file. FS ZIP Extractor is used to modify zip files so that they can be unzipped without having any unZIP software installed. If a .zip file is made into a self-extracting .zip, the user can unzip the file(s) by clicking on the .exe. They would not need an unzip software installed on their computer.
  »» Download FSZIPX 1.3 (320kb) - Visit website


• GK Setup - best for internet distribution
  GkSetup allows you to create professional installations for your software. This free tool is mostly ideal for internet distribution. The easy user interface will reduce your support calls.
  »» Download GKSetup 2.35 (3,16mb) - Visit website


• SSE Setup - best for customization
  If you're looking for FREE customizable installation/uninstallation program, then this is for you. It can copy files, register DLL's/OCX's, create/set/delete registry entires both on installation and uninstallation. Create any number of links to any number of locations, etc. Plus upgrade/patch support and much more!
  »» Download SSE Setup 5.1 (3 MB) - Visit website
  
  
• Install Wizard Creator - best easy of use
  Install Wizard Creator is an en extremely easy to use 3-Step program that creates professional looking Install programs. Just follow the Creator's simple instructions and it will produce a quality 4-Page Installer. This program is specifically designed for those who find the other Setup or Install Makers too complex.
  »» Download Install Wizard Creator (523Kb) - Visit website
  
  
• Xenoage Java Exe Starter - best solver (execute jar file in exe)
  In Java you can generate executable jar-files but most Windows users are only familiar with exe files. Moreover it is not possible to assign icons to a Java Archive. This program solves these problems by generating an exe, with an arbitrary icon, that starts the jar when it is launched.
  »» Download Xenoage Java Exe Starter 2 0 - Visit website


• RedShift Installation System - Best real time preview
  RedShift enables you to create a very simple, smart looking software installer in seconds, Its builds a single, self contained executable file which you can then distribute. RedShift displays a realtime preview of your installer while you are working - saving you time since you don't need to keep rebuilding just to see if everything looks fine.
  
  
  • Name your installer & choose a splash image
  • Type or paste in your software license text
  • Select your folder of files to be installed
  • Enter shortcuts to your exe and help files
  • Click 'Build'
  
  »» Download RedShift Installation System - visit website
  

your suggestion? add your comment...

Must have: Resource Hacker, the resource editor

If you want to add or modify shortcuts and menus in your programs or favorite apps to make them more consistent or easier to use, there is a free tool to do it easily.

Resource Hacker^TM is a handy utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT, Win2000 and WinXP operating systems.

Key Features:

Viewing Resources:

• Images: Cursor, Icon, Bitmap, GIF, AVI, and JPG
• Audio: WAV and MIDI
• Decompiled script: Menus, Dialogs, MessageTables, StringTables, Accelerators, Delphi Forms, and VersionInfo.
• WYSIWYG: Menus and Dialogs can also be viewed as they would appear in a running application.

Saving Resources:

• Resources can be saved as:
• Image files (*.ico, *.bmp etc)
• Script files (*.rc)
• Binary resource files (*.res) or
• Untyped binary files (*.bin)

Modifying Resources:

• Resources can be modified by replacing the resource with:
• A resource located in another file (*.ico, *.bmp, *.res etc)
• Internal resource script compiler (for menus, dialogs etc).
• Dialog controls can also be visually moved and/or resized by clicking and dragging the respective dialog controls prior to recompiling with the internal compiler.

Adding Resources:

• Resources can be added to an application by copying them from external resource files (*.res).

Deleting Resources:

• Most compilers add resources into applications which are never used by the application.
• Removing unused resources can reduce an application's size.

This Resource HackerTM software is released as freeware by Angus Johnson, © Copyright 1999-2004.

Download Resource Hacker 3.4
Resource Hacker tutorial

30-day trial version software creator

If you are a software developer and ready to sell software to the market, we know that most customer would prefer to test it to see if it suits their needs. Then we should create free trials version that available to download and install it either for a limited time of uses, this is "try before buy" concept.

We can create a fully functional 30-day trial version of your software product with SoftwareKey 30-Day Trial Creator. The program is simple, easy to use yet powerful and no even need to modify of your source code. A 30-day trial can be created in minutes.
Potential customers will not be able to re-install the created trial software to gain time after the trial period has expired. There's no way except they come back to you and place order for the full version.

Take the first step in protecting your software property.

Download SoftwareKey 30-Day Trial Creator

MSDN Magazine June 2008 Edition

What's new in this June 2008 Edition?

SAAS: Connect Enterprise Apps with Hosted BizTalk Services.
Jon Flanders and Aaron Skonnard introducing the BizTalk Services, new technology that offers the Enterprise Service Bus features of BizTalk Server as a hosted service.

Concurrency: Tools and Techniques to Identify Concurrency Issues
In this article Rahul Patil and Boby George covers what they considers of efficient parallel applications on a parallel processor machine.

Robotics: Sara Morgan wrote about Simulating the World with Microsoft Robotics Studio.
"Microsoft Robotics Studio is not just for playing with robots. It also allows you to build service-based applications for a wide range of hardware devices".

Form Filler: Build Workflows to Capture Data and Create Documents.
Rick Spiewak explain how to create a workflow that uses InfoPath forms and other office documents for passing data to targeted activities and for use in Office documents.

GUI Library: Bring the Simplicity of Windows Forms to Native Apps
In this article, author John Torjo presents a guide to his C++ GUI library called eGUI++ and explains how it makes user interface programming easier.

Code Download (975Kb)
Download HTML Help Format

Freelance Jobs: Post your project and start earn

More than 250,000 project have been posted!
More than $20,000,000 has been spent!
Affiliates make more than $7,000 per month.

Post your project today!
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or Start making money by referring your friends!

Click here to read more!

Make your everyday is a great day as being a freelancer!

View all open project list here.

CodeBank, Portable tree-based PIMs

When you need a quite handy for storing and carry personal information database anywhere you go then you need CodeBank Portable. It's a tree-based personal information database. It is geared towards storing code snippets, with built-in syntax highlighting for C/C++, Object Pascal, Java, XML, Visual Basic, VBScript, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, PHP, Perl, Python and SQL.
It supports ZIP compression for a smaller database, and AES encryption to keep your sensitive data safe from prying eyes. Its search function supports a filtered view that displays all matching records at a glance.

Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch the program by double-clicking on CodeBank.exe.

Download CodeBank v.2.1.2. from zeraha.org
Author: Nikola Dachev

VBScript Mania, 2000+ free predefined VBscripts collection

VBScript-Mania is a Microsoft Access database that includes over 2000 predefined scripts many of them founded in the Script Repository from Microsoft site along with a brief description, supported platforms, a categorization scheme and much, much more.

Multilanguage support: at this moment program is available in two languages French and English and all the scripts from database are available in both languages (including titles, descriptions, and categories).

VBScript-Mania includes a syntax colouring control. This is a special rich textbox that colour your code. Colorized code looks like in Visual Basic interface. You could run code direct from this control, import scripts from templates, and edit script with Notepad, direct save the script and many other options. In order to save or to run a script you don?t need to copy the script, paste it into Notepad, and then to save it as a .vbs file. Instead, you could save or run scripts direct from VBScript-Mania interface.

Filter and find facilities: you can do a full-text search in all scripts templates or saved scripts or you could filter the scripts by category and sub-category.

VBScript-Mania allows you to create stand-alone .vbs files for all templates scripts or saved scripts from database. Select a folder and all your scripts or templates will be saved in a hierarchical directory structure.

Many predefined statements direct implemented.


Download VBScript Mania from Downloadry.com
Publisher: Laic Aurelian

ActiveResize Control Lite 3.0

Do you have screen resolution problems when design your applications? Well, ActiveResize Control lite is for you, VBGold ActiveResize Control is a VB form resizer that makes your Visual Basic applications completely resolution-independent without the need to write any code. Design your applications at any screen resolution and have them run and look exactly the same at any screen resolution. This gives your applications an equally professional look and feel on all systems, resulting in increased sales of your software.

This free tools automatically resizes and repositions all controls (and captions, text, fonts) on VB forms when the form is resized either by the user or through code. The control automatically detects the resize event of its parent form and performs a proportional accurate resizing / repositioning on all form controls without requiring you to write a single line of code! Just drag and drop the control on the form and you are done!

ActiveResize handles virtually any type of controls. It also handles complex controls like the SSTab Tabbed Dialog control, all types of Microsoft DB Grids and Data Grids, as well as both the Microsoft FlexGrid (MSFlexGrid) and Hierarchical FlexGrid (MSHFlexGrid). Version 3.x also supports all types of Sheridan controls & Grids (SSDBGrid, SSOleDBGrid, SSDBCombo, etc.). It also supports the MS Toolbar control and the MS Calendar control. Unlike other resizer controls, ActiveResize automatically resizes the form background picture and the contents of picture boxes.

ActiveResize gives you great flexibility and control over the resize / reposition process. You can individually exclude any control(s) on the form from being resized and / or repositioned. It's perfectly optimized for maximum processing speed, resulting in a perfect ultra-fast resizing / repositioning process that is completely invisible by the user.

ActiveResize works with the 32-bit versions of Visual Basic (5.0 and 6.0).

Download Free ActiveResize Lite (Setup package)
Download Free AResizeliteOCX file (Required VB Runtimes Library)
Publisher VBGold

How to be a good programmer?

I found this nice documentation written by. Robert L. Read, a good article to find the answer of the question above.
Just like he said, " To be a good programmer is difficult and noble. The hardest part of making real a collective vision of a software project is dealing with one's coworkers and customers. Writing computer programs is important and takes great intelligence and skill. "

It's a good catch for you, because Robert explained the whole important things what we should do to deal with this our area of expertise.

Read on Robert "how-to" here....

a free private teacher ready to helps you

This is one of the best and most useful free software I ever found, Teach2000. the aim of this application is to help you memorize a foreign language, topography or even the history of Italy by date. Great way to improve your school results with this free trainer.

Key Features:

• Included examples guarantee a quick start.
• Easy handling of foreign symbols.
• Test system based on spaced repetition.
• A question can have multiple answers, and vice versa.
• Multi-line questions and answers.
• Rich formatting of the questions.
• Statistics.
• Phonetic symbols.
• Twelve dictionaries included for translations and synonyms.
• Add multimedia to the questions.
• A large number of test styles.
• Examination of vocabulary, but also sentences, dates, capital cities etcetera.
• Multiple choice questions, grammar and yes/no-questions.
• Greek font included.
• Unicode enabled.
• Easy import/export of lists.

The advantages:

• 100% free.
• Print flash cards, tests and crib notes.
• Stable, fast and easy to use.

Download Teach2000 8.24
Visit Publisher's website

Another notepad replacement

Still using notepad as your text editor? Then try TotalEdit. It's a powerful notepad replacement and text editor, perfect for text, web editing including PHP, HTML, Javascript, etc.

The more interesting is because it owns many programming features including:
Code-Folding, Language specific Syntax-Coloring, Plug-in External Compilers like Javac, Preview Web Pages and much more.

Key benefits and features:

• Customizable menu's, command's, syntax coloring, external tools and more
• Spell Checker and web (HTML) formatting tools
• Built-in file comparison and hex (binary) editor
• Over 80 features
• Edit many files all at the same time

Download TotalEdit 4.2.2 Installer
Download TotalEdit 4.2.2 for USB
Visit Publisher's website

code & syntax converter

Introducing Highlight, a small powerful converter tool, it will converts your source code to formatted text with syntax highlighting.
Colored output in HTML, XHTML, RTF, TeX, LaTeX and XML format. Highlights is a platform independent, support more than 120 programming language and includes 40 colour themes.

Features:

• Highlighting of keywords, types, strings, numbers, escape sequences, comments, symbols and directive lines
• Supports custom keyword groups, which may be defined using regular expressions
• Colored output in HTML, XHTML 1.1, RTF, TeX, LaTeX, terminal escape sequences and XML format
• Customizable reformatting and indentation of C, C++, C# and Java source code
• Wrapping of long lines
• Output of line numbers
• Choice to embed the formatting information in the output HTML, LaTeX or TeX file or to save them in a separate style file, which is referenced by the generated documents
• Customizable colour themes
• Recursive batch processing of directories
  

Download Highlights 2.6.9 for Win (2.2MB)
Visit Publisher's website to see more download option

Nullsoft Scriptable Install System

If you are looking for a professional Windows Installer for internet distribution, then try NSIS,
NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) is a small and flexible script-based tool for Installing applications and allows you to create the logic to handle even the most complex installation tasks.

NSIS can create Windows installers that are capable of installing, uninstalling, setting system settings, extracting files, etc. Because NSIS is based on script files, you can create both simple and advanced installers.

Many plug-ins and scripts are already available: you can create web installers, communicate with Windows and other software components, install or update shared components and more.

Key Features:

• Small overhead size
• Compatible with all major Windows versions
• Unique compression methods
• Script based
• Multiple languages in one installer
• Many features and checks for the target system
• Custom dialogs and interfaces
• Plug-in system
• Support for web installation, file patching
• Project integration, different releases and automatic builds
• Easy and human readable file formats
• Portable Compiler

Download NSIS 2.36 (1.49MB)
Visit Publisher's website

OLE DB syntax based on providers (Part. I)

1. OLE DB Provider for Active Directory Service

oConn.Open "Provider=ADSDSOObject;" & _
"User Id=myUsername;" & _
"Password=myPassword"

Desc: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Microsoft Active Directory Service.


2. OLE DB Provider for Advantage

oConn.Open "Provider=Advantage OLE DB Provider;" & _
"Data source=c:\myDbfTableDir;" & _
"ServerType=ADS_LOCAL_SERVER;" & _
"TableType=ADS_CDX"

Desc: Advantage OLE DB Provider for ADO


3. OLE DB Provider for AS/400 (from IBM)

oConn.Open "Provider=IBMDA400;" & _
"Data source=myAS400;" & _
"User Id=myUsername;" & _
"Password=myPassword"

Desc: Fast Path to AS/400 Client/Server


4. Microsoft OLE DB Provider for AS/400 and VSAM

oConn.Open "Provider=SNAOLEDB;" & _
"Data source=myAS400;" & _
"User Id=myUsername;" & _
"Password=myPassword"

Desc: See ConnectionString Property


5. OLE DB Provider for Commerce Server for Data Warehouse

oConn.Open "Provider=Commerce.DSO.1;" & _
"Data Source=mscop://InProcConn/Server=mySrvName:" & _
"Catalog=DWSchema:Database=myDBname:" & _
"User=myUsername:Password=myPassword:" & _
"FastLoad=True"

' Or

oConn.Open "URL=mscop://InProcConn/Server=myServerName:" & _
"Database=myDBname:Catalog=DWSchema:" & _
"User=myUsername:Password=myPassword:" & _
"FastLoad=True"

For Profiling System:

oConn.Open "Provider=Commerce.DSO.1;" & _
"Data Source=mscop://InProcConn/Server=mySrvName:" & _
"Catalog=Profile Definitions:Database=myDBname:" & _
"User=myUsername:Password=myPassword"

' Or

oConn.Open _
"URL=mscop://InProcConnect/Server=myServerName:" & _
"Database=myDBname:Catalog=Profile Definitions:" & _
"User=myUsername:Password=myPassword"
For more information, see: OLE DB Provider for Commerce Server, DataWarehouse, and Profiling System

VB Code: Validate Credit Card Number

This is just a small VB code to validate credit cards number, all credit cards work with this algorthm;

If the number is in a valid format if returns 'True'.
If the number is in an invalid format it returns 'False'.

If a card validates with this code it doesn't mean that the card is actually good, it just means that the numbers are arranged in a valid format.
If they don't validate then you've saved some time because you don't have to process the card to find out that it is definitely bad. You can use this function in CGI forms that process credit card orders.

'Code
Function CheckCard(CCNumber As String) As Boolean
Dim Counter As Integer, TmpInt As Integer
Dim Answer As Integer

Counter = 1
TmpInt = 0

While Counter <= Len(CCNumber)
If IsEven(Len(CCNumber)) Then
TmpInt = Val(Mid$(CCNumber, Counter, 1))
If Not IsEven(Counter) Then
TmpInt = TmpInt * 2
If TmpInt > 9 Then TmpInt = TmpInt - 9
End If
Answer = Answer + TmpInt
'Debug.Print Counter, TmpInt, Answer
Counter = Counter + 1
Else
TmpInt = Val(Mid$(CCNumber, Counter, 1))
If IsEven(Counter) Then
TmpInt = TmpInt * 2
If TmpInt > 9 Then TmpInt = TmpInt - 9
End If
Answer = Answer + TmpInt
'Debug.Print Counter, TmpInt, Answer
Counter = Counter + 1
End If
Wend

Answer = Answer Mod 10

If Answer = 0 Then CheckCard = True
End Function

'end code

Use MSWord spell corrector tools within VB

If you would like to incorporate a Spellings Corrector in your VB app, it would take you quite a long time, this trick shows you in a simple example how to use MS Word´s Spelling Corrector within VB.

Create a new project with one form. Put a CommandButton and a TextBox on it.

Set the following properties of the textbox:
"Height = a couple of lines" Multiline=true ScrollBars=Vertical

'Code
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Text1 = SpellCheck(Text1)
End Sub

Public Function SpellCheck(ByVal IncorrectText$) As String
Dim Word As Object, retText$

On Error Resume Next

' Create the Object and open Word
Set Word = CreateObject("Word.Basic")

' Change the active window to Word, and insert
' the text from Text1 into Word.

Word.AppShow
Word.FileNew
Word.Insert IncorrectText

' Runs the Speller Corrector
Word.ToolsSpelling
Word.EditSelectAll

' Trim the trailing character from the returned text.

retText = Word.Selection$()
SpellCheck = Left$(retText, Len(retText) - 1)

' Close the Document and return to Visual Basic.

Word.FileClose 2
Show

'Set the word object to nothing to liberate the
' occupied memory

Set Word = Nothing
End Function

I used WordBasic because that way you can also use this tip with older versions of Word aswell. (by. Philip N)

Hide program in Ctlr-Alt-Del list

If you press Ctrl-Alt-Del at the same time a listbox will appear and you can see all program that currently running in your computer, for some reasons may you want to hide your program from the list.

There's 2 method you can choose to do that;

The easiest way is by using the TaskVisible property of the App-object. If you set it to False, the task will be hiden from the CTRL-ALT-DEL-list. If you set it to True, your task will reappear again.

'Hide my program from list
App.TaskVisible = False
'Show on list
App.TaskVisible = True

Another way is by registering your program as a service. This is done by passing the process ID of your application to the RegisterService API.


Declarations
Copy the following code into the declarations section of a module:

Public Declare Function GetCurrentProcessId _
Lib "kernel32" () As Long
Public Declare Function GetCurrentProcess _
Lib "kernel32" () As Long
Public Declare Function RegisterServiceProcess _
Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwProcessID As Long, _
ByVal dwType As Long) As Long

Public Const RSP_SIMPLE_SERVICE = 1
Public Const RSP_UNREGISTER_SERVICE = 0

'Declaration end here.

Procedures
To remove your program from the Ctrl+Alt+Delete list, call the MakeMeService procedure:

Public Sub MakeMeService()
Dim pid As Long
Dim reserv As Long

pid = GetCurrentProcessId()
regserv = RegisterServiceProcess(pid, RSP_SIMPLE_SERVICE)
End Sub

'procedure end here


To restore your application to the Ctrl+Alt+Delete list, call the UnMakeMeService procedure:

Public UnMakeMeService()
Dim pid As Long
Dim reserv As Long

pid = GetCurrentProcessId()
regserv = RegisterServiceProcess(pid, _
RSP_UNREGISTER_SERVICE)

'End Code

Don't forget to unregister your application as a service before it closes to free up system resources by calling UnMakeMeService.

How to create app manifest for VB in winXP

This is a brief tutorial on creating an application manifest in Windows XP. Like we all know Windows XP comes with many new features and updates to the Common Controls Library. One of the main features is the Windows XP Themes. This allows you to select a theme, and the entire look and feel of Windows, as you know it will change.
However, if you were to write a program in VB, the buttons, textboxes you were to use, would not change. You need to tell Windows XP that you are going to use the new version of the Common Controls Library, and to do this you must include an application manifest. A manifest is an XML document that Windows XP searches for in the application’s directory when you open an application. This manifest tells Windows XP to use the new version of COMCTL32.DLL (Version 6).

Here is a brief tutorial::

- Load Microsoft Visual Basic and start a new project
- Now add a few standard controls, a button, a checkbox, 2 option buttons and a text box
- Give them captions, and program the button to Exit when clicked.

Private Sub Command1_Click()
Unload Me
End Sub

COMCTL32.DLL exports a function called InitCommonControls. This is exported in COMCTL32.DLL versions from Windows 95. This needs to be called when the application is started, to ensure that the common controls library is opened. The declaration is not available in the API viewer. Make sure that you use Form_Initialize and not Form_Load, to enter the code. So the code in the form should now read:

Option Explicit
Private Declare Function InitCommonControls Lib "comctl32.dll" () As Long

Private Sub Command1_Click()
Unload Me
End Sub

Private Sub Form_Initialize()
InitCommonControls
End Sub

Now we need to compile this into an executable file (the manifest will only work when run as an EXE) and actually create the manifest. I have called my application COMCTLTest.EXE. You can call your executable anything, but that name needs to correspond with the name on the manifest.

Go to the folder, at which you have compiled the application into, load notepad and enter the following:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
<assemblyIdentity type="win32" processorArchitecture="*" version="6.0.0.0" name="mash"/>
<description>Enter your Description Here</description>
<dependency>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity
type="win32"
name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls" version="6.0.0.0"
language="*"
processorArchitecture="*"
publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
/>
</dependentAssembly>
</dependency>
</assembly>

Save this as:

<YOUR EXE NAME>.EXE.MANIFEST

So because I compiled my application as COMCTLTest.exe I would save my manifest as: COMCTLTest.EXE.MANIFEST

Now, you are ready to run your application. Double click on the executable, and there you are!! (by Phillip N)

Use Winsock Control to download webpages

Overview:
The Professional and Enterprise Editions of Visual Basic are shipped with the Winsock control. This control allows you to use the low level Windows Sockets to connect to remote servers and execute commands or download Web pages. This tip shows how to connect to a server and download a Web page.

You must have a Winsock control loaded into the project. This code assumes the control is called Winsock1. There also must be a text box on the form which is called txtWebPage.

Code:
First, connect to the remote computer using the following code:

Winsock1.RemoteHost = "microsoft.com"
Winsock1.RemotePort = 80
Winsock1.Connect

In the Winsock1.Connect event, place the following code to download the web page.

Dim strCommand as String
Dim strWebPage as String
strWebPage = "http://www.microsoft.com/index.shtml"
strCommand = "GET " + strWebPage + " HTTP/1.0" + vbCrLf
strCommand = strCommand + "Accept: */*" + vbCrLf
strCommand = strCommand + "Accept: text/html" + vbCrLf
strCommand = strCommand + vbCrLf
Winsock1.SendData strCommand

The Winsock control will attempt to download the page. When is receives some data from the server, it will trigger the DataArrival event.

Dim webData As String
Winsock1.GetData webData, vbString
TxtWebPage.Text = TxtWebPage.Text + webData

'end code
'coding by Phillip N

Firefox 3 Portable available for download

Mozilla developers finally released Firefox 3 portable edition. We now have options to use Firefox as a portable application, you can download to review and try out the new features.

However, the latest version for this edition is beta 5. In fact, many people are not willing to install the beta version, as some of the Firefox 2 plugin still can’t support Firefox 3.

Luckily, the Portableapps group had come out the portable edition of Firefox 3 beta 5. This is a good news for people who want to experience the new features of beta 5 without modify the settings of Firefox 2.

Download Firefox 3 Beta 5 here

Attendance Record Application Video Tutorial

I found this youtube videos about Staff Annual Leave Attendance Recording, this is from sellwindowsmedia.com, click play for 02:50 seconds layers and watch step by step tutorial.

Tutorial description:
MS Access Attendance Record is a light compact application that allows your staff to record and maintain their own annual leave attendance.
* On screen indicator showing annual leave allocated and remaining.
* Ability to automate and send email of annual leave requested.
* On screen pie chart showing type of leave taken. Example annual, exam, flexi etc..
* Print the annual leave sheet for defined periods.