Sams Teach Yourself Visual Basic 6 in 24 Hours

By Greg Perry

• Table of Contents
  • Copyright
  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • Who Should Read This Book
  • What This Book Will Do for You
  • Can This Book Really Teach Visual Basic in 24 Hours?
  • What You Need
  • Files on the Visual Basic Distribution CD-ROM
  • Conventions Used in This Book
  • Enough! Time Is Ticking!
  • Part I: Introducing Visual Basic
  • Hour 1. Visual Basic at Work
  • Hour 2.Analyzing Visual Basic Programs
  • Hour 3.Controls and Properties
  • Hour 4.Examining Labels, Buttons, and Text Boxes
  • Part II: Coding the Details
  • Hour 5.Putting Code into Visual Basic
  • Hour 6.Message and Input Boxes
  • Hour 7.Making Decisions
  • Hour 8.Visual Basic Looping
  • Part III:Putting Code to Work
  • Hour 9.Combining Code and Controls
  • Hour 10.List Boxes and Data Lists
  • Hour 11.Additional Controls
  • Hour 12.Dialog Box Basics
  • Part IV:Programming with Data
  • Hour 13.Modular Programming
  • Hour 14.Built-In Functions Save Time
  • Hour 15.Visual Basic Database Basics
  • Hour 16.Printing with Visual Basic
  • Part V:Sprucing Up Programs
  • Hour 17.Menus and Visual Basic
  • Hour 18.The Graphic Image Controls
  • Hour 19.Toolbars and More Graphics
    • Preparing for the Toolbar
    • The Image List Control
    • Finalizing the Toolbar
    • The Line and Shape Controls
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • Hour 20.Writing Correct Applications
  • Part VI:Advancing Visual Basic Applications
  • Hour 21.Visual Basic and ActiveX
  • Hour 22.Object Basics
  • Hour 23.Distributing Your Applications
  • Hour 24.Online Visual Basic
  • Part VII:Appendixes
  • Appendix A.Operator Precedence
  • Appendix B.Answers
  • Appendix C.Using the CD-ROM

The Line and Shape Controls

The graphics you've worked with in this book have, until now, been graphic images stored in files. The Image and Picture Box controls display graphic images on the form. The toolbar buttons can display icon images. You have yet to see how to draw your own graphics. The rest of this lesson introduces VB's drawing tools.

The Line and Shape controls work together to draw lines, boxes, and all kinds of figures on the form. By placing the controls and setting appropriate properties, you'll be adding flair to applications. The properties of each control that you place on your form determine exactly what kind of image the control becomes.

Here are the primary graphics images that you can draw with the Line and Shape controls:

• Lines
• Rectangles
• Squares
• Ovals
• Circles
• Rounded rectangles
• Rounded squares

Figure 19.8 shows most of these images. By combining these fundamental geometric images and setting appropriate color and size properties, you can draw virtually anything you need to draw on the form.

Figure 19.8 The images that you can draw.

The Line Control

You use the Line control to draw lines of various widths, lengths, and patterns. The Shape control handles the drawing of all other fundamental shapes.

Mastering the Line Control

The Line control contains properties that specify the width and length of lines you draw. In addition, you can change the pattern of each line you draw.

Table 19.1 lists the fundamental property values for the Line control. Table 19.2 contains the values that you can specify for the BorderStyle property. The BorderStyle property determines the pattern that Visual Basic uses to draw the line. By specifying various BorderStyle values, you can vary the line pattern. If you assign a BorderStyle property at runtime, you can either specify a number that represents BorderStyle or use one of Visual Basic's named literals.

Table 19.1. The Line control's fundamental properties.

Table 19.2. The Line control's BorderStyle values.

Figure 19.9 shows how various BorderStyle settings affect the lines you draw. BorderStyle determines how a series of dashes and dots compose the line's pattern. (Is this Morse code we're speaking here?)

Figure 19.9 The BorderStyle property values.

To draw a line, double-click the Line control on the toolbox. A line appears in the center of the form with a handle on each end. To move the line to a different location, drag the center of the line with the mouse. To lengthen or shorten the line, drag either handle on the line. You can raise and lower either end of the line by dragging either end's handle with the mouse.

After you position the line with the mouse in the approximate location at which you need the line to appear, you can fine-tune the line's size and location by setting the various property values. If you're a patient programmer, you can even animate the lines by changing the X1, X2, Y1, and Y2 property settings repeatedly through code.

Figure 19.10 contains the Form window that might be used as a company's front-end form. The various lines help separate controls from the title. As you can see, lines help focus the user's attention.

Figure 19.10 Accenting forms with lines.

Mastering the Shape Control

The Shape control gives you the capability to draw six different kinds of figures on the form. The various shading and color properties help you distinguish one shape from another. Table 19.3 contains the basic properties you'll use for the Shape control. The most important property is the Shape property. The Shape property gives a shape from one of the six fundamental shapes.

Table 19.3. The Shape control's fundamental properties.

Table 19.4 contains the possible values for the Shape control's FillStyle property. Figure 19.11 shows the various fill patterns that a shape can contain.

Figure 19.11 The FillStyle property determines the shape's interior design.

Table 19.4. The Shape control's FillStyle values.

Table 19.5 contains the possible values for the Shape control's Shape property. Figure 19.8 shows the various shapes that the Shape control can take. Therefore, when you want to place a square on a form, you'll place the Shape control on the form and set the Shape property to 1-Square.

Table 19.5. The Shape control's Shape values.

Share This