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
    • Understanding Control Focus at Runtime
    • The Mouse and Hotkeys Need No Focus
    • Related Properties
    • Tab Order
    • Command Buttons
    • Labels
    • Text Boxes
    • Form Properties
    • Summary
    • Q&A
    • Workshop
  • 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
  • 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 Mouse and Hotkeys Need No Focus

As stated earlier, a mouse click doesn't have to worry about focus. Wherever the user clicks, the mouse gets the mouse click no matter which window and control had the focus before the click. In addition, within the active window, the user can select any control by pressing that control's hotkey. For example, with Figure 4.2 showing, the user could press Alt+X to select the Text Box command button even though the Images command button has the focus.

An Enter keypress has no inherent location. Without focus, Windows would have no way to determine where or what the Enter keypress is supposed to activate. With a hotkey, Windows keeps the hotkey possibility within the window with the focus. In other words, if two windows appear on your screen and both contain controls with Alt+S keystrokes, only the active window with the current focus would receive and respond to Alt+S.

The mouse is inherently directional as well as functional. When you click the mouse button over any window's control on the screen, Windows knows for certain that you wanted to click over that control. No ambiguity can exist as could happen with the Enter key. Therefore, focus doesn't apply to the mouse.

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