DEVELOPMENT OF AN

APPLICATION
IN VB, AN APPLICATION CAN BE DEVELOPED BY THE
FOLLOWING STEPS:
1.CREATE A FORM
2.PLACE CONTROLS ON TE FORM
3.SET PROPERTIES OR THE CONTROL
4.ADD CODE TO THE HANDLE THE EVENTS

THE CONTROLS IN THE TOOLBOX CAN BE CALLED OBJECTS IN

VB.EVERY CONTROL IS ASSOCIATED WITH ITS INDIVIDUAL
PROPERTIES ,METHODS AND EVENTS.
PROPERTY
IT IS THE NAMED ATTRIBUTE OF AN OBJECT
FOR EXAMPLE,THE TEXT BOX HAS PROPERTIES
SUCH AS COLOR,FONT,ENABLED,VISIBLE,ETC.

METHOD
IT IS AN ACTION THAT CAN BE PERFORMED ON
AN OBJECT.

EVENT
WE KNOW THAT VB IS AN EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE.A TEXT BOX SUPPORTS VARIOUS EVENTS
SUCH AS
CLICK,DOUBLE-CLICK,MOUSE UP ETC.WHEN AN
EVENT OCCURS,A PARTICULAR CODE IS EXECUTED
HOW TO PLACE CONTROLS ON
THE FORM?
A CONTOL CAN BE PLACED ON A FORM USING TWO
METHODS.
FIRST METOD
 DOUBLE CLCK ON THE CONTROL IN THE ICON IN THE
TOOLBOX.
 THE CONTROL APPEARS IN THE MIDDLE OF FORM.(FIG
1.11)

FIG 1.11 CONTROL ON THE FORM

 TO CHANGE THE POSITION OF THE CONTROL:
CONTROL

CLICK THE CONTROL

DRAG IT TO THE NEW LOCATION.

(FIG.1.12)
FIG 1.12 DRAGGING THE CONTROL

 TO RESIZE THE CONTROL JUST CLICK ON THE

CONTROL AND RESIZE THE POINTERS ON
ITS EDGES AND CORNERS.
i.DRAG THE EDGES POINTER FOR CHANGING THE SIZE EITHER
HORIZONTALLY OR VERTICALLY.[FIG 1.13(a)]
ii.DRAG THE CORNER POINTERS FOR CHANGING THE SIZE
DIAGONALLY.[FIG 1.13(b)]

FIG 1.13(a) RESIZING CONTROL VERTICALLY FIG 1.13(b) RESIZING DIAGONALLY

SECOND METHOD
 CLICK ON THE CONTROL ICON IN THE TOOLBOX
AND THEN CLICK ON THE DESIRED LOCATION ON
THE FORM.DRAG THE MOUSE DIAGONALLY SO THAT
THE CONTROL HAS THE DESIRED SIZE.(FIG 1.14)

FIG 1.14 DRAGGING DIAGONALLY

 TO REPOSITION THE CONTROL ,HOLD DOWN THE

LEFT MOUSE BUTTON AND DRAG THE CONTROL TO
A NEW LOCATION,

 TO RESIZE THE CONTROL,CLICK THE CONTROL,DRAG

ONE OF ITS EDGES OR CORNERS.
DELETE A CONTROL
CLICK ON
DELETE

FORM OBJECT
TO CREATE A VB APPLICATION ,WE NEED AN
INTERFACE FOR THE USER TO INTERACT.THE
FORM IS WHERE THE INTERFACE IS
DRAWN.SOME OF THE COMMON PROPERTIES ,
EVENTS AND METHODS ARE:
PROPERTIES
CAPTION :IT SETS THE TITLE OF THE FORM

NAME :IT GIVES THE NAME OF THE FORM WITH WHICH IT IS

REFERRED TO IN THE CODE.THE DEFAULT VALUE IS FORM.

APPEARANCE:VALUE 1 MAKES THE FORM LOOK LIKE THREE-

DIMENSIONAL.VALUE 0 MAKES THE FORM LOOK
FLAT.

FONT:IT SETS THE FONT TYPE ,FONT STYLE AND FONT SIZE
FOR THE TEXT.

FORE COLOR :IT SETS THE COLOR FOR THE TEXT ON THE FORM.

ENABLED:VALUE TRUE MAKES THE FORM RESPOND TO MOUSE

AND KEYBOARD EVENTS.VALUE FALSE MAKES THE
FORM RESPONDING TO ANY EVENT.

BACK COLOR:IT SETS THE FORM’S BACKGROUND COLOR.

VISIBLE: VALUE FALSE MAKES THE FORM INVISIBLE

EVENTS
CLICK FORM-CLICK EVENT IS TRGGERED WHEN
THE USER CLICKS ON THE FORM .

LOAD FORM-LOAD EVENT IS TRIGGERED WHEN

THE FORM I LOADED.THIS LOADS THE
FORM INTO THE MEMORY.

METHODS
PRINT THIS PRINTS TEXT STRING ON THE FORM.

SHOW THIS MAKES THE FORM VISIBLE.IT IS THE

SAME AS SETTING A FORM’S VISIBLE
PROPERTY ON TRUE.

HIDE THIS MAKES THE FORM INVISIBLE

LET US SEE HOW A VB APPPLIATION IS
CREATED AND EXECUTED
SUPPOSE WE WANT TO DISPLAY A MESSAGE ‘LEARNING VISUAL BASIC
IS FUN’ ON THE FORM.THE STEPS TO CREATE EXEXCUTE AND SAVE VB
APPLICATION FOR THIS MESSAGE ARE:

1)

CLICK
ON
STAR
T
3 4)
3)
33)

MICROSOF
T VISUAL
STUDIO

CLICK PROGRAMS CLICK MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC STUDIO

5) THEN CLICK ON MICOSOFT VISUAL BASIC 6.0

4.MAKE SURE FORM IS SELECTED IN THE PROJECT
EXPLORER WINDOW.
5.IN THE PROPERTIES WINDOW
i.CHANGE THE CAPTION MESSAGE.
ii.SELECT THE BACKCOLOR OF THE FORM.CLICK ON THE
DROP-DOWN ARROW ON THE RIGHT OF BACK COLOR
AND SELECT A COLOR.MAKE SURE THE PALLETE TAB IS
SELECTED.(FIG 1.16)

FIG 1.16 BackColor Property

iii.SELECT THE FONT CLICK ON THE BUTTON TO THE
RIGHT WITH THREE DOTS(FIG 6.17).THE FONT
WINDOW APPEARS.(FIG 6.18)

FIG 6.17 FONT PROPERTY FIG 1.18 FONT WINDOW

iv.SET THE FONT AS ARIAL,FOBT STYLE AS BOLD AND SZE
AS 18;AND CLICK ON OK.
6.TO WRITE THE CODE:
i. DOUBLE-CLICK ANYWHERE ON THE FORM TO GET THE
CODE TEMPLATE(FIG 1.19).
ii. BETWEEN THE TWO LINESOF THE TEMPLATE,TYPE THE
FOLLOWING CODE(FIG 1.20)

FIG 1.20 VB CODE

FIG 1.19 CODE TEMPLATE
7.TO SAVE THIS VB APPLICATION:
i. SELECT FILE SAVE TO FIRST SAVE THE FORM(FIG
1.21) AND THEN THE PROJECT (FIG 1.22).

FIG 1.21 SAVE FROM FIG 1.22 SAVE PROJECT

8.TO RUN THIS VB APPLICATION:

i. PRESS F5 OR CLICK THE START BUTTON ON THE
Start button
TOOL BAR.(FIG 1.23)

FIG 1.23 START BUTTON ON TOOLBAR

9.THE OUTOUT OF THIS VB APPLICATION IS
SHOWN IN (FIG 1.24).

FIG 1.24 OUTPUT OF THE VB CODE

FAST FORWARD

TO RUN A PROGRAM
PRESS F5
COMMON CONTROLS

POINTER
THE POINTER PROVIDES THE WAY TO
RESIZE OR MOVE THE OTHER CONTROLS.
THIS IS AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATED
AFTER THE USER PLACES A CONTROL ON
THE FORM. TOP TIP
THE POINTER IS THE ONLY
CONTROL IN THE TOOLBOX
THAT CANNOT BE PLACED
ON THE FORM
LABEL
LABEL IS A CONTROL THAT CAN BE USED TO DISPLAY
TEXT THAT USER CAN EDIT DIRECTLY.
PROPERTIES
NAME:THIS GIVES THE NAME USED TO REFER LABEL IN THE CODE.
CAPTION:THIS IS THE TEXT DISPLAYED IN THE LABEL.
FONT:THIS SETS FONT,FONT STYLE AND FONT SIZE.
BORDER STYLE:THIS DETERMINES THE TYPE OF BORDER.
APPEARANCE:THIS IS 3-D IN APPEARANCE.
EVENTS
CLICK:THIS EVENT IS TRIGGERED WHEN THE USER CLICKS ON THE
LABEL.
DOUBLE CLICK:THIS EVENT IS TRIGGERED WHEN TH USER DOUBLE-
CLICKS ON THE LABEL
TEXTBOX
THE TEXT BOX IS A CONTROL THAT IS USED
TO RECEIVE INPUT FROM THE USER AND ALSO
TO DISPLAY THE OUTPUT.IT CAN HANDLE
STRING(TEXT) AND NUMERIC DATA BUT NOT
PICTURE OR IMAGES.
PROPERTIES
NAME:THIS IS THE NAME USED TO REFER TO THE
TEXTBOX IN THE CODE.
APPEARANCE:THIS IS 3-D OR FLAT IN APPEARANCE
MAXLENGTH:THIS LIMITS THE LENGTH OF THE TEXT.
VALUE 0 INDICATES LIMITED LENGTH.
MULTILINE: THIS SPECIFIES WHETHER THE TEXTBOX
DISPLAYS A SINGLE LINE OR MULTIPLE
LINES.
PASSWORD CHAR:THIS HIDES THE TEXT WITH A
SINGLE CHARACTER(USUALLY*IS
USED).
ENABLED:VALUE TRUE/FALSE DETERMINES WHETHER
THE TEXTBOX RESPONDS TO ANY EVENT OR
NOT.
LOCKED:VALUE TRUE/FALSE DETERMINES WHETHER
THE TEXTBOX RESPONDS TO ANY EVENT OR
NOT.
LOCKED:VALUE TRUE/FALSE DETERMINES WHETHER
THE TEXTBOX CONTENTS CAN BE CHANGED OR
NOT.
TEXT:THIS IS THE STRING TO BE DISPLAYED IN THE
TEXTBOX.
EVENTS
CHANGE:THIS EVENT IS TRIGGERED EVERY TIME WHEN
THE TEXTBOX DISPLAYS A SINGLE LINE OR
MULTIPLE LINE.
METHOD
SetFocus:THIS POSITIONS THE CURSOR INSIDE THE TEXT BOX.

COMMAND BUTTON
THE COMMAND BUTON IS VERY IMPORTANT CONTROL AS IT IS
USED TO EXECUTE COMMANDS AND IT DISPLAYS AN ILLUSION
THAT THE BUTTON IS PRESSEDWHEN THE USER CLICKS ON IT.

PROPERTIES
APPEARANCES:THIS IS 3-D OR FLAT IN APPEARANCE.
CAPTION:THIS IS THE STRING THAT IS DISPLAYED ON THE
COMMAND BUTTON.
VISIBLE:VALUE TRUE/FALSE DETERMINES WHETHER IT IS VISIBLE
OR NOT.
FONT:THIS SETS FONT,FONT STYLE AND FONT SIZE.
ENABLED:VALUE TRUE/FALSE DETERMINES WHETHER IT RESPONDS
TO AN EVENT OR NOT.
EVENTS
CLICK:THIS EVENT IS TRIGGERED WHEN IT IS SELECTED BY CLIICKING
ON IT.
LET US NOW CREATE AN APPLICATION
USING
ALL THE COMMANDS DISCUSSED
PREVIOUSLY
THE STEPS TO CREATE ,EXECUTE AND SAVE A VB
APPLICATION ARE:
1)SELECT PROGRAMS
MICROSOFT VISUAL BASIC 6.0.
2)IN THE NEW PROJECT WINDOW,SELECT STANDARD.
EXE.TH FORM WILL APPEAR ON THE SCREEN.
3)NOTICE THAT THE PROPERTIES OF THE FORM WILL
APPEAR IN THE PROPERTIES WINDOW.
i. SELECT CAPTION , AND TYPE ‘DISPLAY MESSAGE’.
ii SELECT BackColor , AND CHANGE IT TO ORANGE.(FIG 1.25)
 FIG 1.25 CHANGED CAPTION AND BackColor

4)PLACE THE LABEL ON THE FORM AND CHANGE ITS

PROPERIES AS SHOWN BELOW:
PROPERTIES SETTINGS
CAPTION ENTER YOUR NAME
FONT 12,BOLD
BackColor SAME AS FORM

5)PLACE ANOTHER LABEL ON THE FORM AND CHANGE IN

PROPERTIES AS SHOWN BELOW:
PROPERTIES SETTINGS
NAME lblmessage
 CAPTION (BLANK)[DELETE LABEL 2 THAT APPEARS ON THE
RIGHT SIDE]
BorderStyle 1-FIXED SINGLE
FONT 12,BOLD
6) PLACE THE TEXTBOX ON THE FORM AND CHANGE ITS
PROPERTIES AS SHOWN BELOW:
PROPERTIES SETTING
NAME txtname
TEXT (BLANK)
FONT 12,BOLD
7)PLACE COMMAND BUTON ON THE FORM AND CHANGE
ITS PROPERTIES AS SHOWN BELOW:
PROPERTIES SETTING
NAME cmdok
CAPTION OK
FONT 12,BOLD
8)PLACE ANOTHER COMMAND BUTTON ON THE FORM AND
CHANGE ITS PROPERTIES AS SHOWN BELOW:
 PROPERTIES CONTROLS
NAME cmdEXIT
CAPTION EXIT
FONT 12 ,BOLD
9)TO WRITE THE CODE,DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE OK
COMMAND BUTTON TO GET THE CODE TEMPLATE.WRITE
THE CODE AS SHOWN IN FIG 1.26

FIG 1.26 VB CODE

10)CLICK ON THE VIEW OBJECT BUTTON IN THE PROJECT

EXPLORER WINDOW TO RETURN TO THE FORM.
11)DOUBLE-CLICK ON THE EXIT COMAND BUTTON TO GET
CODE TEMPLATE.WRITE THE CODE AS SHOWN IN
FIG.1.27
 FIG 1.27 VB CODE

12) TO SAVE THIS VB APPLICATION,SELECT FILE

SAVE PROJECT AS.THIS FIRST SAVES THE FORM AND
THEN THE PROJECT.
13)TO RUN THIS APPLICATION,PRESS F5 OR CLICK THE
START BUTTON ON THE TOOLBAR.
 important TERMS:
GUI-(GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE)IT ENABLES THE USER TO
INTERACT WITH AN APPLICATIONTHROUGH THE USE OF
ICONS,BUTTONS,MENUS,DIALOG BOXES AND WINDOWS.
EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING-A PROGRAMMING BASED ON
THE EVENT(ACTION)PERFORMED.
INTEGRTED DEVLOPMENT ENVIRONMENT-INTEGRATING MANY
DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS SUCH AS DESIGNING,EDITING,COMPILING,
DEBUGGING IN A SINFGLE WINDOW.
References