Programming with
Microsoft Visual Basic 2010
5th Edition
Chapter One
An Introduction to Visual Basic 2010
Lesson B Objectives
After studying Lesson B, you should be able to:
 Add a control to a form
 Set the properties of a label, picture box, and button control
 Select multiple controls
 Center controls on the form
 Open the Project Designer window
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
Lesson B Objectives (cont’d.)
 Start and end an application
 Enter code in the Code Editor window
 Terminate an application using the Me.Close()
instruction
 Run the project’s executable file
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
The Toolbox Window
 Class: Pattern from which object is created
 Object: Instance with behaviors and attributes
 Toolbox window (or toolbox)
 Contains tools for designing user interface
 Each tool represents class
 Controls are instantiated using tools from toolbox
 Controls: GUI objects that appear on a form
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
The Toolbox Window (cont’d.)
Figure 1-15 Toolbox window showing the purpose of the Label tool
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
The Label Tool
 Label tool: Used to create label control
 Label control: Displays text that cannot be edited at run
time
 Name property: Unique name for control
 Text property
 Specifies value that appears in label control
 Location property
 Specifies location of control on form
 Includes X value and Y value
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
Figure 1-16 Label tool being dragged to the form
Figure 1-17 Label control added to the form
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
Changing a Property for
Multiple Controls
 Control inherits the Font attribute of the form
 May want to change from default values
 To simultaneously modify similar controls
 Click one control and then press and hold Ctrl key
 Click other similar control(s) in form
 Or click and drag to group controls
 Set property value in Properties list
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
Changing a Property for
Multiple Controls (cont’d.)
Figure 1-18 Label controls selected on the form
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Programming with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010, 5th Edition
Using the Format Menu
 Format menu: Options to manipulate form controls
 Align: Aligns selected controls by left, right, top, or bottom
borders
 Make Same Size: Makes width and/or height of selected
controls uniform
 Center in Form: Centers one or more controls
 Select as first control the one whose size or location you
want to match
 Called reference control
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The PictureBox Tool
 PictureBox tool: Creates picture box control
 Picture box control: Displays image on form
 Task box: Lists tasks associated with picture box
 Use task box to import image into project
 Project’s resource file contains imported images
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Figure 1-19 Open task list for a picture box
Figure 1-20 Completed Select Resource dialog box
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The PictureBox Tool (cont’d.)
Figure 1-21 Image shown in the picture box
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The Button Tool
 Button tool: Used to create button control
 Button control: Used to perform action when clicked
 Examples: OK and Cancel buttons
 Common means of exiting a Windows application
 Exit option on File menu
 Exit button
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Starting and Ending an Application
 Startup form: Displays when application is first started
 Project Designer window: Specifies startup form or
executable code to be run
 Right-click My Project in Solution Explorer window and
then click Open
 Or, click Project on menu and then click <project name>
Properties
 Application tab: Specify startup form
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Starting and Ending an Application
(cont’d.)
Figure 1-22 Application pane in the Project Designer window
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Starting and Ending an Application
(cont’d.)
 Executable file: File that can be run outside of the IDE
 File name ends with .exe
 Automatically created when starting Visual Basic application
 Two ways to start application in IDE
 Click Debug on menu bar and then click Start Debugging
 Press F5 key
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Starting and Ending an Application
(cont’d.)
Figure 1-23 Result of starting the splash screen application
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The Code Editor Window
 Event: User action such as double-clicking
 Event procedure: Set of program instructions that are
processed when event occurs
 Code Editor window
 Provides templates for creating event procedures
 To open Code Editor window
 Right-click form and then click View Code
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The Code Editor Window (cont’d.)
Figure 1-24 Code Editor window opened in the IDE
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The Code Editor Window (cont’d.)
 To collapse or expand a region of code in the Code Editor
window
 Click minus box to collapse code
 Click plus box to expand code
Figure 1-25 Code collapsed in the Code Editor window
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The Code Editor Window (cont’d.)
 Class Name list box
 Lists names of objects included in UI
 Method Name list box
 Lists appropriate events for selected object
 To select a control’s event in code editor window
 Select class name first and then select method name
 Syntax
 Rules of programming language
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The Code Editor Window (cont’d.)
 Procedure header
 First line in code template for event procedure
 Procedure footer
 Last line in code template for event procedure
 Keyword
 Word that has special meaning in programming language
 Color-coded in IDE
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The Code Editor Window (cont’d.)
 Sub procedure
 Block of code that performs a specific task
 Keywords in a sub procedure block
 Sub: starts a sub procedure
 Private: restricts the use of the procedure to the form where it
appears
 End Sub: indicates the end of a sub procedure
 Event sub procedure names include object name and event
name
 Example: btnExit_Click
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The Me.Close() Instruction
 Method: Predefined procedure
 Can be called (or invoked) when needed
 Me.Close() method
 Causes current form to close
 If it is only form in application, the application terminates
 IntelliSense feature: Provides appropriate selections as pop-
up lists
 Type first few letters of choice
 Then use arrow keys to select an item in list
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Figure 1-27 List displayed by the IntelliSense feature
Figure 1-28 Completed Click event procedure for the btnExit control
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Lesson B Summary
 To add a control to a form, use tool from toolbox
 Use Label control for text that user cannot edit
 Can set properties of multiple controls simultaneously
 To start and stop an application in IDE, use the Debug menu
choice
 Use Code Editor window to display object’s event
procedures
 Me.Close() method closes the current form at run time
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True or False: The Me.Exit() method
can be used to close the current
form.
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False
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A(n) ____________________
control should be used to display
text that the user cannot edit at run
time.
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Label
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The rules of a programming
language are called its
____________________.
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Syntax
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True or False: The Text property is
only available for the label control
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False
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