FAQ: Non-technical Questions About Visual Basic 3.0Last reviewed: September 25, 1997Article ID: Q126733 |
The information in this article applies to:
This article covers some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about non-technical issues for Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows. You can find this and other FAQ articles by querying on the keyword "FAQ." You can find additional general references in the Microsoft Knowledge Base by searching on "article list." 1. Q. What is Visual Basic?
A. Visual Basic is a programming language developed by Microsoft to be
the fastest way to create Windows applications. It provides a point-
and-click integrated development environment that allows users to
create a custom user interface without a single line of code. Code
can be added to the forms and controls to cause them to respond to
the user's actions. Visual Basic (VB) was designed from the start to
be extensible and there are currently hundreds of VBXs (Visual Basic
eXtensions) on the market (commercial, shareware and free) to
implement new features.
Visual Basic include the Access 1.1 Jet engine, which allows VB to
connect to Access, FoxPro, Paradox, BTrieve, and dBASE databases. The
data control and data-aware controls allow you to access your
database via controls with little or no code. The Data Manager is a
utility that can help you design your databases. The Setup Wizard
helps you create distribution disks for your applications.
2. Q. Where do I get Visual Basic?
A. Visual Basic for Windows should be available through your local
software vendor. If you can't find a copy in your area, contact
Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400 and they can
connect you with a vendor.
3. Q. Where can I place an order or get upgrade and pricing information
about Microsoft Visual Basic version 3.0 for Windows?
A. For information regarding product updates, prices, and sales, please
call the Microsoft Sales Information Center (MSIC) at the following
number. Note that no technical support is provided on this line.
- In the United States, call (800) 426-9400.
- In the United Kingdom, call 0734-270000.
4. Q. What is the current version of Visual Basic for Windows?
A. Visual Basic for Windows is currently at version 3.0. There has been
no upgrade to this version although there have been some updated
files posted (listed elsewhere in this document). Visual Basic for
Windows ships in a Standard and Professional Edition.
5. Q. What are the differences between the Standard and Professional
Editions?
A. The core features of the Professional and Standard Editions are the
same. Programs written in either will be identical. Differences
consist entirely of additional features available in the Professional
Edition.
For additional information, please see the following article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q113334
TITLE : Differences Between VB 3.0 Standard & Professional
Editions
6. Q. Where can I get the latest updates for Visual Basic files?
A. You can identify available updates by searching for the pointer
article in the Knowledge Base (described elsewhere in this document).
Search on the keyword UPD or SOFTLIB. To get the latest release of
Visual Basic updated files, download the appropriate file (the
updates are all stored as self-extracting *.EXE files) from the
Microsoft Software Library (MSL) on the following services:
- Microsoft's World Wide Web site on the Internet
On the www.microsoft.com home page, click the Support icon
Click Knowledge Base, and select the product
Enter kbfile <FILENAME>.EXE, and click GO!
Open the article, and click the button to download the file
- Internet (anonymous FTP)
ftp ftp.microsoft.com
Change to the Softlib/Mslfiles folder
Get <FILENAME>.EXE
- Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
Dial (425) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL
Download <FILENAME>.EXE
For additional information about downloading, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
TITLE : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online
Services
7. Q. What is the Knowledge Base? What are the Qxxxxx numbers that people
refer to and where can I find Microsoft article?
A. The Knowledge Base is a collection of articles written by
Microsoft Support Engineers (and others) on a wide range of product-
specific issues. It is designed to attempt to put all of the "known"
issue information at your fingertips. The Qxxxxx numbers are the ID
numbers of the articles. You use this number when searching the
Knowledge Base.
You can find the Knowledge Base on the following services:
- Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
On the www.microsoft.com home page, click the Support icon.
Click Knowledge Base and follow the instructions on that page.
- The Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
For additional information about downloading, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q115780
TITLE : VB3: VB Articles on ftp.microsoft.com on the
Internet
8. Q. How do I find a summary of Knowledge Base articles by topic?
A. Search for the text "Article List" in the title text, and you will
retrieve a group of articles that list other Knowledge Base articles
grouped by topic.
9. Q. What can you tell me about the next version of ...
A. Stop! The answer is, we can tell you nothing. We cannot discuss
unannounced products. That is standard Microsoft policy. Individuals
involved in Beta testing our products our bound by a similar non-
disclosure agreement, which REQUIRES that they not discuss the
product.
10. Q. What is Visual Basic for Applications?
A. Visual Basic Programming System, Applications Edition is not a
stand-alone product, but a built-in programming language for
Microsoft applications. It is currently available in Microsoft Excel
5.0 and Project 4.0. It replaces the older macro languages of these
products and provides a uniform programming interface to the outside
world. Visual Basic 3.0 can completely control the operation of
Microsoft Excel and/or Project via OLE Automation command using the
Visual for Applications commands.
11. Q. What do I do if I have a problem with Visual Basic?
A. You have a number of options for assistance from Microsoft as well
as other developers. They include: telephone support, the Internet,
and Microsoft Solution Providers.
Telephone Support
-----------------
Standard support for Visual Basic is now 2 no-charge incidents.
Call Microsoft Technical Support for support. This line is available
from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M., Pacific time, Monday through Friday,
excluding holidays. The number is (425) 646-5105
Our Fee-Based support lines offer the same level of support as our
Standard lines; however, they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
and can be accessed toll-free via an 800 or a 900 number. Flat fee
is $95 on 800 or 900#.
- Pay-As-You-Go (credit card) calls: 800-936-5800.
- Pay-As-You-Go (by minute) calls: 900-555-2300.
There are a number of additional support options and packages that
individuals and companies can purchase that may better fit your
specific support needs. For more information please contact the
Microsoft Sales group at (800) 936-3500.
In the United Kingdom, the developer support line is available from
9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The
number is 0734-271414
The Internet
------------
You can reach Microsoft Technical Support on the Internet at:
http://www.microsoft.com/support
Microsoft Solution Providers
----------------------------
Microsoft Solution Providers are independent organizations that
provide consulting, integrations, customization, development,
technical support and training, or other services with Microsoft
products. For more information, please call (800) 426-9400.
12. Q. What should I do before I ask for help?
A. Read the manuals. The Visual Basic manuals cover every keyword and
most common programming situations. This information is also
available in the online Help files.
Look in the Knowledge Base. The Microsoft Developer Knowledge Base
is a tremendous resource for dealing with Microsoft products.
Developer Support Engineers at Microsoft create solutions and
explain problems or techniques that come up in the course of using
Microsoft products. These discussions are written up into articles
and placed into the Knowledge Base which is periodically
updated.
Look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. This file is one
of several FAQs made available to the public by Microsoft Technical
Support. Its goal is to answer only the MOST commonly asked
questions as succinctly as possible. These FAQs are divided by
technical areas in Visual Basic. Even if you're a long-time MSBasic
native, these FAQs will be useful if only to steer beginners to the
quick answers.
Isolate the problem. Isolating the problem often leads to the
solution.
13. Q. Where else can I get information about Visual Basic?
A. Download files are available from the Microsoft Software Library
(MSL) on the following services:
- Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
Dial (425) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL.
Download <filename>.
- Internet (anonymous FTP)
ftp ftp.microsoft.com.
Change to the \softlib\mslfiles directory.
Get <filename>.
Other potential sources of Visual Basic information include:
- ftp.microsoft.com:
/softlib/mslfiles
/msdn
/msdn/vbtech
/devtools/lang/vb/public
Microsoft has two services for customers on the Internet:
www.microsoft.com (World Wide Web Server)
ftp.microsoft.com (FTP server)
Both servers are registered in the Internet's Domain Name
Service (DNS), so customers merely have to reference any of the
servers by name:
ftp ftp.microsoft.com
In mosaic, connect to: http://www.microsoft.com
For additional information, please see the following article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q120734
TITLE : Microsoft Windows NT Internet Servers
14. Q. What are some books that might be of use to a Visual Basic
user/developer?
A. There are hundreds of relevant books for Visual Basic and
programming in general, but, to name a few:
Title: Programming Windows
Author: Charles Petzold
ISBN: 1-55615-264-7
Publisher: Microsoft Press
Title: PC Magazine Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the
Windows API
Author: Daniel Appleman
ISBN: 1-56276-073-4
Publisher: Ziff Davis Press
Title: Database Developer's Guide Using Visual Basic 3.0
Author: Roger Jennings
ISBN: 0-672-30440-6
Publisher: Sams Publishing
For additional information, please see the following article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q118782
TITLE : LONG: Visual Basic and Related Topics Reading List
(Complete)
15. Q. How do I apply for the beta program?
A. You can request to become a beta site by writing to:
Microsoft Corporation
Attn: XXXX Beta Test Administrator
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
where XXXX is the product you want to apply for. Various products
within Microsoft have varying capacity to respond to those who are
not elected. Unfortunately, due to the volume of requests, the
Visual Basic group is not able to inform those who were not selected
for the beta.
16. Q. Where can I find out more about Visual Basic certification?
A. For information regarding the Microsoft Certified Professional
program, the developer certification, or the Visual Basic or Access
exams, please refer to the Microsoft Education & Certification
Roadmap. Order the file name E&CMAP.ZIP direct from Microsoft by
calling (800) 636-7544.
17. Q. How do I send suggestions for product features/improvements to
Microsoft?
A. Contact the Microsoft Wish Line at (425) 936-WISH [936-9474].
If it takes more than two minutes to describe, you can:
a. Fax it to us at 425-936-7329
b. Write to us at:
Attn: Microsoft Wish
One Microsoft Way
Redmond WA, 98052
c. On the World Wide Web at:
http://WWW.MICROSOFT.COM/VFOXPRO/vinfo/vffeed.htm
18. Q. If I register, will I be notified of fixes, workarounds, and bugs?
A. Microsoft's policy is to notify customers when a new version of the
product is released, such as from Word 6.0 to Word 6.0a. This has
not occurred with Visual Basic for Windows 3.0. When a small
component of the product is modified to address specific problems,
we have found it more efficient for all concerned to release that
information as a Knowledge Base articles. The Knowledge Base article
Q104863 lists all of the updates to Visual Basic for Windows, and
how to obtain them. You can also search the Knowledge Base using the
keyword UPD to obtain a list of articles describing updates.
The essence is that we send out notices of product UPGRADES
(for example, 3.0 to 3.0a, or 3.0 to 3.1) but not fixes (the mail
traffic would be prohibitive). However, one can search on the
keyword BUGLIST and FIXLIST in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and pull
up articles for any particular product which tell about all the bugs
we know of and what the fixes or workarounds are.
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