FIX: Developer Studio Macro Constants Not Defined

ID: Q183813

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, version 5.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01 for Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

Developer Studio macros use constants to modify the behavior of certain methods. On some machines that have regional settings set to anything other than "English (United States)," these constants are zero or blank.

CAUSE

Typically, this problem surfaces after installing Internet Explorer version 4.0. The installation updates an important file: Vbscript.dll.

All the Developer Studio type libraries (labeled Visual Studio 97 in the registry) were created with the locale identifier for U.S. English, which is 0x409. The registry refers to them under a "409" subkey. Developer Studio macros use Vbscript.dll to access and use the information stored in the type libraries. Past versions of Vbscript.dll accessed the information under 0x409 for all regional settings. The newer version of Vbscript.dll loads only type libraries registered under either of the following:

The current system locale identifier.

A language neutral locale identifier.

This new behavior of Vbscript.dll prevents Developer Studio from gaining access to the appropriate constants.

RESOLUTION

Although Developer Studio can't access the constants in a VBScript macro, it can execute the methods. It is possible to define the constants manually and use these definitions in place of the predefined constants. Use the following table to manually define the constants:


   Constant              Value
   ---------------------------
   dsMove                  0
   dsExtend                1
   dsFirstColumn           0
   dsFirstText             1
   dsLowercase             1
   dsUppercase             2
   dsCapitalize            3
   dsHorizontal            0
   dsVertical              1
   dsLastLine              -1
   dsDevStudio             0
   dsVC2                   1
   dsBrief                 2
   dsEpsilon               3
   dsCustom                4
   dsMatchWord             2
   dsMatchCase             4
   dsMatchNoRegExp         0
   dsMatchRegExp           8
   dsMatchRegExpB          16
   dsMatchRegExpE          32
   dsMatchRegExpCur        64
   dsMatchForward          0
   dsMatchBackward         128
   dsMatchFromStart        256
   dsWindowStateMaximized  1
   dsWindowStateMinimized  2
   dsWindowStateNormal     3
   dsMinimize              1
   dsTileHorizontal        2
   dsTileVertical          3
   dsCascade               4
   dsGlyph                 1
   dsText                  2
   dsSaveChangesYes        1
   dsSaveChangesNo         2
   dsSaveChangesPrompt     3
   dsSaveSucceeded         1
   dsSaveCanceled          2
   dsTextDocument          "Text"
   dsVBSMacro              "VBS Macro"
   dsJava                  "Java"
   dsCPP                   "C/C++"
   dsIDL                   "ODL/IDL"
   dsHTML_IE3              "HTML - IE 3.0"
   dsHTML_RFC1866          "HTML 2.0 (RFC 1866)"
   dsFortran_Fixed         "Fortran Fixed"
   dsFortran_Free          "Fortran Free"

For example, consider the following macro:


   Sub HighLightLeft()
   'Highlights the character to the left of the cursor.
      ActiveDocument.Selection.CharLeft dsExtend
   End Sub

On a system that has a regional setting other than "English (United States)" and Internet Explorer 4.0 installed, this macro may not work properly; it just moves the cursor left one character without selecting it.

Using the table above, note that the constant "dsExtend" has an assigned value of 1 (one). Instead of using "dsExtend", you can manually define your own constant. The following code corrects the problem:


   Sub HighLightLeft()
   'Highlights the character to the left of the cursor.
      Dim myDsExtend
      myDsExtend = 1
      ActiveDocument.Selection.CharLeft myDsExtend
   End Sub

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.This problem was corrected in Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0.

MORE INFORMATION

To modify the current regional settings:

From the Start menu, point to Settings.

Click Control Panel.

Select Regional Settings, then click the Regional Settings tab.

Keywords : kbIE400bug kbIE401bug kbNTOS400 kbVC500bug kbVC600fix kbWinOS95
Version : WINDOWS:4.0,4.01; winnt:5.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbbug