Note: don't bypass this if you're installing Visual Studio 6 InterDev, as it's required here.

There are three ways to work around the control name and system resource limitations:

• Use control (and menu) arrays - instead of using several instances of a control (or menu) on a form, create a control (or menu) array for all the similar controls on the form. Members of an array share the same control name.
• Dynamically create the controls as required - instead of loading all the controls on a form when you first display the form, try loading the controls as needed. This only works well when you potentially need many controls, but will use only a few of them at any given time. (For more information about dynamically creating controls, see KB article 190670 HOWTO: Dynamically Add Controls to a Form with Visual Basic 6.0)
• Put your controls on a UserControl - similar to using a control array, you can create a UserControl that contains your controls and then add the UserControl to your project. For example, if you need a form that displays 50 text boxes, create a UserControl that contains 25 text boxes, and put two instances of your UserControl on the form. You now have 50 text boxes on the form, but only two control names counting towards the limit. Or better still, rethink your need for 50 text boxes at all!

VBnet has a Microsoft utility - shrdll.exe - available for download (less than 28k).  Shrdll.exe is used to identify -- and optionally remove -- those errant entries in the registry's Shared DLL section that consume valuable registry space but no longer point to valid files. I have found that using this utility on machines generating this error resolves the install problem, typically removing about 25k of unneeded entries. It is perfectly safe - I use it routinely on my own system after adding/removing programs.  But as it doesn't prepare an 'undo' file you are urged to export the 'Shared DLL' registry key if you are overly concerned.
 

End Sub
 

   numFormsOpen = Forms.Count

...and the second is to use the DoEvents function!...

   numFormsOpen = DoEvents()
 

Private Sub Command1_Click()

   Call Shell("rundll32.exe shell32.dll,OpenAs_RunDLL [path]filename.ext")

End Sub
 

   Public Sub Main
      Dim sParams as String
      
      sParams = Command$()
      
      <do something with sParams>
      
      frmMain.Show
      
   End Sub

A variable DIM'med as Private in the general declarations section of a Form is available only to routines in that form. The variable remains valid as long as the form is loaded.

A variable DIM'med as Public in the general declarations section of a Form (i.e. Public Foo As Long) is available to routines in that form by referencing the variable name (i.e. Foo), or to modules or forms other than the declaring form by explicitly referring to the variable with its form name as a prefix (i.e. Form1.Foo). The variable remains valid as long as the form is loaded.

A variable DIM'med Private in the general declarations section of a BAS module is available routines only in that bas module. The Private keyword is not available in VB2 or 3; use a standard DIM statement.

A variable DIM'med Public (or Global in VB2 or 3) in the general declarations section of a BAS module is available to all routines in all forms and bas modules.

A variable DIM'med inside any sub or function that has the same name as a Public or Global variable takes precedence over the Public one in that routine where it is DIM'med. Its initial value is 0 or empty. The Public variable's contents is not affected by use of the local variable of the same name. The local variable is destroyed upon exiting that routine; the global variable remains valid. Download a VB4 demo and view the code. Generally, using the same name for a Public and Local variable is considered poor programming practice.
 

          Dim x as Long
          x = 33 * 1000   'generates overflow error

   ...yet when I set the value x = 33000 directly, it works with no error?

VB, in calculating the results to assign to x, uses a temporary variable. In doing so, it creates and uses an internal temporary working variable whose data type is the smallest possible one that would could contain without error either of the values being multiplied.

While these utilities will repair missing or damaged registry entries for controls provided with your version of Visual Basic, only those controls for which the VB version applies will be repaired. In other words, if you are attempting to use a VB control installed on your machine but not provided with your VB version (for example you have Learning Edition and you are trying to use a control provided with the Enterprise version) these utilities will not enable use of those unlicensed controls.
 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Visual Basic/6.0/MDIMaximized = "1"

   If Not ListView1.SelectedItem Is Nothing Then
      ListView1.SelectedItem.Selected = False
      Set ListView1.SelectedItem = Nothing
   End If

   Dim itmx As ListItem

   If Not ListView1.SelectedItem Is Nothing Then

      For Each itmx In ListView1.ListItems
         itmx.Selected = False
      Next

   End If

   Private Declare Function SendMessage Lib "user32" _
   Alias "SendMessageA" _
  (ByVal hwnd As Long, _
   ByVal wMsg As Long, _
   ByVal wParam As Long, _
   lParam As Any) As Long

   Const LVIF_STATE = &H8
   Const LVIS_STATEIMAGEMASK As Long = &HF000
   Const LVIS_SELECTED = &H2
   Const LVM_GETSELECTEDCOUNT = (LVM_FIRST + 50)
   Const LVM_SETITEMSTATE = (LVM_FIRST + 43)

   Private Type LVITEM
      mask As Long
      iItem As Long
      iSubItem As Long
      state As Long
      stateMask As Long
      pszText As String
      cchTextMax As Long
      iImage As Long
      lParam As Long
      iIndent As Long
   End Type

' code ----

   Dim lv As LVITEM
   Dim numSelected As Long

   With lv
      .mask = LVIF_STATE
      .state = False
      .stateMask = LVIS_SELECTED
   End With

   Call SendMessage(ListView1.hwnd, LVM_SETITEMSTATE, -1, lv)

To set the focus prior to displaying the form you have two options: set the tabindex of the control to have initial focus to 0 - either at design time or programmatically, or, in the Load event place an explicit Me.Show statement just before the code to SetFocus. Note however this last option is only available when the form is being shown non-modally; attempting to execute a Show statement for a modal form will generate an error.