[VBnet Network] InternetGetConnectedState: Determine Network Connection Type

	Visual Basic Network Services InternetGetConnectedState: Determine Network Connection Type

Posted:	Thursday June 10, 1999
Updated:	Monday December 26, 2011

Applies to:	VB4-32, VB5, VB6
Developed with:	VB6, Windows NT4
OS restrictions:	None
Author:	Paul Marshal, msnews

Related:	InternetGetConnectedState: Determine Network Connection Type IsNetworkAlive: Determine Network Connection State IsDestinationReachable: Determine Network QOC Info gethostbyaddr: Obtain Host Name from IP Address IcmpSendEcho: Ping a Machine by IP Address IcmpSendEcho: Ping a Machine by Host Name IsNetDrive: Determining the Connection State of a Mapped Drive

Prerequisites

Network or DUN connection, IE4 or greater.

The InternetGetConnectedState API declared in the IE4 / IE5 wininet.dll retrieves the connected state of the local system. The API is simple to use, and returns TRUE if there is an Internet connection, or FALSE otherwise.

The heart of the call is its dwFlags parameter. On returning from the call, dwFlags contains the current connection state. By And'ing these with the connection info desired, the system's current connection type and state are determined.

The first illustration shows the results of five wrapper routines locating specific connection information while connected via a LAN (actually via a cable modem). The second illustration shows the values returned when that connection is broken. Note that the IsNetRASInstalled function will return true even without a connection; is simply reports the capability. The last text box in both illustrations show the return from the informational wrapper GetNetConnectString().

The code here is adapted from a demo posted to msnews by Paul Marshall.

BAS Module Code

None.

Form Code

To a form add a command button (Command1), and six text boxes (Text1-Text6). Set the Text6 Multiline property to True. Add the following form code:

Option Explicit

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Copyright ©1996-2011 VBnet/Randy Birch, All Rights Reserved.
' Some pages may also contain other copyrights by the author.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
' Distribution: You can freely use this code in your own
'               applications, but you may not reproduce 
'               or publish this code on any web site,
'               online service, or distribute as source 
'               on any media without express permission.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Private Declare Function InternetGetConnectedState Lib "wininet" _
  (ByRef dwFlags As Long, _
   ByVal dwReserved As Long) As Long

'Local system uses a modem to connect to the Internet.
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM As Long = &H1

'Local system uses a LAN to connect to the Internet.
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_LAN As Long = &H2

'Local system uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet.
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_PROXY As Long = &H4

'No longer used.
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM_BUSY As Long = &H8

Private Const INTERNET_RAS_INSTALLED As Long = &H10
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_OFFLINE As Long = &H20
Private Const INTERNET_CONNECTION_CONFIGURED As Long = &H40


Private Sub Command1_Click()

   Text1.Text = IsNetConnectViaLAN()
   Text2.Text = IsNetConnectViaModem()
   Text3.Text = IsNetConnectViaProxy()
   Text4.Text = IsNetConnectOnline()
   Text5.Text = IsNetRASInstalled()
   Text6.Text = GetNetConnectString()

End Sub


Private Function IsNetConnectViaLAN() As Boolean

   Dim dwflags As Long
   
  'pass an empty variable into which the API will
  'return the flags associated with the connection
   Call InternetGetConnectedState(dwflags, 0&)

  'return True if the flags indicate a LAN connection
   IsNetConnectViaLAN = dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_LAN
     
End Function


Private Function IsNetConnectViaModem() As Boolean

   Dim dwflags As Long
   
  'pass an empty variable into which the API will
  'return the flags associated with the connection
   Call InternetGetConnectedState(dwflags, 0&)

  'return True if the flags indicate a modem connection
   IsNetConnectViaModem = dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM
     
End Function


Private Function IsNetConnectViaProxy() As Boolean

   Dim dwflags As Long
   
  'pass an empty variable into which the API will
  'return the flags associated with the connection
   Call InternetGetConnectedState(dwflags, 0&)

  'return True if the flags indicate a proxy connection
   IsNetConnectViaProxy = dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_PROXY
     
End Function


Private Function IsNetConnectOnline() As Boolean

  'no flags needed here - the API returns True 
  'if there is a connection of any type
   IsNetConnectOnline = InternetGetConnectedState(0&, 0&)
     
End Function


Private Function IsNetRASInstalled() As Boolean

   Dim dwflags As Long
   
  'pass an empty variable into which the API will
  'return the flags associated with the connection
   Call InternetGetConnectedState(dwflags, 0&)

  'return True if the flags include RAS installed
   IsNetRASInstalled = dwflags And INTERNET_RAS_INSTALLED
     
End Function


Private Function GetNetConnectString() As String

   Dim dwflags As Long
   Dim msg As String

  'build a string for display
   If InternetGetConnectedState(dwflags, 0&) Then
     
      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_CONFIGURED Then
         msg = msg & "You have a network connection configured." & vbCrLf
      End If

      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_LAN Then
         msg = msg & "The local system connects to the Internet via a LAN"
      End If
      
      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_PROXY Then
         msg = msg & ", and uses a proxy server. "
      Else
         msg = msg & "."
      End If
      
      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM Then
         msg = msg & "The local system uses a modem to connect to the Internet. "
      End If
      
      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_OFFLINE Then
         msg = msg & "The connection is currently offline. "
      End If
      
      If dwflags And INTERNET_CONNECTION_MODEM_BUSY Then
         msg = msg & "The local system's modem is busy with a non-Internet connection. "
      End If
      
      If dwflags And INTERNET_RAS_INSTALLED Then
         msg = msg & "Remote Access Services are installed on this system."
      End If
      
   Else
    
      msg = "Not connected to the internet now."
      
   End If
   
   GetNetConnectString = msg

End Function

Comments

Save the project and run. Depending on your connections state and installed options, the appropriate messages and return values will be displayed.

PayPal Link