Lesson I.               Forms, Labels, and Shapes

 

Objectives

ü       To be able to create, execute, and save a VB project

ü       To interactively design a simple interface by selecting, placing and sizing screen objects from the toolbox

ü       To be able to use the Pointer to select controls

ü       To be able to customize the Form using properties

ü       To use and be familiar with the Label control and its properties

ü       To use and be familiar with Shapes and their common properties

ü       To be familiar with VB events

 

 

IN FOCUS: FORMS

 

Forms are the windows that you see at runtime.  They serve as containers of controls such as Labels and CommandButtons.  The following table lists the Form’s properties.

 

Property	Description
BackColor	Specifies the Form’s background color.  Programmer selects a color from the Color Palette or specifies a color in Hex format.
BorderStyle	Determines how the Form window appears. It also specifies whether the user can resize the Form and determines what kind of Form you wish to display (0: None, 1: Fixed Single, 2: Sizable, 3: Fixed Dialog, 4: Fixed ToolWindow, 5: Sizable ToolWindow)
Caption	Specifies the text on the Form’s Title Bar at runtime.
Enabled	Boolean. Determines whether the Form is active. A disabled Form does not trigger an event.  All controls on the Form are also disabled.
Height	Specifies the height of the Form in twips.  A twip is 1,440th of an inch)
Icon	Specifies the filename of the icon graphic image that appears in the Form’s Title Bar
Left	Specifies the number of twips from the Label’s left edge to the Form window’s left edge.
MaxButton	Boolean. Specifies whether a maximize button appears on the Form.
MinButton	Boolean. Specifies whether a minimize button appears on the Form.
MousePointer	Determines the image of the mouse cursor when the user moves the mouse pointer over the Form.
Moveable	Boolean. Specifies whether the user can move the Form at runtime.
Picture	Determines the graphic image that appears on the Form’s background.
StartUpPosition	Determines the state (centered or default) of the Form at application startup.
Top	Specifies the number of twips from the Label’s top edge to the Form window’s top edge.
Visible	Boolean.  Determines whether the Form appears (True) or is hidden from the user (False) at runtime.
Width	Holds the width of the Form in twips.
WindowState	Determines the initial state of the Form (0: Normal, 1: Minimized, 2: Maximized)

Form’s Events

Form events are events that the Form can accept.  The following are common ones:

 

Event	Description
Load	Occurs when a Form is loaded.
Unload	Occurs when a Form is about to be removed from the screen.
Resize	Occurs whenever a Form is resized, either by user interaction or through code.
Activate	Occurs when an object becomes the active Form.  An active Form appears in the foreground with a highlighted Title Bar.
Deactivate	Occurs when a Form is no longer active.

 

More events are discussed in Lesson II.

 

 

IN FOCUS: LABELS

 

Labels hold text that appears on the Form.  Labels cannot be edited directly – an explicit code assigning a new caption to the Label should be carried out.  You use a Label, as its name obviously implies, to label a control, to provide instructions, etc.  The following table lists most common Label control properties.

 

Property	Description
Alignment	Determines whether the text appears 0: left-justified, 1: right-justified, or 2: centered within the Label’s boundaries.
AutoSize	Boolean.  Enlarges the Label’s size properties, when True, if you assign a caption that is too large to fit in the current Label’s boundaries at runtime.  If False, the Label truncates the caption.
BackColor	Specifies the Label’s background color.  Programmer selects a color from the Color Palette or specifies a color in Hex format.
BackStyle	Determines whether the background shows through the label of if the Label covers up it background text, graphics, and color.
BorderStyle	0: None, 1: Fixed Single. Determines whether a single-line border appears around the Label.
Caption	Holds the text that appears on the Label.
Enabled	Boolean. Determines whether the Label is active. A disabled Label does not trigger an even procedure.
Font	Specifies the font of the text.  Clicking this property will invoke a font dialog box in which you can set the font name, style, and size.
ForeColor	Specifies the color of the text. Programmer selects a color from the Color Palette or specifies a color in Hex format.
Height	Specifies the height of the Label in twips.
Left	Specifies the number of twips from the Label’s left edge to the Form window’s left edge.
MousePointer	Determines the image of the mouse cursor when the user moves the mouse pointer over the Label.
TabIndex	Specifies the order of the Label in the focus order.
TabStop	Boolean.  Determines whether the Label can receive the focus.
ToolTipText	Holds the text that appears as a tooltip at runtime. A tooltip is a pop-up description box that appears when the user rests the mouse pointer over a control.
Top	Specifies the number of twips from the Label’s top edge to the Form window’s top edge.
Visible	Boolean.  Determines whether the Label appears (True) or is hidden from the user (False) at runtime.  Invisible Labels are only invisible at runtime.
Width	Holds the width of the Label in twips.
WordWrap	Determines whether the Label expands to fit its caption.

 

 

IN FOCUS: RUNNING, PAUSING, & STOPING A VB PROGRAM

 

You can run, pause, and stop VB applications by pressing the control buttons on the Tool Bar or by clicking the Run menu and selecting the appropriate menu item.

 

	Click this to run the application.
	Click this to pause the application.
	Click this to terminate the application.  You can also click the Close button on the Title Bar of the application.

 

 

IN FOCUS: SELECTING  CONTROLS

 

The Pointer is one indispensable tool. When we move and resize control or when we modify the properties of a control, we use the Pointer tool.  How do we use the Pointer in selecting controls?

 

§         If you want to select a control, simply click the Pointer on the Toolbox and click the control you would like to select.

§         If you want to select multiple controls, hold down the Ctrl key and click each control. You may also just lasso multiple controls by dragging a square around the controls using the mouse.

 

 

IN FOCUS: SHAPE CONTROL

 

The Shape control provides you with basic shape objects such as Rectangles, Squares, Ovals, and Circles.  The following Form shows each of these shapes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you drag a Shape control to the Form, a rectangle is displayed.  To change the shape, simply change the Shape property to:

 

0: Rectangle

1: Square

2: Oval

3: Circle

4: Rounded Rectangle

5: Rounded Square

 

By default, Shapes are transparent – all you see is the outline of a white shape.  If you want the color of the Form to appear through the Shape, (the Shape shows whatever it covers), set the BackStyle to 0: Transparent.

 

You can fill Shapes with a color by setting the FillStyle property to 0: Solid and setting a color to the FillColor property.  You may also fill the Shapes with one of the pre-defined patterns: 2: Horizontal, 3: Vertical Line, 4: Upward Diagonal, 5: Downward Diagonal, 6: Cross, and 7: Diagonal Cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also modify the border (or outline) of the Shapes.  The BorderStyle property determines how the Shape’s borders would look like.  When set to 0: Transparent, you do not see any border.  The border can also be 1: Solid Line (the default), 2: Dashes, 3: Dots, 4: Dash Dots, 5: Dash Dot Dots, 6: Inside Solid.  The BorderWidth determines the width of the Shape’s border.  Default value is 1. The bigger this value, the thicker the border.  The Visible property determines whether the Shape should be displayed (True) or not (False) at runtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Create a new project. When you fire up VB, a New Project dialog box appears. Select Standard Exe, and click the Open button.  If you want another project, just click the File menu, then New Project.
2. Customize the Form.

• Name                            frmMain
• Caption                         My First Visual Basic Application
• MinButton                      False
• MaxButton                     False
• StartUpPosition              Center Screen
• Height                           3135
• Width                            4620
• BackColor                      White

3. Place a Label control on the form.
4. Customize the Label.

• Name                            lblBanner
• Caption                         Welcome to Visual Basic
• Font                              Arial, Regular
• Size                              24
• BackColor                      Yellow
• ForeColor                      Blue
• Width                            3735
• Height                           1215
• Top                               720
• Left                               360

5. Run your application by clicking the 4 button.
6. Save your work as Lesson1.vbp.  Do this by clicking the File menu, then Save Project.
7. If you want to load your project again, simply click the File menu, then Open Project. A dialog box appears.  Just select the Drive and Directory where your project is saved.

 

 

 

 

1. Create an Application displaying your name.  Consider the following specifications:

§         Display the Maximize and Minimize buttons.

§         Your name should be displayed in Arial font, Size 18, Bold, color Blue.

§         Display a rectangle Shape control (BorderWidth=3, BorderStyle=Dots) around the Label.

§         Label should be transparent.

§         Form should have a white Background color.

§         Display an icon on the Title Bar (icon file will be provided by the instructor).