InputBoxExtra

PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION

InputBoxExtra is an ActiveX Control developed using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0. It was developed in order to address some of the short-falls in functionality of the standard Windows InputBox dialog. The input box's font style, size and color can be changed, gradient and shadow can be applied. A mask can be specified to assist the user's input and simple validation of date and numeric entry can be carried out. This control has been thoroughly tested, however, if you find any fault please report it to support.cat@ntlworld.com.

Use

Add the component ‘Cat InputBoxExtra Shareware Version’ to your application. Select the component and draw it on to your form. It’s default name should be InputBox1. The component is now ready to use.

Properties

BackColor (OLE_COLOR)

Sets the color of the input dialog box at design or run-time.

e.g. InputBox1.BackColor = RGB(255, 0, 255)

e.g. InputBox1.BackColor = &HFFFF&

ForeColor (OLE_COLOR)

Sets the color of the question text at design or run-time.

Font (STD_FONT)

Sets the font style of the question text at design or run-time.

e.g. InputBox1.Font = “Times New Roman”

e.g. InputBox1.Font.Size = 24

Gradient (Boolean)

Dictates whether a color gradient is applied to the input dialog box. If set to 'False' the box is displayed solidly in whichever color 'BackColor' is set to. If it is 'True' then a gradient will be applied starting from 'BackColor' at the top of the dialog box to 'GradientEndColor' at the bottom. Please note that applying a gradient takes a little time which may be noticeable on some older computers. Gradients look good if the display properties is set to a high color depth but not so good at 256 colors and below. Finally on this - beware of color clashes! Some color combinations are really eye-catching but others make you want to reach for a bucket! Using black or white as one of the colors is quite striking.

GradientEndColor (OLE_COLOR)

Only comes in to play if Gradient is set to 'True'.

Shadow (Boolean)

Set to 'True' if you want a shadow cast behind your question text. This is pretty inflexible. The shadow is cast to the south-east and the color of the shadow is set as a factor of the BackColor property - still looks pretty good all the same.

Methods

Show(Question As String, Optional Title As String = "", Optional Mask As String, Optional Format As String, Optional Validate As ValidateConstants = vldNone, Optional Alignment As AlignmentConstants = vbLeftJustify, Optional CloseButton As Boolean = False) As String

e.g. x = InputBox1.Show(“When is your birthday?”, "Date Inquiry", "##/##/##", "Long Date", vldDateTime, vbCenter)

Displays the input dialog box modally. A string is returned which is the value entered by the user or "" if 'Cancel' or the Close button is pressed.

Please note that InputBoxExtra uses a masked edit control for input, rather than a text box. Values for the Mask and Format parameters can be found by looking in your Visual Basic help files or by visiting msdn.microsoft.com.

Constants

ValidateConstants

Determines whether validation should take place on the user's response. This is limited to date and numeracy validation. Please contact info.cat@ntlworld.com with any suggestions for extending this set. An error message is displayed just below the user's response if validation fails.

vldNone = 0

vldDateTime = 1

vldNumeric = 2

AlignmentConstants

Standard VB constants dictate how the question text is aligned.

vbLeftJustify = 0

vbRightJustify = 1

vbCenter = 2

Shareware

This ActiveX control is shareware. You are entitled to evaluate indefinitely. Occasionally a message will prompt you to buy the control. This will cost you $10 USD and will entitle you to use the control in your applications and distribute it royalty free. This will not entitle you to distribute the control on it’s own, either for profit or not. Please send cash, cheque or postal order to the value of $10 USD (US Dollars) made payable to Gary Simpson @ CSS, 22 St Bernard Drive, Malvern, WR14 3PY, England. Make sure you specify which product you are buying and include your e-mail address. Your fully functional ActiveX control will be e-mailed to you within 3 working days of receipt of payment. Please remember that we welcome any suggestions for the improvement of this product.

Other Products

Keep your applications consistent and download MsgBoxExtra and see how we've improved message dialog boxes.

For further information contact info.cat@ntlworld.com or visit Cat Software Solutions