making About boxes

[Erich Schulman]

By the way...these scanners you speak of...do they by chance use serial ports (or virtual COM's???)....just out of coinky-dink?

Nope, PS/2 keyboard wedge

[Andre Smit]

Tried the win32 api ShellAbout function?

[Wayne Diamond]

thanks to Borje, and Hagsten !!!!!

Hmm, two Borje's ... that'd be good
Unfortunately Borje hasn't been seen here for quite some time though so we're down to 0

[Cliff Nichols]

Holy Toledo Batman!!!!!!!!!

I have been struggling with RTF in a RichEdit the last few days Invalid Memory Location which allows pictures and all to work.

I finally posted my last frustrating findings, and came back to the forums to see if I had an answer for someone else, and hit this about box...(First thought, I had only little to answer), and kept reading....then I hit Chris Holbrook's post and the quote

AboutBox (download size 30KB - 5.8.03)
A small sample, showing a way to load an RTF file embeded in a resource file into a RichEdit control. Can serve as a nice-looking About.. -dialog, or why not use several RTF files, load on demand and provide embedded, stand-alone inline help, without need for anything else. New: Now with OLE/COM interface, to enable load of RTF files with embedded pictures and objects! Complete source, RTF sample file and compiled exe in zip file below.

and I thought to myself, "Well I do this in my program's" COSMOS ", but no big deal" (I missed the PICTURES part of the comments obviously

Then I noticed the link that Richard Angell posted and saw the word POFFS...and it hit me....Not only did it have to do with Borje but POFFS...and I HADDDDD to check it (remember I missed the picture part)

Sure enough, quick download, and a 3 second scan through....I have a gut feeling that ALLLLLLlllllll my problems will be solved again (thanks to Borje, and Hagsten !!!!!)

and thank you too Erich Schulman for asking the question that I first thought unrelated to my problems, and maybe could help you....you instead gave me a lead to solving my own questions

And if I can be of any help in conflicts of VB vs PB let me know

By the way...these scanners you speak of...do they by chance use serial ports (or virtual COM's???)....just out of coinky-dink?

[Erich Schulman]

I am studying the source, but it does look like a good solution

[Chris Holbrook]

Until I was prompted by Rick's post to read the description of this Aboutbox on the Reonis website, it had never occurred to me to use an RTF based help system:

AboutBox (download size 30KB - 5.8.03)
A small sample, showing a way to load an RTF file embeded in a resource file into a RichEdit control. Can serve as a nice-looking About.. -dialog, or why not use several RTF files, load on demand and provide embedded, stand-alone inline help, without need for anything else. New: Now with OLE/COM interface, to enable load of RTF files with embedded pictures and objects! Complete source, RTF sample file and compiled exe in zip file below.

What a great idea. Thanks Börje, wherever you are.

[Richard Angell]

You can roll your own small Dialog for the purpose and/or you could look aat an example many have used by Borje Hagsten. At the following link scroll down the page to the AboutBox download, download it and check it out.

http://www.reonis.com/POFFS/index.htm

[Erich Schulman]

I have had PBWin for a few days after convincing my boss to get it for me (took only 10 months). I wrote the application to print bar codes for incoming freight at the receiving dock. A colleague wrote the application for the inventory people to scan and record the bar codes as items are taken to the factory floor for actual use. I used PBWin8; he used VB6. I commented on how his application was 3 megs zipped and mine was 46K unzipped.

I have only made 3 non-trivial programs in VB6, but one advantage of it is how it's quick-n-easy to add a form for your About. Crafting about boxes in DDT for every application seems it would take more time than it's worth, so I am just settling for a MSGBOX right now. I tried searching the files and these forums for an about someone has already done, but came up empty.

So now would PBWin and DDT allow me to make a about.dll so that I have to write about box code only once? Any cautions to observe while using external DIALOGs?

And as long as we do have PBWin9 and v9 offers greater font capabilities, how should I go about (no pun intended) taking advantage of them so my about box doesn't look like a MSGBOX?