Copyright: ©1995-1997 Aimsoft Development Corporation. All rights reserved.


' (keyword)

Syntax

'text

Description

Causes the compiler to skip all characters between this character and the end of the current line.

Comments

This is very useful for commenting your code to make it more readable.

Example

Sub Main()

'This whole line is treated as a comment.

i$="Strings"	'This is a valid assignment with a comment.

This line will cause an error (the apostrophe is missing).

End Sub

See Also

Rem (statement), Comments (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


- (operator)

Syntax 1

expression1 - expression2

Syntax 2

-expression

Description

Returns the difference between expression1 and expression2 or, in the second syntax, returns the negation of expression.

Comments

Syntax 1

The type of the result is the same as that of the most precise expression, with the following exceptions:

If one expression is	and the other expression is	then the result type is

Long	Single	Double

Boolean	Boolean	Integer

A runtime error is generated if the result overflows its legal range.

When either or both expressions are Variant, then the following additional rules apply:

• 	If either expression is Null, then the result is Null.

• 	Empty is treated as an Integer of value 0.

• 	If the type of the result is an Integer variant that overflows, then the result is a Long variant.

• 	If the type of the result is a Long, Single, or Date variant that overflows, then the result is a Double variant.

Syntax 2

If expression is numeric, then the type of the result is the same type as expression, with the following exception:

• 	If expression is Boolean, then the result is Integer.

Note: In 2's complement arithmetic, unary minus may result in an overflow with Integer and Long variables when the value of expression is the largest negative number representable for that data type. For example, the following generates an overflow error:

Sub Main()

Dim a As Integer

a = -32768

a = -a	'Generates overflow here.

End Sub

When negating variants, overflow will never occur because the result will be automatically promoted: integers to longs and longs to doubles.

Example

'This example assigns values to two numeric variables and

'their difference to a third variable, then displays the

'result.

Sub Main()

i% = 100

j# = 22.55

k# = i% - j#

MsgBox "The difference is: " & k#

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


#Const (directive)

Syntax

#Const constname = expression

Description

Defines a preprocessor constant for use in the #If...Then...#Else statement.

Comments

Internally, all preprocessor constants are of type Variant. Thus, the expression parameter can be any type.

Variables defined using #Const can only be used within the #If...Then...#Else statement and other #Const statements. Use the Const statement to define constants that can be used within your code.

Example

#Const SUBPLATFORM = "NT"

#Const MANUFACTURER = "Windows"

#Const TYPE = "Workstation"

#Const PLATFORM = MANUFACTURER & " " & SUBPLATFORM & " " & TYPE

Sub Main()

#If PLATFORM = "Windows NT Workstation" Then

MsgBox "Running under Windows NT Workstation"

#End If

End Sub

See Also

#If...Then...#Else (directive), Const (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


#If...Then...#Else (directive)

Syntax

#If expression Then

[statements]

[#ElseIf expression Then

[statements]]

[#Else

[statements]]

#End If

Description

Causes the compiler to include or exclude sections of code based on conditions.

Comments

The expression represents any valid AimBasic Boolean expression evaluating to True of False. The expression may consist of literals, operators, constants defined with #Const, and any of the following predefined constants:

Constant	Value

AIX	True if development environment is AIX.

HPUX	True if development environment is HPUX.

Irix	True if development environment is Irix.

LINUX	True if development environment is LINUX.

Macintosh	True if development environment is Macintosh (68K or PowerPC).

MacPPC	True if development environment is PowerMac.

Mac68K	True if development environment is 68K Macintosh.

Netware	True if development environment is NetWare.

OS2	True if development environment is OS/2.

OSF1	True if development environment is OSF/1.

SCO	True if development environment is SCO.

Solaris	True if development environment is Solaris.

SunOS	True if development environment is SunOS.

Ultrix	True if development environment is Ultrix.

UNIX	True if development environment is any UNIX platform.

UnixWare	True if development environment is UnixWare.

VMS	True if development environment is VMS.

Win16	True if development environment is 16-bit Windows.

Win32	True if development environment is 32-bit Windows.

Empty	Empty

False	False

Null	Null

True	True

The expression can use any of the following operators: +, -, *, /, \, ^, + (unary), - (unary), Mod, &, =, <>, >=, >, <=, <, And, Or, Xor, Imp, Eqv.

If the expression evaluates to a numeric value, then it is considered True if non-zero, False if zero. If the expression evaluates to String not convertible to a number or evaluates to Null, then a "Type mismatch" error is generated.

Text comparisons within expression are always case-insensitive, regardless of the Option Compare setting

You can define your own constants using the #Const directive, and test for these constants within the expression parameter as shown below:

#Const VERSION = 2

Sub Main

#If VERSION = 1 Then

directory$ = "\apps\widget"

#ElseIf VERSION = 2 Then

directory$ = "\apps\widget32"

#Else

MsgBox "Unknown version."

#End If

End Sub

Any constant not already defined evaluates to Empty.

A common use of the #If...Then...#Else directive is to optionally include debugging statements in your code. The following example shows how debugging code can be conditionally included to check parameters to a function:

#Const DEBUG = 1

Sub ChangeFormat(NewFormat As Integer,StatusText As String)

#If DEBUG = 1 Then

If NewFormat <> 1 And NewFormat <> 2 Then

MsgBox "Parameter ""NewFormat"" is invalid."

Exit Sub

End If

If Len(StatusText) > 78 Then

MsgBox "Parameter ""StatusText"" is too long."

Exit Sub

End If

#End If

Rem Change the format here...

End Sub

Excluded section are not compiled by AimBasic, allowing you to exclude sections of code that has errors or doesn’t even represent valid AimBasic syntax. For example, the following code uses the #If...Then...#Else statement to include a multi-line comment:

Sub Main

#If 0

The following section of code displays

a dialog box containing a message and an

OK button.

#End If

MsgBox "Hello, world."

End Sub

In the above example, since the expression #If 0 never evaluates to True, the text between that and the matching #End If will never be compiled.

Example

'The following example calls an external routine. Calling

'External routines is very specific to the platform--thus,

'we have different code for each platform.

#If Win16 Then

Declare Sub GetWindowsDirectory Lib "KERNEL" (ByVal _

DirName As String,ByVal MaxLen As Integer)

#ElseIf Win32 Then

Declare Sub GetWindowsDirectory Lib "KERNEL32" Alias _

"GetWindowsDirectoryA" (ByVal DirName As String,ByVal _

MaxLen As Long)

#End If

Sub Main()

Dim DirName As String * 256

GetWindowsDirectory DirName,len(DirName)

MsgBox "Windows directory = " & DirName

End Sub

See Also

#Const (directive)

Platform(s)

All.


& (operator)

Syntax

expression1 & expression2

Description

Returns the concatenation of expression1 and expression2.

Comments

If both expressions are strings, then the type of the result is String. Otherwise, the type of the result is a String variant.

When nonstring expressions are encountered, each expression is converted to a String variant. If both expressions are Null, then a Null variant is returned. If only one expression is Null, then it is treated as a zero-length string. Empty variants are also treated as zero-length strings.

In many instances, the plus (+) operator can be used in place of &. The difference is that + attempts addition when used with at least one numeric expression, whereas & always concatenates.

Example

'This example assigns a concatenated string to variable s$ and

'a string to s2$, then concatenates the two variables and

'displays the result in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

s$ = "This string" & " is concatenated"

s2$ = " with the & operator."

MsgBox s$ & s2$

End Sub

See Also

+ (operator), Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


( ) (keyword)

Syntax 1

...(expression)...

Syntax 2

...,(parameter),...Description

Comments

Parentheses within Expressions

Parentheses override the normal precedence order of AimBasic operators, forcing a subexpression to be evaluated before other parts of the expression. For example, the use of parentheses in the following expressions causes different results:

i = 1 + 2 * 3	'Assigns 7.

i = (1 + 2) * 3	'Assigns 9.

Use of parentheses can make your code easier to read, removing any ambiguity in complicated expressions.

Parentheses Used in Parameter Passing

Parentheses can also be used when passing parameters to functions or subroutines to force a given parameter to be passed by value, as shown below:

ShowForm i	'Pass i by reference.

ShowForm (i)	'Pass i by value.

Enclosing parameters within parentheses can be misleading. For example, the following statement appears to be calling a function called ShowForm without assigning the result:

ShowForm(i)

The above statement actually calls a subroutine called ShowForm, passing it the variable i by value. It may be clearer to use the ByVal keyword in this case, which accomplishes the same thing:

ShowForm ByVal i

Note: The result of an expression is always passed by value.

Example

'This example uses parentheses to clarify an expression.

Sub Main()

bill = False

dave = True

jim = True

If (dave And bill) Or (jim And bill) Then

MsgBox "The required parties for the meeting are here."

Else

MsgBox "Someone is late again!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

ByVal (keyword), Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


* (operator)

Syntax

expression1 * expression2

Description

Returns the product of expression1 and expression2.

Comments

The result is the same type as the most precise expression, with the following exceptions:

If one expression is	and the other expression is	then the result type is

Single	Long	Double

Boolean	Boolean	Integer

Date	Date	Double

When the * operator is used with variants, the following additional rules apply:

• 	Empty is treated as 0.

• 	If the type of the result is an Integer variant that overflows, then the result is automatically promoted to a Long variant.

• 	If the type of the result is a Single, Long, or Date variant that overflows, then the result is automatically promoted to a Double variant.

• 	If either expression is Null, then the result is Null.

Example

'This example assigns values to two variables and their product

'to a third variable, then displays the product of s# * t#.

Sub Main()

s# = 123.55

t# = 2.55

u# = s# * t#

MsgBox s# & " * " & t# & " = " & s# * t#

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


. (keyword)

Syntax 1

object.property

Syntax 2

structure.member

Description

Separates an object from a property or a structure from a structure member.

Examples

'This example uses the period to separate an object from a

'property.

Sub Main()

MsgBox Clipboard.GetText()

End Sub

'This example uses the period to separate a structure from a

'member.

Type Rect

left As Integer

top As Integer

right As Integer

bottom As Integer

End Type

Sub Main()

Dim r As Rect

r.left = 10

r.right = 12

End Sub

See Also

Objects (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


/ (operator)

Syntax

expression1 / expression2

Description

Returns the quotient of expression1 and expression2.

Comments

The type of the result is Double, with the following exceptions:

If one expression is	and the other expression is	then the result type is

Integer	Integer	Single

Single	Single	Single

Boolean	Boolean	Single

A runtime error is generated if the result overflows its legal range.

When either or both expressions is Variant, then the following additional rules apply:

• 	If either expression is Null, then the result is Null.

• 	Empty is treated as an Integer of value 0.

• 	If both expressions are either Integer or Single variants and the result overflows, then the result is automatically promoted to a Double variant.

Example

'This example assigns values to two variables and their

'quotient to a  third variable, then displays the result.

Sub Main()

i% = 100

j# = 22.55

k# = i% / j#

MsgBox "The quotient of i/j is: " & k#

End Sub

See Also

\ (operator), Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


\ (operator)

Syntax

expression1 \ expression2

Description

Returns the integer division of expression1 and expression2.

Comments

Before the integer division is performed, each expression is converted to the data type of the most precise expression. If the type of the expressions is either Single, Double, Date, or Currency, then each is rounded to Long.

If either expression is a Variant, then the following additional rules apply:

• 	If either expression is Null, then the result is Null.

• 	Empty is treated as an Integer of value 0.

Example

'This example assigns the quotient of two literals to a variable

'and displays the result.

Sub Main()

s% = 100.99 \ 2.6

MsgBox "Integer division of 100.99\2.6 is: " & s%

End Sub

See Also

/ (operator), Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


^ (operator)

Syntax

expression1 ^ expression2

Description

Returns expression1 raised to the power specified in expression2.

Comments

The following are special cases:

Special Case	Value

n^0	1

0^-n	Undefined

0^+n	0

1^n	1

The type of the result is always Double, except with Boolean expressions, in which case the result is Boolean. Fractional and negative exponents are allowed.

If either expression is a Variant containing Null, then the result is Null.

It is important to note that raising a number to a negative exponent produces a fractional result.

Example

Sub Main()

s# = 2 ^ 5  	'Returns 2 to the 5th power.

r# = 16 ^ .5	'Returns the square root of 16.

MsgBox "2 to the 5th power is: " & s#

MsgBox "The square root of 16 is: " & r#

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


_ (keyword)

Syntax

text1 _

text2

Description

Line-continuation character, which allows you to split a single AimBasic statement onto more than one line.

Comments

The line-continuation character cannot be used within strings and must be preceded by white space (either a space or a tab).

The line-continuation character can be followed by a comment, as shown below:

i = 5 + 6 & _	'Continue on the next line.

"Hello"

Example

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

'The line-continuation operator is useful when concatenating

'long strings.

message = "This line is a line of text that" + crlf + _

  + "extends beyond the borders of the editor" + crlf + _

  + "so it is split into multiple lines"

'It is also useful for separating and continuing long

'calculation lines.

b# = .124

a# = .223

s# = ( (((Sin(b#) ^ 2) + (Cos(a#) ^ 2)) ^ .5) / _

   (((Sin(a#) ^ 2) + (Cos(b#) ^ 2)) ^ .5) ) * 2.00

MsgBox message & crlf & "The value of s# is: " & s#

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


+ (operator)

Syntax

expression1 + expression2

Description

Adds or concatenates two expressions.

Comments

Addition operates differently depending on the type of the two expressions:

expression one	expression two	then

Numeric	Numeric	Perform a numeric add (see below).

String	String	Concatenate, returning a string.

Numeric 	String	A runtime error is generated.

Variant	String 	Concatenate, returning a String variant.

Variant	Numeric	Perform a variant add (see below).

Empty variant	Empty variant	Return an Integer variant, value 0.

Empty variant	Any data type	Return the non-Empty operand unchanged.

Null variant	Any data type	Return Null.

Variant	Variant	Add if either is numeric; otherwise, concatenate.

When using + to concatenate two variants, the result depends on the types of each variant at runtime. You can remove any ambiguity by using the & operator.

Numeric Add

A numeric add is performed when both expressions are numeric (i.e., not variant or string). The result is the same type as the most precise expression, with the following exceptions:

If one expression is	and the other expression is	then the result type is

Single	Long	Double

Boolean	Boolean	Integer

A runtime error is generated if the result overflows its legal range.

Variant Add

If both expressions are variants, or one expression is Numeric and the other expression is Variant, then a variant add is performed. The rules for variant add are the same as those for normal numeric add, with the following exceptions:

• 	If the type of the result is an Integer variant that overflows, then the result is a Long variant.

• 	If the type of the result is a Long, Single, or Date variant that overflows, then the result is a Double variant.

Example

'This example assigns string and numeric variable values and

'then uses the + operator to concatenate the strings and form

'the sums of numeric variables.

Sub Main()

i$ = "Concatenation" + " is fun!"

j% = 120 + 5 	'Addition of numeric literals

k# = j% + 2.7 	'Addition of numeric variable

MsgBox "This concatenation becomes: '" i$ + _

Str(j%) + Str(k#) & "'"

End Sub

See Also

& (operator), Operator Precedence (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


< (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


<= (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


<> (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


= (statement)

Syntax

variable = expression

Description

Assigns the result of an expression to a variable.

Comments

When assigning expressions to variables, internal type conversions are performed automatically between any two numeric quantities. Thus, you can freely assign numeric quantities without regard to type conversions. However, it is possible for an overflow error to occur when converting from larger to smaller types. This occurs when the larger type contains a numeric quantity that cannot be represented by the smaller type. For example, the following code will produce a runtime error:

Dim amount As Long

Dim quantity As Integer

amount = 400123	'Assign a value out of range for int.

quantity = amount	'Attempt to assign to Integer.

When performing an automatic data conversion, underflow is not an error.

The assignment operator (=) cannot be used to assign objects. Use the Set statement instead.

Example

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is a string"

b% = 100

c# = 1213.3443

MsgBox a$ & "," & b% & "," & c#

End Sub

See Also

Let (statement), Operator Precedence (topic), Set (statement), Expression Evaluation (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


= (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


> (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


>= (operator)

See Comparison Operators (topic).


Abs (function)

Syntax

Abs(expression)

Description

Returns the absolute value of expression.

Comments

If expression is Null, then Null is returned. Empty is treated as 0.

The type of the result is the same as that of expression, with the following exceptions:

• 	If expression is an Integer that overflows its legal range, then the result is returned as a Long. This only occurs with the largest negative Integer:

Dim a As Variant

Dim i As Integer

i = -32768

a = Abs(i)	          'Result is a Long.

i = Abs(i)	          'Overflow!

• 	If expression is a Long that overflows its legal range, then the result is returned as a Double. This only occurs with the largest negative Long:

Dim a As Variant

Dim l As Long

l = -2147483648

a = Abs(l)	          'Result is a Double.

l = Abs(l)	          'Overflow!

• 	If expression is a Currency value that overflows its legal range, an overflow error is generated.

Example

'This example assigns absolute values to variables of four types

'and displays the result.

Sub Main()

s1% = Abs(-10.55)

s2& = Abs(-10.55)

s3! = Abs(-10.55)

s4# = Abs(-10.55)

MsgBox "The absolute values are: " & s1% & "," & _

s2& & "," & s3! & "," & s4#

End Sub

See Also

Sgn (function)

Platform(s)

All.


ActivateControl (statement)

Syntax

ActivateControl control

Description

Sets the focus to the control with the specified name or ID.

Comments

The control parameter specifies either the name or the ID of the control to be activated, as shown in the following table:

If control is	Then

String	A control by that name is activated. For push buttons, option buttons, or check boxes, the control with this name is activated. For list boxes, combo boxes, and text boxes, the control that immediately follows the text control with this name is activated.

Numeric	A control with this ID is activated. The ID is first converted to an Integer.

The ActivateControl statement generates a runtime error if the dialog control referenced by control cannot be found.

You can use the ActivateControl statement to set the focus to a custom control within a dialog box. First, set the focus to the control that immediately precedes the custom control, then simulate a Tab keypress, as in the following example:

ActivateControl "Portrait"

DoKeys "{TAB}"

Note: The ActivateControl statement is used to activate a control in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgFocus statement to activate a control in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example runs Notepad using Program Manager's Run

'command. It uses the ActivateControl command to switch

'focus between the different controls of the Run dialog box.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Program Manager") = "" Then Exit Sub

AppActivate "Program Manager"

Menu "File.Run"

SendKeys "Notepad"

ActivateControl "Run minimized"

SendKeys " "

ActivateControl "OK"

SendKeys "{Enter}"

End Sub

See Also

DlgFocus (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


And (operator)

Syntax

result = expression1 And expression2

Description

Performs a logical or binary conjunction on two expressions.

Comments

If both expressions are either Boolean, Boolean variants, or Null variants, then a logical conjunction is performed as follows:

If expression1 is	and expression2 is	then the result is

True	True	True

True	False	False

True	Null	Null

False	True	False

False	False	False

False	Null	Null

Null	True	Null

Null	False	False

Null	Null	Null

Binary Conjunction

If the two expressions are Integer, then a binary conjunction is performed, returning an Integer result. All other numeric types (including Empty variants) are converted to Long, and a binary conjunction is then performed, returning a Long result.

Binary conjunction forms a new value based on a bit-by-bit comparison of the binary representations of the two expressions according to the following table:

If bit in expression1 is	and bit in expression2 is	the result is

1	1	1

0	1	0

1	0	0

0	0	0

Examples

Sub Main()

n1 = 1001

n2 = 1000

b1 = True

b2 = False

'This example performs a numeric bitwise And operation and

'stores the result in N3.

n3 = n1 And n2

'This example performs a logical And comparing B1 and B2

'and displays the result.

If b1 And b2 Then

MsgBox "b1 and b2 are True; n3 is: " & n3

Else

MsgBox "b1 and b2 are False; n3 is: " & n3

End If

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Or (operator), Xor (operator), Eqv (operator), Imp (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


AnswerBox (function)

Syntax

AnswerBox(prompt [,[button1] [,[button2] [,[button3] [,[title] [,helpfile,context]]]]]]])

Description

Displays a dialog box prompting the user for a response and returns an Integer indicating which button was clicked (1 for the first button, 2 for the second, and so on).

Comments

The AnswerBox function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

prompt	Text to be displayed above the text box. The prompt parameter can be any expression convertible to a String.

AimBasic resizes the dialog box to hold the entire contents of prompt, up to a maximum width of 5/8 of the width of the screen and a maximum height of 5/8 of the height of the screen. AimBasic word-wraps any lines too long to fit within the dialog box and truncates all lines beyond the maximum number of lines that fit in the dialog box.

You can insert a carriage-return/line-feed character in a string to cause a line break in your message.

A runtime error is generated if this parameter is Null.

button1	The text for the first button. If omitted, then "OK and "Cancel" are used. A runtime error is generated if this parameter is Null.

button2	The text for the second button. A runtime error is generated if this parameter is Null.

button3	The text for the third button. A runtime error is generated if this parameter is Null.

title	String specifying the title of the dialog. If missing, then the default title is used.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

The width of each button is determined by the width of the widest button.

The AnswerBox function returns 0 if the user selects Cancel.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then context-sensitive help can be invoked using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

'This example displays a dialog box containing three

'buttons. It displays an additional message based on

' which of the three buttons is selected.

Sub Main()

r% = AnswerBox("Copy files?", "Save", "Restore", "Cancel")

Select Case r%

Case 1

MsgBox "Files will be saved."

Case 2

MsgBox "Files will be restored."

Case Else

MsgBox "Operation canceled."

End Select

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Any (data type)

Description

Used with the Declare statement to indicate that type checking is not to be performed with a given argument.

Comments

Given the following declaration:

Declare Sub Foo Lib "FOO.DLL" (a As Any)

the following calls are valid:

Foo 10

Foo "Hello, world."

Example

'This example calls the FindWindow to determine whether Program

'Manager is running. This example will only run under Windows and

'Win32 platforms.

'This example uses the Any keyword to pass a NULL pointer, which

'is accepted by the FindWindow function.

Declare Function FindWindow16 Lib "user" Alias "FindWindow" _

(ByVal Class As Any,ByVal Title As Any) As Integer

Declare Function FindWindow32 Lib "user32" Alias "FindWindowA" _

(ByVal Class As Any,ByVal Title As Any) As Long

Sub Main()

Dim hWnd As Variant

If Basic.Os = ebWin16 Then

hWnd = FindWindow16("PROGMAN",0&)

ElseIf Basic.Os = ebWin32 Then

hWnd = FindWindow32("PROGMAN",0&)

Else

hWnd = 0

End If

If hWnd <> 0 Then

MsgBox "Program Manager is running, handle = " & hWnd

End If

End Sub

See Also

Declare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


AppActivate (statement)

Syntax

AppActivate title | taskID,[wait]

Description

Activates an application given its name or task ID.

Comments

The AppActivate statement takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

title	A String containing the name of the application to be activated.

taskID	A number specifying the task ID of the application to be activated. Acceptable task IDs are returned by the Shell function.

wait	An optional boolean value indicating whether AimBasic will wait for calling application to be activated before activating the specified application. If False (the default), then AimBasic will activate the specified application immediately.

Note: When activating applications using the task ID, it is important to declare the variable used to hold the task ID as a Variant. The type of the ID depends on the platform on which AimBasic is running.

On some platforms, applications don’t activate immediately. To compensate, the AppActivate statement will wait a maximum of 10 seconds before failing, giving the activated application plenty of time to become activated.

Examples

'This example activates Program Manager.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Program Manager"

End Sub

'This example runs another application, then activates it.

Sub Main()

Dim id as variant

id = Shell("Notepad",7)	'Run Notepad minimized.

AppActivate "Program Manager"	'Activate Program Manager.

AppActivate id	'Now activate Notepad.

End Sub

See Also

Shell (function), SendKeys (statement), WinActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Macintosh, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Minimized applications are not restored before activation. Thus, activating a minimized DOS application will not restore it; rather, it will highlight its icon.

A runtime error results if the window being activated is not enabled, as is the case if that application is currently displaying a modal dialog box.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, the title parameter specifies the title of the desired application. The MacID function can be used to specify the application signature of the application to be activated:

AppActivate MacID(text$) | task

The title parameter is a four-character string containing an application signature. A runtime error occurs if the MacID function is used on platforms other than the Macintosh.


AppClose (statement)

Syntax

AppClose [title | taskID]

Description

Closes the named application.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the application. If the title parameter is absent, then the AppClose statement closes the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example activates Excel, then closes it.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Microsoft Excel") = "" Then

MsgBox "Excel is not running."

Exit Sub

End If

AppActivate "Microsoft Excel"

AppClose "Microsoft Excel"

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppMinimize (statement), AppRestore (statement), AppMove (statement), AppSize (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

A runtime error results if the application being closed is not enabled, as is the case if that application is currently displaying a modal dialog box.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppFileName$ (function)

Syntax

AppFileName$([title | taskID])

Description

Returns the filename of the named application.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the desired application. If the title parameter is omitted, then the AppFileName$ function returns the filename of the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example switches the focus to Excel, then changes the

'current directory to be the same as that of Excel.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Microsoft Excel") = "" Then

MsgBox "Excel is not running."

Exit Sub

End If

AppActivate "Microsoft Excel"	'Activate Excel.

s$ = AppFileName$	'Find where the Excel executable is.

d$ = FileParse$(s$,2)	'Get the path portion of the filename.

MsgBox d$	'Display directory name.

End Sub

See Also

AppFind, AppFind$ (functions)

Platform(s)

Windows, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

For DOS applications launched from Windows, the AppFileName function returns the name of the DOS program, not winoldap.exe.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppFind, AppFind$ (functions)

Syntax

AppFind[$] (title | taskID)

Description

Returns a String containing the full name of the application matching either title or taskID.

Comments

The title parameter specifies the title of the application to find. If there is no exact match, AimBasic will find an application whose title begins with title.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

The AppFind$ functions returns a String, whereas the AppFind function returns a String variant. If the specified application cannot be found, then AppFind$ returns a zero-length string and AppFind returns Empty. Using AppFind allows you detect failure when attempting to find an application with no caption (i.e., Empty is returned instead of a zero-length String).

AppFind$ is generally used to determine whether a given application is running. The following expression returns True if Microsoft Word is running:

AppFind$("Microsoft Word")

Example

'This example checks to see whether Excel is running before

'activating it.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Microsoft Excel") <> "" Then

AppActivate "Microsoft Excel"

Else

MsgBox "Excel is not running."

End If

End Sub

See Also

AppFileName$ (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, this function returns a String containing the exact text appearing in the title bar of the active application's main window.


AppGetActive$ (function)

Syntax

AppGetActive$()

Description

Returns a String containing the name of the application.

Comments

If no application is active, the AppGetActive$ function returns a zero-length string.

You can use AppGetActive$ to retrieve the name of the active application. You can then use this name in calls to routines that require an application name.

Example

Sub Main()

n$ = AppGetActive$()

AppMinimize n$

End Sub

See Also

AppActivate (statement), WinFind (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, this function returns a String containing the exact text appearing in the title bar of the active application's main window.


AppGetPosition (statement)

Syntax

AppGetPosition x,y,width,height [,title | taskID]

Description

Retrieves the position of the named application.

Comments

The AppGetPosition statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Names of Integer variables to receive the position of the application's window.

width, height	Names of Integer variables to receive the size of the application's window.

title	A string containing the name of the application. If the title parameter is omitted, then the active application is used.

taskID	A number specifying the task ID of the application to be activated. Acceptable task IDs are returned by the Shell function.

The x, y, width, and height variables are filled with the position and size of the application's window. If an argument is not a variable, then the argument is ignored, as in the following example, which only retrieves the x and y parameters and ignores the width and height parameters:

Dim x as integer, y as integer

AppGetPosition x,y,0,0,"Program Manager"

Example

Sub Main()

Dim x As Integer, y As Integer

Dim cx As Integer, cy As Integer

AppGetPosition x,y,cx,cy,"Program Manager"

End Sub

See Also

AppMove (statement), AppSize (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

The position and size of the window are returned in twips.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppGetState (function)

Syntax

AppGetState[([title | taskID])]

Description

Returns an Integer specifying the state of the specified top-level window.

Comments

The AppGetState function returns any of the following values:

If the window is	Then AppGetState returns	Value

Maximized	ebMinimized	1

Minimized	ebMaximized	2

Restored	ebRestored	3

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the desired application. If it is omitted, then the AppGetState function returns the name of the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example saves the state of Program Manager, changes it,

'then restores it to its original setting.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Program Manager") = "" Then

MsgBox "Can't find Program Manager."

Exit Sub

End If

AppActivate "Program Manager"	'Activate ProgMan

state = AppGetState	'Save its state.

AppMinimize	'Minimize it.

MsgBox "Program Manager is minimized. " & _

"Select OK to restore it."

AppActivate "Program Manager"

AppSetState state	'Restore it.

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppMinimize (statement), AppRestore (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, the title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppHide (statement)

Syntax

AppHide [title | taskID]

Description

Hides the named application.

Comments

If the named application is already hidden, the AppHide statement will have no effect.

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the desired application. If it is omitted, then the AppHide statement hides the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

AppHide generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is displaying a modal dialog box.

Example

'This example hides Program Manager.

Sub Main()

'See whether Program Manager is running.

If AppFind$("Program Manager") = "" Then Exit Sub

AppHide "Program Manager"

MsgBox "Program Manager is hidden. Press OK to show it"

AppShow "Program Manager"

End Sub

See Also

AppShow (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, the title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppList (statement)

Syntax

AppList AppNames$()

Description

Fills an array with the names of all open applications.

Comments

The AppNames$ parameter must specify either a zero- or one-dimensioned dynamic String array or a one-dimensional fixed String array. If the array is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to match the number of open applications. For fixed arrays, AppList first erases each array element, then begins assigning application names to the elements in the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are unused. AimBasic returns a runtime error if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

After calling this function, you can use LBound and UBound to determine the new size of the array.

Example

'This example minimizes all applications on the desktop.

Sub Main()

Dim apps$()

AppList apps

'Check to see whether any applications were found.

If ArrayDims(apps) = 0 Then Exit Sub

For i = LBound(apps) To UBound(apps)

AppMinimize apps(i)

Next i

End Sub

See Also

WinList (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the name of an application is considered to be the exact text that appears in the title bar of the application's main window.


AppMaximize (statement)

Syntax

AppMaximize [title | taskID]

Description

Maximizes the named application.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the desired application. If it is omitted, then the AppMaximize function maximizes the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

Sub Main()

AppMaximize "Program Manager"	'Maximize Program Manager.

If AppFind$("NotePad") <> "" Then

AppActivate "NotePad"	'Set the focus to NotePad.

AppMaximize	'Maximize it.

End If

End Sub

See Also

AppMinimize (statement), AppRestore (statement), AppMove (statement), AppSize (statement), AppClose (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

If the named application is maximized or hidden, the AppMaximize statement will have no effect.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

AppMaximize generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is displaying a modal dialog box.


AppMinimize (statement)

Syntax

AppMinimize [title | taskID]

Description

Minimizes the named application.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the desired application. If it is omitted, then the AppMinimize function minimizes the active application.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

Sub Main()

AppMinimize "Program Manager"	'Maximize Program Manager.

If AppFind$("NotePad") <> "" Then

AppActivate "NotePad"	'Set the focus to NotePad.

AppMinimize	'Maximize it.

End If

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppRestore (statement), AppMove (statement), AppSize (statement), AppClose (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

If the named application is minimized or hidden, the AppMinimize statement will have no effect.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

AppMinimize generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is displaying a modal dialog box.


AppMove (statement)

Syntax

AppMove x,y [,title | taskID]

Description

Sets the upper left corner of the named application to a given location.

Comments

The AppMove statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the upper left corner of the new location of the application, relative to the upper left corner of the display.

title	String containing the name of the application to move. If this parameter is omitted, then the active application is moved.

taskID	A number specifying the task ID of the application to be activated. Acceptable task IDs are returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example activates Program Manager, then moves it 10

'pixels to the right.

Sub Main()

Dim x%,y%

AppActivate "Program Manager"	'Activate Program Mgr.

AppGetPosition x%,y%,0,0	'Retrieve its position.

x% = x% + Screen.TwipsPerPixelX * 10	'Add 10 pixels.

AppMove x% + 10,y%	'Nudge it 10 pixels

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppMinimize (statement), AppRestore (statement), AppSize (statement), AppClose (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

If the named application is maximized or hidden, the AppMove statement will have no effect.

The x and y parameters are specified in twips.

AppMove will accept x and y parameters that are off the screen.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

AppMove generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is currently displaying a modal dialog box.


AppRestore (statement)

Syntax

AppRestore [title | taskID]

Description

Restores the named application.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the application to restore. If this parameter is omitted, then the active application is restored.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example minimizes Program Manager, then restores it.

Sub Main()

If AppFind$("Program Manager") = "" Then Exit Sub

AppActivate "Program Manager"

AppMinimize "Program Manager"

MsgBox "Program Manager is now minimized. Press OK to restore it."

AppRestore "Program Manager"

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppMinimize (statement), AppMove (statement), AppSize (statement), AppClose (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, the title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

AppRestore will have an effect only if the main window of the named application is either maximized or minimized.

AppRestore will have no effect if the named window is hidden.

AppRestore generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is currently displaying a modal dialog box.


AppSetState (statement)

Syntax

AppSetState newstate [,title | taskID]

Description

Maximizes, minimizes, or restores the named application, depending on the value of newstate.

Comments

The AppSetState statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

newstate	An Integer specifying the new state of the window.

title	A String containing the name of the application to change. If omitted, then the active application is used.

taskID	A number specifying the task ID of the application to be activated. Acceptable task IDs are returned by the Shell function.

The newstate parameter can be any of the following values:

Constant	Value	Description

ebMinimized	1	The named application is minimized.

ebMaximized	2	The named application is maximized.

ebRestored	3	The named application is restored.

Example

See AppGetState (function).

See Also

AppGetState (function), AppMinimize (statement), AppMaximize (statement), AppRestore (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, the title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


AppShow (statement)

Syntax

AppShow [title | taskID]

Description

Makes the named application visible.

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the application to show. If this parameter is omitted, then the active application is shown.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

See AppHide (statement).

See Also

AppHide (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

If the named application is already visible, AppShow will have no effect.

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

AppShow generates a runtime error if the named application is not enabled, as is the case if that application is displaying a modal dialog box.


AppSize (statement)

Syntax

AppSize width,height [,title | taskID]

Description

Sets the width and height of the named application.

Comments

The AppSize statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the new size of the application.

title	String containing the name of the application to resize. If this parameter is omitted, then the active application is use.

taskID	A number specifying the task ID of the application to be activated. Acceptable task IDs are returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example enlarges the active application by 10 pixels in

'both the vertical and horizontal directions.

Sub Main()

Dim w%,h%

AppGetPosition 0,0,w%,h%	'Get current width/height.

x% = x% + Screen.TwipsPerPixelX * 10	'Add 10 pixels.

y% = y% + Screen.TwipsPerPixelY * 10	'Add 10 pixels.

AppSize w%,h%	'Change to new size.

End Sub

See Also

AppMaximize (statement), AppMinimize (statement), AppRestore (statement), AppMove (statement), AppClose (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

The width and height parameters are specified in twips.

This statement will only work if the named application is restored (i.e., not minimized or maximized).

The title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.

A runtime error results if the application being resized is not enabled, which is the case if that application is displaying a modal dialog box when an AppSize statement is executed.


AppType (function)

Syntax

AppType [(title | taskID)]

Description

Returns an Integer indicating the executable file type of the named application:

Returns	If the file type is:

ebDos	DOS executable

ebWindows	Windows executable

Comments

The title parameter is a String containing the name of the application. If this parameter is omitted, then the active application is used.

Alternatively, you can specify the ID of the task as returned by the Shell function.

Example

'This example creates an array of strings containing the names

'of all the running Windows applications. It uses the AppType

'command to determine whether an application is a Windows

'application or a DOS application.

Sub Main()

Dim apps$(),wapps$()

AppList apps	'Retrieve a list of all Windows and DOS apps.

If ArrayDims(apps) = 0 Then

MsgBox "There are no running applications."

Exit Sub

End If

'Create an array to hold only the Windows apps.

ReDim wapps$(UBound(apps))

n = 0	'Copy the Windows apps from one array to the target array.

For i = LBound(apps) to UBound(apps)

If AppType(apps(i)) = ebWindows Then

wapps(n) = apps(i)

n = n + 1

End If

Next i

If n = 0 Then	'Make sure at least one Windows app was found.

MsgBox "There are no running Windows applications."

Exit Sub

End If

ReDim Preserve wapps(n - 1) 	'Resize to hold the exact number.

'Let the user pick one.

index% = SelectBox("Apps","Select an application:",wapps)

End Sub

See Also

AppFileName$ (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, the title parameter is the exact string appearing in the title bar of the named application's main window. If no application is found whose title exactly matches title, then a second search is performed for applications whose title string begins with title. If more than one application is found that matches title, then the first application encountered is used.

Under Windows 95, applications adhere to a convention where the caption contains the name of the file before the name of the application. For example, under NT, the caption for Notepad is "Notepad - (Untitled)", whereas under Windows 95, the caption is "Untitled - Notepad". You must keep this in mind when specifying the title parameter.


ArrayDims (function)

Syntax

ArrayDims(arrayvariable)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the number of dimensions of a given array.

Comments

This function can be used to determine whether a given array contains any elements or if the array is initially created with no dimensions and then redimensioned by another function, such as the FileList function, as shown in the following example.

Example

'This example allocates an empty (null-dimensioned) array; fills

'the array with a list of filenames, which resizes the array;

'then tests the array dimension and displays an appropriate

'message.

Sub Main()

Dim f$()

FileList f$,"c:\*.bat"

If ArrayDims(f$) = 0 Then

MsgBox "The array is empty."

Else

MsgBox "The array size is: " & (UBound(f$) - UBound(f$) + 1)

End If

End Sub

See Also

LBound (function), UBound (function), Arrays (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Arrays (topic)

Declaring Array Variables

Arrays in AimBasic are declared using any of the following statements:

Dim

Public

Private

For example:

Dim a(10) As Integer

Public LastNames(1 to 5,-2 to 7) As Variant

Private

Arrays of any data type can be created, including Integer, Long, Single, Double, Boolean, Date, Variant, Object, user-defined structures, and data objects.

The lower and upper bounds of each array dimension must be within the following range:

-32768 <= bound <= 32767

Arrays can have up to 60 dimensions.

Arrays can be declared as either fixed or dynamic, as described below.

Fixed Arrays

The dimensions of fixed arrays cannot be adjusted at execution time. Once declared, a fixed array will always require the same amount of storage. Fixed arrays can be declared with the Dim, Private, or Public statement by supplying explicit dimensions. The following example declares a fixed array of eleven strings (assuming the option base is 0):

Dim a(10) As String

Fixed arrays can be used as members of user-defined data types. The following example shows a structure containing fixed-length arrays:

Type Foo

rect(4) As Integer

colors(10) As Integer

End Type

Only fixed arrays can appear within structures.

Dynamic Arrays

Dynamic arrays are declared without explicit dimensions, as shown below:

Public Ages() As Integer

Dynamic arrays can be resized at execution time using the Redim statement:

Redim Ages$(100)

Subsequent to their initial declaration, dynamic arrays can be redimensioned any number of times. When redimensioning an array, the old array is first erased unless you use the Preserve keyword, as shown below:

Redim Preserve Ages$(100)

Dynamic arrays cannot be members of user-defined data types.

Passing Arrays

Arrays are always passed by reference. When you pass an array, you can specify the array name by itself, or with parentheses as shown below:

Dim a(10) As String

FileList a	'Both of these are OK

FileList a()

Querying Arrays

The following table describes the functions used to retrieve information about arrays.

Use this function	To

LBound	Retrieve the lower bound of an array. A runtime is generated if the array has no dimensions.

UBound	Retrieve the upper bond of an array. A runtime error is generated if the array has no dimensions.

ArrayDims	Retrieve the number of dimensions of an array. This function returns 0 if the array has no dimensions.

Operations on Arrays

The following table describes the function that operate on arrays:

Use the command	To

ArraySort	Sort an array of integers, longs, singles, doubles, currency, Booleans, dates, or variants.

FileList	Fill an array with a list of files in a given directory.

DiskDrives	Fill an array with a list of valid drive letters.

AppList	Fill an array with a list of running applications.

WinList	Fill an array with a list of top-level windows.

SelectBox	Display the contents of an array in a list box.

PopupMenu	Display the contents of an array in a popup menu.

ReadInSection	Fill an array with the item names from a section in an INI file.

FileDirs	Fill an array with a list of subdirectories.

Erase	Erase all the elements of an array.

ReDim	Establish the bounds and dimensions of an array.

Dim	Declare an array.


ArraySort (statement)

Syntax

ArraySort array()

Description

Sorts a single-dimensioned array in ascending order.

Comments

If a string array is specified, then the routine sorts alphabetically in ascending order using case-sensitive string comparisons. If a numeric array is specified, the ArraySort statement sorts smaller numbers to the lowest array index locations.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if you specify an array with more than one dimension.

When sorting an array of variants, the following rules apply:

• 	A runtime error is generated if any element of the array is an object.

• 	String is greater than any numeric type.

• 	Null is less than String and all numeric types.

• 	Empty is treated as a number with the value 0.

• 	String comparison is case-sensitive (this function is not affected by the Option Compare setting).

Example

'This example dimensions an array and fills it with filenames

'using FileList, then sorts the array and displays it in a

'select box.

Sub Main()

Dim f$()

FileList f$,"c:\*.*"

ArraySort f$

r% = SelectBox("Files","Choose one:",f$)

End Sub

See Also

ArrayDims (function), LBound (function), UBound (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Asc, AscB, AscW (functions)

Syntax

Asc(string)

AscB(string)

AscW(string)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the numeric code for the first character of string.

Comments

This function returns the character value of the first character of string. On single-byte systems, this function returns a number between 0 and 255, whereas on MBCS systems, this function returns a number between -32768 and 32767. On wide platforms, this function returns the MBCS character code after converting the wide character to MBCS.

To return the value of the first byte of a string, use the AscB function. This function is used when you need the value of the first byte of a string known to contain byte data rather than character data. On single-byte systems, the AscB function is identical to the Asc function.

On platforms where AimBasic uses wide string internally (such as Win32), the AscW function returns the character value native to that platform. For example, on Win32 platforms, this function returns the UNICODE character code. On single-byte and MBCS platforms, the AscW function is equivalent to the Asc function.

The following table summarizes the values returned by these functions:

Function	String Format	Returns

Asc	Value of the first byte of string (between 0 and 255)

MBCS	Value of the first character of string (between -32769 and 32767)

Wide	Value of the first character of string after conversion to MBCS.

AscB	Value of the first byte of string.

MBCS	Value of the first byte of string.

Wide	Value of the first byte of string.

AscW	Same as Asc.

MBCS	Same as Asc.

Wide	Value of the wide character native to the operating system.

Example

'This example fills an array with the ASCII values of the

'string's components and displays the result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

s$ = InputBox("Please enter a string.","Enter String")

If s$ = "" Then End	'Exit if no string entered.

For i = 1 To Len(s$)

message = message & Asc(Mid$(s$,i,1)) & crlf

Next i

MsgBox "The Asc values of the string are:" & message

End Sub

See Also

Chr, Chr$, ChrB, ChrB$, ChrW, ChrW$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


AskBox, AskBox$ (functions)

Syntax

AskBox[$](prompt$ [,[default$] [,[title$][,helpfile,context]]])

Description

Displays a dialog box requesting input from the user and returns that input as a String.

Comments

The AskBox/AskBox$ functions take the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

prompt$	String containing the text to be displayed above the text box. The dialog box is sized to the appropriate width depending on the width of prompt$. A runtime error is generated if prompt$ is Null.

default$	String containing the initial content of the text box. The user can return the default by immediately selecting OK. A runtime error is generated if default$ is Null.

title$	String specifying the title of the dialog. If missing, then the default title is used.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

The AskBox$ function returns a String containing the input typed by the user in the text box. A zero-length string is returned if the user selects Cancel.

The AskBox function returns a String variant containing the input typed by the user in the text box. An Empty variant is returned if the user selects Cancel.

When the dialog box is displayed, the text box has the focus.

The user can type a maximum of 255 characters into the text box displayed by AskBox$.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

'This example asks the user to enter a filename and then

'displays what he or she has typed.

Sub Main()

s$ = AskBox$("Type in the filename:")

MsgBox "The filename was: " & s$

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions)

Syntax

AskPassword[$](prompt$ [,[title$] [,helpfile,context]])

Description

Returns a String containing the text that the user typed.

Comments

Unlike the AskBox/AskBox$ functions, the user sees asterisks in place of the characters that are actually typed. This allows the hidden input of passwords.

The AskPassword/AskPassword$ functions take the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

prompt$	String containing the text to be displayed above the text box. The dialog box is sized to the appropriate width depending on the width of prompt$. A runtime error is generated if prompt$ is Null.

title$	String specifying the title of the dialog. If missing, then the default title is used.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

When the dialog box is first displayed, the text box has the focus.

A maximum of 255 characters can be typed into the text box.

The AskPassword$ function returns the text typed into the text box, up to a maximum of 255 characters. A zero-length string is returned if the user selects Cancel.

The AskPassword function returns a String variant. An Empty variant is returned if the user selects Cancel.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

Sub Main()

s$ = AskPassword$("Type in the password:")

MsgBox "The password entered is: " & s$

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Atn (function)

Syntax

Atn(number)

Description

Returns the angle (in radians) whose tangent is number.

Comments

Some helpful conversions:

• 	Pi (3.1415926536) radians = 180 degrees.

• 	1 radian = 57.2957795131 degrees.

• 	1 degree = .0174532925 radians.

Example

'This example finds the angle whose tangent is 1 (45 degrees)

'and displays the result.

Sub Main()

a# = Atn(1.00)

MsgBox "1.00 is the tangent of " & a# & _

" radians (45 degrees)."

End Sub

See Also

Tan (function), Sin (function), Cos (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Architecture$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.Architecture$

Description

Returns a String containing the CPU architecture on which AimBasic is executing.

Comments

The following table describes what Basic.Architecture$ returns on various platforms:

Platform	Sample Return Value from Basic.Architecture$

Windows	"Intel"

Win32	"Intel", "MIPS", "Alpha AXP", or "PowerPC"

OS/2	"Intel"

NetWare	"Intel", "Motorola"

Macintosh	"PowerPC", "68K"

UNIX	"i386", "i486"

The Basic.Architecture$ property returns an empty string if the architecture cannot be determined by AimBasic.

Example

'

'Print the CPU architecture...

'

Sub Main()

MsgBox Basic.Architecture$

End Sub

See Also

Basic.Processor$ (property), Basic.ProcessorCount (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Capability (method)

Syntax

Basic.Capability(which)

Description

Returns True if the specified capability exists on the current platform; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The which parameter is an Integer specifying the capability for which to test. It can be any of the following values:

Value	Returns True If

1	The platform supports disk drives

2	The platform supports system file attribute (ebSystem)

3	The platform supports the hidden file attribute (ebHidden)

4	The platform supports the volume label file attribute (ebVolume)

5	The platform supports the archive file attribute (ebArchive)

6	The platform supports denormalized floating-point math

7	The platform supports file locking (i.e., the Lock and Unlock statements)

8	The platform uses big endian byte ordering

9	The internal string format used by AimBasic uses 2-byte characters.

10	The internal string format used by AimBasic is MBCS.

11	The platform supports wide characters.

12	The platform is MBCS.

Example

'This example tests to see whether your current platform

'supports disk drives and hidden file attributes and displays

'the result.

Sub Main()

message = "This operating system "

If Basic.Capability(1) Then

message = message & "supports disk drives."

Else

message = message & "does not support disk drives."

End If

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Cross-Platform Scripting (topic), Basic.OS (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.CodePage (property)

Syntax

Basic.CodePage

Description

Returns an Integer representing the code page for the current locale.

Comments

Under Windows, Win32, NetWare, and OS/2, this property returns ANSI code page for the current locale, such as 437 for MS-DOS Latin US or 932 for Japanese.

On the Macintosh, this property returns a number from 0 to 32 containing the script code (e.g., 0 for Roman, 1 for Japanese, and so on) as defined by Apple.

Example

Sub Main

If Basic.OS = ebWin16 And Basic.CodePage = 437 Then

MsgBox "Running US Windows"

Else if Basic.OS = ebWin32 And Basic.CodePage = 932 Then

MsgBox "Japanese NT"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Basic.Locale$ (property), Basic.OS (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Eoln$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.Eoln$

Description

Returns a String containing the end-of-line character sequence appropriate to the current platform.

Comments

This string will be either a carriage return, a carriage return/line feed, or a line feed.

Example

'This example writes two lines of text in a message box.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "This is the first line of text." & Basic.Eoln$ _

& "This is the second line of text."

End Sub

See Also

Cross-Platform Scripting (topic), Basic.PathSeparator$ (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Syntax

Basic.FreeMemory

Description

Returns a Long representing the number of bytes of free memory in AimBasic's data space.

Comments

This function returns the size of the largest free block in AimBasic's data space. Before this number is returned, the data space is compacted, consolidating free space into a single contiguous free block.

AimBasic's data space contains strings and dynamic arrays.

Example

'This example displays free memory in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The largest free memory block is: " & Basic.FreeMemory

End Sub

See Also

System.TotalMemory (property), System.FreeMemory (property), System.FreeResources (property), Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.HomeDir$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.HomeDir$

Description

Returns a String specifying the directory containing AimBasic.

Comments

This method is used to find the directory in which the AimBasic files are located.

Example

'This example assigns the home directory to HD and displays it.

Sub Main()

hd$ = Basic.HomeDir$

MsgBox "The AimBasic home directory is: " & hd$

End Sub

See Also

System.WindowsDirectory$ (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Locale$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.Locale$

Description

Returns a String containing the locale under which AimBasic is running.

Comments

The locale helps you identify information about your environment, such as the date formats, time format, and other country-sensitive information.

The following table describes the returned value from Basic.Locale$ on various platforms:

Platform	Return value from Basic.Locale$

Win32	Returns a string in the format:

abbrevlang,langid,nativelang,englang

abbrevlang: Three-letter name of the language. This name is formed by taking the two-letter language abbreviation as found in the ISO Standard 639 and adding a third letter, as appropriate, to indicate the sublanguage. This is the same as that name found in the sLanguage item in the intl section of the Windows 3.1 WIN.INI file.

langid: Language ID as defined by the operating system.

nativelang: Native name of the language.

englang: Full english name of the language as defined by ISO standard 639.

Windows	Returns a string in the format:

abbrevlang,country

country: Native name of the country.

abbrevlang: Three-letter name of the language. This name is formed by taking the two-letter language abbreviation as found in the ISO Standard 639 and adding a third letter, as appropriate, to indicate the sublanguage. This is the same as that name found in the sLanguage item in the intl section of the Windows 3.1 WIN.INI file.

Netware	Returns a string in the following format:

countrycode [,countryname]

countrycode: Country code based on the telephone country code (1 = US, 2 = Canada, and so on).

countryname: Name of the country (such as "USA"). The name of country is only provided for NetWare version 4.0 or later.

OS/2	Returns a string in the following format:

countrycode,localename

countrycode: Country code based on the telephone country code (with the exception of Canada, which uses 2).

localename: Name of the locale as identified by the LC_ALL or LANG environment variables. If this parameter is missing, then the host application is using the default C language locale

Macintosh	Returns a string in the following format:

langcode,langname

langcode: A number representing the current language (e.g., 0 for English, 1 for French, 11 for Japanese, and so on).

langname: The English language name of the language.

Example

'This example checks to see if we are running in a Japanese

'version of Windows.

Sub Main

If Basic.OS = ebWin16 And Item$(Basic.Locale$,1) = "jpn" Then

MsgBox "Running Windows on a Japanese computer."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Basic.OS (property), Basic.CodePage (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.OperatingSystem$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.OperatingSystem$

Description

Returns a String containing the name of the operating system.

Comments

The following table describes the values returned by this function:

Platform	Sample values returned by Basic.OperatingSystem$

Windows	"Windows", "Windows for Workgroups"

Win32	"Win32s", "Windows 95", "Windows NT"

OS/2	"OS/2"

Macintosh	"Macintosh"

Netware	"NetWare"

UNIX	"Lunix", "sco", "UNIX_SV"

The version of the operating system is determined by calling Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$.

Example

'This script checks the Windows version for special networking

’capabilities.

'

Sub Main()

If Basic.OS = ebWin16 Then

If Basic.OperatingSystem$ = "Windows" Then

MsgBox "Special networking capabilities aren’t present."

ElseIf Basic.OperatingSystem$ = "Windows for Workgroups" Then

MsgBox "Network capabilities are present."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$ (property), Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$ (property), Basic.OS (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$

Description

Returns a String containing the version of the operating system under which AimBasic is running.

Comments

The following table describes the what this function returns for various platforms:

Platform	Sample values returned from Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$

Windows	"Microsoft"

Win32	"Microsoft"

OS/2	"IBM"

Netware	Returns the name of the company that distributed NetWare.

Macintosh	"Apple"

UNIX	"Novell System Laboratories", "Lunix", "Santa Cruz Operations"

The name of the operating system is returned by the Basic.OperatingSystem$ property. The version of the operating system is determined by the Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$ property.

Example

'

'The following example prints the operating system vendor

'

Sub Main

MsgBox "The manufacturer of the operating system is: " & _

Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$

End Sub

See Also

Basic.OperatingSystem$ (property), Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$ (property), Basic.OS (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$

Description

Returns a String containing the version of the operating system under which AimBasic is running.

Example

'

'This example checks the Windows version to ensure that a

'feature is supported.

'

Sub Main

If Basic.OperatingSystem$ = "Windows"

If Basic.OperatingSystemVersion$ <= 3 Then

MsgBox "That feature is not supported."

Else

MsgBox "Windows version 3.1 or greater"

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

Basic.OperatingSystem$ (property), Basic.OperatingSystemVendor$ (property), Basic.OS (property)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Win32, Macintosh

The version number is returned in the following format:

major.minor.buildnumber

The parts of the version number are described in the following table:

Part	Description

major	Identifies the major version number of the operating system.

minor	Identifies the minor version number of the operating system.

buildnumber	Identifies the build number of the operating system.

Platform Notes: Windows, NetWare, OS/2

The version number is returns as major.minor.

Platform Notes: UNIX

The version returned does not follow a standard format and is specific to the operating system.


Basic.OS (property)

Syntax

Basic.OS

Description

Returns an Integer indicating the current platform.

Comments

Value	Constant	Platform

0	ebWin16	Microsoft Windows

2	edWin32	Microsoft Windows 95Microsoft Windows NT Workstation (Intel, Alpha, AXP, MIPS,)Microsoft Windows NT Server (Intel, Alpha, AXP, MIPS)Microsoft Win32s running under Windows 3.1

3	ebSolaris	Sun Solaris 2.x

4	ebSunOS	SunOS

5	ebHPUX	HP-UX

6	ebU1trix	DEC Ultrix

7	ebIrix	Silicon Graphics IRIX

8	ebAIX	IBM AIX

9	ebNetWare	Novell NetWare

10	ebMacintosh	Apple Macintosh

11	ebOS2	IBM OS/2

The value returned is not necessarily the platform under which AimBasic is running but rather an indicator of the platform for which AimBasic was created. For example, it is possible to run AimBasic for Windows under Windows NT Workstation. In this case, Basic.OS will return 0.

Example

'This example determines the operating system for which this

'version was created and displays the appropriate message.

Sub Main()

Select Case Basic.OS

Case ebWin16

s = "Windows"

Case ebNetWare

s = "NetWare"

Case Else

s = "neither Windows nor NetWare"

End Select

MsgBox "You are currently running " & s

End Sub

See Also

Cross-Platform Scripting (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.PathSeparator$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.PathSeparator$

Description

Returns a String containing the path separator appropriate for the current platform.

Comments

The returned string is any one of the following characters: / (slash), \ (back slash), : (colon).

Example

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The path separator for this platform is: " & _

Basic.PathSeparator$

End Sub

See Also

Basic.Eoln$ (property), Cross-Platform Scripting (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Processor$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.Processor$

Description

Returns a String containing the name of the CPU in the computer on which AimBasic is running.

Comments

You can retrieve the number of processors within the computer using the Basic.ProcessorCount property.

The following table describes the possible values returned by this property:

Platform	Sample values returned from Basic.Processor$

Windows	"8086", "80186", "80286", "80386", "80486". On Pentium computers, the value "80486" is returned.

Win32	On Intel platforms, one of the following is returned: "80386", "80486", "Pentium". On MIPS platforms, the string "Rx" is returned, such as "R4000". On Alpha platforms, one of the following is returned: "321064", "321066", "321164". On PowerPC platforms, one of the following is returned: "601", "603", "604", "603+", "604+", "620".

OS/2	"80386", "80486", "Pentium".

UNIX	"i386", "i486".

NetWare	"680x0", "80x86".

Macintosh	On 68K platforms, one of the following is returned: "68000", "68010", "68020", "68030", "68040". On PowerMac platforms, the string "601" is returned.

An empty string is returned if AimBasic cannot determine the processor type.

Example

'

'This example prints the CPU of the computer on which

'AimBasic is executing.

'

Sub Main()

MsgBox "Processor = " & Basic.Processor$

End Sub

See Also

Basic.ProcessorCount (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.ProcessorCount (property)

Syntax

Basic.ProcessorCount

Description

Returns the number of CPUs installed on the computer on which AimBasic is running.

Comments

You can determine the type of processor using the Basic.Processor$ property.

This property return 1 if the CPU has only one processor or is otherwise incapable of containing more than one processor.

Example

'

'Print the number of processors in the computer.

'

Sub Main()

MsgBox "There are " & Basic.ProcessorCount & _

" processor(s) in the computer."

End Sub

See Also

Basic.Processor$ (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Basic.Version$ (property)

Syntax

Basic.Version$

Description

Returns a String containing the version of AimBasic.

Comments

This function returns the major and minor version numbers in the format major.minor.BuildNumber, as in "2.00.30."

Example

'This example displays the current version of AimBasic.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "Version " & Basic.Version$ & _

" of AimBasic is running"

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


Beep (statement)

Syntax

Beep

Description

Makes a single system beep.

Example

'This example causes the system to beep five times and displays

'a reminder message.

Sub Main()

For i = 1 To 5

Beep

Sleep(200)

Next i

MsgBox "You have an upcoming appointment!"

End Sub

See Also

Mci (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Begin Dialog (statement)

Syntax

Begin Dialog DialogName [x],[y],width,height,title$ [,[.DlgProc] [,[PicName$] [,style]]]

Dialog Statements

End Dialog

Description

Defines a dialog box template for use with the Dialog statement and function.

Comments

A dialog box template is constructed by placing any of the following statements between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements (no other statements besides comments can appear within a dialog box template):

Picture	PictureButton	OptionButton
OptionGroup	CancelButton	Text
TextBox	GroupBox	DropListBox
ListBox	ComboBox	CheckBox
PushButton	OKButton
The Begin Dialog statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the upper left corner of the dialog box relative to the parent window. These coordinates are in dialog units.

If either coordinate is unspecified, then the dialog box will be centered in that direction on the parent window.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the width and height of the dialog box (in dialog units).

DialogName	Name of the dialog box template. Once a dialog box template has been created, a variable can be dimensioned using this name.

title$	String containing the name to appear in the title bar of the dialog box. If this parameter specifies a zero-length string, then the name "AimBasic" is used.

.DlgProc	Name of the dialog function. The routine specified by .DlgProc will be called by AimBasic when certain actions occur during processing of the dialog box. (See DlgProc [prototype] for additional information about dialog functions.)

If this parameter is omitted, then AimBasic processes the dialog box using the default dialog box processing behavior.

PicName$	String specifying the name of a DLL containing pictures. This DLL is used as the origin for pictures when the picture type is 10. If this parameter is omitted, then no picture library will be used.

style	Specifies extra styles for the dialog. It can be any of the following values:

0	Dialog does not contain a title or close box.

1	Dialog contains a title and no close box.

2 (or omitted)	Dialog contains both the title and close box.

AimBasic generates an error if the dialog box template contains no controls.

A dialog box template must have at least one PushButton, OKButton, or CancelButton statement. Otherwise, there will be no way to close the dialog box.

Dialog units are defined as 1/4 the width of the font in the horizontal direction and 1/8 the height of the font in the vertical direction.

Any number of user dialog boxes can be created, but each one must be created using a different name as the DialogName. Only one user dialog box may be invoked at any time.

Expression Evaluation within the Dialog Box Template

The Begin Dialog statement creates the template for the dialog box. Any expression or variable name that appears within any of the statements in the dialog box template is not evaluated until a variable is dimensioned of type DialogName. The following example shows this behavior:

MyTitle$ = "Hello, World"

Begin Dialog MyTemplate 16,32,116,64,MyTitle$

OKButton 12,40,40,14

End Dialog

MyTitle$ = "Sample Dialog"

Dim Dummy As MyTemplate

rc% = Dialog(Dummy)

The above example creates a dialog box with the title "Sample Dialog".

Expressions within dialog box templates cannot reference external subroutines or functions.

All controls within a dialog box use the same font. The fonts used for the text and text box controls can be changed explicitly by setting the font parameters in the Text and TextBox statements. A maximum of 128 fonts can be used within a single dialog box, although the practical limitation may be less.

Example

'This example creates an exit dialog box.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog QuitDialogTemplate 16,32,116,64,"Quit"

Text 4,8,108,8,"Are you sure you want to exit?"

CheckBox 32,24,63,8,"Save Changes",.SaveChanges

OKButton 12,40,40,14

CancelButton 60,40,40,14

End Dialog

Dim QuitDialog As QuitDialogTemplate

rc% = Dialog(QuitDialog)

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), DlgProc (function), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Boolean (data type)

Syntax

Boolean

Description

A data type capable of representing the logical values True and False.

Comments

Boolean variables are used to hold a binary value—either True or False. Variables can be declared as Boolean using the Dim, Public, or Private statement.

Variants can hold Boolean values when assigned the results of comparisons or the constants True or False.

Internally, a Boolean variable is a 2-byte value holding –1 (for True) or 0 (for False).

Any type of data can be assigned to Boolean variables. When assigning, non-0 values are converted to True, and 0 values are converted to False. When converting strings to Boolean, AimBasic recognizes localized versions of the strings "True" and "False", converting these to the True and False respectively

When appearing as a structure member, Boolean members require 2 bytes of storage.

When used within binary or random files, 2 bytes of storage are required.

When passed to external routines, Boolean values are sign-extended to the size of an integer on that platform (either 16 or 32 bits) before pushing onto the stack.

There is no type-declaration character for Boolean variables.

Boolean variables that have not yet been assigned are given an initial value of False.

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), DefType (statement), CBool (function)

Platform(s)

All.


ButtonEnabled (function)

Syntax

ButtonEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified button within the current window is enabled; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The ButtonEnabled function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the push button.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the push button.

When a button is enabled, it can be clicked using the SelectButton statement.

Note: The ButtonEnabled function is used to determine whether a push button is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function to retrieve the enabled state of a push button in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This code fragment checks to see whether a button is enabled

'before clicking it.

Sub Main()

If ButtonEnabled("Browse...") Then

SelectButton "Browse..."

Else

MsgBox "Can't browse right now."

End If

End Sub

See Also

ButtonExists (function), SelectButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


ButtonExists (function)

Syntax

ButtonExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified button exists within the current window; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The ButtonExists function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the push button.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the push button.

Note: The ButtonExists function is used to determine whether a push button exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This code fragment selects the More button if it exists. If it

'does not exist, then this code fragment does nothing.

Sub Main()

If ButtonExists("More >>") Then

SelectButton "More >>"	'Display more stuff.

End If

End Sub

See Also

ButtonEnabled (function), SelectButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


ByRef (keyword)

Syntax

...,ByRef parameter,...

Description

Used within the Sub...End Sub, Function...End Function, or Declare statement to specify that a given parameter can be modified by the called routine.

Comments

Passing a parameter by reference means that the caller can modify that variable's value.

Unlike the ByVal keyword, the ByRef keyword cannot be used when passing a parameter. The absence of the ByVal keyword is sufficient to force a parameter to be passed by reference:

MySub ByVal i	'Pass i by value.

MySub ByRef i	'Illegal (will not compile).

MySub i	'Pass i by reference.

Example

Sub Test(ByRef a As Variant)

a = 14

End Sub

Sub Main()

b = 12

Test b

MsgBox "The ByRef value is: " & b	'Displays 14.

End Sub

See Also

, ByVal (keyword)

Platform(s)

All.


ByVal (keyword)

Syntax

...ByVal parameter...

Description

Forces a parameter to be passed by value rather than by reference.

Comments

The ByVal keyword can appear before any parameter passed to any function, statement, or method to force that parameter to be passed by value. Passing a parameter by value means that the caller cannot modify that variable's value.

Enclosing a variable within parentheses has the same effect as the ByVal keyword:

Foo ByVal 	i	'Forces i to be passed by value.

Foo(i)	'Forces i to be passed by value.

When calling external statements and functions (i.e., routines defined using the Declare statement), the ByVal keyword forces the parameter to be passed by value regardless of the declaration of that parameter in the Declare statement. The following example shows the effect of the ByVal keyword used to passed an Integer to an external routine:

Declare Sub Foo Lib "MyLib" (ByRef i As Integer)

i% = 6

Foo ByVal i%	'Pass a 2-byte Integer.

Foo i%	'Pass a 4-byte pointer to an Integer.

Since the Foo routine expects to receive a pointer to an Integer, the first call to Foo will have unpredictable results.

Example

'This example demonstrates the use of the ByVal keyword.

Sub Foo(a As Integer)

a = a + 1

End Sub

Sub Main()

Dim i As Integer

i = 10

Foo i

'The following displays 11 (Foo changed the value)

MsgBox "The ByVal value is: " & i

Foo ByVal i

'The following displays 11 (Foo did not change the value)

MsgBox "The ByVal value is still: " & i

End Sub

See Also

, ByRef (keyword)

Platform(s)

All.


Call (statement)

Syntax

Call subroutine_name [(arguments)]

Description

Transfers control to the given subroutine, optionally passing the specified arguments.

Comments

Using this statement is equivalent to:

subroutine_name [arguments]

Use of the Call statement is optional. The Call statement can only be used to execute subroutines; functions cannot be executed with this statement. The subroutine to which control is transferred by the Call statement must be declared outside of the Main procedure, as shown in the following example.

Examples

'This example demonstrates the use of the Call statement to

'pass control to another function.

Sub Example_Call(s$)

'This subroutine is declared externally to Main

'and displays the text passed in the parameter s$.

MsgBox "Call: " & s$

End Sub

Sub Main()

'This example assigns a string variable to display, then

'calls subroutine Example_Call, passing parameter S$ to

'be displayed in a message box within the subroutine.

s$ = "DAVE"

Example_Call s$

Call Example_Call("SUSAN")

End Sub

See Also

Goto (statement), GoSub (statement), Declare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


CancelButton (statement)

Syntax

CancelButton x, y, width, height [,.Identifier]

Description

Defines a Cancel button that appears within a dialog box template.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

Selecting the Cancel button (or pressing Esc) dismisses the user dialog box, causing the Dialog function to return 0. (Note: A dialog function can redefine this behavior.) Pressing the Esc key or double-clicking the close box will have no effect if a dialog box does not contain a CancelButton statement.

The CancelButton statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

.Identifier	Optional parameter specifying the name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). If this parameter is omitted, then the word "Cancel" is used.

A dialog box must contain at least one OKButton, CancelButton, or PushButton statement; otherwise, the dialog box cannot be dismissed.

Example

'This example creates a dialog box with OK and Cancel buttons.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog SampleDialogTemplate 37,32,48,52,"Sample"

OKButton 4,12,40,14,.OK

CancelButton 4,32,40,14,.Cancel

End Dialog

Dim SampleDialog As SampleDialogTemplate

r% = Dialog(SampleDialog)

If r% = 0 Then MsgBox "Cancel was pressed!"

End Sub

See Also

CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


CBool (function)

Syntax

CBool(expression)

Description

Converts expression to True or False, returning a Boolean value.

Comments

The expression parameter is any expression that can be converted to a Boolean. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null.

All numeric data types are convertible to Boolean. If expression is zero, then the CBool returns False; otherwise, CBool returns True. Empty is treated as False.

If expression is a String, then CBool first attempts to convert it to a number, then converts the number to a Boolean. A runtime error is generated if expression cannot be converted to a number.

A runtime error is generated if expression cannot be converted to a Boolean.

Example

'This example uses CBool to determine whether a string is

'numeric or just plain text.

Sub Main()

Dim IsNumericOrDate As Boolean

s$ = "34224.54"

IsNumericOrDate = CBool(IsNumeric(s$) Or IsDate(s$))

If IsNumericOrDate = True Then

MsgBox s$ & " is either a valid date or number!"

Else

MsgBox s$ & " is not a valid date or number!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Boolean (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


CCur (function)

Syntax

CCur(expression)

Description

Converts any expression to a Currency.

Comments

This function accepts any expression convertible to a Currency, including strings. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null or a String not convertible to a number. Empty is treated as 0.

When passed a numeric expression, this function has the same effect as assigning the numeric expression number to a Currency.

When used with variants, this function guarantees that the variant will be assigned a Currency (VarType 6).

Example

'This example displays the value of a String converted into

'a Currency value.

Sub Main()

i$ = "100.44"

MsgBox "The currency value is: " & CCur(i$)

End Sub

See Also

CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Currency (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


CDate, CVDate (functions)

Syntax

CDate(expression)

CVDate(expression)

Description

Converts expression to a date, returning a Date value.

Comments

The expression parameter is any expression that can be converted to a Date. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null.

If expression is a String, an attempt is made to convert it to a Date using the current country settings. If expression does not represent a valid date, then an attempt is made to convert expression to a number. A runtime error is generated if expression cannot be represented as a date.

These functions are sensitive to the date and time formats of your computer.

The CDate and CVDate functions are identical.

Example

'This example takes two dates and computes the difference

'between them.

Sub Main()

Dim date1 As Date

Dim date2 As Date

Dim diff As Date

date1 = CDate(#1/1/1994#)

date2 = CDate("February 1, 1994")

diff = DateDiff("d",date1,date2)

MsgBox "The date difference is " & CInt(diff) & " days."

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Date (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


CDbl (function)

Syntax

CDbl(expression)

Description

Converts any expression to a Double.

Comments

This function accepts any expression convertible to a Double, including strings. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null. Empty is treated as 0.0.

When passed a numeric expression, this function has the same effect as assigning the numeric expression number to a Double.

When used with variants, this function guarantees that the variant will be assigned a Double (VarType 5).

Example

'This example displays the result of two numbers

'as a Double.

Sub Main()

i% = 100

j! = 123.44

MsgBox "The double value is: " & CDbl(i% * j!)

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Double (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


ChDir (statement)

Syntax

ChDir path

Description

Changes the current directory of the specified drive to path.

Comments

This routine will not change the current drive. (See ChDrive [statement].)

Example

'This example saves the current directory, then changes to

'the root directory, displays the old and new directories,

'restores the old directory, and displays it.

Const crlf = $(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

save$ = CurDir$

ChDir (Basic.PathSeparator$)

MsgBox "Old: " & save$ & crlf & "New: " & CurDir$

ChDir (save$)

MsgBox "Directory restored to: " & CurDir$

End Sub

See Also

ChDrive (statement), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), Dir, Dir$ (functions), MkDir (statement), RmDir (statement), FileList (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: UNIX

UNIX platforms do not support drive letters.

Platform Notes: NetWare

NetWare (and other operating systems) may not support the use of dots to indicate the current and parent directories unless configured to do so.

NetWare does not support drive letters. Directory specifications under NetWare use the following format:

volume:[dir\ [dir\]... ]file.ext

The volume specification can be up to 14 characters.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

AimBasic tracks and remembers the current directory for all drives in the system for that process.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

The Macintosh does not support drive letters.

The Macintosh uses the colon (":") as the path separator. A double colon ("::") specifies the parent directory.


ChDrive (statement)

Syntax

ChDrive drive

Description

Changes the default drive to the specified drive.

Comments

Only the first character of drive is used.

Also, drive is not case-sensitive.

If drive is empty, then the current drive is not changed.

Example

'This example saves the current directory in CD, then'

'extracts the current drive letter and saves it in Save$.

'If the current drive is D, then it is changed to C;

'otherwise, it is changed to D. Then the saved drive

'is restored and displayed.

Const crlf$ = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

cd$ = CurDir$

save$ = Mid$(CurDir$,1,1)

If save$ = "D" Then

ChDrive("C")

Else

ChDrive("D")

End If

MsgBox "Old: " & save$ & crlf & "New: " & CurDir$

ChDrive (save$)

MsgBox "Directory restored to: " & CurDir$

End Sub

See Also

ChDir (statement), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), Dir, Dir$ (functions), MkDir (statement), RmDir (statement), DiskDrives (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, NetWare. OS/2.

Platform Notes: UNIX, Macintosh

UNIX platforms and the Macintosh do not support drive letters.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Since NetWare does not support drive letters, the drive parameter specifies a volume name (up to 14 characters).


CheckBox (statement)

Syntax

CheckBox x, y, width, height, title$, .Identifier

Description

Defines a check box within a dialog box template.

Comments

Check box controls are either on or off, depending on the value of .Identifier.

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The CheckBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

title$	String containing the text that appears within the check box. This text may contain an ampersand character to denote an accelerator letter, such as "&Font" for Font (indicating that the Font control may be selected by pressing the F accelerator key).

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates an integer variable whose value corresponds to the state of the check box (1 = checked; 0 = unchecked). This variable can be accessed using the syntax: DialogVariable.Identifier.

When the dialog box is first created, the value referenced by .Identifier is used to set the initial state of the check box. When the dialog box is dismissed, the final state of the check box is placed into this variable. By default, the .Identifier variable contains 0, meaning that the check box is unchecked.

Example

'This example displays a dialog box with two check boxes in

'different states.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog SaveOptionsTemplate 36,32,151,52,"Save"

GroupBox 4,4,84,40,"GroupBox"

CheckBox 12,16,67,8,"Include heading",.IncludeHeading

CheckBox 12,28,73,8,"Expand keywords",.ExpandKeywords

OKButton 104,8,40,14,.OK

CancelButton 104,28,40,14,.Cancel

End Dialog

Dim SaveOptions As SaveOptionsTemplate

SaveOptions.IncludeHeading = 1	'Check box initially on.

SaveOptions.ExpandKeywords = 0	'Check box initially off.

r% = Dialog(SaveOptions)

If r% = -1 Then

MsgBox "OK was pressed."

End If

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2, Macintosh, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32, OS/2

On Windows, Win32, and OS/2 platforms, accelerators are underlined, and the accelerator combination Alt+letter is used.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, accelerators are normal in appearance, and the accelerator combination Command+letter is used..


CheckBoxEnabled (function)

Syntax

CheckBoxEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified check box within the current window is enabled; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The CheckBoxEnabled function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the check box.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the check box.

When a check box is enabled, its state can be set using the SetCheckBox statement.

Note: The CheckBoxEnabled function is used to determine whether a check box is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function within dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This code checks to see whether a check box is enabled.

Sub Main()

If CheckBoxEnabled("Portrait") Then

SetCheckBox "Portrait",1

End If

End Sub

See Also

CheckBoxExists (function), GetCheckBox (function), SetCheckBox (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


CheckBoxExists (function)

Syntax

CheckBoxExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified check box exists within the current window; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The CheckBoxExists function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the check box.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the check box.

Note: The CheckBoxExists function is used to determine whether a check box exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This code fragment checks to ensure that the Portrait check

'box is selectable before selecting it.

Sub Main()

If CheckBoxExists("Portrait") Then

If CheckBoxEnabled("Portrait") Then

SetCheckBox "Portrait",1

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

CheckBoxEnabled (function), GetCheckBox (function), SetCheckBox (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Choose (function)

Syntax

Choose(index,expression1,expression2,...,expression13)

Description

Returns the expression at the specified index position.

Comments

The index parameter specifies which expression is to be returned. If index is 1, then expression1 is returned; if index is 2, then expression2 is returned, and so on. If index is less than 1 or greater than the number of supplied expressions, then Null is returned.

The index parameter is rounded down to the nearest whole number.

The Choose function returns the expression without converting its type. Each expression is evaluated before returning the selected one.

Example

'This example assigns a variable of indeterminate type to a.

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

Dim c As Integer

c% = 2

a = Choose(c%,"Hello, world",#1/1/94#,5.5,False)

'Displays the date passed as parameter 2.

MsgBox "Item " & c% & " is '" & a & "'"

End Sub

See Also

Switch (function), IIf (function), If...Then...Else (statement), Select...Case (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Chr, Chr$, ChrB, ChrB$, ChrW, ChrW$ (functions)

Syntax

Chr[$](charcode)

ChrB[$](charcode)

ChrW[$](charcode)

Description

Returns the character whose value is charcoode.

Comments

The Chr$, ChrB$, and ChrW$ functions return a String, whereas the Chr, ChrB, and ChrW functions return a String variant.

These functions behave differently depending on the string format used by AimBasic. These differences are summarized in the following table:

String
Function	Format	Value between	Returns

Chr[$]	SBCS	0 and 255	A 1-byte character string.

MBCS	-32768 and 32767	A 1-byte or 2-byte MBCS character string depending on charcode.

Wide	-32768 and 32767	A 2-byte character string.

ChrB[$]	SBCS	0 and 255	A 1-byte character string.

MBCS	0 and 255	A 1-byte character string.

Wide	0 and 255	A 1-byte character string.

ChrW[$]	SBCS	0 and 255	A 1-byte character string (same as the Chr and Chr$ functions)

MBCS	-32768 and 32767	A 1-byte or 2-byte MBCS character string depending on charcode.

Wide	-32768 and 32767	A 2-byte character string.

The Chr$ function can be used within constant declarations, as in the following example:

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Some common uses of this function are:

Chr$(9)	Tab
Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)	End-of-line (carriage return, linefeed)
Chr$(26)	End-of-file
Chr$(0)	Null
Examples

Sub Main()

'Concatenates carriage return (13) and line feed (10) to

'CRLF$, then displays a multiple-line message using CRLF$

'to separate lines.

crlf$ = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

MsgBox "First line." & crlf$ & "Second line."

'Fills an array with the ASCII characters for ABC and

'displays their corresponding characters.

Dim a%(2)

For i = 0 To 2

a%(i) = (65 + i)

Next i

MsgBox "The first three elements of the array are: " _

& Chr$(a%(0)) & Chr$(a%(1)) & Chr$(a%(2))

End Sub

See Also

Asc, AscB, AscW (functions), Str, Str$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


CInt (function)

Syntax

CInt(expression)

Description

Converts expression to an Integer.

Comments

This function accepts any expression convertible to an Integer, including strings. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null. Empty is treated as 0.

The passed numeric expression must be within the valid range for integers:

-32768 <= expression <= 32767

A runtime error results if the passed expression is not within the above range.

When passed a numeric expression, this function has the same effect as assigning a numeric expression to an Integer. Note that integer variables are rounded before conversion.

When used with variants, this function guarantees that the expression is converted to an Integer variant (VarType 2).

Example

'This example demonstrates the various results of integer

'manipulation with CInt.

Sub Main()

'(1) Assigns i# to 100.55 and displays its integer

'representation (101).

i# = 100.55

MsgBox "The value of CInt(i) = " & CInt(i#)

'(2) Sets j# to 100.22 and displays the CInt representation

'(100).

j# = 100.22

MsgBox "The value of CInt(j) = " & CInt(j#)

'(3) Assigns k% (integer) to the CInt sum of j# and k% and

'displays k% (201).

k% = CInt(i# + j#)

 	MsgBox "The integer sum of 100.55 and 100.22 is: " & k%

'(4) Reassigns i# to 50.35 and recalculates k%, then

'displays the result (note rounding).

i# = 50.35

k% = CInt(i# + j#)

MsgBox "The integer sum of 50.35 and 100.22 is: " & k%

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Integer (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


Clipboard$ (function)

Syntax

Clipboard$[()]

Description

Returns a String containing the contents of the Clipboard.

Comments

If the Clipboard doesn't contain text or the Clipboard is empty, then a zero-length string is returned.

Example

'This example puts text on the Clipboard, displays it, clears

'the Clipboard, and displays the Clipboard again.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Clipboard$ "Hello out there!"

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

Clipboard.Clear

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

End Sub

See Also

Clipboard$ (statement), Clipboard.GetText (method), Clipboard.SetText (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.


Clipboard$ (statement)

Syntax

Clipboard$ NewContent$

Description

Copies NewContent$ into the Clipboard.

Example

'This example puts text on the Clipboard, displays it, clears

'the Clipboard, and displays the Clipboard again.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Clipboard$ "Hello out there!"

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

Clipboard.Clear

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

End Sub

See Also

Clipboard$ (function), Clipboard.GetText (method), Clipboard.SetText (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.


Clipboard.Clear (method)

Syntax

Clipboard.Clear

Description

This method clears the Clipboard by removing any content.

Example

'This example puts text on the Clipboard, displays it, clears

'the Clipboard, and displays the Clipboard again.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Clipboard$ "Hello out there!"

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

Clipboard.Clear

MsgBox "The text in the Clipboard is:" & _

crlf & Clipboard$

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.


Clipboard.GetFormat (method)

Syntax

WhichFormat = Clipboard.GetFormat(format)

Description

Returns True if data of the specified format is available in the Clipboard; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This method is used to determine whether the data in the Clipboard is of a particular format. The format parameter is an Integer representing the format to be queried:

Format	Value	Description

ebCFText	1	Text

ebCFBitmap	2	Bitmap

ebCFMetafile	3	Metafile

ebCFDIB	8	Device-independent bitmap (DIB)

ebCFPalette	9	Color palette

ebCFUnicodeText	13	Unicode text

Example

'This example puts text on the Clipboard, checks whether'

'there is text on the Clipboard, and if there is,

'displays it.

Sub Main()

Clipboard$ "Hello out there!"

If Clipboard.GetFormat(ebCFText) Then

 	MsgBox Clipboard$

Else

MsgBox "There is no text in the Clipboard."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Clipboard$ (function), Clipboard$ (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.


Clipboard.GetText (method)

Syntax

text$ = Clipboard.GetText([format])

Description

Returns the text contained in the Clipboard.

Comments

The format parameter, if specified, must be ebCFText (1).

Example

'This example retrieves the text from the Clipboard and

'checks to make sure that it contains the word "dog."

Option Compare Text

Sub Main()

If Clipboard.GetFormat(1) Then

If Instr(Clipboard.GetText(1),"dog",1) = 0 Then

MsgBox "The Clipboard doesn't contain the word ""dog."""

Else

MsgBox "The Clipboard contains the word ""dog""."

End If

Else

MsgBox "The Clipboard does not contain text."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Clipboard$ (statement), Clipboard$ (function), Clipboard.SetText (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, the format parameter must be either ebCFText or ebCFUnicodeText. If the format parameter is omitted, then AimBasic first looks for text of the specified type depending on the platform:

Platform	Clipboard Format

Windows NT	UNICODE

Windows 95	MBCS

Win32s	MBCS


Clipboard.SetText (method)

Syntax

Clipboard.SetText data$ [,format]

Description

Copies the specified text string to the Clipboard.

Comments

The data$ parameter specifies the text to be copied to the Clipboard. The format parameter, if specified, must be ebCFText (1).

Example

'This example gets the contents of the Clipboard and

'uppercases it.

Sub Main()

If Not Clipboard.GetFormat(1) Then Exit Sub

Clipboard.SetText UCase$(Clipboard.GetText(1)),1

End Sub

See Also

Clipboard$ (statement), Clipboard.GetText (method), Clipboard$ (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, the format parameter must be either ebCFText or ebCFUnicodeText. If the format parameter is omitted, then AimBasic places the text into the clipboard in the following format depending on the platform.

Platform	Clipboard Format

Windows NT	UNICODE

Windows 95	MBCS

Win32s	MBCS


CLng (function)

Syntax

CLng(expression)

Description

Converts expression to a Long.

Comments

This function accepts any expression convertible to a Long, including strings. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null. Empty is treated as 0.

The passed expression must be within the following range:

-2147483648 <= expression <= 2147483647

A runtime error results if the passed expression is not within the above range.

When passed a numeric expression, this function has the same effect as assigning the numeric expression to a Long. Note that long variables are rounded before conversion.

When used with variants, this function guarantees that the expression is converted to a Long variant (VarType 3).

Example

'This example displays the results for various conversions of i

'and j (note rounding).

Sub Main()

i% = 100

j& = 123.666

'Displays 12367.

MsgBox "The result is: " & CLng(i% * j&)

MsgBox "The variant type is: " & Vartype(CLng(i%))

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Long (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


Close (statement)

Syntax

Close [[#] filenumber [,[#] filenumber]...]

Description

Closes the specified files.

Comments

If no arguments are specified, then all files are closed.

Example

'This example opens four files and closes them in various

'combinations.

Sub Main()

Open "test1" For Output As #1

Open "test2" For Output As #2

Open "test3" For Random As #3

Open "test4" For Binary As #4

MsgBox "The next available file number is :" & FreeFile()

Close #1	'Closes file 1 only.

Close #2, #3	'Closes files 2 and 3.

Close	'Closes all remaining files(4).

MsgBox "The next available file number is :" & FreeFile()

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Reset (statement), End (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


ComboBox (statement)

Syntax

ComboBox x,y,width,height,ArrayVariable,.Identifier

Description

This statement defines a combo box within a dialog box template.

Comments

When the dialog box is invoked, the combo box will be filled with the elements from the specified array variable.

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The ComboBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

ArrayVariable	Single-dimensioned array used to initialize the elements of the combo box. If this array has no dimensions, then the combo box will be initialized with no elements. A runtime error results if the specified array contains more than one dimension.

ArrayVariable can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates a string variable whose value corresponds to the content of the edit field of the combo box. This variable can be accessed using the syntax:

DialogVariable.Identifier.

When the dialog box is invoked, the elements from ArrayVariable are placed into the combo box. The .Identifier variable defines the initial content of the edit field of the combo box. When the dialog box is dismissed, the .Identifier variable is updated to contain the current value of the edit field.

Example

'This example creates a dialog box that allows the user to

'select a day of the week.

Sub Main()

Dim days$(6)

days$(0) = "Monday"

days$(1) = "Tuesday"

days$(2) = "Wednesday"

days$(3) = "Thursday"

days$(4) = "Friday"

days$(5) = "Saturday"

days$(6) = "Sunday"

Begin Dialog DaysDialogTemplate 16,32,124,96,"Days"

OKButton 76,8,40,14,.OK

Text 8,10,39,8,"&Weekdays:"

ComboBox 8,20,60,72,days$,.Days

End Dialog

Dim DaysDialog As DaysDialogTemplate

DaysDialog.Days = "Tuesday"

r% = Dialog(DaysDialog)

MsgBox "You selected: " & DaysDialog.Days

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


ComboBoxEnabled (function)

Syntax

ComboBoxEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified combo box is enabled within the current window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The ComboBoxEnabled function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the combo box.The name of a combo box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a combo box. A runtime error is generated if a combo box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the combo box.

A runtime error is generated if the specified combo box does not exist.

Note: The ComboBoxEnabled function is used to determine whether a combo box is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function in dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example checks to see whether a combo box is active. If it

'is, then it inserts some text into it.

Sub Main()

If ComboBoxEnabled("Filename:") Then

SelectComboBoxItem "Filename:","sample.txt"

End If

If ComboBoxEnabled(365) Then

SelectComboBoxItem 365,3	'Select the third item.

End If

End Sub

See Also

ComboBoxExists (function), GetComboBoxItem$ (function), GetComboBoxItemCount (function), SelectComboBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


ComboBoxExists (function)

Syntax

ComboBoxExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified combo box exists within the current window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The ComboBoxExists function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the combo box.The name of a combo box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a combo box. A runtime error is generated if a combo box with that name cannot be found within the active window

id	Integer specifying the ID of the combo box.

Note: The ComboBoxExists function is used to determine whether a combo box exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This code fragment checks to ensure that a combo box exists

'and is enabled before selecting the last item.

Sub Main()

If ComboBoxExists("Filename:") Then

If ComboBoxEnabled("Filename:") Then

NumItems = GetComboBoxItemCount("Filename:")

SelectComboBoxItem "Filename:",NumItems

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

ComboBoxEnabled (function), GetComboBoxItem$ (function), GetComboBoxItemCount (function), SelectComboBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Command, Command$ (functions)

Syntax

Command[$][()]

Description

Returns the argument from the command line used to start the application.

Comments

Command$ returns a string, whereas Command returns a String variant.

Example

'This example gets the command line and parameters, checks to

'see whether the string "/s" is present, and displays the result.

Sub Main()

cmd$ = Command$

If (InStr(cmd$,"/s")) <> 0 Then

MsgBox "Application was started with the /s switch."

Else

MsgBox "Application was started without the /s switch."

End If

If cmd$ <> "" Then

MsgBox "The command line startup options were: " & cmd$

Else

MsgBox "No command line startup options were used!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Environ, Environ$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Comments (topic)

Comments can be added to AimBasic code in the following manner:

All text between a single quotation mark and the end of the line is ignored:

MsgBox "Hello"	'Displays a message box.

The REM statement causes the compiler to ignore the entire line:

REM This is a comment.

AimBasic supports C-style multiline comment blocks /*...*/, as shown in the following example:

MsgBox "Before comment"

/* This stuff is all commented out.

This line, too, will be ignored.

This is the last line of the comment. */

MsgBox "After comment"

Note: C-style comments can be nested.


Comparison Operators (topic)

Syntax

expression1 [< | > | <= | >= | <> | =] expression2

Description

Comparison operators return True or False depending on the operator.

Comments

The comparison operators are listed in the following table:

Operator	Returns True If

>	expression1 is greater than expression2

<	expression1 is less than expression2

<=	expression1 is less than or equal to expression2

>=	expression1 is greater than or equal to expression2

<>	expression1 is not equal to expression2

=	expression1 is equal to expression2

This operator behaves differently depending on the types of the expressions, as shown in the following table:

And the other
If one expression is	expression is	Then

Numeric 	Numeric	A numeric comparison is performed (see below).

String	String	A string comparison is performed (see below).

Numeric	String	A compile error is generated.

Variant	String	A string comparison is performed (see below).

Variant	Numeric	A variant comparison is performed (see below).

Null variant	Any data type	Returns Null.

Variant	Variant	A variant comparison is performed (see below).

String Comparisons

If the two expressions are strings, then the operator performs a text comparison between the two string expressions, returning True if expression1 is less than expression2. The text comparison is case-sensitive if Option Compare is Binary; otherwise, the comparison is case-insensitive.

When comparing letters with regard to case, lowercase characters in a string sort greater than uppercase characters, so a comparison of "a" and "A" would indicate that "a" is greater than "A".

Numeric Comparisons

When comparing two numeric expressions, the less precise expression is converted to be the same type as the more precise expression.

Dates are compared as doubles. This may produce unexpected results as it is possible to have two dates that, when viewed as text, display as the same date when, in fact, they are different. This can be seen in the following example:

Sub Main()

Dim date1 As Date

Dim date2 As Date

date1 = Now

date2 = date1 + 0.000001	'Adds a fraction of a second.

MsgBox date2 = date1	'Prints False (the dates are

'different).

MsgBox date1 & "," & date2	'Prints two dates that are the same.

End Sub

Variant Comparisons

When comparing variants, the actual operation performed is determined at execution time according to the following table:

If one variant is	And the other variant is	Then

Numeric 	Numeric	Compares the variants as numbers.

String	String	Compares the variants as text.

Numeric	String	The number is less than the string.

Null	Any other data type	Null.

Numeric 	Empty	Compares the number with 0.

String 	Empty	Compares the string with a zero-length string.

Examples

Sub Main()

'Tests two literals and displays the result.

If 5 < 2 Then

MsgBox "5 is less than 2."

Else

MsgBox "5 is not less than 2."

End If

'Tests two strings and displays the result.

If "This" < "That" Then

MsgBox "'This' is less than 'That'."

Else

MsgBox "'That' is less than 'This'."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Is (operator), Like (operator), Option Compare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Const (statement)

Syntax

Const name [As type] = expression [,name [As type] = expression]...

Description

Declares a constant for use within the current script.

Comments

The name is only valid within the current AimBasic script. Constant names must follow these rules:

1.	Must begin with a letter.

2.	May contain only letters, digits, and the underscore character.

3.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.

4.	Cannot be a reserved word.

Constant names are not case-sensitive.

The expression must be assembled from literals or other constants. Calls to functions are not allowed except calls to the Chr$ function, as shown below:

Const s$ = "Hello, there" + Chr(44)

Constants can be given an explicit type by declaring the name with a type-declaration character, as shown below:

Const a% = 5	'Constant Integer whose value is 5

Const b# = 5	'Constant Double whose value is 5.0

Const c$ = "5"	'Constant String whose value is "5"

Const d! = 5	'Constant Single whose value is 5.0

Const e& = 5	'Constant Long whose value is 5

The type can also be given by specifying the As type clause:

Const a As Integer = 5	'Constant Integer whose value is 5

Const b As Double = 5	'Constant Double whose value is 5.0

Const c As String = "5"	'Constant String whose value is "5"

Const d As Single = 5	'Constant Single whose value is 5.0

Const e As Long = 5	'Constant Long whose value is 5

You cannot specify both a type-declaration character and the type:

Const a% As Integer = 5	'THIS IS ILLEGAL.

If an explicit type is not given, then AimBasic will choose the most imprecise type that completely represents the data, as shown below:

Const a = 5	'Integer constant

Const b = 5.5	'Single constant

Const c = 5.5E200	'Double constant

Constants defined within a Sub or Function are local to that subroutine or function. Constants defined outside of all subroutines and functions can be used anywhere within that script. The following example demonstrates the scoping of constants:

Const DefFile = "default.txt"

Sub Test1

Const DefFile = "foobar.txt"

MsgBox DefFile	'Displays "foobar.txt".

End Sub

Sub Test2

MsgBox DefFile	'Displays "default.txt".

End Sub

Example

'This example displays the declared constants in a dialog box

'(crlf produces a new line in the dialog box).

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Const s As String = "This is a constant."

Sub Main()

MsgBox s$ & crlf & "The constants are shown above."

End Sub

See Also

DefType (statement), Let (statement), = (statement), Constants (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Constants (topic)

Constants are variables that cannot change value during script execution. The following constants are predefined by AimBasic.

Constant	Value	Description

ebMinimized	1	The application is minimized.

ebMaximized	2	The application is maximized.

ebRestored	3	The application is restored.

Constant	Value	Description

True	-1	Boolean value True.

False	0	Boolean value False.

Empty	Empty	Variant of type 0, indicating that the variant is uninitialized.

Nothing	0	Value indicating that an object variable no longer references a valid object.

Null	Null	Variant of type 1, indicating that the variant contains no data.

Constant	Value	Description

ebBack	Chr$(8)	String containing a backspace.

ebCr	Chr$(13)	String containing a carriage return.

ebCrLf	Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)	String containing a carriage-return linefeed pair.

ebFormFeed	Chr$(11)	String containing a form feed.

ebLf	Chr$(10)	String containing a line feed.

ebNullChar	Chr$(0)	String containing a single null character.

ebNullString	0	Special string value used to pass null pointers to external routines.

ebTab	Chr$(9)	String containing a tab.

ebVerticalTab	Chr$(12)	String containing a vertical tab.

Constant	Value	Description

ebCFText	1	Text.

ebCFBitmap	2	Bitmap.

ebCFMetafile	3	Metafile.

ebCFDIB	8	Device-independent bitmap.

ebCFPalette	9	Palette.

ebCFUnicode	13	Unicode text.

Constant	Value

AIX	True if development environment is AIX.

HPUX	True if development environment is HPUX.

Irix	True if development environment is Irix.

LINUX	True if development environment is LINUX.

Macintosh	True if development environment is Macintosh (68K or PowerPC).

MacPPC	True if development environment is PowerMac.

Mac68K	True if development environment is 68K Macintosh.

Netware	True if development environment is NetWare.

OS2	True if development environment is OS/2.

OSF1	True if development environment is OSF/1.

SCO	True if development environment is SCO.

Solaris	True if development environment is Solaris.

SunOS	True if development environment is SunOS.

Ultrix	True if development environment is Ultrix.

UNIX	True if development environment is any UNIX platform.

UnixWare	True if development environment is UnixWare.

VMS	True if development environment is VMS.

Win16	True if development environment is 16-bit Windows.

Win32	True if development environment is 32-bit Windows.

Empty	Empty

False	False

Null	Null

True	True

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSunday	0	Use the date setting as specified by the current locale.

ebSunday	1	Sunday.

ebMonday	2	Monday.

ebTuesday	3	Tuesday.

ebWednesday	4	Wednesday.

ebThursday	5	Thursday.

ebFriday	6	Friday.

ebSaturday	7	Saturday.

ebFirstJan1	1	Start with week in which January 1 occurs.

ebFirstFourDays	2	Start with first week with at least four days in the new year.

ebFirstFullWeek	3	Start with first full week of the year.

Constant	Value	Description

ebNormal	0	Read-only, archive, subdir, and none.

ebReadOnly	1	Read-only files.

ebHidden	2	Hidden files.

ebSystem	4	System files.

ebVolume	8	Volume labels.

ebDirectory	16	Subdirectory.

ebArchive	32	Files that have changed since the last backup.

ebNone	64	Files with no attributes.

Constant	Value	Description

ebDOS	1	A DOS executable file.

ebWindows	2	A Windows executable file.

Constant	Value	Description

ebRegular	1	Normal font (i.e., neither bold nor italic).

ebItalic	2	Italic font.

ebBold	4	Bold font.

ebBoldItalic	6	Bold-italic font.

Constant	Value	Description

ebIMENoOp	0	IME not installed.

ebIMEOn	1	IME on.

ebIMEOff	2	IME off.

ebIMEDisabled	3	IME disabled.

ebIMEHiragana	4	Hiragana double-byte character.

ebIMEKatakanaDbl	5	Katakana double-byte characters.

ebIMEKatakanaSng	6	Katakana single-byte characters.

ebIMEAlphaDbl	7	Alphanumeric double-byte characters.

ebIMEAlphaSng	8	Alphanumeric single-byte characters.

Constant	Value	Description

PI	3.1415...	Value of PI.

Constant	Value	Description

ebOKOnly	0	Displays only the OK button.

ebOKCancel	1	Displays OK and Cancel buttons.

ebAbortRetryIgnore	2	Displays Abort, Retry, and Ignore buttons.

ebYesNoCancel	3	Displays Yes, No, and Cancel buttons.

ebYesNo	4	Displays Yes and No buttons.

ebRetryCancel	5	Displays Cancel and Retry buttons.

ebCritical	16	Displays the stop icon.

ebQuestion	32	Displays the question icon.

ebExclamation	48	Displays the exclamation icon.

ebInformation	64	Displays the information icon.

ebApplicationModal	0	The current application is suspended until the dialog box is closed.

ebDefaultButton1	0	First button is the default button.

ebDefaultButton2	256	Second button is the default button.

ebDefaultButton3	512	Third button is the default button.

ebSystemModal	4096	All applications are suspended until the dialog box is closed.

ebOK	1	Returned from MsgBox indicating that OK was pressed.

ebCancel	2	Returned from MsgBox indicating that Cancel was pressed.

ebAbort	3	Returned from MsgBox indicating that Abort was pressed.

ebRetry	4	Returned from MsgBox indicating that Retry was pressed.

ebIgnore	5	Returned from MsgBox indicating that Ignore was pressed.

ebYes	6	Returned from MsgBox indicating that Yes was pressed.

ebNo	7	Returned from MsgBox indicating that No was pressed.

Constant	Value	Description

ebWin16	0	Microsoft Windows (16-bit).

ebWin32	2	Microsoft Windows 95Microsoft Windows NT WorkstationMicrosoft Windows NT ServerMicrosoft Win32s running under Windows 3.1

ebSolaris	3	Sun Solaris 2.x

ebSunOS	4	SunOS

ebHPUX	5	HP-UX

ebUltrix	6	DEC Ultrix

ebIrix	7	Silicon Graphics IRIX

ebAIX	8	IBM AIX

ebNetware	9	Novell Netware

ebMacintosh	10	Apple Macintosh

ebOS2	11	IBM OS/2

ebSCO	13	SCO UNIX

ebUnixWare	14	Novell UnixWare

ebOSF1	15	OSF/1

ebVMS	16	VMS

ebLINUX	17	LINUX

Constant	Value	Description

ebLandscape	1	Landscape paper orientation.

ebPortrait	2	Portrait paper orientation.

Constant	Value	Description

ebLeftButton	1	Left mouse button.

ebRightButton	2	Right mouse button.

Constant	Value	Description

ebHide	0	Application is initially hidden.

ebNormalFocus	1	Application is displayed at the default position and has the focus.

ebMinimizedFocus	2	Application is initially minimized and has the focus.

ebMaximizedFocus	3	Application is maximized and has the focus.

ebNormalNoFocus	4	Application is displayed at the default position and does not have the focus.

ebMinimizedNoFocus	6	Application is minimized and does not have the focus.

Constant	Value	Description

ebUpperCase	1	Converts string to uppercase.

ebLowerCase	2	Converts string to lowercase.

ebProperCase	3	Capitalizes the first letter of each word.

ebWide	4	Converts narrow characters to wide characters.

ebNarrow	8	Converts wide characters to narrow characters.

ebKatakana	16	Converts Hiragana characters to Katakana characters.

ebHiragana	32	Converts Katakana characters to Hiragana characters.

ebUnicode	64	Converts string from MBCS to UNICODE.

ebFromUnicode	128	Converts string from UNICODE to MBCS.

Constant	Value	Description

ebEmpty	0	Variant has not been initialized.

ebNull	1	Variant contains no valid data.

ebInteger	2	Variant contains an Integer.

ebLong	3	Variant contains a Long.

ebSingle	4	Variant contains a Single.

ebDouble	5	Variant contains a Double.

ebCurrency	6	Variant contains a Currency.

ebDate	7	Variant contains a Date.

ebString	8	Variant contains a String.

ebObject	9	Variant contains an Object.

ebError	10	Variant contains an Error.

ebBoolean	11	Variant contains a Boolean.

ebVariant	12	Variant contains an array of Variants.

ebDataObject	13	Variant contains a data object.

ebArray	8192	Added to any of the other types to indicate an array of that type.

You can define your own constants using the Const statement.

Preprocessor constants are defined using #Const.


Cos (function)

Syntax

Cos(number)

Description

Returns a Double representing the cosine of number.

Comments

The number parameter is a Double specifying an angle in radians.

Example

'This example assigns the cosine of pi/4 radians

'(45 degrees) to C# and displays its value.

Sub Main()

c# = Cos(3.14159 / 4)

MsgBox "The cosine of 45 degrees is: " & c#

End Sub

See Also

Tan (function), Sin (function), Atn (function)

Platform(s)

All.


CreateObject (function)

Syntax

CreateObject(class)

Description

Creates an OLE Automation object and returns a reference to that object.

Comments

The class parameter specifies the application used to create the object and the type of object being created. It uses the following syntax:

"application.class",

where application is the application used to create the object and class is the type of the object to create.

At runtime, CreateObject looks for the given application and runs that application if found. Once the object is created, its properties and methods can be accessed using the dot syntax (e.g., object.property = value).

There may be a slight delay when an automation server is loaded (this depends on the speed with which a server can be loaded from disk). This delay is reduced if an instance of the automation server is already loaded.

Examples

'This first example instantiates Microsoft Excel. It then uses

'the resulting object to make Excel visible and then close

'Excel.

Sub Main()

Dim Excel As Object

On Error GoTo Trap1	'Set error trap.

Set Excel = CreateObject("excel.application")

Excel.Visible = True	'Make Excel visible

Sleep 5000	'Wait 5 seconds

Excel.Quit	'Close Excel

Exit Sub	'Exit before error trap.

Trap1:

MsgBox "Can't create Excel object."	'Display error msg

Exit Sub	'Reset error handler.

End Sub

'This example uses CreateObject to instantiate a Visio

'object. It then uses the resulting object to create a new

'document.

Sub Main()

Dim Visio As Object

Dim doc As Object

Dim page As Object

Dim shape As Object

'Create Visio object.

Set Visio = CreateObject("visio.application")

Set doc = Visio.Documents.Add("")	'Create a new doc.

Set page = doc.Pages(1)	'Get first page.

Set shape = page.DrawRectangle(1,1,4,4)

shape.text = "Hello, world."	'Set text within shape.

End Sub

See Also

GetObject (function), Object (data type)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh.


Cross-Platform Scripting (topic)

This section discusses different techniques that can be used to ensure that a given script runs on all platforms that support AimBasic.

Querying the Platform

A script can query the platform in order to take appropriate actions for that platform. This is done using the Basic.OS property. The following example uses this method to display a message to the user:

Sub Main()

If Basic.OS = ebWindows Then

MsgBox "This is a message."

Else

Print "This is a message."

End If

End Sub

Querying the Capabilities of a Platform

Some capabilities of the current platform can be determined using the Basic.Capability method. This method takes a number indicating which capability is being queried and returns either True or False depending on whether that capability is or is not supported on the current platform. The following example uses this technique to read hidden files:

Sub Main()

If Basic.Capability(3) Then

f$ = Dir$("*",ebHidden)	'Hidden files supported.

Else

f$ = Dir$("*")	'Hidden files not

'supported.

End If

'Print all the files.

While f$ <> ""

x = x + 1

MsgBox "Matching file " & x & " is: " & f$

f$ = Dir$

Wend

End Sub

Byte Ordering with Files

One of the main differences between platforms is byte ordering. On some platforms, the processor requires that the bytes that make up a given data item be reversed from their expected ordering.

Byte ordering becomes problematic if binary data is transferred from one platform to another. This can only occur when writing data to files. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that files that are to be transported to a different platform with different byte ordering be sequential (i.e., do not use Binary and Random files).

If a Binary or Random file needs to be transported to another platform, you will have to take into consideration the following:

1.	You must either decide on a byte ordering for your file or write information to the file indicating its byte ordering so that it can be queried by the script that is to read the file.

2.	 When reading a file on a platform in which the byte ordering matches, nothing further needs to be done. If the byte ordering is different, then the bytes of each data item read from a file need to be reversed. This is a difficult proposition.

Byte Ordering with Structures

Due to byte ordering differences between platforms, structure copying using the LSet statement produces different results. Consider the following example:

Type TwoInts

first As Integer

second As Integer

End Type

Type OneLong

first As Long

End Type

Sub Main()

Dim l As OneLong

Dim i As TwoInts

l.First = 4

LSet i = l

MsgBox "First integer: " & i.first

MsgBox "Second integer: " & i.second

End Sub

On Intel-based platforms, bytes are stored in memory with the most significant byte first (known as little-endian format). Thus, the above example displays two dialog boxes, the first one displaying the number 4 and the second displaying the number 0.

On UNIX and Macintosh platforms, bytes are stored in memory with the least significant byte first (known as big-endian format). Thus, the above example displays two dialog boxes, the first one displaying the number 0 and the second displaying the number 4.

Scripts that rely on binary images of data must take the byte ordering of the current platform into account.

Reading and Writing to Text Files

Different platforms use different characters to represent end-of-line in a file. For example, under Windows, a carriage-return/linefeed pair is used. Under UNIX, a line feed by itself is used. On the Macintosh, a carriage return is used.

AimBasic takes this into account when reading text files. The following combinations are recognized and interpreted as end-of-line:

Carriage return	Chr(13)
Carriage return/line feed	Chr(13) + Chr(10)
Line feed	Chr(10)
When writing to text files, AimBasic uses the end-of-line appropriate to that platform. You can retrieve the same end-of-line used by AimBasic using the Basic.Eoln$ property:

crlf = Basic.Eoln$

Print #1,"Line 1." & crlf & "Line 2."

Alignment

A major difference between platforms supported by AimBasic is the forced alignment of data. AimBasic handles most alignment issues itself.

Portability of Compiled Code

Scripts compiled under AimBasic can be executed without recompilation on any platform supported by AimBasic.

Unsupported Language Elements

A compiled AimBasic script is portable to any platform on which AimBasic runs. Because of this, it is possible to execute a script that was compiled on another platform and contains calls to language elements not supported by the current platform.

AimBasic generates a runtime error when unsupported language elements are encountered during execution. For example, the following script will execute without errors under Windows but generate a runtime error when run under UNIX:

Sub Main()

MsgBox "Hello, world."

End Sub

If you trap a call to an unsupported function, the function will return one of the following values:

Data Type	Skipped Function Returns

Integer	0

Double	0.0

Single	0.0

Long	0

Date	December 31, 1899

Boolean	False

Variant	Empty

Object	Nothing

Path Separators

Different file systems use different characters to separate parts of a pathname. For example, under Windows, Win32, and OS/2, the backslash character is used:

s$ = "c:\sheets\bob.xls"

Under UNIX, the forward slash is used:

s$ = "/sheets/bob.xls"

When creating scripts that operate on any of these platforms, AimBasic recognizes the forward slash universally as a valid path separator. Thus, the following file specification is valid on all these platforms:

s$ = "/sheets/bob.xls"

On the Macintosh, the slashes are valid filename characters. Instead, AimBasic recognizes the colon as the valid file separator character:

s$ = "sheets:bob.xls"

You can find out the path separator character for your platform using the Basic.PathSeparator$ property:

s$ = "sheets" & Basic.PathSeparator$ & "bob.xls"

Relative Paths

Specifying relative paths is different across platforms. Under UNIX, Windows, Win32, and OS/2, a period (.) is used to specify the current directory, and two periods (..) are used to indicate the parent directory, as shown below:

s$ = ".\bob.xls"	'File in the current directory

s$ = "..\bob.xls"	'File in the parent directory

On the Macintosh, double colons are used to specify the parent folder:

s$ = "::bob.xls"	'File in the parent folder

Drive Letters

Not all platforms support drive letters. For example, considering the following file specification:

c:\test.txt

Under UNIX, this specifies a single file called c:\test.txt. Under Windows, this specifies a file called test.txt in the root directory of drive c. On the Macintosh, this specifies a file called \test.txt in a folder called c. You can use the Basic.Capability method to determine whether your platform supports drive letters:

Sub Main()

If Basic.Capability(1) Then s$ = "c:/" Else s$ = ""

s$ = s$ & "test.xls"

MsgBox "The platform-specific filename is: " & s$

End Sub

UNC Pathnames

Many platforms support UNC pathnames, including Windows and Win32. If you choose to use these, make sure that UNC pathnames are supported on the platforms on which your script will run.


CSng (function)

Syntax

CSng(expression)

Description

Converts expression to a Single.

Comments

This function accepts any expression convertible to a Single, including strings. A runtime error is generated if expression is Null. Empty is treated as 0.0.

A runtime error results if the passed expression is not within the valid range for Single.

When passed a numeric expression, this function has the same effect as assigning the numeric expression to a Single.

When used with variants, this function guarantees that the expression is converted to a Single variant (VarType 4).

Example

'This example displays the value of a String converted to a

'Single.

Sub Main()

s$ = "100"

MsgBox "The single value is: " & CSng(s$)

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), Single (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


CStr (function)

Syntax

CStr(expression)

Description

Converts expression to a String.

Comments

Unlike Str$ or Str, the string returned by CStr will not contain a leading space if the expression is positive. Further, the CStr function correctly recognizes thousands and decimal separators for your locale.

Different data types are converted to String in accordance with the following rules:

Data Type	CStr Returns

Any numeric type	A string containing the number without the leading space for positive values

Date	A string converted to a date using the short date format

Boolean	A string containing either "True" or "False"

Null variant	A runtime error

Empty variant	A zero-length string

Example

'This example displays the value of a Double converted to a

'String.

Sub Main()

s# = 123.456

MsgBox "The string value is: " & CStr(s#)

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CVar (function), CVErr (function), String (data type), Str, Str$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


CurDir, CurDir$ (functions)

Syntax

CurDir[$][(drive)]

Description

Returns the current directory on the specified drive. If no drive is specified or drive is zero-length, then the current directory on the current drive is returned.

Comments

CurDir$ returns a String, whereas CurDir returns a String variant.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if drive is invalid.

Example

'This example saves the current directory, changes to the

'next higher directory, and displays the change; then

'restores the original directory and displays the change.

'Note: The dot designators will not work with all platforms.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

save$ = CurDir$

ChDir ("..")

MsgBox "Old directory: " & save$ & crlf & _

"New directory: " & CurDir$

ChDir (save$)

MsgBox "Directory restored to: " & CurDir$

End Sub

See Also

ChDir (statement), ChDrive (statement), Dir, Dir$ (functions), MkDir (statement), RmDir (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: UNIX

On UNIX platforms, the drive parameter is ignored. Since UNIX platforms do not support drive letters, the current directory is always returned.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Since NetWare does not support drive letters, the drive parameter specifies a volume name (up to 14 characters). The returned value will have the following format:

volume:[dir[\dir]...]


Currency (data type)

Syntax

Currency

Description

A data type used to declare variables capable of holding fixed-point numbers with 15 digits to the left of the decimal point and 4 digits to the right.

Comments

Currency variables are used to hold numbers within the following range:

-922,337,203,685,477.5808 <= currency <= 922,337,203,685,477.5807

Due to their accuracy, Currency variables are useful within calculations involving money.

The type-declaration character for Currency is @.

Storage

Internally, currency values are 8-byte integers scaled by 10000. Thus, when appearing within a structure, currency values require 8 bytes of storage. When used with binary or random files, 8 bytes of storage are required.

See Also

Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CCur (function)

Platform(s)

All.


CVar (function)

Syntax

CVar(expression)

Description

Converts expression to a Variant.

Comments

This function is used to convert an expression into a variant. Use of this function is not necessary (except for code documentation purposes) because assignment to variant variables automatically performs the necessary conversion:

Sub Main()

Dim v As Variant

v = 4 & "th"	'Assigns "4th" to v.

MsgBox "You came in: " & v

v = CVar(4 & "th")	'Assigns "4th" to v.

MsgBox "You came in: " & v

End Sub

Example

'This example converts an expression into a Variant.

Sub Main()

Dim s As String

Dim a As Variant

s = CStr("The quick brown fox ")

message = CVar(s & "jumped over the lazy dog.")

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVErr (function), Variant (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


CVErr (function)

Syntax

CVErr(expression)

Description

Converts expression to an error.

Comments

This function is used to convert an expression into a user-defined error number.

A runtime error is generated under the following conditions:

• 	If expression is Null.

• 	If expression is a number outside the legal range for errors, which is as follows:

0 <= expression <= 65535

• 	If expression is Boolean.

• 	If expression is a String that can't be converted to a number within the legal range.

Empty is treated as 0.

Example

'This example simulates a user-defined error and displays

'the error number.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The error is: " & CStr(CVErr(2046))

End Sub

See Also

CCur (function), CBool (function), CDate, CVDate (functions), CDbl (function), CInt (function), CLng (function), CSng (function), CStr (function), CVar (function), IsError (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Date (data type)

Syntax

Date

Description

A data type capable of holding date and time values.

Comments

Date variables are used to hold dates within the following range:

January 1, 100 00:00:00 <= date <= December 31, 9999 23:59:59

-6574340 <= date <= 2958465.99998843

Internally, dates are stored as 8-byte IEEE double values. The integer part holds the number of days since December 31, 1899, and the fractional part holds the number of seconds as a fraction of the day. For example, the number 32874.5 represents January 1, 1990 at 12:00:00.

When appearing within a structure, dates require 8 bytes of storage. Similarly, when used with binary or random files, 8 bytes of storage are required.

There is no type-declaration character for Date.

Date variables that haven't been assigned are given an initial value of 0 (i.e., December 31, 1899).

Date Literals

Literal dates are specified using number signs, as shown below:

Dim d As Date

d = #January 1, 1990#

The interpretation of the date string (i.e., January 1, 1990 in the above example) occurs at runtime, using the current country settings. This is a problem when interpreting dates such as 1/2/1990. If the date format is M/D/Y, then this date is January 2, 1990. If the date format is D/M/Y, then this date is February 1, 1990. To remove any ambiguity when interpreting dates, use the universal date format:

date_variable = #YY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS#

The following example specifies the date June 3, 1965, using the universal date format:

Dim d As Date

d = #1965/6/3 10:23:45#

See Also

Currency (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CDate, CVDate (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Date, Date$ (functions)

Syntax

Date[$][()]

Description

Returns the current system date.

Comments

The Date$ function returns the date using the short date format. The Date function returns the date as a Date variant.

Use the Date/Date$ statements to set the system date.

Note: In prior versions of AimBasic, the Date$ function returned the date using a fixed date format. The date is now returned using the current short date format (defined by the operating system), which may differ from the previous fixed format.

Example

'This example saves the current date to TheDate$, then

'changes the date and displays the result. It then changes

'the date back to the saved date and displays the result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

TheDate$ = Date$()

Date$ = "01/01/95"

MsgBox "Saved date is: " & TheDate$ & _

crlf & "Changed date is: " & Date$()

Date$ = TheDate$

MsgBox "Restored date to: " & TheDate$

End Sub

See Also

CDate, CVDate (functions), Time, Time$ (functions), Date, Date$ (statements), Now (function), Format, Format$ (functions), DateSerial (function), DateValue (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Date, Date$ (statements)

Syntax

Date[$] = newdate

Description

Sets the system date to the specified date.

Comments

The Date$ statement requires a string variable using one of the following formats:

MM-DD-YYYY

MM-DD-YY

MM/DD/YYYY

MM/DD/YY,

where MM is a two-digit month between 1 and 31, DD is a two-digit day between 1 and 31, and YYYY is a four-digit year between 1/1/100 and 12/31/9999.

The Date statement converts any expression to a date, including string and numeric values. Unlike the Date$ statement, Date recognizes many different date formats, including abbreviated and full month names and a variety of ordering options. If newdate contains a time component, it is accepted, but the time is not changed. An error occurs if newdate cannot be interpreted as a valid date.

Example

'This example saves the current date to TheDate$, then 'changes the date and displays the result. It then changes 'the date back to the saved date and displays the result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

TheDate$ = Date$()

Date$ = "01/01/95"

MsgBox "Saved date is: " & TheDate$ & crlf & _

"Changed date is: " & Date$()

Date$ = TheDate$

MsgBox "Restored date to: " & TheDate$

End Sub

See Also

Date, Date$ (functions), Time, Time$ (statements)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes

On some platforms, you may not have permission to change the date, causing runtime error 70 to be generated. This can occur on all UNIX platforms, Win32, and OS/2.

The range of valid dates varies from platform to platform. The following table describes the minimum and maximum dates accepted by various platforms:

Platform	Minimum Date	Maximum Date

Macintosh	January 1, 1904	February 6, 2040

Windows	January 1, 1980	December 31, 2099

Windows 95	January 1, 1980	December 31, 2099

OS/2 	January 1, 1980	December 31, 2079

NetWare	January 1, 1980	December 31, 2099


DateAdd (function)

Syntax

DateAdd(interval, number, date)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the sum of date and a specified number (number) of time intervals (interval).

Comments

This function adds a specified number (number) of time intervals (interval) to the specified date (date). The following table describes the named parameters to the DateAdd function:

Named Parameter	Description

interval	String expression indicating the time interval used in the addition.

number	Integer indicating the number of time intervals you wish to add. Positive values result in dates in the future; negative values result in dates in the past.

date	Any expression convertible to a Date string expression. An example of a valid date/time string would be "January 1, 1993".

The interval parameter specifies what unit of time is to be added to the given date. It can be any of the following:

Time	Interval

"y"	Day of the year

"yyyy"	Year

"d"	Day

"m"	Month

"q"	Quarter

"ww"	Week

"h"	Hour

"n"	Minute

"s"	Second

"w"	Weekday

To add days to a date, you may use either day, day of the year, or weekday, as they are all equivalent ("d", "y", "w").

The DateAdd function will never return an invalid date/time expression. The following example adds two months to December 31, 1992:

s# = DateAdd("m", 2, "December 31, 1992")

In this example, s is returned as the double-precision number equal to "February 28, 1993", not "February 31, 1993".

AimBasic generates a runtime error if you try subtracting a time interval that is larger than the time value of the date.

Example

'This example gets today's date using the Date$ function; adds

'three years, two months, one week, and two days to it; and

'then displays the result in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

Dim sdate$

sdate$ = Date$

NewDate# = DateAdd("yyyy", 4, sdate$)

NewDate# = DateAdd("m", 3, NewDate#)

NewDate# = DateAdd("ww", 2, NewDate#)

NewDate# = DateAdd("d", 1, NewDate#)

s$ = "Four years, three months, two weeks, "

s$ = s$ & "and one day from now will be: "

s$ = s$ & Format(NewDate#, "long date")

MsgBox s$

End Sub

See Also

DateDiff (function)

Platform(s)

All.


DateDiff (function)

Syntax

DateDiff(interval, date1, date2 [, [firstdayofweek] [,firstweekofyear]])

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the number of given time intervals between date1 and date2.

Comments

The following describes the named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

interval	String expression indicating the specific time interval you wish to find the difference between. An error is generated if interval is Null.

date1	Any expression convertible to a Date. An example of a valid date/time string would be "January 1, 1994".

date2	Any expression convertible to a Date. An example of a valid date/time string would be "January 1, 1994".

firstdayofweek	Indicates the first day of the week. If omitted, then sunday is assumed (i.e., the constant ebSunday described below).

firstweekofyear	Indicates the first week of the year. If omitted, then the first week of the year is considered to be that containing January 1 (i.e., the constant ebFirstJan1 as described bellow).

The following lists the valid time interval strings and the meanings of each. The Format$ function uses the same expressions.

Time	Interval

"y"	Day of the year

"yyyy"	Year

"d"	Day

"m"	Month

"q"	Quarter

"ww"	Week

"h"	Hour

"n"	Minute

"s"	Second

"w"	Weekday

To find the number of days between two dates, you may use either day or day of the year, as they are both equivalent ("d", "y").

The time interval weekday ("w") will return the number of weekdays occurring between date1 and date2, counting the first occurrence but not the last. However, if the time interval is week ("ww"), the function will return the number of calendar weeks between date1 and date2, counting the number of Sundays. If date1 falls on a Sunday, then that day is counted, but if date2 falls on a Sunday, it is not counted.

The firstdayofweek parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofweek.

ebSunday	1	Sunday (the default)

ebMonday	2	Monday

ebTuesday	3	Tuesday

ebWednesday	4	Wednesday

ebThursday	5	Thursday

ebFriday	6	Friday

ebSaturday	7	Saturday

The firstdayofyear parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofyear.

ebFirstJan1	1	The first week of the year is that in which January 1 occurs (the default).

ebFirstFourDays	2	The first week of the year is that containing at least four days in the year.

ebFirstFullWeek	3	The first week of the year is the first full week of the year.

The DateDiff function will return a negative date/time value if date1 is a date later in time than date2. If date1 or date2 are Null, then Null is returned.

Example

'This example gets today's date and adds ten days to it. It

'then calculates the difference between the two dates in days

'and weeks and displays the result.

Sub Main()

today$ = Format(Date$,"Short Date")

NextWeek = Format(DateAdd("d", 14, today$),"Short Date")

DifDays# = DateDiff("d", today$, NextWeek)

DifWeek# = DateDiff("w", today$, NextWeek)

s$ = "The difference between " & today$ & _

" and " & NextWeek & " is: " & DifDays# & _

" days or " & DifWeek# & " weeks"

MsgBox s$

End Sub

See Also

DateAdd (function)

Platform(s)

All.


DatePart (function)

Syntax

DatePart(interval, date [, [firstdayofweek] [,firstweekofyear]])

Description

Returns an Integer representing a specific part of a date/time expression.

Comments

The DatePart function decomposes the specified date and returns a given date/time element. The following table describes the named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

interval	String expression that indicates the specific time interval you wish to identify within the given date.

date	Any expression convertible to a Date. An example of a valid date/time string would be "January 1, 1995".

firstdayofweek	Indicates the first day of the week. If omitted, then sunday is assumed (i.e., the constant ebSunday described below).

firstweekofyear	Indicates the first week of the year. If omitted, then the first week of the year is considered to be that containing January 1 (i.e., the constant ebFirstJan1 as described bellow).

The following table lists the valid time interval strings and the meanings of each. The Format$ function uses the same expressions.

Time	Interval

"y"	Day of the year

"yyyy"	Year

"d"	Day

"m"	Month

"q"	Quarter

"ww"	Week

"h"	Hour

"n"	Minute

"s"	Second

"w"	Weekday

The firstdayofweek parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofweek.

ebSunday	1	Sunday (the default)

ebMonday	2	Monday

ebTuesday	3	Tuesday

ebWednesday	4	Wednesday

ebThursday	5	Thursday

ebFriday	6	Friday

ebSaturday	7	Saturday

The firstdayofyear parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofyear.

ebFirstJan1	1	The first week of the year is that in which January 1 occurs (the default).

ebFirstFourDays	2	The first week of the year is that containing at least four days in the year.

ebFirstFullWeek	3	The first week of the year is the first full week of the year.

Example

'This example displays the parts of the current date.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

today$ = Date$

qtr = DatePart("q",today$)

yr = DatePart("yyyy",today$)

mo = DatePart("m",today$)

wk = DatePart("ww",today$)

da = DatePart("d",today$)

s$ = "Quarter: " & qtr & crlf

s$ = s$ & "Year	: " & yr & crlf

s$ = s$ & "Month	: " & mo & crlf

s$ = s$ & "Week	: " & wk & crlf

s$ = s$ & "Day	: " & da & crlf

MsgBox s$

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Second (function), Month (function), Year (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), Format, Format$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


DateSerial (function)

Syntax

DateSerial(year, month, day)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the specified date.

Comments

The DateSerial function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

year	Integer between 100 and 9999

month	Integer between 1 and 12

day	Integer between 1 and 31

Example

'This example converts a date to a real number representing the

'serial date in days since December 30, 1899 (which is day 0).

Sub Main()

tdate# = DateSerial(1993,08,22)

MsgBox "The DateSerial value for August 22, 1993, is: " _

& tdate#

End Sub

See Also

DateValue (function), TimeSerial (function), TimeValue (function), CDate, CVDate (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


DateValue (function)

Syntax

DateValue(date)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the date contained in the specified string argument.

Example

'This example returns the day of the month for today's date.

Sub Main()

tdate$ = Date$

tday = DateValue(tdate$)

MsgBox tdate & " date value is: " & tday$

End Sub

See Also

TimeSerial (function), TimeValue (function), DateSerial (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, date specifications vary depending on the international settings contained in the "intl" section of the win.ini file. The date items must follow the ordering determined by the current date format settings in use by Windows..


Day (function)

Syntax

Day(date)

Description

Returns the day of the month specified by date.

Comments

The value returned is an Integer between 0 and 31 inclusive.

The date parameter is any expression that converts to a Date.

Example

'This example gets the current date and then displays it.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

CurDate = Now()

MsgBox "Today is day " & Day(CurDate) & _

" of the month." & crlf &  "Tomorrow is day " _

& Day(CurDate + 1)

End Sub

See Also

Minute (function), Second (function), Month (function), Year (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


DDB (function)

Syntax

DDB(cost, salvage, life, period [,factor])

Description

Calculates the depreciation of an asset for a specified period of time using the double-declining balance method.

Comments

The double-declining balance method calculates the depreciation of an asset at an accelerated rate. The depreciation is at its highest in the first period and becomes progressively lower in each additional period. DDB uses the following formula to calculate the depreciation:

DDB =((Cost-Total_depreciation_from_all_other_periods) * 2)/Life

The DDB function uses the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

cost	Double representing the initial cost of the asset

salvage	Double representing the estimated value of the asset at the end of its predicted useful life

life	Double representing the predicted length of the asset's useful life

period	Double representing the period for which you wish to calculate the depreciation

factor	Depreciation factor determining the rate the balance declines. If this parameter is missing, then 2 is assumed (double-declining method).

The life and period parameters must be expressed using the same units. For example, if life is expressed in months, then period must also be expressed in months.

Example

'This example calculates the depreciation for capital equipment

'that cost $10,000, has a service life of ten years, and is

'worth $2,000 as scrap. The dialog box displays the depreciation

'for each of the first four years.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

s$ = "Depreciation Table" & crlf & crlf

For yy = 1 To 4

CurDep# = DDB(10000.0,2000.0,10,yy)

s$ = s$ & "Year " & yy & " : " & CurDep# & crlf

Next yy

MsgBox s$

End Sub

See Also

Sln (function), SYD (function)

Platform(s)

All.


DDEExecute (statement)

Syntax

DDEExecute channel, command$

Description

Executes a command in another application.

Comments

The DDEExecute statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

channel	Integer containing the DDE channel number returned from DDEInitiate. An error will result if channel is invalid.

command$	String containing the command to be executed. The format of command$ depends on the receiving application.

If the receiving application does not execute the instructions, AimBasic generates a runtime error.

Example

'This example selects a cell in an Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

q$ = Chr(34)

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

cmd$ = "Select(" & q$ & "R1C1:R8C1" & q$ & ")"

DDEExecute ch%,cmd$

DDETerminate ch%

End Sub

See Also

DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDEInitiate (function)

Syntax

DDEInitiate(application$, topic$)

Description

Initializes a DDE link to another application and returns a unique number subsequently used to refer to the open DDE channel.

Comments

The DDEInitiate statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

application$	String containing the name of the application (the server) with which a DDE conversation will be established.

topic$	String containing the name of the topic for the conversation. The possible values for this parameter are described in the documentation for the server application.

This function returns 0 if AimBasic cannot establish the link. This will occur under any of the following circumstances:

•	The specified application is not running.

•	The topic was invalid for that application.

•	Memory or system resources are insufficient to establish the DDE link.

Example

'This example selects a range of cells in an Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

q$ = Chr(34)

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

cmd$ = "Select(" & q$ & "R1C1:R8C1" & q$ & ")"

DDEExecute ch%,cmd$

DDETerminate ch%

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDEPoke (statement)

Syntax

DDEPoke channel, DataItem, value

Description

Sets the value of a data item in the receiving application associated with an open DDE link.

Comments

The DDEPoke statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

channel	Integer containing the DDE channel number returned from DDEInitiate. An error will result if channel is invalid.

DataItem	Data item to be set. This parameter can be any expression convertible to a String. The format depends on the server.

value	The new value for the data item. This parameter can be any expression convertible to a String. The format depends on the server. A runtime error is generated if value is Null.

Example

'This example pokes a value into an Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

DDEPoke ch%,"R1C1","980"

DDETerminate ch%

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions)

Syntax

DDERequest[$](channel,DataItem$)

Description

Returns the value of the given data item in the receiving application associated with the open DDE channel.

Comments

DDERequest$ returns a String, whereas DDERequest returns a String variant.

The DDERequest/DDERequest$ functions take the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

channel	Integer containing the DDE channel number returned from DDEInitiate. An error will result if channel is invalid.

DataItem$	String containing the name of the data item to request. The format for this parameter depends on the server.

The format for the returned value depends on the server.

Example

'This example gets a value from an Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\excel\test.xls")

s$ = DDERequest$(ch%,"R1C1")

DDETerminate ch%

MsgBox s$

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), , DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDESend (statement)

Syntax

DDESend application$, topic$, DataItem, value

Description

Initiates a DDE conversation with the server as specified by application$ and topic$ and sends that server a new value for the specified item.

Comments

The DDESend statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

application$	String containing the name of the application (the server) with which a DDE conversation will be established.

topic$	String containing the name of the topic for the conversation. The possible values for this parameter are described in the documentation for the server application.

DataItem	Data item to be set. This parameter can be any expression convertible to a String. The format depends on the server.

value	New value for the data item. This parameter can be any expression convertible to a String. The format depends on the server. A runtime error is generated if value is Null.

The DDESend statement performs the equivalent of the following statements:

ch% = DDEInitiate(application$, topic$)

DDEPoke ch%, item, data

DDETerminate ch%

Example

'This code fragment sets the content of the first cell in an

'Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto Trap1

DDESend "Excel","c:\excel\test.xls","R1C1","Hello, world."

On Error Goto 0

'Add more lines here.

Trap1:

MsgBox "Error sending data to Excel."

Exit Sub	'Reset error handler.

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDETerminate (statement)

Syntax

DDETerminate channel

Description

Closes the specified DDE channel.

Comments

The channel parameter is an Integer containing the DDE channel number returned from DDEInitiate. An error will result if channel is invalid.

All open DDE channels are automatically terminated when the script ends.

Example

'This code fragment sets the content of the first cell in an

'Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

q$ = Chr(34)

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

cmd$ = "Select(" & q$ & "R1C1:R8C1" & q$ & ")"

DDEExecute ch%,cmd$

DDETerminate ch%

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDETerminateAll (statement)

Syntax

DDETerminateAll

Description

Closes all open DDE channels.

Comments

All open DDE channels are automatically terminated when the script ends.

Example

'This code fragment selects the contents of the first cell 'in an Excel spreadsheet.

Sub Main()

q$ = Chr(34)

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

cmd$ = "Select(" & q$ & "R1C1:R8C1" & q$ & ")"

DDEExecute ch%,cmd$

DDETerminateAll

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminate (statement), DDETimeout (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


DDETimeout (statement)

Syntax

DDETimeout milliseconds

Description

Sets the number of milliseconds that must elapse before any DDE command times out.

Comments

The milliseconds parameter is a Long and must be within the following range:

0 <= milliseconds <= 2,147,483,647

The default is 10,000 (10 seconds).

Example

Sub Main()

q$ = Chr(34)

ch% = DDEInitiate("Excel","c:\sheets\test.xls")

DDETimeout(20000)

cmd$ = "Select(" & q$ & "R1C1:R8C1" & q$ & ")"

DDEExecute ch%,cmd$

DDETerminate ch%

End Sub

See Also

DDEExecute (statement), DDEInitiate (function), DDEPoke (statement), DDERequest, DDERequest$ (functions), DDESend (statement), DDETerminate (statement), DDETerminateAll (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the DDEML library is required for DDE support. This library is loaded when the first DDEInitiate statement is encountered and remains loaded until the AimBasic system is terminated. Thus, the DDEML library is required only if DDE statements are used within a script.


Declare (statement)

Syntax

Declare {Sub | Function} name[TypeChar] [CDecl | Pascal | System | StdCall] [Lib "LibName$" [Alias "AliasName$"]] [([ParameterList])] [As type]

Where ParameterList is a comma-separated list of the following (up to 30 parameters are allowed):

[Optional] [ByVal | ByRef] ParameterName[()] [As ParameterType]

Description

Creates a prototype for either an external routine or a AimBasic routine that occurs later in the source module or in another source module.

Comments

Declare statements must appear outside of any Sub or Function declaration.

Declare statements are only valid during the life of the script in which they appear.

The Declare statement uses the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name	Any valid AimBasic name. When you declare functions, you can include a type-declaration character to indicate the return type.

This name is specified as a normal AimBasic keyword— i.e., it does not appear within quotes.

TypeChar	An optional type-declaration character used when defining the type of data returned from functions. It can be any of the following characters: #, !, $, @, %, or &. For external functions, the @ character is not allowed.

Type-declaration characters can only appear with function declarations, and take the place of the As type clause.

Note: Currency data cannot be returned from external functions. Thus, the @ type-declaration character cannot be used when declaring external functions.

Decl	Optional keyword indicating that the external subroutine or function uses the C calling convention. With C routines, arguments are pushed right to left on the stack and the caller performs stack cleanup.

Pascal	Optional keyword indicating that this external subroutine or function uses the Pascal calling convention. With Pascal routines, arguments are pushed left to right on the stack and the called function performs stack cleanup.

System	Optional keyword indicating that the external subroutine or function uses the System calling convention. With System routines, arguments are pushed right to left on the stack, the caller performs stack cleanup, and the number of arguments is specified in the AL register.

StdCall	Optional keyword indicating that the external subroutine or function uses the StdCall calling convention. With StdCall routines, arguments are pushed right to left on the stack and the called function performs stack cleanup.

LibName$	Must be specified if the routine is external. This parameter specifies the name of the library or code resource containing the external routine and must appear within quotes.

The LibName$ parameter can include an optional path specifying the exact location of the library or code resource.Alias name that must be given to provide the name of the routine if the name parameter is not the routine's real name. For example, the following two statements declare the same routine:

Declare Function GetCurrentTime _

  Lib "user" () As IntegerDeclare _

  Function GetTime Lib "user" Alias _

  "GetCurrentTime" _As Integer

Use an alias when the name of an external routine conflicts with the name of a AimBasic internal routine or when the external routine name contains invalid characters.

The AliasName$ parameter must appear within quotes.

type	Indicates the return type for functions.

For external functions, the valid return types are: Integer, Long, String, Single, Double, Date, Boolean, and data objects.

Note: Currency, Variant, fixed-length strings, arrays, user-defined types, and OLE Automation objects cannot be returned by external functions.

Optional	Keyword indicating that the parameter is optional. All optional parameters must be of type Variant. Furthermore, all parameters that follow the first optional parameter must also be optional.

If this keyword is omitted, then the parameter being defined is required when calling this subroutine or function.

ByVal	Optional keyword indicating that the caller will pass the parameter by value. Parameters passed by value cannot be changed by the called routine.

ByRef	Optional keyword indicating that the caller will pass the parameter by reference. Parameters passed by reference can be changed by the called routine. If neither ByVal or ByRef are specified, then ByRef is assumed.

ParameterName	Name of the parameter, which must follow AimBasic naming conventions:

1.	Must start with a letter.

2.	May contain letters, digits, and the underscore character (_). Punctuation and type-declaration characters are not allowed. The exclamation point (!) can appear within the name as long as it is not the last character, in which case it is interpreted as a type-declaration character.

3.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.

Additionally, ParameterName can end with an optional type-declaration character specifying the type of that parameter (i.e., any of the following characters: %, &, !, #, @).

()	Indicates that the parameter is an array.

ParameterType	Specifies the type of the parameter (e.g., Integer, String, Variant, and so on). The As ParameterType clause should only be included if ParameterName does not contain a type-declaraction character.

In addition to the default AimBasic data types, ParameterType can specify any user-defined structure, data object, or OLE Automation object. If the data type of the parameter is not known in advance, then the Any keyword can be used. This forces the AimBasic compiler to relax type checking, allowing any data type to be passed in place of the given argument.

    Declare Sub Convert Lib "mylib" (a As Any)

The Any data type can only be used when passing parameters to external routines.

Passing Parameters

By default, AimBasic passes arguments by reference. Many external routines require a value rather than a reference to a value. The ByVal keyword does this. For example, this C routine:

void MessageBeep(int);

would be declared as follows:

Declare Sub MessageBeep Lib "user" (ByVal n As Integer)

As an example of passing parameters by reference, consider the following C routine which requires a pointer to an integer as the third parameter:

int SystemParametersInfo(int,int,int *,int);

This routine would be declared as follows (notice the ByRef keyword in the third parameter):

Declare Function SystemParametersInfo Lib "user" (ByVal _

action As Integer,ByVal uParam As Integer,_

ByRef pInfo As Integer,	ByVal updateINI As _

Integer) As Integer

Strings can be passed by reference or by value. When they are passed by reference, a pointer to a pointer to a null-terminated string is passed. When they are passed by value, AimBasic passes a pointer to a null-terminated string (i.e., a C string).

When passing a string by reference, the external routine can change the pointer or modify the contents of the existing. If an external routine modifies a passed string variable (regardless of whether the string was passed by reference or by value), then there must be sufficient space within the string to hold the returned characters. This can be accomplished using the Space function, as shown in the following example which calls a Windows 16-bit DLL:

Declare Sub GetWindowsDirectory Lib "kernel" (ByVal _

dirname$, ByVal length%)

Sub Main()

Dim s As String

s = Space(128)

GetWindowsDirectory s,128

End Sub

Another alternative to ensure that a string has sufficient space is to declare the string with a fixed length:

Declare Sub GetWindowsDirectory Lib "kernel" (ByVal _

dirname$, ByVal length%)

Sub Main

Dim s As String * 128

GetWindowsDirectory s,len(s)

End Sub

Calling Conventions with External Routines

For external routines, the argument list must exactly match that of the referenced routine. When calling an external subroutine or function, AimBasic needs to be told how that routine expects to receive its parameters and who is responsible for cleanup of the stack.

The following table describes AimBasic’s calling conventions and how these translate to those supported by C.

AimBasic	C
Calling Convention	Calling Convention	Characteristics

StdCall	_stdcall	Arguments are pushed right to left.The called function performs stack cleanup.

Pascal	pascal	Arguments are pushed left to right.The called function performs stack cleanup

System	_System	Arguments are pushed right to left.The caller performs stack cleanup.The number of arguments is specified in the ax 1 register.

CDecl	cdec1	Arguments are pushed right to left.The caller performs stack cleanup.

The following table shows which calling conventions are supported on which platform, and indicates what the default calling convention is when no explicit calling convention is specified in the Declare statement.

Supported 	Default
Platform	Calling Conventions	Calling Convention

Windows	Pascal, CDecl	Pascal

Win32	Pascal, CDecl, StdCall	StdCall

Macintosh 68K	CDecl	CDecl

OS/2	System, Pascal, CDecl	System

NetWare	CDecl, Pascal	CDecl

Note: The Power Macintosh supports a single calling convention that evaluates parameters left to right. No special calling convention keywords are required. On the Power Macintosh, a runtime error occurs if any explicit calling convention keyword is specified.

Passing Null Pointers

For external routines defined to receive strings by value, AimBasic passes uninitialized strings as null pointers (a pointer whose value is 0). The constant ebNullString can be used to force a null pointer to be passed as shown below:

Declare Sub Foo Lib "sample" (ByVal lpName As Any)

Sub Main()

Foo ebNullString	'pass a null pointer

End Sub

Another way to pass a null pointer is to declare the parameter that is to receive the null pointer as type Any, then pass a long value 0 by value:

Declare Sub Foo Lib "sample" (ByVal lpName As Any)

Sub Main()

Foo ByVal 0&	'Pass a null pointer.

End Sub

Passing Data to External Routines

The following table shows how the different data types are passed to external routines:

Data type	Is passed as

ByRef Boolean	A pointer to a 2-byte value containing –1 or 0.

ByVal Boolean	A 2-byte value containing –1 or 0.

ByVal Integer	A pointer to a 2-byte short integer.

ByRef Integer	A 2-byte short integer.

ByVal Long	A pointer to a 4-byte long integer.

ByRef Long	A 4-byte long integer.

ByRef Single	A pointer to a 4-byte IEEE floating-point value (a float).

ByVal Single	A 4-byte IEEE floating-point value (a float).

ByRef Double	A pointer to an 8-byte IEEE floating-point value (a double).

ByVal Double	An 8-byte IEEE floating-point value (a double).

ByVal String	A pointer to a null-terminated string. With strings containing embedded nulls (Chr$(0)), it is not possible to determine which null represents the end of the string; therefore, the first null is considered the string terminator.An external routine can freely change the content of a string.  It cannot, however, write beyond the end of the null terminator.

ByRef String	A pointer to a pointer to a null-terminated string. With strings containing embedded nulls (Chr$(0)), it is not possible to determine which null represents the end of the string; therefore, the first null is considered the string terminator.An external routine can freely change the content of a string.  It cannot, however, write beyond the end of the null terminator.

ByRef Variant	A pointer to a 16-byte variant structure. This structure contains a 2-byte type (the same as that returned by the VarType function), followed by 6-bytes of slop (for alignment), followed by 8-bytes containing the value.

ByVal Variant	A 16-byte variant structure. This structure contains a 2-byte type (the same as that returned by the VarType function), followed by 6-bytes of slop (for alignment), followed by 8-bytes containing the value.

ByVal Object	For data objects, a 4-byte unsigned long integer. This value can only be used by external routines written specifically for AimBasic.For OLE Automation objects, a 32-bit pointer to an LPDISPATCH handle is passed.

ByRef Object	For data objects, a pointer to a 4-byte unsigned long integer that references the object. This value can only be used by external routines written specifically for AimBasic.For OLE Automation objects, a pointer an LPDISPATCH value is passed.

ByVal User-defined type	The entire structure is passed to the external routine.It is important to remember that structures in AimBasic are packed on 2-byte boundaries, meaning that the individual structure members may not be aligned consistently with similar structures declared in C.

ByRef User-defined type	A pointer to the structure.It is important to remember that structures in AimBasic are packed on 2-byte boundaries, meaning that the individual structure members may not be aligned consistently with similar structures declared in C.

Arrays	A pointer to a packed array of elements of the given type.Arrays can only be passed by reference.

Dialogs	Dialogs cannot be passed to external routines.

Only variable-length strings can be passed to external routines; fixed-length strings are automatically converted to variable-length strings.

AimBasic passes data to external functions consistent with that routine's prototype as defined by the Declare statement. There is one exception to this rule: you can override ByRef parameters using the ByVal keyword when passing individual parameters. The following example shows a number of different ways to pass an Integer to an external routine called Foo:

Declare Sub Foo Lib "MyLib" (ByRef i As Integer)

Sub Main

Dim i As Integer

i = 6

Foo 6	'Passes a temporary integer (value 6) by

'reference

Foo i	'Passes variable "i" by reference

Foo (i)	'Passes a temporary integer (value 6) by

'reference

Foo i + 1	'Passes temporary integer (value 7) by

'reference

Foo ByVal i	'Passes i by value

End Sub

The above example shows that the only way to override passing a value by reference is to use the ByVal keyword.

Note: Use caution when using the ByVal keyword in this way. The external routine Foo expects to receive a pointer to an Integer—a 32-bit value; using ByVal causes AimBasic to pass the Integer by value—a 16-bit value. Passing data of the wrong size to any external routine will have unpredictable results.

Returning Values from External Routines

AimBasic supports the following values returned from external routines: Integer, Long, Single, Double, String, Boolean, and all object types. When returning a String, AimBasic assumes that the first null-terminator is the end of the string.

Calling External Routines in Multi-Threaded Environments

In multi-threaded environments (such as Win32), AimBasic makes a copy of all data passed to external routines. This allows other simultaneously executing scripts to continue executing before the external routine returns.

Care must be exercised when passing a the same by-reference variable twice to external routines. When returning from such calls, AimBasic must update the real data from the copies made prior to calling the external function. Since the same variable was passed twice, you will be unable to determine which variable will be updated.

Example

Declare Function IsLoaded% Lib "Kernel" _

Alias "GetModuleHandle" (ByVal name$)

Declare Function GetProfileString Lib "Kernel" _

(ByVal SName$,ByVal KName$,ByVal Def$,ByVal Ret$,_

ByVal Size%) As Integer

Sub Main()

SName$ = "Intl"	'Win.ini section name.

KName$ = "sCountry"	'Win.ini country setting.

ret$ = String$(255, 0)	'Initialize return string.

If GetProfileString(SName$,KName$,"",ret$,Len(ret$)) Then

MsgBox "Your country setting is: " & ret$

Else

MsgBox "There is no country setting in your " & _

"win.ini file."

End If

If IsLoaded("Progman") Then

MsgBox "Progman is loaded."

Else

MsgBox "Progman is not loaded."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Call (statement), Sub...End Sub (statement), Function...End Function (statement)

Platform(s)

All platforms support Declare for forward referencing.

The following platforms currently support the use of Declare for referencing external routines: Windows, Win32/Intel, Win32/PPC, Macintosh, OS/2, NetWare, and some UNIX platforms. See below for details.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, external routines are contained in DLLs. The libraries containing the routines are loaded when the routine is called for the first time (i.e., not when the script is loaded). This allows a script to reference external DLLs that potentially do not exist.

All the Windows API routines are contained in DLLs, such as "user", "kernel", and "gdi". The file extension ".exe" is implied if another extension is not given.

If the LibName$ parameter does not contain an explicit path to the DLL, the following search will be performed for the DLL (in this order):

1.	The current directory

2.	The Windows directory

3.	The Windows system directory

4.	The directory containing AimBasic

5.	All directories listed in the path environment variable

If the first character of AliasName$ is #, then the remainder of the characters specify the ordinal number of the routine to be called. For example, the following two statements are equivalent (under Windows, GetCurrentTime is defined as ordinal 15 in the user.exe module):

Declare Function GetTime Lib "user" _

Alias "GetCurrentTime" () As Integer

Declare Function GetTime Lib "user" _

Alias "#15" () As Integer

Under Windows, the names of external routines declared using the CDecl keyword are usually preceded with an underscore character. When AimBasic searches for your external routine by name, it first attempts to load the routine exactly as specified. If unsuccessful, AimBasic makes a second attempt by prepending an underscore character to the specified name. If both attempts fail, then AimBasic generates a runtime error. Under Windows, external routines declared using the Pascal keyword are case insensitive, whereas external routines declared using the CDecl keyword are case sensitive.

Windows has a limitation that prevents Double, Single, and Date values from being returned from routines declared with the CDecl keyword. Routines that return data of these types should be declared Pascal.

AimBasic does not perform an increment on OLE automation objects before passing them to external routines.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, eternal routines are contained in DLLs. The libraries containing the routines are loaded when the routine is called for the first time (i.e., not when the script is loaded). This allows a script to reference external DLLs that potentially do not exist.

Note: You cannot execute routines contained in 16-bit Windows DLLs from the 32-bit version of AimBasic.

All the Win32 API routines are contained in DLLs, such as "user32", "kernel32", and "gdi32". The file extension ".exe" is implied if another extension is not given.

The Pascal and StdCall calling conventions are identical on Win32 platforms. Furthermore, on this platform, the arguments are passed using C ordering regardless of the calling convention— right to left on the stack.

If the LibName$ parameter does not contain an explicit path to the DLL, the following search will be performed for the DLL (in this order):

1.	The directory containing AimBasic

2.	The current directory

3.	The Windows system directory

4.	The Windows directory

5.	All directories listed in the path environment variable

If the first character of AliasName$ is #, then the remainder of the characters specify the ordinal number of the routine to be called. For example, the following two statements are equivalent (under Win32, GetCurrentTime is defined as GetTickCount, ordinal 300, in kernel32.dll):

Declare Function GetTime Lib "kernel32.dll" _

Alias "GetTickCount" () As Long

Declare Function GetTime Lib "kernel32.dll" _

Alias "#300" () As Long

Under Win32, name and AliasName$ are case-sensitive.

Under Win32, all string passed by value are converted to MBCS strings. Similarly, any string returned from an external routine is assumes to be a null-terminated MBCS string.

AimBasic does not perform an increment on OLE automation objects before passing them to external routines. When returned from an external function, AimBasic assumes that the properties and methods of the OLE automation object are UNICODE and that the object uses the default system locale.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Under NetWare, external routines are contained within NLMs. If no file extension is specified in LibName$, then ".nlm" is assumed.

Since the standard C library is implemented as an NLM under NetWare, it is possible to call many C routines directly from AimBasic. For example, the following code calls Printf with a String and an Integer:

Declare Sub Printf Lib "CLIB.NLM" (ByVal F$, _

ByVal s$,ByVal i%)

Sub Main()

Printf "Hello, ","world.",10

End Sub

If LibName$ does not contain an explicit path, then NetWare looks in the system directory. The NLM specified by LibName$ is loaded when the first call to an external in that module is accessed, thus allowing execution of scripts containing calls to NLMs that do not exist. (If the NLM is already loaded, then no work is done.)

Under NetWare, the name and AliasName$ parameters are case-sensitive.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, external routines are contained in code fragments as specified by the LibName$ parameter. AimBasic uses the following rules for locating your code fragment:

1.	If LibName$ contains an explicit path, that code fragment will be loaded.

2.	If no path is specified in LibName$, then AimBasic will look in the folder containing AimBasic, then the System folder.

3.	If both of the above fail, then AimBasic will search for a code fragment whose CFRG resource name is the same as LibName$. The search is performed in the folder containing AimBasic, then the System folder.

The name is compared case-sensitive.

The name, AliasName$, and LibName$ parameters are case-sensitive.

For more information on the calling conventions for code fragments, Apple publishes the following books:

1.	Inside Macintosh: PowerPC System Software

2.	Building CFM-68K Runtime Programs for Macintosh Computers

Platform Notes: OS/2

If the LibName$ parameter does not contain an explicit path to the DLL, the following search will be performed for the DLL (in this order):

1.	The current directory.

2.	All directories listed in the path environment variable.

The Declare statement under OS/2 supports calling both 16-bit and 32-bit routines. The following table shows how this relates to the supported calling conventions:

Calling Convention	Supports 16-Bit Calls	Supports 32-Bit Calls

System	No	Yes

Pascal 	Yes	Yes

CDec1	Yes	No

Note: AimBasic does not support passing of Single and Double values to external 16-bit subroutines or functions. These data types are also not supported as return values from external 16-bit functions.

If the first character of AliasName$ is #, then the remainder of the characters specify the ordinal number of the routine to be called. The following example shows an ordinal used to access the DosQueryCurrentDisk function contained in the doscall1.dll module:

Declare Function System DosQueryCurrentDisk Lib _

"doscall1.dll" Alias "#275" (ByRef Drive As Long, _

ByRef Map As Long) As Integer

Under OS/2, the name and AliasName$ parameters are case-sensitive.

Note: All external routines contained in the doscall1.dll module require the use of an ordinal.

Platform Notes: UNIX

The Declare statement can be used to reference routines contained in shared libraries on the following UNIX platforms: HP-UX, Solaris.

If LibPath$ does not contain an explicit path, then a search is made for the shared library in each path in the colon separated list as specified by the following environment variable:

Platform	Environment Variable

HP-UX	SHLIB_PATH

Solaris	LD_LIBRARY_PATH

The following example shows how to call the printf function on the HP-UX platform:

Declare Sub PrintString Lib "/lib/libc.sl" Alias _

   "_printf" (ByVal FormatString As String,_

   ByVal s As String)

Sub Main

   PrintString "Hello, ","world."

End Sub

A special note when passing Single values to external routines on HP-UX: When passing Single values to external routines compiled in ANSI mode, the parameter in the Declare statement should be specified as Double. External routines compiled in K&R mode should have float parameters defined as Single as normal. This is due to calling convention differences between these two standards: In ANSI mode, floats are promoted to double prior to passing


DefType (statement)

Syntax

DefInt letterrange

DefLng letterrange

DefStr letterrange

DefSng letterrange

DefDbl letterrange

DefCur letterrange

DefObj letterrange

DefVar letterrange

DefBool letterrange

DefDate letterrange

Description

Establishes the default type assigned to undeclared or untyped variables.

Comments

The DefType statement controls automatic type declaration of variables. Normally, if a variable is encountered that hasn't yet been declared with the Dim, Public, or Private statement or does not appear with an explicit type-declaration character, then that variable is declared implicitly as a variant (DefVar A–Z). This can be changed using the DefType statement to specify starting letter ranges for Type other than integer. The letterrange parameter is used to specify starting letters. Thus, any variable that begins with a specified character will be declared using the specified Type.

The syntax for letterrange is:

letter [-letter] [,letter [-letter]]...

DefType variable types are superseded by an explicit type declarationusing either a type-declaration character or the Dim, Public, or Private statement.

The DefType statement only affects how AimBasic compiles scripts and has no effect at runtime.

The DefType statement can only appear outside all Sub and Function declarations.

The following table describes the data types referenced by the different variations of the DefType statement:

Statement	Data Type

DefInt	Integer

DefLng	Long

DefStr	String

DefSng	Single

DefDbl	Double

DefCur	Currency

DefObj	Object

DefVar	Variant

DefBool	Boolean

DefDate	Date

Example

DefStr a-l

DefLng m-r

DefSng s-u

DefDbl v-w

DefInt x-z

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a = 100.52

m = 100.52

s = 100.52

v = 100.52

x = 100.52

message = "The values are:"

message = message & "(String) a: " & a

message = message & "(Long) m: " & m

message = message & "(Single) s: " & s

message = message & "(Double) v: " & v

message = message & "(Integer) x: " & x

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), Integer (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


DeleteSetting (statement)

Syntax

DeleteSetting appname [,section [,key]]

Description

Deletes a setting from the registry.

Comments

You can control the behavior of DeleteSetting by omitting parameters. If you specify all three parameters, then DeleteSetting deletes your specified setting. If you omit key, then DeleteSetting deletes all of the keys from section. If both section and key are omitted, then DeleteSetting removes that application’s entry from the system registry.

The following table describes the named parameters to the DeleteSetting statement:

Named Parameter	Description

appname	String expression indicating the name of the application whose setting will be deleted.

section	String expression indicating the name of the section whose setting will be deleted.

key	String expression indicating the name of the setting to be deleted from the registry.

Example

'The following example adds two entries to the Windows registry

'if run under Win32 or to NEWAPP.INI on other platforms,

'using the SaveSetting statement. It then uses DeleteSetting

'first to remove the Startup section, then to remove

'the NewApp key altogether.

Sub Main()

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Height", setting := 200

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Width", setting := 320

DeleteSetting "NewApp", "Startup"	'Remove Startup section

DeleteSetting "NewApp"	'Remove NewApp key

End Sub

See Also

SaveSetting (statement), GetSetting (function), GetAllSettings (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement operates on the system registry. All settings are saved under the following entry in the system registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AimBasic Program Settings\appname\section\key

Platform Notes: Windows, OS/2

Settings are stored in INI files. The name of the INI file is specified by appname. If appname is omitted, then this command operates on the WIN.INI file. For example, to delete the sLanguage setting from the intl section of the WIN.INI file, you could use the following statement:

s$ = DeleteSetting(,"intl","sLanguage")


Desktop.ArrangeIcons (method)

Syntax

Desktop.ArrangeIcons

Description

Reorganizes the minimized applications on the desktop.

Example

Sub Main()

Desktop.ArrangeIcons

End Sub

See Also

Desktop.Cascade (method), Desktop.Tile (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Desktop.Cascade (method)

Syntax

Desktop.Cascade

Description

Cascades all non-minimized windows.

Example

'This example cascades all the windows on the desktop. It first

'restores any minimized applications so that they are included

'in the cascade.

Sub Main()

Dim apps$()

AppList apps$

For i = LBound(apps) To UBound(apps)

AppRestore apps(i)

Next i

Desktop.Cascade

End Sub

See Also

Desktop.Tile (method), Desktop.ArrangeIcons (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Desktop.SetColors (method)

Syntax

Desktop.SetColors ControlPanelItemName$

Description

Changes the system colors to one of a predefined color set.

Example

'This example allows the user to select any of the available

'Windows color schemes.

Sub Main()

'Get color schemes from Windows

Dim names$()

ReadINISection "color schemes",names$,"CONTROL.INI"

SelectAgain:

'Allow user to select color scheme

item = SelectBox("Set Colors","Available Color Sets:",names$)

If item <> -1 Then

Desktop.SetColors names$(item)

Goto SelectAgain

End If

End Sub

See Also

Desktop.SetWallpaper (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the names of the color sets are contained in the control.ini file.


Desktop.SetWallpaper (method)

Syntax

Desktop.SetWallpaper filename$, isTile

Description

Changes the desktop wallpaper to the bitmap specified by filename$.

Comments

The wallpaper will be tiled if isTile is True; otherwise, the bitmap will be centered on the desktop.

To remove the wallpaper, set the filename$ parameter to "", as in the following example:

Desktop.SetWallpaper "",True

Example

'This example reads a list of .BMP files from the Windows

'directory and allows the user to select any of these as

'wallpaper.

Sub Main()

Dim list$()

' Create the prefix for the bitmap filenames

d$ = System.WindowsDirectory$

If Right(d$,1) <> "\" Then d$ = d$ & "\"

f$ = d$ & "*.BMP"

'Get list of bitmaps from Windows directory

FileList list$,f$

'Were there any bitmaps?

If ArrayDims(list$) = 0 Then

MsgBox "There aren't any bitmaps in the Windows directory"

Exit Sub

End If

'Add "(none)".

ReDim Preserve list$ (UBound(list$) + 1)

list$(UBound(list$)) = "(none)"

SelectAgain:

'Allow user to select item

item = SelectBox("Set Wallpaper",_

"Available Wallpaper:",list$)

Select Case item

Case -1

End

Case UBound(list$)

Desktop.SetWallPaper "",True

Goto SelectAgain

Case Else

Desktop.SetWallPaper d$ & list$(item),True

Goto SelectAgain

End Select

End Sub

See Also

Desktop.SetColors (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the Desktop.SetWallpaper method makes permanent changes to the wallpaper by writing the new wallpaper information to the win.ini file.


Desktop.Snapshot (method)

Syntax

Desktop.Snapshot [spec]

Description

Takes a snapshot of a particular section of the screen and saves it to the Clipboard.

Comments

The spec parameter is an Integer specifying the screen area to be saved. It can be any of the following:

0	Entire screen
1	Client area of the active application
2	Entire window of the active application
3	Client area of the active window
4	Entire window of the active window
Before the snapshot is taken, each application is updated. This ensures that any application that is in the middle of drawing will have a chance to finish before the snapshot is taken.

There is a slight delay if the specified window is large.

Example

'This example takes a snapshot of Program Manager and pastes

'the resulting bitmap into Windows Paintbrush.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Program Manager"	'Activate Program Manager.

Desktop.Snapshot 2	'Place snapshot into Clipboard.

id = Shell("pbrush")	'Run Paintbrush.

Menu "Edit.Paste"	'Paste snapshot into Paintbrush.

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, pictures are placed into the Clipboard in bitmap format.


Desktop.Tile (method)

Syntax

Desktop.Tile

Description

Tiles all non-minimized windows.

Example

'This example tiles all the windows on the desktop. It first

'restores any minimized applications so that they are

'included in the tile.

Sub Main()

Dim apps$()

AppList apps$

For i = LBound(apps) To UBound(apps)

AppRestore apps(i)

Next i

Desktop.Tile

End Sub

See Also

Desktop.Cascade (method), Desktop.ArrangeIcons (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Dialog (function)

Syntax

Dialog(DialogVariable [,[DefaultButton] [,Timeout]])

Description

Displays the dialog box associated with DialogVariable, returning an Integer indicating which button was clicked.

Comments

The Dialog function returns any of the following values:

–1	The OK button was clicked.

0	The Cancel button was clicked.

>0	A push button was clicked. The returned number represents which button was clicked based on its order in the dialog box template (1 is the first push button, 2 is the second push button, and so on).

The Dialog function accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

DialogVariable	Name of a variable that has previously been dimensioned as a user dialog box. This is accomplished using the Dim statement:

Dim MyDialog As MyTemplate

All dialog variables are local to the Sub or Function in which they are defined. Private and public dialog variables are not allowed.

DefaultButton	An Integer specifying which button is to act as the default button in the dialog box. The value of DefaultButton can be any of the following:

–1	This value indicates that the OK button, if present, should be used as the default.

0	This value indicates that the Cancel button, if present, should be used as the default.

>0	This value indicates that the Nth button should be used as the default. This number is the index of a push button within the dialog box template.

If DefaultButton is not specified, then –1 is used. If the number specified by DefaultButton does not correspond to an existing button, then there will be no default button.

The default button appears with a thick border and is selected when the user presses Enter on a control other than a push button.

Timeout	An Integer specifying the number of milliseconds to display the dialog box before automatically dismissing it. If Timeout is not specified or is equal to 0, then the dialog box will be displayed until dismissed by the user.

If a dialog box has been dismissed due to a timeout, the Dialog function returns 0.

A runtime error is generated if the dialog template specified by DialogVariable does not contain at least one of the following statements:

PushButton	CancelButton

OKButton	PictureButton

Example

'This example displays an abort/retry/ignore disk error dialog

'box.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog DiskErrorTemplate 16,32,152,48,"Disk Error"

Text 8,8,100,8,"The disk drive door is open."

PushButton 8,24,40,14,"Abort",.Abort

PushButton 56,24,40,14,"Retry",.Retry

PushButton 104,24,40,14,"Ignore",.Ignore

End Dialog

Dim DiskError As DiskErrorTemplate

r% = Dialog(DiskError,3,0)

MsgBox "You selected button: " & r%

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Dialog (statement)

Syntax

Dialog DialogVariable [,[DefaultButton] [,Timeout]]

Description

Same as the Dialog function, except that the Dialog statement does not return a value. (See Dialog [function].)

Example

'This example displays an abort/retry/ignore disk error dialog

'box.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog DiskErrorTemplate 16,32,152,48,"Disk Error"

Text 8,8,100,8,"The disk drive door is open."

PushButton 8,24,40,14,"Abort",.Abort

PushButton 56,24,40,14,"Retry",.Retry

PushButton 104,24,40,14,"Ignore",.Ignore

End Dialog

Dim DiskError As DiskErrorTemplate

Dialog DiskError,3,0

End Sub

See Also

Dialog (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Dialogs (topic)

Dialogs are supported on the following platforms: Windows, Win32, OS/2, UNIX, and Macintosh. The following table describes the default font use by AimBasic to display all runtime dialogs:

Platform	Default Font

Windows	For non-MBCS systems, AimBasic uses the 8-point MS Sans Serif font. For MBCS systems, AimBasic uses the default system font.

Win32	For non-MBCS systems, AimBasic uses the 8-point MS Sans Serif font. For MBCS systems, AimBasic uses the default system font.

Macintosh	10-point Geneva.

UNIX	The default font is determined by X resource files (e.g., $HOME/.xdefaults).

When Help is enabled within a dialog, the help key is enabled as described in the following table:

Platform	Help Key

Windows	F1

Win32	F1

OS/2	F1

Macintosh	Command+?

UNIX	The default help key is F1, unless if has been redefined in your X resource files.


Dim (statement)

Syntax

Dim name [(<subscripts>)] [As [New] type] [,name [(<subscripts>)] [As [New] type]]...

Description

Declares a list of local variables and their corresponding types and sizes.

Comments

If a type-declaration character is used when specifying name (such as %, @, &, $, or !), the optional [As type] expression is not allowed. For example, the following are allowed:

Dim Temperature As Integer

Dim Temperature%

The subscripts parameter allows the declaration of dynamic and fixed arrays. The subscripts parameter uses the following syntax:

[lower to] upper [,[lower to] upper]...

The lower and upper parameters are integers specifying the lower and upper bounds of the array. If lower is not specified, then the lower bound as specified by Option Base is used (or 1 if no Option Base statement has been encountered). AimBasic supports a maximum of 60 array dimensions.

The total size of an array (not counting space for strings) is limited to 64K.

Dynamic arrays are declared by not specifying any bounds:

Dim a()

The type parameter specifies the type of the data item being declared. It can be any of the following data types: String, Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency, Object, data object, built-in data type, or any user-defined data type. When specifying explicit object types, you can use the following syntax for type:

module.class

Where module is the name of the module in which the object is defined and class is the type of object. For example, to specify the OLE automation variable for Excel’s Application object, you could use the following code:

Dim a As Excel.Application

Note: Explicit object types can only be specified for data objects and early bound OLE automation objects—i.e., objects whose type libraries have been registered with AimBasic.

A Dim statement within a subroutine or function declares variables local to that subroutine or function. If the Dim statement appears outside of any subroutine or function declaration, then that variable has the same scope as variables declared with the Private statement.

Fixed-Length Strings

Fixed-length strings are declared by adding a length to the String type-declaration character:

Dim name As String * length

where length is a literal number specifying the string's length.

Implicit Variable Declaration

If AimBasic encounters a variable that has not been explicitly declared with Dim, then the variable will be implicitly declared using the specified type-declaration character (#, %, @, $, or &). If the variable appears without a type-declaration character, then the first letter is matched against any pending DefType statements, using the specified type if found. If no DefType statement has been encountered corresponding to the first letter of the variable name, then Variant is used.

Declaring Explicit OLE Automation Objects

The Dim statement can be used to declare variables of an explicit object type for objects known to AimBasic through type libraries. This is accomplished using the following syntax:

Dim name As application.class

The application parameter specifies the application used to register the OLE automation object and class specifies the specific object type as defined in the type library. Objects declared in this manner are early bound, meaning that the AimBasic is able resolve method and property information at compile time, improving the performance when invoking methods and properties off that object variable.

Creating New Objects

The optional New keyword is used to declare a new instance of the specified data object. This keyword cannot be used when declaring arrays or OLE automation objects.

At runtime, the application or extension that defines that object type is notified that a new object is being defined. The application responds by creating a new physical object (within the appropriate context) and returning a reference to that object, which is immediately assigned to the variable being declared.

When that variable goes out of scope (i.e., the Sub or Function procedure in which the variable is declared ends), the application is notified. The application then performs some appropriate action, such as destroying the physical object.

Initial Values

All declared variables are given initial values, as described in the following table:

Data Type	Initial Value

Integer	0

Long	0

Double	0.0

Single	0.0

Date	December 31, 1899 00:00:00

Currency	0.0

Boolean	False

Object	Nothing

Variant	Empty

String	"" (zero-length string)

User-defined type	Each element of the structure is given an initial value, as described above.

Arrays	Each element of the array is given an initial value, as described above.

Naming Conventions

Variable names must follow these naming rules:

1.	Must start with a letter.

2.	May contain letters, digits, and the underscore character (_); punctuation is not allowed. The exclamation point (!) can appear within the name as long as it is not the last character, in which case it is interpreted as a type-declaration character.

3.	The last character of the name can be any of the following type-declaration characters: #, @, %, !, &, and $.

4.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.

5.	 Cannot be a reserved word.

Examples

'The following examples use the Dim statement to declare various

'variable types.

Sub Main()

Dim i As Integer

Dim l&	'Long

Dim s As Single

Dim d#	'Double

Dim c$	'String

Dim MyArray(10) As Integer	'10 element integer array

Dim MyStrings$(2,10)	'2-10 element string arrays

Dim Filenames$(5 to 10)	'6 element string array

Dim Values(1 to 10, 100 to 200)	'111 element variant array

End Sub

See Also

, Public (statement), Private (statement), Option Base (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Dir, Dir$ (functions)

Syntax

Dir[$] [(pathname [,attributes])]

Dir[$] [(pathname, filetype [,attributes])]

Description

Returns a String containing the first or next file matching pathname.

If pathname is specified, then the first file matching that pathname is returned. If pathname is not specified, then the next file matching the initial pathname is returned.

Comments

Dir$ returns a String, whereas Dir returns a String variant.

The Dir$/Dir functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

pathname	String containing a file specification.

If this parameter is specified, then Dir$ returns the first file matching this file specification.

If this parameter is omitted, then the next file matching the initial file specification is returned.

If no path is specified in pathname, then all files are returned from the current directory.

An error is generated if pathname is Null.

filetype	Indicates the type of file to return. If pathname is also specified, then files of this type are returned from that directory. Otherwise, files of this type are returned from the current directory.

File types are specified using the MacID function.

attributes	Integer specifying attributes of files you want included in the list, as described below. If this parameter is omitted, then only the normal, read-only, and archive files are returned.

An error is generated if Dir$ is called without first calling it with a valid pathname.

If there is no matching pathname, then a zero-length string is returned.

Wildcards

The pathname argument can include wildcards, such as * and ?. The * character matches any sequence of zero or more characters, whereas the ? character matches any single character. Multiple *'s and ?'s can appear within the expression to form complete searching patterns. The following table shows some examples:

This pattern	Matches these files	Doesn't match these files

*S*.TXT	SAMPLE.TXTGOOSE.TXTSAMS.TXT	SAMPLESAMPLE.DAT

C*T.TXT	CAT.TXT	CAP.TXTACATS.TXT

C*T	CATCAP.TXT	CAT.DOC

C?T	CATCUT	CAT.TXTCAPITCT

*	(All files)

Attributes

You can control which files are included in the search by specifying the optional attributes parameter. The Dir, Dir$ functions always return all normal, read-only, and archive files (ebNormal Or ebReadOnly Or ebArchive). To include additional files, you can specify any combination of the following attributes (combined with the Or operator):

Constant	Value	Includes

ebNormal	0	Read-only, archive, subdir, and none

ebHidden	2	Hidden files

ebSystem	4	System files

ebVolume	8	Volume label

ebDirectory	16	Subdirectories

Example

'This example dimensions a null array and fills it with

'directory entries. The result is displayed in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim a$(10)

a(1) = Dir$("*.*")

i% = 1

While (a(i%) <> "") And (i% < 10)

i% = i% + 1

a(i%) = Dir$

Wend

MsgBox a(1) & crlf & a(2) & crlf & a(3) & crlf & a(4)

End Sub

See Also

ChDir (statement), ChDrive (statement), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), MkDir (statement), RmDir (statement), FileList (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

The Macintosh does not support wildcard characters such as * and ?. These are valid filename characters. Instead of wildcards, the Macintosh uses the MacID function to specify a collection of files of the same type. The syntax for this function is:

Dir$(pathname,MacID(text$) [,attributes])

The text$ parameter is a four-character string containing a file type, a resource type, an application signature, or an Apple event. A runtime error occurs if the MacID function is used on platforms other than the Macintosh.

When the MacID function is used, the pathname parameter specifies the directory in which to search for files of the indicated type.

Platform Notes: Windows

For compatibility with DOS wildcard matching, AimBasic special-cases the pattern "*.*" to indicate all files, not just files with a periods in their names.

Platform Notes: UNIX

On UNIX platforms, the hidden file attribute corresponds to files without the read or write attributes.


DiskDrives (statement)

Syntax

DiskDrives array()

Description

Fills the specified String or Variant array with a list of valid drive letters.

Comments

The array() parameter specifies either a zero- or a one-dimensioned array of strings or variants. The array can be either dynamic or fixed.

If array() is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to exactly hold the new number of elements. If there are no elements, then the array will be redimensioned to contain no dimensions. You can use the LBound, UBound, and ArrayDims functions to determine the number and size of the new array's dimensions.

If the array is fixed, each array element is first erased, then the new elements are placed into the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are initialized to zero-length strings (for String arrays) or Empty (for Variant arrays). A runtime error results if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

Example

'This example builds and displays an array containing the first

'three available disk drives.

Sub Main()

Dim drive$()

DiskDrives drive$

r% = SelectBox("Available Disk Drives",,drive$)

End Sub

See Also

ChDrive (statement), DiskFree (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, NetWare.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Under NetWare, this command returns a list of volume names.


DiskFree (function)

 Syntax

DiskFree&([drive$])

Description

Returns a Long containing the free space (in bytes) available on the specified drive.

Comments

If drive$ is zero-length or not specified, then the current drive is assumed.

Only the first character of the drive$ string is used.

On systems that do not support drive letters, the drive$ parameter specifies the name of the path from which to retrieve the free disk space.

Example

'This example uses DiskFree to set the value of i and then

'displays the result in a message box.

Sub Main()

s$ = "c"

i# = DiskFree(s$)

MsgBox "Free disk space on drive '" & s$ & "' is: " & i#

End Sub

See Also

ChDrive (statement), DiskDrives (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Since NetWare does not support drive letters, the drive$ parameter specifies a volume name (up to 14 characters).


DlgCaption (function)

Syntax

DlgCaption[()]

Description

Returns a string containing the caption of the active user-defined dialog box.

Comments

This function returns a zero-length string if the active dialog has no caption.

See Also

Begin Dialog (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


DlgCaption (statement)

Syntax

DlgCaption text

Description

Changes the caption of the current dialog to text.

Example

'This example displays a dialog box, adjusting the caption

'to contain the text of the currently selected option

'button.

Function DlgProc(c As String,a As Integer,v As Integer)

If a = 1 Then

DlgCaption choose(DlgValue("OptionGroup1") + 1, _

"Blue","Green")

ElseIf a = 2 Then

DlgCaption choose(DlgValue("OptionGroup1") + 1, _

"Blue","Green")

End If

End Function

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog UserDialog ,,149,45,"Untitled",.DlgProc

OKButton 96,8,40,14

OptionGroup .OptionGroup1

OptionButton 12,12,56,8,"Blue",.OptionButton1

OptionButton 12,28,56,8,"Green",.OptionButton2

End Dialog

Dim d As UserDialog

Dialog d

End Sub

See Also

Begin Dialog (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


DlgControlId (function)

Syntax

DlgControlId(ControlName$)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the index of the specified control as it appears in the dialog box template.

Comments

The first control in the dialog box template is at index 0, the second is at index 1, and so on.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with that control in the dialog box template.

The AimBasic statements and functions that dynamically manipulate dialog box controls identify individual controls using either the .Identifier name of the control or the control's index. Using the index to refer to a control is slightly faster but results in code that is more difficult to maintain.

Example

Function DlgProc(ControlName$,Action%,SuppValue%) As Integer

'If a control is clicked, disable the next

'three controls.

If Action% = 2 Then

'Enable the next three controls.

start% = DlgControlId(ControlName$)

For i = start% + 1 To start% + 3

DlgEnable i,True

Next i

DlgProc = 1	'Don't close the dialog box.

End If

End Function

See Also

DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgEnable (function)

Syntax

DlgEnable(ControlName$ | ControlIndex)

Description

Returns True if the specified control is enabled; returns False otherwise.

Comments

Disabled controls are dimmed and cannot receive keyboard or mouse input.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

If you attempt to disable the control with the focus, AimBasic will automatically set the focus to the next control in the tab order.

Example

If DlgEnable("SaveOptions") Then

MsgBox "The Save Options are enabled."

End If

If DlgEnable(10) And DlgVisible(12) Then

code = 1

Else

code = 2

End If

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgEnable (statement)

Syntax

DlgEnable {ControlName$ | ControlIndex} [,isOn]

Description

Enables or disables the specified control.

Comments

Disabled controls are dimmed and cannot receive keyboard or mouse input.

The isOn parameter is an Integer specifying the new state of the control. It can be any of the following values:

0	The control is disabled.
1	The control is enabled.
Omitted	Toggles the control between enabled and disabled.
Option buttons can be manipulated individually (by specifying an individual option button) or as a group (by specifying the name of the option group).

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

'Disable the Save Options control.

DlgEnable "SaveOptions", False

'Toggle a group of option buttons.

DlgEnable "EditingOptions"

'Enable six controls.

For i = 0 To 5

DlgEnable i,True

Next i

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgFocus (function)

Syntax

DlgFocus$[()]

Description

Returns a String containing the name of the control with the focus.

Comments

The name of the control is the .Identifier parameter associated with the control in the dialog box template.

Example

'This code fragment makes sure that the control being disabled

'does not currently have the focus (otherwise, a runtime error

'would occur).

If DlgFocus$ = "Files" Then	'Does it have the focus?

DlgFocus "OK"	'set focus to another control

End If

DlgEnable "Files", False	'Now disable the control

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgFocus (statement)

Syntax

DlgFocus ControlName$ | ControlIndex

Description

Sets focus to the specified control.

Comments

A runtime error results if the specified control is hidden, disabled, or nonexistent.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

'This code fragment makes sure that the control being disabled

'does not currently have the focus (otherwise, a runtime error

'would occur).

If DlgFocus$ = "Files" Then	'Does it have the focus?

DlgFocus "OK"	'Set focus to another control

End If

DlgEnable "Files", False	'Now disable the control

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgListBoxArray (function)

Syntax

DlgListBoxArray({ControlName$ | ControlIndex}, ArrayVariable)

Description

Fills a list box, combo box, or drop list box with the elements of an array, returning an Integer containing the number of elements that were actually set into the control.

Comments

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

The ArrayVariable parameter specifies a single-dimensioned array used to initialize the elements of the control. If this array has no dimensions, then the control will be initialized with no elements. A runtime error results if the specified array contains more than one dimension. ArrayVariable can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

Example

'This dialog function refills an array with files.

Function DlgProc(ControlName$,Action%,SuppValue%) As Integer

If Action% = 2 And ControlName$ = "Files" Then

Dim NewFiles$()	'Create a new dynamic array.

FileList NewFiles$,"*.txt"	 'Fill the array with files.

r% = DlgListBoxArray "Files",NewFiles$ 'Set items in list box.

DlgValue "Files",0	'Set the selection to the first item.

DlgProc = 1	'Don't close the dialog box.

End If

MsgBox r% & " items were added to the list box."

End Function

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgListBoxArray (statement)

Syntax

DlgListBoxArray {ControlName$ | ControlIndex}, ArrayVariable

Description

Fills a list box, combo box, or drop list box with the elements of an array.

Comments

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

The ArrayVariable parameter specifies a single-dimensioned array used to initialize the elements of the control. If this array has no dimensions, then the control will be initialized with no elements. A runtime error results if the specified array contains more than one dimension. ArrayVariable can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

Example

'This dialog function refills an array with files.

Function DlgProc(ControlName$,Action%,SuppValue%) As Integer

If Action% = 2 And ControlName$ = "Files" Then

Dim NewFiles$()	'Create a new dynamic array.

FileList NewFiles$,"*.txt"	'Fill the array with files.

DlgListBoxArray "Files",NewFiles$	'Set items in list box.

DlgValue "Files",0	'Set the selection to the first item.

End If

End Function

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgProc (function)

Syntax

Function DlgProc(ControlName$, Action, SuppValue) As Integer

Description

Describes the syntax, parameters, and return value for dialog functions.

Comments

Dialog functions are called by AimBasic during the processing of a custom dialog box. The name of a dialog function (DlgProc) appears in the Begin Dialog statement as the .DlgProc parameter.

Dialog functions require the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

ControlName$	String containing the name of the control associated with Action.

Action	Integer containing the action that called the dialog function.

SuppValue	Integer of extra information associated with Action. For some actions, this parameter is not used.

When AimBasic displays a custom dialog box, the user may click on buttons, type text into edit fields, select items from lists, and perform other actions. When these actions occur, AimBasic calls the dialog function, passing it the action, the name of the control on which the action occurred, and any other relevant information associated with the action.

The following table describes the different actions sent to dialog functions:

Action	Description

1	This action is sent immediately before the dialog box is shown for the first time. This gives the dialog function a chance to prepare the dialog box for use. When this action is sent, ControlName$ contains a zero-length string, and SuppValue is 0.

The return value from the dialog function is ignored in this case.

Before Showing the Dialog Box

After action 1 is sent, AimBasic performs additional processing before the dialog box is shown. Specifically, it cycles though the dialog box controls checking for visible picture or picture button controls. For each visible picture or picture button control, AimBasic attempts to load the associated picture.

In addition to checking picture or picture button controls, AimBasic will automatically hide any control outside the confines of the visible portion of the dialog box. This prevents the user from tabbing to controls that cannot be seen. However, it does not prevent you from showing these controls with the DlgVisible statement in the dialog function.

2	This action is sent when:

A button is clicked, such as OK, Cancel, or a push button. In this case, ControlName$ contains the name of the button. SuppValue contains 1 if an OK button was clicked and 2 if a Cancel button was clicked; SuppValue is undefined otherwise.

If the dialog function returns 0 in response to this action, then the dialog box will be closed. Any other value causes AimBasic to continue dialog processing.

A check box's state has been modified. In this case, ControlName$ contains the name of the check box, and SuppValue contains the new state of the check box (1 if on, 0 if off).

An option button is selected. In this case, ControlName$ contains the name of the option button that was clicked, and SuppValue contains the index of the option button within the option button group (0-based).

The current selection is changed in a list box, drop list box, or combo box. In this case, ControlName$ contains the name of the list box, combo box, or drop list box, and SuppValue contains the index of the new item (0 is the first item, 1 is the second, and so on).

3	This action is sent when the content of a text box or combo box has been changed. This action is only sent when the control loses focus. When this action is sent, ControlName$ contains the name of the text box or combo box, and SuppValue contains the length of the new content.

The dialog function's return value is ignored with this action.

4	This action is sent when a control gains the focus. When this action is sent, ControlName$ contains the name of the control gaining the focus, and SuppValue contains the index of the control that lost the focus (0-based).

The dialog function's return value is ignored with this action.

5	This action is sent continuously when the dialog box is idle. If the dialog function returns 1 in response to this action, then the idle action will continue to be sent. If the dialog function returns 0, then AimBasic will not send any additional idle actions.

When the idle action is sent, ControlName$ contains a zero-length string, and SuppValue contains the number of times the idle action has been sent so far.

6	This action is sent when the dialog box is moved. The ControlName$ parameter contains a zero-length string, and SuppValue is 0.

The dialog function's return value is ignored with this action.

User-defined dialog boxes cannot be nested. In other words, the dialog function of one dialog box cannot create another user-defined dialog box. You can, however, invoke any built-in dialog box, such as MsgBox or InputBox$.

Within dialog functions, you can use the following additional AimBasic statements and functions. These statements allow you to manipulate the dialog box controls dynamically.

DlgVisible	DlgText$	DlgText
DlgSetPicture	DlgListBoxArray	DlgFocus
DlgEnable	DlgControlId
For compatibility with previous versions of AimBasic, the dialog function can optionally be declared to return a Variant. When returning a variable, AimBasic will attempt to convert the variant to an Integer. If the returned variant cannot be converted to an Integer, then 0 is assumed to be returned from the dialog function.

Example

'This dialog function enables/disables a group of option 'buttons when a check box is clicked.

Function SampleDlgProc(ControlName$, Action%, SuppValue%)

If Action% = 2 And ControlName$ = "Printing" Then

DlgEnable "PrintOptions",SuppValue%

SampleDlgProc = 1	'Don't close the dialog box.

End If

End Function

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog SampleDlgTemplate 34,39,106,45,_

"Sample",.SampleDlgProc

OKButton 4,4,40,14

CancelButton 4,24,40,14

CheckBox 56,8,38,8,"Printing",.Printing

OptionGroup .PrintOptions

OptionButton 56,20,51,8,"Landscape",.Landscape

OptionButton 56,32,40,8,"Portrait",.Portrait

End Dialog

Dim SampleDialog As SampleDlgTemplate

SampleDialog.Printing = 1

r% = Dialog(SampleDialog)

End Sub

See Also

Begin Dialog (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgSetPicture (statement)

Syntax

DlgSetPicture {ControlName$ | ControlIndex},PictureName$,PictureType

Description

Changes the content of the specified picture or picture button control.

Comments

The DlgSetPicture statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

ControlName$	String containing the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specified control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

PictureName$	String containing the name of the picture. If PictureType is 0, then this parameter specifies the name of the file containing the image. If PictureType is 10, then PictureName$ specifies the name of the image within the resource of the picture library.

If PictureName$ is empty, then the current picture associated with the specified control will be deleted. Thus, a technique for conserving memory and resources would involve setting the picture to empty before hiding a picture control.

PictureType	Integer specifying the source for the image. The following sources are supported:

0	The image is contained in a file on disk.

10	The image is contained in the picture library specified by the Begin Dialog statement. When this type is used, the PictureName$ parameter must be specified with the Begin Dialog statement.

Examples

'Set picture from a file.

DlgSetPicture "Picture1","\windows\checks.bmp",0

'Set control 10's image from a library.

DlgSetPicture 27,"FaxReport",10

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function), Picture (statement), PictureButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, picture controls can contain either bitmaps or WMFs (Windows metafiles). When extracting images from a picture library, AimBasic assumes that the resource type for metafiles is 256.

Picture libraries are implemented as DLLs on the Windows and Win32 platforms.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Under OS/2, picture controls can contain either bitmaps or Windows metafiles.

Picture libraries under OS/2 are implemented as resources within DLLs. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one of these resources as it appears within the DLL.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Picture controls on the Macintosh can contain only PICT images. These are contained in files of type PICT.

Picture libraries on the Macintosh are files with collections of named PICT resources. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one the resources as it appears within the file..


DlgText (statement)

Syntax

DlgText {ControlName$ | ControlIndex}, NewText$

Description

Changes the text content of the specified control.

Comments

The effect of this statement depends on the type of the specified control:

Control Type	Effect of DlgText

Picture	Runtime error.

Option group	Runtime error.

Drop list box	If an exact match cannot be found, the DlgText statement searches from the first item looking for an item that starts with NewText$. If no match is found, then the selection is removed.

OK button	Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

Cancel button	Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

Push button	 Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

List box	Sets the current selection to the item matching NewText$. If an exact match cannot be found, the DlgText statement searches from the first item looking for an item that starts with NewText$. If no match is found, then the selection is removed.

Combo box	Sets the content of the edit field of the combo box to NewText$.

Text	Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

Text box	Sets the content of the text box to NewText$.

Group box	Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

Option button	Sets the label of the control to NewText$.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

'Change text of group box 1.

DlgText "GroupBox1","Save Options"

If DlgText$(9) = "Save Options" Then

'Change text to "Editing Options".

DlgText 9,"Editing Options"

End If

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgText$ (function)

Syntax

DlgText$(ControlName$ | ControlIndex)

Description

Returns the text content of the specified control.

Comments

The text returned depends on the type of the specified control:

Control Type	Value Returned by DlgText$

Picture	No value is returned. A runtime error occurs.

Option group	No value is returned. A runtime error occurs.

Drop list box	Returns the currently selected item. A zero-length string is returned if no item is currently selected.

OK button	Returns the label of the control.

Cancel button	Returns the label of the control.

Push button	Returns the label of the control.

List box	Returns the currently selected item. A zero-length string is returned if no item is currently selected.

Combo box	Returns the content of the edit field portion of the combo box.

Text	Returns the label of the control.

Text box	Returns the content of the control.

Group box	Returns the label of the control.

Option button	Returns the label of the control.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

'Display the text in the tenth control.

MsgBox DlgText$(10)

If DlgText$("SaveOptions") = "EditingOptions" Then

MsgBox "You are currently viewing the editing options."

End If

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgValue (function)

Syntax

DlgValue(ControlName$ | ControlIndex)

Description

Returns an Integer indicating the value of the specified control.

Comments

The value of any given control depends on its type, according to the following table:

Control Type	DlgValue Returns

Option group	The index of the selected option button within the group (0 is the first option button, 1 is the second, and so on).

List box	The index of the selected item.

Drop list box	The index of the selected item.

Check box	1 if the check box is checked; 0 otherwise.

A runtime error is generated if DlgValue is used with controls other than those listed in the above table.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

See DlgValue (statement).

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgValue (statement)

Syntax

DlgValue {ControlName$ | ControlIndex},Value

Description

Changes the value of the given control.

Comments

The value of any given control is an Integer and depends on its type, according to the following table:

Control Type	Description of Value

Option group	The index of the new selected option button within the group (0 is the first option button, 1 is the second, and so on).

List box	The index of the new selected item.

Drop list box	The index of the new selected item.

Check box	1 if the check box is to be checked; 0 to remove the check.

A runtime error is generated if DlgValue is used with controls other than those listed in the above table.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

Example

'This code fragment toggles the value of a check box.

If DlgValue("MyCheckBox") = 1 Then

DlgValue "MyCheckBox",0

Else

DlgValue "MyCheckBox",1

End If

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgVisible (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgVisible (function)

Syntax

DlgVisible(ControlName$ | ControlIndex)

Description

Returns True if the specified control is visible; returns False otherwise.

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

A runtime error is generated if DlgVisible is called when no user dialog is active.

Example

If DlgVisible("Portrait") Then Beep

If DlgVisible(10) And DlgVisible(12) Then

MsgBox "The 10th and 12th controls are visible."

End If

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


DlgVisible (statement)

Syntax

DlgVisible {ControlName$ | ControlIndex} [,isOn]

Description

Hides or shows the specified control.

Comments

Hidden controls cannot be seen in the dialog box and cannot receive the focus using Tab.

The isOn parameter is an Integer specifying the new state of the control. It can be any of the following values:

1	The control is shown.

0	The control is hidden.

Omitted	Toggles the visibility of the control.

Option buttons can be manipulated individually (by specifying an individual option button) or as a group (by specifying the name of the option group).

The ControlName$ parameter contains the name of the .Identifier parameter associated with a control in the dialog box template. A case-insensitive comparison is used to locate the specific control within the template. Alternatively, by specifying the ControlIndex parameter, a control can be referred to using its index in the dialog box template (0 is the first control in the template, 1 is the second, and so on).

Note: When ControlIndex is specified, OptionGroup statements do not count as a control.

If you hide the control that currently has the focus, AimBasic will automatically set focus to the next control in the tab order

Picture Caching

When the dialog box is first created and before it is shown, AimBasic calls the dialog function with action set to 1. At this time, no pictures have been loaded into the picture controls contained in the dialog box template. After control returns from the dialog function and before the dialog box is shown, AimBasic will load the pictures of all visible picture controls. Thus, it is possible for the dialog function to hide certain picture controls, which prevents the associated pictures from being loaded and causes the dialog box to load faster. When a picture control is made visible for the first time, the associated picture will then be loaded.

Example

'This example creates a dialog box with two panels. The

'DlgVisible statement is used to show or hide the controls of

'the different panels.

Sub EnableGroup(start%, finish%)

For i = 6 To 13	'Disable all options.

DlgVisible i, False

Next i

For i = start% To finish%	'Enable only the right ones.

DlgVisible i, True

Next i

End Sub

Function DlgProc(ControlName$, Action%, SuppValue%)

If Action% = 1 Then

DlgValue "WhichOptions",0	'Set to save options.

EnableGroup 6, 8	'Enable the save options.

End If

If Action% = 2 And ControlName$ = "SaveOptions" Then

EnableGroup 6, 8	'Enable the save options.

DlgProc = 1	'Don't close the dialog box.

End If

If Action% = 2 And ControlName$ = "EditingOptions" Then

EnableGroup 9, 13	'Enable the editing options.

DlgProc = 1	'Don't close the dialog box.

End If

End Function

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog OptionsTemplate 33, 33, 171, 134, "Options", .DlgProc

'Background (controls 0-5)

GroupBox 8, 40, 152, 84, ""

OptionGroup .WhichOptions

OptionButton 8, 8, 59, 8, "Save Options",.SaveOptions

OptionButton 8, 20, 65, 8, "Editing Options",.EditingOptions

OKButton 116, 7, 44, 14

CancelButton 116, 24, 44, 14

'Save options (controls 6-8)

CheckBox 20, 56, 88, 8, "Always create backup",.CheckBox1

CheckBox 20, 68, 65, 8, "Automatic save",.CheckBox2

CheckBox 20, 80, 70, 8, "Allow overwriting",.CheckBox3

'Editing options (controls 9-13)

CheckBox 20, 56, 65, 8, "Overtype mode",.OvertypeMode

CheckBox 20, 68, 69, 8, "Uppercase only",.UppercaseOnly

CheckBox 20, 80, 105, 8, _

"Automatically check syntax",.AutoCheckSyntax

CheckBox 20, 92, 73, 8, _

"Full line selection",.FullLineSelection

CheckBox 20, 104, 102, 8, _

"Typing replaces selection",.TypingReplacesText

End Dialog

Dim OptionsDialog As OptionsTemplate

Dialog OptionsDialog

End Sub

See Also

DlgControlId (function), DlgEnable (function), DlgEnable (statement), DlgFocus (function), DlgFocus (statement), DlgListBoxArray (function), DlgListBoxArray (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), DlgText (statement), DlgText$ (function), DlgValue (function), DlgValue (statement), DlgVisible (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Do...Loop (statement)

Syntax 1

Do {While | Until} condition statements Loop

Syntax 2

Do

statements

Loop {While | Until} condition

Syntax 3

Do

statements

Loop

Description

Repeats a block of AimBasic statements while a condition is True or until a condition is True.

Comments

If the {While | Until} conditional clause is not specified, then the loop repeats the statements forever (or until AimBasic encounters an Exit Do statement).

The condition parameter specifies any Boolean expression.

Examples

Sub Main()

'This first example uses the Do...While statement, which

'performs the iteration, then checks the condition, and

'repeats if the condition is True.

Dim a$(100)

i% = -1

Do

i% = i% + 1

If i% = 0 Then

a(i%) = Dir$("*")

Else

a(i%) = Dir$

End If

Loop While (a(i%) <> "" And i% <= 99)

r% = SelectBox(i% & " files found",,a)

'This second example uses the Do While...Loop, which checks the

'condition and then repeats if the condition is True.

Dim a$(100)

i% = 0

a(i%) = Dir$("*")

Do While a(i%) <> "" And i% <= 99

i% = i% + 1

a(i%) = Dir$

Loop

r% = SelectBox(i% & " files found",,a)

'This third example uses the Do Until...Loop, which does the

'iteration and then checks the condition and repeats if the

'condition is True.

Dim a$(100)

i% = 0

a(i%) = Dir$("*")

Do Until a(i%) = "" Or i% = 100

i% = i% + 1

a(i%) = Dir$

Loop

r% = SelectBox(i% & " files found",,a)

'This last example uses the Do...Until Loop, which performs the

'iteration first, checks the condition, and repeats if the

'condition is True.

Dim a$(100)

i% = -1

Do

i% = i% + 1

If i% = 0 Then

a(i%) = Dir$("*")

Else

a(i%) = Dir$

End If

Loop Until (a(i%) = "" Or i% = 100)

r% = SelectBox(i% & " files found",,a)

End Sub

See Also

For...Next (statement), While...Wend (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under Windows and Win 32, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+Break.

Platform Notes: UNIX

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under UNIX, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. On the Macintosh, you can break out of infinite loops using Command+Period.

Platform Notes OS/2

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under OS/2, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.


DoEvents (function)

Syntax

DoEvents[()]

Description

Yields control to other applications, returning an Integer 0.

Comments

This statement yields control to the operating system, allowing other applications to process mouse, keyboard, and other messages.

If a SendKeys statement is active, this statement waits until all the keys in the queue have been processed.

Example

See DoEvents (statement).

See Also

DoEvents (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement does nothing. Since Win32 systems are preemptive, use of this statement under these platforms is not necessary.


DoEvents (statement)

Syntax

DoEvents

Description

Yields control to other applications.

Comments

This statement yields control to the operating system, allowing other applications to process mouse, keyboard, and other messages.

If a SendKeys statement is active, this statement waits until all the keys in the queue have been processed.

Examples

'This first example shows a script that takes a long time and

'hogs the system. The subroutine explicitly yields to allow

'other applications to execute.

Sub Main()

Open "test.txt" For Output As #1

For i = 1 To 10000

Print #1,"This is a test of the system and stuff."

DoEvents

Next i

Close #1

End Sub

'In this second example, the DoEvents statement is used to

'wait until the queue has been completely flushed.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"	'Activate Notepad.

SendKeys "This is a test.",False	'Send some keys.

DoEvents	'Wait for the keys to play back.

End Sub

See Also

DoEvents (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement does nothing. Since Win32 systems are preemptive, use of this statement under these platforms is not necessary.


DoKeys (statement)

Syntax

DoKeys KeyString$ [,time]

Description

Simulates the pressing of the specified keys.

Comments

The DoKeys statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

KeyString$	String containing the keys to be sent. The format for KeyString$ is described under the SendKeys statement.

time	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds devoted for the output of the entire KeyString$ parameter. It must be within the following range:

0 <= time <= 32767

For example, if time is 5000 (5 seconds) and the KeyString$ parameter contains ten keys, then a key will be output every 1/2 second. If unspecified (or 0), the keys will play back at full speed.

Example

'This code fragment plays back the time and date

'into Notepad.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

id = Shell("Notepad",4)	'Run Notepad.

AppActivate "Notepad"

t$ = time$

d$ = date$

DoKeys "The time is: " & t$ & "." & crlf

DoKeys "The date is: " & d$ & "."

End Sub

See Also

SendKeys (statement), QueKeys (statement), QueKeyDn (statement), QueKeyUp (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

This statement uses the Windows journalizing mechanism to play keystrokes into the Windows environment.


Double (data type)

Syntax

Double

Description

A data type used to declare variables capable of holding real numbers with 15–16 digits of precision.

Comment

Double variables are used to hold numbers within the following ranges:

Sign	Range

Negative	–1.797693134862315E308 <= double <= –4.94066E-324

Positive	4.94066E-324 <= double <= 1.797693134862315E308

The type-declaration character for Double is #.

Storage

Internally, doubles are 8-byte (64-bit) IEEE values. Thus, when appearing within a structure, doubles require 8 bytes of storage. When used with binary or random files, 8 bytes of storage are required.

Each Double consists of the following

•	A 1-bit sign

•	An 11-bit exponent

•	A 53-bit significand (mantissa)

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CDbl (function)

Platform(s)

All.


DropListBox (statement)

Syntax

DropListBox x, y, width, height, ArrayVariable, .Identifier

Description

Creates a drop list box within a dialog box template.

Comments

When the dialog box is invoked, the drop list box will be filled with the elements contained in ArrayVariable. Drop list boxes are similar to combo boxes, with the following exceptions:

•	The list box portion of a drop list box is not opened by default. The user must open it by clicking the down arrow.

•	The user cannot type into a drop list box. Only items from the list box may be selected. With combo boxes, the user can type the name of an item from the list directly or type the name of an item that is not contained within the combo box.

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The DropListBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

ArrayVariable	Single-dimensioned array used to initialize the elements of the drop list box. If this array has no dimensions, then the drop list box will be initialized with no elements. A runtime error results if the specified array contains more than one dimension.

ArrayVariable can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates an integer variable whose value corresponds to the index of the drop list box's selection (0 is the first item, 1 is the second, and so on). This variable can be accessed using the following syntax:

DialogVariable.Identifier

Example

'This example allows the user to choose a field name from a drop

'list box.

Sub Main()

Dim FieldNames$(4)

FieldNames$(0) = "Last Name"

FieldNames$(1) = "First Name"

FieldNames$(2) = "Zip Code"

FieldNames$(3) = "State"

FieldNames$(4) = "City"

Begin Dialog FindTemplate 16,32,168,48,"Find"

Text 8,8,37,8,"&Find what:"

DropListBox 48,6,64,80,FieldNames,.WhichField

OKButton 120,7,40,14

CancelButton 120,27,40,14

End Dialog

Dim FindDialog As FindTemplate

FindDialog.WhichField = 1

Dialog FindDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


EditEnabled (function)

Syntax

EditEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the given text box is enabled within the active window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The EditEnabled function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the text box. The name of a text box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a text box.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the text box.

A runtime error is generated if a text box control with the given name or ID cannot be found within the active window.

If enabled, the text box can be given the focus using the ActivateControl statement.

Note: The EditEnabled function is used to determine whether a text box is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function in dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example adjusts the left margin if this control is enabled.

Sub Main()

Menu "Format.Paragraph"

If EditEnabled("Left:") Then

SetEditText "Left:","5 pt"

End If

End Sub

See Also

EditExists (function), GetEditText$ (function), SetEditText (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


EditExists (function)

Syntax

EditExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the given text box exists within the active window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The EditExists function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the text box.The name of a text box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a text box.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the text box.

A runtime error is generated if a text box control with the given name or ID cannot be found within the active window.

If there is no active window, False will be returned.

Note: The EditExists function is used to determine whether a text box exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example adjusts the left margin if this control exists and

'is enabled.

Sub Main()

Menu "Format.Paragraph"

If EditExists("Left:") Then

If EditEnabled("Left:") Then

SetEditText "Left:","5 pt"

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

EditEnabled (function), GetEditText$ (function), SetEditText (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


End (statement)

Syntax

End

Description

Terminates execution of the current script, closing all open files.

Example

'This example uses the End statement to stop execution.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The next line will terminate the script."

End

End Sub

See Also

Close (statement), Stop (statement), Exit For (statement), Exit Do (statement), Exit Function (statement), Exit Sub (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Environ, Environ$ (functions)

Syntax

Environ[$](variable$ | VariableNumber)

Description

Returns the value of the specified environment variable.

Comments

Environ$ returns a String, whereas Environ returns a String variant.

If variable$ is specified, then this function looks for that variable$ in the environment. If the variable$ name cannot be found, then a zero-length string is returned.

If VariableNumber is specified, then this function looks for the Nth variable within the environment (the first variable being number 1). If there is no such environment variable, then a zero-length string is returned. Otherwise, the entire entry from the environment is returned in the following format:

variable = value

Example

'This example looks for the DOS Comspec variable and displays

'the value in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

Dim a$(1)

a$(1) = Environ$("COMSPEC")

MsgBox "The DOS Comspec variable is set to: " & a$(1)

End Sub

See Also

Command, Command$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


EOF (function)

Syntax

EOF(filenumber)

Description

Returns True if the end-of-file has been reached for the given file; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is an Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

With sequential files, EOF returns True when the end of the file has been reached (i.e., the next file read command will result in a runtime error).

With Random or Binary files, EOF returns True after an attempt has been made to read beyond the end of the file. Thus, EOF will only return True when Get was unable to read the entire record.

Example

'This example opens the autoexec.bat file and reads lines from

'the file until the end-of-file is reached.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim s$

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

Do While Not EOF(1)

Input #1,s$

Loop

Close

 	MsgBox "The last line was:" & crlf & s$

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Lof (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Eqv (operator)

Syntax

result = expression1 Eqv expression2

Description

Performs a logical or binary equivalence on two expressions.

Comments

If both expressions are either Boolean, Boolean variants, or Null variants, then a logical equivalence is performed as follows:

If expression1 is	and expression2 is	then the result is

True	True	True

True	False	False

False	True	False

False	False	True

If either expression is Null, then Null is returned.

Binary Equivalence

If the two expressions are Integer, then a binary equivalence is performed, returning an Integer result. All other numeric types (including Empty variants) are converted to Long and a binary equivalence is then performed, returning a Long result.

Binary equivalence forms a new value based on a bit-by-bit comparison of the binary representations of the two expressions, according to the following table:

If bit in expression1 is	and bit in expression2 is	the result is

1	1	1

0	1	0

1	0	0

0	0	1

Example

'This example assigns False to A, performs some equivalent

'operations, and displays a dialog box with the result. Since A

'is equivalent to False, and False is equivalent to 0, and by

'definition, A = 0, then the dialog box will display "A is False."

Sub Main()

a = False

If ((a Eqv False) And (False Eqv 0) And (a = 0)) Then

MsgBox "a is False."

Else

MsgBox "a is True."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Or (operator), Xor (operator), Imp (operator), And (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


Erase (statement)

Syntax

Erase array1 [,array2]...

Description

Erases the elements of the specified arrays.

Comments

For dynamic arrays, the elements are erased, and the array is redimensioned to have no dimensions (and therefore no elements). For fixed arrays, only the elements are erased; the array dimensions are not changed.

After a dynamic array is erased, the array will contain no elements and no dimensions. Thus, before the array can be used by your program, the dimensions must be reestablished using the Redim statement.

Up to 32 parameters can be specified with the Erase statement.

The meaning of erasing an array element depends on the type of the element being erased:

Element Type	What Erase Does to That Element

Integer	Sets the element to 0.

Boolean	Sets the element to False.

Long	Sets the element to 0.

Double	Sets the element to 0.0.

Date	Sets the element to December 30, 1899.

Single	Sets the element to 0.0.

String (variable-length)	Frees the string, then sets the element to a zero-length string.

String (fixed-length)	Sets every character of each element to zero (Chr$(0)).

Object	Decrements the reference count and sets the element to Nothing.

Variant	Sets the element to Empty.

User-defined type	Sets each structure element as a separate variable.

Example

'This example puts a value into an array and displays it. Then

'it erases the value and displays it again.

Sub Main()

Dim a$(10)	'Declare an array.

a$(1) = Dir$("*")	'Fill element 1 with a filename.

'Display element 1.

MsgBox "Array before Erase: " & a$(1)

Erase a$	'Erase all elements in the array.

'Display element 1 again (should be erased).

MsgBox "Array after Erase: " & a$(1)

End Sub

See Also

, Arrays (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Erl (function)

Syntax

Erl[()]

Description

Returns the line number of the most recent error.

Comments

The first line of the script is 1, the second line is 2, and so on.

The internal value of Erl is reset to 0 with any of the following statements: Resume, Exit Sub, Exit Function. Thus, if you want to use this value outside an error handler, you must assign it to a variable.

Example

'This example generates an error and then determines the line

'on which the error occurred.

Sub Main()

Dim i As Integer

On Error Goto Trap1

i = 32767	'Generate an error--overflow.

i = i + 1

Exit Sub

Trap1:

MsgBox "Error on line: " & Erl

Exit Sub	'Reset the error handler.

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.Clear (method)

Syntax

Err.Clear

Description

Clears the properties of the Err object.

Comments

After this method has been called, the properties of the Err object will have the following values:

Property	Value

Err.Description	""

Err.HelpContext	0

Err.HelpFile	""

Err.LastDLLError	0

Err.Number	0

Err.Source	""

The properties of the Err object are automatically reset when any of the following statements are executed:

Resume	Exit Function

On Error	Exit Sub

Example

'The following script gets input from the user using error

'checking.

Sub Main()

Dim x As Integer

On Error Resume Next

x = InputBox("Type in a number")

If Err.Number <> 0 Then

Err.Clear

x = 0

End If

MsgBox x

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Description (property), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.LastDLLError (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.Description (property)

Syntax

Err.Description [= stringexpression]

Description

Sets or retrieves the description of the error.

Comments

For errors generated by AimBasic, the Err.Description property is automatically set.

For user-defined errors, you should set this property to be a description of your error. If you set the Err.Number property to one of AimBasic’s internal error numbers and you don’t set the Err.Description property, then the Err.Description property is automatically set when the error is generated (i.e., with Err.Raise).

Example

'The following script gets input from the user using error

'checking. When an error occurs, the Err.Description property

'is displayed to the user and execution continues with a default

'value.

Sub Main()

Dim x As Integer

On Error Resume Next

x = InputBox("Type in a number")

If Err.Number <> 0 Then

MsgBox "The following error occurred: " & Err.Description

x = 0

End If

MsgBox x

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.LastDLLError (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.HelpContext (property)

Syntax

Err.HelpContext [= contextid]

Description

Sets or retrieves the help context ID that identifies the help topic for information on the error.

Comments

The Err.HelpContext property, together with the Err.HelpFile property, contain sufficient information to display help for the error.

When AimBasic generates an error, the Err.HelpContext property is set to 0 and the and the Err.HelpFile property is set to ""; the value of the Err.Number property is sufficient for displaying help in this case. The exception is with errors generated by an OLE automation server; both the Err.HelpFile and Err.HelpContext properties are set by the server to values appropriate for the generated error.

When generating your own user-define errors, you should set the Err.HelpContext property and the Err.HelpFile property appropriately for your error. If these are not set, then AimBasic displays its own help at an appropriate place.

Example

'This example defines a replacement for InputBox that deals

'specifically with Integer values. If an error occurs, the

'function generates a user-defined error that can be trapped

'by the caller.

Function InputInteger(Prompt,Optional Title,Optional Def)

On Error Resume Next

Dim x As Integer

x = InputBox(Prompt,Title,Def)

If Err.Number Then

Err.HelpFile = "AZ.HLP"

Err.HelpContext = 2

Err.Description = "Integer value expected"

InputInteger = Null

Err.Raise 3000

End If

InputInteger = x

End Function

Sub Main

Dim x As Integer

Do

On Error Resume Next

x = InputInteger("Enter a number:")

If Err.Number = 3000 Then

Msgbox "Invalid number, press ""F1"" to invoke help" _

,,,Err.HelpFile,Err.HelpContext

End If

Loop Until Err.Number <> 3000

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.Description (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.LastDLLError (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.HelpFile (property)

Syntax

Err.HelpFile [= filename]

Description

Sets or retrieves the name of the help file associated with the error.

Comments

The Err.HelpFile property, together with the Err.HelpContents property, contain sufficient information to display help for the error.

When AimBasic generates an error, the Err.HelpContents property is set to 0 and the Err.HelpFile property is set to ""; the value of the Err.Number property is sufficient for displaying help in this case. The exception is with errors generated by an OLE automation server; both the Err.HelpFile and Err.HelpContext properties are set by the server to values appropriate for the generated error.

When generating your own user-define errors, you should set the Err.HelpContext property and the Err.HelpFile property appropriately for your error. If these are not set, then AimBasic displays its own help at an appropriate place.

Example

'This example defines a replacement for InputBox that deals

'specifically with Integer values. If an error occurs, the

'function generates a user-defined error that can be trapped

'by the caller.

Function InputInteger(Prompt,Optional Title,Optional Def)

On Error Resume Next

Dim x As Integer

x = InputBox(Prompt,Title,Def)

If Err.Number Then

Err.HelpFile = "AZ.HLP"

Err.HelpContext = 2

Err.Description = "Integer value expected"

InputInteger = Null

Err.Raise 3000

End If

InputInteger = x

End Function

Sub Main

Dim x As Integer

Do

On Error Resume Next

x = InputInteger("Enter a number:")

If Err.Number = 3000 Then

MsgBox "Invalid number, press ""F1"" to invoke help" _

,,, Err.HelpFile,Err.HelpContext

End If

Loop Until Err.Number <> 3000

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.Description (property), Err.LastDLLError (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows and Win32

On these platforms, the Err.HelpFile property can be set to any valid Windows help file (i.e., a file with a .HLP extension compatible with the WINHELP help engine).


Err.LastDLLError (property)

Syntax

Err.LastDLLError

Description

Returns the last error generated by an external call—i.e., a call to a routine declared with the Declare statement that resides in an external module.

Comments

The Err.LastDLLError property is automatically set when calling a routine defined in an external module. If no error occurs within the external call, then this property will automatically be set to 0.

The Err.LastDLLError property will always return 0 on platform where this property is not supported.,

Example

'The following script calls the GetCurrentDirectoryA. If an

'error occurs, this Win32 function sets the Err.LastDLLError

'property which can be checked for.

Declare Sub GetCurrentDirectoryA Lib "kernel32" (ByVal DestLen _

As Integer,ByVal lpDest As String)

Sub Main()

Dim dest As String * 256

Err.Clear

GetCurrentDirectoryA len(dest),dest

If Err.LastDLLError <> 0 Then

MsgBox "Error " & Err.LastDLLError & " occurred."

Else

MsgBox "Current directory is " & dest

End If

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.Description (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

On this platform, this property is set by DLL routines that set the last error using the Win32 function SetLastError(). AimBasic uses the Win32 function GetLastError() to retrieve the value of this property. The value 0 is returned when calling DLL routines that do not set an error.

Platform Notes: OS/2


Err.Number (property)

Syntax

Err.Number [= errornumber]

Description

Returns or sets the number of the error.

Comments

The Err.Number property is set automatically when an error occurs. This property can be used within an error trap to determine which error occurred.

You can set the Err.Number property to any Long value.

The Number property is the default property of the Err object. This allows you to use older style syntax such as those shown below:

Err = 6

If Err = 6 Then MsgBox "Overflow"

The Err function can only be used while within an error trap.

The internal value of the Err.Number property is reset to 0 with any of the following statements: Resume, Exit Sub, Exit Function. Thus, if you want to use this value outside an error handler, you must assign it to a variable.

Setting Err.Number to –1 has the side effect of resetting the error state. This allows you to perform error trapping within an error handler. The ability to reset the error handler while within an error trap is not standard Basic. Normally, the error handler is reset only with the Resume, Exit Sub, Exit Function, End Function, or End Sub statements.

Example

'This example forces error 10, with a subsequent transfer to

'the TestError label. TestError tests the error and, if not

'error 55, resets Err to 999 (user-defined error) and returns

'to the Main subroutine.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto TestError

Error 10

MsgBox "The returned error is: '" & Err() & " - " & _

Error$ & "'"

Exit Sub

TestError:

If Err = 55 Then 	'File already open.

MsgBox "Cannot copy an open file. Close it and try again."

Else

MsgBox "Error '" & Err & "' has occurred!"

Err = 999

End If

Resume Next

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.Raise (method)

Syntax

Err.Raise number [,[source] [,[description] [,[helpfile] [,helpcontext]]]]

Description

Generates a runtime error, setting the specified properties of the Err object.

Comments

The Err.Raise method has the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

number	A Long value indicating the error number to be generated. This parameter is required.

Errors predefined by AimBasic are in the range between 0 and 1000.

source	An optional String expression specifying the source of the error—i.e., the object or module that generated the error.

If omitted, then AimBasic uses the name of the currently executing script.

description	An optional String expression describing the error.

If omitted and number maps to a predefined AimBasic error number, then the corresponding predefined description is used. Otherwise, the error "Application-defined or object-define error" is used.

helpfile	An optional String expression specifying the name of the help file containing context-sensitive help for this error.

If omitted and number maps to a predefined AimBasic error number, then the default help file is assumed.

helpcontext	An optional Long value specifying the topic within helpfile containing context-sensitive help for this error.

If some arguments are omitted, then the current property values of the Err object are used.

This method can be used in place of the Error statement for generating errors. Using the Err.Raise method gives you the opportunity to set the desired properties of the Err object in one statement.

Example

'The following example uses the Err.Raise method to generate

'a user-defined error.

Sub Main()

Dim x As Variant

On Error Goto TRAP

x = InputBox("Enter a number:")

If Not IsNumber(x) Then

Err.Raise 3000,,"Invalid number specified","WIDGET.HLP",30

End If

MsgBox x

Exit Sub

TRAP:

MsgBox Err.Description

End Sub

See Also

Error (statement), Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.Description (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.Number (property), Err.Source (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Err.Source (property)

Syntax

Err.Source [= stringexpression]

Description

Sets or retrieves the source of a runtime error.

Comments

For OLE automation errors generated by the OLE server, the Err.Source property is set to the name of the object that generated the error. For all other errors generated by AimBasic, the Err.Source property is automatically set to be the name of the script that generated the error.

For user-defined errors, the Err.Source property can be set to any valid String expression indicating the source of the error. If the Err.Source property is not explicitly set for user-defined errors, the AimBasic sets the value to be the name of the script in which the error was generated.

Example

'The following script generates an error, setting the source

'to the specific location where the error was generated.

Function InputInteger(Prompt,Optional Title,Optional Def)

On Error Resume Next

Dim x As Integer

x = InputBox(Prompt,Title,Def)

If Err.Number Then

Err.Source = "InputInteger"

Err.Description = "Integer value expected"

InputInteger = Null

Err.Raise 3000

End If

InputInteger = x

End Function

Sub Main

On Error Resume Next

x = InputInteger("Enter a number:")

If Err.Number Then MsgBox Err.Source & ":" & Err.Description

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Err.Clear (method), Err.HelpContext (property), Err.Description (property), Err.HelpFile (property), Err.Number (property), Err.LastDLLError (property)

Platform(s)

All.


Error (statement)

Syntax

Error errornumber

Description

Simulates the occurrence of the given runtime error.

Comments

The errornumber parameter is any Integer containing either a built-in error number or a user-defined error number. The Err.Number property can be used within the error trap handler to determine the value of the error.

The Error statement is provided for backward compatibility. Use the Err.Raise method instead. When using the Error statement to generate an error, the Err object's properties are set to the following default values:

Property	Default Value

Number	This property is set to errornumber as specified in the Error statement.

Source	Name of the currently executing script.

Description	Text of the error. If errornumber does not specify a known AimBasic error, then Description is set to an empty string.

HelpFile	Name of the AimBasic help file.

HelpContext	Context ID corresponding to errornumber.

A runtime error is generated if errornumber is less than 0.

Example

'This example forces error 10, with a subsequent transfer to

'the TestError label. TestError tests the error and, if not

'error 55, resets Err to 999 (user-defined error) and returns

'to the Main subroutine.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto TestError

Error 10

MsgBox "The returned error is: '" & Err & " - " & Error$ & "'"

Exit Sub

TestError:

If Err = 55 Then 	'File already open.

MsgBox "Cannot copy an open file. Close it and try again."

Else

MsgBox "Error '" & Err & "' has occurred."

Err = 999

End If

Resume Next

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Error Handling (topic)

Error Handlers

AimBasic supports nested error handlers. When an error occurs within a subroutine, AimBasic checks for an On Error handler within the currently executing subroutine or function. An error handler is defined as follows:

Sub foo()

On Error Goto catch

'Do something here.

Exit Sub

catch:

'Handle error here.

End Sub

Error handlers have a life local to the procedure in which they are defined. The error is reset when any of the following conditions occurs:

• 	An On Error or Resume statement is encountered.

• 	When Err.Number is set to -1.

• 	When the Err.Clear method is called.

• 	When an Exit Sub, Exit Function, End Function, End Sub is encountered.

Cascading Errors

If a runtime error occurs and no On Error handler is defined within the currently executing procedure, then AimBasic returns to the calling procedure and executes the error handler there. This process repeats until a procedure is found that contains an error handler or until there are no more procedures. If an error is not trapped or if an error occurs within the error handler, then AimBasic displays an error message, halting execution of the script.

Once an error handler has control, it should address the condition that caused the error and resume execution with the Resume statement. This statement resets the error handler, transferring execution to an appropriate place within the current procedure. The error is reset if the procedure exits without first executing Resume.

Visual Basic Compatibility

Where possible, AimBasic has the same error numbers and error messages as Visual Basic. This is useful for porting scripts between environments.

Handling errors in AimBasic involves querying the error number or error text using the Error$ function or Err.Description property. Since this is the only way to handle errors in AimBasic, compatibility with Visual Basic's error numbers and messages is essential.

AimBasic errors fall into three categories:

1.	Visual Basic-compatible errors: These errors, numbered between 0 and 799, are numbered and named according to the errors supported by Visual Basic.

2.	AimBasic errors: These errors, numbered from 800 to 999, are unique to AimBasic.

3.	User-defined errors: These errors, equal to or greater than 1,000, are available for use by extensions or by the script itself.

You can intercept trappable errors using AimBasic's On Error construct. Almost all errors in AimBasic are trappable except for various system errors.


Error, Error$ (functions)

Syntax

Error[$][(errornumber)]

Description

Returns a String containing the text corresponding to the given error number or the most recent error.

Comments

Error$ returns a String, whereas Error returns a String variant.

The errornumber parameter is an Integer containing the number of the error message to retrieve. If this parameter is omitted, then the function returns the text corresponding to the most recent runtime error (i.e., the same as returned by the Err.Description property). If no runtime error has occurred, then a zero-length string is returned.

If the Error statement was used to generate a user-defined runtime error, then this function will return a zero-length string ("").

Example

'This example forces error 10, with a subsequent transfer to

'the TestError label. TestError tests the error and, if not

'error 55, resets Err to 999 (user-defined error) and returns

'to the Main subroutine.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto TestError

Error 10

MsgBox "The returned error is: '" & Err() & " - " & _

Error$ & "'"

Exit Sub

TestError:

If Err = 55 Then 	'File already open.

MsgBox "Cannot copy an open file. Close it and try again."

Else

MsgBox "Error '" & Err & "' has occurred."

Err = 999

End If

Resume Next

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Exit Do (statement)

Syntax

Exit Do

Description

Causes execution to continue on the statement following the Loop clause.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a Do...Loop statement.

Example

'This example will load an array with directory entries unless

'there are more than ten entries--in which case, the Exit Do

'terminates the loop.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim a$(5)

Do

 	i% = i% + 1

If i% = 1 Then

a(i%) = Dir$("*")

Else

 	a(i%) = Dir$

End If

If i% >= 10 Then Exit Do

Loop While (a(i%) <> "")

If i% = 10 Then

MsgBox i% & " entries processed!"

Else

MsgBox "Less than " & i% & " entries processed!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Stop (statement), Exit For (statement), Exit Function (statement), Exit Sub (statement), End (statement), Do...Loop (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Exit For (statement)

Syntax

Exit For

Description

Causes execution to exit the innermost For loop, continuing execution on the line following the Next statement.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a For...Next block.

Example

'This example will fill an array with directory entries until a

'null entry is encountered or 100 entries have been processed--

'at which time, the loop is terminated by an Exit For statement.

'The dialog box displays a count of files found and then some

'entries from the array.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim a$(100)

For i = 1 To 100

If i = 1 Then

a$(i) = Dir$("*")

Else

a$(i) = Dir$

End If

If (a$(i) = "") Or (i >= 100) Then Exit For

Next i

message = "There are " & i & " files found." & crlf

MsgBox message & a$(1) & crlf & a$(2) & crlf & a$(3) _

& crlf & a$(10)

End Sub

See Also

Stop (statement), Exit Do (statement), Exit Function (statement), Exit Sub (statement), End (statement), For...Next (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Exit Function (statement)

Syntax

Exit Function

Description

Causes execution to exit the current function, continuing execution on the statement following the call to this function.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a function.

Example

'This function displays a message and then terminates with Exit

'Function.

Function Test_Exit() As Integer

MsgBox "Testing function exit, returning to Main()."

Test_Exit = 0

Exit Function

MsgBox "This line should never execute."

End Function

Sub Main()

a% = Test_Exit()

MsgBox "This is the last line of Main()."

End Sub

See Also

Stop (statement), Exit For (statement), Exit Do (statement), Exit Sub (statement), End (statement), Function...End Function (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Exit Sub (statement)

Syntax

Exit Sub

Description

Causes execution to exit the current subroutine, continuing execution on the statement following the call to this subroutine.

Comments

This statement can appear anywhere within a subroutine. It cannot appear within a function.

Example

'This example displays a dialog box and then exits. The last

'line should never execute because of the Exit Sub statement.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "Terminating Main()."

Exit Sub

MsgBox "Still here in Main()."

End Sub

See Also

Stop (statement), Exit For (statement), Exit Do (statement), Exit Function (statement), End (statement), Sub...End Sub (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Exp (function)

Syntax

Exp(number)

Description

Returns the value of e raised to the power of number.

Comments

The number parameter is a Double within the following range:

0 <= number <= 709.782712893

A runtime error is generated if number is out of the range specified above.

The value of e is 2.71828.

Example

'This example assigns a to e raised to the 12.4 power and

'displays it in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

a# = Exp(12.40)

MsgBox "e to the 12.4 power is: " & a#

End Sub

See Also

Log (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Expression Evaluation (topic)

AimBasic allows expressions to involve data of different types. When this occurs, the two arguments are converted to be of the same type by promoting the less precise operand to the same type as the more precise operand. For example, AimBasic will promote the value of i% to a Double in the following expression:

result# = i% * d#

In some cases, the data type to which each operand is promoted is different than that of the most precise operand. This is dependent on the operator and the data types of the two operands and is noted in the description of each operator.

If an operation is performed between a numeric expression and a String expression, then the String expression is usually converted to be of the same type as the numeric expression. For example, the following expression converts the String expression to an Integer before performing the multiplication:

result = 10 * "2"	'Result is equal to 20.

There are exceptions to this rule, as noted in the description of the individual operators.

Type Coercion

AimBasic performs numeric type conversion automatically. Automatic conversions sometimes result in overflow errors, as shown in the following example:

d# = 45354

i% = d#

In this example, an overflow error is generated because the value contained in d# is larger than the maximum size of an Integer.

Rounding

When floating-point values (Single or Double) are converted to integer values (Integer or Long), the fractional part of the floating-point number is lost, rounding to the nearest integer value. AimBasic uses Baker's rounding:

• 	If the fractional part is larger than .5, the number is rounded up.

• 	If the fractional part is smaller than .5, the number is rounded down.

• 	If the fractional part is equal to .5, then the number is rounded up if it is odd and down if it is even.

The following table shows sample values before and after rounding:

Before Rounding	After Rounding to Whole Number

2.1	2

4.6	5

2.5	2

3.5	4

Default Properties

When an OLE object variable or an Object variant is used with numerical operators such as addition or subtraction, then the default property of that object is automatically retrieved. For example, consider the following:

Dim Excel As Object

Set Excel = GetObject(,"Excel.Application")

MsgBox "This application is " & Excel

The above example displays "This application is Microsoft Excel" in a dialog box. When the variable Excel is used within the expression, the default property is automatically retrieved, which, in this case, is the string "Microsoft Excel." Considering that the default property of the Excel object is .Value, then the following two statements are equivalent:

MsgBox "This application is " & Excel

MsgBox "This application is " & Excel.Value


FileAttr (function)

Syntax

FileAttr(filenumber, returntype)

Description

Returns an Integer specifying the file mode (if returntype is 1) or the operating system file handle (if returntype is 2).

Comments

The FileAttr function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer value used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

returntype	Integer specifying the type of value to be returned. If returntype is 1, then one of the following values is returned:

1	Input

2	Output

4	Random

6	Append

32	Binary

If returntype is 2, then the operating system file handle is returned. On most systems, this is a special Integer value identifying the file.

Example

'This example opens a file for input, reads the file attributes,

'and determines the file mode for which it was opened. The

'result is displayed in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

a% = FileAttr(1,1)

Select Case a%

Case 1

MsgBox "Opened for input."

Case 2

MsgBox "Opened for output."

Case 4

MsgBox "Opened for random."

Case 8

MsgBox "Opened for append."

Case 32

MsgBox "Opened for binary."

Case Else

MsgBox "Unknown file mode."

End Select

a% = FileAttr(1,2)

MsgBox "File handle is: " & a%

Close

End Sub

See Also

FileLen (function), GetAttr (function), FileType (function), FileExists (function), Open (statement), SetAttr (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


FileCopy (statement)

Syntax

FileCopy source, destination

Description

Copies a source file to a destination file.

Comments

The FileCopy function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

source	String containing the name of a single file to copy.The source parameter cannot contain wildcards (? or *) but may contain path information.

destination	String containing a single, unique destination file, which may contain a drive and path specification.

The file will be copied and renamed if the source and destination filenames are not the same.

Some platforms do not support drive letters and may not support dots to indicate current and parent directories.

Example

'This example copies the autoexec.bat file to "autoexec.sav",

'then opens the copied file and tries to copy it again--which

'generates an error.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto ErrHandler

FileCopy "c:\autoexec.bat", "c:\autoexec.sav"

Open "c:\autoexec.sav" For Input As # 1

FileCopy "c:\autoexec.sav", "c:\autoexec.sv2"

Close

Exit Sub

ErrHandler:

If Err = 55 Then 	'File already open.

MsgBox "Cannot copy an open file. Close it and try again."

Else

MsgBox "An unspecified file copy error has occurred."

End If

Resume Next

End Sub

See Also

Kill (statement), Name (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


FileDateTime (function)

Syntax

FileDateTime(pathname)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the date and time of the last modification of a file.

Comments

This function retrieves the date and time of the last modification of the file specified by pathname (wildcards are not allowed). A runtime error results if the file does not exist. The value returned can be used with the date/time functions (i.e., Year, Month, Day, Weekday, Minute, Second, Hour) to extract the individual elements.

Some operating systems (such as Win32) store the file creation date, last modification date, and the date the file was last written to. The FileDateTime function only returns the last modification date.

Example

'This example gets the file date/time of the autoexec.bat file

'and displays it in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

If FileExists("c:\autoexec.bat") Then

a# = FileDateTime("c:\autoexec.bat")

MsgBox "The date/time information for the file is: " & _

Year(a#) & "-" & Month(a#) & "-" & Day(a#)

Else

MsgBox "The file does not exist."

End If

End Sub

See Also

FileLen (function), GetAttr (function), FileType (function), FileAttr (function), FileExists (function)

Platform(s)

All.


FileDirs (statement)

Syntax

FileDirs array() [,dirspec$]

Description

Fills a String or Variant array with directory names from disk.

Comments

The FileDirs statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

array()	Either a zero- or a one-dimensioned array of strings or variants. The array can be either dynamic or fixed.

If array() is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to exactly hold the new number of elements. If there are no elements, then the array will be redimensioned to contain no dimensions. You can use the LBound, UBound, and ArrayDims functions to determine the number and size of the new array's dimensions.

If the array is fixed, each array element is first erased, then the new elements are placed into the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are initialized to zero-length strings (for String arrays) or Empty (for Variant arrays). A runtime error results if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

dirspec$	String containing the file search mask, such as:

t*.

c:\*.*

If this parameter is omitted or an empty string, then * is used, which fills the array with all the subdirectory names within the current directory.

Example

'This example fills an array with directory entries and displays

'the first one.

Sub Main()

Dim a$()

FileDirs a$,"c:\*.*"

MsgBox "The first directory is: " & a$(0)

End Sub

See Also

FileList (statement), Dir, Dir$ (functions), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), ChDir (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


FileExists (function)

Syntax

FileExists(filename$)

Description

Returns True if filename$ exists; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This function determines whether a given filename$ is valid.

This function will return False if filename$ specifies a subdirectory.

Note: On some file systems, the directories "." and ".." will be returned.

Example

'This example checks to see whether there is an autoexec.bat

'file in the root directory of the C drive, then displays either

'its date and time of creation or the fact that it does not exist.

Sub Main()

If FileExists("c:\autoexec.bat") Then

Msgbox "This file exists!"

Else

MsgBox "File does not exist."

End If

End Sub

See Also

FileLen (function), GetAttr (function), FileType (function), FileAttr (function), FileParse$ (function)

Platform(s)

All.


FileLen (function)

Syntax

FileLen(pathname)

Description

Returns a Long representing the length of pathname in bytes.

Comments

This function is used in place of the LOF function to retrieve the length of a file without first opening the file. A runtime error results if the file does not exist.

Example

'This example checks to see whether there is a c:\autoexec.bat

'file and, if there is, displays the length of the file.

Sub Main()

If (FileExists("c:\autoexec.bat") And _

(FileLen("c:\autoexec.bat") <> 0)) Then

b% = FileLen("c:\autoexec.bat")

MsgBox "The length of autoexec.bat is: " & b%

Else

MsgBox "File does not exist."

End If

End Sub

See Also

GetAttr (function), FileType (function), FileAttr (function), FileParse$ (function), FileExists (function), Loc (function)

Platform(s)

All.


FileList (statement)

Syntax

FileList array() [,[filespec$] [,[include_attr] [,exclude_attr]]]

Description

Fills a String or Variant array with filenames from disk.

Comments

The FileList function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

array()	Either a zero- or a one-dimensioned array of strings or variants. The array can be either dynamic or fixed.

If array() is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to exactly hold the new number of elements. If there are no elements, then the array will be redimensioned to contain no dimensions. You can use the LBound, UBound, and ArrayDims functions to determine the number and size of the new array's dimensions

If the array is fixed, each array element is first erased, then the new elements are placed into the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are initialized to zero-length strings (for String arrays) or Empty (for Variant arrays). A runtime error results if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

filespec$	String specifying which filenames are to be included in the list.

The filespec$ parameter can include wildcards, such as * and ?. If this parameter is omitted, then * is used.

include_attr	Integer specifying attributes of files you want included in the list. It can be any combination of the attributes listed below.

exclude_attr	Integer specifying attributes of files you want excluded from the list. It can be any combination of the attributes listed below.

The FileList function returns different files as specified by the include_attr and exclude_attr and whether these parameter have been specified. The following table shows these differences:If neither the include_attr or exclude_attr have been specified, then the following defaults are assumed:

Parameter	Default

exclude_attr	ebHidden Or ebDirectory Or ebSystem Or ebVolume

include_attr	ebNone Or ebArchive Or ebReadOnly

If include_attr is specified and exclude_attr is missing, then FileList excludes all files not specified by include_attr. If include_attr is missing, its value is assumed to be zero.

Wildcards

The * character matches any sequence of zero or more characters, whereas the ? character matches any single character. Multiple *'s and ?'s can appear within the expression to form complete searching patterns. The following table shows some examples:

This pattern	Matches these files	Doesn't match these files

*S.*TXT	SAMPLE. TXTGOOSE.TXTSAMS.TXT	SAMPLESAMPLE.DAT

C*T.TXT	CAT.TXT	CAP.TXTACATS.TXT

C*T	CATCAP.TXT	CAT.DOC

C?T	CATCUT	CAT.TXTCAPITCT

*	(All files)

File Attributes

These numbers can be any combination of the following:

Constant	Value	Includes

ebNormal	0	Read-only, archive, subdir, none

ebReadOnly	1	Read-only files

ebHidden	2	Hidden files

ebSystem	4	System files

ebVolume	8	Volume label

ebDirectory	16	Subdirectories

ebArchive	32	Files that have changed since the last backup

ebNone	64	Files with no attributes

Example

'This example fills an array a with the directory of the current

'drive for all files that have normal or no attributes and

'excludes those with system attributes. The dialog box displays

'four filenames from the array.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim a$()

FileList a$,"*.*", (ebNormal + ebNone), ebSystem

If ArrayDims(a$) > 0 Then

 	MsgBox a$(1) & crlf & a$(2) & crlf & a$(3) & crlf & a$(4)

Else

MsgBox "No files found."

End If

End Sub

See Also

FileDirs (statement), Dir, Dir$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.

 Platform Notes: Windows

For compatibility with DOS wildcard matching, AimBasic special-cases the pattern "*.*" to indicate all files, not just files with a periods in their names.

Platform Notes: UNIX

On UNIX platforms, the hidden file attribute corresponds to files without the read or write attributes.


FileParse$ (function)

Syntax

FileParse$(filename$[, operation])

Description

Returns a String containing a portion of filename$ such as the path, drive, or file extension.

Comments

The filename$ parameter can specify any valid filename (it does not have to exist). For example:

..\test.dat

c:\sheets\test.dat

test.dat

A runtime error is generated if filename$ is a zero-length string.

The optional operation parameter is an Integer specifying which portion of the filename$ to extract. It can be any of the following values.

Value	Meaning	Example

0	Full name	c:\sheets\test.dat

1	Drive	c

2	Path	c:\sheets

3	Name	test.dat

4	Root	test

5	Extension	dat

If operation is not specified, then the full name is returned. A runtime error will result if operation is not one of the above values.

A runtime error results if filename$ is empty.

On systems that do not support drive letters, operation 1 will return a zero-length string.

Example

'This example parses the file string "c:\testsub\autoexec.bat"

'into its component parts and displays them in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim a$(6)

For i = 1 To 5

a$(i) = FileParse$("c:\testsub\autoexec.bat",i - 1)

Next i

MsgBox a$(1) & crlf & a$(2) & crlf & a$(3) & crlf & a$(4) & crlf & a$(5)

End Sub

See Also

FileLen (function), GetAttr (function), FileType (function), FileAttr (function), FileExists (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Win32, Windows, OS/2

The path separator is different on different platforms. Under Windows, OS/2, and Win32, the backslash and forward slash can be used interchangeably. For example, "c:\test.dat" is the same as "c:/test.dat".

Platform Notes: UNIX

Under UNIX systems, the backslash and colon are valid filename characters.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, all characters are valid within filenames except colons, which are seen as path separators.

Platform Notes: NetWare

Under NetWare, operation 1 returns the volume name (up to 14 characters).


FileType (function)

Syntax

FileType(filename$)

Description

Returns the type of the specified file.

Comments

One of the following Integer constants is returned:

Constant	Value	Description

ebDos	1	DOS executable file(exe files only; com files are not recognized).

ebWindows	2	Windows executable file

If one of the above values is not returned, then the file type is unknown.

Example

'This example looks at c:\windows\winfile.exe and determines

'whether it is a DOS or a Windows file. The result is displayed

'in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

a = FileType("c:\windows\winfile.exe")

If a = ebDos Then

MsgBox "This is a DOS file."

Else

MsgBox "This is a Windows file of type '" & a & "'"

End If

End Sub

See Also

FileLen (function), GetAttr (function), FileAttr (function), FileExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

Currently, only files with a ".exe" extension can be used with this function. Files with a ".com" or ".bat" extension will return 3 (unknown).


Fix (function)

Syntax

Fix(number)

Description

Returns the integer part of number.

Comments

This function returns the integer part of the given value by removing the fractional part. The sign is preserved.

The Fix function returns the same type as number, with the following exceptions:

• 	If number is Empty, then an Integer variant of value 0 is returned.

• 	If number is a String, then a Double variant is returned.

• 	If number contains no valid data, then a Null variant is returned.

Example

'This example returns the fixed part of a number and assigns it

'to b, then displays the result in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

a# = -19923.45

b% = Fix(a#)

MsgBox "The fixed portion of -19923.45 is: " & b%

End Sub

See Also

Int (function), CInt (function)

Platform(s)

All.


For Each...Next (statement)

Syntax

For Each member in group

[statements]

[Exit For]

[statements]

Next [member]

Description

Repeats a block of statements for each element in a collection or array.

Comments

The For Each...Next statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

member	Name of the variable used for each iteration of the loop. If group is an array, then member must be a Variant variable. If group is a collection, then member must be an Object variable, an explicit OLE automation object, or a Variant.

group	Name of a collection or array.

statements	Any number of AimBasic statements.

AimBasic supports iteration through the elements of OLE collections or arrays, unless the arrays contain user-defined types or fixed-length strings. The iteration variable is a copy of the collection or array element in the sense that change to the value of member within the loop has no effect on the collection or array.

The For Each...Next statement traverses array elements in the same order the elements are stored in memory. For example, the array elements contained in the array defined by the statement

Dim a(1 To 2,3 To 4)

are traversed in the following order: (1,3), (1,4), (2,3), (2,4). The order in which the elements are traversed should not be relevant to the correct operation of the script.

The For Each...Next statement continues executing until there are no more elements in group or until an Exit For statement is encountered.

For Each...Next statements can be nested. In such a case, the Next [member] statement applies to the innermost For Each...Next or For...Next statement. Each member variable of nested For Each...Next statements must be unique.

A Next statement appearing by itself (with no member variable) matches the innermost For Each...Next or For...Next loop.

Example

’The following subroutine iterates through the elements

’of an array using For Each...Next.

Sub Main()

Dim a(3 To 10) As Single

Dim i As Variant

Dim s As String

For i = 3 To 10

a(i) = Rnd()

Next i

For Each i In a

i = i + 1

Next i

s = ""

For Each i In a

If s <> "" Then s = s & ","

s = s & i

Next i

MsgBox s

End Sub

’The following subroutine displays the names of each worksheet

’in an Excel workbook.

Sub Main()

Dim Excel As Object

Dim Sheets As Object

Set Excel = CreateObject("Excel.Application")

Excel.Visible = 1

Excel.Workbooks.Add

Set Sheets = Excel.Worksheets

For Each a In Sheets

MsgBox a.Name

Next a

End Sub

See Also

Do...Loop (statement), While...Wend (statement), For...Next (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under Windows and Win32, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+Break.

Platform Notes: UNIX

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under UNIX, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. On the Macintosh, you can break out of infinite loops using Command+Period.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under OS/2, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.


For...Next (statement)

Syntax

For counter = start To end [Step increment]

[statements]

[Exit For]

[statements]

Next [counter [,nextcounter]... ]

Description

Repeats a block of statements a specified number of times, incrementing a loop counter by a given increment each time through the loop.

Comments

The For statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

counter	Name of a numeric variable. Variables of the following types can be used: Integer, Long, Single, Double, Variant.

start	Initial value for counter. The first time through the loop, counter is assigned this value.

end	Final value for counter. The statements will continue executing until counter is equal to end.

increment	Amount added to counter each time through the loop. If end is greater than start, then increment must be positive. If end is less than start, then increment must be negative.

If increment is not specified, then 1 is assumed. The expression given as increment is evaluated only once. Changing the step during execution of the loop will have no effect.

statements	Any number of AimBasic statements.

The For...Next statement continues executing until an Exit For statement is encountered when counter is greater than end.

For...Next statements can be nested. In such a case, the Next [counter] statement applies to the innermost For...Next.

The Next clause can be optimized for nested next loops by separating each counter with a comma. The ordering of the counters must be consistent with the nesting order (innermost counter appearing before outermost counter). The following example shows two equivalent For statements:

For i = 1 To 10

For j = 1 To 10

Next j,i

For i = 1 To 10

For j = 1 To 10

Next j

Next i

A Next clause appearing by itself (with no counter variable) matches the innermost For loop.

The counter variable can be changed within the loop but will have no effect on the number of times the loop will execute.

Example

'This example constructs a truth table for the OR statement

'using nested For...Next loops.

Sub Main()

For x = -1 To 0

For y = -1 To 0

Z = x Or y

message = message & Format(Abs(x%),"0") & " Or "

message = message & Format(Abs(y%),"0") & " = "

message = message & Format(Z,"True/False") & Basic.Eoln$

Next y

Next x

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Do...Loop (statement), While...Wend (statement),

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under Windows and Win32, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+Break.

Platform Notes: UNIX

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under UNIX, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. On the Macintosh, you can break out of infinite loops using Command+Period.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertently create infinite loops in your code. Under OS/2, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.


Format, Format$ (functions)

Syntax

Format[$](expression [, [format] [, [firstdayofweek] [, firstweekofyear]]])

Description

Returns a String formatted to user specification.

Comments

Format$ returns a String, whereas Format returns a String variant.

The Format$/Format functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

expression	String or numeric expression to be formatted.AimBasic will only examine the first 255 characters of expression.

format	Format expression that can be either one of the built-in AimBasic formats or a user-defined format consisting of characters that specify how the expression should be displayed.

String, numeric, and date/time formats cannot be mixed in a single format expression.

firstdayofweek	Indicates the first day of the week. If omitted, then sunday is assumed (i.e., the constant ebSunday described below).

firstweekofyear	Indicates the first week of the year. If omitted, then the first week of the year is considered to be that containing January 1 (i.e., the constant ebFirstJan1 as described bellow).

If format is omitted and the expression is numeric, then these functions perform the same function as the Str$ or Str statements, except that they do not preserve a leading space for positive values.

If expression is Null, then a zero-length string is returned.

The maximum length of the string returned by Format or Format$ functions is 255.

The firstdayofweek parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofweek.

ebSunday	1	Sunday (the default)

ebMonday	2	Monday

ebTuesday	3	Tuesday

ebWednesday	4	Wednesday

ebThursday	5	Thursday

ebFriday	6	Friday

ebSaturday	7	Saturday

The firstdayofyear parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofyear.

ebFirstJan1	1	The first week of the year is that in which January 1 occurs (the default).

ebFirstFourDays	2	The first week of the year is that containing at least four days in the year.

ebFirstFullWeek	3	The first week of the year is the first full week of the year.

Built-In Formats

To format numeric expressions, you can specify one of the built-in formats. There are two categories of built-in formats: one deals with numeric expressions and the other with date/time values.The following tables list the built-in numeric and date/time format strings, followed by an explanation of what each does.

Format	Description

General Number	Displays the numeric expression as is, with no additional formatting.

Currency	Displays the numeric expression as currency, with thousands separator if necessary.

The built-in Currency format allows the specification of an optional user-defined format specification used only for zero values:

Currency;zero-format-string

Where zero-format-string is a user-defined format used specifically for zero values.

Fixed	Displays at least one digit to the left of the decimal separator and two digits to the right.

Standard	Displays the numeric expression with thousands separator if necessary. Displays at least one digit to the left of the decimal separator and two digits to the right.

Percent	Displays the numeric expression multiplied by 100. A percent sign (%) will appear at the right of the formatted output. Two digits are displayed to the right of the decimal separator.

Scientific 	Displays the number using scientific notation. One digit appears before the decimal separator and two after.

Yes/No	Displays No if the numeric expression is 0. Displays Yes for all other values.

True/False	Displays False if the numeric expression is 0. Displays True for all other values.

On/Off	Displays Off if the numeric expression is 0. Displays On for all other values.

Format	Description

General date	Displays the date and time. If there is no fractional part in the numeric expression, then only the date is displayed. If there is no integral part in the numeric expression, then only the time is displayed. Output is in the following form: 1/1/95 01:00:00 AM.

Medium date	Displays a medium date—prints out only the abbreviated name of the month.

Short date	Displays a short date.

Long time	Displays the long time. The default is: h:mm:ss.

Medium time	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Hours and minutes are displayed, and the AM/PM designator is at the end.

Short time	Displays the time using a 24-hour clock. Hours and minutes are displayed.

User-Defined Formats

In addition to the built-in formats, you can specify a user-defined format by using characters that have special meaning when used in a format expression. The following list the characters you can use for numeric, string, and date/time formats and explain their functions.

Character	Meaning

Empty string	Displays the numeric expression as is, with no additional formatting.

0	This is a digit placeholder.Displays a number or a 0. If a number exists in the numeric expression in the position where the 0 appears, the number will be displayed. Otherwise, a 0 will be displayed. If there are more 0s in the format string than there are digits, the leading and trailing 0s are displayed without modification.

#	This is a digit placeholder.Displays a number or nothing. If a number exists in the numeric expression in the position where the number sign appears, the number will be displayed. Otherwise, nothing will be displayed. Leading and trailing 0s are not displayed.

.	This is the decimal placeholder.Designates the number of digits to the left of the decimal and the number of digits to the right. The character used in the formatted string depends on the decimal placeholder, as specified by your locale.

%	This is the percentage operator.The numeric expression is multiplied by 100, and the percent character is inserted in the same position as it appears in the user-defined format string.

,	This is the thousands separator.The common use for the thousands separator is to separate thousands from hundreds. To specify this use, the thousands separator must be surrounded by digit placeholders. Commas appearing before any digit placeholders are specified are just displayed. Adjacent commas with no digit placeholders specified between them and the decimal mean that the number should be divided by 1,000 for each adjacent comma in the format string. A comma immediately to the left of the decimal has the same function. The actual thousands separator character used depends on the character specified by your locale.

E- E+ e- e+	These are the scientific notation operators, which display the number in scientific notation. At least one digit placeholder must exist to the left of E-, E+, e-, or e+. Any digit placeholders displayed to the left of E-, E+, e-, or e+ determine the number of digits displayed in the exponent. Using E+ or e+ places a + in front of positive exponents and a – in front of negative exponents. Using E- or e- places a – in front of negative exponents and nothing in front of positive exponents.

:	This is the time separator.Separates hours, minutes, and seconds when time values are being formatted. The actual character used depends on the character specified by your locale.

/	This is the date separator.Separates months, days, and years when date values are being formatted. The actual character used depends on the character specified by your locale.

- + $ ( ) space	These are the literal characters you can display.To display any other character, you should precede it with a backslash or enclose it in quotes.

\	This designates the next character as a displayed character.To display characters, precede them with a backslash. To display a backslash, use two backslashes. Double quotation marks can also be used to display characters. Numeric formatting characters, date/time formatting characters, and string formatting characters cannot be displayed without a preceding backslash.

"ABC"	Displays the text between the quotation marks, but not the quotation marks. To designate a double quotation mark within a format string, use two adjacent double quotation marks.

*	This will display the next character as the fill character.Any empty space in a field will be filled with the specified fill character.

Numeric formats can contain one to three parts. Each part is separated by a semicolon. If you specify one format, it applies to all values. If you specify two formats, the first applies to positive values and the second to negative values. If you specify three formats, the first applies to positive values, the second to negative values, and the third to 0s. If you include semicolons with no format between them, the format for positive values is used.

Character	Meaning

@	This is a character placeholder. It displays a character if one exists in the expression in the same position; otherwise, it displays a space. Placeholders are filled from right to left unless the format string specifies left to right.

&	This is a character placeholder. It displays a character if one exists in the expression in the same position; otherwise, it displays nothing. Placeholders are filled from right to left unless the format string specifies left to right.

<	This character forces lowercase. It displays all characters in the expression in lowercase.

>	This character forces uppercase. It displays all characters in the expression in uppercase.

!	This character forces placeholders to be filled from left to right. The default is right to left.

Character	Meaning

c	Displays the date as ddddd and the time as ttttt. Only the date is displayed if no fractional part exists in the numeric expression. Only the time is displayed if no integral portion exists in the numeric expression.

d	Displays the day without a leading 0 (1–31).

dd	Displays the day with a leading 0 (01–31).

ddd	Displays the day of the week abbreviated (Sun–Sat).

dddd	Displays the day of the week (Sunday–Saturday).

ddddd	Displays the date as a short date.

dddddd	Displays the date as a long date.

w	Displays the number of the day of the week (1–7). Sunday is 1; Saturday is 7.

ww	Displays the week of the year (1–53).

m	Displays the month without a leading 0 (1–12). If m immediately follows h or hh, m is treated as minutes (0–59).

mm	Displays the month with a leading 0 (01–12). If mm immediately follows h or hh, mm is treated as minutes with a leading 0 (00–59).

mmm	Displays the month abbreviated (Jan–Dec).

mmmm	Displays the month (January–December).

q	Displays the quarter of the year (1–4).

yy	Displays the year, not the century (00–99).

yyyy	Displays the year (1000–9999).

h	Displays the hour without a leading 0 (0–24).

hh	Displays the hour with a leading 0 (00–24).

n	Displays the minute without a leading 0 (0–59).

nn	Displays the minute with a leading 0 (00–59).

s	Displays the second without a leading 0 (0–59).

ss	Displays the second with a leading 0 (00–59).

ttttt	Displays the time. A leading 0 is displayed if specified by your locale.

AM/PM	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Displays an uppercase AM for time values before 12 noon. Displays an uppercase PM for time values after 12 noon and before 12 midnight.

am/pm	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Displays a lowercase am or pm at the end.

A/P	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Displays an uppercase A or P at the end.

a/p	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Displays a lowercase a or p at the end.

AMPM	Displays the time using a 12-hour clock. Displays the string s1159 for values before 12 noon and s2359 for values after 12 noon and before 12 midnight.

Example

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a# = 1199.234

message = "Some general formats for '" & a# & "' are:"

message = message & Format$(a#,"General Number") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"Currency") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"Standard") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"Fixed") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"Percent") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"Scientific") & crlf

message = message & Format$(True,"Yes/No") & crlf

message = message & Format$(True,"True/False") & crlf

message = message & Format$(True,"On/Off") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"0,0.00") & crlf

message = message & Format$(a#,"##,###,###.###") & crlf

MsgBox message

da$ = Date$

message = "Some date formats for '" & da$ & "' are:"

message = message & Format$(da$,"General Date") & crlf

message = message & Format$(da$,"Long Date") & crlf

message = message & Format$(da$,"Medium Date") & crlf

message = message & Format$(da$,"Short Date") & crlf

MsgBox message

ti$ = Time$

message = "Some time formats for '" & ti$ & "' are:"

message = message & Format$(ti$,"Long Time") & crlf

message = message & Format$(ti$,"Medium Time") & crlf

message = message & Format$(ti$,"Short Time") & crlf

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Str, Str$ (functions), CStr (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, default date/time formats are read from the [Intl] section of the win.ini file.


FreeFile (function)

Syntax

FreeFile [([rangenumber])]

Description

Returns an Integer containing the next available file number.

Comments

This function returns the next available file number within the specified range. If rangenumber is 0, then a number between 1 and 255 is returned; if 1, then a number between 256 and 511 is returned. If rangenumber is not specified, then a number between 1 and 255 is returned.

The function returns 0 if there is no available file number in the specified range.

The number returned is suitable for use in the Open statement.

Example

'This example assigns A to the next free file number and

'displays it in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

a = FreeFile

MsgBox "The next free file number is: " & a

End Sub

See Also

FileAttr (function), Open (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Function...End Function (statement)

Syntax

[Private | Public] [Static] Function name[(arglist)] [As ReturnType]

[statements]

End Sub

where arglist is a comma-separated list of the following (up to 30 arguments are allowed):

[Optional] [ByVal | ByRef] parameter [()] [As type]

Description

Creates a user-defined function.

Comments

The Function statement has the following parts:

Part	Description

Private	Indicates that the function being defined cannot be called from other scripts.

Public	Indicates that the function being defined can be called from other scripts. If both the Private and Public keywords are missing, then Public is assumed.

Static	Recognized by the compiler but currently has no effect.

name	Name of the function, which must follow AimBasic naming conventions:

1.	Must start with a letter.

2.	May contain letters, digits, and the underscore character (_). Punctuation and type-declaration characters are not allowed. The exclamation point (!) can appear within the name as long as it is not the last character, in which case it is interpreted as a type-declaration character.

3.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.Additionally, the name parameter can end with an optional type-declaration character specifying the type of data returned by the function (i.e., any of the following characters: %, &, !, #, @).

Optional	Keyword indicating that the parameter is optional. All optional parameters must be of type Variant. Furthermore, all parameters that follow the first optional parameter must also be optional.If this keyword is omitted, then the parameter is required.

Note: You can use the IsMissing function to determine whether an optional parameter was actually passed by the caller.

ByVal	Keyword indicating that parameter is passed by value.

ByRef	Keyword indicating that parameter is passed by reference. If neither the ByVal nor the ByRef keyword is given, then ByRef is assumed.

parameter	Name of the parameter, which must follow the same naming conventions as those used by variables. This name can include a type-declaration character, appearing in place of As type.

type	Type of the parameter (Integer, String, and so on). Arrays are indicated with parentheses. For example, an array of integers would be declared as follows:Function Test(a() As Integer)End Function

ReturnType	Type of data returned by the function. If the return type is not given, then Variant is assumed. The ReturnType can only be specified if the function name (i.e., the name parameter) does not contain an explicit type-declaration character.

A function returns to the caller when either of the following statements is encountered:

End Function

Exit Function

Functions can be recursive.

Returning Values from Functions

To assign a return value, an expression must be assigned to the name of the function, as shown below:

Function TimesTwo(a As Integer) As Integer

TimesTwo = a * 2

End Function

If no assignment is encountered before the function exits, then one of the following values is returned:

Value	Data Type Returned by the Function

0	Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency

Zero-length string	String

Nothing	Object (or any data object)

Error	Variant

December 30, 1899	Date

False 	Boolean

The type of the return value is determined by the As ReturnType clause on the Function statement itself. As an alternative, a type-declaration character can be added to the Function name. For example, the following two definitions of Test both return String values:

Function Test() As String

Test = "Hello, world"

End Function

Function Test$()

Test = "Hello, world"

End Function

Functions in AimBasic cannot return user-defined types or dialogs.

Passing Parameters to Functions

Parameters are passed to a function either by value or by reference, depending on the declaration of that parameter in arglist. If the parameter is declared using the ByRef keyword, then any modifications to that passed parameter within the function change the value of that variable in the caller. If the parameter is declared using the ByVal keyword, then the value of that variable cannot be changed in the called function. If neither the ByRef or ByVal keywords are specified, then the parameter is passed by reference.

You can override passing a parameter by reference by enclosing that parameter within parentheses. For instance, the following example passes the variable j by reference, regardless of how the third parameter is declared in the arglist of UserFunction:

i = UserFunction(10,12,(j))

Optional Parameters

AimBasic allows you to skip parameters when calling functions, as shown in the following example:

Function Test(a%,b%,c%) As Variant

End Function

Sub Main

a = Test(1,,4)	'Parameter 2 was skipped.

End Sub

You can skip any parameter, with the following restrictions:

1.	The call cannot end with a comma. For instance, using the above example, the following is not valid:

a = Test(1,,)

2.	The call must contain the minimum number of parameters as required by the called function. For instance, using the above example, the following are invalid:

'Only passes two out of three required parameters.

a = Test(,1)

'Only passes two out of three required parameters.

a = Test(1,2)

When you skip a parameter in this manner, AimBasic creates a temporary variable and passes this variable instead. The value of this temporary variable depends on the data type of the corresponding parameter in the argument list of the called function, as described in the following table:

Value	Data Type

0	Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency

Zero-length string	String

Nothing	Object (or any data object)

Error	Variant

December 30, 1899	Date

False 	Boolean

Within the called function, you will be unable to determine whether a parameter was skipped unless the parameter was declared as a variant in the argument list of the function. In this case, you can use the IsMissing function to determine whether the parameter was skipped:

Function Test(a,b,c)

If IsMissing(a) Or IsMissing(b) Then Exit Sub

End Function

Example

Function Factorial(n%) As Integer

'This function calculates N! (N-factoral).

f% = 1

For i = n To 2 Step -1

f = f * i

Next i

Factorial = f

End Function

Sub Main()

'This example calls user-defined function Factoral and

'displays the result in a dialog box.

a% = 0

prompt$ = "Enter an integer number greater than 2."

Do While a% < 2

a% = Val(InputBox$(prompt,"Compute Factorial"))

Loop

b# = Factorial(a%)

MsgBox "The factoral of " & a% & " is: " & b#

End Sub

See Also

Sub...End Sub (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Fv (function)

Syntax

Fv(rate, nper, pmt, pv, due)

Description

Calculates the future value of an annuity based on periodic fixed payments and a constant rate of interest.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments made to an insurance company or other investment company over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages and monthly savings plans.

The Fv function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period. Make sure that annual rates are normalized for monthly periods (divided by 12).

nper	Double representing the total number of payments (periods) in the annuity.

pmt	Double representing the amount of each payment per period. Payments are entered as negative values, whereas receipts are entered as positive values.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the present value would be the amount of the loan, whereas in the case of a retirement annuity, the present value would be the amount of the fund.

due	Integer indicating when payments are due for each payment period. A 0 specifies payment at the end of each period, whereas a 1 indicates payment at the start of each period.

The rate and nper values must be expressed in the same units. If rate is expressed as a percentage per month, then nper must also be expressed in months. If rate is an annual rate, then the nper value must also be given in years.

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative numbers represent cash paid out.

Example

'This example calculates the future value of 100 dollars paid

'periodically for a period of 10 years (120 months) at a rate of

'10% per year (or .10/12 per month) with payments made on the

'first of the month. The value is displayed in a dialog box.

'Note that payments are negative values.

Sub Main()

a# = Fv((.10/12),120,-100.00,0,1)

MsgBox "Future value is: " & Format(a#,"Currency")

End Sub

See Also

IRR (function), MIRR (function), Npv (function), Pv (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Get (statement)

Syntax

Get [#] filenumber, [recordnumber], variable

Description

Retrieves data from a random or binary file and stores that data into the specified variable.

Comments

The Get statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer used by AimBasic to identify the file. This is the same number passed to the Open statement.

recordnumber	Long specifying which record is to be read from the file.

For binary files, this number represents the first byte to be read starting with the beginning of the file (the first byte is 1). For random files, this number represents the record number starting with the beginning of the file (the first record is 1). This value ranges from 1 to 2147483647.

If the recordnumber parameter is omitted, the next record is read from the file (if no records have been read yet, then the first record in the file is read). When this parameter is omitted, the commas must still appear, as in the following example:

Get #1,,recvar

If recordnumber is specified, it overrides any previous change in file position specified with the Seek statement.

variable	Variable into which data will be read. The type of the variable determines how the data is read from the file, as described below.

With random files, a runtime error will occur if the length of the data being read exceeds the reclen parameter specified with the Open statement. If the length of the data being read is less than the record length, the file pointer is advanced to the start of the next record. With binary files, the data elements being read are contiguousthe file pointer is never advanced.

Variable Types

The type of the variable parameter determines how data will be read from the file. It can be any of the following types:

Variable Type	File Storage Description

Integer	2 bytes are read from the file.

Long	4 bytes are read from the file.

String (variable-length)	In binary files, variable-length strings are read by first determining the specified string variable's length and then reading that many bytes from the file. For example, to read a string of eight characters:

s$=String$(8,"")Get#1,,s$

In random files, variable-length strings are read by first reading a 2-byte length and then reading that many characters from the file.

String (fixed-length)	Fixed-length strings are read by reading a fixed number of characters from the file equal to the string's declared length.

Double	8 bytes are read from the file (IEEE format).

Single	4 bytes are read from the file (IEEE format).

Date	8 bytes are read from the file (IEEE double format).

Boolean	2 bytes are read from the file. Nonzero values are True, and zero values are False.

Variant	A 2-byte VarType is read form the file, which determines the format of the data that follows. Once the VarType is known, the data is read individually, as described above. With user-defined errors, after the 2-byte VarType, a 2-byte unsigned integer is read and assigned as the value of the user-defined error, followed by 2 additional bytes of information about the error.

The exception is with strings, which are always preceded by a 2-byte string length.

User-defined types	Each member of a user-defined data type is read individually.In binary files, variable-length strings within user-defined types are read by first reading a 2-byte length followed by the string's content. This storage is different from variable-length strings outside of user-defined types.

When reading user-defined types, the record length must be greater than or equal to the combined size of each element within the data type.

Arrays	Arrays cannot be read from a file using the Get statement.

Object	Object variables cannot be read from a file using the Get statement.

 Example

'This example opens a file for random write, then writes ten

'records into the file with the values 10...50. Then the file is

'closed and reopened in random mode for read, and the records

'are read with the Get statement. The result is displayed in a

'message box.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write As #1

For x = 1 to 10

y% = x * 10

Put #1,x,y

Next x

Close

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read As #1

For y = 1 to 5

Get #1,y,x%

message = message & "Record " & y & ": " & x% & Basic.Eoln$

Next y

MsgBox message

Close

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Put (statement), Input# (statement), Line Input# (statement), Input, Input$, InputB, InputB$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


GetAllSettings (function)

Syntax

GetAllSettings(appname [,section])

Description

Returns all of the keys within the specified section, or all of the sections within the specified application from the system registry.

Comments

The GetAllSettings function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

appname	A String expression specifying the name of the application from which settings or keys will be returned.

section	A String expression specifying the name of the section from which keys will be returned. If omitted, then all of the section names within appname will be returned.

The GetAllSettings function returns a Variant containing an array of strings.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim NewAppSettings() As Variant

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Height", setting := 200

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup _

", key := "Width", setting := 320

GetAllSettings appname := "NewApp", _

section := "Startup	", resultarray := NewAppSettings

For i = LBound(NewAppSettings) To UBound(NewAppSettings)

NewAppSettings(i) = NewAppSettings(i) & "=" & _

GetSetting("NewApp", "Startup", NewAppSettings(i))

Next i

r = SelectBox("Registry Settings","", NewAppSettings)

End Sub

See Also

GetSetting (function), DeleteSetting (statement), SaveSetting (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement operates on the system registry. All settings are read from the following entry in the system registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AimBasic Program Settings\appname\section

Platform Notes: Windows, OS/2

Settings are stored in INI files. The name of the INI file is specified by appname. If appname is omitted, then this command operates on the WIN.INI file. For example, to enumerate all of the keys within the intl section of the WIN.INI file, you could use the following statements:

Dim a As Variant

a = GetAllSettings(,"intl")


GetAttr (function)

Syntax

GetAttr(pathname)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the attributes of the specified file.

Comments

The attribute value returned is the sum of the attributes set for the file. The value of each attribute is as follows:

Constant	Value	Includes

ebNormal	0	Read-only files, archive files, subdirectories, and files with no attributes

ebReadOnly	1	Read-only files

ebHidden	2	Hidden files

ebSystem	4	System files

ebVolume	9	Volume label

ebDirectory	16	Subdirectories

ebArchive	32	Files that have changed since the last backup

ebNone	64	Files with no attributes

To deterimine whether a particular attribute is set, you can And the values shown above with the value returned by GetAttr. If the result is True, the attribute is set, as shown below:

Dim w As Integer

w = GetAttr("sample.txt")

If w And ebReadOnly Then MsgBox "This file is read-only."

Example

'This example tests to see whether the file test.dat exists. If

'it does not, then it creates the file. The file attributes are

'then retrieved with the GetAttr function, and the result is

'displayed.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

If Not FileExists("test.dat") Then

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write As #1

Close

End If

y% = GetAttr("test.dat")

If y% And ebNone Then message = message & _

"No archive bit is set." & crlf

If y% And ebReadOnly Then message = message & _

"The read-only bit is set." & crlf

If y% And ebHidden Then message = message & _

"The hidden bit is set." & crlf

If y% And ebSystem Then message = message & _

"The system bit is set." & crlf

If y% And ebVolume Then message = message & _

"Volume bit is set." & 	crlf

If y% And ebDirectory Then message = message & _

"Directory bit is set." & crlf

If y% And ebArchive Then message = message & _

"The archive bit is set."

MsgBox message

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

SetAttr (statement), FileAttr (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, these attributes are the same as those used by DOS.

Platform Notes: UNIX

On UNIX platforms, the hidden file attribute corresponds to files without the read or write attributes.


GetCheckBox (function)

Syntax

GetCheckBox(name$ | id)

Description

Returns an Integer representing the state of the specified check box.

Comments

This function is used to determine the state of a check box, given its name or ID. The returned value will be one of the following:

Returned Value	Description

0	Check box contains no check.

1	Check box contains a check.

2	Check box is grayed.

The GetCheckBox function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the check box.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the check box.

Note: The GetCheckBox function is used to retrieve the state of a check box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgValue function to retrieve the state of a check box in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example toggles the Match Case check box in the Find

'dialog box.

Sub Main()

Menu "Search.Find"

If GetCheckBox("Match Case") = 0 Then

SetCheckBox "Match Case",1

Else

SetCheckBox "Match Case",0

End If

End Sub

See Also

CheckBoxExists (function), CheckBoxEnabled (function), SetCheckBox (statement), DlgValue (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetComboBoxItem$ (function)

Syntax

GetComboBoxItem$(name$ | id [,ItemNumber])

Description

Returns a String containing the text of an item within a combo box.

Comments

The GetComboBoxItem$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String specifying the name of the combo box containing the item to be returned.

The name of a combo box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a combo box. A runtime error is generated if a combo box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the combo box containing the item to be returned.

ItemNumber	Integer containing the line number of the desired combo box item to be returned. If omitted, then the currently selected item in the combo box is returned.

The combo box must exist within the current window or dialog box; otherwise, a runtime error is generated.

A zero-length string will be returned if the combo box does not contain textual items.

Note: The GetComboBoxItem$ function is used to retrieve the current item of a combo box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgText function to retrieve the current item of a combo box in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example retrieves the last item from a combo box.

Sub Main()

last% = GetComboBoxItemCount("Directories:")

s$ = GetComboBoxItem$("Directories:",last% - 1)	'Number is

'0-based.

MsgBox "The last item in the combo box is " & s$

End Sub

See Also

ComboBoxEnabled (function), ComboBoxExists (function), GetComboBoxItemCount (function), SelectComboBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetComboBoxItemCount (function)

Syntax

GetComboBoxItemCount(name$ | id)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the number of items in the specified combo box.

Comments

The GetComboBoxItemCount function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the combo box.

The name of a combo box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a combo box. A runtime error is generated if a combo box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the combo box.

A runtime error is generated if the specified combo box does not exist within the current window or dialog box.

Note: The GetComboBoxItemCount function is used to determine the number of items in a combo box in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example copies all the items out of a combo box and into

'an array.

Sub Main()

Dim MyList$()

last% = GetComboBoxItemCount("Directories:")

ReDim MyList$(0 To last - 1)

For i = 0 To last - 1

MyList$(i) = GetComboBoxItem$("Directories:",i)

Next i

End Sub

See Also

ComboBoxEnabled (function), ComboBoxExists (function), GetComboBoxItem$ (function), SelectComboBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetEditText$ (function)

Syntax

GetEditText$(name$ | id)

Description

Returns a String containing the content of the specified text box control.

Comments

The GetEditText$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the text box whose content will be returned.

The name of a text box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a text box. A runtime error is generated if a text box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the text box whose content will be returned.

A runtime error is generated if a text box control with the given name or ID cannot be found within the active window.

Note: The GetEditText$ function is used to retrieve the content of a text box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgText$ function to retrieve the content of a text box in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example retrieves the filename and prepends it with the

'current directory.

Sub Main()

s$ = GetEditText$("Filename:")	'Retrieve edit control content

s$ = CurDir$ & Basic.PathSeparator & s$	'Prepend current dir

SetEditText "Filename:",s$	'Put it back

End Sub

See Also

EditEnabled (function), EditExists (function), SetEditText (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetListBoxItem$ (function)

Syntax

GetListBoxItem$(name$ | id,[item])

Description

Returns a String containing the specified item in a list box.

Comments

The GetListBoxItem$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String specifying the name of the list box containing the item to be returned.

The name of a list box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a list box. A runtime error is generated if a list box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the list box containing the item to be returned.

item	Integer containing the line number of the desired list box item to be returned. This number must be between 1 and the number of items in the list box.If omitted, then the currently selected item in the list box is returned.

A runtime error is generated if the specified list box cannot be found within the active window.

Note: The GetListBoxItem$ function is used to retrieve an item from a list box in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example sees whether my name appears as an item in the

'"Users" list box.

Sub Main()

last% = GetListBoxItemCount("Users")

IsThere = False

For i = 0 To last% - 1'Number is zero-based.

If GetListBoxItem$("Users",i) = Net.User$ Then _

isThere = True

Next i

If IsThere Then MsgBox "I am a member!",ebOKOnly

End Sub

See Also

GetListBoxItemCount (function), ListBoxEnabled (function), ListBoxExists (function), SelectListBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetListBoxItemCount (function)

Syntax

GetListBoxItemCount(name$ | id)

Description

Returns an Integer containing the number of items in a specified list box.

Comments

The GetListBoxItemCount function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the list box.

The name of a list box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a list box. A runtime error is generated if a list box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the list box.

A runtime error is generated if the specified list box cannot be found within the active window.

Note: The GetListBoxItemCount function is used to retrieve the number of items in a list box in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

See GetListBoxItem$ (function).

See Also

GetListBoxItem$ (function), ListBoxEnabled (function), ListBoxExists (function), SelectListBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetObject (function)

Syntax

GetObject(pathname [, class])

Description

Returns the object specified by pathname or returns a previously instantiated object of the given class.

Comments

This function is used to retrieve an existing OLE Automation object, either one that comes from a file or one that has previously been instantiated.

The pathname argument specifies the full pathname of the file containing the object to be activated. The application associated with the file is determined by OLE at runtime. For example, suppose that a file called c:\docs\resume.doc was created by a word processor called wordproc.exe. The following statement would invoke wordproc.exe, load the file called c:\docs\resume.doc, and assign that object to a variable:

Dim doc As Object

Set doc = GetObject("c:\docs\resume.doc")

To activate a part of an object, add an exclamation point to the filename followed by a string representing the part of the object that you want to activate. For example, to activate the first three pages of the document in the previous example:

Dim doc As Object

Set doc = GetObject("c:\docs\resume.doc!P1-P3")

The GetObject function behaves differently depending on whether the first named parameter is omitted. The following table summarizes the different behaviors of GetObject:

pathname	class	GetObject Returns

Not specified	Specified	A reference to an existing instance of the specified object. A runtime error results if the object is not already loaded.

" "	Specified	A reference to a new object (as specified by class). A runtime error occurs if an object of the specified class cannot be found.This is the same as CreateObject.

Specified	Not specified	The default object from pathname. The application to activate is determined by OLE based on the given filename.

Specified	Specified	The object given class from the file given by pathname. A runtime error occurs if an object of the given class cannot be found in the given file.

Examples

'This first example instantiates the existing copy of Excel.

Dim Excel As Object

Set Excel = GetObject(,"Excel.Application")

'This second example loads the OLE server associated with a

'document.

Dim MyObject As Object

Set MyObject = GetObject("c:\documents\resume.doc",)

See Also

CreateObject (function), Object (data type)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh.


GetOption (function)

Syntax

GetOption(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the option is set; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The GetOption function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the option button.

id	Integer containing the ID of the option button. The id must be used when the name of the option button is not known in advance.

The option button must exist within the current window or dialog box.

A runtime error will be generated if the specified option button does not exist.

Note: The GetOption function is used to retrieve the state of an option button in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgValue function to retrieve the state of an option button in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example figures out which option is set in the Desktop

'dialog box of the Control Panel.

Sub Main()

id = Shell("control",7)	'Run the Control Panel.

WinActivate "Control Panel"	'Activate the Control Panel window.

Menu "Settings.Desktop"	'Select Desktop dialog box.

WinActivate "Control Panel|Desktop"	'Activate it.

If GetOption("Tile") Then	'Retrieve which option is set.

MsgBox "Your wallpaper is tiled."

Else

MsgBox "Your wallpaper is centered."

End If

End Sub

See Also

OptionEnabled (function), OptionExists (function), SetOption (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


GetSetting (function)

Syntax

GetSetting([appname], section, key[, default])

Description

Retrieves an specific setting from the system registry.

Comments

The GetSetting function has the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

appname	A String expression specifying the name of the application from which the setting will be read.

section	A String expression specifying the name of the section within appname to be read.

key	A String expression specifying the name of the key within section to be read.

default	An optional String expression specifying the default value to be returned if the desired key does not exist in the system registry. If omitted, then an empty string is returned if the key doesn’t exist.

Example

Sub Main()

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Height", setting := 200

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Width", setting := 320

MsgBox GetSetting(appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Height", default := "50")

DeleteSetting "NewApp"	' Delete the NewApp key

End Sub

See Also

GetAllSettings (function), DeleteSetting (statement), SaveSetting (statement)

Platform(s)

Win32, Windows, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement operates on the system registry. All settings are read from the following entry in the system registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AimBasic Program Settings\appname\section\key

On this platform, the appname parameter is not optional.

Platform Notes: Windows, OS/2

Settings are stored in INI files. The name of the INI file is specified by appname. If appname is omitted, then this command operates on the WIN.INI file. For example, to read the sLanguage setting from the intl section of the WIN.INI file, you could use the following statement:

s$ = GetSetting(,"intl","sLanguage")


Global (statement)

Description

See Public (statement).

Platform(s)

All.


GoSub (statement)

Syntax

GoSub label

Description

Causes execution to continue at the specified label.

Comments

Execution can later be returned to the statement following the GoSub by using the Return statement.

The label parameter must be a label within the current function or subroutine. GoSub outside the context of the current function or subroutine is not allowed.

Example

'This example gets a name from the user and then branches to a

'subroutine to check the input. If the user clicks Cancel or

'enters a blank name, the program terminates; otherwise, the

'name is set to MICHAEL, and a message is displayed.

Sub Main()

uname$ = Ucase$(InputBox$("Enter your name:","Enter Name"))

GoSub CheckName

MsgBox "Hello, " & uname$

Exit Sub

CheckName:

If (uname$ = "") Then

GoSub BlankName

ElseIf uname$ = "MICHAEL" Then

GoSub RightName

Else

GoSub OtherName

End If

Return

BlankName:

MsgBox "No name? Clicked Cancel? I'm shutting down."

Exit Sub

RightName:

Return

OtherName:

MsgBox "I am renaming you MICHAEL!"

uname$ = "MICHAEL"

Return

End Sub

See Also

Goto (statement), Return (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Goto (statement)

Syntax

Goto label

Description

Transfers execution to the line containing the specified label.

Comments

The compiler will produce an error if label does not exist.

The label must appear within the same subroutine or function as the Goto.

Labels are identifiers that follow these rules:

1.	Must begin with a letter.

2.	 May contain letters, digits, and the underscore character.

3.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.

4.	Must be followed by a colon (:).

Labels are not case-sensitive.

Example

'This example gets a name from the user and then branches to a

'statement, depending on the input name. If the name is not

'MICHAEL, it is reset to MICHAEL unless it is null or the user

'clicks Cancel--in which case, the program displays a message

'and terminates.

Sub Main()

uname$ = Ucase$(InputBox$("Enter your name:","Enter Name"))

If uname$ = "MICHAEL" Then

Goto RightName

Else

Goto WrongName

End If

WrongName:

If (uname$ = "") Then

MsgBox "No name? Clicked Cancel? I'm shutting down."

Else

MsgBox "I am renaming you MICHAEL!"

uname$ = "MICHAEL"

Goto RightName

End If

Exit Sub

RightName:

MsgBox "Hello, MICHAEL!"

End Sub

See Also

GoSub (statement), Call (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

To break out of an infinite loop, press Ctrl+Break.

Platform Notes: UNIX

To break out of an infinite loop, press Ctrl+C.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

To break out of an infinite loop, press Ctrl+Period.

Platform Notes: OS/2

To break out of an infinite loop, press Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.


GroupBox (statement)

Syntax

GroupBox x,y,width,height,title$ [,.Identifier]

Description

Defines a group box within a dialog box template.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The group box control is used for static display only if the user cannot interact with a group box control.

Separator lines can be created using group box controls. This is accomplished by creating a group box that is wider than the width of the dialog box and extends below the bottom of the dialog box--i.e., three sides of the group box are not visible.

If title$ is a zero-length string, then the group box is drawn as a solid rectangle with no title.

The GroupBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

title$	String containing the label of the group box. If title$ is a zero-length string, then no title will appear.

.Identifier	Optional parameter that specifies the name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). If omitted, then the first two words of title$ are used.

Example

'This example shows the GroupBox statement being used both for

'grouping and as a separator line.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog OptionsTemplate 16,32,128,84,"Options"

GroupBox 4,4,116,40,"Window Options"

CheckBox 12,16,60,8,"Show &Toolbar",.ShowToolbar

CheckBox 12,28,68,8,"Show &Status Bar",.ShowStatusBar

GroupBox -12,52,152,48," ",.SeparatorLine

OKButton 16,64,40,14,.OK

CancelButton 68,64,40,14,.Cancel

End Dialog

Dim OptionsDialog As OptionsTemplate

Dialog OptionsDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2, Macintosh, UNIX.


HelpButton (statement)

Syntax

HelpButton x,y,width,height,HelpFileName$,HelpContext, [,.Identifier]

Description

Defines a help button within a dialog template.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The HelpButton statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x,y	Integer position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width,height	Integer dimensions of the control in dialog units.

HelpFileName$	String expression specifying the name of the help file to be invoked when the button is selected.

HelpContext	Long expression specifying the ID of the topic within HelpFileName$ containing context-sensitive help.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable).

When the user selects a help button, the associated help file is located at the indicated topic. Selecting a help button does not remove the dialog. Similarly, no actions are sent to the dialog procedure when a help button is selected.

When a help button is present within a dialog, it can be automatically selected by pressing the help key (F1 on most platforms).

Example

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog HelpDialogTemplate ,,180,96,"Untitled"

OKButton 132,8,40,14

CancelButton 132,28,40,14

HelpButton 132,48,40,14,"", 10

Text 16,12,88,12,"Please click ""Help"".",.Text1

End Dialog

Dim HelpDialog As HelpDialogTemplate

Dialog HelpDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Hex, Hex$ (functions)

Syntax

Hex[$](number)

Description

Returns a String containing the hexadecimal equivalent of number.

Comments

Hex$ returns a String, whereas Hex returns a String variant.

The returned string contains only the number of hexadecimal digits necessary to represent the number, up to a maximum of eight.

The number parameter can be any type but is rounded to the nearest whole number before converting to hex. If the passed number is an integer, then a maximum of four digits are returned; otherwise, up to eight digits can be returned.

The number parameter can be any expression convertible to a number. If number is Null, then Null is returned. Empty is treated as 0.

Example

'This example inputs a number and displays it in decimal and

'hex until the input number is 0 or an invalid input.

Sub Main()

Do

xs$ = InputBox$("Enter a number to convert:","Hex Convert")

x = Val(xs$)

If x <> 0 Then

MsgBox "Dec: " & x & "  Hex: " & Hex$(x)

Else

MsgBox "Goodbye."

End If

Loop While x <> 0

End Sub

See Also

Oct, Oct$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


HLine (statement)

Syntax

HLine [lines]

Description

Scrolls the window with the focus left or right by the specified number of lines.

Comments

The lines parameter is an Integer specifying the number of lines to scroll. If this parameter is omitted, then the window is scrolled right by one line.

Example

'This example scrolls the Notepad window to the left by three

'"amounts." Each "amount" is equivalent to clicking the right

'arrow of the horizontal scroll bar once.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"

HLine 3	'Move 3 lines in.

End Sub

See Also

HPage (statement), HScroll (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Hour (function)

Syntax

Hour(time)

Description

Returns the hour of the day encoded in the specified time parameter.

Comments

The value returned is as an Integer between 0 and 23 inclusive.

The time parameter is any expression that converts to a Date.

Example

'This example takes the current time; extracts the hour, minute,

'and second; and displays them as the current time.

Sub Main()

xt# = TimeValue(Time$())

xh# = Hour(xt#)

xm# = Minute(xt#)

xs# = Second(xt#)

MsgBox "The current time is: " & xh# & ":" & xm# & ":" & xs#

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Second (function), Month (function), Year (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


HPage (statement)

Syntax

HPage [pages]

Description

Scrolls the window with the focus left or right by the specified number of pages.

Comments

The pages parameter is an Integer specifying the number of pages to scroll. If this parameter is omitted, then the window is scrolled right by one page.

Example

'This example scrolls the Notepad window to the left by three

'"amounts." Each "amount" is equivalent to clicking within the

'horizontal scroll bar on the right side of the thumb mark.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"

HPage 3	'Move 3 pages down.

End Sub

See Also

HLine (statement), HScroll (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


HScroll (statement)

Syntax

HScroll percentage

Description

Sets the thumb mark on the horizontal scroll bar attached to the current window.

Comments

The position is given as a percentage of the total range associated with that scroll bar. For example, if the percentage parameter is 50, then the thumb mark is positioned in the middle of the scroll bar.

Example

'This example centers the thumb mark on the horizontal scroll

'bar of the Notepad window.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"

HScroll 50	'Jump to the middle of the document.

End Sub

See Also

HLine (statement), HPage (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


HWND (object)

Syntax

Dim name As HWND

Description

A object that refers to a physical window.

Comments

This object is used to hold references to physical windows in the operating environment. The following commands operate on HWND objects:

WinActivate	WinClose	WinFind	WinList
WinMaximize	WinMinimize	WinMove	WinRestore
WinSize
The above language elements support both string and HWND window specifications.

Example

'This example activates the "Main" MDI window within Program

'Manager.

Sub Main()

Dim ProgramManager As HWND

Dim ProgramManagerMain As HWND

Set ProgramManager = WinFind("Program Manager")

If ProgramManager Is Not Nothing Then

WinActivate ProgramManager

WinMaximize ProgramManager

Set ProgramManagerMain = WinFind("Program Manager|Main")

If ProgramManagerMain Is Not Nothing Then

WinActivate ProgramManagerMain

WinRestore ProgramManagerMain

Else

MsgBox "Your Program Manager doesn't have a Main group."

End If

Else

MsgBox "Program Manager is not running."

End If

End Sub

See Also

HWND.Value (property), WinFind (function), WinActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


HWND.Value (property)

Syntax

window.Value

Description

The default property of an HWND object that returns a Variant containing a HANDLE to the physical window of an HWND object variable.

Comments

The Value property is used to retrieve the operating environment–specific value of a given HWND object. The size of this value depends on the operating environment in which the script is executing and thus should always be placed into a Variant variable.

This property is read-only.

Example

'This example displays a dialog box containing the class name of

'Program Manager's Main window. It does so using the .Value

'property, passing it directly to a Windows external routine.

Declare Sub GetClassName Lib "user" (ByVal Win%,ByVal ClsName$,ByVal ClsNameLen%)

Sub Main()

Dim ProgramManager As HWND

Set ProgramManager = WinFind("Program Manager")

ClassName$ = Space(40)

GetClassName ProgramManager.Value,ClassName$,Len(ClassName$)

MsgBox "The program classname is: " & ClassName$

End Sub

See Also

HWND (object)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, this value is an Integer. Under Win32, this value is a Long.


If...Then...Else (statement)

Syntax 1

If condition Then statements [Else else_statements]

Syntax 2

If condition Then

[statements]

[ElseIf else_condition Then

[elseif_statements]]

[Else

[else_statements]]

End If

Description

Conditionally executes a statement or group of statements.

Comments

The single-line conditional statement (syntax 1) has the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

condition	Any expression evaluating to a Boolean value.

statements	One or more statements separated with colons. This group of statements is executed when condition is True.

else_statements	One or more statements separated with colons. This group of statements is executed when condition is False.

The multiline conditional statement (syntax 2) has the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

condition	Any expression evaluating to a Boolean value.

statements	One or more statements to be executed when condition is True.

else_condition	Any expression evaluating to a Boolean value. The else_condition is evaluated if condition is False.

elseif_statements	One or more statements to be executed when condition is False and else_condition is True.

else_statments	One or more statements to be executed when both condition and else_condition are False.

There can be as many ElseIf conditions as required.

Example

'This example inputs a name from the user and checks to see

'whether it is MICHAEL or MIKE using three forms of the

'If...Then...Else statement. It then branches to a statement

'that displays a welcome message depending on the user's name.

Sub Main()

uname$ = UCase$(InputBox$("Enter your name:","Enter Name"))

If uname$ = "MICHAEL" Then GoSub MikeName

If uname$ = "MIKE" Then

GoSub MikeName

Exit Sub

End If

If uname$ = "" Then

MsgBox "Since you don't have a name, I'll call you MIKE!"

uname$ = "MIKE"

GoSub MikeName

ElseIf uname$ = "MICHAEL" Then

GoSub MikeName

Else

GoSub OtherName

End If

Exit Sub

MikeName:

MsgBox "Hello, MICHAEL!"

Return

OtherName:

MsgBox "Hello, " & uname$ & "!"

Return

End Sub

See Also

Choose (function), Switch (function), IIf (function), Select...Case (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


IIf (function)

Syntax

IIf(expression, truepart, falsepart)

Description

Returns truepart if condition is True; otherwise, returns falsepart.

Comments

Both expressions are calculated before IIf returns.

The IIf function is shorthand for the following construct:

If condition Then

variable = truepart

Else

variable = falsepart

End If

Example

Sub Main()

s$ = "Car"

MsgBox IIf(s$ = "Car","Nice Car","Nice Automobile")

End Sub

See Also

Choose (function), Switch (function), If...Then...Else (statement), Select...Case (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


IMEStatus (function)

Syntax

IMEStatus[()]

Description

Returns the current status of the input method editor.

Comments

The IMEStatus function returns one of the following constants for Japanese locales:

Constant	Value	Description

ebIMENoOp	0	IME not installed.

ebIMEOn	1	IME on.

ebIMEOff	2	IME off.

ebIMEDisabled	3	IME disabled.

ebIMEHiragana	4	Hiragana double-byte character.

ebIMEKatakanaDbl	5	Katakana double-byte characters.

ebIMEKatakanaSng	6	Katakana single-byte characters.

ebIMEAlphaDbl	7	Alphanumeric double-byte characters.

ebIMEAlphaSng	8	Alphanumeric single-byte characters.

For Chinese locales, one of the following constants are returned:

Constant	Value	Description

ebIMENoOp	0	IME not installed.

ebIMEOn	1	IME on.

ebIMEOff	2	IME off.

For Korean locales, this function returns a value with the first 5 bits having the following meaning:

Bit	If not set (or 0)	If set (or 1)

Bit 0	IME not installed	IME installed

Bit 1	IME disabled	IME enabled

Bit 2	English mode	Hangeul mode

Bit 3	Banja mode (single-byte)	Junja mode (double-byte)

Bit 4	Normal mode	Hanja conversion mode

Note: You can test for the different bits using the And operator as follows:

a = IMEStatus()

If a And 1 Then ...	'Test for bit 0

If a And 2 Then ...	'Test for bit 1

If a And 4 Then ...	'Test for bit 2

If a And 8 Then ...	'Test for bit 3

If a And 16 Then ...	’Test for bit 4

This function always returns 0 if no input method editor is installed.

Example

'This example retrieves the IMEStatus and displays the results.

Sub Main()

a = IMEStatus()

Select case a

Case 0

MsgBox "IME not installed."

Case 1

MsgBox "IME on."

Case 2

Msgbox "IME off."

End Select

End Sub

See Also

Constants (topic)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2, Macintosh, UNIX.


Imp (operator)

Syntax

result = expression1 Imp expression2

Description

Performs a logical or binary implication on two expressions.

Comments

If both expressions are either Boolean, Boolean variants, or Null variants, then a logical implication is performed as follows:

If expression1 is	and expression2 is	then the result is

True	True	True

True	False	False

True 	Null	Null

False	True	True

False	False	True

False	Null	True

Null	True	True

Null 	False	Null

Null 	Null	Null

Binary Implication

If the two expressions are Integer, then a binary implication is performed, returning an Integer result. All other numeric types (including Empty variants) are converted to Long and a binary implication is then performed, returning a Long result.

Binary implication forms a new value based on a bit-by-bit comparison of the binary representations of the two expressions, according to the following table:

If bit in expression1 is	and bit in expression2 is	the result is

1	1	1

0	1	1

1	0	0

0	0	1

Example

'This example compares the result of two expressions to

'determine whether one implies the other.

Sub Main()

a = 10 : b = 20 : c = 30 : d = 40

If (a < b) Imp (c < d) Then

MsgBox "a less than b implies that c is less than d."

Else

MsgBox "a less than b does not imply that c is less than d."

End If

If (a < b) Imp (c > d) Then

MsgBox "a less than b implies that c is greater than d."

Else

MsgBox "a less than b does not imply that c greater than d."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Or (operator), Xor (operator), Eqv (operator), And (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


Inline (statement)

Syntax

Inline name [parameters]

anytext

End Inline

Description

Allows execution or interpretation of a block of text.

Comments

The Inline statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name	Identifier specifying the type of inline statement

parameters	Comma-separated list of parameters.

anytext	Text to be executed by the Inline statement. This text must be in a format appropriate for execution by the Inline statement.The end of the text is assumed to be the first occurrence of the words End Inline appearing on a line.

Example

Sub Main()

Inline MacScript

-- AppleScript comment.

Beep

Display Dialog "AppleScript" buttons "OK"

End Inline

End Sub

See Also

MacScript (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Input# (statement)

Syntax

Input [#]filenumber%,variable[,variable]...

Description

Reads data from the file referenced by filenumber into the given variables.

Comments

Each variable must be type-matched to the data in the file. For example, a String variable must be matched to a string in the file.

The following parsing rules are observed while reading each variable in the variable list:

1.	Leading white space is ignored (spaces and tabs).

2.	When reading String variables, if the first character on the line is a quotation mark, then characters are read up to the next quotation mark or the end of the line, whichever comes first. Blank lines are read as empty strings. If the first character read is not a quotation mark, then characters are read up to the first comma or the end of the line, whichever comes first. String delimiters (quotes, comma, end-of-line) are not included in the returned string. Spaces are trimmed from the end of unquoted strings.

3.	When reading numeric variables, scanning of the number stops when the first non-numeric character (such as a comma, a letter, or any other unexpected character) is encountered. Numeric errors are ignored while reading numbers from a file. The resultant number is automatically converted to the same type as the variable into which the value will be placed. If there is an error in conversion, then 0 is stored into the variable.

After reading the number, input is skipped up to the next delimiter—a comma, an end-of-line, or an end-of-file.

Numbers must adhere to any of the following syntaxes:

[-|+]digits[.digits][E[-|+]digits][!|#|%|&|@]

&Hhexdigits[!|#|%|&]

&[O]octaldigits[!|#|%|&|@]

4.	When reading Boolean variables, the first character must be #; otherwise, a runtime error occurs. If the first character is #, then input is scanned up to the next delimiter (a comma, an end-of-line, or an end-of-file). If the input matches #FALSE#, then False is stored in the Boolean; otherwise, True is stored.

5.	When reading Date variables, the first character must be #; otherwise, a runtime error occurs. If the first character is #, then the input is scanned up to the next delimiter (a comma, an end-of-line, or an end-of-file). If the input ends in a # and the text between the #'s can be correctly interpreted as a date, then the date is stored; otherwise, December 31, 1899, is stored.

Normally, dates that follow the universal date format are input from sequential files. These dates use this syntax:

#YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS#

where YYYY is a year between 100 and 9999, MM is a month between 1 and 12, DD is a day between 1 and 31, HH is an hour between 0 and 23, MM is a minute between 0 and 59, and SS is a second between 0 and 59.

6.	When reading Variant variables, if the data begins with a quotation mark, then a string is read consisting of the characters between the opening quotation mark and the closing quotation mark, end-of-line, or end-of-file.

If the input does not begin with a quotation mark, then input is scanned up to the next comma, end-of-line, or end-of-file and a determination is made as to what data is being represented. If the data cannot be represented as a number, Date, Error, Boolean, or Null, then it is read as a string.

The following table describes how special data is interpreted as variants:

Blank line	Read as an Empty variant.

#NULL#	Read as a Null variant.

TRUE#	Read as a Boolean variant.

#FALSE#	Read as a Boolean variant.

ERROR code#	Read as a user-defined error.

date#	Read as a Date variant.

"text"	Read as a String variant.

7.	If an error occurs in interpretation of the data as a particular type, then that data is read as a String variant.

8.	When reading numbers into variants, the optional type-declaration character determines the VarType of the resulting variant. If no type-declaration character is specified, then AimBasic will read the number according to the following rules:

• 	Rule 1: If the number contains a decimal point or an exponent, then the number is read as Currency. If there is an error converting to Currency, then the number is treated as a Double.

• 	Rule 2: If the number does not contain a decimal point or an exponent, then the number is stored in the smallest of the following data types that most accurately represents that value: Integer, Long, Currency, Double.

9.	End-of-line is interpreted as either a single line feed, a single carriage return, or a carriage-return/line-feed pair. Thus, text files from any platform can be interpreted using this command.

The filenumber parameter is a number that is used by AimBasic to refer to the open filethe number passed to the Open statement.

The filenumber must reference a file opened in Input mode. It is good practice to use the Write statement to write date elements to files read with the Input statement to ensure that the variable list is consistent between the input and output routines.

10.	Null characters are ignored.

Example

'This example creates a file called test.dat and writes a series

'of variables into it. Then the variables are read using the

'Input# function.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Output As #1

Write #1,2112,"David","McCue","123-45-6789"

Close

Open "test.dat" For Input As #1

Input #1,x%,st1$,st2$,st3$

message = "Employee " & x% & " Information" & crlf & crlf

message = message & "First Name: " & st1$ & crlf

message = message & "Last Name: "& st2$ & crlf

message = message & "Social Security Number: " & sy3$

MsgBox message

Close

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Get (statement), Line Input# (statement), Input, Input$, InputB, InputB$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Input, Input$, InputB, InputB$ (functions)

Syntax

Input[$](numchars,[#]filenumber)

InputB[$](numbytes,[#]filenumber)

Description

Returns a specified number of characters or bytes read from a given sequential file.

Comments

The Input$ and InputB$ functions return a String, whereas Input and InputB return a String variant.

The following parameters are required:

Parameter	Description

numchars	Integer containing the number of characters to be read from the file.

numbytes	Integer containing the number of bytes to be read from the file.

filenumber	Integer referencing a file opened in either Input or Binary mode. This is the same number passed to the Open statement.

The Input and Input$ functions read all characters, including spaces and end-of-lines. Null characters are ignored.

The InputB and InputB$ functions are used to read byte data from a file.

Example

'This example opens the autoexec.bat file and displays it in a

'dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) & Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

x& = FileLen("c:\autoexec.bat")

If x& > 0 Then

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

Else

MsgBox "File not found or empty."

Exit Sub

End If

If x& > 80 Then

ins = Input(80,#1)

Else

ins = Input(x,#1)

End If

Close

MsgBox "File length: " & x& & crlf & ins

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Get (statement), Input# (statement), Line Input# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


InputBox, InputBox$ (functions)

Syntax

InputBox[$](prompt [, [title] [, [default] [,[xpos],[ypos] [,helpfile,context]]]])

Description

Displays a dialog box with a text box into which the user can type.

Comments

The content of the text box is returned as a String (in the case of InputBox$) or as a String variant (in the case of InputBox). A zero-length string is returned if the user selects Cancel.

The InputBox/InputBox$ functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

prompt	Text to be displayed above the text box. The prompt parameter can contain multiple lines, each separated with an end-of-line (a carriage return, line feed, or carriage-return/line-feed pair). A runtime error is generated if prompt is Null.

title	Caption of the dialog box. If this parameter is omitted, then no title appears as the dialog box's caption. A runtime error is generated if title is Null.

default	Default response. This string is initially displayed in the text box. A runtime error is generated if default is Null.

xpos, ypos	Integer coordinates, given in twips (twentieths of a point), specifying the upper left corner of the dialog box relative to the upper left corner of the screen. If the position is omitted, then the dialog box is positioned on or near the application executing the script.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

You can type a maximum of 255 characters into InputBox.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

When Cancel is selected, an empty string is returned. An empty string is also returned when the user selects the OK button with no text in the input box. Thus, it is not possible to determine the difference between these two situations. If you need to determine the difference, you should create a user-defined dialog or use the AskBox function.

Example

Sub Main()

s$ = InputBox$("File to copy:","Copy","sample.txt")

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2, Macintosh, UNIX.


InStr, InStrB (functions)

Syntax

InStr([start,] search, find [,compare])

InStrB([start,] search, find [,compare])

Description

Returns the first character position of string find within string search.

Comments

The InStr function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

start	Integer specifying the character position (for Instr) or byte position (for InstrB) where searching begins. The start parameter must be between 1 and 32767.If this parameter is omitted, then the search starts at the beginning (start = 1).

search	Text to search. This can be any expression convertible to a String.

find	Text for which to search. This can be any expression convertible to a String.

compare	Integer controlling how string comparisons are performed. It can be any of the following values:

0	String comparisons are case-sensitive.

1	String comparisons are case-insensitive.

Any other value produces a runtime error.If this parameter is omitted, then string comparisons use the current Option Compare setting. If no Option Compare statement has been encountered, then Binary is used (i.e., string comparisons are case-sensitive).

If the string is found, then its character position within search is returned, with 1 being the character position of the first character.

The InStr and InStrB functions observe the following additional rules:

• 	If either search or find is Null, then Null is returned.

• 	If the compare parameter is specified, then start must also be specified. In other words, if there are three parameters, then it is assumed that these parameters correspond to start, search, and find.

• 	A runtime error is generated if start is Null.

• 	A runtime error is generated if compare is not 0 or 1.

• 	If search is Empty, then 0 is returned.

• 	If find is Empty, then start is returned. If start is greater than the length of search, then 0 is returned.

• 	A runtime error is generated if start is less than or equal to zero.

The InStr and InStrB functions operate on character and byte data respectively. The Instr function interprets the start parameter as a character, performs a textual comparisons, and returns a character position. The InStrB function, on the other hand, interprets the start parameter as a byte position, performs binary comparisons, and returns a byte position.

On SBCS platforms, the InStr and InStrB functions are identical.

Example

'This example checks to see whether one string is in another

'and, if it is, then it copies the string to a variable and

'displays the result.

Sub Main()

a$ = "This string contains the name Stuart."

x% = InStr(a$,"Stuart",1)

If x% <> 0 Then

b$ = Mid$(a$,x%,6)

MsgBox b$ & " was found."

Exit Sub

Else

MsgBox "Stuart not found."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Mid, Mid$, MidB, MidB$ (functions), Option Compare (statement), Item$ (function), Word$ (function), Line$ (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Int (function)

Syntax

Int(number)

Description

Returns the integer part of number.

Comments

This function returns the integer part of a given value by returning the first integer less than the number. The sign is preserved.

The Int function returns the same type as number, with the following exceptions:

• 	If number is Empty, then an Integer variant of value 0 is returned.

• 	If number is a String, then a Double variant is returned.

• 	If number is Null, then a Null variant is returned.

Example

'This example extracts the integer part of a number.

Sub Main()

a# = -1234.5224

b% = Int(a#)

MsgBox "The integer part of -1234.5224 is: " & b%

End Sub

See Also

Fix (function), CInt (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Integer (data type)

Syntax

Integer

Description

A data type used to declare whole numbers with up to four digits of precision.

Comments

Integer variables are used to hold numbers within the following range:

–32768 <= integer <= 32767

Internally, integers are 2-byte short values. Thus, when appearing within a structure, integers require 2 bytes of storage. When used with binary or random files, 2 bytes of storage are required.

When passed to external routines, Integer values are sign-extended to the size of an integer on that platform (either 16 or 32 bits) before pushing onto the stack.

The type-declaration character for Integer is %.

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CInt (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IPmt (function)

Syntax

IPmt(rate, per, nper, pv, fv, due)

Description

Returns the interest payment for a given period of an annuity based on periodic, fixed payments and a fixed interest rate.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments made to an insurance company or other investment company over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages, monthly savings plans, and retirement plans.

The following table describes the named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period. If the payment periods are monthly, be sure to divide the annual interest rate by 12 to get the monthly rate.

per	Double representing the payment period for which you are calculating the interest payment. If you want to know the interest paid or received during period 20 of an annuity, this value would be 20.

nper	Double representing the total number of payments in the annuity. This is usually expressed in months, and you should be sure that the interest rate given above is for the same period that you enter here.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the present value would be the amount of the loan because that is the amount of cash you have in the present. In the case of a retirement plan, this value would be the current value of the fund because you have a set amount of principal in the plan.

fv	Double representing the future value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the future value would be zero because you will have paid it off. In the case of a savings plan, the future value would be the balance of the account after all payments are made.

due	Integer indicating when payments are due. If this parameter is 0, then payments are due at the end of each period (usually, the end of the month). If this value is 1, then payments are due at the start of each period (the beginning of the month).

The rate and nper parameters must be in expressed in the same units. If rate is expressed in percentage paid per month, then nper must also be expressed in months. If rate is an annual rate, then the period given in nper should also be in years or the annual rate should be divided by 12 to obtain a monthly rate.

If the function returns a negative value, it represents interest you are paying out, whereas a positive value represents interest paid to you.

Example

'This example calculates the amount of interest paid on a

'$1,000.00 loan financed over 36 months with an annual interest

'rate of 10%. Payments are due at the beginning of the month.

'The interest paid during the first 10 months is displayed in a

'table.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

For x = 1 to 10

ipm# = IPmt((.10/12),x,36,1000,0,1)

message = message & Format(x,"00") & " : " & Format(ipm#," 0,0.00") & crlf

Next x

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

NPer (function), Pmt (function), PPmt (function), Rate (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IRR (function)

Syntax

IRR(valuearray(),guess)

Description

Returns the internal rate of return for a series of periodic payments and receipts.

Comments

The internal rate of return is the equivalent rate of interest for an investment consisting of a series of positive and/or negative cash flows over a period of regular intervals. It is usually used to project the rate of return on a business investment that requires a capital investment up front and a series of investments and returns on investment over time.

The IRR function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

valuearray()	Array of Double numbers that represent payments and receipts. Positive values are payments, and negative values are receipts.

There must be at least one positive and one negative value to indicate the initial investment (negative value) and the amount earned by the investment (positive value).

guess	Double containing your guess as to the value that the IRR function will return. The most common guess is .1 (10 percent).

The value of IRR is found by iteration. It starts with the value of guess and cycles through the calculation adjusting guess until the result is accurate within 0.00001 percent. After 20 tries, if a result cannot be found, IRR fails, and the user must pick a better guess.

Example

'This example illustrates the purchase of a lemonade stand for

'$800 and a series of incomes from the sale of lemonade over 12

'months. The projected incomes for this example are generated

'in two For...Next Loops, and then the internal rate of return

'is calculated and displayed. (Not a bad investment!)

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim valu#(12)

valu(1) = -800	'Initial investment

message = valu#(1) & ", "

'Calculate the second through fifth months' sales.

For x = 2 To 5

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 2)

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

'Calcluate the sixth through twelfth months' sales.

For x = 6 To 12

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 10)

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

'Calcluate the equivalent investment return rate.

retrn# = IRR(valu,.1)

message = "The values: " & crlf & message & crlf & crlf

MsgBox message & "Return rate: " & Format(retrn#,"Percent")

End Sub

See Also

Fv (function), MIRR (function), Npv (function), Pv (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Is (operator)

Syntax

object Is [object | Nothing]

Description

Returns True if the two operands refer to the same object; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This operator is used to determine whether two object variables refer to the same object. Both operands must be object variables of the same type (i.e., the same data object type or both of type Object).

The Nothing constant can be used to determine whether an object variable is uninitialized:

If MyObject Is Nothing Then MsgBox "MyObject is uninitialized."

Uninitialized object variables reference no object.

Example

'This function inserts the date into a Microsoft Word document.

Sub InsertDate(ByVal WinWord As Object)

If WinWord Is Nothing Then

MsgBox "Object variant is not set."

Else

WinWord.Insert Date$

End If

End Sub

Sub Main()

Dim WinWord As Object

On Error Resume Next

WinWord = CreateObject("word.basic")

InsertDate WinWord

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Like (operator)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32, Macintosh

When comparing OLE Automation objects, the Is operator will only return True if the operands reference the same OLE Automation object. This is different from data objects. For example, the following use of Is (using the object class called excel.application) returns True:

Dim a As Object

Dim b As Object

a = CreateObject("excel.application")

b = a

If a Is b Then Beep

The following use of Is will return False, even though the actual objects may be the same:

Dim a As Object

Dim b As Object

a = CreateObject("excel.application")

b = GetObject(,"excel.application")

If a Is b Then Beep

The Is operator may return False in the above case because, even though a and b reference the same object, they may be treated as different objects by OLE 2.0 (this is dependent on the OLE 2.0 server application).


IsDate (function)

Syntax

IsDate(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression can be legally converted to a date; returns False otherwise.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

Retry:

a = InputBox("Enter a date.", "Enter Date")

If IsDate(a) Then

MsgBox Format(a,"long date")

Else

Msgbox "Not quite, please try again!"

Goto Retry

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsEmpty (function), IsError (function), IsObject (function), VarType (function), IsNull (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IsEmpty (function)

Syntax

IsEmpty(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression is a Variant variable that has never been initialized; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The IsEmpty function is the same as the following:

(VarType(expression) = ebEmpty)

Example

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

If IsEmpty(a) Then

a = 1.0#	'Give uninitialized data a Double value 0.0.

MsgBox "The variable has been initialized to: " & a

Else

MsgBox "The variable was already initialized!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsDate (function), IsError (function), IsObject (function), VarType (function), IsNull (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IsError (function)

Syntax

IsError(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression is a user-defined error value; returns False otherwise.

Example

'This example creates a function that divides two numbers. If

'there is an error dividing the numbers, then a variant of type

'"error" is returned. Otherwise, the function returns the result

'of the division. The IsError function is used to determine

'whether the function encountered an error.

Function Div(ByVal a,ByVal b) As Variant

If b = 0 Then

Div = CVErr(2112)	'Return a special error value.

Else

Div = a / b	'Return the division.

End If

End Function

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

a = Div(10,12)

If IsError(a) Then

MsgBox "The following error occurred: " & CStr(a)

Else

MsgBox "The result is: " & a

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsEmpty (function), IsDate (function), IsObject (function), VarType (function), IsNull (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IsMissing (function)

Syntax

IsMissing(argname)

Description

Returns True if argname was passed to the current subroutine or function; returns False if omitted.

Comments

The IsMissing function is used with variant variables passed as optional parameters (using the Optional keyword) to the current subroutine or function. For nonvariant variables or variables that were not declared with the Optional keyword, IsMissing will always return True.

Example

'The following function runs an application and optionally

'minimizes it. If the optional isMinimize parameter is not

'specified by the caller, then the application is not minimized.

Sub Test(AppName As String,Optional isMinimize As Variant)

app = Shell(AppName)

If Not IsMissing(isMinimize) Then

AppMinimize app

Else

AppMaximize app

End If

End Sub

Sub Main

Test "Notepad"	'Maximize this application

Test "Notepad",True	'Mimimize this application

End Sub

See Also

Declare (statement), Sub...End Sub (statement), Function...End Function (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


IsNull (function)

Syntax

IsNull(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression is a Variant variable that contains no valid data; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The IsNull function is the same as the following:

(VarType(expression) = ebNull)

Example

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant	'Initialized as Empty

If IsNull(a) Then MsgBox "The variable contains no valid data."

a = Empty * Null

If IsNull(a) Then MsgBox "Null propagated through the expression."

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsEmpty (function), IsDate (function), IsError (function), IsObject (function), VarType (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IsNumeric (function)

Syntax

IsNumeric(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression can be converted to a number; returns False otherwise.

Comments

If passed a number or a variant containing a number, then IsNumeric always returns True.

If a String or String variant is passed, then IsNumeric will return True only if the string can be converted to a number. The following syntaxes are recognized as valid numbers:

&Hhexdigits[&|%|!|#|@]

&[O]octaldigits[&|%|!|#|@]

[-|+]digits[.[digits]][E[-|+]digits][!|%|&|#|@]

If an Object variant is passed, then the default property of that object is retrieved and one of the above rules is applied.

IsNumeric returns False if expression is a Date.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim s$ As String

s$ = InputBox("Enter a number.","Enter Number")

If IsNumeric(s$) Then

MsgBox "You did good!"

Else

MsgBox "You didn't do so good!"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsEmpty (function), IsDate (function), IsError (function), IsObject (function), VarType (function), IsNull (function)

Platform(s)

All.


IsObject (function)

Syntax

IsObject(expression)

Description

Returns True if expression is a Variant variable containing an Object; returns False otherwise.

Example

'This example will attempt to find a running copy of Excel and

'create an Excel object that can be referenced as any other

'object in AimBasic.

Sub Main()

Dim v As Variant

On Error Resume Next

Set v = GetObject(,"Excel.Application")

If IsObject(v) Then

MsgBox	"The default object value is: " & v = v.Value	'Access value property of the object.

Else

MsgBox "Excel not loaded."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type), IsEmpty (function), IsDate (function), IsError (function), VarType (function), IsNull (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Item$ (function)

Syntax

Item$(text$,first [,[last] [,delimiters$]])

Description

Returns all the items between first and last within the specified formatted text list.

Comments

The Item$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

text$	String containing the text from which a range of items is returned.

first	Integer containing the index of the first item to be returned. If first is greater than the number of items in text$, then a zero-length string is returned.

last	Integer containing the index of the last item to be returned. All of the items between first and last are returned. If last is greater than the number of items in text$, then all items from first to the end of text are returned.

If last is missing, then only the item specified by first is returned. An "Invalid use of Null" error is returned if this parameter is Null.

delimiters$	String containing different item delimiters.By default, items are separated by commas and end-of-lines. This can be changed by specifying different delimiters in the delimiters$ parameter.

The Item$ function treats embedded null characters as regular characters.

An empty string is returned if first is less than 1. If last is less than first, the values are swapped

Example

'This example creates two delimited lists and extracts a range

'from each, then displays the result in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

ilist$ = "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15"

slist$ = "1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15"

list1$ = Item$(ilist$,5,12)

list2$ = Item$(slist$,2,9,"/")

MsgBox "The returned lists are: " & crlf & list1$ & crlf & list2$

End Sub

See Also

ItemCount (function), Line$ (function), LineCount (function), Word$ (function), WordCount (function)

Platform(s)

All.


ItemCount (function)

Syntax

ItemCount(text$ [,delimiters$])

Description

Returns an Integer containing the number of items in the specified delimited text.

Comments

Items are substrings of a delimited text string. Items, by default, are separated by commas and/or end-of-lines. This can be changed by specifying different delimiters in the delimiters$ parameter. For example, to parse items using a backslash:

n = ItemCount(text$,"\")

The ItemCount function treats embedded null characters as regular characters.

Example

'This example creates two delimited lists and then counts the

'number of items in each. The counts are displayed in a dialog

'box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

ilist$ = "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15"

slist$ = "1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19"

l1% = ItemCount(ilist$)

l2% = ItemCount(slist$,"/")

message = "The first lists contains: " & l1% & " items." & crlf

message = message & "The second list contains: " & l2% & " items."

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Item$ (function), Line$ (function), LineCount (function), Word$ (function), WordCount (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Keywords (topic)

A keyword is any word or symbol recognized by AimBasic as part of the language. All of the following are keywords:

Access	Alias	And	Any
Append	As	Base	Begin
Binary	Boolean	ByRef	ByVal
Call	CancelButton	Case	CDecl
CheckBox	Chr	ChrB	ChrW
Close	ComboBox	Compare	Const
CStrings	Currency	Date	Declare
Default	DefBool	DefCur	DefDate
DefDbl	DefInt	DefLng	DefObj
DefSng	DefStr	DefVar	Dialog
Dim	Do	Double	DropListBox
Else	ElseIf	End	Eqv
Error	Exit	Explicit	For
Function	Get	Global	GoSub
Goto	GroupBox	HelpButton	If
Imp	Inline	Input	Input
InputB	Integer	Is	Len
Let	Lib	Like	Line
ListBox	Lock	Long	Loop
LSet	Mid	MidB	Mod
Name	New	Next	Not
Nothing	Object	Off	OKButton
On	Open	Option	Optional
OptionButto n	OptionGroup	Or	Output
ParamArray	Pascal	Picture	PictureButton
Preserve	Print	Private	Public
PushButton	Put	Random	Read
ReDim	Rem	Resume	Return
RSet	Seek	Select	Set
Shared	Single	Spc	Static
StdCall	Step	Stop	String
Sub	System	Tab	Text
TextBox	Then	Time	To
Type	Unlock	Until	Variant
WEnd	While	Width	Write
Xor
Restrictions

All keywords are reserved by AimBasic, in that you cannot create a variable, function, constant, or subroutine with the same name as a keyword. However, you are free to use all keywords as the names of structure members.

For all other keywords in AimBasic (such as MsgBox, Str, and so on), the following restrictions apply:

• 	You can create a subroutine or function with the same name as a keyword.

• 	You can create a variable with the same name as a keyword as long as the variable is first explicitly declared with a Dim, Private, or Public statement.

Platform(s)

All.


Kill (statement)

Syntax

Kill pathname

Kill pathname [,filetype]

Kill filetype

Description

Deletes all files matching pathname.

Comments

The Kill statement accepts the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

pathname	Specifies the file to delete. If filetype is specified, then this parameter must specify a path. Otherwise, this parameter can include both a path and a file specification containing wildcards.

filetype	Specifies the type of file on a Macintosh. If pathname is also specified, it indicates the directory from which files will be removed. Otherwise, files are removed from the current directory.

File types are specified using the MacID function.

The pathname argument can include wildcards, such as * and ?. The * character matches any sequence of zero or more characters, whereas the ? character matches any single character. Multiple *'s and ?'s can appear within the expression to form complex searching patterns.

Example

'This example looks to see whether file test1.dat exists. If it

'does not, then it creates both test1.dat and test2.dat. The

'existence of the files is tested again; if they exist, a

'message is generated, and then they are deleted. The final test

'looks to see whether they are still there and displays the

'result.

Sub Main()

If Not FileExists("test1.dat") Then

Open "test1.dat" For Output As #1

Open "test2.dat" For Output As #2

Close

End If

If FileExists ("test1.dat") Then

MsgBox "File test1.dat exists."

Kill "test?.dat"

End If

If FileExists ("test1.dat") Then

MsgBox "File test1.dat still exists."

Else

MsgBox "test?.dat sucessfully deleted."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Name (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

For compatibility with DOS wildcard matching, AimBasic special-cases the pattern "*.*" to indicate all files, not just files with a periods in their names.

This function behaves the same as the "del" command in DOS.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

The Macintosh does not support wildcard characters such as * and ?. These are valid filename characters. Instead of wildcards, the Macintosh uses the MacID function to specify a collection of files of the same type. The syntax for this function is:

Kill MacID(text$)

The text$ parameter is a four-character string containing a file type, a resource type, an application signature, or an Apple event. A runtime error occurs if the MacID function is used on platforms other than the Macintosh.


LBound (function)

Syntax

LBound(ArrayVariable() [,dimension])

Description

Returns an Integer containing the lower bound of the specified dimension of the specified array variable.

Comments

The dimension parameter is an integer specifying the desired dimension. If this parameter is not specified, then the lower bound of the first dimension is returned.

The LBound function can be used to find the lower bound of a dimension of an array returned by an OLE Automation method or property:

LBound(object.property [,dimension])

LBound(object.method [,dimension])

Examples

Sub Main()

'This example dimensions two arrays and displays their

'lower bounds.

Dim a(5 To 12)

Dim b(2 To 100, 9 To 20)

lba = LBound(a)

lbb = LBound(b,2)

MsgBox "The lower bound of a is: " & lba & _

" The lower bound of b is: " & lbb

'This example uses LBound and UBound to dimension a

'dynamic array to hold a copy of an array redimmed by the

'FileList statement.

Dim fl$()

FileList fl$,"*.*"

count = UBound(fl$)

If ArrayDims(a) Then

Redim nl$(LBound(fl$) To UBound(fl$))

For x = 1 To count

nl$(x) = fl$(x)

Next x

MsgBox "The last element of the new array is: " & _

nl$(count)

End If

End Sub

See Also

UBound (function), ArrayDims (function), Arrays (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


LCase, LCase$ (functions)

Syntax

LCase[$](string)

Description

Returns the lowercase equivalent of the specified string.

Comments

LCase$ returns a String, whereas LCase returns a String variant.

Null is returned if string is Null.

Example

'This example shows the LCase function used to change 'uppercase names to lowercase with an uppercase first 'letter.

Sub Main()

lname$ = "WILLIAMS"

fl$ = Left$(lname$,1)

rest$ = Mid$(lname$,2,Len(lname$))

lname$ = fl$ & LCase$(rest$)

MsgBox "The converted name is: " & lname$

End Sub

See Also

UCase, UCase$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Left, Left$, LeftB, LeftB$ (functions)

Syntax

Left[$](string, length)

LeftB[$](string,length)

Description

Returns the leftmost length characters (for Left and Left$) or bytes (for LeftB and LeftB$) from a given string.

Comments

Left$ returns a String, whereas Left returns a String variant.

The length parameter is an Integer value specifying the number of characters to return. If length is 0, then a zero-length string is returned. If length is greater than or equal to the number of characters in the specified string, then the entire string is returned.

The LeftB and LeftB$ functions are used to return a sequence of bytes from a string containing byte data. In this case, length specifies the number of bytes to return. If length is greater than the number of bytes in string, then the entire string is returned.

Null is returned if string is Null.

Example

'This example shows the Left$ function used to change

'uppercase names to lowercase with an uppercase first

'letter.

Sub Main()

lname$ = "WILLIAMS"

fl$ = Left$(lname$,1)

rest$ = Mid$(lname$,2,Len(lname$))

lname$ = fl$ & LCase$(rest$)

MsgBox "The converted name is: " & lname$

End Sub

See Also

Right, Right$, RightB, RightB$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Len, LenB (functions)

Syntax

Len(expression)

LenB(expression)

Description

Returns the number of characters (for Len) or bytes (for LenB) in String expression or the number of bytes required to store the specified variable.

Comments

If expression evaluates to a String, then Len returns the number of characters in a given string or 0 if the string is empty. When used with a Variant variable, the length of the variant when converted to a String is returned. If expression is a Null, then Len returns a Null variant.

The LenB function is used to return the number of bytes in a given string. On SBCS systems, the LenB and Len functions are identical.

If used with a non-String or non-Variant variable, these functions returns the number of bytes occupied by that data element.

When used with user-defined data types, these functions return the combined size of each member within the structure. Since variable-length strings are stored elsewhere, the size of each variable-length string within a structure is 2 bytes.

The following table describes the sizes of the individual data elements when appearing within a structure:

Data Element	Size

Integer	2 bytes.

Long	4 bytes.

Float	4 bytes.

Double	8 bytes.

Currency	8 bytes.

String (variable-length)	2 bytes

String (fixed-length)	The length of the string as it appears in the string's declaration in characters for Len and bytes for LenB.

Objects	0 bytes. Both data object variables and variables of type Object are always returned as 0 size.

User-defined type	Combined size of each structure member.

Variable-length strings within structures require 2 bytes of storage.

Arrays within structures are fixed in their dimensions. The elements for fixed arrays are stored within the structure and therefore require the number of bytes for each array element multiplied by the size of each array dimension:

element_size*dimension1*dimension2...

The Len and LenB functions always returns 0 with object variables or any data object variable.

Examples

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

'This example shows the Len function used in a routine to

'change uppercase names to lowercase with an uppercase

'first letter.

lname$ = "WILLIAMS"

fl$ = Left$(lname$,1)

ln% = Len(lname$)

rest$ = Mid$(lname$,2,ln%)

lname$ = fl$ & LCase$(rest$)

MsgBox "The converted name is: " & lname$

'This example returns a table of lengths for standard

'numeric types.

Dim lns(4)

a% = 100 : b& = 200 : c! = 200.22 : d# = 300.22

lns(1) = Len(a%)

lns(2) = Len(b&)

lns(3) = Len(c!)

lns(4) = Len(d#)

message = "Lengths of standard types:" & crlf

message = message & "Integer: " & lns(1) & crlf

message = message & "Long: " & lns(2) & crlf

message = message & "Single: " & lns(3) & crlf

message = message & "Double: " & lns(4) & crlf

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

InStr, InStrB (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Let (statement)

Syntax

[Let] variable = expression

Description

Assigns the result of an expression to a variable.

Comments

The use of the word Let is supported for compatibility with other implementations of AimBasic. Normally, this word is dropped.

When assigning expressions to variables, internal type conversions are performed automatically between any two numeric quantities. Thus, you can freely assign numeric quantities without regard to type conversions. However, it is possible for an overflow error to occur when converting from larger to smaller types. This happens when the larger type contains a numeric quantity that cannot be represented by the smaller type. For example, the following code will produce a runtime error:

Dim amount As Long

Dim quantity As Integer

amount = 400123	'Assign a value out of range for int.

quantity = amount	'Attempt to assign to Integer.

When performing an automatic data conversion, underflow is not an error.

Example

Sub Main()

Let a$ = "This is a string."

Let b% = 100

Let c# = 1213.3443

End Sub

See Also

= (operator), Expression Evaluation (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Like (operator)

Syntax

expression Like pattern

Description

Compares two strings and returns True if the expression matches the given pattern; returns False otherwise.

Comments

Case sensitivity is controlled by the Option Compare setting.

The pattern expression can contain special characters that allow more flexible matching:

Character	Evaluates To

?	Matches a single character.

*	Matches one or more characters.

#	Matches any digit.

[range]	Matches if the character in question is within the specified range.

[!range]	Matches if the character in question is not within the specified range.

A range specifies a grouping of characters. To specify a match of any of a group of characters, use the syntax [ABCDE]. To specify a range of characters, use the syntax [A-Z]. Special characters must appear within brackets, such as []*?#.

If expression or pattern is not a string, then both expression and pattern are converted to String variants and compared, returning a Boolean variant. If either variant is Null, then Null is returned.

The following table shows some examples:

expression	True If pattern Is	False If pattern Is

"EBW"	"E*W", "E*"	"E*B"

"AimBasic"	"B*[r-t]icScript"	"B[r-t]ic"

"Version"	"V[e]?s*n"	"V[r]?s*N"

"2.0"	"#.#","#?#"	"###","#?[!0-9]"

"[ABC]"	"[[]*]"	"[ABC]","[*]"

Example

'This example demonstrates various uses of the Like function.

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is a string variable of 123456 characters"

b$ = "123.45"

If a$ Like "[A-Z][g-i]*" Then _

MsgBox "The first comparison is True."

If b$ Like "##3.##" Then _

MsgBox "The second comparison is True."

If a$ Like "*variable*" Then _

MsgBox "The third comparison is True."

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Is (operator), Option Compare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Line Input# (statement)

Syntax

Line Input [#]filenumber,variable

Description

Reads an entire line into the given variable.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is a number that is used by AimBasic to refer to the open filethe number passed to the Open statement. The filenumber must reference a file opened in Input mode.

The file is read up to the next end-of-line, but the end-of-line character(s) is (are) not returned in the string. The file pointer is positioned after the terminating end-of-line.

The variable parameter is any string or variant variable reference. This statement will automatically declare the variable if the specified variable has not yet been used or dimensioned.

This statement recognizes either a single line feed or a carriage-return/line-feed pair as the end-of-line delimiter.

A runtime error is generated if you attempt to read beyond the end of the file.

Example

'This example reads five lines of the autoexec.bat file and

'displays them in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

For x = 1 To 5

Line Input #1,lin$

message = message & lin$ & crlf

Next x

MsgBox "The first 5 lines of your autoexec.bat are:" & crlf & Message

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Get (statement), Input# (statement), Input, Input$, InputB, InputB$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Line Numbers (topic)

Line numbers are not supported by AimBasic.

As an alternative to line numbers, you can use meaningful labels as targets for absolute jumps, as shown below:

Sub Main()

Dim i As Integer

On Error Goto MyErrorTrap

i = 0

LoopTop:

i = i + 1

If i < 10 Then Goto LoopTop

MyErrorTrap:

MsgBox "An error occurred."

End Sub


Line$ (function)

Syntax

Line$(text$,first[,last])

Description

Returns a String containing a single line or a group of lines between first and last.

Comments

Lines are delimited by carriage return, line feed, or carriage-return/line-feed pairs. Embedded null characters are treated as regular characters.

The Line$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

text$	String containing the text from which the lines will be extracted.

first	Integer representing the index of the first line to return. If last is omitted, then this line will be returned. If first is greater than the number of lines in text$, then a zero-length string is returned.

last	Integer representing the index of the last line to return

Example

'This example reads five lines of the autoexec.bat file,

'extracts the third and fourth lines with the Line$ function,

'and displays them in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

For x = 1 To 5

Line Input #1,lin$

txt = txt & lin$ & crlf

Next x

lines$ = Line$(txt,3,4)

MsgBox lines$

End Sub

See Also

Item$ (function), ItemCount (function), LineCount (function), Word$ (function), WordCount (function)

Platform(s)

All.


LineCount (function)

Syntax

LineCount(text$)

Description

Returns an Integer representing the number of lines in text$.

Comments

Lines are delimited by carriage return, line feed, or both. Embedded null characters are treated as regular characters.

Example

'This example reads the first ten lines of your autoexec.bat

'file, uses the LineCount function to determine the number

'of lines, and then displays them in a message box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

x = 1

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

While (x < 10) And Not EOF(1)

Line Input #1,lin$

txt = txt & lin$ & crlf

x = x + 1

Wend

lines! = LineCount(txt)

MsgBox "The number of lines in txt is: " _

& lines! & crlf & crlf & txt

End Sub

See Also

Item$ (function), ItemCount (function), Line$ (function), Word$ (function), WordCount (function)

Platform(s)

All.


ListBox (statement)

Syntax

ListBox x,y,width,height,ArrayVariable,.Identifier

Description

Creates a list box within a dialog box template.

Comments

When the dialog box is invoked, the list box will be filled with the elements contained in ArrayVariable.

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The ListBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

ArrayVariable	Specifies a single-dimensioned array of strings used to initialize the elements of the list box. If this array has no dimensions, then the list box will be initialized with no elements. A runtime error results if the specified array contains more than one dimension.

ArrayVariable can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates an integer variable whose value corresponds to the index of the list box's selection (0 is the first item, 1 is the second, and so on). This variable can be accessed using the following syntax:DialogVariable.Identifier

Example

'This example creates a dialog box with two list boxes, one

'containing files and the other containing directories.

Sub Main()

Dim files() As String

Dim dirs() As String

Begin Dialog ListBoxTemplate 16,32,184,96,"Sample"

Text 8,4,24,8,"&Files:"

ListBox 8,16,60,72,files$,.Files

Text 76,4,21,8,"&Dirs:"

ListBox 76,16,56,72,dirs$,.Dirs

OKButton 140,4,40,14

CancelButton 140,24,40,14

End Dialog

FileList files

FileDirs dirs

Dim ListBoxDialog As ListBoxTemplate

rc% = Dialog(ListBoxDialog)

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


ListBoxEnabled (function)

Syntax

ListBoxEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the given list box is enabled within the active window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This function is used to determine whether a list box is enabled within the current window or dialog box. If there is no active window, False will be returned.

The ListBoxEnabled function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the list box.The name of a list box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a list box. A runtime error is generated if a list box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the list box.

Note: The ListBoxEnabled function is used to determine whether a list box is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function in dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example checks to see whether the list box is enabled

'before setting the focus to it.

Sub Main()

If ListBoxEnabled("Files:") Then ActivateControl "Files:"

End Sub

See Also

GetListBoxItem$ (function), GetListBoxItemCount (function), ListBoxExists (function), SelectListBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


ListBoxExists (function)

Syntax

ListBoxExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the given list box exists within the active window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This function is used to determine whether a list box exists within the current window or dialog box. If there is no active window, False will be returned.

The ListBoxExists function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the list box.The name of a list box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a list box. A runtime error is generated if a list box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the list box.

Note: The ListBoxExists function is used to determine whether a list box exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example checks to see whether the list box exists and is

'enabled before setting the focus to it.

Sub Main()

If ListBoxExists("Files:") Then

If ListBoxEnabled("Files:") Then

ActivateControl "Files:"

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

GetListBoxItem$ (function), GetListBoxItemCount (function), ListBoxEnabled (function), SelectListBoxItem (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Literals (topic)

Literals are values of a specific type. The following table shows the different types of literals supported by AimBasic:

Literal	Description

10	Integer whose value is 10.

43265	Long whose value is 43,265.

5#	Double whose value is 5.0. A number's type can be explicitly set using any of the following type-declaration characters:

%	Integer

&	Long

#	Double

!	Single

5.5	Double whose value is 5.5. Any number with decimal point is considered a double.

5.4E100	Double expressed in scientific notation.

&HFF	Integer expressed in hexadecimal.

&O47	Integer expressed in octal.

&HFF#	Double expressed in hexadecimal.

"hello"	String of five characters: hello.

"""hello"""	String of seven characters: "hello". Quotation marks can be embedded within strings by using two consecutive quotation marks.

#1/1/1994#	Date value whose internal representation is 34335.0. Any valid date can appear with #'s. Date literals are interpreted at execution time using the locale settings of the host environment. To ensure that date literals are correctly interpreted for all locales, use the international date format:YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS#

Constant Folding

AimBasic supports constant folding where constant expressions are calculated by the compiler at compile time. For example, the expression

i% = 10 + 12

is the same as:

i% = 22

Similarly, with strings, the expression

s$ = "Hello," + " there" + Chr(46)

is the same as:

s$ = "Hello, there."


Loc (function)

Syntax

Loc(filenumber)

Description

Returns a Long representing the position of the file pointer in the given file.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is an Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the number passed by the Open statement to AimBasic.

The Loc function returns different values depending on the mode in which the file was opened:

File Mode	Returns

Input	Current byte position divided by 128

Output	Current byte position divided by 128

Append	Current byte position divided by 128

Binary	Position of the last byte read or written

Random	Number of the last record read or written

Example

'This example reads five lines of the autoexec.bat file,

'determines the current location of the file pointer, and

'displays it in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Open "c:\autoexec.bat" For Input As #1

For x = 1 To 5

If Not EOF(1) Then Line Input #1,lin$

Next x

lc% = Loc(1)

Close

MsgBox "The file location is: " & lc%

End Sub

See Also

Seek (function), Seek (statement), FileLen (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Lock, Unlock (statements)

Syntax

Lock [#] filenumber [,{record | [start] To end}]

Unlock [#] filenumber [,{record | [start] To end}]

Description

Locks or unlocks a section of the specified file, granting or denying other processes access to that section of the file.

Comments

The Lock statement locks a section of the specified file, preventing other processes from accessing that section of the file until the Unlock statement is issued. The Unlock statement unlocks a section of the specified file, allowing other processes access to that section of the file.

The Lock and Unlock statements require the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

record	Long specifying which record to lock or unlock.

start	Long specifying the first record within a range to be locked or unlocked.

end	Long specifying the last record within a range to be locked or unlocked.

For sequential files, the record, start, and end parameters are ignored. The entire file is locked or unlocked.

The section of the file is specified using one of the following:

Syntax	Description

No parameters	Locks or unlocks the entire file (no record specification is given).

record	Locks or unlocks the specified record number (for Random files) or byte (for Binary files).

To end	Locks or unlocks from the beginning of the file to the specified record (for Random files) or byte (for Binary files).

start To end	Locks or unlocks the specified range of records (for Random files) or bytes (for Binary files).

The lock range must be the same as that used to subsequently unlock the file range, and all locked ranges must be unlocked before the file is closed. Ranges within files are not unlocked automatically by AimBasic when your script terminates, which can cause file access problems for other processes. It is a good idea to group the Lock and Unlock statements close together in the code, both for readability and so subsequent readers can see that the lock and unlock are performed on the same range. This practice also reduces errors in file locks.

Example

'This example creates a file named test.dat and fills it

'with 'ten string variable records. These are displayed in a

'dialog box. The file is then reopened for read/write, and

'each record is locked, modified, rewritten, and unlocked.

'The new records are then displayed in a dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is record number: "

b$ = "0"

rec$ = ""

message = ""

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write Shared As #1

For x = 1 To 10

rec$ = a$ & x

Lock #1,x

Put #1,,rec$

Unlock #1,x

message = message & rec$ & crlf

Next x

Close

MsgBox "The records are:" & crlf & message

message = ""

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read Write Shared As #1

For x = 1 To 10

rec$ = Mid$(rec$,1,23) & (11 - x)

Lock #1,x

Put #1,x,rec$

Unlock #1,x

message = message & rec$ & crlf

Next x

MsgBox "The records are: " & crlf & message

Close

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, file locking will only succeed on volumes that are shared (i.e., file sharing is on).

Platform Notes: UNIX

Under all versions of UNIX, file locking is ignored.


Lof (function)

Syntax

Lof(filenumber)

Description

Returns a Long representing the number of bytes in the given file.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is an Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open filethe number passed to the Open statement.

The file must currently be open.

Example

'This example creates a test file, writes ten records into

'it, then finds the length of the file and displays it in a 'message box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is record number: "

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write Shared As #1

For x = 1 To 10

rec$ = a$ & x

put #1,,rec$

message = message & rec$ & crlf

Next x

Close

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read Write Shared As #1

r% = Lof(1)

Close

MsgBox "The length of test.dat is: " & r%

End Sub

See Also

Loc (function), Open (statement), FileLen (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Log (function)

Syntax

Log(number)

Description

Returns a Double representing the natural logarithm of a given number.

Comments

The value of number must be a Double greater than 0.

The value of e is 2.71828.

Example

'This example calculates the natural log of 100 and displays

'it in a message box.

Sub Main()

x# = Log(100)

MsgBox "The natural logarithm of 100 is: " & x#

End Sub

See Also

Exp (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Long (data type)

Syntax

Long

Description

Long variables are used to hold numbers (with up to ten digits of precision) within the following range:

–2,147,483,648 <= Long <= 2,147,483,647

Internally, longs are 4-byte values. Thus, when appearing within a structure, longs require 4 bytes of storage. When used with binary or random files, 4 bytes of storage are required.

The type-declaration character for Long is &.

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CLng (function)

Platform(s)

All.


LSet (statement)

Syntax 1

LSet dest = source

Syntax 2

LSet dest_variable = source_variable

Description

Left-aligns the source string in the destination string or copies one user-defined type to another.

Comments

Syntax 1

The LSet statement copies the source string source into the destination string dest. The dest parameter must be the name of either a String or Variant variable. The source parameter is any expression convertible to a string.

If source is shorter in length than dest, then the string is left-aligned within dest, and the remaining characters are padded with spaces. If source$ is longer in length than dest, then source is truncated, copying only the leftmost number of characters that will fit in dest.

The destvariable parameter specifies a String or Variant variable. If destvariable is a Variant containing Empty, then no characters are copied. If destvariable is not convertible to a String, then a runtime error occurs. A runtime error results if destvariable is Null.

Syntax 2

The source structure is copied byte for byte into the destination structure. This is useful for copying structures of different types. Only the number of bytes of the smaller of the two structures is copied. Neither the source structure nor the destination structure can contain strings.

Example

'This example replaces a 40-character string of asterisks

'(*) with an RSet and LSet string and then displays the

'result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim message, tmpstr$

tmpstr$ = String$(40, "*")

message = "Here are two strings that have been " & crlf

message = message & "right- and left-justified in a" & _

" 40-character string." & crlf & crlf

RSet tmpstr$ = "Right->"

message = message & tmpstr$ & crlf

LSet tmpstr$ = "<-Left"

message = message & tmpstr$ & crlf

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

RSet (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


LTrim, LTrim$ (functions)

See Trim, Trim$, LTrim, LTrim$, RTrim, RTrim$ (functions).


MacID (function)

Syntax

MacID(constant)

Description

Returns a value representing a collection of same-type files on the Macintosh.

Comments

Since this platform does not support wildcards (i.e., * or ?), this function is the only way to specify a group of files. This function can only be used with the following statements:

Kill	Dir$	Shell	AppActivate

The constant parameter is a four-character string containing a file type, a resource type, an application signature, or an Apple event. A runtime error occurs if the MacID function is used on platforms other than the Macintosh.

Example

'This example retrieves the names of all the text files.

Sub Main()

s$ = Dir$(MacID("TEXT"))	'Get the first text file.

While s$ <> ""

MsgBox s$	'Display it.

s$ = Dir$	'Get the next text file in the list.

Wend

'Delete all the text files.

Kill MacID("TEXT")

End Sub

See Also

Kill (statement), Dir, Dir$ (functions), Shell (function), AppActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

Macintosh.


MacScript (statement)

Syntax

MacScript script

Description

Executes the specified AppleScript script.

Comments

When using the MacScript statement, you can separate multiple lines by embedding carriage returns:

MacScript "Beep" + Chr(13) + "Display Dialog ""Hello"""

If embedding carriage returns proves cumbersome, you can use the Inline statement. The following Inline statement is equivalent to the above example:

Inline MacScript

Beep

Display Dialog "Hello"

End Inline

Example

Sub Main()

MacScript "display dialog ""AppleScript"""

End Sub

See Also

Inline (statement)

Platform(s)

Macintosh.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Requires Macintosh System 7.0 or later.


Main (statement)

Syntax

Sub Main()

End Sub

Description

Defines the subroutine where execution begins.

Example

Sub Main()

MsgBox "This is the Main() subroutine and entry point."

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


Mci (function)

Syntax

Mci(command$,result$ [,error$])

Description

Executes an Mci command, returning an Integer indicating whether the command was successful.

Comments

The Mci function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

command$	String containing the command to be executed.

result$	String variable into which the result is placed. If the command doesn't return anything, then a zero-length string is returned.

To ignore the returned string, pass a zero-length string:

s$ = "open chimes.wav type waveaudio"

r% = Mci(s$,"")

error$	Optional String variable into which an error string will be placed. A zero-length string will be returned if the function is successful.

The Mci function returns 0 if successul. Otherwise, an non-zero Integer is returned indicating the error.

Examples

'This first example plays a wave file. The wave file is

'played to completion before execution can continue.

Sub Main()

Dim result As String

Dim ErrorMessage As String

Dim Filename As String

Dim rc As Integer

'Establish name of file in the Windows directory.

Filename = FileParse$(System.WindowsDirectory$ + _

"\" + "chimes.wav")

'Open the file and driver.

rc = Mci("open " & Filename & _

" type waveaudio alias CoolSound","",ErrorMessage)

If (rc) Then

'Error occurred--display error message to user.

MsgBox ErrorMessage

Exit Sub

End If

'Wait for sound to finish.

rc = Mci("play CoolSound wait","","")

'Close driver and file.

rc = Mci("close CoolSound","","")

End Sub

'This next example shows how to query an Mci device and play

'an MIDI file in the background.

Sub Main()

Dim result As String

Dim ErrMsg As String

Dim Filename As String

Dim rc As Integer

'Check to see whether MIDI device can play for us.

rc = Mci("capability sequencer can play",result,ErrorMessage)

'Check for error.

If rc Then

MsgBox ErrorMessage

Exit Sub

End If

'Can it play?

If result <> "true" Then

MsgBox "MIDI device is not capable of playing."

Exit Sub

End If

'Assemble a filename from the Windows directory.

Filename = FileParse$(System.WindowsDirectory$ & _

"\" & "canyon.mid")

'Open the driver and file.

rc = Mci("open " & Filename & _

" type sequencer alias song",result$,ErrMsg)

If rc Then

MsgBox ErrMsg

Exit Sub

End If

rc = Mci("play song","","")	'Play in the background.

MsgBox "Press OK to stop the music.",ebOKOnly

rc = Mci("close song","","")

End Sub

See Also

Beep (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

The Mci function accepts any Mci command as defined in the Multimedia Programmers Reference in the Windows 3.1 SDK.


Menu (statement)

Syntax

Menu MenuItem$

Description

Issues the specified menu command from the active window of the active application.

Comments

The MenuItem$ parameter specifies the complete menu item name, with each menu level being separated by a period. For example, the "Open" command on the "File" menu is represented by "File.Open". Cascading menu items may have multiple periods, one for each pop-up menu, such as "File.Layout.Vertical". Menu items can also be specified using numeric index values. For example, to select the third menu item from the File menu, use "File.#3". To select the fourth item from the third menu, use "#3.#4".

Items from an application's system menu can be selected by beginning the menu item specification with a period, such as ".Restore" or ".Minimize".

A runtime error will result if the menu item specification does not specify a menu item. For example, "File" specifies a menu pop-up rather than a menu item, and "File.Blah Blah" is not a valid menu item.

When comparing menu item names, this statement removes periods (.), spaces, and the ampersand. Furthermore, all characters after a backspace or tab are removed. Thus, the menu item "&Open...\aCtrl+F12" translates simply to "Open".

A runtime error is generated if the menu item cannot be found or is not enabled at the time that this statement is encountered.

Examples

Sub Main()

Menu "File.Open"

Menu "Format.Character.Bold"

Menu ".Restore"	'Command from system menu

Menu "File.#2"

End Sub

See Also

MenuItemChecked (function), MenuItemEnabled (function), MenuItemExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


MenuItemChecked (function)

Syntax

MenuItemChecked(MenuItemName$)

Description

Returns True if the given menu item exists and is checked; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The MenuItemName$ parameter specifies a complete menu item or menu item pop-up following the same format as that used by the Menu statement.

Example

'This example turns the ruler off if it is on.

Sub Main()

If MenuItemChecked("View.Ruler") Then Menu "View.Ruler"

End Sub

See Also

Menu (statement), MenuItemEnabled (function), MenuItemExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


MenuItemEnabled (function)

Syntax

MenuItemEnabled(MenuItemName$)

Description

Returns True if the given menu item exists and is enabled; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The MenuItemName$ parameter specifies a complete menu item or menu item pop-up following the same format as that used by the Menu statement.

Example

'This example only pastes if there is something in the Clipboard.

Sub Main()

If MenuItemEnabled("Edit.Paste") Then

Menu "Edit.Paste"

Else

MsgBox "There is nothing in the Clipboard.",ebOKOnly

End If

End Sub

See Also

Menu (statement), MenuItemChecked (function), MenuItemExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


MenuItemExists (function)

Syntax

MenuItemExists(MenuItemName$)

Description

Returns True if the given menu item exists; returns False otherwise.

Comments

The MenuItemName$ parameter specifies a complete menu item or menu item pop-up following the same format as that used by the Menu statement.

Examples

Sub Main()

If MenuItemExists("File.Open") Then Beep

If MenuItemExists("File") Then MsgBox _

"There is a File menu."

End Sub

See Also

Menu (statement), MenuItemChecked (function), MenuItemEnabled (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Mid, Mid$, MidB, MidB$ (functions)

Syntax

Mid[$](string, start [,length])

MidB[$](string, start [,length])

Description

Returns a substring of the specified string, beginning with start, for length characters (for Mid and Mid$) or bytes (for MidB and MidB$).

Comments

The Mid and Mid$ functions return a substring starting at character position start and will be length characters long. The MidB and MidB functions return a substring starting at byte position start and will be length bytes long.

The Mid$ and MidB$ functions return a String, whereas the Mid and MidB functions return a String variant.

These functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

string	Any String expression containing the text from which data are returned.

start	Integer specifying the position where the substring begins. If start is greater than the length of string, then a zero-length string is returned.

length	Integer specifying the number of characters or bytes to return. If this parameter is omitted, then the entire string is returned, starting at start.

The Mid function will return Null if string is Null.

The MidB and MidB$ functions are used to return a substring of bytes from a string containing byte data.

Example

'This example displays a substring from the middle of a

'string variable using the Mid$ function and replaces the

'first four characters with "NEW " using the Mid$ statement.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is the Main string containing text."

b$ = Mid$(a$,13,Len(a$))

Mid$ (b$,1) = NEW "

MsgBox a$ & crlf & b$

End Sub

See Also

InStr, InStrB (functions), Option Compare (statement), Mid, Mid$, MidB, MidB$ (statements)

Platform(s)

All.


Mid, Mid$, MidB, MidB$ (statements)

Syntax

Mid[$](variable,start[,length]) = newvalue

MidB[$](variable,start[,length]) = newvalue

Description

Replaces one part of a string with another.

Comments

The Mid/Mid$ statements take the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

variable	String or Variant variable to be changed.

start	Integer specifying the character position (for Mid and Mid$) or byte position (for MidB and MidB$) within variable where replacement begins. If start is greater than the length of variable, then variable remains unchanged.

length	Integer specifying the number of characters or bytes to change. If this parameter is omitted, then the entire string is changed, starting at start.

newvalue	Expression used as the replacement. This expression must be convertible to a String.

The resultant string is never longer than the original length of variable.

With Mid and MidB, variable must be a Variant variable convertible to a String, and newvalue is any expression convertible to a string. A runtime error is generated if either variant is Null.

The MidB and MidB$ statements are used to replace a substring of bytes, whereas Mid and Mid$ are used to replace a substring of characters.

Example

'This example displays a substring from the middle of a

'string variable using the Mid$ function, replacing the

'first four characters with "NEW " using the Mid$ statement.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is the Main string containing text."

b$ = Mid$(a$,13,Len(a$))

Mid$(b$,1) = "NEW "

MsgBox a$ & crlf & b$

End Sub

See Also

Mid, Mid$, MidB, MidB$ (functions), Option Compare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Minute (function)

Syntax

Minute(time)

Description

Returns the minute of the day encoded in the specified time parameter.

Comments

The value returned is as an Integer between 0 and 59 inclusive.

The time parameter is any expression that converts to a Date.

Example

'This example takes the current time; extracts the hour,

'minute, and second; and displays them as the current time.

Sub Main()

xt# = TimeValue(Time$())

xh# = Hour(xt#)

xm# = Minute(xt#)

xs# = Second(xt#)

MsgBox "The current time is: " & xh# & ":" & xm# & ":" & xs#

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Second (function), Month (function), Year (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


MIRR (function)

Syntax

MIRR(valuearray(),financerate,reinvestrate)

Description

Returns a Double representing the modified internal rate of return for a series of periodic payments and receipts.

Comments

The modified internal rate of return is the equivalent rate of return on an investment in which payments and receipts are financed at different rates. The interest cost of investment and the rate of interest received on the returns on investment are both factors in the calculations.

The MIRR function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

valuearray()	Array of Double numbers representing the payments and receipts. Positive values are payments (invested capital), and negative values are receipts (returns on investment).There must be at least one positive (investment) value and one negative (return) value.

financerate	Double representing the interest rate paid on invested monies (paid out).

reinvestrate	Double representing the rate of interest received on incomes from the investment (receipts).

The financerate and reinvestrate parameters should be expressed as percentages. For example, 11 percent should be expressed as 0.11.

To return the correct value, be sure to order your payments and receipts in the correct sequence.

Example

'This example illustrates the purchase of a lemonade stand

'for $800 financed with money borrowed at 10%. The returns

'are estimated to accelerate as the stand gains popularity.

'The proceeds are placed in a bank at 9 percent interest.  'The incomes are estimated (generated) over 12 months. This

'program first generates the income stream array in two

'For...Next loops, and then the modified internal rate of

'return is calculated and displayed. Notice that the annual

'rates are normalized to monthly rates by dividing them by

'12.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim valu#(12)

valu(1) = -800	'Initial investment

message = valu(1) & ", "

For x = 2 To 5

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 2)	'Incomes months 2-5

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

For x = 6 To 12

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 10)	'Incomes months 6-12

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

retrn# = MIRR(valu,.1/12,.09/12)	'Note: normalized

'annual rates

message = "The values: " & crlf & message & crlf & crlf

MsgBox message & "Modified rate: " & _

Format(retrn#,"Percent")

End Sub

See Also

Fv (function), IRR (function), Npv (function), Pv (function)

Platform(s)

All.


MkDir (statement)

Syntax

MkDir path

Description

Creates a new directory as specified by path.

Example

'This example creates a new directory on the default drive.

'If this causes an error, then the error is displayed and

'the program terminates. If no error is generated, the

'directory is removed with the RmDir statement.

Sub Main()

On Error Resume Next

MkDir "TestDir"

If Err <> 0 Then

MsgBox "The following error occurred: " & Error(Err)

Else

MsgBox "Directory was created and is about to be removed."

RmDir "TestDir"

End If

End Sub

See Also

ChDir (statement), ChDrive (statement), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), Dir, Dir$ (functions), RmDir (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

This command behaves the same as the DOS "mkdir" command.


Mod (operator)

Syntax

expression1 Mod expression2

Description

Returns the remainder of expression1 / expression2 as a whole number.

Comments

If both expressions are integers, then the result is an integer. Otherwise, each expression is converted to a Long before performing the operation, returning a Long.

A runtime error occurs if the result overflows the range of a Long.

If either expression is Null, then Null is returned. Empty is treated as 0.

Example

'This example uses the Mod operator to determine the value

'of a randomly selected card where card 1 is the ace (1) of

'clubs and card 52 is the king (13) of spades. Since the

'values recur in a sequence of 13 cards within 4 suits, we

'can use the Mod function to determine the value of any

'given card number.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

cval$ = "ACE,TWO,THREE,FOUR,FIVE,SIX,SEVEN,EIGHT,"

cval$ = cval$+"NINE,TEN,JACK,QUEEN,KING"

Randomize

card% = Random(1,52)

value = card% Mod 13

If value = 0 Then value = 13

CardNum$ = Item$(cval,value)

If card% < 53 Then suit$ = "spades"

If card% < 40 Then suit$ = "hearts"

If card% < 27 Then suit$ = "diamonds"

If card% < 14 Then suit$ = "clubs"

message = "Card number " & card% & " is the "

message = message & CardNum & " of " & suit$

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

/ (operator), \ (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


Month (function)

Syntax

Month(date)

Description

Returns the month of the date encoded in the specified date parameter.

Comments

The value returned is as an Integer between 1 and 12 inclusive.

The date parameter is any expression that converts to a Date.

Example

'This example returns the current month in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

mons$ = "Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., "

mons$ = mons$ + "Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec."

tdate$ = Date$

tmonth! = Month(DateValue(tdate$))

MsgBox "The current month is: " & Item$(mons$,tmonth!)

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Second (function), Year (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Msg.Close (method)

Syntax

Msg.Close

Description

Closes the modeless message dialog box.

Comments

Nothing will happen if there is no open message dialog box.

Example

Sub Main()

Msg.Open "Printing. Please wait...",0,True,True

Sleep 3000

Msg.Close

End Sub

See Also

Msg.Open (method), Msg.Thermometer (property), Msg.Text (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Msg.Open (method)

Syntax

Msg.Open prompt,timeout,cancel,thermometer [,XPos,YPos]

Description

Displays a message in a dialog box with an optional Cancel button and thermometer.

Comments

The Msg.Open method takes the following named parameters:

Parameter	Description

prompt	String containing the text to be displayed.The text can be changed using the Msg.Text property.

timeout	Integer specifying the number of seconds before the dialog box is automatically removed. The timeout parameter has no effect if its value is 0.

cancel	Boolean controlling whether or not a Cancel button appears within the dialog box beneath the displayed message. If this parameter is True, then a Cancel button appears. If it is not specified or False, then no Cancel button is created.If a user chooses the Cancel button at runtime, a trappable runtime error is generated (error number 18). In this manner, a message dialog box can be displayed and processing can continue as normal, aborting only when the user cancels the process by choosing the Cancel button.

thermometer	Boolean controlling whether the dialog box contains a thermometer. If this parameter is True, then a thermometer is created between the text and the optional Cancel button. The thermometer initially indicates 0% complete and can be changed using the Msg.Thermometer property.

XPos, YPos	Integer coordinates specifying the location of the upper left corner of the message box, in twips (twentieths of a point). If these parameters are not specified, then the window is centered on top of the application.

Unlike other dialog boxes, a message dialog box remains open until the user selects Cancel, the timeout has expired, or the Msg.Close method is executed (this is sometimes referred to as modeless).

Only a single message window can be opened at any one time. The message window is removed automatically when a script terminates.

The Cancel button, if present, can be selected using either the mouse or keyboard. However, these events will never reach the message dialog unless you periodically call DoEvents from within your script.

Example

'This example displays several types of message boxes.

Sub Main()

Msg.Open "Printing. Please wait...",0,True,False

Sleep 3000

Msg.Close

Msg.Open "Printing. Please wait...",0,True,True

For x = 1 to 100

Msg.Thermometer = x

Next x

Sleep 1000

Msg.Close

End Sub

See Also

Msg.Close (method), Msg.Thermometer (property), Msg.Text (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Msg.Text (property)

Syntax

Msg.Text [= newtext$]

Description

Changes the text within an open message dialog box (one that was previously opened with the Msg.Open method).

Comments

The message dialog box is not resized to accommodate the new text.

A runtime error will result if a message dialog box is not currently open (using Msg.Open).

Example

'This example creates a modeless message box, leaving room

'in the message text for the record number. This box

'contains a Cancel button.

Sub Main()

Msg.Open "Reading Record",0,True,False

For i = 1 To 100

'Read a record here.

'Update the modeless message box.

Sleep 100

Msg.Text ="Reading record " & i

Next i

Msg.Close

End Sub

See Also

Msg.Close (method), Msg.Open (method), Msg.Thermometer (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Msg.Thermometer (property)

Syntax

Msg.Thermometer [= percentage]

Description

Changes the percentage filled indicated within the thermometer of a message dialog box (one that was previously opened with the Msg.Open method).

Comments

A runtime error will result if a message box is not currently open (using Msg.Open) or if the value of percentage is not between 0 and 100 inclusive.

Example

'This example create a modeless message box with a

'thermometer and a Cancel button. This example also shows

'how to process the clicking of the Cancel button.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto ErrorTrap

Msg.Open "Reading records from file...",0,True,True

For i = 1 To 100	'Read a record here.

'Update the modeless message box.

Msg.Thermometer =i

DoEvents

Sleep 50

Next i

Msg.Close

On Error Goto 0	'Turn error trap off.

Exit Sub

ErrorTrap:

If Err = 809 Then

MsgBox "Cancel was pressed!"

Exit Sub	'Reset error handler.

End If

End Sub

See Also

Msg.Close (method), Msg.Open (method), Msg.Text (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


MsgBox (function)

Syntax

MsgBox(prompt [, [buttons] [,[title] [,helpfile,context]]])

Description

Displays a message in a dialog box with a set of predefined buttons, returning an Integer representing which button was selected.

Comments

The MsgBox function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

prompt	Message to be displayed—any expression convertible to a String.End-of-lines can be used to separate lines (either a carriage return, line feed, or both). If a given line is too long, it will be word-wrapped. If prompt contains character 0, then only the characters up to the character 0 will be displayed.

The width and height of the dialog box are sized to hold the entire contents of prompt.A runtime error is generated if prompt is Null.

buttons	Integer specifying the type of dialog box (see below).

title	Caption of the dialog box. This parameter is any expression convertible to a String. If it is omitted, then "AimBasic" is used.A runtime error is generated if title is Null.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

The MsgBox function returns one of the following values:

Constant	Value	Description

ebOK	1	OK was pressed.

ebCancel	2	Cancel was pressed.

ebAbort	3	Abort was pressed.

ebRetry	4	Retry was pressed.

ebIgnore	5	Ignore was pressed.

ebYes	6	Yes was pressed.

ebNo	7	No was pressed.

The buttons parameter is the sum of any of the following values:

Constant	Value	Description

ebOKOnly	0	Displays OK button only.

ebOKCancel	1	Displays OK and Cancel buttons.

ebAbortRetryIgnore	2	Displays Abort, Retry, and Ignore buttons.

ebYesNoCancel	3	Displays Yes, No, and Cancel buttons.

ebYesNo	4	Displays Yes and No buttons.

ebRetryCancel	5	Displays Retry and Cancel buttons.

ebCritical	16	Displays "stop" icon.

ebQuestion	32	Displays "question mark" icon.

ebExclamation	48	Displays "exclamation point" icon.

ebInformation	64	Displays "information" icon.

ebDefaultButton1	0	First button is the default button.

ebDefaultButton2	256	Second button is the default button.

ebDefaultButton3	512	Third button is the default button.

ebApplicationModal	0	Application modal—the current application is suspended until the dialog box is closed.

ebSystemModal	4096	System modal—all applications are suspended until the dialog box is closed.

The default value for buttons is 0 (display only the OK button, making it the default).

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then context-sensitive help can be invoked using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Breaking Text across Lines

The prompt parameter can contain end-of-line characters, forcing the text that follows to start on a new line. The following example shows how to display a string on two lines:

MsgBox "This is on" + Chr(13) + Chr(10) + "two lines."

The carriage-return or line-feed characters can be used by themselves to designate an end-of-line.

Example

Sub Main

MsgBox "This is a simple message box."

MsgBox "This is a message box with a title and an icon.", _

ebExclamation,"Simple"

MsgBox "This message box has OK and Cancel buttons.", _

ebOkCancel,"MsgBox"

MsgBox "This message box has Abort, Retry, and Ignore buttons.", _

ebAbortRetryIgnore,"MsgBox"

MsgBox "This message box has Yes, No, and Cancel buttons.", _

ebYesNoCancel Or ebDefaultButton2,"MsgBox"

MsgBox "This message box has Yes and No buttons.",ebYesNo,"MsgBox"

MsgBox "This message box has Retry and Cancel buttons." , _

ebRetryCancel,"MsgBox"

MsgBox "This message box is system modal!",ebSystemModal

End Sub

See Also

AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes:

The appearance of the MsgBox dialog box and its icons differs slightly depending on the platform.


MsgBox (statement)

Syntax

MsgBox prompt [, [buttons] [,[title] [, helpfile, context]]]

Description

This command is the same as the MsgBox function, except that the statement form does not return a value. See MsgBox (function).

Example

Sub Main()

MsgBox "This is text displayed in a message box."	'Display

'text.

MsgBox "The result is: " & (10 * 45)	'Display a number.

End Sub

See Also

AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Name (statement)

Syntax

Name oldfile$ As newfile$

Description

Renames a file.

Comments

Each parameter must specify a single filename. Wildcard characters such as * and ? are not allowed.

Some platforms allow naming of files to different directories on the same physical disk volume. For example, the following rename will work under Windows:

Name "c:\samples\mydoc.txt" As "c:\backup\doc\mydoc.bak"

You cannot rename files across physical disk volumes. For example, the following will error under Windows:

Name "c:\samples\mydoc.txt" As "a:\mydoc.bak"

To rename a file to a different physical disk, you must first copy the file, then erase the original:

FileCopy "c:\samples\mydoc.txt","a:\mydoc.bak"

Kill "c:\samples\mydoc.txt"

Example

'This example creates a file called test.dat and then renames it 'to test2.dat.

Sub Main()

On Error Resume Next

If FileExists("test.dat") Then

Name "test.dat" As "test2.dat"

If Err <> 0 Then

message = "File can't be renamed! Error: " & Err

Else

message = "File exists and renamed to test2.dat."

End If

Else

Open "test.dat" For Output As #1

Close

Name "test.dat" As "test2.dat"

If Err <> 0 Then

message = "File can't be renamed! Error: " & Err

Else

message = "File created and renamed to test2.dat."

End If

End If

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Kill (statement), FileCopy (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Named Parameters (topic)

Many language elements in AimBasic support named parameters. Named parameters allow you to specify parameters to a function or subroutine by name rather than in adherence to a predetermined order. The following table contains examples showing various calls to MsgBox both using parameter by both name and position.

By Name	MsgBox Prompt:= "Hello, world."

By Position	MsgBox "Hello, world."

By Name	MsgBox Title:="Title", Prompt:="Hello, world."

By Position	MsgBox "Hello, world",,"Title"

By Name	MsgBox HelpFile:="BASIC.HLP", _

    Prompt:="Hello, world.", Context:=10

By Position	MsgBox "Hello, world.",,,"BASIC.HLP",10

Using named parameter makes your code easier to read, while at the same time removes you from knowing the order of parameter. With function that require many parameters, most of which are optional (such as MsgBox), code becomes significantly easier to write and maintain.

When supported, the names of the named parameter appear in the description of that language element.

When using named parameter, you must observe the following rules:

• 	Named parameter must use the parameter name as specified in the description of that language element. Unrecognized parameter names cause compiler errors.

• 	All parameters, whether named or positional, are separated by commas.

• 	The parameter name and its associated value are separated with :=

• 	If one parameter is named, then all subsequent parameter must also be named as shown below:

MsgBox "Hello, world", Title:="Title"	'OK

MsgBox Prompt:="Hello, world.",,"Title"	'WRONG!!!


Net.AddCon (method)

Syntax

Net.AddCon netpath$,[password$],[localname$] [,[username$] [,permanent]]

Description

Redirects a local device (a disk drive or printer queue) to the specified shared device or remote server.

Comments

The Net.AddCon method takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

netpath$	String containing the name of the shared device or the name of a remote server. This parameter can contain the name of a shared printer queue (such as that returned by Net.Browse[1]) or the name of a network path (such as that returned by Net.Browse[0]).

password$	String containing the password for the given device or server. This parameter is mainly used to specify the password on a remote server.

If password$ is not specified, then the default password is used.

localname$	String containing the name of the local device being redirected, such as "LPT1" or "D:".

If localname$ is not specified, then a connection is made to the network resource without redirecting a local device.

username$	Specifies the name of the user making the connection.

permanent	Specifies if the connection should be restored during subsequent logon operations. Only a successful connection will persist in this manner.

Connections are assumed to be permanent if this parameter is omitted. Connections established when localname$ is missing are never permanent.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Example

'This example sets N: so that it refers to the network path 'SYS:\PUBLIC.

Sub Main()

Net.AddCon "SYS:\PUBLIC","","N:"

End Sub

See Also

Net.CancelCon (method), Net.GetCon$ (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

On Windows platforms, the localname$ parameter cannot be omitted. The username$ and permanent parameters are ignored.

Platform Notes: Win32

On Win32 platforms, if username$ is omitted, then the default user for the current process is used. The permanent parameter is always True under Win32s.


Net.Browse$ (method)

Syntax

Net.Browse$(type)

Description

Calls the currently installed network's browse dialog box, requesting a particular type of information.

Comments

The type parameter is an Integer specifying the type of dialog box to display:

Type	Description

0	Displays a dialog box that allows the user to browse network volumes and directories. Choosing OK returns the completed pathname as a String.

1	Displays a dialog box that allows the user to browse the network's printer queues. Choosing OK returns the complete name of that printer queue as a String. This string is the same format as required by the Net.AddCon method.

2	Displays the disconnect dialog for disk resources.

3	Displays the disconnect dialog for printer resources.

This dialog box differs depending on the type of network installed.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Example

'This example retrieves a valid network path.

Sub Main()

s$ = Net.Browse$(0)

If s$ <> "" Then

MsgBox "The following network path was selected: " & s$

Else

MsgBox "Dialog box was canceled."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Net.Dialog (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, types 2 and 3 are not supported.

Platform Notes: Win32

On Win32 platforms, this method always returns an empty string. Instead, each dialog automatically establishes the connection.

Types 1 and 3 are only supported under Windows 95 and Windows NT version 4.0 or later..


Net.CancelCon (method)

Syntax

Net.CancelCon connection$ [[,isForce] [,isPermanent]]

Description

Cancels a network connection.

Comments

The Net.CancelCon method takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

connection$	String containing the name of the device to cancel, such as "LPT1" or "D:".

If connection$ specifies a local device, then only that local device is disconnected. If connection$ specifies a remote device, then all local devices attached to that remote device are disconnected.

isForce	Boolean specifying whether to force the cancellation of the connection if there are open files or open print jobs. If this parameter is True, then this method will close all open files and open print jobs before the connection is closed. If this parameter is False, this the method will issue a runtime error if there are any open files or open print jobs.

If omitted, then isForce is assumed to be True.

isPermanent	Boolean specifying whether the disconnection should be temporary or should persist to subsequent logon operations. If this parameter is missing, then it is assumed to be True.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Example

'This example deletes the drive mapping associated with

'drive N:.

Sub Main()

Net.CancelCon "N:"

End Sub

See Also

Net.AddCon (method), Net.GetCon$ (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, isPermanent is ignored.

Platform Notes: Win32

The Net.CancelCon method requires Win32s version 1.3 or later.


Net.Dialog (method)

Syntax

Net.Dialog

Description

Displays the dialog box that allows configuration of the currently installed network.

Comments

The displayed dialog box depends on the currently installed network. The dialog box is modal--script execution will be paused until the dialog box is completed.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Example

'This example invokes the network driver dialog box.

Sub Main()

Net.Dialog

End Sub

See Also

Net.Browse$ (method)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Net.GetCaps (method)

Syntax

Net.GetCaps(type [,localname$])

Description

Returns an Integer specifying information about the network and its capabilities.

Comments

The Net.GetCaps method takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

type	An Integer specifying what type of information to retrieve. This parameter is different from platform to platform.

localname$	A String specifying the name of the local device to which is attached to the network device to be queried. If this parameter is missing, then information about the first network device is returned.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Examples

Sub Main()

'This example checks the type of network.

If Net.GetCaps(2) = 768 Then _

MsgBox "This is a Novell network."

'This checks whether the net supports retrieval of the

'user name.

If Net.GetCaps(4) And 1 Then _

MsgBox "User name is: " & Net.User$

'This checks whether this net supports the Browse dialog

'boxes.

If Net.GetCaps(6) And &H0010 Then MsgBox Net.Browse$(1)

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, since only one network connection is possible at any given time, the localname$ parameter is ignored.

The type parameter for Win16 platforms can be any of the values described in the following table:

Value of type	Description

1	Returns the version of the driver specification to which the currently installed network driver conforms. The high byte of the returned value contains the major version number and the low byte contains the minor version number. These values can be retrieved using the following code:

MajorVersionNumber = Net.GetCaps(1) \ 256

MinorVersionNumber = Net.GetCaps(1) And &H00FF

2	Returns the type of network. The network type is returned in the high byte and the subnetwork type is returned in the low byte. These values can be obtained using the following code:

NetType = Net.GetCaps(2) \ 256

SubNetType 	= Net.GetCaps(2) And &H00FF

Using the above values, NetType can be any of the following values:
0	No network is installed.
1	Microsoft Network.
2	Microsoft LAN Manager.
3	Novell NetWare.
4	Banyan Vines.
5	10Net.
6	Locus
7	SunSoft PC NFS.
8	LanStep.
9	9 Titles.
10	Articom Lantastic.
11	IBM AS/400.
12	FTP Software FTP NFS.
13	DEC Pathworks.

If NetType is 128, then SubNetType is any of the following values (you can test for any of these values using the And operator):

bit &H0001	Microsoft Network.
bit &H0002	Microsoft LAN Manager.
bit &H0004	Windows for Workgroups.
bit &H0008	Novell NetWare.
bit &H0010	Banyan Vines.
bit &H0080	Other unspecified network.

3	Returns the network driver version number.

4	Returns 1 if the Net.User$ property is supported; returns 0 otherwise.

6	Returns any of the following values indicating which connections are supported (you can test for these values using the And operator):
bit &H0001	Driver supports Net.AddCon.
bit &H0002	Driver supports Net.CancelCon.
bit &H0004	Driver supports Net.GetCon.
bit &H0008	Driver supports auto connect.
bit &H0010	Driver supports Net.Browse$.

7	Returns a value indicating which printer function are available (you can test for these values using the And operator):
bit &H0002	Driver supports open print job.
bit &H0004	Driver supports close print job.
bit &H0010	Driver supports hold print job.
bit &H0020	Driver supports release print job
bit &H0040	Driver supports cancel print job.
bit &H0080	Driver supports setting the number of
print copies.
bit &H0100	Driver supports watch print queue
bit &H0200	Driver supports unwatch print queue.
bit &H0400	Driver supports locking queue data.
bit &H0800	Driver supports unlocking queue data.
bit &H1000	Driver supports queue change
message.
bit &H2000	Driver supports abort print job.
bit &H4000	Driver supports no arbitrary lock.
bit &H8000	Driver supports write print job.

8	Returns a value indicating which dialog functions are available (you can test for these values using the And operator):
bit &H0001	Driver supports Device Mode dialog.
bit &H0002	Driver supports the Browse dialog.
bit &H0004	Driver supports the Connect dialog.
bit &H0008	Driver supports the Disconnect dialog.
bit &H0010	Driver supports the View Queue
dialog.

bit &H0020	Driver supports the Property dialog.
bit &H0040	Driver supports the Connection dialog.
bit &H0080	Driver supports the Printer Connect
dialog.
bit &H0100	Driver supports the Shares dialog.
bit &H0200	Driver supports the Share As dialog.

Platform Notes: Win32

For Win32 platforms, the type parameter can be any of the following values:

Value of type	Description

1	Always returns 0.

2	Network type:
0	No network is installed.
1	Microsoft Network.
2	Microsoft LAN Manager.
3	Novell NetWare.
4	Banyan Vines.
5	10Net.
6	Locus
7	SunSoft PC NFS.
8	LanStep.
9	9 Titles.
10	Articom Lantastic.
11	IBM AS/400.
12	FTP Software FTP NFS.
13	DEC Pathworks.

3	Version of the network with the major version in the high byte and the minor version in the low byte:

Major = Net.GetCaps(2) \ 256

Minor = Net.GetCaps(2) And &H00FF


Net.GetCon$ (method)

Syntax

Net.GetCon$(localname$)

Description

Returns the name of the network resource associated with the specified redirected local device.

Comments

The localname$ parameter specifies the name of the local device, such as "LPT1" or "D:".

The function returns a zero-length string if the specified local device is not redirected.

A runtime error will result if no network is present.

Example

'This example finds out where drive Z is mapped.

Sub Main()

NetPath$ = Net.GetCon$("Z:")

MsgBox "Drive Z is mapped as " & NetPath$

End Sub

See Also

Net.CancelCon (method), Net.AddCon (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Net.User$ (method)

Syntax

Net.User$ [([localname$])]

Description

Returns the name of the user on the network.

Comments

If localname$ is the name of a network device and the user is connected to that resource using different names, then the network provider may not be able to resolve which user name to return. In this case, the provider may make an arbitrary choice from the possible user names.

Examples

Sub Main()

'This example tells the user who he or she is.

MsgBox "You are " & Net.User$

'This example makes sure this capability is supported.

If Net.GetCaps(4) And 1 Then MsgBox "You are " & _

Net.User$

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

On Win16 platforms, localname$ is ignored.


New (keyword)

Syntax 1

Dim ObjectVariable As New ObjectType

Syntax 2

Set ObjectVariable = New ObjectType

Description

Creates a new instance of the specified object type, assigning it to the specified object variable.

Comments

The New keyword is used to declare a new instance of the specified data object. This keyword can only be used with data object types.

At runtime, the application or extension that defines that object type is notified that a new object is being defined. The application responds by creating a new physical object (within the appropriate context) and returning a reference to that object, which is immediately assigned to the variable being declared.

When that variable goes out of scope (i.e., the Sub or Function procedure in which the variable is declared ends), the application is notified. The application then performs some appropriate action, such as destroying the physical object.

See Also

Dim (statement), Set (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Not (operator)

Syntax

Not expression

Description

Returns either a logical or binary negation of expression.

Comments

The result is determined as shown in the following table:

If the expression is	then the result is

True	False

False	True

Null	Null

Any numeric type	A binary negation of the number. If the number is an Integer, then an Integer is returned. Otherwise, the expression is first converted to a Long, then a binary negation is performed, returning a Long.

Empty	Treated as a Long value 0.

Example

'This example demonstrates the use of the Not operator in 'comparing logical expressions and for switching a True/False 'toggle variable.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a = False

b = True

If (Not a and b) Then _

message = "a = False, b = True" & crlf

toggle% = True

message = message & "toggle% is now " & _

Format(toggle%,"True/False") & crlf

toggle% = Not toggle%

message = message & "toggle% is now " & _

Format(toggle%,"True/False") & crlf

toggle% = Not toggle%

message = message & "toggle% is now " & _

Format(toggle%,"True/False")

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Boolean (data type), Comparison Operators (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Now (function)

Syntax

Now[()]

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the current date and time.

Example

'This example shows how the Now function can be used as an 'elapsed-time counter.

Sub Main()

t1# = Now()

MsgBox "Wait a while and click OK."

t2# = Now()

t3# = Second(t2#) - Second(t1#)

MsgBox "Elapsed time was: " & t3# & " seconds."

End Sub

See Also

Date, Date$ (functions), Time, Time$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


NPer (function)

Syntax

NPer(rate, pmt, pv, fv, due)

Description

Returns the number of periods for an annuity based on periodic fixed payments and a constant rate of interest.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments paid to or received from an investment over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages, retirement plans, monthly savings plans, and term loans.

The NPer function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period. If the periods are monthly, be sure to normalize annual rates by dividing them by 12.

pmt	Double representing the amount of each payment or income. Income is represented by positive values, whereas payments are represented by negative values.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the present value would be the amount of the loan, and the future value (see below) would be zero.

fv	Double representing the future value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the future value would be zero, and the present value would be the amount of the loan.

due	Integer indicating when payments are due for each payment period. A 0 specifies payment at the end of each period, whereas a 1 indicates payment at the start of each period.

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative numbers represent cash paid out.

Example

'This example calculates the number of $100.00 monthly

'payments necessary to accumulate $10,000.00 at an annual

'rate of 10%. Payments are made at the beginning of the

'month.

Sub Main()

ag# = NPer((.10/12),100,0,10000,1)

MsgBox "The number of monthly periods is: " & Format(ag#,"Standard")

End Sub

See Also

IPmt (function), Pmt (function), PPmt (function), Rate (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Npv (function)

Syntax

Npv(rate, valuearray())

Description

Returns the net present value of an annuity based on periodic payments and receipts, and a discount rate.

Comments

The Npv function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double that represents the interest rate over the length of the period. If the values are monthly, annual rates must be divided by 12 to normalize them to monthly rates.

valuearray()	Array of Double numbers representing the payments and receipts. Positive values are payments, and negative values are receipts.There must be at least one positive and one negative value.

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative numbers represent cash paid out.

For accurate results, be sure to enter your payments and receipts in the correct order because Npv uses the order of the array values to interpret the order of the payments and receipts.

If your first cash flow occurs at the beginning of the first period, that value must be added to the return value of the Npv function. It should not be included in the array of cash flows.

Npv differs from the Pv function in that the payments are due at the end of the period and the cash flows are variable. Pv's cash flows are constant, and payment may be made at either the beginning or end of the period.

Example

This example illustrates the purchase of a lemonade stand for '$800 financed with money borrowed at 10%. The returns are 'estimated to accelerate as the stand gains popularity. The 'incomes are estimated (generated) over 12 months. This program 'first generates the income stream array in two For...Next loops, 'and then the net present value (Npv) is calculated and

'displayed. Note normalization of the annual 10% rate.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim valu#(12)

valu(1) = -800	'Initial investment

message = valu(1) & ", "

For x = 2 To 5	'Months 2-5

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 2)

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

For x = 6 To 12	'Months 6-12

valu(x) = 100 + (x * 10)	'Accelerated income

message = message & valu(x) & ", "

Next x

NetVal# = NPV((.10/12),valu)

message = "The values:" & crlf & message & crlf & crlf

MsgBox message & "Net present value: " & _

Format(NetVal#,"Currency")

End Sub

See Also

Fv (function), IRR (function), MIRR (function), Pv (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Object (data type)

Syntax

Object

Description

A data type used to declare OLE Automation variables.

Comments

The Object type is used to declare variables that reference objects within an application using OLE Automation.

Each object is a 4-byte (32-bit) value that references the object internally. The value 0 (or Nothing) indicates that the variable does not reference a valid object, as is the case when the object has not yet been given a value. Accessing properties or methods of such Object variables generates a runtime error.

Using Objects

Object variables are declared using the Dim, Public, or Private statement:

Dim MyApp As Object

Object variables can be assigned values (thereby referencing a real physical object) using the Set statement:

Set MyApp = CreateObject("phantom.application")

Set MyApp = Nothing

Properties of an Object are accessed using the dot (.) separator:

MyApp.Color = 10

i% = MyApp.Color

Methods of an Object are also accessed using the dot (.) separator:

MyApp.Open "sample.txt"

isSuccess = MyApp.Save("new.txt",15)

Automatic Destruction

AimBasic keeps track of the number of variables that reference a given object so that the object can be destroyed when there are no longer any references to it:

Sub Main()	'Number of references to object

Dim a As Object	'0

Dim b As Object	'0

Set a = CreateObject("phantom.application)	'1

Set b = a	'2

Set a = Nothing	'1

End Sub	'0bject destroyed

Note: An OLE Automation object is instructed by AimBasic to destroy itself when no variables reference that object. However, it is the responsibility of the OLE Automation server to destroy it. Some servers do not destroy their objects, usually when the objects have a visual component and can be destroyed manually by the user.

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh.


Objects (topic)

AimBasic defines two types of objects: data objects and OLE Automation objects.

Syntactically, these are referenced in the same way.

What Is an Object

An object in AimBasic is an encapsulation of data and routines into a single unit. The use of objects in AimBasic has the effect of grouping together a set of functions and data items that apply only to a specific object type.

Objects expose data items for programmability called properties. For example, a sheet object may expose an integer called NumColumns. Usually, properties can be both retrieved (get) and modified (set).

Objects also expose internal routines for programmability called methods. In AimBasic, an object method can take the form of a function or a subroutine. For example, a OLE Automation object called MyApp may contain a method subroutine called Open that takes a single argument (a filename), as shown below:

MyApp.Open "c:\files\sample.txt"

Declaring Object Variables

In order to gain access to an object, you must first declare an object variable using either Dim, Public, or Private:

Dim o As Object	'OLE Automation object

Initially, objects are given the value 0 (or Nothing). Before an object can be accessed, it must be associated with a physical object.

Assigning a Value to an Object Variable

An object variable must reference a real physical object before accessing any properties or methods of that object. To instantiate an object, use the Set statement.

Dim MyApp As Object

Set MyApp = CreateObject("Server.Application")

Accessing Object Properties

Once an object variable has been declared and associated with a physical object, it can be modified using AimBasic code. Properties are syntactically accessible using the dot operator, which separates an object name from the property being accessed:

MyApp.BackgroundColor = 10

i% = MyApp.DocumentCount

Properties are set using AimBasic's normal assignment statement:

MyApp.BackgroundColor = 10

Object properties can be retrieved and used within expressions:

i% = MyApp.DocumentCount + 10

MsgBox "Number of documents = " & MyApp.DocumentCount

Accessing Object Methods

Like properties, methods are accessed via the dot operator. Object methods that do not return values behave like subroutines in AimBasic (i.e., the arguments are not enclosed within parentheses):

MyApp.Open "c:\files\sample.txt",True,15

Object methods that return a value behave like function calls in AimBasic. Any arguments must be enclosed in parentheses:

If MyApp.DocumentCount = 0 Then MsgBox "No open documents."

NumDocs = app.count(4,5)

There is no syntactic difference between calling a method function and retrieving a property value, as shown below:

variable = object.property(arg1,arg2)

variable = object.method(arg1,arg2)

Comparing Object Variables

The values used to represent objects are meaningless to the script in which they are used, with the following exceptions:

• 	Objects can be compared to each other to determine whether they refer to the same object.

• 	Objects can be compared with Nothing to determine whether the object variable refers to a valid object.

Object comparisons are accomplished using the Is operator:

If a Is b Then MsgBox "a and b are the same object."

If a Is Nothing Then MsgBox "a is not initialized."

If b Is Not Nothing Then MsgBox "b is in use."

Collections

A collection is a set of related object variables. Each element in the set is called a member and is accessed via an index, either numeric or text, as shown below:

MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons(0)

MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons("Tuesday")

It is typical for collection indexes to begin with 0.

Each element of a collection is itself an object, as shown in the following examples:

Dim MyToolbarButton As Object

Set MyToolbarButton = MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons("Save")

MyAppp.Toolbar.Buttons(1).Caption = "Open"

The collection itself contains properties that provide you with information about the collection and methods that allow navigation within that collection:

Dim MyToolbarButton As Object

NumButtons% = MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons.Count

MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons.MoveNext

MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons.FindNext "Save"

For i = 1 To MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons.Count

Set MyToolbarButton = MyApp.Toolbar.Buttons(i)

MyToolbarButton.Caption = "Copy"

Next i

Predefined Objects

AimBasic predefines a few objects for use in all scripts. These are:

Clipboard	System	Desktop	HWND
Net	Basic	Screen

Note: Some of these objects are not available on all platforms.


Oct, Oct$ (functions)

Syntax

Oct[$](number)

Description

Returns a String containing the octal equivalent of the specified number.

Comments

Oct$ returns a String, whereas Oct returns a String variant.

The returned string contains only the number of octal digits necessary to represent the number.

The number parameter is any numeric expression. If this parameter is Null, then Null is returned. Empty is treated as 0. The number parameter is rounded to the nearest whole number before converting to the octal equivalent.

Example

'This example displays the octal equivalent of several numbers.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

st$ = "The octal values are: " & crlf

For x = 1 To 5

y% = x * 10

st$ = st$ & y% & " : " & Oct$(y%) & crlf

Next x

MsgBox st$

End Sub

See Also

Hex, Hex$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


OKButton (statement)

Syntax

OKButton x,y,width,height [,.Identifier]

Description

Creates an OK button within a dialog box template.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The OKButton statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable).

If the DefaultButton parameter is not specified in the Dialog statement, the OK button will be used as the default button. In this case, the OK button can be selected by pressing Enter on a nonbutton control.

A dialog box template must contain at least one OKButton, CancelButton, or PushButton statement (otherwise, the dialog box cannot be dismissed).

Example

'This example shows how to use the OK and Cancel buttons within a 'dialog box template and how to detect which one closed the

'dialog box.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog ButtonTemplate 17,33,104,23,"Buttons"

OKButton 8,4,40,14,.OK

CancelButton 56,4,40,14,.Cancel

End Dialog

Dim ButtonDialog As ButtonTemplate

WhichButton = Dialog(ButtonDialog)

If WhichButton = -1 Then

MsgBox "OK was pressed."

ElseIf WhichButton = 0 Then

MsgBox "Cancel was pressed."

End If

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


On Error (statement)

Syntax

On Error {Goto label | Resume Next | Goto 0}

Description

Defines the action taken when a trappable runtime error occurs.

Comments

The form On Error Goto label causes execution to transfer to the specified label when a runtime error occurs.

The form On Error Resume Next causes execution to continue on the line following the line that caused the error.

The form On Error Goto 0 causes any existing error trap to be removed.

If an error trap is in effect when the script ends, then an error will be generated.

An error trap is only active within the subroutine or function in which it appears.

Once an error trap has gained control, appropriate action should be taken, and then control should be resumed using the Resume statement. The Resume statement resets the error handler and continues execution. If a procedure ends while an error is pending, then an error will be generated. (The Exit Sub or Exit Function statement also resets the error handler, allowing a procedure to end without displaying an error message.)

Errors within an Error Handler

If an error occurs within the error handler, then the error handler of the caller (or any procedure in the call stack) will be invoked. If there is no such error handler, then the error is fatal, causing the script to stop executing. The following statements reset the error state (i.e., these statements turn off the fact that an error occurred):

Resume

Err=-1

The Resume statement forces execution to continue either on the same line or on the line following the line that generated the error. The Err=-1 statement allows explicit resetting of the error state so that the script can continue normal execution without resuming at the statement that caused the error condition.

The On Error statement will not reset the error. Thus, if an On Error statement occurs within an error handler, it has the effect of changing the location of a new error handler for any new errors that may occur once the error has been reset.

Example

'This example will demonstrate three types of error handling. The 'first case simply by-passes an expected error and continues with 'program operation. The second case creates an error branch that 'jumps to a common error handling routine that processes incoming 'errors, clears the error (with the Resume statement) and resumes 'program execution. The third case clears all internal error 'handling so that execution will stop when the next error is 'encountered.

Sub Main()

Dim x%

a = 10000

b = 10000

On Error Goto Pass	'Branch to this label on error.

Do

x% = a * b

Loop

Pass:

Err = -1	'Clear error status.

MsgBox "Cleared error status and continued."

On Error Goto Overflow	'Branch to new error routine on any

x% = 1000	'subsequent errors.

x% = a * b

x% = a / 0

On Error Goto 0	'Clear error branching.

x% = a * b 	'Program will stop here.

Exit Sub	'Exit before common error routine.

Overflow:	'Beginning of common error routine.

If Err = 6 then

MsgBox "Overflow Branch."

Else

MsgBox Error(Err)

End If

Resume Next

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), Error (statement), Resume (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Open (statement)

Syntax

Open filename$ [For mode] [Access accessmode] [lock] As [#] filenumber _

[Len = reclen]

Description

Opens a file for a given mode, assigning the open file to the supplied filenumber.

Comments

The filename$ parameter is a string expression that contains a valid filename.

The filenumber parameter is a number between 1 and 255. The FreeFile function can be used to determine an available file number.

The mode parameter determines the type of operations that can be performed on that file:

File Mode	Description

Input	Opens an existing file for sequential input (filename$ must exist). The value of accessmode, if specified, must be Read.

Output	Opens an existing file for sequential output, truncating its length to zero, or creates a new file. The value of accessmode, if specified, must be Write.

Append	Opens an existing file for sequential output, positioning the file pointer at the end of the file, or creates a new file. The value of accessmode, if specified, must be Read Write.

Binary	Opens an existing file for binary I/O or creates a new file. Existing binary files are never truncated in length. The value of accessmode, if specified, determines how the file can subsequently be accessed.

Random	Opens an existing file for record I/O or creates a new file. Existing random files are truncated only if accessmode is Write. The reclen parameter determines the record length for I/O operations.

If the mode parameter is missing, then Random is used.

The accessmode parameter determines what type of I/O operations can be performed on the file:

Access	Description

Read	Opens the file for reading only. This value is valid only for files opened in Binary, Random, or Input mode.

Write	Opens the file for writing only. This value is valid only for files opened in Binary, Random, or Output mode.

Read Write	Opens the file for both reading and writing. This value is valid only for files opened in Binary, Random, or Append mode.

If the accessmode parameter is not specified, the following defaults are used:

File Mode	Default Value for accessmode

Input	Read

Output	Write

Append	Read Write

Binary	When the file is initially opened, access is attempted three times in the following order:
1.	Read Write
2.	Write
3.	Read

Random	Same as Binary files

The lock parameter determines what access rights are granted to other processes that attempt to open the same file. The following table describes the values for lock:

lock Value	Description

Shared	Another process can both read this file and write to it. (Deny none.)

Lock Read	Another process can write to this file but not read it. (Deny read.)

Lock Write	Another process can read this file but not write to it. (Deny write.)

Lock Read Write	Another process is prevented both from reading this file and from writing to it. (Exclusive.)

If lock is not specified, then the file is opened in Shared mode.

If the file does not exist and the lock parameter is specified, the file is opened twiceonce to create the file and again to establish the correct sharing mode.

Files opened in Random mode are divided up into a sequence of records, each of the length specified by the reclen parameter. If this parameter is missing, then 128 is used. For files opened for sequential I/O, the reclen parameter specifies the size of the internal buffer used by AimBasic when performing I/O. Larger buffers mean faster file access. For Binary files, the reclen parameter is ignored.

For files opened in Append mode, AimBasic opens the file and positions the file pointer after the last character in the file. The end-of-file character, if present, is not removed by AimBasic.

Example

'This example opens several files in various configurations.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Output Access Write Lock Write As #2

Close

Open "test.dat" For Input Access Read Shared As #1

Close

Open "test.dat" For Append Access Write Lock Read Write as #3

Close

Open "test.dat" For Binary Access Read Write Shared As #4

Close

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read Write Lock Read As #5

Close

Open "test.dat" For Input Access Read Shared As #6

Close

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Close (statement), Reset (statement), FreeFile (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: UNIX

AimBasic sets the permissions of new files to the logical conjunction of 0777 octal and the process's umask.


OpenFileName$ (function)

Syntax

OpenFileName$[([title$ [,[extensions$] [,helpfile,context]]])]

Description

Displays a dialog box that prompts the user to select from a list of files, returning the full pathname of the file the user selects or a zero-length string if the user selects Cancel.

Comments

This function displays the standard file open dialog box, which allows the user to select a file. It takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

title$	String specifying the title that appears in the dialog box's title bar. If this parameter is omitted, then "Open" is used.

extension$	String specifying the available file types. The format for this string depends on the platform on which AimBasic is running. If this parameter is omitted, then all files are displayed.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

'This example asks the user for the name of a file, then proceeds 'to read the first line from that file.

Sub Main

Dim f As String,s As String

f$ = OpenFileName$("Open Picture","Text Files:*.TXT")

If f$ <> "" Then

Open f$ For Input As #1

Line Input #1,s$

Close #1

MsgBox "First line from " & f$ & " is " & s$

End If

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), SaveFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32, OS/2

The extensions$ parameter must be in the following format:

type:ext[,ext][;type:ext[,ext]]...

Placeholder	Description

type	Specifies the name of the grouping of files, such as All Files.

ext	Specifies a valid file extension, such as *.BAT or *.?F?.

For example, the following are valid extensions$ specifications:

"All Files:*.*"

"Documents:*.TXT,*.DOC"

"All Files:*.*;Documents:*.TXT,*.DOC"

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, the extensions$ parameter contains a comma-separated list of four-character file types. For example:

"TEXT,XLS4,MSWD"

On the Macintosh, the title$ parameter is ignored.


Operator Precedence (topic)

The following table shows the precedence of the operators supported by AimBasic. Operations involving operators of higher precedence occur before operations involving operators of lower precedence. When operators of equal precedence occur together, they are evaluated from left to right.

Operator	Description	Precedence Order

()	Parentheses	Highest

^	Exponentiation

-	Unary minus

/, *	Division and multiplication

\	Integer division

Mod	Modulo

+, -	Addition and subtraction

&	String concatenation

=, <>, >, <, <=, >=	Relational

Like, Is	String and object comparison

Not	Logical negation

And	Logical or binary conjunction

Or	Logical or binary disjunction

Xor, Eqv, Imp	Logical or binary operators	Lowest

The precedence order can be controlled using parentheses, as shown below:

a = 4 + 3 * 2	'a becomes 10.

a = (4 + 3) * 2	'a becomes 14.


Operator Precision (topic)

When numeric, binary, logical or comparison operators are used, the data type of the result is generally the same as the data type of the more precise operand. For example, adding an Integer and a Long first converts the Integer operand to a Long, then preforms a long addition, overflowing only if the result cannot be contained with a Long. The order of precision is shown in the following list:

Empty	Least precise
Boolean
Integer
Long
Single
Date
Double
Currency	Most precise
There are exceptions noted in the descriptions of each operator.

The rules for operand conversion are further complicated when an operator is used with variant data. In many cases, an overflow causes automatic promotion of the result to the next highest precise data type. For example, adding two Integer variants results in an Integer variant unless it overflows, in which case the result is automatically promoted to a Long variant.


Option Base (statement)

Syntax

Option Base {0 | 1}

Description

Sets the lower bound for array declarations.

Comments

By default, the lower bound used for all array declarations is 0.

This statement must appear outside of any functions or subroutines.

Example

Option Base 1

Sub Main()

Dim a(10)	'Contains 10 elements (not 11).

End Sub

See Also

Dim (statement), Public (statement), Private (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Option Compare (statement)

Syntax

Option Compare [Binary | Text]

Description

Controls how strings are compared.

Comments

When Option Compare is set to Binary, then string comparisons are case-sensitive (e.g., "A" does not equal "a"). When it is set to Text, string comparisons are case-insensitive (e.g., "A" is equal to "a").

The default value for Option Compare is Binary.

The Option Compare statement affects all string comparisons in any statements that follow the Option Compare statement. Additionally, the setting affects the default behavior of Instr, StrComp, and the Like operator. The following table shows the types of string comparisons affected by this setting:

>	<	<>
<=	>=	Instr
StrComp	Like
The Option Compare statement must appear outside the scope of all subroutines and functions. In other words, it cannot appear within a Sub or Function block.

Example

'This example shows the use of Option Compare.

Option Compare Binary

Sub CompareBinary

a$ = "This String Contains UPPERCASE."

b$ = "this string contains uppercase."

If a$ = b$ Then

MsgBox "The two strings were compared case-insensitive."

Else

MsgBox "The two strings were compared case-sensitive."

End If

End Sub

Option Compare Text

Sub CompareText

a$ = "This String Contains UPPERCASE."

b$ = "this string contains uppercase."

If a$ = b$ Then

MsgBox "The two strings were compared case-insensitive."

Else

MsgBox "The two strings were compared case-sensitive."

End If

End Sub

Sub Main()

CompareBinary	'Calls subroutine above.

CompareText	'Calls subroutine above.

End Sub

See Also

Like (operator), InStr, InStrB (functions), StrComp (function), Comparison Operators (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Option CStrings (statement)

Syntax

Option CStrings {On | Off}

Description

Turns on or off the ability to use C-style escape sequences within strings.

Comments

When Option CStrings On is in effect, the compiler treats the backslash character as an escape character when it appears within strings. An escape character is simply a special character that otherwise cannot ordinarily be typed by the computer keyboard.

Escape	Description	Equivalent Expression

\r	Carriage return	Chr$(13)

\n	Line Feed	Chr$(10)

\a	Bell	Chr$(7)

\b	Backspace	Chr$(8)

\f	Form Feed	Chr$(12)

\t	Tab	Chr$(9)

\v	Vertical tab	Chr$(11)

\0	Null	Chr$(0_

\"	Double quote	"" or Chr$(34)

\\	Backslash	Chr$(92)

\?	Question mark	?

\'	Single quote	'

\xhh	Hexadecimal number	Chr$(Val(&Hhh))

\ooo	Octal number	Chr$(Val(&Oooo))

\anycharacter	Any character	anycharacter

With hexadecimal values, AimBasic stops scanning for digits when it encounters a nonhexadecimal digit or two digits, whichever comes first. Similarly, with octal values, AimBasic stops scanning when it encounters a nonoctal digit or three digits, whichever comes first.

When Option CStrings Off is in effect, then the backslash character has no special meaning. This is the default.

Example

Option CStrings On

Sub Main()

MsgBox "They said, \"Watch out for that clump of grass!\""

MsgBox "First line.\r\nSecond line."

MsgBox "Char A: \x41 \r\n Char B: \x42"

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


Option Default (statement)

Syntax

Option Default type

Description

Sets the default data type of variables and function return values when not otherwise specified.

Comments

By default, the type of implicitly defined variables and function return values is Variant. This statement is used for backward compatibility with earlier versions of AimBasic where the default data type was Integer.

This statement must appear outside the scope of all functions and subroutines.

Currently, type can only be set to Integer.

Example

'This script sets the default data type to Integer. This fact

'is used to declare the function AddIntegers which returns an

'Integer data type.

Option Default Integer

Function AddIntegers(a As Integer,b As Integer)

Foo = a + b

End Function

Sub Main

Dim a,b,result

a = InputBox("Enter an integer:")

b = InputBox("Enter an integer:")

result = AddIntegers(a,b)

End Sub

See Also

DefType (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Option Explicit (statement)

Syntax

Option Explicit

Description

Prevents implicit declaration of variables and externally called procedures.

Comments

By default, AimBasic implicitly declares variables that are used but have not been explicitly declared with Dim, Public, or Private. To avoid typing errors, you may want to use Option Explicit to prevent this behavior.

The Option Explicit statement also enforces explicit declaration of all externally called procedures. Once specified, all externally called procedures must be explicitly declared with the Declare statement.

See Also

Const (statement), Dim (statement), Public (statement), Private (statement), ReDim (statement), Declare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


OptionButton (statement)

Syntax

OptionButton x,y,width,height,title$ [,.Identifier]

Description

Defines an option button within a dialog box template.

Comments

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The OptionButton statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

title$	String containing text that appears within the option button. This text may contain an ampersand character to denote an accelerator letter, such as "&Portrait" for Portrait, which can be selected by pressing the P accelerator.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable).

Example

See OptionGroup (statement).

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32, OS/2

On Windows, Win32, and OS/2 platforms, accelerators are underlined, and the accelerator combination Alt+letter is used.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, accelerators are normal in appearance, and the accelerator combination Command+letter is used.


OptionEnabled (function)

Syntax

OptionEnabled(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified option button is enabled within the current window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This function is used to determine whether a given option button is enabled within the current window or dialog box. If an option button is enabled, then its value can be set using the SetOption statement.

The OptionEnabled statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the option button.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the option button.

Note: The OptionEnabled function is used to determine whether an option button is enabled in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgEnable function with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example checks to see whether the option button is enabled 'before setting it.

If OptionEnabled("Tile") Then

SetOption "Tile"

End If

See Also

GetOption (function), OptionExists (function), SetOption (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


OptionExists (function)

Syntax

OptionExists(name$ | id)

Description

Returns True if the specified option button exists within the current window or dialog box; returns False otherwise.

Comments

This function is used to determine whether a given option button exists within the current window or dialog box.

The OptionExists statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the option button.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the option button.

Note: The OptionExists function is used to determine whether an option button exists in another application's dialog box. There is no equivalent function for use with dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example checks to see whether the option button exists and 'is enabled before setting it.

If OptionExists("Tile") Then

If OptionEnabled("Tile") Then

SetOption("Tile")

End If

End If

See Also

GetOption (function), OptionEnabled (function), SetOption (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


OptionGroup (statement)

Syntax

OptionGroup .Identifier

Description

Specifies the start of a group of option buttons within a dialog box template.

Comments

The .Identifier parameter specifies the name by which the group of option buttons can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates an integer variable whose value corresponds to the index of the selected option button within the group (0 is the first option button, 1 is the second option button, and so on). This variable can be accessed using the following syntax: DialogVariable.Identifier.

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

When the dialog box is created, the option button specified by .Identifier will be on; all other option buttons in the group will be off. When the dialog box is dismissed, the .Identifier will contain the selected option button.

Example

'This example creates a group of option buttons.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog PrintTemplate 16,31,128,65,"Print"

GroupBox 8,8,64,52,"Orientation",.Junk

OptionGroup .Orientation

OptionButton 16,20,37,8,"Portrait",.Portrait

OptionButton 16,32,51,8,"Landscape",.Landscape

OptionButton 16,44,49,8,"Don't Care",.DontCare

OKButton 80,8,40,14

End Dialog

Dim PrintDialog As PrintTemplate

Dialog PrintDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Or (operator)

Syntax

result = expression1 Or expression2

Description

Performs a logical or binary disjunction on two expressions.

Comments

If both expressions are either Boolean, Boolean variants, or Null variants, then a logical disjunction is performed as follows:

If expression1 is	and expression2 is	then the result is

True	True	True

True	False	True

True 	Null	True

False	True	True

False	False	False

False	Null	Null

Null	True	True

Null 	False	Null

Null 	Null	Null

Binary Disjunction

If the two expressions are Integer, then a binary disjunction is performed, returning an Integer result. All other numeric types (including Empty variants) are converted to Long and a binary disjunction is then performed, returning a Long result.

Binary disjunction forms a new value based on a bit-by-bit comparison of the binary representations of the two expressions according to the following table:

If bit in expression1 is	and bit in expression2 is	the result is

1	1	1

0	1	1

1	0	1

0	0	0

Examples

'This first example shows the use of logical Or.

Dim s$ As String

s$ = InputBox$("Enter a string.")

If s$ = "" Or Mid$(s$,1,1) = "A" Then

s$ = LCase$(s$)

End If

'This second example shows the use of binary Or.

Dim w As Integer

TryAgain:

s$ = InputBox$("Enter a hex number (four digits max).")

If Mid$(s$,1,1) <> "&" Then

s$ = "&H" & s$

End If

If Not IsNumeric(s$) Then Goto TryAgain

w = CInt(s$)

MsgBox "Your number is &H" & Hex$(w)

w = w Or &H8000

MsgBox "Your number with the high bit set is &H" & _

Hex$(w)

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Xor (operator), Eqv (operator), Imp (operator), And (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


Picture (statement)

Syntax

Picture x,y,width,height,PictureName$,PictureType [,[.Identifier] [,style]]

Description

Creates a picture control in a dialog box template.

Comments

Picture controls are used for the display of graphics images only. The user cannot interact with these controls.

The Picture statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

PictureName$	String containing the name of the picture. If PictureType is 0, then this name specifies the name of the file containing the image. If PictureType is 10, then PictureName$ specifies the name of the image within the resource of the picture library.

If PictureName$ is empty, then no picture will be associated with the control. A picture can later be placed into the picture control using the DlgSetPicture statement.

PictureType	Integer specifying the source for the image. The following sources are supported:

0 The image is contained in a file on disk.

10 The image is contained in a picture library as specified by the PicName$ parameter on the Begin Dialog statement.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). If omitted, then the first two words of PictureName$ are used.

style	Specifies whether the picture is drawn within a 3D frame. It can be either of the following values:

0 Draw the picture control with a normal frame.

1 Draw the picture control with a 3D frame.

If this parameter is omitted, then the picture control is drawn with a normal frame.

The picture control extracts the actual image from either a disk file or a picture library. In the case of bitmaps, both 2- and 16-color bitmaps are supported. In the case of WMFs, AimBasic supports the Placeable Windows Metafile.

If PictureName$ is a zero-length string, then the picture is removed from the picture control, freeing any memory associated with that picture.

Examples

'This first example shows how to use a picture from a file.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog LogoDialogTemplate 16,32,288,76,"Introduction"

OKButton 240,8,40,14

Picture 8,8,224,64,"c:\bitmaps\logo.bmp",0,.Logo

End Dialog

Dim LogoDialog As LogoDialogTemplate

Dialog LogoDialog

End Sub

'This second example shows how to use a picture from a picture

'library with a 3D frame.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog LogoDlg _

16,31,288,76,"Introduction",,"pics.dll"

OKButton 240,8,40,14

Picture 8,8,224,64,"CompanyLogo",10,.Logo,1

End Dialog

Dim LogoDialog As LogoDialogTemplate

Dialog LogoDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Picture controls can contain either a bitmap or a WMF (Windows metafile). When extracting images from a picture library, AimBasic assumes that the resource type for metafiles is 256.

Picture libraries are implemented as DLLs on the Windows and Win32 platforms.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Picture controls can contain either bitmaps or Windows metafiles.

Picture libraries under OS/2 are implemented as resources within DLLs. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one of these resources as it appears within the DLL.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Picture controls on the Macintosh can contain only PICT images. These are contained in files of type PICT.

Picture libraries on the Macintosh are files with collections of named PICT resources. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one the resources as it appears within the file.


PictureButton (statement)

Syntax

PictureButton x,y,width,height,PictureName$,PictureType [,.Identifier]

Description

Creates a picture button control in a dialog box template.

Comments

Picture button controls behave very much like push button controls. Visually, picture buttons are different from push buttons in that they contain a graphic image imported either from a file or from a picture library.

The PictureButton statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

PictureName$	String containing the name of the picture. If PictureType is 0, then this name specifies the name of the file containing the image. If PictureType is 10, then PictureName$ specifies the name of the image within the resource of the picture library.

If PictureName$ is empty, then no picture will be associated with the control. A picture can later be placed into the picture control using the DlgSetPicture statement.

PictureType	Integer specifying the source for the image. The following sources are supported:

0 The image is contained in a file on disk.

10 The image is contained in a picture library as specified by the PicName$ parameter on the Begin Dialog statement.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable).

The picture button control extracts the actual image from either a disk file or a picture library, depending on the value of PictureType. The supported picture formats vary from platform to platform.

If PictureName$ is a zero-length string, then the picture is removed from the picture button control, freeing any memory associated with that picture.

Examples

'This first example shows how to use a picture from a file.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog LogoDialogTemplate _

16,32,288,76,"Introduction"

OKButton 240,8,40,14

PictureButton 8,4,224,64,"c:\bitmaps\logo.bmp",0,.Logo

End Dialog

Dim LogoDialog As LogoDialogTemplate

Dialog LogoDialog

End Sub

'This second example shows how to use a picture from a picture

'library.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog LogoDlg _

16,31,288,76,"Introduction",,"pics.dll"

OKButton 240,8,40,14

PictureButton 8,4,224,64,"CompanyLogo",10,.Logo

End Dialog

Dim LogoDialog As LogoDlg

Dialog LogoDialog

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), Picture (statement), DlgSetPicture (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2, Macintosh, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Picture controls can contain either a bitmap or a WMF (Windows metafile). When extracting images from a picture library, AimBasic assumes that the resource type for metafiles is 256.

Picture libraries are implemented as DLLs on the Windows and Win32 platforms.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Picture controls can contain either bitmaps or Windows metafiles.

Picture libraries under OS/2 are implemented as resources within DLLs. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one of these resources as it appears within the DLL.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Picture controls on the Macintosh can contain only PICT images. These are contained in files of type PICT.

Picture libraries on the Macintosh are files with collections of named PICT resources. The PictureName$ parameter corresponds to the name of one the resources as it appears within the file.


Pmt (function)

Syntax

Pmt(rate, nper, pv, fv, due)

Description

Returns the payment for an annuity based on periodic fixed payments and a constant rate of interest.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments made to an insurance company or other investment company over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages and monthly savings plans.

The Pmt function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period. If the periods are given in months, be sure to normalize annual rates by dividing them by 12.

nper	Double representing the total number of payments in the annuity.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the present value would be the amount of the loan.

fv	Double representing the future value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the future value would be 0.

due	Integer indicating when payments are due for each payment period. A 0 specifies payment at the end of each period, whereas a 1 specifies payment at the start of each period.

The rate and nper parameters must be expressed in the same units. If rate is expressed in months, then nper must also be expressed in months.

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative numbers represent cash paid out.

Example

'This example calculates the payment necessary to repay a

'$1,000.00 loan over 36 months at an annual rate of 10%.

'Payments are due at the beginning of the period.

Sub Main()

x = Pmt((.1/12),36,1000.00,0,1)

message = "The payment is: "

MsgBox message & Format(x,"Currency")

End Sub

See Also

IPmt (function), NPer (function), PPmt (function), Rate (function)

Platform(s)

All.


PopupMenu (function)

Syntax

PopupMenu(MenuItems$())

Description

Displays a pop-up menu containing the specified items, returning an Integer representing the index of the selected item.

Comments

If no item is selected (i.e., the pop-up menu is canceled), then a value of 1 less than the lower bound of the array is returned.

This function creates a pop-up menu using the string elements in the given array. Each array element is used as a menu item. A zero-length string results in a separator bar in the menu.

The pop-up menu is created with the upper left corner at the current mouse position.

A runtime error results if MenuItems$ is not a single-dimension array.

Only one pop-up menu can be displayed at a time. An error will result if another script executes this function while a pop-up menu is visible.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim a$()

AppList a$

w% = PopupMenu(a$)

End Sub

See Also

SelectBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


PPmt (function)

Syntax

PPmt(rate, per, nper, pv, fv, due)

Description

Calculates the principal payment for a given period of an annuity based on periodic, fixed payments and a fixed interest rate.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments made to an insurance company or other investment company over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages and monthly savings plans.

The PPmt function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period.

per	Double representing the number of payment periods. The per parameter can be no less than 1 and no greater than nper.

nper	Double representing the total number of payments in your annuity.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the present value would be the amount of the loan.

fv	Double representing the future value of your annuity. In the case of a loan, the future value would be 0.

due	Integer indicating when payments are due. If this parameter is 0, then payments are due at the end of each period; if it is 1, then payments are due at the start of each period.

The rate and nper parameters must be in the same units to calculate correctly. If rate is expressed in months, then nper must also be expressed in months.

Negative values represent payments paid out, whereas positive values represent payments received.

Example

'This example calculates the principal paid during each year on

'a loan of $1,000.00 with an annual rate of 10% for a period of

'10 years. The result is displayed as a table containing the

'following information: payment, principal payment, principal

'balance.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

pay = Pmt(.1,10,1000.00,0,1)

message = "Amortization table for"

message = message & " 10 years: " & crlf & crlf

bal = 1000.00

For per = 1 to 10

prn = PPmt(.1,per,10,1000,0,0)

bal = bal + prn

message = message & Format(pay,"Currency") & "  " & _

& Format$(Prn,"Currency")

message = message & "  " & Format(bal,"Currency") & crlf

Next per

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

IPmt (function), NPer (function), Pmt (function), Rate (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Print (statement)

Syntax

Print [[{Spc(n) | Tab(n)}][expressionlist][{; | ,}]]

Description

Prints data to an output device.

Comments

The actual output device depends on the platform on which AimBasic is running.

The following table describes how data of different types is written:

Data Type	Description

String	Printed in its literal form, with no enclosing quotes.

Any numeric type	Printed with an initial space reserved for the sign (space = positive). Additionally, there is a space following each number.

Boolean	Printed as "True" or "False". These keywords are translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

Date	Printed using the short date format. If either the date or time component is missing, only the provided portion is printed (this is consistent with the "general date" format understood by the Format/Format$ functions).

Empty	Nothing is printed

Null	Prints "Null". This keyword is translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

User-defined errors	User-defined errors are printed to files as "Error code", where code is the value of the user-defined error. The word "Error" is not translated. The "Error" keyword is translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

Object	For any object type, AimBasic retrieves the default property of that object and prints this value using the above rules.

Each expression in expressionlist is separated with either a comma (,) or a semicolon (;). A comma means that the next expression is output in the next print zone. A semicolon means that the next expression is output immediately after the current expression. Print zones are defined every 14 spaces.

If the last expression in the list is not followed by a comma or a semicolon, then a carriage return is printed to the file. If the last expression ends with a semicolon, no carriage return is printedthe next Print statement will output information immediately following the expression. If the last expression in the list ends with a comma, the file pointer is positioned at the start of the next print zone on the current line.

The Tab and Spc functions provide additional control over the column position. The Tab function moves the file position to the specified column, whereas the Spc function outputs the specified number of spaces.

Note: Null charactersChr$(0)within strings are translated to spaces when printing to the Viewport window. When printing to files, this translation is not performed.

Examples

Sub Main()

i% = 10

s$ = "This is a test."

Print "The value of i=";i%,"the value of s=";s$

'This example prints the value of i% in print zone 1 and s$

'in print zone 3.

Print i%,,s$

'This example prints the value of i% and s$ separated by 10

'spaces.

Print i%;Spc(10);s$

'This example prints the value of i in column 1 and s$ in

'column 30.

Print i%;Tab(30);s$

'This example prints the value of i% and s$.

Print i%;s$,

Print 67

End Sub

See Also

Viewport.Open (method)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows, this statement writes data to a viewport window.

If no viewport window is open, then the statement is ignored. Printing information to a viewport window is a convenient way to output debugging information. To open a viewport window, use the following statement:

Viewport.Open

Platform Notes: UNIX, Macintosh

On all UNIX platforms, and the Macintosh, the Print statement prints data to stdout.


Print# (statement)

Syntax

Print [#]filenumber, [[{Spc(n) | Tab(n)}][expressionlist][{;|,}]]

Description

Writes data to a sequential disk file.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is a number that is used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

The following table describes how data of different types is written:

Data Type	Description

String	Printed in its literal form, with no enclosing quotes.

Any numeric type	Printed with an initial space reserved for the sign (space = positive). Additionally, there is a space following each number.

Boolean	Printed as "True" or "False". These keywords are translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

Date	Printed using the short date format. If either the date or time component is missing, only the provided portion is printed (this is consistent with the "general date" format understood by the Format/Format$ functions).

Empty	Nothing is printed

Null	Prints "Null". This keyword is translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

User-defined errors	User-defined errors are printed to files as "Error code", where code is the value of the user-defined error. The word "Error" is not translated. The "Error" keyword is translated as appropriate according to your system’s locale.

Object	For any object type, AimBasic retrieves the default property of that object and prints this value using the above rules.

Each expression in expressionlist is separated with either a comma (,) or a semicolon (;). A comma means that the next expression is output in the next print zone. A semicolon means that the next expression is output immediately after the current expression. Print zones are defined every 14 spaces.

If the last expression in the list is not followed by a comma or a semicolon, then an end-of-line is printed to the file. If the last expression ends with a semicolon, no end-of-line is printedthe next Print statement will output information immediately following the expression. If the last expression in the list ends with a comma, the file pointer is positioned at the start of the next print zone on the current line.

The Write statement always outputs information ending with an end-of-line. Thus, if a Print statement is followed by a Write statement, the file pointer is positioned on a new line.

The Print statement can only be used with files that are opened in Output or Append mode.

The Tab and Spc functions provide additional control over the file position. The Tab function moves the file position to the specified column, whereas the Spc function outputs the specified number of spaces.

In order to correctly read the data using the Input# statement, you should write the data using the Write statement.

The end-of-line character is different on many platforms. On some platforms, it is defined as a carriage-return/line-feed pair, and on other platforms, it is defined as only a line feed. The AimBasic statements that read sequential files don't care about the end-of-line character—either will work.

Examples

Sub Main()

'This example opens a file and prints some data.

Open "test.dat" For Output As #1

i% = 10

s$ = "This is a test."

Print #1,"The value of i=";i%,"the value of s=";s$

'This example prints the value of i% in print zone 1 and s$

'in print zone 3.

Print #1,i%,,s$

'This example prints the value of i% and s$ separated by ten

'spaces.

Print #1,i%;Spc(10);s$

'This example prints the value of i in column 1 and s$ in

'column 30.

Print #1,i%;Tab(30);s$

'This example prints the value of i% and s$.

Print #1,i%;s$,

Print #1,67

Close #1

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Put (statement), Write# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


PrinterGetOrientation (function)

Syntax

PrinterGetOrientation[()]

Description

Returns an Integer representing the current orientation of paper in the default printer.

Comments

PrinterGetOrientation returns ebPortrait if the printer orientation is set to portrait; otherwise, it returns ebLandscape. Zero is returned if there is no installed default printer.

This function loads the printer driver and therefore may be slow.

Example

'This example toggles the printer orientation.

Sub Main()

If PrinterGetOrientation = ebLandscape Then

PrinterSetOrientation ebPortrait

Else

PrinterSetOrientation ebLandscape

End If

End Sub

See Also

PrinterSetOrientation (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

The default printer is determined by examining the device= line in the [windows] section of the win.ini file.


PrinterSetOrientation (statement)

Syntax

PrinterSetOrientation NewSetting

Description

Sets the orientation of the default printer to NewSetting.

Comments

The possible values for NewSetting are as follows:

Setting	Description

ebLandscape	Sets printer orientation to landscape.

ebPortrait	Sets printer orientation to portrait.

This function loads the printer driver for the default printer and therefore may be slow.

Example

See PrinterGetOrientation (function).

See Also

PrinterGetOrientation (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

The default printer is determined by examining the device= line in the [windows] section of the win.ini file.


PrintFile (function)

Syntax

PrintFile(filename$)

Description

Prints the filename$ using the application to which the file belongs.

Comments

PrintFile returns an Integer indicating success or failure.

If an error occurs executing the associated application, then PrintFile generates a trappable runtime error, returning 0 for the result. Otherwise, PrintFile returns a value representing that application to the system. This value is suitable for calling the AppActivate statement.

Example

'This example asks the user for the name of a text file, then

'prints it.

Sub Main()

f$ = OpenFilename$("Print Text File","Text Files:*.txt")

If f$ <> "" Then

rc% = PrintFile(f$)

If rc% > 32 Then

MsgBox "File is printing."

End If

End If

End Sub

See Also

Shell (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

This function invokes the Windows 3.1 shell functions that cause an application to execute and print a file. The application executed by PrintFile depends on your system's file associations.


Private (statement)

Syntax

Private name [(subscripts)] [As type] [,name [(subscripts)] [As type]]...

Description

Declares a list of private variables and their corresponding types and sizes.

Comments

Private variables are global to every Sub and Function within the currently executing script.

If a type-declaration character is used when specifying name (such as %, @, &, $, or !), the optional [As type] expression is not allowed. For example, the following are allowed:

Private foo As Integer

Private foo%

The subscripts parameter allows the declaration of arrays. This parameter uses the following syntax:

[lower To] upper [,[lower To] upper]...

The lower and upper parameters are integers specifying the lower and upper bounds of the array. If lower is not specified, then the lower bound as specified by Option Base is used (or 1 if no Option Base statement has been encountered). Up to 60 array dimensions are allowed.

The total size of an array (not counting space for strings) is limited to 64K.

Dynamic arrays are declared by not specifying any bounds:

Private a()

The type parameter specifies the type of the data item being declared. It can be any of the following data types: String, Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency, Object, data object, built-in data type, or any user-defined data type.

If a variable is seen that has not been explicitly declared with either Dim, Public, or Private, then it will be implicitly declared local to the routine in which it is used.

Fixed-Length Strings

Fixed-length strings are declared by adding a length to the String type-declaration character:

Private name As String * length

where length is a literal number specifying the string's length.

Initial Values

All declared variables are given initial values, as described in the following table:

Data Type	Initial Value

Integer	0

Long	0

Double	0.0

Single	0.0

Currency	0.0

Object	Nothing

Date	December 31, 1899 00:00:00

Boolean	False

Variant	Empty

String	"" (zero-length string)

User-defined type	Each element of the structure is given a default value, as described above.

Arrays	Each element of the array is given a default value, as described above.

Example

See Public (statement).

See Also

Dim (statement), ReDim (statement), Public (statement), Option Base (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Public (statement)

Syntax

Public name [(subscripts)] [As type] [,name [(subscripts)] [As type]]...

Description

Declares a list of public variables and their corresponding types and sizes.

Comments

Public variables are global to all Subs and Functions in all scripts.

If a type-declaration character is used when specifying name (such as %, @, &, $, or !), the optional [As type] expression is not allowed. For example, the following are allowed:

Public foo As integer

Public foo%

The subscripts parameter allows the declaration of arrays. This parameter uses the following syntax:

[lower To] upper [,[lower To] upper]...

The lower and upper parameters are integers specifying the lower and upper bounds of the array. If lower is not specified, then the lower bound as specified by Option Base is used (or 1 if no Option Base statement has been encountered). Up to 60 array dimensions are allowed.

The total size of an array (not counting space for strings) is limited to 64K.

Dynamic arrays are declared by not specifying any bounds:

Public a()

The type parameter specifies the type of the data item being declared. It can be any of the following data types: String, Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency, Object, data object, built-in data type, or any user-defined data type.

If a variable is seen that has not been explicitly declared with either Dim, Public, or Private, then it will be implicitly declared local to the routine in which it is used.

For compatibility, the keyword Global is also supported. It has the same meaning as Public.

Fixed-Length Strings

Fixed-length strings are declared by adding a length to the String type-declaration character:

Public name As String * length

where length is a literal number specifying the string's length.

All declared variables are given initial values, as described in the following table:

Data Type	Initial Value

Integer	0

Long	0

Double	0.0

Single	0.0

Currency	0.0

Date	December 31, 1899 00:00:00

Object	Nothing

Boolean	False

Variant	Empty

String	"" (zero-length string)

User-defined type	Each element of the structure is given a default value, as described above.

Arrays	Each element of the array is given a default value, as described above.

Sharing Variables

When sharing variables, you must ensure that the declarations of the shared variables are the same in each script that uses those variables. If the public variable being shared is a user-defined structure, then the structure definitions must be exactly the same.

Example

'This example uses a subroutine to calculate the area of ten

'circles and displays the result in a dialog box. The variables

'R and Ar are declared as Public variables so that they can be

'used in both Main and Area.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Public x#, ar#

Sub Area()

ar# = (x# ^ 2) * Pi

End Sub

Sub Main()

message = "The area of the ten circles are:" & crlf

For x# = 1 To 10

Area

message = message & x# & ": " & ar# & Basic.Eoln$

Next x#

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Dim (statement), ReDim (statement), Private (statement), Option Base (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


PushButton (statement)

Syntax

PushButton x,y,width,height,title$ [,.Identifier]

Description

Defines a push button within a dialog box template.

Comments

Choosing a push button causes the dialog box to close (unless the dialog function redefines this behavior).

This statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

The PushButton statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates specifying the position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer coordinates specifying the dimensions of the control in dialog units.

title$	String containing the text that appears within the push button. This text may contain an ampersand character to denote an accelerator letter, such as "&Save" for Save.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable).

If a push button is the default button, it can be selected by pressing Enter on a nonbutton control.

A dialog box template must contain at least one OKButton, CancelButton, or PushButton statement (otherwise, the dialog box cannot be dismissed).

Example

'This example creates a bunch of push buttons and displays which

'button was pushed.

Sub Main()

Begin Dialog ButtonTemplate 17,33,104,84,"Buttons"

OKButton 8,4,40,14,.OK

CancelButton 8,24,40,14,.Cancel

PushButton 8,44,40,14,"1",.Button1

PushButton 8,64,40,14,"2",.Button2

PushButton 56,4,40,14,"3",.Button3

PushButton 56,24,40,14,"4",.Button4

PushButton 56,44,40,14,"5",.Button5

PushButton 56,64,40,14,"6",.Button6

End Dialog

Dim ButtonDialog As ButtonTemplate

WhichButton% = Dialog(ButtonDialog)

MsgBox "You pushed button " & WhichButton%

End Sub

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), Text (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32, OS/2

On Windows, Win32, and OS/2 platforms, accelerators are underlined, and the accelerator combination Alt+letter is used.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, accelerators are normal in appearance, and the accelerator combination Command+letter is used.


Put (statement)

Syntax

Put [#]filenumber, [recordnumber], variable

Description

Writes data from the specified variable to a Random or Binary file.

Comments

The Put statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer representing the file to be written to. This is the same value as returned by the Open statement.

recordnumber	Long specifying which record is to be written to the file.

For Binary files, this number represents the first byte to be written starting with the beginning of the file (the first byte is 1). For Random files, this number represents the record number starting with the beginning of the file (the first record is 1). This value ranges from 1 to 2147483647.

If the recordnumber parameter is omitted, the next record is written to the file (if no records have been written yet, then the first record in the file is written). When recordnumber is omitted, the commas must still appear, as in the following example:

Put #1,,recvar

If recordlength is specified, it overrides any previous change in file position specified with the Seek statement.

The variable parameter is the name of any variable of any of the following types:

VariableType	File Storage Description

Integer	2 bytes are written to the file.

Long	4 bytes are written to the file.

String (variable-length)	In Binary files, variable-length strings are written by first determining the specified string variable's length, then writing that many bytes to a file.

In Random files, variable-length strings are written by first writing a 2-byte length, then writing that many characters to the file.

String (fixed-length)	Fixed-length strings are written to Random and Binary files in the same way: the number of characters equal to the string's declared length are written.

Double 	8 bytes are written to the file (IEEE format),

Single	4 bytes are written to the file (IEEE format).

Date	8 bytes are written to the file (IEEE double format).

Boolean 	2 bytes are written to the file (either –1 for True or 0 for False).

Variant	A 2-byte VarType is written to the file followed by the data as described above. With variants of type 10 (user-defined errors), the 2-byte VarType is followed by a 4-byte error value (the low word containing the error valueand the high word containing additional bytes of information).

The exception is with strings, which are always preceded by a 2-byte string length.

User-defined types	Each member of a user-defined data type is written individually.

In Binary files, variable-length strings within user-defined types are written by first writing a 2-byte length followed by the string's content. This storage is different than variable-length strings outside of user-defined types.

When writing user-defined types, the record length must be greater than or equal to the combined size of each element within the data type.

Arrays	Arrays cannot be written to a file using the Put statement.

Objects	Object variables cannot be written to a file using the Put statement.

With Random files, a runtime error will occur if the length of the data being written exceeds the record length (specified as the reclen parameter with the Open statement). If the length of the data being written is less than the record length, the entire record is written along with padding (whatever data happens to be in the I/O buffer at that time). With Binary files, the data elements are written contiguously: they are never separated with padding.

Example

'This example opens a file for random write, then writes ten

'records into the file with the values 10-50. Then the file is

'closed and reopened in random mode for read, and the records

'are read with the Get statement. The result is displayed in a

'dialog box.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write As #1

For x = 1 To 10

r% = x * 10

Put #1,x,r%

Next x

Close

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read As #1

For x = 1 To 10

Get #1,x,r%

message = message & "Record " & x & " is: " & r% & _

Basic.Eoln$

Next x

MsgBox msg

Close

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Put (statement), Write# (statement), Print# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Pv (function)

Syntax

Pv(rate, nper, pmt, fv, due)

Description

Calculates the present value of an annuity based on future periodic fixed payments and a constant rate of interest.

Comments

The Pv function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

rate	Double representing the interest rate per period. When used with monthly payments, be sure to normalize annual percentage rates by dividing them by 12.

nper	Double representing the total number of payments in the annuity.

pmt	Double representing the amount of each payment per period.

fv	Double representing the future value of the annuity after the last payment has been made. In the case of a loan, the future value would be 0.

due	Integer indicating when the payments are due for each payment period. A 0 specifies payment at the end of each period, whereas a 1 specifies payment at the start of each period.

The rate and nper parameters must be expressed in the same units. If rate is expressed in months, then nper must also be expressed in months.

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative numbers represent cash paid out.

Example

'This example demonstrates the present value (the amount you'd

'have to pay now) for a $100,000 annuity that pays an annual

'income of $5,000 over 20 years at an annual interest rate of 10%.

Sub Main()

pval = Pv(.1,20,-5000,100000,1)

MsgBox "The present value is: " & Format(pval,"Currency")

End Sub

See Also

Fv (function), IRR (function), MIRR (function), Npv (function)

Platform(s)

All.


QueEmpty (statement)

Syntax

QueEmpty

Description

Empties the current event queue.

Comments

After this statement, QueFlush will do nothing.

Example

'This code begins a new queue, then drags a selection over a

'range of characters in Notepad.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"

QueEmpty	'Make sure the queue is empty.

QueMouseDn ebLeftButton,1440,1393

QueMouseUp ebLeftButton,4147,2363

QueFlush True

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: WIndows

If a system modal dialog is invoked during queue playback, the queue playback is temporarily disabled. Queue playback will resume once the dialog has been dismissed. Hardware input is enabled during processing of the system modal dialog such that the dialog can be dismissed by the user. Otherwise, hardware input is enabled until playback is finished.


QueFlush (statement)

Syntax

QueFlush isSaveState

Description

Plays back events that are stored in the current event queue.

Comments

After QueFlush is finished, the queue is empty.

If isSaveState is True, then QueFlush saves the state of the Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock, and Insert and restores the state after the QueFlush is complete. If this parameter is False, these states are not restored.

The function does not return until the entire queue has been played.

Example

'This example pumps some keys into Notepad.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"

QueKeys "This is a test{Enter}"

QueFlush True	'Play back the queue.

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

The QueFlush statement uses the Windows journaling mechanism to replay the mouse and keyboard events stored in the queue. As a result, the mouse position may be changed. Furthermore, events can be played into any Windows application, including DOS applications running in a window.


QueKeyDn (statement)

Syntax

QueKeyDn KeyString$ [,time]

Description

Appends key-down events for the specified keys to the end of the current event queue.

Comments

The QueKeyDn statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

KeyString$	String containing the keys to be sent. The format for KeyString$ is described under the SendKeys statement.

time	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds devoted for the output of the entire KeyString$ parameter. It must be within the following range:

0 <= time <= 32767

For example, if time is 5000 (5 seconds) and the KeyString$ parameter contains ten keys, then a key will be output every 1/2 second. If unspecified (or 0), the keys will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

'This example plays back a Ctrl + mouse click.

Sub Main()

QueEmpty

QueKeyDn "^"

QueMouseClick ebLeftButton 1024,792

QueKeyUp "^"

QueFlush True

End Sub

See Also

DoKeys (statement), SendKeys (statement), QueKeys (statement), QueKeyUp (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueKeys (statement)

Syntax

QueKeys KeyString$ [,time]

Description

Appends keystroke information to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueKeys statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

KeyString$	String containing the keys to be sent. The format for KeyString$ is described under the SendKeys statement.

time	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds devoted for the output of the entire KeyString$ parameter. It must be within the following range:

0 <= time <= 32767

For example, if time is 5000 (5 seconds) and the KeyString$ parameter contains ten keys, then a key will be output every 1/2 second. If unspecified (or 0), the keys will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

Sub Main()

WinActivate "Notepad"

QueEmpty

QueKeys "This is a test.{Enter}This is on a new line.{Enter}"

QueKeys "{Tab 3}This is indented with three tabs."

QueKeys "Some special characters: {~}{^}{%}{+}~"

QueKeys "Invoking the Find dialog.%Sf"	'Alt+S,F

QueFlush True

End Sub

See Also

DoKeys (statement), SendKeys (statement), QueKeyDn (statement), QueKeyUp (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, you cannot send keystrokes to MS-DOS applications running in a window.


QueKeyUp (statement)

Syntax

QueKeyUp KeyString$ [,time]

Description

Appends key-up events for the specified keys to the end of the current event queue.

Comments

The QueKeyUp statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

KeyString$	String containing the keys to be sent. The format for KeyString$ is described under the SendKeys statement.

time	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds devoted for the output of the entire KeyString$ parameter. It must be within the following range:

0 <= time <= 32767

For example, if time is 5000 (5 seconds) and the KeyString$ parameter contains ten keys, then a key will be output every 1/2 second. If unspecified (or 0), the keys will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

See QueKeyDn (statement).

See Also

DoKeys (statement), SendKeys (statement), QueKeys (statement), QueKeyDn (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseClick (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseClick button,x,y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse click to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseClick statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

button	Integer specifying which mouse button to click:

ebLeftButton Click the left mouse button.

EbRightButton Click the right mouse button.

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse click is to be recorded.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse click will play back at full speed.

A mouse click consists of a mouse button down at position x, y, immediately followed by a mouse button up.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

'This example activates Notepad and invokes the Find dialog box.

'It then uses the QueMouseClick command to click the Cancel

'button.

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Notepad"	'Activate Notepad.

QueKeys "%Sf"	'Invoke the Find dialog box.

QueFlush True	'Play this back (allow dialog box to open).

QueSetRelativeWindow	'Set mouse relative to Find dialog box.

QueMouseClick ebLeftButton,7059,1486	'Click the Cancel button.

QueFlush True	'Play back the queue.

End Sub

See Also

QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueMouseMoveBatch (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseDblClk (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseDblClk button,x,y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse double click to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseDblClk statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

button	Integer specifying which mouse button to double-click:

ebLeftButton Double-click the left mouse button.

EbRightButton Double-click the right mouse button.

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse double click is to be recorded.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse double click will play back at full speed.

A mouse double click consists of a mouse down/up/down/up at position x, y. The events are queued in such a way that a double click is registered during queue playback.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

'This example double-clicks the left mouse button.

QueMouseDblClk ebLeftButton,344,360

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueMouseMoveBatch (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseDblDn (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseDblDn button, x, y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse double down to the end of the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseDblDn statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

button	Integer specifying which mouse button to press:

ebLeftButton Press the left mouse button.

EbRightButton Press the right mouse button.

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse double down is to be recorded.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse double down will play back at full speed.

This statement adds a mouse double down to the current event queue. A double down consists of a mouse down/up/down at position x, y.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

'This example double-clicks a word, then drags it to a new

'location.

Sub Main()

QueFlush	'Start with empty queue.

QueMouseDblDn ebLeftButton,356,4931	'Double-click,

QueMouseMove 600,4931	'Drag to new spot.

QueMouseUp ebLeftButton	'Now release the mouse.

QueFlush True	'Play back the queue.

End Sub

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueMouseMoveBatch (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseDn (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseDn button,x,y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse down to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseDn statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

button	Integer specifying which mouse button to press:

ebLeftButton Press the left mouse button.

ebRightButton Press the right mouse button.

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse down is to be recorded.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse down will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

See QueEmpty (statement).

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueMouseMoveBatch (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseMove (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseMove x,y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse move to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseMove statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse is to be moved.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse move will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

See QueMouseDblDn (statement).

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), , QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseMoveBatch (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseMoveBatch ManyMoves$

Description

Adds a series of mouse-move events to the current event queue.

Comments

The ManyMoves$ parameter is a string containing positional and timing information in the following format:

x,y,time [,x,y,time]...

The x and y parameters specify a mouse position in twips. The time parameter specifies the delay in milliseconds between the current mouse move and the previous event in the queue. If time is 0, then the mouse move will play back as fast as possible.

The QueMouseMoveBatch command should be used in place of a series of QueMouseMove statements to reduce the number of lines in your script. A further advantage is that, since the mouse-move information is contained within a literal string, the storage for the data is placed in the constant segment instead of the code segment, reducing the size of the code.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

'This example activates PaintBrush, then paints the word "Hi".

Sub Main()

AppActivate "Paintbrush"

AppMaximize

QueMouseDn ebLeftButton,2175,3412

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"2488,3224,0,2833,2786,0,3114,2347,0,3208,2160,0,3240,2097,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3255,2034,0,3255,1987,0,3255,1956,0,3255,1940,0,3224,1956,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3193,1987,0,3114,2019,0,3036,2066,0,3005,2113,0,2973,2175,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"2942,2332,0,2926,2394,0,2926,2582,0,2911,2739,0,2911,2801,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"2911,2958,0,2911,3020,0,2911,3052,0,2911,3083,0,2911,3114,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"2911,3130,0,2895,3161,0,2895,3193,0,2895,3208,0,2895,3193,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"2895,3146,0,2911,3083,0,2926,3020,0,2942,2958,0,2973,2895,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3005,2848,0,3020,2817,0,3036,2801,0,3052,2770,0,3083,2770,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3114,2754,0,3130,2754,0,3146,2770,0,3161,2786,0,3161,2848,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3193,3005,0,3193,3193,0,3208,3255,0,3224,3318,0,3240,3349,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3255,3349,0,3286,3318,0,3380,3271,0,3474,3208,0,3553,3052,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3584,2895,0,3615,2739,0,3631,2692,0,3631,2645,0,3646,2645,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3646,2660,0,3646,2723,0,3646,2880,0,3662,2942,0,3693,2989,0"

QueMouseMoveBatch _

"3709,3005,0,3725,3005,0,3756,2989,0,3787,2973,0"

QueMouseUp ebLeftButton,3787,2973

QueMouseDn ebLeftButton,3678,2535

QueMouseMove 3678,2520

QueMouseMove 3678,2535

QueMouseUp ebLeftButton,3678,2535

QueFlush True

End Sub

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseUp (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueMouseUp (statement)

Syntax

QueMouseUp button,x,y [,time]

Description

Adds a mouse up to the current event queue.

Comments

The QueMouseUp statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

button	Integer specifying the mouse button to be released:

ebLeftButton Release the left mouse button.

ebRightButton Release the right mouse button.

x, y	Integer coordinates, in twips, where the mouse button is to be released.

time	Integer specifying the delay in milliseconds between this event and the previous event in the queue. If this parameter is omitted (or 0), the mouse up will play back at full speed.

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

See QueEmpty (statement).

See Also

QueMouseClick (statement), QueMouseDn (statement), QueMouseDblClk (statement), QueMouseDblDn (statement), QueMouseMove (statement), QueMouseMoveBatch (statement), QueFlush (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


QueSetRelativeWindow (statement)

Syntax

QueSetRelativeWindow [window_object]

Description

Forces all subsequent QueX commands to adjust the mouse positions relative to the specified window.

Comments

The window_object parameter is an object of type HWND. If window_object is Nothing or omitted, then the window with the focus is used (i.e., the active window).

The QueFlush command is used to play back the events stored in the current event queue.

Example

Sub Main()

'Adjust mouse coordinates relative to Notepad.

Dim a As HWND

Set a = WinFind("Notepad")

QueSetRelativeWindow a

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows.


Random (function)

Syntax

Random(min,max)

Description

Returns a Long value greater than or equal to min and less than or equal to max.

Comments

Both the min and max parameters are rounded to Long. A runtime error is generated if min is greater than max.

Example

'This example uses the random number generator to generate ten

'lottery numbers.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Randomize	'Start with new random seed.

For x = 1 To 10

y = Random(0,100)	'Generate numbers.

message = message & y & crlf

Next x

MsgBox "Ten numbers for the lottery: " & crlf & message

End Sub

See Also

Randomize (statement), Random (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Randomize (statement)

Syntax

Randomize [number]

Description

Initializes the random number generator with a new seed.

Comments

If number is not specified, then the current value of the system clock is used.

Example

'This example sets the randomize seed to a random number between

'100 and 1000, then generates ten random numbers for the lottery.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Randomize	'Start with new random seed.

For x = 1 To 10

y = Random(0,100)	'Generate numbers.

message = message + Str(y) + crlf

Next x

MsgBox "Ten numbers for the lottery: " & crlf & message

End Sub

See Also

Random (function), Rnd (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Rate (function)

Syntax

Rate(nper, pmt, pv, fv, due, guess)

Description

Returns the rate of interest for each period of an annuity.

Comments

An annuity is a series of fixed payments made to an insurance company or other investment company over a period of time. Examples of annuities are mortgages and monthly savings plans.

The Rate function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

nper	Double representing the total number of payments in the annuity.

pmt	Double representing the amount of each payment per period.

pv	Double representing the present value of your annuity. In a loan situation, the present value would be the amount of the loan.

fv	Double representing the future value of the annuity after the last payment has been made. In the case of a loan, the future value would be zero.

due	Integer specifying when the payments are due for each payment period. A 0 indicates payment at the end of each period, whereas a 1 indicates payment at the start of each period.

guess	Double specifying a guess as to the value the Rate function will return. The most common guess is .1 (10 percent).

Positive numbers represent cash received, whereas negative values represent cash paid out.

The value of Rate is found by iteration. It starts with the value of guess and cycles through the calculation adjusting guess until the result is accurate within 0.00001 percent. After 20 tries, if a result cannot be found, Rate fails, and the user must pick a better guess.

Example

'This example calculates the rate of interest necessary to save

'$8,000 by paying $200 each year for 48 years. The guess rate

'is 10%.

Sub Main()

r# = Rate(48,-200,8000,0,1,.1)

MsgBox "The rate required is: " & Format(r#,"Percent")

End Sub

See Also

IPmt (function), NPer (function), Pmt (function), PPmt (function)

Platform(s)

All.


ReadIni$ (function)

Syntax

ReadIni$(section$,item$[,filename$])

Description

Returns a String containing the specified item from an ini file.

Comments

The ReadIni$ function takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

section$	String specifying the section that contains the desired variable, such as "windows". Section names are specified without the enclosing brackets.

item$	String specifying the item whose value is to be retrieved.

filename$	String containing the name of the ini file to read.

The maximum length of a string returned by this function is 4096 characters.

See Also

WriteIni (statement), ReadIniSection (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, if the name of the ini file is not specified, then win.ini is assumed.

If the filename$ parameter does not include a path, then this statement looks for ini files in the Windows directory.


ReadIniSection (statement)

Syntax

ReadIniSection section$,ArrayOfItems()[,filename$]

Description

Fills an array with the item names from a given section of the specified ini file.

Comments

The ReadIniSection statement takes the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

section$	String specifying the section that contains the desired variables, such as "windows". Section names are specified without the enclosing brackets.

ArrayOfItems()	Specifies either a zero- or a one-dimensioned array of strings or variants. The array can be either dynamic or fixed.

If ArrayOfItems() is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to exactly hold the new number of elements. If there are no elements, then the array will be redimensioned to contain no dimensions. You can use the LBound, UBound, and ArrayDims functions to determine the number and size of the new array's dimensions.

If the array is fixed, each array element is first erased, then the new elements are placed into the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are initialized to zero-length strings (for String arrays) or Empty (for Variant arrays). A runtime error results if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

filename$	String containing the name of an ini file.

On return, the ArrayOfItems() parameter will contain one array element for each variable in the specified ini section. The maximum combined length of all the entry names returned by this function is limited to 32K.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim items() As String

ReadIniSection "windows",items$

r% = SelectBox("INI Items",,items$)

End Sub

See Also

ReadIni$ (function), WriteIni (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, if the name of the ini file is not specified, then win.ini is assumed.

If the filename$ parameter does not include a path, then this statement looks for ini files in the Windows directory.


ReDim (statement)

Syntax

ReDim [Preserve] variablename ([subscriptRange]) [As type],...

Description

Redimensions an array, specifying a new upper and lower bound for each dimension of the array.

Comments

The variablename parameter specifies the name of an existing array (previously declared using the Dim statement) or the name of a new array variable. If the array variable already exists, then it must previously have been declared with the Dim statement with no dimensions, as shown in the following example:

Dim a$()	'Dynamic array of strings (no dimensions yet)

Dynamic arrays can be redimensioned any number of times.

The subscriptRange parameter specifies the new upper and lower bounds for each dimension of the array using the following syntax:

[lower To] upper [,[lower To] upper]...

If subscriptRange is not specified, then the array is redimensioned to have no elements.

If lower is not specified, then 0 is used (or the value set using the Option Base statement). A runtime error is generated if lower is less than upper. Array dimensions must be within the following range:

–32768 <= lower <= upper <= 32767

The type parameter can be used to specify the array element type. Arrays can be declared using any fundamental data type, user-defined data types, and objects.

Redimensioning an array erases all elements of that array unless the Preserve keyword is specified. When this keyword is specified, existing data in the array is preserved where possible. If the number of elements in an array dimension is increased, the new elements are initialized to 0 (or empty string). If the number of elements in an array dimension is decreased, then the extra elements will be deleted. If the Preserve keyword is specified, then the number of dimensions of the array being redimensioned must either be zero or the same as the new number of dimensions.

Example

'This example uses the FileList statement to redim an array and

'fill it with filename strings. A new array is then redimmed to

'hold the number of elements found by FileList, and the FileList

'array is copied into it and partially displayed.

Sub Main()

Dim fl$()

FileList fl$,"*.*"

count = Ubound(fl$)

Redim nl$(Lbound(fl$) To Ubound(fl$))

For x = 1 to count

nl$(x) = fl(x)

Next x

MsgBox "The last element of the new array is: " & nl$(count)

End Sub

See Also

Dim (statement), Public (statement), Private (statement), ArrayDims (function), LBound (function), UBound (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Rem (statement)

Syntax

Rem text

Description

Causes the compiler to skip all characters on that line.

Example

Sub Main()

Rem This is a line of comments that serves to illustrate the

Rem workings of the code. You can insert comments to make it

Rem more readable and maintainable in the future.

End Sub

See Also

' (keyword), Comments (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


Reset (statement)

Syntax

Reset

Description

Closes all open files, writing out all I/O buffers.

Example

'This example opens a file for output, closes it with the Reset

'statement, then deletes it with the Kill statement.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" for Output Access Write as # 1

Reset

Kill "test.dat"

If FileExists("test.dat") Then

MsgBox "The file was not deleted."

Else

MsgBox "The file was deleted."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Close (statement), Open (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Resume (statement)

Syntax

Resume {[0] | Next | label}

Description

Ends an error handler and continues execution.

Comments

The form Resume 0 (or simply Resume by itself) causes execution to continue with the statement that caused the error.

The form Resume Next causes execution to continue with the statement following the statement that caused the error.

The form Resume label causes execution to continue at the specified label.

The Resume statement resets the error state. This means that, after executing this statement, new errors can be generated and trapped as normal.

Example

'This example accepts two integers from the user and attempts

'to multiply the numbers together. If either number is larger

'than an integer, the program processes an error routine and

'then continues program execution at a specific section using

'"Resume <label>". Another error trap is then set using "Resume

'Next". The new error trap will clear any previous error

'branching and also "tell" the program to continue execution of

'the program even if an error is encountered.

Sub Main()

Dim a%, b%, x%

Again:

On Error Goto Overflow

a% = InputBox("Enter 1st integer to multiply","Enter Number")

b% = InputBox("Enter 2nd integer to multiply","Enter Number")

On Error Resume Next	'Continue program execution at next 	x% = a% * b%	'line if an error occurs.

if err = 0 then

MsgBox x%

else

Msgbox a% & " * " & b% & " cause an overflow!"

end if

Exit Sub

Overflow:	'Error handler.

MsgBox "You've entered a noninteger value. Try again!"

Resume Again

End Sub

See Also

Error Handling (topic), On Error (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Return (statement)

Syntax

Return

Description

Transfers execution control to the statement following the most recent GoSub.

Comments

A runtime error results if a Return statement is encountered without a corresponding GoSub statement.

Example

'This example calls a subroutine and then returns execution to

'the Main routine by the Return statement.

Sub Main()

GoSub SubTrue

MsgBox "The Main routine continues here."

Exit Sub

SubTrue:

MsgBox "This message is generated in the subroutine."

Return

Exit Sub

End Sub

See Also

GoSub (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Right, Right$, RightB, RightB$ (functions)

Syntax

Right[$](string, length)

RightB[$](string, length)

Description

Returns the rightmost length characters (for Right and Right$) or bytes (for RightB and RightB$) from a specified string.

Comments

The Right$ and RightB$ functions return a String, whereas the Right and RightB functions return a String variant.

These functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

string	String from which characters are returned. A runtime error is generated if string is Null.

length	Integer specifying the number of characters or bytes to return. If length is greater than or equal to the length of the string, then the entire string is returned. If length is 0, then a zero-length string is returned.

The RightB and RightB$ functions are used to return byte data from strings containing byte data.

Example

'This example shows the Right$ function used in a routine to

'change uppercase names to lowercase with an uppercase first

'letter.

Sub Main()

lname$ = "WILLIAMS"

x = Len(lname$)

rest$ = Right$(lname$,x - 1)

fl$ =  Left$(lname$,1)

lname$ = fl$ & LCase$(rest$)

MsgBox "The converted name is: " & lname$

End Sub

See Also

Left, Left$, LeftB, LeftB$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


RmDir (statement)

Syntax

RmDir path

Description

Removes the directory specified by the String contained in path.

Comments

Removing the Current Directory

On platforms that support drive letters, removing a directory that is the current directory on that drive causes unpredictable side effects. For example, consider the following statements:

MkDir "Z:\JUNK"

ChDir "Z:\JUNK"

RmDir "Z:\JUNK"

If this code is run under Windows and drive Z is a network drive, then some networks will delete the directory and unmap the drive without generating a script error. If drive Z is a local drive, the directory will not be deleted, nor will the script receive an error.

Different platforms and file systems exhibit similar strange behavior in these cases.

Example

'This routine creates a directory and then deletes it with RmDir.

Sub Main()

On Error Goto ErrMake

MkDir("test01")

On Error Goto ErrRemove

RmDir("test01")

ErrMake:

MsgBox "The directory could not be created."

Exit Sub

ErrRemove:

MsgBox "The directory could not be removed."

Exit Sub

End Sub

See Also

ChDir (statement), ChDrive (statement), CurDir, CurDir$ (functions), Dir, Dir$ (functions), MkDir (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, this command behaves the same as the DOS "rd" command.


Rnd (function)

Syntax

Rnd[(number)]

Description

Returns a random Single number between 0 and 1.

Comments

If number is omitted, the next random number is returned. Otherwise, the number parameter has the following meaning:

If	Then

number < 0	Always returns the same number.

number = 0	Returns the last number generated.

number > 0	Returns the next random number.

Example

'This routine generates a list of random numbers and displays

'them.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

For x = -1 To 8

y! = Rnd(1) * 100

message = message & x & "  : " & y! & crlf

Next x

MsgBox message & "Last form: " & Rnd

End Sub

See Also

Randomize (statement), Random (function)

Platform(s)

All.


RSet (statement)

Syntax

RSet destvariable = source

Description

Copies the source string source into the destination string destvariable.

Comments

If source is shorter in length than destvariable, then the string is right-aligned within destvariable and the remaining characters are padded with spaces. If source is longer in length than destvariable, then source is truncated, copying only the leftmost number of characters that will fit in destvariable. A runtime error is generated if source is Null.

The destvariable parameter specifies a String or Variant variable. If destvariable is a Variant containing Empty, then no characters are copied. If destvariable is not convertible to a String, then a runtime error occurs. A runtime error results if destvariable is Null.

Example

'This example replaces a 40-character string of asterisks (*)

'with an RSet and LSet string and then displays the result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim msg,tmpstr$

tmpstr$ = String$(40, "*")

message = "Here are two strings that have been right-" & crlf

message = message & "and left-justified in" & _

" a 40-character string."

message = message & crlf & crlf

RSet tmpstr$ = "Right->"

message = message & tmpstr$ & crlf

LSet tmpstr$ = "<-Left"

message = message & tmpstr$ & crlf

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

LSet (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


RTrim, RTrim$ (functions)

See Trim, Trim$, LTrim, LTrim$, RTrim, RTrim$ (functions).


SaveFileName$ (function)

Syntax

SaveFileName$[([title$ [,[extensions$] [helpfile,context]]])]

Description

Displays a dialog box that prompts the user to select from a list of files and returns a String containing the full path of the selected file.

Comments

The SaveFileName$ function accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

title$	String containing the title that appears on the dialog box's caption. If this string is omitted, then "Save As" is used.

extensions$	String containing the available file types. Its format depends on the platform on which AimBasic is running. If this string is omitted, then all files are used.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

The SaveFileName$ function returns a full pathname of the file that the user selects. A zero-length string is returned if the user selects Cancel. If the file already exists, then the user is prompted to overwrite it.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 key on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

'This example creates a save dialog box, giving the user the

'ability to save to several different file types.

Sub Main()

e$ = "All Files:*.BMP,*.WMF;Bitmaps:*.BMP;Metafiles:*.WMF"

f$ = SaveFileName$("Save Picture",e$)

If Not f$ = "" Then

MsgBox "User choose to save file as: " + f$

Else

MsgBox "User canceled."

End If

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SelectBox (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows andWin32 , the extensions$ parameter must be in the following format:

description:ext[,ext][;description:ext[,ext]]...

Placeholder	Description

description	Specifies the grouping of files for the user, such as All Files.

ext	Specifies a valid file extension, such as *.BAT or *.?F?.

For example, the following are valid extensions$ specifications:

"All Files:*"

"Documents:*.TXT,*.DOC"

"All Files:*;Documents:*.TXT,*.DOC"

Platform Notes: OS/2

Under OS/2, the extensions$ parameter is a comma-delimited list of extended attribute names. An entry for <All Files> will always appear in the File Types list, regardless of the contents of the extensions$ parameter. For example, the following is a valid extensions$ specification:

"OS/2 Command File,Plain Text"

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, the extensions$ parameter contains a comma-separated list of four-character file types. For example:

"TEXT,XLS4,MSWD"

On the Macintosh, the title$ parameter is ignored.


SaveSetting (statement)

Syntax

SaveSetting appname, section, key, setting

Description

Saves the value of the specified key in the system registry. The following table describes the named parameters to the SaveSetting statement:

Named Parameter	Description

appname	String expression indicating the name of the application whose setting will be modified.

section	String expression indicating the name of the section whose setting will be modified.

key	String expression indicating the name of the setting to be modified.

setting	The value assigned to key.

Example

'The following example adds two entries to the Windows registry

'if run under Win32 or to NEWAPP.INI on other platforms,

'using the SaveSetting statement. It then uses DeleteSetting

'to remove these entries.

Sub Main()

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Height", setting := 200

SaveSetting appname := "NewApp", section := "Startup", _

key := "Width", setting := 320

DeleteSetting "NewApp"	'Remove NewApp key from registry

End Sub

See Also

GetAllSettings (function), DeleteSetting (statement), GetSetting (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this statement operates on the system registry. All settings are saved to the following entry in the system registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AimBasic Program Settings\appname\section\key

On this platform, the appname parameter is not optional.

Platform Notes: Windows, OS/2

Settings are stored in INI files. The name of the INI file is specified by appname. If appname is omitted, then this command operates on the WIN.INI file. For example, to change the Language setting from the intl section of the WIN.INI file, you could use the following statement:

s$ = SaveSetting(,"intl","sLanguage","eng")


Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX (property)

Syntax

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX

Description

Returns an Integer used to convert horizontal pixels to and from dialog units.

Comments

The number returned depends on the name and size of the font used to display dialog boxes.

To convert from pixels to dialog units in the horizontal direction:

((XPixels * 4) + (Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX - 1)) / Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX

To convert from dialog units to pixels in the horizontal direction:

(XDlgUnits * Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX) / 4

Example

'This example converts the screen width from pixels to dialog

'units.

Sub Main()

XPixels = Screen.Width

conv% = Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX

XDlgUnits = (XPixels * 4) + (conv% -1) / conv%

MsgBox "The screen width is " & XDlgUnits & " dialog units."

End Sub

See Also

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY (property)

Platform(s)

Windows Win32.


Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY (property)

Syntax

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY

Description

Returns an Integer used to convert vertical pixels to and from dialog units.

Comments

The number returned depends on the name and size of the font used to display dialog boxes.

To convert from pixels to dialog units in the vertical direction:

(YPixels * 8) + (Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY - 1) / Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY

To convert from dialog units to pixels in the vertical direction:

(YDlgUnits * Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY) / 8

Example

'This example converts the screen width from pixels to dialog

'units.

Sub Main()

YPixels = Screen.Height

conv% = Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY

YDlgUnits = (YPixels * 8) + (conv% -1) / conv%

MsgBox "The screen width is " & YDlgUnits & " dialog units."

End Sub

See Also

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX (property)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Screen.Height (property)

Syntax

Screen.Height

Description

Returns the height of the screen in pixels as an Integer.

Comments

This property is used to retrieve the height of the screen in pixels. This value will differ depending on the display resolution.

This property is read-only.

Example

'This example displays the screen height in pixels.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The Screen height is " & Screen.Height & " pixels."

End Sub

See Also

Screen.Width (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Screen.TwipsPerPixelX (property)

Syntax

Screen.TwipsPerPixelX

Description

Returns an Integer representing the number of twips per pixel in the horizontal direction of the installed display driver.

Comments

This property is read-only.

Example

'This example displays the number of twips across the screen

'horizontally.

Sub Main()

XScreenTwips = Screen.Width * Screen.TwipsPerPixelX

MsgBox "Total horizontal screen twips = " & XScreenTwips

End Sub

See Also

Screen.TwipsPerPixelY (property)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Screen.TwipsPerPixelY (property)

Syntax

Screen.TwipsPerPixelY

Description

Returns an Integer representing the number of twips per pixel in the vertical direction of the installed display driver.

Comments

This property is read-only.

Example

'This example displays the number of twips across the screen

'vertically.

Sub Main()

YScreenTwips = Screen.Height * Screen.TwipsPerPixelY

MsgBox "Total vertical screen twips = " & YScreenTwips

End Sub

See Also

Screen.TwipsPerPixelX (property)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Screen.Width (property)

Syntax

Screen.Width

Description

Returns the width of the screen in pixels as an Integer.

Comments

This property is used to retrieve the width of the screen in pixels. This value will differ depending on the display resolution.

This property is read-only.

Example

'This example displays the screen width in pixels.

Sub Main()

MsgBox "The screen width is " & Screen.Width & " pixels."

End Sub

See Also

Screen.Height (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Second (function)

Syntax

Second(time)

Description

Returns the second of the day encoded in the specified time parameter.

Comments

The value returned is an Integer between 0 and 59 inclusive.

The time parameter is any expression that converts to a Date.

Example

'This example takes the current time; extracts the hour, minute,

'and second; and displays them as the current time.

Sub Main()

xt# = TimeValue(Time$())

xh# = Hour(xt#)

xm# = Minute(xt#)

xs# = Second(xt#)

Msgbox "The current time is: " & CStr(xh#) & ":" & CStr(xm#) _

& ":" & CStr(xs#)

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Month (function), Year (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Seek (function)

Syntax

Seek(filenumber)

Description

Returns the position of the file pointer in a file relative to the beginning of the file.

Comments

The filenumber parameter is a number that AimBasic uses to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

The value returned depends on the mode in which the file was opened:

File Mode	Returns

Input	Byte position for the next read

Output	Byte position for the next write

Append	Byte position for the next write

Random	Number of the next record to be written or read

Binary	Byte position for the next read or write

The value returned is a Long between 1 and 2147483647, where the first byte (or first record) in the file is 1.

Example

'This example opens a file for random write, then writes ten

'records into the file using the Put statement. The file

'position is displayed using the Seek function, and the file is

'closed.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write As #1

For x = 1 To 10

r% = x * 10

Put #1,x,r%

Next x

y = Seek(1)

MsgBox "The current file position is: " & y

Close

End Sub

See Also

Seek (statement), Loc (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Seek (statement)

Syntax

Seek [#] filenumber,position

Description

Sets the position of the file pointer within a given file such that the next read or write operation will occur at the specified position.

Comments

The Seek statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

position	Long that specifies the location within the file at which to position the file pointer. The value must be between 1 and 2147483647, where the first byte (or record number) in the file is 1. For files opened in either Binary, Output, Input, or Append mode, position is the byte position within the file. For Random files, position is the record number.

A file can be extended by seeking beyond the end of the file and writing data there.

Example

'This example opens a file for random write, then writes ten

'records into the file using the Put statement. The file is then

'reopened for read, and the ninth record is read using the Seek

'and Get functions.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Write As #1

For x = 1 To 10

rec$ = "Record#: " & x

Put #1,x,rec$

Next x

Close

Open "test.dat" For Random Access Read As #1

Seek #1,9

Get #1,,rec$

MsgBox "The ninth record = " & x

Close

Kill "test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

Seek (function), Loc (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Select...Case (statement)

Syntax

Select Case testexpression

[Case expressionlist

  [statement_block]]

[Case expressionlist

  [statement_block]]

.

.

[Case Else

  [statement_block]]

End Select

Description

Used to execute a block of AimBasic statements depending on the value of a given expression.

Comments

The Select Case statement has the following parts:

Part	Description

testexpression	Any numeric or string expression.

statement_block	Any group of AimBasic statements. If the testexpression matches any of the expressions contained in expressionlist, then this statement block will be executed.

expressionlist	A comma-separated list of expressions to be compared against testexpression using any of the following syntaxes:expression [,expression]...expression To expressionIs relational_operator expressionThe resultant type of expression in expressionlist must be the same as that of testexpression.

Multiple expression ranges can be used within a single Case clause. For example:

Case 1 to 10,12,15, Is > 40

Only the statement_block associated with the first matching expression will be executed. If no matching statement_block is found, then the statements following the Case Else will be executed.

A Select...End Select expression can also be represented with the If...Then expression. The use of the Select statement, however, may be more readable.

Example

'This example uses the Select...Case statement to output the

'current operating system.

Sub Main()

OpSystem% = Basic.OS

Select Case OpSystem%

Case 0,2

s = "Microsoft Windows"

Case 3 to 8, 12

s = "UNIX"

Case 10

s = "IBM OS/2"

Case Else

s = "Other"

End Select

MsgBox "This version of AimBasic is running on: " & s

End Sub

See Also

Choose (function), Switch (function), IIf (function), If...Then...Else (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


SelectBox (function)

Syntax

SelectBox([title],prompt,ArrayOfItems [,helpfile,context])

Description

Displays a dialog box that allows the user to select from a list of choices and returns an Integer containing the index of the item that was selected.

Comments

The SelectBox statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

title	Title of the dialog box. This can be an expression convertible to a String. A runtime error is generated if title is Null.If title is missing, then the default title is used.

prompt	Text to appear immediately above the list box containing the items. This can be an expression convertible to a String. A runtime error is generated if prompt is Null.

ArrayOfItems	Single-dimensioned array. Each item from the array will occupy a single entry in the list box. A runtime error is generated if ArrayOfItems is not a single-dimensioned array.ArrayOfItems can specify an array of any fundamental data type (structures are not allowed). Null and Empty values are treated as zero-length strings.

helpfile	Name of the file containing context-sensitive help for this dialog. If this parameter is specified, then context must also be specified.

context	Number specifying the ID of the topic within helpfile for this dialog's help. If this parameter is specified, then helpfile must also be specified.

The value returned is an Integer representing the index of the item in the list box that was selected relative to the lower bound of ArrayOfElements,  If the user selects Cancel, a value 1 less then the lower bound of the array is returned.

If both the helpfile and context parameters are specified, then a Help button is added in addition to the OK and Cancel buttons. Context-sensitive help can be invoked by selecting this button or using the help key (F1 on most platforms). Invoking help does not remove the dialog.

Example

'This example gets a list of files from the current directory,

'puts them in to an array and then asks the user to select

'one from a list.

Sub Main()

Dim a$()

FileList a$

result% = SelectBox("Picker","Pick a file:",a$)

If Not result% = -1 then

Msgbox "User selected: " & a$(result%)

Else

Msgbox "User canceled"

End If

End Sub

See Also

MsgBox (statement), AskBox, AskBox$ (functions), AskPassword, AskPassword$ (functions), InputBox, InputBox$ (functions), OpenFileName$ (function), SaveFileName$ (function), AnswerBox (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


SelectButton (statement)

Syntax

SelectButton name$ | id

Description

Simulates a mouse click on the a push button given the push button's name (the name$ parameter) or ID (the id parameter).

Comments

The SelectButton statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the push button to be selected.

id	Integer representing the ID of the push button to be selected.

A runtime error is generated if a push button with the given name or ID cannot be found in the active window.

Note: The SelectButton statement is used to select a button in another application's dialog box. This command is not intended for use with built-in or dynamic dialog boxes.

Example

'This example simulates the selection of several buttons in a

'dialog.

Sub Main()

SelectButton "OK"

SelectButton 2

SelectButton "Close"

End Sub

See Also

ButtonEnabled (function), ButtonExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


SelectComboBoxItem (statement)

Syntax

SelectComboBoxItem {name$ | id},{ItemName$ | ItemNumber} [,isDoubleClick]

Description

Selects an item from a combo box given the name or ID of the combo box and the name or line number of the item.

Comments

The SelectComboBoxItem statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String indicating the name of the combo box containing the item to be selected.The name of a combo box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a combo box. A runtime error is generated if a combo box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the combo box containing the item to be selected.

ItemName$	String specifying which item is to be selected. The string is compared without regard to case. If ItemName$ is a zero-length string, then all currently selected items are deselected. A runtime error results if ItemName$ cannot be found in the combo box.

ItemNumber	Integer containing the index of the item to be selected. A runtime error is generated if ItemNumber is not within the correct range.

isDoubleClick	Boolean value indicating whether a double click of that item is to be simulated.

Note: The SelectComboBoxItem statement is used to set the item of a combo box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgText statement to change the content of the text box part of a list box in a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example simulates the selection of a couple of combo boxes.

Sub Main()

SelectComboBoxItem "ComboBox1","Item4"

SelectComboBoxItem 1,2,TRUE

End Sub

See Also

ComboBoxEnabled (function), ComboBoxExists (function), GetComboBoxItem$ (function), GetComboBoxItemCount (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


SelectListBoxItem (statement)

Syntax

SelectListBoxItem {name$ | id},{ItemName$ | ItemNumber} [,isDoubleClick]

Description

Selects an item from a list box given the name or ID of the list box and the name or line number of the item.

Comments

The SelectListBoxItem statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String indicating the name of the list box containing the item to be selected.The name of a list box is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by a list box. A runtime error is generated if a list box with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the list box containing the item to be selected.

ItemName$	String specifying which item is to be selected. The string is compared without regard to case. If ItemName$ is a zero-length string, then all currently selected items are deselected. A runtime error results if ItemName$ cannot be found in the list box.

ItemNumber	Integer containing the index of the item to be selected. A runtime error is generated if ItemNumber is not within the correct range.

isDoubleClick	Boolean value indicating whether a double click of that item is to be simulated.

The list box must exist within the current window or dialog box; otherwise, a runtime error will be generated.

For multiselect list boxes, SelectListBoxItem will select additional items (i.e., it will not remove the selection from the currently selected items).

Note: The SelectListBoxItem statement is used to select an item in a list box of another application's dialog box. Use the DlgText statement to change the selected item in a list box within a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example simulates a double click on the first item in list

'box 1.

Sub Main()

SelectListBoxItem "ListBox1",1,TRUE

End Sub

See Also

GetListBoxItem$ (function), GetListBoxItemCount (function), ListBoxEnabled (function), ListBoxExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


SendKeys (statement)

Syntax

SendKeys string [, [wait] [,delay]]

Description

Sends the specified keys to the active application, optionally waiting for the keys to be processed before continuing.

Comments

The SendKeys statement accepts the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

string	String containing the keys to be sent. The format for string is described below.

wait	Boolean value. If True, then AimBasic waits for the keys to be completely processed before continuing. The default value is False, which causes AimBasic to continue script execution while before SendKeys finishes.

delay	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds devoted for the output of the entire string parameter. It must be within the following range:0 <= delay <= 32767For example, if delay is 5000 (5 seconds) and the string parameter contains ten keys, then a key will be output every 1/2 second. If unspecified (or 0), the keys will play back at full speed.

The SendKeys statement will wait for a prior SendKeys to complete before executing.

Specifying Keys

To specify any key on the keyboard, simply use that key, such as "a" for lowercase a, or "A" for uppercase a.

Sequences of keys are specified by appending them together: "abc" or "dir /w".

Some keys have special meaning and are therefore specified in a special way—by enclosing them within braces. For example, to specify the percent sign, use "{%}". The following table shows the special keys:

Key 	Special Meaning	Example

+	Shift	"+{F1}"	Shift+F1

^	Ctrl	"^a"	Ctrl+A

~	Shortcut for Enter 	"~"	Enter

%	Alt	"%F"	Alt+F

[]	No special meaning 	"{[}"	Open bracket

{}	Used to enclose special keys	"{Up}" 	Up arrow

()	Used to specify grouping	"^(ab)" 	Ctrl+A, Ctrl+B

Keys that are not displayed when you press them are also specified within braces, such as {Enter} or {Up}. A list of these keys follows:

{BkSp}	{BS}	{Break}	{CapsLock}	{Clear}
{Delete}	{Del}	{Down}	{End}	{Enter}
{Escape}	{Esc}	{Help}	{Home}	{Insert}
{Left}	{NumLock}	{NumPad0}	{NumPad1}	{NumPad2}
{NumPad3}	{NumPad4}	{NumPad5}	{NumPad6}	{NumPad7}
{NumPad8}	{NumPad9}	{NumPad/}	{NumPad*}	{NumPad-}
{NumPad+}	{NumPad.}	{PgDn}	{PgUp}	{PrtSc}
{Right}	{Tab}	{Up}	{F1}	{Scroll Lock}
{F2}	{F3}	{F4}	{F5}	{F6}
{F7}	{F8}	{F9}	{F10}	{F11}
{F12}	{F13}	{F14}	{F15}	{F16}
Keys can be combined with Shift, Ctrl, and Alt using the reserved keys "+", "^", and "%" respectively:

For Key Combination	Use

Shift+Enter	"+{Enter}"

Ctrl+C	"^c"

Alt+F2	"%{F2}"

To specify a modifier key combined with a sequence of consecutive keys, group the key sequence within parentheses, as in the following example:

For Key Combination	Use

Shift+A, Shift+B	"+(abc)"

Ctrl+F1, Ctrl+F2	"^({F1}{F2})"

Use "~" as a shortcut for embedding Enter within a key sequence:

For Key Combination	Use

a, b, Enter, d, e	"ab~de"

Enter, Enter	"~~"

To embed quotation marks, use two quotation marks in a row:

For Key Combination	Use

"Hello"	""Hello""

a"b"c	"a""b""c"

Key sequences can be repeated using a repeat count within braces:

For Key Combination	Use

Ten "a" keys	"{a 10}"

Two Enter keys	"{Enter 2}"

Example

'This example runs Notepad, writes to Notepad, and saves the new

'file using the SendKeys statement.

Sub Main()

id = Shell("Notepad.exe")

AppActivate "Notepad"

SendKeys "Hello, Notepad.", True	'Write some text.

SendKeys "%fs", True	'Save file as "name.txt"

SendKeys "name.txt{ENTER}",True

AppClose "Notepad"

End Sub

See Also

DoKeys (statement), QueKeys (statement), QueKeyDn (statement), QueKeyUp (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Set (statement)

Syntax 1

Set object_var = object_expression

Syntax 2

Set object_var = New object_type

Syntax 3

Set object_var = Nothing

Description

Assigns a value to an object variable.

Comments

Syntax 1

The first syntax assigns the result of an expression to an object variable. This statement does not duplicate the object being assigned but rather copies a reference of an existing object to an object variable.

The object_expression is any expression that evaluates to an object of the same type as the object_var.

With data objects, Set performs additional processing. When the Set is performed, the object is notified that a reference to it is being made and destroyed. For example, the following statement deletes a reference to object A, then adds a new reference to B.

Set a = b

In this way, an object that is no longer being referenced can be destroyed.

Syntax 2

In the second syntax, the object variable is being assigned to a new instance of an existing object type. This syntax is valid only for data objects.

When an object created using the New keyword goes out of scope (i.e., the Sub or Function in which the variable is declared ends), the object is destroyed.

Syntax 3

The reserved keyword Nothing is used to make an object variable reference no object. At a later time, the object variable can be compared to Nothing to test whether the object variable has been instantiated:

Set a = Nothing

:

If a Is Nothing Then Beep

Example

'This example creates two objects and sets their values.

Sub Main()

Dim document As Object

Dim page As Object

Set document = GetObject("c:\resume.doc")

Set page = Document.ActivePage

MsgBox page.name

End Sub

See Also

= (statement), Let (statement), CreateObject (function), GetObject (function)

Platform(s)

All.


SetAttr (statement)

Syntax

SetAttr pathname, attributes

Description

Changes the attribute pathname to the given attribute. A runtime error results if the file cannot be found.

Comments

The SetAttr statement accepts the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

pathname	String containing the name of the file.

attributes	Integer specifying the new attribute of the file.

The attributes parameter can contain any combination of the following values:

Constant	Value	Includes

ebNormal	0	Turns off all attributes

ebReadOnly	1	Read-only files

ebHidden	2	Hidden files

ebSystem	4	System files

ebVolume	8	Volume label

ebArchive	32	Files that have changed since the last backup

ebNone	64	Files with no attributes

The attributes can be combined using the + operator or the binary Or operator.

Example

'This example creates a file and sets its attributes to

'Read-Only and System.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Output Access Write As #1

Close

MsgBox "The current file attribute is: " & GetAttr("test.dat")

SetAttr "test.dat",ebReadOnly Or ebSystem

MsgBox "The file attribute was set to: " & GetAttr("test.dat")

End Sub

See Also

GetAttr (function), FileAttr (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, these attributes are the same as those used by DOS.

Platform Notes: UNIX

On UNIX platforms, the hidden file attribute corresponds to files without the read or write attributes.


SetCheckBox (statement)

Syntax

SetCheckBox {name$ | id},state

Description

Sets the state of the check box with the given name or ID.

Comments

The SetCheckBox statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the check box to be set.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the check box to be set.

state	Integer indicating the new state of the check box. If state is 1, then the box is checked. If state is 0, then the check is removed. If state is 2, then the box is dimmed (only applicable for three-state check boxes).

A runtime error is generated if a check box with the specified name cannot be found in the active window.

This statement has the side effect of setting the focus to the given check box.

Note: The SetCheckBox statement is used to set the state of a check box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgValue statement to modify the state of a check box within a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example sets a check box.

Sub Main()

SetCheckBox "CheckBox1",1

End Sub

See Also

CheckBoxExists (function), CheckBoxEnabled (function), GetCheckBox (function), DlgValue (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


SetEditText (statement)

Syntax

SetEditText {name$ | id},content$

Description

Sets the content of an edit control given its name or ID.

Comments

The SetEditText statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the text box to be set.The name of a text box control is determined by scanning the window list looking for a text control with the given name that is immediately followed by an edit control. A runtime error is generated if a text box control with that name cannot be found within the active window.

id	Integer specifying the ID of the text box to be set.For text boxes that do not have a preceding text control, the id can be used to absolutely reference the control. The id is determined by examining the dialog box with a resource editor or using an application such as Spy.

content$	String containing the new content for the text box.

This statement has the side effect of setting the focus to the given text box.

Note: The SetEditText statement is used to set the content of a text box in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgText statement to set the text of a text box within a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example sets the content of the filename text box of the

'current window to "test.dat".

Sub Main()

SetEditText "Filename:","test.dat"

End Sub

See Also

EditEnabled (function), EditExists (function), GetEditText$ (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


SetOption (statement)

Syntax

SetOption name$ | id

Description

Selects the specified option button given its name or ID.

Comments

The SetOption statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

name$	String containing the name of the option button to be selected.

id	Integer containing the ID of the option button to be selected.

A runtime error is generated if the option button cannot be found within the active window.

Note: The SetOption statement is used to select an option button in another application's dialog box. Use the DlgValue statement to select an option button within a dynamic dialog box.

Example

'This example selects the Continue option button.

Sub Main()

SetOption "Continue"

End Sub

See Also

GetOption (function), OptionEnabled (function), OptionExists (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Sgn (function)

Syntax

Sgn(number)

Description

Returns an Integer indicating whether a number is less than, greater than, or equal to 0.

Comments

Returns 1 if number is greater than 0.

Returns 0 if number is equal to 0.

Returns –1 if number is less than 0.

The number parameter is a numeric expression of any type. If number is Null, then a runtime error is generated. Empty is treated as 0.

Example

'This example tests the product of two numbers and displays a

'message based on the sign of the result.

Sub Main()

a% = -100

b% = 100

c% = a% * b%

Select Case Sgn(c%)

Case -1

MsgBox "The product is negative " & Sgn(c%)

Case 0

MsgBox "The product is 0 " & Sgn(c%)

Case 1

MsgBox "The product is positive " & Sgn(c%)

End Select

End Sub

See Also

Abs (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Shell (function)

Syntax

Shell(pathname [,windowstyle])

Description

Executes another application, returning the task ID if successful.

Comments

The Shell statement accepts the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

pathname	String containing the name of the application and any parameters.

windowstyle	Optional Integer specifying the state of the application window after execution. It can be any of the following values:

ebHide	Application is hidden.

ebNormalFocus	Application is displayed in default position with the focus.

ebMinimizedFocus	Application is minimized with the focus (this is the default).

MaximizedFocus	Application is maximized with the focus.

ebNormalNoFocus	Application is displayed in default position without the focus.

ebMinimizedNoFocus	Application is minimized without the focus

A runtime error is generated if windowstyle is not one of the above values.

An error is generated if unsuccessful running pathname.

The Shell command runs programs asynchronously: the statement following the Shell statement will execute before the child application has exited. On some platforms, the next statement will run even before the child application has finished loading.

The Shell function returns a value suitable for activating the application using the AppActivate statement. It is important that this value be placed into a Variant, as its type depends on the platform.

Example

'This example displays the Windows Clock, delays a while, then

'closes it.

Sub Main()

id = Shell("clock.exe",1)

AppActivate "Clock"

Sleep(2000)

AppClose "Clock"

End Sub

See Also

PrintFile (function), SendKeys (statement), AppActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

The Macintosh does not support wildcard characters such as * and ?. These are valid filename characters. Instead of wildcards, the Macintosh uses the MacID function to specify a collection of files of the same type. The syntax for this function is:

Shell(MacID(text$) [,windowstyle])

The text$ parameter is a four-character string containing an application signature. A runtime error occurs if the MacID function is used on platforms other than the Macintosh.

On the Macintosh, the windowstyle parameter only specifies whether the application receives the focus.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, this function returns the hInstance of the application. Since this value is only a WORD in size, the upper WORD of the result is always zero.

The Shell function under Windows supports file associations. In other words, you can specify the name of a file, and the Shell function executes the associated application with that file as a parameter. (File associations are specified in the WIN.INI file.)

Platform Notes: Win32

Under Win32, this function returns a global process ID that can be used to identify the new process. Under Win32, the Shell function does not support file associations (i.e., setting pathname to "sample.txt" will not execution Notepad).

When specifying long filenames as parameters, you may have to enclose the parameters in double quotes. For example, under Windows 95, to run WordPad, passing it a file called "Sample Document", you would use the following statement:

r = Shell("WordPad ""Sample Document""")

Platform Notes: UNIX

Under all versions of UNIX, the windowstyle parameter is ignored. This function returns the process identifier of the new process.

Under UNIX, AimBasic attempts to execute the command line using one of the installed shells. AimBasic looks for a shell using the following precedence:

1.	AimBasic examines the SHELL environment variable, which is normally set to the path of the currently executing shell (e.g., /bin/sh, /bin/csh, and so on).

2.	AimBasic examines the PATH environment variable for an executable program called sh (the Bourne shell).

3.	 In the unlikely event that a shell was not located with the above rules, AimBasic will search for sh in the following areas:

/bin

/usr/bin

/usr/sbin

Once a suitable shell has been located, it is executed with pathname as a parameter. The environment of the calling process is made available to the new process and will be use by the shell in a manner specific to that shell.

Due to the asynchronous nature of the shell process, failure to find and start the program is not reported to AimBasic.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Under OS/2, the Shell function is capable of running both Presentation Manager applications and command line applications. When running command line applications, the Shell function always returns 0.


Sin (function)

Syntax

Sin(number)

Description

Returns a Double value specifying the sine of number.

Comments

The number parameter is a Double specifying an angle in radians.

Example

'This example displays the sine of pi/4 radians (45 degrees).

Sub Main()

c# = Sin(Pi / 4)

MsgBox "The sine of 45 degrees is: " & c#

End Sub

See Also

Tan (function), Cos (function), Atn (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Single (data type)

Syntax

Single

Description

A data type used to declare variables capable of holding real numbers with up to seven digits of precision.

Comments

Single variables are used to hold numbers within the following ranges:

Sign	Range

Negative	-3.402823E38 <= single <= -1.401298E-45

Positive	1.401298E-45 <= single <= 3.402823E38

The type-declaration character for Single is !.

Storage

Internally, singles are stored as 4-byte (32-bit) IEEE values. Thus, when appearing within a structure, singles require 4 bytes of storage. When used with binary or random files, 4 bytes of storage is required.

Each single consists of the following

• 	A 1-bit sign

• 	An 8-bit exponent

• 	A 24-bit mantissa

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), String (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CSng (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Sleep (statement)

Syntax

Sleep milliseconds

Description

Causes the script to pause for a specified number of milliseconds.

Comments

The milliseconds parameter is a Long in the following range:

0 <= milliseconds <= 2,147,483,647

Example

'This example displays a message for 2 seconds.

Sub Main()

Msg.Open "Waiting 2 seconds",0,False,False

Sleep(2000)

Msg.Close

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, the accuracy of the system clock is modulo 55 milliseconds. The value of milliseconds will, in the worst case, be rounded up to the nearest multiple of 55. In other words, if milliseconds is 1, it will be rounded to 55 in the worst case.


Sln (function)

Syntax

Sln(cost, salvage, life)

Description

Returns the straight-line depreciation of an asset assuming constant benefit from the asset.

Comments

The Sln of an asset is found by taking an estimate of its useful life in years, assigning values to each year, and adding up all the numbers.

The formula used to find the Sln of an asset is as follows:

(Cost - Salvage Value) / Useful Life

The Sln function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

cost	Double representing the initial cost of the asset.

salvage	Double representing the estimated value of the asset at the end of its useful life.

life	Double representing the length of the asset's useful life.

The unit of time used to express the useful life of the asset is the same as the unit of time used to express the period for which the depreciation is returned.

Example

'This example calculates the straight-line depreciation of an

'asset that cost $10,000.00 and has a salvage value of $500.00

'as scrap after ten years of service life.

Sub Main()

dep# = Sln(10000.00,500.00,10)

MsgBox "The annual depreciation is: " & Format(dep#,"Currency")

End Sub

See Also

SYD (function), DDB (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Space, Space$ (functions)

Syntax

Space[$](number)

Description

Returns a string containing the specified number of spaces.

Comments

Space$ returns a String, whereas Space returns a String variant.

The number parameter is an Integer between 0 and 32767.

Example

'This example returns a string of ten spaces and displays it.

Sub Main()

ln$ = Space$(10)

MsgBox "Hello" & ln$ & "over there."

End Sub

See Also

String, String$ (functions), Spc (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Spc (function)

Syntax

Spc(numspaces)

Description

Prints out the specified number of spaces. This function can only be used with the Print and Print# statements.

Comments

The numspaces parameter is an Integer specifying the number of spaces to be printed. It can be any value between 0 and 32767.

If a line width has been specified (using the Width statement), then the number of spaces is adjusted as follows:

numspaces = numspaces Mod width

If the resultant number of spaces is greater than width – print_position, then the number of spaces is recalculated as follows:

numspaces = numspaces – (width – print_position)

These calculations have the effect of never allowing the spaces to overflow the line length. Furthermore, with a large value for column and a small line width, the file pointer will never advance more than one line.

Example

'This example displays 20 spaces between the arrows.

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open

Print "I am"; Spc(20); "20 spaces apart!"

Sleep (10000)	'Wait 10 seconds.

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

Tab (function), Print (statement), Print# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


SQLBind (function)

Syntax

SQLBind(connectionnum, array [,column])

Description

Specifies which fields are returned when results are requested using the SQLRetrieve or SQLRetrieveToFile function.

Comments

The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLBind function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionnum	Long parameter specifying a valid connection.

array	Any array of variants. Each call to SQLBind adds a new column number (an Integer) in the appropriate slot in the array. Thus, as you bind additional columns, the array parameter grows, accumulating a sorted list (in ascending order) of bound columns.If array is fixed, then it must be a one-dimensional variant array with sufficient space to hold all the bound column numbers. A runtime error is generated if array is too small.If array is dynamic, then it will be resized to exactly hold all the bound column numbers.

column	Optional Long parameter that specifies the column to which to bind data. If this parameter is omitted, all bindings for the connection are dropped.

This function returns the number of bound columns on the connection. If no columns are bound, then 0 is returned. If there are no pending queries, then calling SQLBind will cause an error (queries are initiated using the SQLExecQuery function).

If supported by the driver, row numbers can be returned by binding column 0.

AimBasic generates a trappable runtime error if SQLBind fails. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

Example

'This example binds columns to data.

Sub Main()

Dim columns() As Variant

id& = SQLOpen("dsn=SAMPLE",,3)

t& = SQLExecQuery(id&,"Select * From c:\sample.dbf")

i% = SQLBind(id&,columns,3)

i% = SQLBind(id&,columns,1)

i% = SQLBind(id&,columns,2)

i% = SQLBind(id&,columns,6)

For x = 0 To (i% - 1)

MsgBox columns(x)

Next x

id& = SQLClose(id&)

End Sub

See Also

SQLRetrieve (function), SQLRetrieveToFile (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLClose (function)

Syntax

SQLClose(connectionnum)

Description

Closes the connection to the specified data source.

Comments

The unique connection ID (connectionnum) is a Long value representing a valid connection as returned by SQLOpen. After SQLClose is called, any subsequent calls made with the connectionnum will generate runtime errors.

The SQLClose function returns 0 if successful; otherwise, it returns the passed connection ID and generates a trappable runtime error. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

AimBasic automatically closes all open SQL connections when either the script or the application terminates. You should use the SQLClose function rather than relying on AimBasic to automatically close connections in order to ensure that your connections are closed at the proper time.

Example

'This example disconnects the the data source sample.

Sub Main()

id& = SQLOpen("dsn=SAMPLE",,3)

id& = SQLClose(id&)

End Sub

See Also

SQLOpen (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLError (function)

Syntax

SQLError(resultarray, connectionnum)

Description

Retrieves driver-specific error information for the most recent SQL functions that failed.

Comments

This function is called after any other SQL function fails. Error information is returned in a two-dimensional array (resultarray). The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLError function:

Named Parameter	Description

resultarray	Two-dimensional Variant array, which can be dynamic or fixed.

If the array is fixed, it must be (x,3), where x is the number of errors you want returned. If x is too small to hold all the errors, then the extra error information is discarded. If x is greater than the number of errors available, all errors are returned, and the empty array elements are set to Empty.

If the array is dynamic, it will be resized to hold the exact number of errors.

connectionnum	Optional Long parameter specifying a connection ID. If this parameter is omitted, error information is returned for the most recent SQL function call.

Each array entry in the resultarray parameter describes one error. The three elements in each array entry contain the following information:

Element	Value

(entry,0)	The ODBC error state, indicated by a Long containing the error class and subclass.

(entry,1)	The ODBC native error code, indicated by a Long.

(entry,2)	The text error message returned by the driver. This field is String type.

For example, to retrieve the ODBC text error message of the first returned error, the array is referenced as:

resultarray(0,2)

The SQLError function returns the number of errors found.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLError fails. (You cannot use the SQLError function to gather additional error information in this case.)

Example

'This example forces a connection error and traps it for use

'with the SQLError function.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As Variant

On Error Goto Trap

id& = SQLOpen("",,4)

id& = SQLClose(id&)

Exit Sub

Trap:

rc% = SQLError(a)

If (rc%) Then

For x = 0 To (rc% - 1)

MsgBox "The SQLState returned was: " & a(x,0)

MsgBox "The native error code returned was: " & a(x,1)

MsgBox a(x,2)

Next x

End If

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLExecQuery (function)

Syntax

SQLExecQuery(connectionnum, querytext)

Description

Executes an SQL statement query on a data source.

Comments

This function is called after a connection to a data source is established using the SQLOpen function. The SQLExecQuery function may be called multiple times with the same connection ID, each time replacing all results.

The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLExecQuery function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionnum	Long identifying a valid connected data source. This parameter is returned by the SQLOpen function.

querytext	String specifying an SQL query statement. The SQL syntax of the string must strictly follow that of the driver.

The return value of this function depends on the result returned by the SQL statement:

SQL Statement	Value

SELECT...FROM	The value returned is the number of columns returned by the SQL statement

DELETE,INSERT,UPDATE	The value returned is the number of rows affected by the SQL statement

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLExecQuery fails. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

Example

'This example executes a query on the connected data source.

Sub Main()

Dim s As String

Dim qry As Long

Dim a() As Variant

On Error Goto Trap

id& = SQLOpen("dsn=SAMPLE", s$, 3)

qry = SQLExecQuery(id&,"Select * From c:\sample.dbf")

MsgBox "There are " & qry & " columns in the result set."

id& = SQLClose(id&)

Exit Sub

Trap:

rc% = SQLError(a)

If (rc%) Then

For x = 0 To (rc% - 1)

MsgBox "The SQLState returned was: " & a(x,0)

MsgBox "The native error code returned was: " & a(x,1)

MsgBox a(x,2)

Next x

End If

End Sub

See Also

SQLOpen (function), SQLClose (function), SQLRetrieve (function), SQLRetrieveToFile (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLGetSchema (function)

Syntax

SQLGetSchema(connectionnum, typenum, [, [resultarray] [, qualifiertext]])

Description

Returns information about the data source associated with the specified connection.

Comments

The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLGetSchema function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionnum	Long parameter identifying a valid connected data source. This parameter is returned by the SQLOpen function.

typenum	Integer parameter specifying the results to be returned. The following are the values for this parameter:

Value	Meaning

1	Returns a one-dimensional array of available data sources. The array is returned in the resultarray parameter.

2	Returns a one-dimensional array of databases (either directory names or database names, depending on the driver) associated with the current connection. The array is returned in the resultarray parameter.

3	Returns a one-dimensional array of owners (user IDs) of the database associated with the current connection. The array is returned in the resultarray parameter.

4	Returns a one-dimensional array of table names for a specified owner and database associated with the current connection. The array is returned in the resultarray parameter.

5	Returns a two-dimensional array (n by 2) containing information about a specified table. The first element contains the column name. The second element contains the data type of the column

6	Returns a string containing the ID of the current user.

7	Returns a string containing the name (either the directory name or the database name, depending on the driver) of the current database.

8	Returns a string containing the name of the data source on the current connection.

9	Returns a string containing the name of the DBMS of the data source on the current connection (e.g., "FoxPro 2.5" or "Excel Files").

10	Returns a string containing the name of the server for the data source.

11	Returns a string containing the owner qualifier used by the data source (e.g., "owner," "Authorization ID," "Schema").

12	Returns a string containing the table qualifier used by the data source (e.g., "table," "file").

13	Returns a string containing the database qualifier used by the data source (e.g., "database," "directory").

14	Returns a string containing the procedure qualifier used by the data source (e.g., "database procedure," "stored procedure," "procedure").

resultarray	Optional Variant array parameter. This parameter is only required for action values 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The returned information is put into this array.

If resultarray is fixed and it is not the correct size necessary to hold the requested information, then SQLGetSchema will fail. If the array is larger than required, then any additional elements are erased.

If resultarray is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to hold the exact number of elements requested.

qualifiertext	Optional String parameter required for actions 3, 4, or 5. The values are as follows:

Action	Qualifier

3	The qualifiertext parameter must be the name of the database represented by ID.

4	The qualifiertext parameter specifies a database name and an owner name. The syntax for this string is: DatabaseName.OwnerName

5	The qualifiertext parameter specifies the name of a table on the current connection.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLGetSchema fails. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

If you want to retrieve the available data sources (where typenum = 1) before establishing a connection, you can pass 0 as the connectionnum parameter. This is the only action that will execute successfully without a valid connection.

This function calls the ODBC functions SQLGetInfo and SQLTables in order to retrieve the requested information. Some database drivers do not support these calls and will therefore cause the SQLGetSchema function to fail.

Example

'This example gets all available data sources.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

Dim dsn() As Variant

numdims% = SQLGetSchema(0,1,dsn)

If (numdims%) Then

message = "Valid data sources are:" & crlf

For x = 0 To numdims% - 1

message = message & dsn(x) & crlf

Next x

Else

message = "There are no available data sources."

End If

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

SQLOpen (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLOpen (function)

Syntax

SQLOpen(connectionstr [, [outputref] [, driverprompt]])

Description

Establishes a connection to the specified data source, returning a Long representing the unique connection ID.

Comments

This function connects to a data source using a login string (connectionstr) and optionally sets the completed login string (outputref) that was used by the driver. The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLOpen function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionstr	String expression containing information required by the driver to connect to the requested data source. The syntax must strictly follow the driver's SQL syntax.

outputref	Optional String variable that will receive a completed connection string returned by the driver. If this parameter is missing, then no connection string will be returned.

driverprompt	Integer expression specifying any of the following values:

Value	Meaning

1	The driver's login dialog box is always displayed.

2	The driver's dialog box is only displayed if the connection string does not contain enough information to make the connection. This is the default behavior.

3	The driver's dialog box is only displayed if the connection string does not contain enough information to make the connection. Dialog box options that were passed as valid parameters are dimmed and unavailable.

4	The driver's login dialog box is never displayed.

The SQLOpen function will never return an invalid connection ID. The following example establishes a connection using the driver's login dialog box:

id& = SQLOpen("",,1)

AimBasic returns 0 and generates a trappable runtime error if SQLOpen fails. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

Before you can use any SQL statements, you must set up a data source and relate an existing database to it. This is accomplished using the odbcadm.exe program.

Example

'This example connects the data source called "sample,"

'returning the completed connction string, and then displays it.

Sub Main()

Dim s As String

id& = SQLOpen("dsn=SAMPLE",s$,3)

MsgBox "The completed connection string is: " & s$

id& = SQLClose(id&)

End Sub

See Also

SQLClose (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLRequest (function)

Syntax

SQLRequest(connectionstr, querytext, resultarray [, [outputref] [, [driverprompt] [, colnameslogical]]])

Description

Opens a connection, runs a query, and returns the results as an array.

Comments

The SQLRequest function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionstr	String specifying the connection information required to connect to the data source.

querytext	String specifying the query to execute. The syntax of this string must strictly follow the syntax of the ODBC driver.

resultarray	Array of variants to be filled with the results of the query.The resultarray parameter must be dynamic: it will be resized to hold the exact number of records and fields.

outputref	Optional String to receive the completed connection string as returned by the driver.

driverprompt	Optional Integer specifying the behavior of the driver's dialog box:

Value	Meaning

1	The driver's login dialog box is always displayed.

2	The driver's dialog box is only displayed if the connection string does not contain enough information to make the connection. This is the default behavior.

3	The driver's dialog box is only displayed if the connection string does not contain enough information to make the connection. Dialog box options that were passed as valid parameters are dimmed and unavailable.

4	The drivers login dialog box is never displayed.

colnameslogical	Optional Boolean specifying whether the column names are returned as the first row of results. The default is False.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLRequest fails. Additional error information can then be retrieved using the SQLError function.

The SQLRequest function performs one of the following actions, depending on the type of query being performed:

Type of Query	Action

SELECT	The SQLRequest function fills resultarray with the results of the query, returning a Long containing the number of results placed in the array. The array is filled as follows (assuming an x by y query):

(record 1,field 1)

(record 1,field 2)

:

(record 1,field y)

(record 2,field 1)

(record 2,field 2)

:

(record 2,field y)

:

:

(record x,field 1)

(record x,field 2)

:

(record x,field y)

INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE	The SQLRequest function erases resultarray and returns a Long containing the number of affected rows.

Example

'This example opens a data source, runs a select query on it,

'and then displays all the data found in the result set.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As Variant

l& = SQLRequest("dsn=SAMPLE;","Select * From c:\sample.dbf",a,,3,True)

For x = 0 To Ubound(a)

For y = 0 To l - 1

MsgBox a(x,y)

Next y

Next x

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLRetrieve (function)

Syntax

SQLRetrieve(connectionnum, resultarray[, [maxcolumns] [, [ maxrows] [, [colnameslogical] [, fetchfirstlogical]]]])

Description

Retrieves the results of a query.

Comments

This function is called after a connection to a data source is established, a query is executed, and the desired columns are bound. The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLRetrieve function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionnum	Long identifying a valid connected data source with pending query results.

resultarray	Two-dimensional array of variants to receive the results. The array has x rows by y columns. The number of columns is determined by the number of bindings on the connection.

maxcolumns	Optional Integer expression specifying the maximum number of columns to be returned. If maxcolumns is greater than the number of columns bound, the additional columns are set to empty. If maxcolumns is less than the number of bound results, the rightmost result columns are discarded until the result fits.

maxrows	Optional Integer specifying the maximum number of rows to be returned. If maxrows is greater than the number of rows available, all results are returned, and additional rows are set to empty. If maxrows is less than the number of rows available, the array is filled, and additional results are placed in memory for subsequent calls to SQLRetrieve.

colnameslogical	Optional Boolean specifying whether column names should be returned as the first row of results. The default is False.

fetchfirstlogical	Optional Boolean expression specifying whether results are retrieved from the beginning of the result set. The default is False.

Before you can retrieve the results from a query, you must (1) initiate a query by calling the SQLExecQuery function and (2) specify the fields to retrieve by calling the SQLBind function.

This function returns a Long specifying the number of rows available in the array.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLRetrieve fails. Additional error information is placed in memory.

Example

'This example executes a query on the connected data source,

'binds columns, and retrieves them.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As Variant

Dim b() As Variant

Dim c() As Variant

On Error Goto Trap

id& = SQLOpen("DSN=SAMPLE",,3)

qry& = SQLExecQuery(id&,"Select * From c:\sample.dbf"")

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,3)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,1)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,2)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,6)

l& = SQLRetrieve(id&,c)

For x = 0 To Ubound(c)

For y = 0 To l& - 1

MsgBox c(x,y)

Next y

Next x

id& = SQLClose(id&)

Exit Sub

Trap:

rc% = SQLError(a)

If (rc%) Then

For x = 0 To (rc% - 1)

MsgBox "The SQLState returned was: " & a(x,0)

MsgBox "The native error code returned was: " & a(x,1)

MsgBox a(x,2)

Next x

End If

End Sub

See Also

SQLOpen (function), SQLExecQuery (function), SQLClose (function), SQLBind (function), SQLRetrieveToFile (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


SQLRetrieveToFile (function)

Syntax

SQLRetrieveToFile(connectionnum, destination [, [colnameslogical] [, columndelimiter]])

Description

Retrieves the results of a query and writes them to the specified file.

Comments

The following table describes the named parameters to the SQLRetrieveToFile function:

Named Parameter	Description

connectionnum	Long specifying a valid connection ID.

destination	String specifying the file where the results are written.

colnameslogical	Optional Boolean specifying whether the first row of results returned are the bound column names. By default, the column names are not returned.

columndelimiter	Optional String specifying the column separator. A tab (Chr$(9)) is used as the default.

Before you can retrieve the results from a query, you must (1) initiate a query by calling the SQLExecQuery function and (2) specify the fields to retrieve by calling the SQLBind function.

This function returns the number of rows written to the file. A runtime error is generated if there are no pending results or if AimBasic is unable to open the specified file.

AimBasic generates a runtime error if SQLRetrieveToFile fails. Additional error information may be placed in memory for later use with the SQLError function.

Example

'This example opens a connection, runs a query, binds columns,

'and writes the results to a file.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As Variant

Dim b() As Variant

On Error Goto Trap

id& = SQLOpen("DSN=SAMPLE;UID=RICH",,4)

t& = SQLExecQuery(id&, "Select * From c:\sample.dbf"")

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,3)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,1)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,2)

i% = SQLBind(id&,b,6)

l& = SQLRetrieveToFile(id&,"c:\results.txt",True,",")

id& = SQLClose(id&)

Exit Sub

Trap:

rc% = SQLError(a)

If (rc%) Then

For x = 0 To (rc-1)

MsgBox "The SQLState returned was: " & a(x,0)

MsgBox "The native error code returned was: " & a(x,1)

MsgBox a(x,2)

Next x

End If

End Sub

See Also

SQLOpen (function), SQLExecQuery (function), SQLClose (function), SQLBind (function), SQLRetrieve (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Sqr (function)

Syntax

Sqr(number)

Description

Returns a Double representing the square root of number.

Comments

The number parameter is a Double greater than or equal to 0.

Example

'This example calculates the square root of the numbers from 1

'to 10 and displays them.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

For x = 1 To 10

sx# = Sqr(x)

message = message & Format(x,"Fixed") & " - " &_	Format(sx#,"Fixed") & crlf

Next x

MsgBox message

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


Stop (statement)

Syntax

Stop

Description

Suspends execution of the current script, returning control to a debugger if one is present. If a debugger is not present, this command will have the same effect as End.

Example

'The Stop statement can be used for debugging. In this example,

'it is used to stop execution when Z is randomly set to 0.

Sub Main()

For x = 1 To 10

z = Random(0,10)

If z = 0 Then Stop

y = x / z

Next x

End Sub

See Also

Exit For (statement), Exit Do (statement), Exit Function (statement), Exit Sub (statement), End (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Str, Str$ (functions)

Syntax

Str[$](number)

Description

Returns a string representation of the given number.

Comments

The number parameter is any numeric expression or expression convertible to a number. If number is negative, then the returned string will contain a leading minus sign. If number is positive, then the returned string will contain a leading space.

Singles are printed using only 7 significant digits. Doubles are printed using 15–16 significant digits.

These functions only output the period as the decimal separator and do not output thousands separators. Use the CStr, Format, or Format$ function for this purpose.

Example

'In this example, the Str$ function is used to display the

'value of a numeric variable.

Sub Main()

x# = 100.22

MsgBox "The string value is: " + Str(x#)

End Sub

See Also

Format, Format$ (functions), CStr (function)

Platform(s)

All.


StrComp (function)

Syntax

StrComp(string1,string2 [,compare])

Description

Returns an Integer indicating the result of comparing the two string arguments.

Comments

One of the following values is returned:

0	string1 = string2

1	string1 > string2

–1	string1 < string2

Null	string1 or string2 is Null

The StrComp function accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

string1	First string to be compared, which can be any expression convertible to a String.

string2	Second string to be compared, which can be any expression convertible to a String.

compare	Optional Integer specifying how the comparison is to be performed. It can be either of the following values:

0	Case-sensitive comparison

1	Case-insensitive comparison

If compare is not specified, then the current Option Compare setting is used. If no Option Compare statement has been encountered, then Binary is used (i.e., string comparison is case-sensitive).

Example

'This example compares two strings and displays the results. It

'illustrates that the function compares two strings to the

'length of the shorter string in determining equivalency.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This string is UPPERCASE and lowercase"

b$ = "This string is uppercase and lowercase"

c$ = "This string"

d$ = "This string is uppercase and lowercase characters"

abc = StrComp(a$,b$,0)

message = message & "a and c (sensitive)  : " & _

Format(abc,"True/False") & crlf

abi = StrComp(a$,b$,1)

message = message & "a and b (insensitive): " & _

Format(abi,"True/False") & crlf

aci = StrComp(a$,c$,1)

message = message & "a and c (insensitive): " & _

Format(aci,"True/False") & crlf

bdi = StrComp(b$,d$,1)

message = message & "b and d (sensitive)  : " & _

Format(bdi,"True/False") & crlf

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Comparison Operators (topic), Like (operator), Option Compare (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


StrConv (function)

Syntax

StrConv(string, conversion)

Description

Converts a string based on a conversion parameter.

Comments

The StrConv function takes the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

string	A String expression specifying the string to be converted.

conversion	An Integer specifying the types of conversions to be performed.

The conversion parameter can be any combination of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUpperCase	1	Converts string to uppercase. This constant is supported on all platforms.

ebLowerCase	2	Converts string to lowercase. This constant is supported on all platforms.

ebProperCase	3	Capitalizes the first letter of each word and lower-cases all the letters. This constant is supported on all platforms.

ebWide	4	Converts narrow characters to wide characters. This constant is supported on Japanese locales only.

ebNarrow	8	Converts wide characters to narrow characters. This constant is supported on Japanese locales only.

ebKatakana	16	Converts Hiragana characters to Katakana characters. This constant is supported on Japanese locales only.

ebHiragana	32	Converts Katakana characters to Hiragana characters. This constant is supported on Japanese locales only.

ebUnicode	64	Converts string from MBCS to UNICODE. (This constant can only be used on platforms supporting UNICODE.)

ebFromUnicode	128	Converts string from UNICODE to MBCS. (This constant can only be used on platforms supporting UNICODE.)

A runtime error is generated when a conversion is requested that is not supported on the current platform. For example, the ebWide and ebNarrow constants can only be used on an MBCS platform. (You can determine platform capabilities using the Basic.Capabilities method.)

The following groupings of constants are mutually exclusive and therefore cannot be specified at the same time:

ebUpperCase, ebLowerCase, ebProperCase

ebWide, ebNarrow

ebUnicode, ebFromUnicode

Many of the constants can be combined. For example, ebLowerCase Or ebNarrow.

When converting to proper case (i.e., the ebProperCase constant), the following are seen as word delimiters: tab, linefeed, carriage-return, formfeed, vertical tab, space, null.

Example

Sub Main()

a = InputBox("Type any string:")

MsgBox "Upper case: " & StrConv(a,ebUpperCase)

MsgBox "Lower case: " & StrConv(a,ebLowerCase)

MsgBox "Proper case: " & StrConv(a,ebProperCase)

If Basic.Capability(10) And Basic.OS = ebWin16 Then

'This is an MBCS locale

MsgBox "Narrow: " & StrConv(a,ebNarrow)

MsgBox "Wide: " & StrConv(a,ebWide)

MsgBox "Katakana: " & StrConv(a,ebKatakana)

MsgBox "Hiragana: " & StrConv(a,ebHiragana)

End If

End Sub

See Also

UCase, UCase$ (functions), LCase, LCase$ (functions), Basic.Capability (method)

Platform(s)

All.


String (data type)

Syntax

String

Description

A data type capable of holding a number of characters.

Comments

Strings are used to hold sequences of characters, each character having a value between 0 and 255. Strings can be any length up to a maximum length of 32767 characters.

Strings can contain embedded nulls, as shown in the following example:

s$ = "Hello" + Chr$(0) + "there"

The length of a string can be determined using the Len function. This function returns the number of characters that have been stored in the string, including unprintable characters.

The type-declaration character for String is $.

String variables that have not yet been assigned are set to zero-length by default.

Strings are normally declared as variable-length, meaning that the memory required for storage of the string depends on the size of its content. The following AimBasic statements declare a variable-length string and assign it a value of length 5:

Dim s As String

s = "Hello"	'String has length 5.

Fixed-length strings are given a length in their declaration:

Dim s As String * 20

s = "Hello"	'String length = 20 with spaces to

'end of string.

When a string expression is assigned to a fixed-length string, the following rules apply:

• 	If the string expression is less than the length of the fixed-length string, then the fixed-length string is padded with spaces up to its declared length.

• 	If the string expression is greater than the length of the fixed-length string, then the string expression is truncated to the length of the fixed-length string.

Fixed-length strings are useful within structures when a fixed size is required, such as when passing structures to external routines.

The storage for a fixed-length string depends on where the string is declared, as described in the following table:

Strings Declared	Are Stored

In structures	In the same data area as that of the structure. Local structures are on the stack; public structures are stored in the public data space; and private structures are stored in the private data space. Local structures should be used sparingly as stack space is limited.

In arrays	In the global string space along with all the other array elements.

In local routines	On the stack. The stack is limited in size, so local fixed-length strings should be used sparingly.

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), Variant (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CStr (function)

Platform(s)

All.


String, String$ (functions)

Syntax

String[$](number, character)

Description

Returns a string of length number consisting of a repetition of the specified filler character.

Comments

String$ returns a String, whereas String returns a String variant.

These functions take the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

number	Long specifying the number of repetitions.

character	Integer specifying the character code to be used as the filler character. If character is greater than 255 (the largest character value), then AimBasic converts it to a valid character using the following formula:

character Mod 256

If character is a string, then the first character of that string is used as the filler character.

Example

'This example uses the String function to create a line of "="

'signs the length of another string and then displays the

'character string underlined with the generated string.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This string will appear underlined."

b$ = String$(Len(a$),"=")

MsgBox a$ & crlf & b$

End Sub

See Also

Space, Space$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Sub...End Sub (statement)

Syntax

[Private | Public] [Static] Sub name[(arglist)]

[statements]

End Sub

where arglist is a comma-separated list of the following (up to 30 arguments are allowed):

[Optional] [ByVal | ByRef] parameter[()] [As type]

Description

Declares a subroutine.

Comments

The Sub statement has the following parts:

Part	Description

Private	Indicates that the subroutine being defined cannot be called from other scripts.

Public	Indicates that the subroutine being defined can be called from other scripts. If the Private and Public keywords are both missing, then Public is assumed.

Static	Recognized by the compiler but currently has no effect.

name	Name of the subroutine, which must follow AimBasic naming conventions:

1.	Must start with a letter.

2.	May contain letters, digits, and the underscore character (_). Punctuation and type-declaration characters are not allowed. The exclamation point (!) can appear within the name as long as it is not the last character.

3.	Must not exceed 80 characters in length.

Optional	Keyword indicating that the parameter is optional. All optional parameters must be of type Variant. Furthermore, all parameters that follow the first optional parameter must also be optional.

If this keyword is omitted, then the parameter is required.

Note: You can use the IsMissing function to determine whether an optional parameter was actually passed by the caller.

ByVal	Keyword indicating that the parameter is passed by value.

ByRef	Keyword indicating that the parameter is passed by reference. If neither the ByVal nor the ByRef keyword is given, then ByRef is assumed.

parameter	Name of the parameter, which must follow the same naming conventions as those used by variables. This name can include a type-declaration character, appearing in place of As type.

type	Type of the parameter (i.e., Integer, String, and so on). Arrays are indicated with parentheses. For example, an array of integers would be declared as followsSub Test(a() As Integer)End Sub

A subroutine terminates when one of the following statements is encountered:

End Sub

Exit Sub

Subroutines can be recursive.

Passing Parameters to Subroutines

Parameters are passed to a subroutine either by value or by reference, depending on the declaration of that parameter in arglist. If the parameter is declared using the ByRef keyword, then any modifications to that passed parameter within the subroutine change the value of that variable in the caller. If the parameter is declared using the ByVal keyword, then the value of that variable cannot be changed in the called subroutine. If neither the ByRef nor the ByVal keyword is specified, then the parameter is passed by reference.

You can override passing a parameter by reference by enclosing that parameter within parentheses. For instance, the following example passes the variable j by reference, regardless of how the third parameter is declared in the arglist of UserSub:

UserSub 10,12,(j)

Optional Parameters

AimBasic allows you to skip parameters when calling subroutines, as shown in the following example:

Sub Test(a%,b%,c%)

End Sub

Sub Main

Test 1,,4	'Parameter 2 was skipped.

End Sub

You can skip any parameter with the following restrictions:

1.	The call cannot end with a comma. For instance, using the above example, the following is not valid:

Test 1,,

2.	The call must contain the minimum number of parameters as required by the called subroutine. For instance, using the above example, the following are invalid:

Test ,1	'Only passes two out of three required

'parameters.

Test 1,2	'Only passes two out of three required

'parameters.

When you skip a parameter in this manner, AimBasic creates a temporary variable and passes this variable instead. The value of this temporary variable depends on the data type of the corresponding parameter in the argument list of the called subroutine, as described in the following table:

Value	Data Type

0	Integer, Long, Single, Double, Currency

Zero-length string	String

Nothing	Object (or any data object)

Error	Variant

December 30, 1899	Date

False	Boolean

Within the called subroutine, you will be unable to determine whether a parameter was skipped unless the parameter was declared as a variant in the argument list of the subroutine. In this case, you can use the IsMissing function to determine whether the parameter was skipped:

Sub Test(a,b,c)

If IsMissing(a) Or IsMissing(b) Then Exit Sub

End Sub

Example

'This example uses a subroutine to calculate the area of a

'circle.

Sub Main()

r! = 10

PrintArea r!

End Sub

Sub PrintArea(r as single)

area! = (r! ^ 2) * Pi

MsgBox "The area of a circle with radius " & r! & " = " & area!

End Sub

See Also

Main (statement), Function...End Function (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Switch (function)

Syntax

Switch(condition1,expression1 [,condition2,expression2 ... [,condition7,expression7]])

Description

Returns the expression corresponding to the first True condition.

Comments

The Switch function evaluates each condition and expression, returning the expression that corresponds to the first condition (starting from the left) that evaluates to True. Up to seven condition/expression pairs can be specified.

A runtime error is generated it there is an odd number of parameters (i.e., there is a condition without a corresponding expression).

The Switch function returns Null if no condition evaluates to True.

Example

'This code fragment displays the current operating platform. If

'the platform is unknown, then the word "Unknown" is displayed.

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

a = Switch(Basic.OS = 0,"Windows 3.1", _

Basic.OS = 2,"Win32",Basic.OS = 11,"OS/2")

MsgBox "The current platform is: " & _

IIf(IsNull(a),"Unknown",a)

End Sub

See Also

Choose (function), IIf (function), If...Then...Else (statement), Select...Case (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


SYD (function)

Syntax

SYD(cost, salvage, life, period)

Description

Returns the sum of years' digits depreciation of an asset over a specific period of time.

Comments

The SYD of an asset is found by taking an estimate of its useful life in years, assigning values to each year, and adding up all the numbers.

The formula used to find the SYD of an asset is as follows:

(Cost – Salvage_Value) * Remaining_Useful_Life / SYD

The SYD function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

cost	Double representing the initial cost of the asset.

salvage	Double representing the estimated value of the asset at the end of its useful life.

life	Double representing the length of the asset's useful life.

period	Double representing the period for which the depreciation is to be calculated. It cannot exceed the life of the asset.

To receive accurate results, the parameters life and period must be expressed in the same units. If life is expressed in terms of months, for example, then period must also be expressed in terms of months.

Example

'In this example, an asset that cost $1,000.00 is depreciated

'over ten years. The salvage value is $100.00, and the sum of

'the years' digits depreciation is shown for each year.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

For x = 1 To 10

dep# = SYD(1000,100,10,x)

message = message & "Year: " & x & "  Dep: " &_ Format(dep#,"Currency") & crlf

Next x

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Sln (function), DDB (function)

Platform(s)

All.


System.Exit (method)

Syntax

System.Exit

Description

Exits the operating environment.

Example

'This example asks whether the user would like to restart

'Windows after exiting.

Sub Main

button = Msgbox("Restart Windows on exit?", ebYesNo, _

"Exit Windows")

message$="Restart Windows on exit?",ebYesNo,"Exit Windows"

button = MsgBox message$

If button = ebYes Then System.Restart  	'Yes button selected.

If button = ebNo Then System.Exit	'No button selected.

End Sub

See Also

System.Restart (method)

Platform(s)

Windows,Win32.


System.FreeMemory (property)

Syntax

System.FreeMemory

Description

Returns a Long indicating the number of bytes of free memory.

Example

'The following example gets the free memory and converts it to

'kilobytes.

Sub Main()

FreeMem& = System.FreeMemory

FreeKBytes$ = Format(FreeMem& / 1000,"##,###")

MsgBox FreeKbytes$ & " Kbytes of free memory"

End Sub

See Also

System.TotalMemory (property), System.FreeResources (property), Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32


System.FreeResources (property)

Syntax

System.FreeResources

Description

Returns an Integer representing the percentage of free system resources.

Comments

The returned value is between 0 and 100.

Example

'This example gets the percentage of free resources.

Sub Main()

FreeRes% = System.FreeResources

MsgBox FreeRes% & "% of memory resources available."

End Sub

See Also

System.TotalMemory (property), System.FreeMemory (property), Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Platform(s)

Windows.


System.MouseTrails (method)

Syntax

System.MouseTrails isOn

Description

Toggles mouse trails on or off.

Comments

If isOn is True, then mouse trails are turned on; otherwise, mouse trails are turned off.

A runtime error is generated if mouse trails is not supported on your system.

Example

'This example turns on mouse trails.

Sub Main

System.MouseTrails 1

End Sub

Platform(s)

Windows.

Platform Notes:

Windows: Under Windows, the setting is saved in the INI file permanently. Setting isOn to True restores the mouse trails setting as configured by the system (i.e., if your mouse trails is set to 4, then setting isOn to True sets the mouse trails to 4).

Win32: Under Win32, the setting is saved in the system registry. Setting isOn to True sets the mouse trails to 7. Setting isOn to False turns mouse trails off. Setting isOn to any value between 1 and 7 sets the mouse trails to that number of trails.


System.Restart (method)

Syntax

System.Restart

Description

Restarts the operating environment.

Example

'This example asks whether the user would like to restart

'Windows after exiting.

Sub Main

button = MsgBox ("Restart Windows on exit?",ebYesNo, _

"Exit Windows")

If button = ebYes Then System.Restart  'Yes button selected.

If button = ebNo Then System.Exit	'No button selected.

End Sub

See Also

System.Exit (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


System.TotalMemory (property)

Syntax

System.TotalMemory

Description

Returns a Long representing the number of bytes of available free memory in Windows.

Example

'This example displays the total system memory.

Sub Main()

TotMem& = System.TotalMemory

TotKBytes$ = Format(TotMem& / 1000,"##,###")

MsgBox TotKbytes$ & " Kbytes of total system memory exist"

End Sub

See Also

System.FreeMemory (property), System.FreeResources (property), Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


System.WindowsDirectory$ (property)

Syntax

System.WindowsDirectory$

Description

Returns the home directory of the operating environment.

Example

'This example displays the Windows directory.

Sub Main

MsgBox "Windows directory = " & System.WindowsDirectory$

End Sub

See Also

Basic.HomeDir$ (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


System.WindowsVersion$ (property)

Syntax

System.WindowsVersion$

Description

Returns the version of the operating environment, such as "3.0" or "3.1."

Example

'This example sets the UseWin31 variable to True if the Windows

'version is greater than or equal to 3.1; otherwise, it sets the

'UseWin31 variable  to False.

Sub Main()

If Val(System.WindowsVersion$) > 3.1 Then

MsgBox "You are running a Windows version later than 3.1"

Else

MsgBox "You are running Windows version 3.1 or earlier"

End If

End Sub

See Also

Basic.Version$ (property)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes

Windows: Under Windows, this property returns a value such as "3.1" or "3.11".

Win32: On Win32 platforms, this property returns a value in the following format:

major.minor.buildnumber

Where major is the major version number, minor is the minor version number, and buildnumber is the actual build number.


Tab (function)

Syntax

Tab (column)

Description

Prints the number of spaces necessary to reach a given column position.

Comments

This function can only be used with the Print and Print# statements.

The column parameter is an Integer specifying the desired column position to which to advance. It can be any value between 0 and 32767 inclusive.

Rule 1: If the current print position is less than or equal to column, then the number of spaces is calculated as:

column – print_position

Rule 2: If the current print position is greater than column, then column – 1 spaces are printed on the next line.

If a line width is specified (using the Width statement), then the column position is adjusted as follows before applying the above two rules:

column = column Mod width

The Tab function is useful for making sure that output begins at a given column position, regardless of the length of the data already printed on that line.

Example

'This example prints three column headers and three numbers

'aligned below the column headers.

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open

Print "Column1";Tab(10);"Column2";Tab(20);"Column3"

Print Tab(3);"1";Tab(14);"2";Tab(24);"3"

Sleep(10000)	'Wait 10 seconds.

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

Spc (function), Print (statement), Print# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


Tan (function)

Syntax

Tan(number)

Description

Returns a Double representing the tangent of number.

Comments

The number parameter is a Double value given in radians.

Example

'This example computes the tangent of pi/4 radians (45 degrees).

Sub Main()

c# = Tan(Pi / 4)

MsgBox "The tangent of 45 degrees is: " & c#

End Sub

See Also

Sin (function), Cos (function), Atn (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Text (statement)

Syntax

Text x,y,width,height,title$ [,[.Identifier] [,[FontName$] [,[size] [,style]]]]

Description

Defines a text control within a dialog box template. The text control only displays text; the user cannot set the focus to a text control or otherwise interact with it.

Comments

The text within a text control word-wraps. Text controls can be used to display up to 32K of text.

The Text statement accepts the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer positions of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer dimensions of the control in dialog units.

title$	String containing the text that appears within the text control. This text may contain an ampersand character to denote an accelerator letter, such as "&Save" for Save. Pressing this accelerator letter sets the focus to the control following the Text statement in the dialog box template.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). If this parameter is omitted, then the first two words from title$ are used.

FontName$	Name of the font used for display of the text within the text control. If this parameter is omitted, then the default font for the dialog is used.

size	Size of the font used for display of the text within the text control. If this parameter is omitted, then the default size for the default font of the dialog is used.

style	Style of the font used for display of the text within the text control. This can be any of the following values:

ebRegular	Normal font (i.e., neither bold nor italic)

ebBold	Bold font

ebItalic	Italic font

ebBoldItalic	Bold-italic font

If this parameter is omitted, then ebRegular is used.

Example

Begin Dialog UserDialog3 81,64,128,60,"Untitled"

CancelButton 80,32,40,14

OKButton 80,8,40,14

Text 4,8,68,44,"This text is displayed in the dialog box."

End Dialog

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), TextBox (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, accelerators are underlined, and the Alt+letter accelerator combination is used.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Under OS/2, accelerators are underlined, and the Alt+letter accelerator combination is used.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

On the Macintosh, accelerators are normal in appearance, and the Command+letter accelerator combination is used.


TextBox (statement)

Syntax

TextBox x,y,width,height,.Identifier [,[isMultiline] [,[FontName$] [,[size] [,style]]]]

Description

Defines a single or multiline text-entry field within a dialog box template.

Comments

The TextBox statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x, y	Integer position of the control (in dialog units) relative to the upper left corner of the dialog box.

width, height	Integer dimensions of the control in dialog units.

.Identifier	Name by which this control can be referenced by statements in a dialog function (such as DlgFocus and DlgEnable). This parameter also creates a string variable whose value corresponds to the content of the text box. This variable can be accessed using the syntax:DialogVariable.Identifier

isMultiline	Specifies whether the text box can contain more than a single line (0 = single-line; 1 = multiline).

FontName$	Name of the font used for display of the text within the text box control. If this parameter is omitted, then the default font for the dialog is used.

size	Size of the font used for display of the text within the text box control. If this parameter is omitted, then the default size for the default font of the dialog is used.

style	Style of the font used for display of the text within the text box control. This can be any of the following values:

ebRegular	Normal font (i.e., neither bold nor italic)

ebBold	Bold font	ebItalic	Italic font

ebBoldItalic	Bold-italic fontIf this parameter is omitted, then ebRegular is used.

If isMultiline is 1, the TextBox statement creates a multiline text-entry field. When the user types into a multiline field, pressing the Enter key creates a new line rather than selecting the default button.

The isMultiLine parameter also specifies whether the text box is read-only and whether the text-box should hide input for password entry. To specify these extra parameters, you can form the isMultiLine parameter by ORing together the following values:

Value	Meaning

0	Text box is single-line.

1	Text box is multi-line.

&H8000	Text box is read-only.

&H4000	Text box is password-entry.

For example, the following statement creates a read-only multiline text box:

TextBox 10,10,80,14,.TextBox1,1 Or &H8000

The TextBox statement can only appear within a dialog box template (i.e., between the Begin Dialog and End Dialog statements).

When the dialog box is created, the .Identifier variable is used to set the initial content of the text box. When the dialog box is dismissed, the variable will contain the new content of the text box.

A single-line text box can contain up to 256 characters. The length of text in a multiline text box is not limited by AimBasic; the default memory limit specified by the given platform is used instead.

Example

Begin Dialog UserDialog3 81,64,128,60,"Untitled"

CancelButton 80,32,40,14

OKButton 80,8,40,14

TextBox 4,8,68,44,.TextBox1,1

End Dialog

See Also

CancelButton (statement), CheckBox (statement), ComboBox (statement), Dialog (function), Dialog (statement), DropListBox (statement), GroupBox (statement), ListBox (statement), OKButton (statement), OptionButton (statement), OptionGroup (statement), Picture (statement), PushButton (statement), Text (statement), Begin Dialog (statement), PictureButton (statement), HelpButton (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, Macintosh, OS/2, UNIX.


Time, Time$ (functions)

Syntax

Time[$][()]

Description

Returns the system time as a String or as a Date variant.

Comments

The Time$ function returns a string that contains the time in a 24-hour time format, whereas Time returns a Date variant.

To set the time, use the Time/Time$ statements.

Example

'This example returns the system time and displays it in a

'dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

oldtime$ = Time$

message = "Time was: " & oldtime$ & crlf

Time$ = "10:30:54"

message = message & "Time set to: " & Time$ & crlf

Time$ = oldtime$

message = message & "Time restored to: " & Time$

MsgBox msg

End Sub

See Also

Time, Time$ (statements), Date, Date$ (functions), Date, Date$ (statements), Now (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Time, Time$ (statements)

Syntax

Time[$] = newtime

Description

Sets the system time to the time contained in the specified string.

Comments

The Time$ statement requres a string variable in one of the following formats:

HH

HH:MM

HH:MM:SS

where HH is between 0 and 23, MM is between 0 and 59, and SS is between 0 and 59.

The Time statement converts any valid expression to a time, including string and numeric values. Unlike the Time$ statement, Time recognizes many different time formats, including 12-hour times.

Example

'This example returns the system time and displays it in a

'dialog box.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

oldtime$ = Time$

msg = "Time was: " & oldtime$ & crlf

Time$ = "10:30:54"

msg = msg & "Time set to: " & Time$ & crlf

Time$ = oldtime$

msg = msg & "Time restored to: " & Time$

MsgBox msg

End Sub

See Also

Time, Time$ (functions), Date, Date$ (functions), Date, Date$ (statements)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: UNIX, Win32, OS/2

On all UNIX platforms, Win32, and OS/2, you may not have permission to change the time, causing runtime error 70 to be generated.


Timer (function)

Syntax

Timer

Description

Returns a Single representing the number of seconds that have elapsed since midnight.

Example

'This example displays the elapsed time between execution start

'and the time you clicked the OK button on the first message.

Sub Main()

start& = Timer

MsgBox "Click the OK button, please."

total& = Timer - start&

MsgBox "The elapsed time was: " & total& & " seconds."

End Sub

See Also

Time, Time$ (functions), Now (function)

Platform(s)

All.


TimeSerial (function)

Syntax

TimeSerial(hour, minute, second)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the given time with a date of zero.

Comments

The TimeSerial function requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

hour	Integer between 0 and 23.

minute	Integer between 0 and 59.

second	Integer between 0 and 59.

Example

Sub Main()

start# = TimeSerial(10,22,30)

finish# = TimeSerial(10,35,27)

dif# = Abs(start# - finish#)

MsgBox "The time difference is: " & Format(dif#, "hh:mm:ss")

End Sub

See Also

DateValue (function), TimeValue (function), DateSerial (function)

Platform(s)

All.


TimeValue (function)

Syntax

TimeValue(time)

Description

Returns a Date variant representing the time contained in the specified string argument.

Comments

This function interprets the passed time parameter looking for a valid time specification.

The time parameter can contain valid time items separated by time separators such as colon (:) or period (.).

Time strings can contain an optional date specification, but this is not used in the formation of the returned value.

If a particular time item is missing, then it is set to 0. For example, the string "10 pm" would be interpreted as "22:00:00."

Example

'This example calculates the current time and displays it in a

'dialog box.

Sub Main()

t1$ = "10:15"

t2# = TimeValue(t1$)

MsgBox "The TimeValue of " & t1$ & " is: " & t2#

End Sub

See Also

DateValue (function), TimeSerial (function), DateSerial (function)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows

Under Windows, time specifications vary, depending on the international settings contained in the [intl] section of the win.ini file.


Trim, Trim$, LTrim, LTrim$, RTrim, RTrim$ (functions)

Syntax

Trim[$](string)

LTrim[$](string)

RTrim[$](string)

Description

Returns a copy of the passed string expression (string) with leading and/or trailing spaces removed.

Comments

Trim returns a copy of the passed string expression (string) with both the leading and trailing spaces removed. LTrim returns string with the leading spaces removed, and RTrim returns string with the trailing spaces removed.

Trim$, LTrim$, and RTrim$ return a String, whereas Trim, LTrim, and RTrim return a String variant.

Null is returned if string is Null.

Examples

'This first example uses the Trim$ function to extract the

'nonblank part of a string and display it.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

text$ = "      This is text           "

tr$ = Trim$(text$)

MsgBox "Original =>" & text$ & "<=" & crlf & _

"Trimmed =>" & tr$ & "<="

End Sub

'This second example displays a right-justified string and its

'LTrim result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "          <= This is a right-justified string"

b$ = LTrim$(a$)

MsgBox a$ & crlf & b$

End Sub

'This third example displays a left-justified string and its

'RTrim result.

Const crlf = Chr$(13) + Chr$(10)

Sub Main()

a$ = "This is a left-justified string.              "

b$ = RTrim$(a$)

MsgBox a$ & "<=" & crlf & b$ & "<="

End Sub

Platform(s)

All.


Type (statement)

Syntax

Type username

variable As type

variable As type

variable As type

:

End Type

Description

The Type statement creates a structure definition that can then be used with the Dim statement to declare variables of that type. The username field specifies the name of the structure that is used later with the Dim statement.

Comments

Within a structure definition appear field descriptions in the format:

variable As type

where variable is the name of a field of the structure, and type is the data type for that variable. Any fundamental data type or previously declared user-defined data type can be used within the structure definition (structures within structures are allowed). Only fixed arrays can appear within structure definitions.

The Type statement can only appear outside of subroutine and function declarations.

When declaring strings within fixed-size types, it is useful to declare the strings as fixed-length. Fixed-length strings are stored within the structure itself rather than in the string space. For example, the following structure will always require 62 bytes of storage:

Type Person

FirstName As String * 20

LastName As String * 40

Age As Integer

End Type

Note: Fixed-length strings within structures are size-adjusted upward to an even byte boundary. Thus, a fixed-length string of length 5 will occupy 6 bytes of storage within the structure.

Example

'This example displays the use of the Type statement to create

'a structure representing the parts of a circle and assign

'values to them.

Type Circ

message As String

rad As Integer

dia As Integer

are As Double

cir As Double

End Type

Sub Main()

Dim circle As Circ

circle.rad = 5

circle.dia = circle.rad * 2

circle.are = (circle.rad ^ 2) * Pi

circle.cir = circle.dia * Pi

circle.message = "The area of the circle is: " & circle.are

MsgBox circle.message

End Sub

See Also

Dim (statement), Public (statement), Private (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


TypeName (function)

Syntax

TypeName(varname)

Description

Returns the type name of the specified variable.

Comments

The returned string can be any of the following:

Returned String	Returned if varname is

"String"	A String.

objecttype	A data object variable. In this case, objecttype is the name of the specific object type.

"Integer"	An integer.

"Long"	A long.

"Single"	A single.

"Double"	A double.

"Currency"	A currency value.

"Date"	A date value.

"Boolean"	A boolean value.

"Error"	An error value.

"Empty"	An uninitialized variable.

"Null"	A variant containing no valid data.

"Object"	An OLE automation object.

"Unknown"	An unknown type of OLE automation object.

"Nothing"	An uninitialized object variable.

class	A specific type of OLE automation object. In this case, class is the name of the object as known to OLE.

If varname is an array, then the returned string can be any of the above strings follows by a empty parenthesis. For example, "Integer()" would be returned for an array of integers.

If varname is an expression, then the expression is evaluated and a String representing the resultant data type is returned.

If varname is an OLE collection, then TypeName returns the name of that object collection.

Example

'The following example defines a subroutine that only accepts

'Integer variables. If not passed an Integer, it will inform

'the user that there was an error, displaying the actual type

'of variable that was passed.

Sub Foo(a As Variant)

If VarType(a) <> ebInteger Then

MsgBox "Foo does not support " & TypeName(a) & " variables"

End If

End Sub

See Also

TypeOf (function)

Platform(s)

All.


TypeOf (function)

Syntax

TypeOf objectvariable Is objecttype

Description

Returns True if objectvariable the specified typel False otherwise.

Comments

This function is used within the If...Then statement to determine if a variable is of a particular type. This function is particularily useful for determining the type of OLE automation objects.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim a As Object

Set a = CreateObject("Excel.Application")

If TypeOf a Is "Application" Then

MsgBox "We have an Application object."

End If

End Sub

See Also

TypeName (function)

Platform(s)

All.


UBound (function)

Syntax

UBound(ArrayVariable() [,dimension])

Description

Returns an Integer containing the upper bound of the specified dimension of the specified array variable.

Comments

The dimension parameter is an integer that specifies the desired dimension. If not specified, then the upper bound of the first dimension is returned.

The UBound function can be used to find the upper bound of a dimension of an array returned by an OLE Automation method or property:

UBound(object.property [,dimension])

UBound(object.method [,dimension])

Examples

'This example dimensions two arrays and displays their upper

'bounds.

Sub Main()

Dim a(5 To 12)

Dim b(2 To 100, 9 To 20)

uba = UBound(a)

ubb = UBound(b,2)

MsgBox "The upper bound of a is: " & uba & _

" The upper bound of b is: " & ubb

'This example uses Lbound and Ubound to dimension a dynamic

'array to hold a copy of an array redimmed by the FileList

'statement.

Dim fl$()

FileList fl$,"*"

count = Ubound(fl$)

If ArrayDims(a) Then

Redim nl$(Lbound(fl$) To Ubound(fl$))

For x = 1 To count

nl$(x) = fl$(x)

Next x

MsgBox "The last element of the new array is: " & nl$(count)

End If

End Sub

See Also

LBound (function), ArrayDims (function), Arrays (topic)

Platform(s)

All.


UCase, UCase$ (functions)

Syntax

UCase[$](string)

Description

Returns the uppercase equivalent of the specified string.

Comments

UCase$ returns a String, whereas UCase returns a String variant.

Null is returned if string is Null.

Example

'This example uses the UCase$ function to change a string from

'lowercase to uppercase.

Sub Main()

a1$ = "this string was lowercase, but was converted."

a2$ = UCase$(a1$)

MsgBox a2$

End Sub

See Also

LCase, LCase$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Unlock (statement)

See Lock, Unlock (statements).


User-Defined Types (topic)

User-defined types (UDTs) are structure definitions created using the Type statement. UDTs are equivalent to C language structures.

Declaring Structures

The Type statement is used to create a structure definition. Type declarations must appear outside the body of all subroutines and functions within a script and are therefore global to an entire script.

Once defined, a UDT can be used to declare variables of that type using the Dim, Public, or Private statement. The following example defines a rectangle structure:

Type Rect

left As Integer

top As Integer

right As Integer

bottom As Integer

End Type

:

Sub Main()

Dim r As Rect

:

r.left = 10

End Sub

Any fundamental data type can be used as a structure member, including other user-defined types. Only fixed arrays can be used within structures.

Copying Structures

UDTs of the same type can be assigned to each other, copying the contents. No other standard operators can be applied to UDTs.

Dim r1 As Rect

Dim r2 As Rect

:

r1 = r2

When copying structures of the same type, all strings in the source UDT are duplicated and references are placed into the target UDT.

The LSet statement can be used to copy a UDT variable of one type to another:

LSet variable1 = variable2

LSet cannot be used with UDTs containing variable-length strings. The smaller of the two structures determines how many bytes get copied.

Passing Structures

UDTs can be passed both to user-defined routines and to external routines, and they can be assigned. UDTs are always passed by reference.

Since structures are always passed by reference, the ByVal keyword cannot be used when defining structure arguments passed to external routines (using Declare). The ByVal keyword can only be used with fundamental data types such as Integer and String.

Passing structures to external routines actually passes a far pointer to the data structure.

Size of Structures

The Len function can be used to determine the number of bytes occupied by a UDT:

Len(udt_variable_name)

Since strings are stored in AimBasic's data space, only a reference (currently, 2 bytes) is stored within a structure. Thus, the Len function may seem to return incorrect information for structures containing strings.


Val (function)

Syntax

Val(string)

Description

Converts a given string expression to a number.

Comments

The string parameter can contain any of the following:

• 	Leading minus sign (for nonhex or octal numbers only)

• 	Hexadecimal number in the format &Hhexdigits

• 	Octal number in the format &Ooctaldigits

• 	Floating-point number, which can contain a decimal point and an optional exponent

Spaces, tabs, and line feeds are ignored.

If string does not contain a number, then 0 is returned.

The Val function continues to read characters from the string up to the first nonnumeric character.

The Val function always returns a double-precision floating-point value. This value is forced to the data type of the assigned variable.

Example

'This example inputs a number string from an InputBox and

'converts it to a number variable.

Sub Main()

a$ = InputBox$("Enter anything containing a number", _

"Enter Number")

b# = Val(a$)

MsgBox "The value is: " & b#

End Sub

See Also

CDbl (function), Str, Str$ (functions)

Platform(s)

All.


Variant (data type)

Syntax

Variant

Description

A data type used to declare variables that can hold one of many different types of data.

Comments

During a variant's existence, the type of data contained within it can change. Variants can contain any of the following types of data:

Type of Data	AimBasic Data Types

Numeric	Integer, Long, Single, Double, Boolean, Date, Currency.

Logical	Boolean.

Dates and times	Date.

String	String.

Object	Object.

No valid data	A variant with no valid data is considered Null.

Uninitialized	An uninitialized variant is considered Empty.

There is no type-declaration character for variants.

The number of significant digits representable by a variant depends on the type of data contained within the variant.

Variant is the default data type for AimBasic. If a variable is not explicitly declared with Dim, Public, or Private, and there is no type-declaration character (i.e., #, @, !, %, or &), then the variable is assumed to be Variant.

Determining the Subtype of a Variant

The following functions are used to query the type of data contained within a variant:

Function	Description

VarType	Returns a number representing the type of data contained within the variant.

IsNumeric	Returns True if a variant contains numeric data. The following are considered numeric:Integer, Long, Single, Double, Date, Boolean, CurrencyIf a variant contains a string, this function returns True if the string can be converted to a number.If a variant contains an Object whose default property is numeric, then IsNumeric returns True.

IsObject	Returns True if a variant contains an object.

IsNull	Returns True if a variant contains no valid data.

IsEmpty	Returns True if a variant is uninitialized.

IsDate	Returns True if a variant contains a date. If the variant contains a string, then this function returns True if the string can be converted to a date. If the variant contains an Object, then this function returns True if the default property of that object can be converted to a date.

Assigning to Variants

Before a Variant has been assigned a value, it is considered empty. Thus, immediately after declaration, the VarType function will return ebEmpty. An uninitialized variant is 0 when used in numeric expressions and is a zero-length string when used within string expressions.

A Variant is Empty only after declaration and before assigning it a value. The only way for a Variant to become Empty after having received a value is for that variant to be assigned to another Variant containing Empty, for it to be assigned explicitly to the constant Empty, or for it to be erased using the Erase statement.

When a variant is assigned a value, it is also assigned that value's type. Thus, in all subsequent operations involving that variant, the variant will behave like the type of data it contains.

Operations on Variants

Normally, a Variant behaves just like the data it contains. One exception to this rule is that, in arithmetic operations, variants are automatically promoted when an overflow occurs. Consider the following statements:

Dim a As Integer,b As Integer,c As Integer

Dim x As Variant,y As Variant,z As Variant

a% = 32767

b% = 1

c% = a% + b%	'This will overflow.

x = 32767

y = 1

z = x + y	'z becomes a Long because of Integer

'overflow.

In the above example, the addition involving Integer variables overflows because the result (32768) overflows the legal range for integers. With Variant variables, on the other hand, the addition operator recognizes the overflow and automatically promotes the result to a Long.

Adding Variants

The + operator is defined as performing two functions: when passed strings, it concatenates them; when passed numbers, it adds the numbers.

With variants, the rules are complicated because the types of the variants are not known until execution time. If you use +, you may unintentionally perform the wrong operation.

It is recommended that you use the & operator if you intend to concatenate two String variants. This guarantees that string concatenation will be performed and not addition.

Variants That Contain No Data

A Variant can be set to a special value indicating that it contains no valid data by assigning the Variant to Null:

Dim a As Variant

a = Null

The only way that a Variant becomes Null is if you assign it as shown above.

The Null value can be useful for catching errors since its value propagates through an expression.

Variant Storage

Variants require 16 bytes of storage internally:

• 	A 2-byte type

• 	A 2-byte extended type for data objects

• 	4 bytes of padding for alignment

• 	An 8-byte value

Unlike other data types, writing variants to Binary or Random files does not write 16 bytes. With variants, a 2-byte type is written, followed by the data (2 bytes for Integer and so on).

Disadvantages of Variants

The following list describes some disadvantages of variants:

1.	Using variants is slower than using the other fundamental data types (i.e., Integer, Long, Single, Double, Date, Object, String, Currency, and Boolean). Each operation involving a Variant requires examination of the variant's type.

2.	Variants require more storage than other data types (16 bytes as opposed to 8 bytes for a Double, 2 bytes for an Integer, and so on).

3.	Unpredictable behavior. You may write code to expect an Integer variant. At runtime, the variant may be automatically promoted to a Long variant, causing your code to break.

Passing Nonvariant Data to Routines Taking Variants

Passing nonvariant data to a routine that is declared to receive a variant by reference prevents that variant from changing type within that routine. For example:

Sub Foo(v As Variant)

v = 50	'OK.

v = "Hello, world."	'Get a type-mismatch error here!

End Sub

Sub Main()

Dim i As Integer

Foo i	'Pass an integer by reference.

End Sub

In the above example, since an Integer is passed by reference (meaning that the caller can change the original value of the Integer), the caller must ensure that no attempt is made to change the variant's type.

Passing Variants to Routines Taking Nonvariants

Variant variables cannot be passed to routines that accept nonvariant data by reference, as demonstrated in the following example:

Sub Foo(i as Integer)

End Sub

Sub Main()

Dim a As Variant

Foo a	'Compiler gives type-mismatch error here.

End Sub

See Also

Currency (data type), Date (data type), Double (data type), Integer (data type), Long (data type), Object (data type), Single (data type), String (data type), Boolean (data type), DefType (statement), CVar (function), VarType (function)

Platform(s)

All.


VarType (function)

Syntax

VarType(varname)

Description

Returns an Integer representing the type of data in varname.

Comments

The varname parameter is the name of any Variant.

The following table shows the different values that can be returned by VarType:

Value	Constant	Data Type

0	ebEmpty	Uninitialized

1	ebNull	No valid data

2	ebInteger	Integer

3	ebLong	Long

4	ebSingle	Single

5	ebDouble	Double

6	ebCurrency	Currency

7	ebDate	Date

8	ebString	String

9	ebObject	Object (OLE Automation object)

10	ebError	User-defined error

11	ebBoolean	Boolean

12	ebVariant	Variant (not returned by this function)

13	ebDataObject	Non–OLE Automation object

When passed an object, the VarType function returns the type of the default property of that object. If the object has no default property, then either ebObject or ebDataObject is returned, depending on the type of variable.

Example

Sub Main()

Dim v As Variant

v = 5&	'Set v to a Long.

If VarType(v) = ebInteger Then

Msgbox "v is an Integer."

ElseIf VarType(v) = ebLong Then

Msgbox "v is a Long."

End If

End Sub

See Also

Variant (data type)

Platform(s)

All.


Viewport.Clear (method)

Syntax

Viewport.Clear

Description

Clears the open viewport window.

Comments

The method has no effect if no viewport is open.

Example

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open

Print "This will be displayed in the viewport window."

Sleep 2000

Viewport.Clear

Print "This will replace the previous text."

Sleep 2000

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

Viewport.Close (method), Viewport.Open (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Viewport.Close (method)

Syntax

Viewport.Close

Description

This method closes an open viewport window.

Comments

The method has no effect if no viewport is opened.

Example

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open

Print "This will be displayed in the viewport window."

Sleep 2000

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

Viewport.Open (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


Viewport.Open (method)

Syntax

Viewport.Open [title [,XPos,YPos [,width,height]]]

Description

Opens a new viewport window or switches the focus to the existing viewport window.

Comments

The Viewport.Open method accepts the following named :

Named Parameter	Description

title	Specifies a String containing the text to appear in the viewport's caption.

XPos, YPos	Specifies Integer coordinates given in twips indicating the initial position of the upper left corner of the viewport.

width,height	Specifies Integer values indicating the initial width and height of the viewport.

If a viewport window is already open, then it is given the focus. Otherwise, a new viewport window is created.

Combined with the Print statement, a viewport window is a convenient place to output debugging information.

The viewport window is closed when the AimBasic host application is terminated.

The following keys work within a viewport window:

Up	Scrolls up by one line.

Down	Scrolls down by one line.

Home	Scrolls to the first line in the viewport window.

End	Scrolls to the last line in the viewport window.

PgDn	Scrolls the viewport window down by one page.

PgUp	Scrolls the viewport window up by one page.

Ctrl+PgUp	Scrolls the viewport window left by one page.

Ctrl+PgDn	Scrolls the viewport window right by one page.

Only one viewport window can be open at any given time. Any scripts with Print statements will output information into the same viewport window.

When printing to viewports, the end-of-line character can be any of the following: a carriage return, a line feed, or a carriage-return/line-feed pair. Embedded null characters are printed as spaces.

Example

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open "AimBasic Viewport",100,100,500,500

Print "This will be displayed in the viewport window."

Sleep 2000

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

Viewport.Close (method)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows

The buffer size for the viewport is 32K. Information from the start of the buffer is removed to make room for additional information being appended to the end of the buffer.


VLine (statement)

Syntax

VLine [lines]

Description

Scrolls the window with the focus up or down by the specified number of lines.

Comments

The lines parameter is an Integer specifying the number of lines to scroll. If this parameter is omitted, then the window is scrolled down by one line.

Example

'This example prints a series of lines to the viewport, then

'scrolls back up the lines to the top using VLine.

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open "AimBasic Viewport",100,100,500,200

For i = 1 to 50

Print "This will be displayed on line#: " & i

Next i

MsgBox "We will now go back 40 lines..."

VLine -40

MsgBox "...and here we are!"

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

VPage (statement), VScroll (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


VPage (statement)

Syntax

VPage [pages]

Description

Scrolls the window with the focus up or down by the specified number of pages.

Comments

The pages parameter is an Integer specifying the number of lines to scroll. If this parameter is omitted, then the window is scrolled down by one page.

Example

'This example scrolls the viewport window up five pages.

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open "AimBasic Viewport",100,100,500,200

For i = 1 to 500

Print "This will be displayed on line#: " & i

Next i

MsgBox "We will now go back 5 pages..."

VLine -5

MsgBox "...and here we are!"

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

VLine (statement), VScroll (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


VScroll (statement)

Syntax

VScroll percentage

Description

Sets the thumb mark on the vertical scroll bar attached to the current window.

Comments

The position is given as a percentage of the total range associated with that scroll bar. For example, if the percentage parameter is 50, then the thumb mark is positioned in the middle of the scroll bar.

Example

'This example prints a bunch of lines to the viewport, then

'scrolls back to the top using VScroll.

Sub Main()

Viewport.Open "AimBasic Viewport",100,100,500,200

For i = 1 to 50

Print "This will be displayed on line#: " & i

Next i

Message$="We will now go to the the top..."

MsgBox Message$

VScroll 0

VScroll 0

MsgBox "...and here we are!"

Viewport.Close

End Sub

See Also

VLine (statement), VPage (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows.


Weekday (function)

Syntax

Weekday(date [,firstdayofweek])

Description

Returns an Integer value representing the day of the week given by date. Sunday is 1, Monday is 2, and so on.

Named Parameter	Description

date	Any expression representing a valid date.

firstdayofweek	Indicates the first day of the week. If omitted, then sunday is assumed (i.e., the constant ebSunday described below).

The Weekday function takes the following named parameters:

The firstdayofweek parameter, if specified, can be any of the following constants:

Constant	Value	Description

ebUseSystem	0	Use the system setting for firstdayofweek.

ebSunday	1	Sunday (the default)

ebMonday	2	Monday

ebTuesday	3	Tuesday

ebWednesday	4	Wednesday

ebThursday	5	Thursday

ebFriday	6	Friday

ebSaturday	7	Saturday

Example

'This example gets a date in an input box and displays the day

'of the week and its name for the date entered.

Sub Main()

Dim a$(7)

a$(1) = "Sunday"

a$(2) = "Monday"

a$(3) = "Tuesday"

a$(4) = "Wednesday"

a$(5) = "Thursday"

a$(6) = "Friday"

a$(7) = "Saturday"

Reprompt:

bd = InputBox$("Please enter your birthday.","Enter Birthday")

If Not(IsDate(bd)) Then Goto Reprompt

dt = DateValue(bd)

dw = WeekDay(dt)

Msgbox "You were born on day " & dw & ", which was a " & a$(dw)

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Second (function), Month (function), Year (function), Hour (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


While...Wend (statement)

Syntax

While condition

  [statements]

Wend

Description

Repeats a statement or group of statements while a condition is True.

Comments

The condition is initially and then checked at the top of each iteration through the loop.

Example

'This example executes a While loop until the random number

'generator returns a value of 1.

Sub Main()

x% = 0

count% = 0

While x% <> 1 And count% < 500

x% = Rnd(1)

If count% > 1000 Then

Exit Sub

Else

count% = count% + 1

End If

Wend

MsgBox "The loop executed " & count% & " times."

End Sub

See Also

Do...Loop (statement), For...Next (statement)

Platform(s)

All.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertantly create infinite loops in your code. Under Windows and Win32, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+Break.

Platform Notes: UNIX

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertantly create infinite loops in your code. Under UNIX, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C.

Platform Notes: Macintosh

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertantly create infinite loops in your code. On the Macintosh, you can break out of infinite loops using Command+Period.

Platform Notes: OS/2

Due to errors in program logic, you can inadvertantly create infinite loops in your code. Under OS/2, you can break out of infinite loops using Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Break.


Width# (statement)

Syntax

Width# filenumber, width

Description

Specifies the line width for sequential files opened in either Output or Append mode.

Comments

The Width# statement requires the following named parameters:

Named Parameter	Description

filenumber	Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

width	Integer between 0 to 255 inclusive specifying the new width. If width is 0, then no maximum line length is used.

When a file is initially opened, there is no limit to line length. This command forces all subsequent output to the specified file to use the specified value as the maximum line length.

The Width statement affects output in the following manner: if the column position is greater than 1 and the length of the text to be written to the file causes the column position to exceed the current line width, then the data is written on the next line.

The Width statement also affects output of the Print command when used with the Tab and Spc functions.

Example

'This statement sets the maximum line width for file number 1

'to 80 columns.

Sub Main()

Width #1,80

End Sub

See Also

Print (statement), Print# (statement), Tab (function), Spc (function)

Platform(s)

All.


WinActivate (statement)

Syntax

WinActivate [window_name$ | window_object] [,timeout]

Description

Activates the window with the given name or object value.

Comments

The WinActivate statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

timeout	Integer specifying the number of milliseconds for which to attempt activation of the specified window. If not specified (or 0), then only one attempt will be made to activate the window. This value is handy when you are not certain that the window you are attempting to activate has been created.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then no action is performed.

Example

'This example runs the clock.exe program by activating the Run

'File  dialog box from within Program Manager.

Sub Main()

WinActivate "Program Manager"

Menu "File.Run"

WinActivate "Program Manager|Run"

SendKeys "clock.exe{ENTER}"

End Sub

See Also

AppActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


WinClose (statement)

Syntax

WinClose [window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Closes the given window.

Comments

The WinClose statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is closed.

This command differs from the AppClose command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window (or application).

Example

'This example closes Microsoft Word if its object reference is

'found.

Sub Main()

Dim WordHandle As HWND

Set WordHandle = WinFind("Word")

If (WordHandle Is Not Nothing) Then WinClose WordHandle

End Sub

See Also

WinFind (function)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32:

On all Windows, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


WinFind (function)

Syntax

WinFind(name$) As HWND

Description

Returns an object variable referencing the window having the given name.

Comments

The name$ parameter is specified using the same format as that used by the WinActivate statement.

Example

'This example closes Microsoft Word if its object reference is

'found.

Sub Main()

Dim WordHandle As HWND

Set WordHandle = WinFind("Word")

If (WordHandle Is Not Nothing) Then WinClose WordHandle

End Sub

See Also

WinActivate (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.


WinList (statement)

Syntax

WinList ArrayOfWindows()

Description

Fills the passed array with references to all the top-level windows.

Comments

The passed array must be declared as an array of HWND objects.

The ArrayOfWindows parameter must specify either a zero- or one-dimensioned dynamic array or a single-dimensioned fixed array. If the array is dynamic, then it will be redimensioned to exactly hold the new number of elements. For fixed arrays, each array element is first erased, then the new elements are placed into the array. If there are fewer elements than will fit in the array, then the remaining elements are unused. A runtime error results if the array is too small to hold the new elements.

After calling this function, use the LBound and UBound functions to determine the new size of the array.

Example

'This example minimizes all top-level windows.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As HWND

WinList a

For i = 1 To UBound(a)

WinMinimize a(i)

Next i

End Sub

See Also

WinFind (function)

Platform(s)

Windows.


WinMaximize (statement)

Syntax

WinMaximize [window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Maximizes the given window.

Comments

The WinMaximize statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is maximized.

This command differs from the AppMaximize command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window.

Example

'This example maximizes all top-level windows.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As HWND

WinList a

For i = 1 To UBound(a)

WinMaximize a(i)

Next i

End Sub

See Also

WinMinimize (statement), WinRestore (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

On all Windows platforms, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


WinMinimize (statement)

Syntax

WinMinimize [window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Minimizes the given window.

Comments

The WinMinimize statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is minimized.

This command differs from the AppMinimize command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window.

Example

See example for WinList (statement).

See Also

WinMaximize (statement), WinRestore (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32.

On all Windows platforms, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


WinMove (statement)

Syntax

WinMove x,y [window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Moves the given window to the given x,y position.

Comments

The WinMove statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

x,y	Integer coordinates given in twips that specify the new location for the window.

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is moved.

This command differs from the AppMove command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window. When moving child windows, remember that the x and y coordinates are relative to the client area of the parent window.

Example

'This example moves Program Manager to upper left corner of the

'screen.

WinMove 0,0,"Program Manager"

See Also

WinSize (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

On all Windows platforms, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


WinRestore (statement)

Syntax

WinRestore [window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Restores the specified window to its restore state.

Comments

Restoring a minimized window restores that window to it screen position before it was minimized. Restoring a maximized window resizes the window to its size previous to maximizing.

The WinRestore statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."

A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:

WinActivate "Notepad|Find"

In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find"

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is restored.

This command differs from the AppRestore command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window.

Example

'This example minimizes all top-level windows except for Program

'Manager.

Sub Main()

Dim a() As HWND

WinList a

For i = 0 To UBound(a)

  WinMinimize a(i)

Next I

WinRestore "Program Manager"

End Sub

See Also

WinMaximize (statement), WinMinimize (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

On all Windows platforms, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


WinSize (statement)

Syntax

WinSize width,height [,window_name$ | window_object]

Description

Resizes the given window to the specified width and height.

Comments

The WinSize statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

width,height	Integer coordinates given in twips that specify the new size of the window.

window_name$	String containing the name that appears on the desired application's title bar. Optionally, a partial name can be used, such as "Word" for "Microsoft Word."A hierarchy of windows can be specified by separating each window name with a vertical bar (|), as in the following example:WinActivate "Notepad|Find"In this example, the top-level windows are searched for a window whose title contains the word "Notepad". If found, the windows owned by the top level window are searched for one whose title contains the string "Find".

window_object	HWND object specifying the exact window to activate. This can be used in place of the window_name$ parameter to indicate a specific window to activate.

If window_name$ and window_object are omitted, then the window with the focus is resized.

This command differs from the AppSize command in that this command operates on the current window rather than the current top-level window.

Example

'This example runs and resizes Notepad.

Sub Main()

Dim NotepadApp As HWND

id = Shell("Notepad.exe")

set NotepadApp = WinFind("Notepad")

WinSize 4400,8500,NotepadApp

End Sub

See Also

WinMove (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

On all  Windows platforms, the current window can be an MDI child window, a pop-up window, or a top-level window.


Word$ (function)

Syntax

Word$(text$,first[,last])

Description

Returns a String containing a single word or sequence of words between first and last.

Comments

The Word$ function requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

text$	String from which the sequence of words will be extracted.

first	Integer specifying the index of the first word in the sequence to return. If last is not specified, then only that word is returned.

last	Integer specifying the index of the last word in the sequence to return. If last is specified, then all words between first and last will be returned, including all spaces, tabs, and end-of-lines that occur between those words.

Words are separated by any nonalphanumeric characters such as spaces, tabs, end-of-lines, and punctuation. On multi-byte and wide character platforms, double-byte spaces are treated as seperators as well. Embedded null characters are treated as regular characters.

If first is greater than the number of words in text$, then a zero-length string is returned.

If last is greater than the number of words in text$, then all words from first to the end of the text are returned.

Example

'This example finds the name "Stuart" in a string and then

'extracts two words from the string.

Sub Main()

s$ = "My last name is Williams; Stuart is my surname."

c$ = Word$(s$,5,6)

MsgBox "The extracted name is: " & c$

End Sub

See Also

Item$ (function), ItemCount (function), Line$ (function), LineCount (function), WordCount (function)

Platform(s)

All.


WordCount (function)

Syntax

WordCount(text$)

Description

Returns an Integer representing the number of words in the specified text.

Comments

Words are separated by spaces, tabs, and end-of-lines. Embedded null characters are treated as regular characters.

Example

'This example counts the number of words in a particular string.

Sub Main()

s$ = "My last name is Williams; Stuart is my surname."

i% = WordCount(s$)

MsgBox "'" & s$ & "' has " & i% & " words."

End Sub

See Also

Item$ (function), ItemCount (function), Line$ (function), LineCount (function), Word$ (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Write# (statement)

Syntax

Write [#]filenumber [,expressionlist]

Description

Writes a list of expressions to a given sequential file.

Comments

The file referenced by filenumber must be opened in either Output or Append mode.

The filenumber parameter is an Integer used by AimBasic to refer to the open file—the number passed to the Open statement.

The following  summarizes how variables of different types are written:

Data Type	Description

Any numeric type	Written as text. There is no leading space, and the period is always used as the decimal separator.

String	Written as text, enclosed within quotes.

Empty	No data is written.

Null	Written as #NULL#.

Boolean	Written as #TRUE# or #FALSE#.

Date	Written using the universal date format:#YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS#

User-defined errors	Written as #ERROR ErrorNumber#, where ErrorNumber is the value of the user-defined error. The word ERROR is not translated.

The Write statement outputs variables separated with commas. After writing each expression in the list, Write outputs an end-of-line.

The Write statement can only be used with files opened in Output or Append mode.

Example

'This example opens a file for sequential write, then writes ten

'records into the file with the values 10...50. Then the file is

'closed and reopened for read, and the records are read with the

'Input statement. The results are displayed in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

Open "test.dat" For Output Access Write As #1

For x = 1 To 10

r% = x * 10

 	Write #1,x,r%

Next x

Close

Open "test.dat" For Input Access Read As #1

For x = 1 To 10

Input #1,a%,b%

message = message & "Record " & a% & ": " & b% & Basic.Eoln$

Next x

MsgBox message

Close

End Sub

See Also

Open (statement), Put (statement), Print# (statement)

Platform(s)

All.


WriteIni (statement)

Syntax

WriteIni section$,ItemName$,value$[,filename$]

Description

Writes a new value into an ini file.

Comments

The WriteIni statement requires the following parameters:

Parameter	Description

section$	String specifying the section that contains the desired variables, such as "Windows." Section names are specified without the enclosing brackets.

ItemName$	String specifying which item from within the given section you want to change. If ItemName$ is a zero-length string (""), then the entire section specified by section$ is deleted.

value$	String specifying the new value for the given item. If value$ is a zero-length string (""), then the item specified by ItemName$ is deleted from the ini file.

filename$	String specifying the name of the ini file.

Example

'This example sets the txt extension to be associated with

'Notepad.

Sub Main()

WriteIni "Extensions","txt", _

"c:\windows\notepad.exe ^.txt","win.ini"

End Sub

See Also

ReadIni$ (function), ReadIniSection (statement)

Platform(s)

Windows, Win32, OS/2.

Platform Notes: Windows, Win32

Under Windows and Win32, if filename$ is not specified, the win.ini file is used.

If the filename$ parameter does not include a path, then this statement looks for ini files in the Windows directory.


Xor (operator)

Syntax

result = expression1 Xor expression2

Description

Performs a logical or binary exclusion on two expressions.

Comments

If both expressions are either Boolean, Boolean variants, or Null variants, then a logical exclusion is performed as follows:

If expression1 is	and expression2 is	then the result is

True	True	False

True	False	True

False	True	True

False	False	False

If either expression is Null, then Null is returned.

Binary Exclusion

If the two expressions are Integer, then a binary exclusion is performed, returning an Integer result. All other numeric types (including Empty variants) are converted to Long, and a binary exclusion is then performed, returning a Long result.

Binary exclusion forms a new value based on a bit-by-bit comparison of the binary representations of the two expressions according to the following table:

If bit in expression1 is	and bit in expression2 is	the result is

1	1	0

0	1	1

1	0	1

0	0	0

Example

'This example builds a logic table for the XOR function and

'displays it.

Sub Main()

For x = -1 To 0

For y = -1 To 0

z = x Xor y

message = message & Format(x,"True/False") & " Xor "

message = message & Format(y,"True/False") & " = "

message = message & Format(z,"True/False") & Basic.Eoln$

Next y

Next x

MsgBox message

End Sub

See Also

Operator Precedence (topic), Or (operator), Eqv (operator), Imp (operator), And (operator)

Platform(s)

All.


Year (function)

Syntax

Year(date)

Description

Returns the year of the date encoded in the specified date parameter. The value returned is between 100 and 9999 inclusive.

The date parameter is any expression representing a valid date.

Example

'This example returns the current year in a dialog box.

Sub Main()

tdate$ = Date$

tyear! = Year(DateValue(tdate$))

MsgBox "The current year is: " & tyear$

End Sub

See Also

Day (function), Minute (function), Second (function), Month (function), Hour (function), Weekday (function), DatePart (function)

Platform(s)

All.


Application States

AppGetState (function)

AppSetState (statement)


File Types

AppType (function)

FileType (function)


Basic Object

Basic.Architecture (property)

Basic.Capability (method)

Basic.CodePage (property)

Basic.Eoln (property)

Basic.FreeMemory (property)

Basic.HomeDir (property)

Basic.Locale (property)

Basic.OperatingSystem(property)

Basic.OperatingSystemVendor (property)

Basic.OperatingSystemVersion (property)

Basic.OS (property)

Basic.PathSeparator (property)

Basic.Processor (property)

Basic.ProcessorCount (property)

Basic.Version (property)


FreeMemory Property

Basic.FreeMemory (property)

System.FreeMemory_property)


Clipboard Statement and Function

Clipboard (function)

Clipboard (statement)


Clipboard Object

Clipboard.Clear (method)

Clipboard.GetFormat (method)

Clipboard.GetText (method)

Clipboard.SetText (method)


Clear Method

Clipboard.Clear (method)

Err.Clear (method)

Viewport.Clear (method)


Clipboard Methods

Clipboard.GetText (method)

Clipboard.SetText (method)

Clipboard.GetFormat (method)


Close (keyword)

Close (statement)

Msg.Close (method)

Viewport.Close (method)


= (keyword)

Comparison Operators (topic)

= (statement)


General Constants

Constants (topic)

#If...Then...#Else (directive)


Date (keyword)

Date (data type)

Date, Date$ (functions)

Date, Date$ (statements)


Date$ (keyword)

Date, Date$ (functions)

Date, Date$ (statements)


As (keyword)

Declare (statement)

Dim (statement)

Private (statement)

Public (statement)

Name (statement)

Open (statement)

Redim (statement)

Type (statement)


Desktop Object

Desktop.ArrangeIcons (method)

Desktop.Cascade (method)

Desktop.SetColors (method)

Desktop.SetWallpaper (method)

Desktop.Snapshot (method)

Desktop.Tile (method)


Dialog (keyword)

Dialog (statement)

Begin Dialog (statement)

Net.Dialog (method)


File Attributes

Dir, Dir$ (function)

FileList (statement)

SetAttr (statement)

GetAttr (function)

FileAttr (function)


DlgCaption Statement and Function

DlgCaption (function)

DlgCaption (statement)


DlgEnable Statement and Function

DlgEnable (function)

DlgEnable (statement)


DlgFocus Statement and Function

DlgFocus (function)

DlgFocus (statement)


DlgListBoxArray Statement and Function

DlgListBoxArray (function)

DlgListBoxArray (statement)


DlgText$ Statement and Function

DlgText (statement)

DlgText (function)


DlgValue Statement and Function

DlgValue (function)

DlgValue (statement)


DlgVisible Statement and Function

DlgVisible (function)

DlgVisible (statement)


Loops

Do...Loop (statement)

While...Wend (statement)


DoEvents Statement and Function

DoEvents (function)

DoEvents (statement)


End (keyword)

End (statement)

Sub...End Sub (statement)

Function...End Function (statement)

If...Then...Else (statement)

Select Case (statement)

Type (statement)


Err Object

Err.Number (property)

Err.Clear (method)

Err.Description (property)

Err.HelpContext (property)

Err.HelpFile (property)

Err.LastDLLError (property)

Err.Number (property)

Err.Raise (method)

Err.Source (property)


Error (keyword)

Error (statement)

Error, Error$ (function)

On Error (statement)


Exit (keyword)

Exit Do (statement)

Exit For (statement)

Exit Function (statement)

Exit Sub (statement)


For (keyword)

For...Each (statement)

For...Next (statement)

Open (statement)


Next (keyword)

For...Next (statement)

On Error (statement)


To (keyword)

For...Next (statement)

Dim (statement)

Public (statement)

Private (statement)


Goto (keyword)

Goto (statement)

On Error (statement)


Else (keyword)

If...Then...Else (statement)

Select Case (statement)


Input (keyword)

Input, Input$, InputB, InputB$ (functions)

Input# (statement)

Open (statement)

Line Input # (statement)


Len Statement and Function

Len, LenB (functions)

Open (statement)


Lock (keyword)

Lock, Unlock (statements)

Open (statement)


Mid, MidB Statements and Functions

Mid, Mid, MidB, MidB (functions)

Mid, Mid, MidB, MidB (statements)


Msg Object

Msg.Close (method)

Msg.Open (method)

Msg.Text (property)

Msg.Thermometer (property)

Msg.Thermometer (property)


MsgBox Statement and Function

MsgBox (function)

MsgBox (statement)


Net Object

Net.AddCon (method)

Net.Browse (method)

Net.CancelCon (method)

Net.Dialog (method)

Net.GetCaps (method)

Net.GetCon (method)

Net.User$ (method)


Open (keyword)

Open (statement)

Msg.Open (method)

Viewport.Open (method)


Option (keyword)

Option Base (statement)

Option Compare (statement)

Option CStrings (statement)

Option Default (statement)

Option Explicit (statement)


Print (keyword)

Print (statement)

Print (Pound_statement)


Printer Orientation Constants

PrinterSetOrientation (statement)

PrinterGetOrientation (function)


Mouse Button Constants

QueMouseUp (statement)

QueMouseDn (statement)

QueMouseDblDn (statement)

QueMouseDblClk (statement)

QueMouseClick (statement)


Random (keyword)

Random (function)

Open (statement)


Screen Object

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX (property)

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsX (property)

Screen.DlgBaseUnitsY (property)

Screen.Height (property)

Screen.TwipsPerPixelX (property)

Screen.TwipsPerPixelY (property)

Screen.Width (property)


Seek Statement and Function

Seek (function)

Seek (statement)


String (keyword)

String (data type)

String, String$ (functions)


Optional (keyword)

Function...End Function (statement)

Sub...End Sub (statement)


System Object

System.Exit (method)

System.FreeMemory (property)

System.FreeResources (property)

System.MouseTrails (method)

System.Restart (method)

System.TotalMemory (property)

System.WindowsDirectory (property)

System.WindowsVersion (property)


Text (keyword)

Text (statement)

Msg.Text (property)


Text Font Constants

TextBox (statement)

Text (statement)


Time Statement and Function

Time, Time$ (statements)

Time, Time$ (functions)


Viewport Object

Viewport.Clear (method)

Viewport.Close (method)

Viewport.Open (method)


Date Constants

Weekday (function)

Format, Format$ (functions)

DateAdd (function)

DateDiff (function)


Write (keyword)

Write (statement)

Open (statement)


# (keyword)

Double (data type)

Date (data type)


& (keyword)

& (operator)

Long (data type)


Static (keyword)

Sub...End Sub (statement)

Function...End Function (statement)