Copyright: DBase64 Copyright DameWare Development 1998
Citation: DameWare Development 1998


 DameWare dBase64 Help Index

Properties	Methods

DameWare dBase64 Custom Control

Description:

DameWare dBase64 component provides functionality to encode and decode data, using the dBase64 encoding method introduced for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard.  Very easy to use with only two properties and two methods.

The DameWare dBase64 Active component utilizes the Active Template Library (ATL), which reduces dependencies on other library files.  Additional information on the ATL is available on our web site at: http://www.dameware.com/faq.asp

Brief History of Encoding

Registration:

How to register

What do I get when I register

License

Copyright

Installation and Support:

Installation

Technical Support

Using within a Web page


A Brief History of Encoding

This history includes the four basic methods of Encoding:

Uuencoding

This was historically the first method invented. The encoding was quite simple and caused frequent problems. In particular, the first implementation used the space character for encoding. But, some mail gateways stripped spaces at the end of a line; so, what the recipient got was invalid. Later, a special case was introduced to avoid this problem.

Xxencoding

This rarely used method appeared after the initial problems with uuencoding, but before they were fixed. It avoids using the space character by using a different character set for encoding.

dBase64

This method was introduced for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) standard, avoiding some rarely encountered problems with the other two methods (which used some characters not available on some computers). Together, with other benefits of MIME, this is the most secure method.

BinHex

A method conceived for transferring files among Macintosh systems. Files on a Macintosh consist of two parts, the "data fork" and the "resource fork." This encoding first adds a third header part, and composes the three parts into a single data stream, which is then slightly compressed and encoded.

ENCODING GUIDELINES

When you work with file encoding, follow these guidelines:

•	Avoid Xxencoding, which is obsolete.

•	You must use BinHex for Macintosh systems. It should not be used on other systems, because decoders are not widespread elsewhere.

•	If your mail software is MIME-compliant and offers to "attach" files encoded in dBase64, use this method of encoding, as it is the preferred method for MIME messages. Otherwise, use uuencoding, which is still the most common encoding method.

Notes:

    - MIME-compliance is something only the mail software can handle. For

      example if you encode data to dBase64 using UUDeview and then include

      the encoded data in your message, the resulting message will not be

      MIME-compliant.

    - If your mail software does not allow "attachments" on its own and you

      have to use an external encoder, always use uuencoding.

    - Software is becoming more and more MIME-compliant which means that

      the uuencoding method will be replaced by dBase64. However, as long as

      there is the possibility that the recipient uses older software,

      uuencoding is the safest method.

•	Compression is also an important issue. When possible, you should send a file compressed into a ZIP file or some similar format.


Technical Support

Technical Support is provided in any of the following ways for your convenience:

•  If possible, we prefer that you use e-mail to communicate with us. Because we check e-mail many times daily (most often via our support@dameware.com account), you can be sure we will be able to respond to you quickly.

•  Online FAQ is available at http://www.dameware.com/faq.asp.

•  You can fax us at 504-626-1189.

•  You can contact us by phone at 504-626-7545 (recommended to be used as a last resort)

DAMEWARE DEVELOPMENT

1024 Live Oak Loop

Mandeville, La.  70448


How to register
How To Order

For added convenience, you may order dBase64 in any of the following ways:

♦	Visit our Web Site at http://www.dameware.com to order online with your Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit card, fax your order, or order by telephone:

Online at http://www.dameware.com/northstar.asp
Faxed Orders at 1-785-539-3743
Phoned Orders  calls taken 10am - 8pm, EST, Monday-Friday
     1-800-699-6395 (From the USA only)
     1-785-539-3731

Be sure to reference product number #3612 when ordering from NorthStar.

Note: Any product or support questions should be sent to support@dameware.com.  NorthStar solutions is a purchase vendor only, for DameWare Development, and unable to answer any questions about our products!

♦	For quantity pricing, please contact DameWare Development at sales@dameware.com.

♦	If you prefer to pay by check, or money order please send order information to:

DAMEWARE DEVELOPMENT

1024 Live Oak Loop

Mandeville, LA.  70448

♦	For payment by purchase order please send order information to address below, or fax to 504-626-1189:

DAMEWARE DEVELOPMENT

1024 Live Oak Loop

Mandeville, LA.  70448

Note: NorthStar Solutions does NOT accept purchase orders.


What do I get when I register
What do I get when I order

There are no limitations in this shareware release, but you may encounter a "nag" screen from time to time.  Upon receipt of your order you will receive a license file which will remove the "nag" screen. The product will be registered in your name and you will receive the latest version.  It's a small price to pay for your peace of mind. You may also wish to check on our Web Home Page for the latest version which you have rights to use as a registered user.  Our Web Home Page address is:  http://www.dameware.com.


License Agreement

dBase64 is not public domain or free software.

dBase64 is copyrighted, and all rights are reserved by DameWare Development.

Licensing:

1. evaluation version

You may use the evaluation version of dBase64 for up to 30 days in your design environment for evaluation purposes only. You may copy and distribute it freely as long as all the files in the package, including the demo programs are distributed with it and no changes or additions of any kind are made to the original package.

2. registered version

As a registered user, you can use dBase64 in your design environment and you have a royalty-free right to distribute executables that use dBase64 as a runtime component. Only registered users can distribute executables using dBase64.

You may copy the software to facilitate your use of it on as many computers as there are licensed users specified in the license file. Making copies for any other purpose violates international copyright laws. In particular, you are prohibited from distributing a registered version of dBase64, except as a runtime component of one of your applications.

The license file allows you to compile your applications with dBase64. You are not allowed to distribute the dBase64.LIC or dBase64.lpk license files with any application that you distribute. You are allowed to distribute the dBase64R.LIC with your Windows Scripting Host script(s).

Disclaimer of Warranty:

THIS SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE SOLD "AS IS"  WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Good data processing procedure dictates that any program be thoroughly tested with non-critical data before relying on it.

The user must assume the entire risk of using the program.

Your use of this product indicates that you have read and agreed to these terms.


Installation

DameWare dBase64 is distributed with a self-extracting installation wizard file - dBase64W.exe.  Once executed, dBase64W.exe will install the dBase64 components into a directory of your choosing (c:\Program Files\DameWare\dBase64\ by default), and register the dBase64.dll component into the Windows system registry.

The following is a list of the files installed during the installation wizard process:

dBase64.DLL	32-bit ActiveX DLL Control

dBase64.HLP	On-line documentation

dBase64.CNT	Contents file for On-line documentation

dBase64.EXE	dBase64 VB sample executable

dBase64.FRM	dBase64 VB sample form

dBase64.FRX	dBase64 VB Binary Form file

dBase64.VBP	dBase64 VB sample project file

dBase64.HTM	dBase64 Web page sample file

dBase64.VBS	dBase64 Windows Scripting Host sample file

Once you have registered the dBase64 component, you will receive the following license files:

dBase64.LIC	License file (if you have a registered version)

dBase64.LPK	License file for web pages (if you have a registered version)

dBase64R.LIC	License file for Windows Scripting Host

Distribution Note:

When you create and distribute applications that use dBase64, you can install the appropriate file in the customer's Microsoft Windows \SYSTEM subdirectory, or any specific directory as long as the component is registered to that subdirectory.

Note: You are not allowed to distribute the dBase64.LIC or dBase64.lpk license files with any application that you distribute.  You are allowed to distribute the dBase64R.LIC file with your Windows Scripting Host script(s).


Using within a Web page.
Using in a Web page

dBase64 ActiveX control can easily be used in a Web Page.  The following is a simple example.  You may also wish to visit sites such as Microsoft at (http://www.microsoft.com/workshop) or DameWare Development’s home page at (http://www.dameware.com).

<html>

<head>

<title>DameWare dBase64</title>

</head>

<body>

<p>

<object classid="clsid:5220cb21-c88d-11cf-b347-00aa00a28331" width="0" height="0">

  <param name="LPKPath" value="dBase64.lpk"><embed src="dBase64.lpk">

</object>

<object id="dBase64Ctl1" type="application/x-oleobject"

classid="CLSID:9D23597B-B861-11D2-A020-00C04F72D7D2"

codebase="dBase64.dll#Version=1, 4, 0, 1" width="0" height="0">

</object>

</p>

<p align="center"><font color="#808000"><big><em><strong><big>DameWare dBase64</big></strong></em></big></font></p>

<div align="center"><center>

<table border="0" width="75%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">

  <tr>

    <td width="17%">Text to Encode</td>

    <td width="58%"><textarea name="txtToEncode" rows="4" cols="40"></textarea> <input

    type="button" value="Encode" name="btnEncode" tabindex="0"> </td>

  </tr>

  <tr>

    <td width="17%">Encoded Result</td>

    <td width="58%"><textarea name="EncodedResult" rows="4" cols="40"></textarea><input

    type="button" value="Decode" name="btnDecode"></td>

  </tr>

  <tr>

    <td width="17%">Decoded Result</td>

    <td width="58%"><textarea name="DecodedResult" rows="4" cols="40"></textarea></td>

  </tr>

</table>

</center></div>

<p><script language="VBSCRIPT">

Sub Window_OnLoad

txtToEncode.value = "This is a sample string used to demonstrate the dBase64 Encoding and Decoding."

End Sub

Sub btnEncode_OnClick()

    EncodedResult.value = ""

'    Text2.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString = txtToEncode.value

    dBase64Ctl1.Encode

    EncodedResult.value = dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString

End Sub

Sub btnDecode_OnClick()

    DecodedResult.value = ""

'    Text3.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString = EncodedResult.value

    dBase64Ctl1.Decode

    DecodedResult.value = dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString

End Sub

</script> </p>

</body>

</html>


Displays appropriate Copyright notices
Copyright

Copyright© 1999 DameWare Development

Portions of this product are Copyrighted (c) 1991-1999 by Microsoft Corporation.

All rights are reserved. All  Microsoft Corporation disclaimers apply.

dBase64 is a trademark of DameWare Development.

Microsoft Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.


Displays Properties
Properties

All the properties are listed below. Properties that apply only to

dBase64, or require special consideration when used with it,

are underlined. They are documented in this help file. See the

Visual Basic Language Reference or online Help for

documentation of the remaining properties.

(About)	(Name)
DecodedString	DragIcon
DragMode	EncodedString
Height	HelpContextID
Index	Left
TabIndex	TabStop
Tag	ToolTipText
Top	Visible
WhatsThisHelpID	Width


Display the About box
(About) Property

Properties	Methods

Description

The (About) property will invoke the DameWare dBase64 About box dialog.  This dialog is used to display the control’s registration information.

Syntax

dBase64Ctl1.AboutBox

Notes

The About box dialog will be displayed in the Windows environment until the control is registered with the license file (dBase64.lic), or the Web environment with the license file (dBase64.lpk).


Contains the results of a Decode request.
DecodedString Property

Properties	Methods

Description

Contains the results of a Decode request.

Syntax

Text3.Text = dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString

Data Type

String

Example

Private Sub Command2_Click()

    Text3.Text = ""

    Text3.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString = Text2.Text

    dBase64Ctl1.Decode

    Text3.Text = dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString

End Sub

See Also

Decode

EncodedString


Contains the results of a Encode request.
EncodedString Property

Properties	Methods

Description

Contains the results of a Encode request.

Syntax

Text2.Text = dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString

Data Type

String

Example

Private Sub Command1_Click()

    Text2.Text = ""

    Text2.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString = Text1.Text

    dBase64Ctl1.Encode

    Text2.Text = dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString

End Sub

See Also

Encode

DecodedString


Displays Methods
Methods

All of the methods are listed below. Methods that apply only to

dBase64, or require special consideration when used

with it, are underlined. They are documented in this help file.

See the Visual Basic Language Reference or online Help for

documentation of the remaining events.

Decode

Encode


Create a decoded string from a previously encoded string.
Decode Method

Properties	Methods

Description

Create a decoded string from a previously encoded string.

Syntax

dBase64Ctl1.Decode

Example

Private Sub Command2_Click()

    Text3.Text = ""

    Text3.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString = Text2.Text

    dBase64Ctl1.Decode

    Text3.Text = dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString

End Sub

See Also

Encode

DecodedString

EncodedString


Create an encoded string from a string.
Encode Method

Properties	Methods

Description

Create an encoded string from a decoded string.

Syntax

dBase64Ctl1.Encode

Example

Private Sub Command1_Click()

    Text2.Text = ""

    Text2.Refresh

    dBase64Ctl1.DecodedString = Text1.Text

    dBase64Ctl1.Encode

    Text2.Text = dBase64Ctl1.EncodedString

End Sub

See Also

Decode

DecodedString

EncodedString