; Copyright(c) 1997 NuMega Technologies. All rights reserved.
; SmartCheck (SMARTCHK.TIP)
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; -- Tips -
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You can check third party ActiveX components for errors and leaks. Enable "Report errors even if no source code is available" (advanced option under Settings on the Program menu).
You can see what's "under the hood" of Visual Basic by disabling "Suppress system API and OLE calls" (advanced option under Settings on the Program menu). After you run your program, select Show All Events on the View menu to drill down into your Visual Basic calls.
You can see your handled errors by enabling "Report handled Visual Basic runtime errors" (under Settings on the Program menu) and "Handled errors (On Error, Resume)" (under Specific Events on the View menu).
You can make SmartCheck run faster with your program by selecting "Performance Optimizations" (advanced options under Settings on the Program menu). Database programs run faster with "Suppress system API and OLE calls" selected. Programs that perform lots of background processing in timer loops benefit from "Cache program events."
You can display additional details and source code by dragging the handles on the bottom and right edges of the Program Results window.
When SmartCheck detects an error, you can see your program source code and a call stack by pressing the blue arrow on the Program Error Detected window. You can drag the splitter bars on the window to show only the call stack entries you want to see, or to increase the number of source lines.
When SmartCheck detects an error, you can press Explain to get detailed help on the error.
You can quickly switch your SmartCheck results to show errors and leaks only, specific Visual Basic events, or all events by using the SmartCheck toolbar buttons.
You can see all the components loaded by your program, and the order they load in by viewing the Program Transcript window. The Program Transcript window is always available (minimized) when you check your program with SmartCheck.
You can see a list of all the errors detected by SmartCheck (under Smartcheck Help Topics).
You can see "live" program events recorded by SmartCheck by displaying the Program Results window and pressing the End key while your program is running.
You can search for specific types of events or text in the Program Results window (under Find on the Edit menu).
You can filter your results to see only the type of events you're interested in (under Specific Events... on the View menu).
You can limit SmartCheck to checking specific files or modules so you can concentrate on just the bugs in your own code. Specify the files to check under Settings on the Program menu. Don't disable checking system components like comctl32.ocx, oleaut32.dll, ole32.dll and msvbvm50.dll. These files are required by SmartCheck to analyze your run-time errors.
You can improve your program performance by declaring your variables as explicit data types instead of Variants. Select "Value coercion" (under Specific Events... on the View menu) and deselect all other event types to see all the data value coercions detected by SmartCheck.
You can add functionality to your application by just adding source code!
When SmartCheck detects an error, you can copy the error message to the clipboard from the Program Error Detected window. You can also copy error messages from the Details pane of the Program Results window.
You can see summary counts for all your program events by choosing Event Summary on the View menu when the Program Results window is active.
You can mail your program results to other team members (under Send on the File menu).
When SmartCheck detects an error, you can click on any line in the call stack in the Program Error Detected window or the Program Results window to see the source code associated with the call.
You can see the arguments passed to Visual Basic built-in functions like INSTR in the Details pane of the Program Results window. You can also show arguments in the event listing by selecting Arguments on the View menu, which makes them available for printing.
SmartCheck can add sequence numbers to the lines in the Program Results window to make it easier to keep track of your place when viewing complex program runs (under Sequence Numbers on the View menu). Gaps in sequence numbers mean that additional events occurred as part of a specific event.
You can cause an unexpected form load in Visual Basic by accessing the properties of a control on that form. Use the Program Results window to see all the places your program uses properties and methods of controls.
You can dynamically view events as they occur by pressing the END key in the Program Results window.
