VISUAL BASIC CONTROLSTEXT BOXES & RICH TEXT BOXES
TEXT BOX IN VBText box
CREATING MULTI-LINE, WORD WRAP TEXT BOXES} MultiLine
property to true
ALIGNING AND ADDING SCROLL BARS IN TEXT BOXES}
Use Alignment property to align your text in a justified manner}
} }
0-left justified 1-right justified 2-centered
}
Using Scroll bars property to add scroll bars in our text box
and there are four ways in adding scroll bars} } } }
0-none 1-horizontal 2-vertical 3-both
MAKING A TEXT BOX READONLY}
Locking a text box} }
We use Locked property to true to make a text box read-only
Under programs control only we can add any textPrivate sub
command1_click()Text1.text=This box is locked
End sub
}
Disabling a text box} } }
We can use Enabled property as false to disable the text box
Once disabled the text box appears gray Disabling is better done to
indicate that the control is inaccessible Instead of text boxes we
can use read-only text label controls with the help of label
captions
}
Using labels instead of text boxes}
ACCESSING TEXT IN A TEXT BOX} To
access the text in the text box we dont have any property called
SetText() } Instead we use Text property to do it} }
Private Sub Command1_click()}
Text1.text=Hello from visual basic
End Sub
SELECTING AND REPLACING TEXT IN A TEXT BOX}
To work with part of the text in a text box, we select the text
we want using three properties} }
}
SetLength Returns or sets the number of characters selected
SelStart Returns or sets the starting point of selected text. If no
text is selected, SelStart indicates the position of the insertion
point. SelText, Returns or sets the string containing the currently
selected text.If no characters are selected, SelText consist of a
zero-length string()Private Sub command1_click()Text1.Selstart=0
Text1.SelLength=len(Text1.Text) Text1.SelText=Welcome to visual
basic
End Sub
CREATING A PASSWORD} To
convert a standard text box into a password box, we use the
PasswordChar property and usually we add * symbol to show a
different text
ADDING RICH TEXT BOX IN VB
Components adding method for rich text box
INSERTING RICH TEXT BOXES IN THE TOOLS BAR
Rich text box
ACCESSING TEXT IN A RICH TEXT BOX} }
}
To access text in a rich text box, you can use two properties:
Text and TextRTF. As their names imply, Text holds the text in a
rich text box in plain text format, and TextRTF holds the text in
Rich Text Format. An example where we read the text in RichTextBox1
without any RTF codes and display that text as plain text in
RichTextBox2:Private Sub Command1_Click()RichTextBox2.Text =
RichTextBox1.Text
End Sub
}
Heres the same operation where we transfer the text including
all RTF codesthat is, here were transferring rich text from one
rich text box to another:Private Sub
Command1_Click()RichTextBox2.TextRTF = RichTextBox1.TextRTF
End Sub
SELCTING TEXT IN A RICH TEXT BOX} }
} }
Rich text boxes support the SetText property just like standard
text boxes. SetText only works with plain text. You can set the
start and end of plain-text selection with the SelStart and
SelLength properties. If you want to work with RTF-selected text,
on the other hand, use the SelRTF property. For example, heres how
we select the first 10 characters in RichTextBox1 and transfer them
to RichTextBox2 using SelRTF:Private Sub
Command1_Click()RichTextBox1.SelStart = 0 RichTextBox1.SelLength =
10 RichTextBox2.TextRTF = RichTextBox1.SelRTF
End Sub
(Contd.)THE SPAN METHOD}
Besides the SelRTF property, you can use the Span() method to
select text based on a set of characters:RichTextBox.Span
characterset, [forward, [negate]]
}
}
} }
}
The characterset parameter is a string that specifies the set of
characters to look for. The forward parameter determines which
direction the insertion point moves. The negate parameter specifies
whether the characters in characterset define the set of target
characters or are excluded from the set of target characters. We
use Span() to extend a selection from the current insertion point
based on a set of specified characters. This method searches the
text in the rich text box and extends the text selection to include
as many of the characters weve specified in the character set that
it can find. Heres an example where we use Span() to find the word
underlined and underline it:Private Sub Command1_Click()
RichTextBox1.Text = "This rich text box supports underlined, bold,
_ italic, and strikethru text." RichTextBox1.SelStart =
RichTextBox1.Find("underlined") RichTextBox1.Span ("underlined")
RichTextBox1.SelUnderline = True End Sub
USING BOLD, ITALIC UNDERLINE AND StirkeThru} To
make text bold, italic, underlined, or strikethru, you use the
SelBold, SelItalic, SelUnderline, and SelStrikethru properties. }
These properties work on selected RTF text only, so you have to
select the text whose format you want to change
INDENTING TEXT IN RICHTEXT BOXES}
}
One of the aspects of word processors that users have gotten
used to is the ability to indent text, and rich text boxes have
this capability. To indent paragraph-by-paragraph, you use these
properties: SelIndentIndents the first line of the paragraph
SelHangingIndentIndents all other lines of the paragraph with
respect to SelIndent SelRightIndentSets the right indentation of
the paragraphPrivate Sub Command1_Click() RichTextBox1.SelIndent =
500 RichTextBox1.SelHangingIndent = -250
RichTextBox1.SelRightIndent = 100 End Sub
SETTING FONT AND FONT SIZES IN RICH TEXT BOXESset a selections
font, you just set the SelFontName to the new font name (for
example, Arial or Times New Roman). } To set a selections font
size, you just set the SelFontSize property.} To
USING BULLETS IN RICH TEXT BOXES}
}
} }
Rich text boxes support bullets, those black dots that appear in
lists of items that you want to set off in text. Putting a bullet
in front of each item gives the list a snappy appearance and helps
the reader assimilate the information quickly. To set bullets, you
use the SelBullet and BulletIndent properties. The SelBullet
property displays a bullet in front of the paragraph in which the
current selection is; the BulletIndent property indicates how much
we want the bullet to be indented from the left.
ALIGNING TEXT IN A RICHTEXTBOXES}
}
}
We can set the alignment of text in a rich text box
paragraph-by-paragraph using the SelAlignment property. We just
select the paragraph you want to align, or place the insertion
point in that paragraph, and set the SelAlignment property to one
of the following values: rtfLeft0(the default); the paragraph is
aligned along the left margin. rtfRight1; the paragraph is aligned
along the right margin. rtfCenter2; the paragraph is centered
between the left and right margins.
SETTING TEXT COLOR IN RTF BOXES}
}
To set colors in a rich text box, you just make a selection and
set the rich text boxs SelColor property using the RGB() function.
For example,Private Sub Command1_Click()RichTextBox1.Text = "This
rich text box supports font colors like _ red and blue and green."
RichTextBox1.SelStart = RichTextBox1.Find("red") RichTextBox1.Span
("red") RichTextBox1.SelColor = RGB(255, 0, 0) . . . .
End Sub
MOVING THE INSERTION POINT IN RTF BOXS} Using
the UpTo() method, you can move the insertion point around in a
rich text box. } Moving the insertion point ourself can be a
powerful technique in a rich text
box.RichTextBox.UpTo(characterset, forward, negate)
Adding Superscripts And Subscripts In Rich Text Boxes}
} }
The rich text box has SelCharOffset property, we can use this
property to make a selection of superscript or subscriptif we set
this value to a positive value, we get a superscript, and if you
set it to a negative value, we get a subscript. Lets see an
example. Here we can display a simple quadratic equation using this
textX12 + 2X1 + 1 = 0
} }
where well make the 1s subscripts and the first 2 a superscript.
We start by displaying that text in a rich text box:Private Sub
Form_Load()RichTextBox1.Text = "X12 + 2X1 + 1 = 0"
End Sub
(Contd.)} Next,
we select the characters we want and set the SelCharOffset
property to positive or negative twip values to create superscripts
and subscripts:Private Sub Command1_Click()RichTextBox1.UpTo ("1")
RichTextBox1.Span ("1") RichTextBox1.SelCharOffset =
RichTextBox1.UpTo ("2") RichTextBox1.Span ("2")
RichTextBox1.SelCharOffset = 40 RichTextBox1.UpTo ("1")
RichTextBox1.Span ("1") RichTextBox1.SelCharOffset =
End Sub
Setting The Mouse Pointer In Text Boxes And Rich Text Boxes}
We
can set the mouse pointer when it travels over a text box or
rich text box. } Just set the Mousepointer property to one of the
values in Table, } For example,CONSTANT rtfDefault rtfArrow
rtfCross rtfIbeam VALUE 0 1 2 3 DESCRIPTION (Default) Shape
determined by the object Arrow Cross (cross-hair pointer) I
Beam
Searching For (And Replacing) Text In RTF Boxes} }
rich text boxes do this with the Find() method. For example, if
we placed this text in a rich text box:Private Sub
Form_Load()RichTextBox1.Text = "Here is some text."
End Sub}
Next, we could search for the word some this way with
Find():Private Sub Command1_Click()RichTextBox1.Find ("some")
...
End Sub} }
After we find an item, it becomes the new selection. So, if we
wanted to replace the word some with, say, the, we could do that
this way:Private Sub Command1_Click()RichTextBox1.Find ("some")
RichTextBox1.SelRTF = "the"
End Sub
Saving RTF Files From Rich Text Box} We
use the SaveFile() method to save the text in a rich text box to
disk, and doing that is really easyyou just use SaveFile() this
way:RichTextBox.SaveFile(pathname, [filetype])
} We
can save text as plain or RTF text; the settings for filetype
are as follows: rtfRTF0(the default); the RichTextBox control saves
its contents as an RTF file. rtfText1; the RichTextBox control
saves its contents as a text file.
Reading RTF Files Into A Rich Text Box}
} }
We can write files to disk from a rich text box with SaveFile();
how can you read files back in? You use LoadFile(). Like
SaveFile(), LoadFile() is very easy to use:RichTextBox.LoadFile
pathname, [filetype]
And you can load in plain text or RTF text files; the settings
for filetype are as follows: rtfRTF0(The default); the RichTextBox
control saves its contents as an RTF file. rtfText1; the
RichTextBox control saves its contents as a text file.
Printing From A Rich Text Boxcan print from a rich text box
using the SelPrint() method and the Visual Basic Printer object. }
The only thing to remember here is that we should first initialize
the printer by printing a string of zero length or similar
operation.} You
