Chapter 3: Creating an Application Interface

OVERVIEW

In this chapter, you will learn how to spice up your Visual Basic application's graphical user interface. In doing so, you will learn how to make your applications look and behave like the professional Windows applications that you work with every day. This will include learning how to create ToolTips, designing a status bar, and posting an icon representing your application in the System Tray located on the Windows taskbar. You will also learn how to save time when creating your Visual Basic applications by taking advantage of two easily accessible built-in dialogs. In addition, you'll get the chance to put to practical use some of the tricks that you'll learn in this chapter's game project, the Speed Typing game.

Specifically, you will learn how to:

• Create and write text to a status bar

• Display additional information as ToolTips

• Associate a custom icon with your Visual Basic application

• Display an application icon in the System Tray

• Use the MessageBox.Show method and the InputBox function to display messages and collect user input

• How to control the tab order in which controls are accessed

• How to specify the location where your Visual Basic application first appears on the user's desktop

• How to specify the type of border used to frame your application windows

• How to create a splash screen for your application