Similarities in Form Structure

Similarities in Form Structure

When you create a new project in Visual Basic .NET, you will find yourself at home in the environment. The way you create and design forms is the same in Visual Basic .NET as it is in Visual Basic 6. Although the names of some of the properties, methods, and events may have changed, you should be able to quickly find the one you need to use. In fact, you will find that you can create the exact same form in both Visual Basic 6 and Visual Basic .NET, using largely the same actions, the same controls, and the same property settings.

The Upgrade Wizard can re-create your Visual Basic 6 forms in Visual Basic .NET. This is possible because the essential pieces of Visual Basic .NET are, for the most part, similar to those in Visual Basic 6: equivalent controls and equivalent properties, methods, and events. Figures 12-1 and 12-2 demonstrate a Visual Basic 6 form before and after being upgraded to Visual Basic .NET.

Figure 12-1

Visual Basic 6 form in design view.

Figure 12-2

Upgraded Visual Basic .NET form in design view.

As for the differences between forms in Visual Basic 6 and Visual Basic .NET, most of them are subtle, many related to the renaming or restructuring of components. It is these subtle differences, however, that can give you the most grief. We will spend the remainder of the chapter talking about them.