Datasheet

P1: GIG
WY006-01 WY006-Sample WY006-Sample-v3.cls January 29, 2004 17:49
Welcome to Visual Basic .NET
❑
Project: The Project menu allows you to add various files to your application such as forms and
classes.
❑
Build: The Build menu becomes important when you have completed your application and want
to run it without the use of the Visual Basic .NET environment (perhaps running it directly from
your Windows Start menu as you would any other application such as Word or Access).
❑
Debug: The Debug menu allows you to start and stop running your application within the Visual
Basic .NET IDE. It also gives you access to the Visual Studio .NET debugger. The debugger allows
you to step through your code while it is running to see how it is behaving.
❑
Data: The Data menu helps you to use information that comes from a database. It only appears
when you are working with the visual part of your application (the [Design] tab will be the active
one in the main window), not when you are writing code. Chapters 15 and 16 will introduce you
to working with databases.
❑
Format: The Format menu also appears only when you are working with the visual part of your
application. Items on the Format menu allow you to manipulate how the controls you create will
appear on your forms.
❑
Tools: The Tools menu has commands to configure the Visual Studio .NET IDE, as well as links to
other external tools that may have been installed.
❑
Window: The Window menu has become standard for any application that allows more than one
window to be open at a time, such as Word or Excel. The commands on this menu allow you to
switch between the windows in the IDE.
❑
Help: The Help menu provides access to the Visual Studio .NET documentation. There are many
different ways to access this information (for example, via the help contents, an index, or a
search). The Help menu also has options that connect to the Microsoft Web site to obtain updates
or report problems.
The Toolbars
There are many toolbars available within the IDE, including Formatting, Image Editor, and Text Editor,
which you can add to and remove from the IDE via the View
➪ Toolbars menu option. Each one provides
quick access to often-used commands, preventing you from having to navigate through a series of menu
options. For example, the leftmost icon on the toolbar shown in Figure 1-8 (New Project) is available from
the menu by navigating to File
➪ New ➪ Project.
The default toolbar (called Standard) appears at the top of the IDE as:
New Project OpenFile Save All Copy Undo Navigate
Backward
Start Find in Files Solution
Explorer
Object
Browser
Class View
Add New Item Save Cut Paste Redo Navigate Forward
Solution
Configurations
Find
Properties
Window
Toolbox Tool Options
Figure 1-8
17