MsgBoxExtra

PRODUCT DOCUMENTATION

MsgBoxExtra is an ActiveX Control developed using Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0. It was developed in order to address some of the short-falls in functionality of the standard Windows MsgBox dialog. Messages boxes can be any color you like. The message’s font style, size and color can be changed. There is a large selection of icons that can be displayed. There is a wider range of button group constants including ‘Yes to All’ and ‘Remove’ amongst others. This control has been thoroughly tested, however, if you find any fault please report it to support.cat@ntlworld.com.

Use

Add the component ‘Cat MsgBoxExtra Shareware Version’ to your application. Select the component and draw it on to your form. It’s default name should be MsgBox1. The component is now ready to use.

Properties

BackColor (OLE_COLOR)

Sets the color of the message dialog box at design or run-time.

e.g. MsgBox1.BackColor = RGB(255, 0, 255)

e.g. MsgBox1.BackColor = &HFFFF&

ForeColor (OLE_COLOR)

Sets the color of the message text at design or run-time.

Font (STD_FONT)

Sets the font style of the message text at desing or run-time.

e.g. MsgBox1.Font = “Times New Roman”

e.g. MsgBox1.Font.Size = 24

Gradient (Boolean)

Dictates whether a color gradient is applied to the message dialog box. If set to 'False' the box is displayed solidly in whichever color 'BackColor' is set to. If it is 'True' then a gradient will be applied starting from 'BackColor' at the top of the dialog box to 'GradientEndColor' at the bottom. Please not that applying a gradient takes a little time which may be noticeable on some older computers. Gradients look good if the display properties is set to a high color depth but not so good at 256 colors and below. Finally on this - beware of color clashes! Some color combinations are really eye-catching but others make you want to reach for a bucket! Using black or white as one of the colors is quite striking.

GradientEndColor (OLE_COLOR)

Only comes in to play if Gradient is set to 'True'.

Shadow (Boolean)

Set to 'True' if you want a shadow cast behind your message. This is pretty inflexible. The shadow is cast to the south-east and the color of the shadow is set as a factor of the BackColor property - still looks pretty good all the same.

Methods

Show(MessageText As String, ButtonGroup As ButtonGroupConstants, Optional MessageTitle As String = "", Optional Icon As IconConstants = icnNone, Optional Alignment As AlignmentConstants = vbLeftJustify, Optional CloseButton As Boolean = False) As Long

e.g. x = MsgBox1.Show(“Hello world!”, btnOKOnly, “My message to you”, icnInformation, vbCenter, True)

Displays the message dialog box modally. The number returned is determined by the button pressed – see MessageResponseConstants.

Constants

ButtonGroupConstants

Determines which buttons are displayed on the message box.

btnOKOnly = 0

btnOKCancel = 1

btnAbortRetryCancel = 2

btnYesNoCancel = 3

btnYesNo = 4

btnRetryCancel = 5

btnYesYesToAllNo = 6

btnYesYesToAllNoCancel = 7

btnYesNoNoToAll = 8

btnYesNoNoToAllCancel = 9

btnYesYestoAllnoNoToAll = 10

btnYesYesToAllNoNoToAllCancel = 11

btnRemoveKeep = 12

btnRemoveRemoveAllKeep = 13

btnRemoveKeepKeepAll = 14

btnRemoveRemoveAllKeepKeepAll = 15

IconConstants

Indicate which icon (if any) should be displayed.

icnNone = 0

icnDanger1 = 1

icnDanger2 = 2

icnDisk1 = 3

icnDisk2 = 4

icnEmail1 = 5

icnEmail2 = 6

icnError1 = 7

icnError2 = 8

icnGraph1 = 9

icnGraph2 = 10

icnInformation1 = 11

icnInformation2 = 12

icnInternet1 = 13

icnInternet2 = 14

icnNoentry1 = 15

icnNoentry2 = 16

icnPrinter1 = 17

icnPrinter2 = 18

icnQuestion1 = 19

icnQuestion2 = 20

icnRadar1 = 21

icnRadar2 = 22

icnScreen1 = 23

icnScreen2 = 24

icnTelephone1 = 25

icnTelephone2 = 26

icnWarning1 = 27

icnWarning2 = 28

icnNews1 = 29

icnNews2 = 30

MessageResponseConstants

This value will be passed back when the user clicks one of the buttons. Please note that -1 will be returned if the user clicks the close button in the dialogs control box.

mbeOK = 0

mbeCancel = 1

mbeAbort = 2

mbeRetry = 3

mbeIgnore = 4

mbeYes = 5

mbeNo = 6

mbeYesToAll = 7

mbeNoToAll = 8

mbeRemove = 9

mbeKeep = 10

mbeRemoveAll = 11

mbeKeepAll = 12

AlignmentConstants

Standard VB constants dictate how the message text is aligned.

vbLeftJustify = 0

vbRightJustify = 1

vbCenter = 2

Shareware

This ActiveX control is shareware. You are entitled to evaluate indefinitely. Occasionally a message will prompt you to buy the control. This will cost you $10 USD and will entitle you to use the control in your applications and distribute it royalty free. This will not entitle you to distribute the control on it’s own, either for profit or not. Please send cash, cheque or postal order to the value of $10 USD (US Dollars) made payable to Gary Simpson @ CSS, 22 St Bernard Drive, Malvern, WR14 3PY, England. Make sure you specify which product you are buying and include your e-mail address. Your fully functional ActiveX control will be e-mailed to you within 3 working days of receipt of payment. Please remember that we welcome any suggestions for the improvement of this product.

Other Products

Keep your applications consistent and download InputBoxExtra and see how we've improved input dialog boxes.

For further information contact info.cat@ntlworld.com or visit Cat Software Solutions