VSM - March 2002 Getting Started column
Extending the AboutBox
Stan Schultes - stan@vbexpert.com

The sample code for this column is an enhanced version of the January 2002 projects. This sample includes three directories. AboutBase is a reusable AboutBox form component. AboutTest is a test app for the AboutBase component. SplashTest inherits and subclasses the AboutBase component to use both as a splash screen and an About box. AboutBox uses System.Reflection to set default values for the About form's fields. A System Info button runs the MSInfo32 utility to show system configuration info.

To load the sample code on your machine, you must have the .NET Framework Beta 2 or later installed. You don't need to have Visual Studio .NET installed to run the sample code, but the article assumes VS.NET for VB development. Unzip the three project zip files into the same directory. Unzip each into a subdirectory to create three directory trees: AboutBase, AboutTest, and SplashTest.

To open the AboutTest sample app, double-click the AboutBase.sln file in the AboutBase directory. These projects are integrated into one solution file. Changes to the AboutBase component are reflected in the AboutTest project the next time you run it.

Second is SplashTest, a project that inherits and subclasses the AboutBase component. You may need to edit the SplashTest.vbproj.user file, and change the Settings ReferencePath value. Set this value to the path on your machine that the AboutBase project is run from. To open SplashTest, double-click the SplashTest.sln file in the SplashTest directory. If you change AboutBase, you need to manually update the AboutBase component in the SplashTest project. First shut down the SplashTest project, then copy the \AboutBase\bin\AboutBase.* files to the \SplashTest\bin\ directory. Then restart the SplashTest project.

