INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

ID: Q169979

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article answers the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Visual Basic 5.0.


MORE INFORMATION

  1. I would like to install Visual Basic 5.0 on the same machine on which I do Visual Basic 4.0 development. Are they compatible?


  2. Can Visual Basic 4.0- and 5.0-built applications and components be deployed on the same system without conflict?


  3. Why am I receiving the following error "License Information for This Component Not Found" when attempting to use some ActiveX Controls?


  4. What is the latest Service Pack Release for Visual Basic 5.0?


  5. Can I develop 16-bit Windows applications with Visual Basic 5.0?


  6. Where is RegClean (RegCln.Exe)?


  7. Every time I start Visual Basic, it crashes. What can I do?


  8. Every time I exit the Visual Basic development environment, I experience a crash. What can I do about it?


  9. Why doesn't Visual Basic 5.0 come with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)?


  10. If my application uses ADO, how can I be sure my application is successfully distributed using the Application Setup Wizard?


  11. What ActiveX Controls ship with Visual Basic 5.0?


  12. What is Project and Binary Compatibility?


  13. Why do I get the message "Internet Explorer is opening file of unknown type: <Name of Document>.VBD" when trying to access my ActiveX Document?


  14. I want to use toolbars and menus such as the ones in the Visual Basic 5.0 IDE within my own applications. How can I do this?


  15. I want to use toolbars such as the ones in Internet Explorer within my own Visual Basic applications. How can I do this?


  16. If I compile to "Native Code," do I have to distribute the Visual Basic 5.0 virtual machine MSVBVM50.DLL with my application or component?


  17. Do Visual Basic 4.0 add-ins work with Visual Basic 5.0?


  18. What are the differences between the Visual Basic 5.0 Control Creation, Learning, Professional, and Enterprise editions?


  19. What product support offerings are available for Visual Basic 5.0?


Questions and Answers


  1. Q. I would like to install Visual Basic 5.0 on the same machine that I do Visual Basic 4.0 development on. Are they compatible?

    A. For the most part, the two environments are compatible. However, there are some issues that you should be aware of before trying this. For instance, Visual Basic 5.0 controls such as ComCtl32.OCX were re- built in Visual Basic 5.0 using a faster and lighter framework. These newer versions of the controls can read the persisted properties of the Visual Basic 4.0 versions. However, the Visual Basic 4.0 versions cannot read the persisted properties of the Visual Basic 5.0 control. This can affect shared development if one developer upgrades to the Visual Basic 5.0 version of a control while the others still have the Visual Basic 4.0 version. If the developer with the Visual Basic 5.0 version of the control checks in a change to a form, the other developers will not be able to load the form. The newer versions of the controls also have different dependencies than the Visual Basic 4.0 versions of the same controls. The Visual Basic 4.0 Setup Wizard does not know how to distribute the new dependencies. So, if you use the Visual Basic 4.0 Setup Wizard without modification, your setup program is likely to fail on a clean machine. For more information on these and other issues, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    2. Q161344 INFO: Visual Basic 4.0 and Visual Basic 5.0 Compatibility
  2. Q. Can Visual Basic 4.0- and 5.0-built applications and components be deployed on the same system without conflict?

    A. Yes, Visual Basic 5.0-built applications and components were designed to be compatible with Visual Basic 4.0-built applications and components. See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information on compatibility:


    3. Q161344 INFO: Visual Basic 4.0 and Visual Basic 5.0 Compatibility
  3. Q. Why am I receiving the following error "License Information for This Component Not Found" when attempting to use some ActiveX Controls?

    A. There may be many ActiveX controls installed onto your system; in order to use ActiveX controls in the Visual Basic design environment you need to have a license for that control. For the controls that ship with your version of Visual Basic these licenses should be installed. However, when a control is installed for run-time use only (such as those installed by an application created with Visual Basic), and Visual Basic is installed afterwards, if the existing control is of equal or higher version than that from the CD, the license key for that control is not updated. As a result, the above error occurs. To resolve this issue, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:


    4. Q177799 PRB: "License Information for This Component Not Found" Error

    Q181854 FILE: Vbc.exe Fixes VB 5.0 Control Installation Problem
  4. Q. What is the latest Service Pack Release for Visual Basic 5.0?

    A. Microsoft releases Service Packs to provide bug fixes and address other issues that have been discovered since a product's release. The latest Service Pack release for Visual Basic is Service Pack 3. For the latest information regarding this and other service pack releases for Visual Basic, please see the following Web address;


    5. http://www.microsoft.com/vstudio/sp
    For information about what was fixed in all of the Visual Basic service Packs, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    Q175450 INFO: Visual Basic 5.0 Fixes in Visual Studio 97 Service Pack 3
  5. Q. Can I develop 16-bit Windows applications with Visual Basic 5.0?

    A. No. Visual Basic 5.0 is a 32-bit-only product. If you would like to develop 16-bit applications with Visual Basic you would need to use Visual Basic 4.0 for 16-bit Windows Development.


  6. Q. Where is RegClean (RegCln.Exe)?

    A. RegClean is a Windows Registry Analysis and Correction Utility, which used to ship with Visual Basic 4.0. It cannot be found on the Visual Basic 5.0 CD-ROM. The RegClean utility was removed from the Visual Basic product. It is now being distributed as a downloadable utility. In order to obtain the latest version of RegClean, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    7. Q147769 INFO: RegClean 4.1a Description and General Issues
  7. Q. Every time I start Visual Basic, it crashes. What can I do?

    A. This problem may be caused by faulty Visual Basic 4.0 add-ins or invalid command bar configuration information in the system registry. This issue was resolved with Service Pack 2 and is also resolved in Service Pack 3. For more information regarding this issue, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    8. Q167346 FIX: GPF Occurs When Starting Visual Basic 5.0
  8. Q. Every time I exit the Visual Basic development environment, I experience a crash. What can I do about it?

    A. There is a known problem in Visual Basic 5.0 related to how it shuts down Microsoft Office Command Bars. This problem usually shows up after installing add-ins. This problem is resolved in both Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3. For more information regarding this problem, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    9. Q167213 FIX: Invalid Page Fault When Shutting Down Visual Basic 5.0
  9. Q. Why doesn't Visual Basic 5.0 come with ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)?

    A. ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) is a new technology that was not ready in time to be included with the Visual Basic 5.0 product. However, you can use ADO from Visual Basic 5.0. See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for more information:


    10. Q168335 INFO: Programmer's Guide to Using ADO in Visual Basic
  10. Q. If my application uses ADO, how can I be sure my application is successfully distributed using the Application Setup Wizard?

    A. Microsoft provides a file ADOREGEX.EXE which is a self-extracting compressed file that contains files that allow you to redistribute ADO/DB components safely when you use the Application Setup Wizard to create your setup program. For more information regarding this file, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    11. Q172406 FILE: ADOREGEX.EXE: Components to Redistribute ADO 1.0/1.1
  11. Q. What ActiveX Controls ship with Visual Basic 5.0?

    A. Each edition of Microsoft Visual Basic ships with several ActiveX Controls. For a complete list of which controls ship with which versions of Microsoft Visual Basic, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    12. Q173352 INFO: Controls Shipped with Visual Basic 5.0
    Some of the controls that shipped with Visual Basic 4.0 were discontinued in 5.0. For a complete list of controls that have been discontinued in Visual Basic 5.0, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
    Q172193 INFO: List of VB 4.0 Custom Controls Discontinued in VB 5.0
  12. Q. What is Project and Binary Compatibility?

    A. The ActiveX components you create with Visual Basic are given a unique identifier. Client applications use this unique identifier to locate and use your ActiveX components. If this unique identifier changes, your components will fail when attempting to create an instance of your ActiveX components. To ensure that your ActiveX component maintains its unique identifier, you need to set the appropriate Compatibility setting. For more information regarding the different Compatibility settings, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    13. Q161137 HOWTO: Use Project and Binary Compatibility
  13. Q. Why do I get the message "Internet Explorer is opening file of unknown type: <Name of Document>.VBD" when trying to access my ActiveX Document?

    A. There are several reasons for this error message; you are using the wrong .VBD file or you are using an out-dated .VBD file, ACTXPRXY.DLL is missing or is not registered properly, the ActiveX EXE/DLL is not registered properly, the Visual Basic virtual machine is not installed or on the path, the ActiveX Document may not be signed or safe for scripting, a run-time error exists in your initialization code, CAB files are not being downloaded, or you have other problems not listed here. See the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for the latest information on the causes of this message and ways to avoid it:


    14. Q167380 PRB: IE Reports Unknown Type .VBD for ActiveX Document
  14. Q. I want to use toolbars and menus such as the ones in the Visual Basic 5.0 IDE within my own applications. How can I do this?

    A. The Visual Basic development environment uses Microsoft Office Command Bars for the toolbars and menus. Currently, this is a proprietary technology that you cannot use in your applications. However, there are third-party companies that have ActiveX controls that look and feel the same as Microsoft Office Command Bars.


  15. Q. I want to use toolbars such as the ones in Internet Explorer within my own Visual Basic applications. How can I do this?

    A. The Visual Basic Owner's site contains two self-extracting files to help you create a toolbar similar to the toolbar used in Internet Explorer 3.0. For more information, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:


    16. Q179195 FILE: Coolbar ActiveX Control and Sample Project
  16. Q. If I compile to "Native Code," do I have to distribute the Visual Basic 5.0 virtual machine MSVBVM50.DLL with my application or component?

    A. Yes. All Visual Basic 5.0-built applications and components require MSVBVM50.DLL regardless of whether they are compiled to "Native Code" or "P-Code." The Visual Basic 5.0 virtual machine contains all of the functionality for Visual Basic 5.0 forms, class modules, language, etc. Many people confuse compiled "Native Code" with static linking. Compiled "Native Code" is code that does not have to be interpreted at run-time and can be directly executed by the system processor. Static linking is the process of linking libraries of functions into a single .EXE. Visual Basic 5.0 "Native Code" applications and components can be directly executed by the system processor but they must still call into the Visual Basic 5.0 virtual machine to access the functions providing Visual Basic 5.0 features.


  17. Q. Do Visual Basic 4.0 add-ins work with Visual Basic 5.0?

    A. Major changes were made to the development environment to allow for multiple project development. The Visual Basic product team made every effort to allow Visual Basic 4.0 add-ins to continue to work in the new environment. However, they were not able to make Visual Basic 5.0 100 percent compatible with Visual Basic 4.0 add-ins. In some cases, you may need to re-write an add-in for Visual Basic 5.0 or contact a third- party company for an updated add-in.


  18. Q. What are the differences between the Visual Basic 5.0 Control Creation, Learning, Professional, and Enterprise editions?

    A. The primary difference between each edition are the features available, the following web site addresses these key differences:
    http://www.microsoft.com/vbasic/prodinfo
    The core development environment is the same for each version of Visual Basic 5. Below is a brief description of each edition.

    Control Creation

    The Control Creation Edition is available for free from the Microsoft Web site. The Control Creation edition is designed to assist developers in creating fast, powerful ActiveX controls. ActiveX control creation is the sole purpose of this edition. To download it for free, visit the following Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/vbasic/download/cce

    Learning

    The Learning edition is designed for novice users of Visual Basic. It provides an environment with the basic functionality and features of Visual Basic ideal for learning.

    Professional

    The Professional edition includes some of the advanced Visual Basic features for creating efficient, fast, and flexible end-user solutions.

    Enterprise

    The Enterprise edition integrates all of the tools and support systems needed for successful enterprise application development, deployment, debugging, tuning and support.


  19. Q. What product support offerings are available for Visual Basic 5.0?

    A. For more information on your support options for this product, please refer to Support Options by Product online at:
    http://www.microsoft.com/support/supportnet/overview/overview.asp


Additional query words: kbdss 


Keywords          : kbVBp400 kbVBp500 kbVS97sp2 kbfaq 
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: June 30, 1999