ActiveResize Control FAQ

Q. What version of ActiveResize should I use with my version of Visual Basic?

A. If you have Visual Basic version 6, you should use AResize.ocx. If you have Visual Basic version 5, use AResize5.ocx. Both controls work exactly the same; the only difference is that each one of the controls has the appropriate references to the VB runtime libraries of your version of Visual Basic. Therefore, when you distribute your applications, you do not need to include different versions of the VB runtime libraries. Please note that the VB5 version of the control may be older than the VB6 version and may support less features.

Q. Do I need to register ActiveResize control on my system before starting to use it?

A. If you have downloaded the ActiveResize control file only (AResize.ocx or AResize5.ocx), you need to register it manually on your system. If you have downloaded and run the setup package of the control, there is no need to register it because the setup utility will register the control on your system. To register the control manually, use the Windows Regsvr32 utility. From the Windows Start menu, click Run and type:

For the VB6 version of ActiveResize:

Regsvr32 FolderName\AResize.ocx

For the VB5 version of ActiveResize:

Regsvr32 FolderName\AResize5.ocx

Where FolderName is the full pathname of the folder where AResize.ocx is located.

Q. On what platforms does ActiveResize run?

A. ActiveResize Control can be used on all 32-bit Windows platforms.

Q. Are ActiveResize run-times royalty-free?

A. Yes, the run-times are totally royalty-free. You only pay once for the developer license and use the control in all your applications and distribute any number of copies of your applications without the need to pay us anything.

Q. What libraries do I need to include with my application so that ActiveResize can work on the user system?

A. ActiveResize requires only the VB run-time libraries (either MSVBVM50.DLL or MSVBVM60.DLL depending on which version of ActiveResize you are using). You do not need any additional libraries to be included with your application when you distribute it.

Q. How can I add the ActiveResize control to my VB project?

A. From the Project menu, click Components. The Components dialog (below) opens. Click the check box to the left of the Active Resize Control and click the Apply button. The ActiveResize control will be added to the VB IDE Toolbox (shows like a color display) as shown below. Double-click on the control icon to insert it on the currently open form.

Q. What code should I write in my form for ActiveResize to work?

A. No code at all! ActiveResize automatically detects the Load and Resize events of your form, and it resizes / repositions all form controls. However, if you decide to disable the automatic resizing process of ActiveResize (by setting the AutoResizeOnLoad and AutoResizeControls properties to False), you must write one line of code that calls the ResizeControls method of the control when you need to resize the form controls. This code should normally be inserted in the Form_Resize event so that ActiveResize resizes the controls whenever the form is resized.

Q. Do I need to insert ActiveResize on each form in my application?

A. Yes. But if you want some forms not to implement the functionality of ActiveResize, then simply don't insert ActiveResize on these forms. But remember, ActiveResize not only resizes the form and its controls when the user (or code) resizes the form, but it also resizes the form when your application runs on a different screen resolution. Therefore, these forms that do not contain ActiveResize will not show properly.

Q. How can I prevent the user from resizing my forms beyond a minimum or a maximum width and height?

A. ActiveResize provides six properties that enables you to prevent the user from resizing the form beyond a minimum and maximum width and height. In addition, you can prevent the user from maximizing and / or minimizing your forms. For more information, refer to the following topics in the product help file: AllowFormMaximized, AllowFormMinimized, MaxFormHeight, MaxFormWidth, MinFormHeight and MinFormWidth.

Q. I have several controls on a form, but I don't want some of them to be resized and / or repositioned when the form is resized, what should I do?

A. By default, ActiveResize resizes and repositions all controls on the form when the form is resized. If you want to exclude individual controls from being processed by ActiveResize, use the Tag property of these controls to specify which properties should not be processed by ActiveResize. For detailed information, refer to the following topic in the product help file: Excluding individual controls from the resize / reposition process.

Q. Some of my pictures are clipped when the form is resized to a size smaller than its original size. What should I do?

A. Set the ResizePictureBoxContents property to True (v.3.1 and above). This will resize the contents (image) of the picture boxes to the new size of the picture box control whenever the control is resized. For ActiveResize versions below 3.1, you must use the VB image control (instead of the picture box) and set its Stretch property to True.

Q. Why the captions or text of some controls do not appear 'smooth' when the controls are resized?

A. The default font used by all VB controls is MS Sans Serif. This font is not a 'True Type Font' and therefore when the font size is set to a value higher than 12 or 14, the control caption or text will not have a smooth appearance. To avoid this, use a True-Type font like Arial, Times New Roman, Tahoma, etc.

Q. I don't want controls captions or text to be resized when the controls are resized. What should I do?

A. Set the ResizeFonts property of ActiveResize to False.

Q. If I create new controls on the form at run-time, would ActiveResize handle them when the form is resized?

A. Yes. After you create new control(s) at run-time, call the Reset method of the ActiveResize control. This method resets all form and controls data internally-stored inside ActiveResize, and the control will refresh its data to include the new control(s).

Q. If I move one or more controls on my form at runtime, would ActiveResize detect this?

A. No. ActiveResize does not detect the movement of controls at run-time. If you move controls on the form at run-time, you must call the Reset method so ActiveResize can refresh its internal data and will include the new controls positions.

Q. I have some data grids on my forms. Can ActiveResize handle them?

A. Yes. ActiveResize can handle any type of data grids and lists including the DBGrid, DataGrid, MSFlexGrid and the MSHFlexGrid. ActiveResize not only will resize the grid, but also will proportionally resize the cells of the grid.

Q. I have some invisible controls on my form. I make these controls visible from within my code when I need to show them to the user. Does ActiveResize handle these controls when they are invisible?

A. Yes. ActiveResize resizes and repositions all controls on the form, even those that are invisible. When these controls become visible , they will show in the appropriate positions and the appropriate sizes even if the user may have resized the form before they become visible.

Q. Does ActiveReszie support the Tabbed Dialog Control (SSTab)?

A. Yes. ActiveResize can handle the Tabbed Dialog Control and all controls contained inside it.

Q. Can I save the current size / position of my form and all its controls at run-time, and restore them at a later time during the application execution?

A. Yes. Call the SaveForm method of ActiveResize whenever you want ActiveResize to remember the current size and position of the form and all its controls. ActiveResize will store the form and its controls information internally (in its memory space). If the form is moved and / or resized (for any number of times) and then at a later time you want to restore the form and all its controls to the last saved state, call the RestoreForm method. To save the form state permanantly, and restore the state when the application is run in a later time, set the SavePersistent argument of the SaveForm to True, and then when you call the RestoreForm, specify True for the RestoreFromPersistent argument.

Q. How can I know what screen resolution my application is running on?

A. ActiveResize provides several properties that give you information about the screen resolution used at both design-time and run-time. For more information, refer to the following topics in the product help file: Resolution, ScreenHeight, ScreenHeightDT, ScreenWidth and ScreenWidthDT.

Q. Is it possible to prevent ActiveResize from executing the resizing / repositioning process in certain cases?

A. Yes. Use the BeforeResize event of ActiveResize and set the Cancel argument to False. Another way is to set the AutoResizeControls property to False at run-time.

Q. Can I get notified when ActiveResize finishes the resizing / repositioning of the form controls?

A. Yes. Use the ResizeComplete event of ActiveResize.

Q. Why ActiveResize does not allow me to change the ScreenHeightDT and ScreenWidthDT properties in the VB IDE properties window?

A. ActiveResize will not allow you to change these design-time property values simply because it uses them to properly calculate resize ratios of the form and its controls when your application is run on a user's system with a different screen resolution.

Q. ActiveResize does not work properly on my forms; what could be the reason?

A. For ActiveResize to work properly, the ScaleMode property of the form and any controls that supports this property must be set to the default VB value (Twips). Also, make sure that your forms are shown in their full size in the VB IDE, i.e. no controls are hidden beyond the form borders. ActiveResize will resize your forms at run-time based on how they are shown at design-time.

Q. ActiveResize does not resize my ToolBar buttons...why?

A. The MS ToolBar does not allow its buttons to be resized when they contain a caption. This is by design and is indicated in the help file of the MS ToolBar control. To overcome this, just use images on the buttons (without captions) and have your captions embedded inside the the image graphics.

Q. If I purchase the VB6 version of the control, do I get the VB5 version for free?

A. Yes. The same applies if you purchase the VB5 version (you get the VB6 version for free).

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