VB6 and Windows 8

Apparently VB6 will continue to work under Windows 8
I presume our screens will just look like normal VB6 screens.
It would be nice to be able to Metro Style a VB6 application, (without rewriting it from scratch)
Or at least make the application look a little more modern.
(Even apps written in VS2008 and below are starting to suffer from an old technology look)
Has anyone got any ideas on how this may be done ?
Has anyone tried VB6 on W8 ?

Clearly one could just dump all their VB6 code and rewrite the application in VS2012 and HTML5. All I would need is a couple of years :cry:

This almost feels like the time we all migrated from 80col x 24line screens to Windows GUI - I note with interest a few excellent tools were developed which gave the impression that the system was a Windows System by simply creating a new presentation manager which took your existing program and making it look GUI.

I've been meaning to try it out but as of yet have not downloaded windows 8.

I did see that VS2012 RC was available the last time I visited the site. Still do not know when the release version of either software will be available. I have received the SQL Server 2012 DVD though.

This is the Support statement for VB 6 on Windows 8 :

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ms788708.aspx

If you're talking about the new METRO STYLE APPS, then VB6 will never be able to do that. You will be able to DEPLOY an application installer, and it will run on the DESKTOP side. A VS2010 program can create a TILE, and point it to your EXE, in FULL-SCREEN mode. It will switch to DESKTOP automatically.

Although Microsoft announced that HYPER-V would be in Windows 8, which means you can run XP MODE, and VB6 Development IDE. I installed Win8 RC on my old laptop, with a 64MB SSD. After installing Win8 AND VS2012, I still have about 28M FREE. Dual-Core Intel w/4gb of RAM. It runs GREAT! Better than Vista or Win7 on the same laptop, since 2008!

Interesting. Went looking for some screenshots of W8, and found this:
http://techland.time.com/2011/09/13/...otos-and-more/

I guess I was hoping for some sort of "skin" which would allow one to "pretend" to be a Metro App (while still being VB6)

I looked at the 50 screen shots. Lots of nice photos and pictures - No real applications viewing
And everytime you see mention of W8 they show the colourful desktop (same picture everytime it seems)
I presume MS Office will look the same as MS Office under W7 ?

Hard to tell before they release a preview... Just ran my Inno Setup app (from '08) on Win8 x64. It installed successfully, asked me if I wanted to enable 16-bit support, and installed all the controls successfully. It ran, and read the hard disk serial number, enabling ACTIVATION! Pretty psyched about it! Hyper-V is also in the Azure Cloud, so...

Decided to install on Windows 8 x32. Might have to re-code a few pieces to utilize Azure Blog Storage instead of a flat file. Login to the VHD (of Win7) will query the cloud to get the correct files downloaded BEFORE the app starts. Then, spin up a few instances, rather than sell the app!

You can make programs in VB6 with the METRO look, although they will only run in desktop mode. See a screenshot at http://machinist-calculator.com/Screenshot.html.
Forms are borderless, you can use picture as form background.
Buttons are replaced by picture boxes. Instead of
private sub command1_click()...
use
private sub picture1_click()...

Buttons can also be replaced by labels which can change with a mouse click and call a function. For instance, the ? button at the top:
'Top Ribbon "?"
Private Sub lblQuestion_MouseDown(button As Integer, shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
lblQuestion.ForeColor = RGB(255, 255, 255)
End Sub

Private Sub lblQuestion_MouseUp(button As Integer, shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
lblQuestion.ForeColor = RGB(0, 0, 0)
HelpSub 'calls the Help file
End Sub

This way I was able to modernise the look of my legacy programs.

I forgot to mention:
Form's border is replaced by lines.
Top ribbon is a label which can be used like the XP style border top ribbon to drag the form around the desktop. I made my top ribbon the same colour as the form background, but you can make it a different colour if you like. Here's the code to make the form able to be dragged:
First designate:
Dim xm As Integer
Dim ym As Integer
Then
Private Sub lbltitle_MouseDown(button As Integer, shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
xm = X
ym = Y
End Sub

Private Sub lbltitle_MouseMove(button As Integer, shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single)
If button = 1 Then
Me.Left = Me.Left + X - xm
Me.Top = Me.Top + Y - ym
End If
End Sub

That doesn't look like any VB6 IDE Code. Maybe a plug-in?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dglienna

That doesn't look like any VB6 IDE Code. Maybe a plug-in?

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Pure VB6 code.http://forums.codeguru.com/images/icons/icon10.png

Test it by making a new program with just one form with only one control "lblTitle"
Enter only the code in my post.
Run it and drag the form by the label.

Why not post some of the CNC code?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dglienna

Why not post some of the CNC code?

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CNC code? What do you mean?
CNC code to me means programs that make Computer Numerical Control machines run.

Your link? http://machinist-calculator.com/Screenshot.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dglienna

Your link? http://machinist-calculator.com/Screenshot.html

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I'm sorry. Perhaps I'm really thick, but I don't know what you want me to do.

If it's your app, show the code. I think the designer used something else, that's all. Many tools do that

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LittleHarry

I'm sorry. Perhaps I'm really thick, but I don't know what you want me to do.

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The link you have given looks like an advertisement for a CNC application and has nothing to do with code that VB6 developers can use to bring a modern look to VB6.

It's kind of hard not to view it as an advertisement since the name of the site is "Machinist-calculator" of which doesn't readily post the typical code snippets that one would expect to find from a development site.

I would expect to find something on the site like "Use our toolset to make your VB6 applications have that modern look", but this sort of thing seems suspiciously absent.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arjay

The link you have given looks like an advertisement for a CNC application and has nothing to do with code that VB6 developers can use to bring a modern look to VB6.

It's kind of hard not to view it as an advertisement since the name of the site is "Machinist-calculator" of which doesn't readily post the typical code snippets that one would expect to find from a development site.

I would expect to find something on the site like "Use our toolset to make your VB6 applications have that modern look", but this sort of thing seems suspiciously absent.

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I was simply responding to George1111's comment:
"It would be nice to be able to Metro Style a VB6 application, (without rewriting it from scratch)
Or at least make the application look a little more modern."

I thought it would be helpful to show that VB6 can be used to make modern looking programs. I thought you would appreciate some examples of how I made my application fit the METRO look. I gave the link to my application's screenshot to illustrate my code snippets. I was not trying to advertise my product because it is a niche product for machinists, and I don't expect to make any sales by linking it on this forum.
I am not trying to sell a "toolset to make your VB6 applications have that modern look" or anything else. I have received help for programming my products from forums such as this one, and I was trying to return the favour.

So if my reward for trying to do good is to be flamed, you can stick your forum where the sun don't shine!

Lets keep it civil, folks. Personally, I don't suspect LittleHarry of wrongdoing. He showed a screenshot as an example and gave some code with explanation. I suppose it might have been less likely to come under scrutiny if he attached the screenshot to his post though. Agreed?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LittleHarry

I was simply responding to George1111's comment:
"It would be nice to be able to Metro Style a VB6 application, (without rewriting it from scratch)
Or at least make the application look a little more modern."

I thought it would be helpful to show that VB6 can be used to make modern looking programs. I thought you would appreciate some examples of how I made my application fit the METRO look. I gave the link to my application's screenshot to illustrate my code snippets. I was not trying to advertise my product because it is a niche product for machinists, and I don't expect to make any sales by linking it on this forum.
I am not trying to sell a "toolset to make your VB6 applications have that modern look" or anything else. I have received help for programming my products from forums such as this one, and I was trying to return the favour.

So if my reward for trying to do good is to be flamed, you can stick your forum where the sun don't shine!

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I misread your original post. You did in fact explain your approach of using screenshots, but I for some reason was thinking (or hoping??) what you were showing was a VB6 product. At any rate, your product looks very modern - nice job.