ModernVB

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Are you still in love with Visual Basic 6 even decades after Microsoft officially abandoned all support for the platform? Do you find yourself coding regularly in the VB6 IDE yet wishing it didn't look so dated? Ever hoped it could look nice and pretty like modern Visual Studio editions?

Well look no further friend! Thanks to ModernVB you now can! ModernVB is a suite of unofficial modifications for the Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Integrated Development Environment which completely revamp the user interface with new icons taken from Microsoft Visual Studio (which are free to use), new custom toolbars and many addins that unlock a great deal of extra functionality to Visual Basic.

All for the low-low price of absolutely nothing at all! :D

However, if you do find this modpack/add-in useful please consider donating.

I'm a student doing this as a hobby, so any amount is greatly appreciated and helps immensely! You may donate through the following link: https://www.paypal.me/ModernVB

To stay up to date on the progress of this project, feel free to follow the discussion thread on the VBForums, where you can additionally find many more screenshots: http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?885405-Modernizing-the-VB6-IDE

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The suite is currently comprised of 5 separate elements:

1. A Registry file for you to merge that will add modern VS icons to all the VB menus that can be themed. Icons were painstakingly chosen, imported and edited to best represent the functionalities of each entry.

2. A custom add-in which replaces the standard VB toolbars with replacement toolbars with the same items but using modern icons instead. This was necessary in order to avoid icons disappearing for items that can't be selected, are disabled or unavailable in the current IDE context, as the native VB toolbars are not capable of rendering a disabled picture for icons with more than 16 colors.

   Furthermore, the addin also extends the VB6 IDE with several quality of life features to improve usability.

   Here are some of the key features added by this addin:

   • Replaces all the original default VB toolbars for custom toolbars with high quality icons.
   • All the icons for the context menus are replaced with high quality versions.
   • Enables Custom Layouts so that whenever you switch between Code and Design Views, all the relevant panels are displayed or hidden as required.
   • Allows for the gauge control's position to be manipulated so it can be docked in different configurations
   • Creates and maintains an additional toolbar on the right corner of the screen that allows for all the IDE's panels to be easily shown or hidden on demand, as well as allowing for the custom layouts feature to be activated.
   • Maintains a separate hybrid Debug toolbar on the left corner of the screen that is used for debugging your project since the main Debug toolbar is completely replaced and the VB6 IDE disables all add-in toolbars when the project is executed.
   • Allows for hiding unecessary obtrusive toolbars that only take up space when the project is executed, and restores them again once execution is terminated.
   • Completely replaces the icons on the Project Explorer dialogue by overlaying replacement icons over the toolbar (thanks to Olaf Schmidt for the suggestion and sample code)

   If you'd like to see a new feature added, please post in the VBForums thread above. If you find any issues with the addin, either post in the thread or open an Issue here in Github and I'll look into it.

   The source code for the addin is also available and included for your enjoyment.

3. Patch files for VB6.exe, VBA6.dll and VBIDE.dll files. Here is the full list of changes enabled by these patches:

   • Replacing native 4-bit resources with high quality 24-bit icons and bitmaps.
   • Minor adjustments to VB6.exe's assembly code required to force the IDE to render bitmaps in full 24-bit color depth instead of 4-bit by default.
   • An integrated manifest file to enable visual styles for controls within the Visual Basic IDE.
   • Changes to VBA6.dll to enable custom theme colors instead of the limited 16 color choice that VB6 supports by default
   • You can now perform unlimited undo/redo operations within the IDE (up from a maximum of 20 by default)
   • Finally, many changes to VB's internal dialogs were made to enhance their usability in higher screen resolutions.

   Instructions to use the patches:

   Apply the included .xdelta patches with Delta Patcher Lite (https://github.com/marco-calautti/DeltaPatcher) or any other compatible xdelta3 patcher (included in the download).

   Distributing delta patch files avoids copyright infringement issues as none of the original copyrighted code is included in the patches, only a dozen or so handwritten assembly lines and official resource files which can be freely obtained from this address: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35825.

   In order for the patches to work correctly, ensure you're using the final SP6 for VB6, preferably for the English version. While there's now limited support for international languages, only the English version will include updated dialogs.

4. Registry files containing custom themes and settings for the VB6 IDE that can enhance the look of the software and provide optimal configurations for your coding experience, as well as links to a few programming oriented alternative monospace font choices.

5. Finally, a list of recommended add-ins to extend the functionality of the IDE is provided with shortcuts to download each one from official sources. Most of the recommended addins are free to use, although a few recommendations are made for exceptional commercial addins that can greatly benefit the user experience.

Well, that's it for now!

I hope this pack of modifications is useful for other coders and ultimately contributes to revitalizing our love of this fantastic, yet sadly forgotten language! Honestly, the VB6 IDE is both extremely robust and well designed. If only someone more capable can go on to write a compatible 64-bit multiplatform compiler for VB6, then we'd well and truly have achieved a complete ressurection of the language, with both a modern IDE interface and support for current operating systems and the latest technologies.

For now, we can only dream and hope our efforts might one day inspire such a glorious ressurgence. :)

Some Screenshots:

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THIS SOFTWARE AND ALL ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS", IN THE HOPES THAT IT PROVES TO BE USEFUL, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING MATERIALS.