Why Total Visual CodeTools is Right for You
Only Total Visual CodeTools gives you the coding tools you need for
Visual Basic and Office VBA development. As a developer, you have
enough problems already--worrying about standards, commenting, error
handling etc. should be automatic. And with Total Visual CodeTools,
these issues are automatically handled.
I need to automatically create new
procedures with error handling and commenting structures
Whenever I create a new procedure I manually have to type or paste in my
comment header and error handling code which includes the procedure name.
Solution: New Procedure Builder
The New Procedure Builder
of Total Visual CodeTools automatically adds the comment and error handling
blocks for you. Simply specify the procedure name and it builds the rest for
you. You can use tokens to insert things like the current date, developer
initials, procedure name, procedure type (function, sub, property), scope
(private or public), etc. You can even specify Body Only if you want to
insert the code in an existing procedure like an event procedure. Overall,
it makes it easy for everyone on your team to create consistent procedures
with the structure you've defined.
I need to add error handling to existing
code
I have an error handler defined, but my application (or an inherited
application) does not have error handling in all its procedures to call it.
Manually adding the error handling, passing the procedure name, specifying
whether it's Exit Sub or Exit Function is a real pain.
Solution: Code Cleanup
One of the most powerful features of Total Visual CodeTool's Code Cleanup
feature is the ability to apply your error handling definition to every
procedure that lacks an On Error command. This can be the same error
handling structure you define for creating new procedures.
Code Cleanup automatically goes through your code and adds the error
enabler at the top of the procedure and the error handler code at the
bottom. You can specify where to use the name of the module, procedure name,
procedure type (function, sub, property), and other tokens. You can choose
whether you want Code Cleanup applied to one procedure, one module, modules
you select, or all your code.
I can't read the code I inherited
The application I'm supporting was written by someone who used a
completely different style from me (or maybe it was me a few years ago). The
code isn't indented properly, there are no comments, and no variable naming
convention was used. What a mess. I can't even begin to fix things because
it's so hard to read. What can be done?
Solution: Style Cleanup
Total Visual CodeTools cleans up existing code with ease (example).
In addition to adding your custom error handling to procedures that lack it,
Total Visual CodeTool's Code Cleanup feature lets you simply select a
procedure, module, specific modules, or you entire project to apply your
standards. You have complete control over all visual style settings, error
handling, naming conventions, and commenting to clean up an entire
application in minutes.
Specify Coding Styles
Choose among these options:
- Properly indent coding loops (e.g. FOR..NEXT, IF, DO, WHILE, SELECT
CASE, etc.).
- Split colon separated code in one line into multiple lines
- Split single line IF statements into multiple lines with END IF
- Separate single line multiple variable declarations into individual
lines
- Specify the maximum number of consecutive blank lines
- Specify the number of blank lines between procedures
- Sort procedures alphabetically or by type (e.g. Public before
Private, or Functions before Subs before Properties, etc.)
Apply Variable Naming Convention
Total Visual CodeTools understands your code and can also apply Variable
Naming Conventions. If all your Integer variables should start with "int" it
can apply it. If you want global/public variables to be prefixed with a "g"
and module level variables with an "m", it can apply that too. You can
customize the naming convention you'd like and Total Visual CodeTools
applies it.
Apply Commenting Structures
Total Visual CodeTools can also insert comment structures you define at
the top of each module and procedure. At the module general declarations
level, it can even insert a list of all the procedures in the module and
their parameters. For procedures, it can list each parameter of the
procedure. It can't add comments defining the objects but does take the
grunt work out of inserting the structures.
The Code Cleanup can be applied to one procedure, one module, selected
modules or all the code in your application. Once you can read the code,
you'll be much more productive.
Converting SQL strings to code is a hassle
Taking SQL from a query and converting it to code is a real pain. The
text needs to be assigned to a variable, it's long and needs to be
word-wrapped, and if there are quotes, I have to manually replace each quote
with two quotes or single quotes.
Solution: Long Text/SQL Builder
The Long
Text/SQL Builder
lets you easily convert an existing SQL string into code that you can insert
into your procedure. It automatically word-wraps and understands the need to
word-wrap on reserved words (e.g. FROM, WHERE, ORDER BY, etc.) to make it
readable. It also converts quotes so that they work. This hassle is now gone
in the blink of an eye.
Writing code to open and edit data
in databases is complicated
Writing code in ADO or DAO is not easy when you have to open
a database, worry about connection strings, create a recordset
to a table or query/view with its options, specify the fields to
retrieve, and update those fields.
Solution: Recordset Builder
The Recordset
Builder lets you quickly create a recordset against an
Access database or DSN source like SQL Server. Open the data
source and browse, add or edit records. Easily switch between
ADO or DAO syntax. You'll never want to manually write code to
open a recordset again!
I write lots of code. I need tools that add new procedures in a
quick, easy, and standardized way.
Solution: Code Builders
Total Visual CodeTools includes many tools to write new code with just a
few mouse clicks. Need to create a new procedure? Simply open the New
Procedure Builder, type in a variable name and press Enter. Total Visual
CodeTools automatically builds the procedure with naming conventions, error
handling, and commenting, and inserts it directly into your project!
Total Visual CodeTools also has builders for property procedures, long
text strings, recordset code (ADO and DAO are supported), select case
statements, message boxes, and more. With the Copy Control Code Builder, you
can even copy all the event procedures associated with one control to
another control.
Visit the
Builders Tour to see each builder and
its screen details.
I want to be sure that my delivered applications are as robust as
possible. I use Office applications like Access or Excel and know
that my source code is included with my applications. I also use
Visual Basic, and want real error handling.
Solution: Code Delivery
The Code Delivery feature of Total Visual CodeTools helps you deliver
robust applications or deliver your source code more safely (example):
Add Line Numbers
If your error handler uses the ERL function, you can pinpoint exactly
which line of code causes your application to fail. With this information,
you can often identify the problem without a repro case or the need to talk
to the end user. To have this feature, each line of your code needs to have
a line number assigned. It's no fun writing code with line numbers in them,
so the Code Delivery feature applies this once you are ready to ship.
Code Obfuscation
For applications that must ship source code, like Excel, or if in VB or
Access, you need to provide source code rather than an EXE/MDE, you may want
to make it difficult for the recipient to use, understand or modify your
code. The Code Delivery feature lets you:
- Remove all comments
- Eliminate all blank lines
- Eliminate indentations
- Rename variables to meaningless names (e.g. X1, X2, etc.)
The result is a smaller application that is harder to decipher.
The Code Delivery features can be applied to one procedure, one
module, selected modules or all the code in your application.
I don't have time to switch between third-party tools and my
programming environment. I want tools that are directly accessible
from my IDE.
Solution: Total Visual CodeTools
Total Visual CodeTools runs as an add-in in Visual Basic 6 and all
Office VBA programming environments. Total Visual CodeTools is
integrated directly in your IDE and available as a toolbar or menu.
Simply select the tool you need, and its available. The code you
generate from the builders can be inserted directly into your project
(where your cursor is), copied to the clipboard, or sent to a file.
Ok, this all sounds fine. But I am part of a team. We have
defined standards, and all my team members need to access coding
tools in a standardized environment.
Solution: Total Visual CodeTools
Total Visual CodeTools is fully Enterprise-Ready. All standards can
be shared and managed at the team level. The standards you define as
saved in a file that can be shared by all your users across the network.
It is simple as that--all team members using Total Visual CodeTools will
use the exact same standards. Need to update standards? No problem,
Total Visual CodeTools supports full updating of existing
standards.
I can't spend
thousands of dollars per developer. I need a cost-effective coding solution.
Solution: Total Visual CodeTools
At $299 per copy and only $899 for five, Total Visual CodeTools
pays for itself very quickly. The savings in development time,
improvements in quality, consistent coding styles, and a more robust
and supportable application are why thousands of developers rely on
Total Visual CodeTools to create better applications.
