# VBForums CodeBank > CodeBank - Visual Basic 6 and earlier >  VBIDEUtils now open sources

## Thierry69

Hi

I wrote very very long time ago (in 1999) the best VB6 addin : VBIDEUtils (You still can find it on a lot of web sites)
In the past I was selling it, but as I had shutdown VBDiamond 10 years ago, I haven't sell it anymore
I use it off course everyday in all my VB6 projects, to clean code, indent, add automatic error handling, optimize code...
It does better job than MZtools, and also far more other things.

Here is a small description.
VBIDEUtils is a great add-in for VB 5.0 and VB 6.0. With
this add-in, you can do :
- Code Repository
- Store VB Code, Classes, Projects
- Store files
- Store HTML pages
- Store HTML links
- Search through all the database
- Store VB Scripts
- Java Scripts
- Java
- Icons
- Use bookmarks
- Enhanced search
- Search through all the VB Web sites
- Synchronize your local DB with the DB of VBDiamond
- Synchronize code with the major VB Code sites
- Search for programming books on the Web
- Save your code as HTML pages
-
- .....
- Make search through a very extensive Book repository
- Indent easily your code, procedure, block, variables
- Add comment to your modules and procedures
- Find the corresponding ending block instruction
- Know all the APIs error name
- Clear the debug Window
- Change easily the taborder of all your controls
- Add customized error handler to your code
- Add enhanced error handler to your code with loggin, trace
- Show the KeyAscii table to help you coding functions
- An assistant to create your messagebox
- A Toolbar code generator
- Close all the unused windows in the VB IDE
- Spy the classname of each windows
- An Icon browser
- A DBCreator code generator
- An ActiveX documentor
- Export all code to HTML files (from the VB IDE or the VBCodedatabase)
- Import/Export to VCL and DCB files
- Export the VB Code from the VB IDE to HTML files
- Extract all the strings and translate them directly in the addin for further use of resources String and so internationalize your applications
- Change/Modify the tooltips all your controls
- Add new procedure/functions/properties easily with parameters, description....
- Get all dependencies of an executable or a VB project
- Analyze VB projects
- Search all the web in the VB sites directly from the addin
- Added a VB project explorer
- Profile your VB projects and detect dead code including dead variables, dead procedures...
- Add/remove line numbering in your code
- Control properties assistant
- Accelerator assistant
- Generate code to create toolbar at runtime
- Get easily code from several VB Code websites on the web
- Added an enhanced find in VB projects
- Added the automatic creation of connections strings for ADO
- Generate automatically DLL Base Adresses
- Generate GUID
- A lot of of other new features

I decided to release the sources in order to add new possibilities with the community here, and eventually, why not doing a MS Access version compatible, and a .NET Version.
I made a .NET version for the first version of .NET (very long time ago, in 2010), but due to a lack of time, I stopped it.

You will have certainly to compile it, and just call the function "AddToINI" to add it to your VB6 Addins list as I removed all the install part

So here are the sources, of VBIDEUtils.
Please, don't forget, it has bee written in 1999, so 15 years ago, and of course, if I had to rewrite it now, I will use other coding way for many things.
Also, some parts of the code are not used anymore, but, this is normal for a such old project.

If you add functionalities, please post them here it order to make it even better, and offer other to other VB Coder.

Otherwise, you can us the code in your own project, and if like VBIDEUtils or the code, just say hello to your neighbors and all people in the street, in real life, as there is a big lack of real life those days.

Enjoy.

Well, I tried to upload the ZIP with the whole sources, but it more than 2Mb.
I try to find a way

Well, the size of the attachment is limited to 500K
So if a moderator could do something for me?

In the meantime, here is a link : https://github.com/tannerhelland/VBIDEUtils

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## Tanner_H

Thierry69, thank you for sharing this massive project.  It will take some time to understand everything you've done here, but I think it's great that you would contribute something so powerful to the VB community.

I've mirrored the source code to GitHub, for those who would prefer to study/download it that way:

https://github.com/tannerhelland/VBIDEUtils

Of course, anyone can fork the repository and make whatever changes they would like.  If you would like to coordinate further development on the add-in, I think you'll find GitHub is an excellent place to do it.

I notice that there is still a LICENSE.txt file in the project.  You will need to replace that with an open-source license of some kind.  Two of the simplest (and most common) open source licenses are the MIT license and the BSD license.  These protect both your rights, and the rights of your users, and they are very simple to understand.

If you'd like a more complicated or thorough license, the Apache license is probably your best bet.  Other licenses are discussed at http://opensource.org/licenses.

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## Thierry69

Tanner, thanks.
The only thing I want, is to make the VBIDEUtils live, and that you give a kiss to all your neighbors  :Smilie: 

I am not familiar with Github.
I'll let you manage it.

For the License, also, I am not too accurate with open sources licenses.
I will let you also choose the one you would choose yourself.

I will remove the link to the dropbox as all is on Github now.

If the project goes well in open source and participants are coming, I could put some other projects the same way  :Smilie:

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## Tanner_H

Okay, I have updated the LICENSE.txt to the MIT license, and also provided a link to this thread so people can ask you questions if they have any.

It would probably be best to use your real name as the copyright holder; you can PM me if you don't want to share that publicly, or I can just leave your VB Forums alias for now.

For those who aren't familiar with GitHub, note that you can use the "Download .zip" button on the right side of the page to download the code as a classic .zip file.  

(I'll leave for now; looks like I have a lot of kisses to pass along.   :Wink:   )

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## Thierry69

Great.

If someone is downloading it, and compile it, could you at least post here just to know how many people will use it.

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## wqweto

You can post compiled binaries in Releases on github project page too.

cheers,
</wqw>

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## Thierry69

Will do it tomorrow for the compiled version.
But I encourage each one to compile himself.

NB : I always compile source code coming from outside, never use the DLL or EXE not compiled by me (if I have the sources)

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## Thierry69

No comments for 2 weeks?
nobody compiled it and use it?

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## Jonney

Honestly, I haven't or never. I have no interesting in Add-ins.After all,VB6 best time is gone.
But I did use two for many years: MouseWheel Fix and Ulli's Code Formatter.

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## Annalee1

Thierry69 thats  great

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## Thierry69

Joney, int he VBIDEutils, there is also code formatting, and many more things, like automatic error handling, auto-comment, finding dead variables etc...

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## gibra

Congratulations for the great work.  :Smilie: 


Unfortunately I get several errors when loading the project in IDE.
These errors are related to OCX, DOB, DLL, etc. and various LOG files (8) were generated.
The project is unusable.


You should add the instructions on what to do 'before' to start the project.


Apart from the README.TXT file,  I did not find any help file or text file that gives information.
In subfolders there are a dozen of .VBP project files without any text file indicating the purpose, the use, etc.

Thank.

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## Thierry69

If you have problems opening the main vbp, you should probably register the required OCX  and DLL.

All sources are there

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## gibra

> If you have problems opening the main vbp, you should probably register the required OCX  and DLL.
> 
> All sources are there


It's not true.
There is no OCX or DLL files.

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## Thierry69

Give me the list of the missing OCX and DLL.
I can give you a link to download them.

Or recompile each OCX and DLL, ant that will do the job

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## gibra

You have published project, and now you ask me what are the files are missing??  :Confused: 


I think I have already provided all the information, now is up to you to check.

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## wqweto

I've just made a new pull request with retargeted `.vbp` files and a new `gVBIDEUtilsOS.vbg` that can be opened in VBIDE for source code reviewing without registering any binary per se.

@gibra: Until PR is merged (provided it is accepted at all) you can edit/add project remote to https://github.com/wqweto/VBIDEUtils and pull my modifications from there.

@Thierry69: Making OSS project hard to view/compile is a possible explanation why no one commented on your pet project for such a long time.

cheers,
</wqw>

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## Thierry69

The project has been published on github a 4 months ago.
I don't know how to use github, so Tanner posted it

NB : I use it everyday since 18 years

But no more time to enhance it, as I am working on other projects.

So it is here to enhance it by everybody

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## Tanner_H

I've merged wqweto's changes (thank you for sharing them!), and of course he provided a link to his own copy of the repository in #17.  This is what's so nice about GitHub - you don't have to wait on any one person to merge changes.

@Thierry69.  If you have compiled versions you want to share, I can upload them to GitHub for you.  Also, GitHub provides traffic data for the repository:

https://github.com/tannerhelland/VBI...graphs/traffic

It has slowed down a lot in recent weeks, but it was very busy when it was first uploaded.  I think compiled binaries would help a lot of people who are too lazy to fix and compile the code themselves.

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## Thierry69

Tanner, I could post compiled libraries
But as I always do, I never user compiled librairies just to be sure.

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## Thierry69

The compiled OCX and the project updated has been sent to Tanner in order to update the Github.

Don't forget to make a call to AddToIni in the Immediate Window, in order to add it to the list of addins

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## Tanner_H

I've updated the GitHub link with the files I received from Thierry69.  (I also tried to keep the compatibility fixes provided by wqweto, FYI.)

Of course, people are welcome to fork the repository as many times as they want and apply their own fixes/changes.  I'm also happy to merge any pull requests people send me.

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## Thierry69

Thanks Tanner

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## gibra

> I've updated the GitHub link with the files I received from Thierry69.  (I also tried to keep the compatibility fixes provided by wqweto, FYI.)
> 
> Of course, people are welcome to fork the repository as many times as they want and apply their own fixes/changes.  I'm also happy to merge any pull requests people send me.


Many files can be loaded in VBIDE because was saved using *LF* as row terminator, while VBIDE want *CRLF*:
*.vbg, *.dob, README.TXT, and others (I have not checked all files).

If you open them using notepad you will see.

Example: open the gVBIDEUtilsOS.vbg , nothing will loaded, you see a project with only one *Module1 (gVBIDEUtilsOS.vbg)* , this is because the contents of file is this:
VBGROUP 5.0Project=VBIDEUtils0\SubTimer.vbpProject=VBIDEUtils1\pVBALGrid.vbpProject=VBIDEUtils3\PopupMenu.vb  pStartupProject=VBIDEUtilsOS.vbp
(note that the rows are separated by LF, which is not visible in the Notepad).

while should be:

VBGROUP 5.0
Project=VBIDEUtils0\SubTimer.vbp
Project=VBIDEUtils1\pVBALGrid.vbp
Project=VBIDEUtils3\PopupMenu.vbp
StartupProject=VBIDEUtilsOS.vbp



Solution:
Simply, edit this files and replace LF (vbLf) with CRLF (vbCrLf) to solve the problem.

 :wave:

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## Thierry69

It was working on my computer.

Is it GitHub that replace this?

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## wqweto

It looks like the git client @gibra is using just ignores cr/lf settings in `.gitattributes`. Here is an explanation: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1...ategy-with-git

I'm using SourceTree GUI client with no surprises here.

cheers,
</wqw>

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## gibra

> It looks like the git client @gibra is using just ignores cr/lf settings in `.gitattributes`. Here is an explanation: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1...ategy-with-git
> 
> I'm using SourceTree GUI client with no surprises here.


I don't use any client. 

Simply download the ZIP file, then unzip it to the folder (using 7zip).
Nothing else.

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## Tanner_H

Thanks, gibra.  Only .vbg files were affected by this.  (Other VB files were already correctly marked in the .gitattributes file.)

I've fixed the problem and uploaded new .vbg copies.

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## dz32

[...]

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## Thierry69

Thanx

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## bPrice

Can't believe I found such a treasure here :Stick Out Tongue:  

I probably won't make use of it right now, but I am purely amazed by the quality of such open source project in the forum. Thanks so much.

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## Thierry69

Thanks bPrice.
And it has been written 16 years ago... Of course the way I code now is better

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## Absolute_Zero

How can i install? The Readme.txt say run "install.exe" but i cannot find it in the downloaded archive.



> Installation
> ------------
> 
> Just start the program "Install.EXE". Once it is done, start your VB, you have a new toolbar, 
> and new items in the Edit Menu and in the contextual menu of your Code window.

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## Thierry69

To install it, you need to open the project and compile it.
Install has been removed

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## Eduardo-

I think one of the problems is that it doesn't install automatically as other Add-ins do.
I wasn't able to run it until I found that I had to type *AddToINI* in the inmediate window.

Thanks for this great tool Thierry69, I'm now exploring it.

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## Thierry69

Yes Eduardo, you're right

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## xxdoc123

can you tell me how can used dll? i reged all dll.but in add in can not loaded ,if i open vb. vbg

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## Thierry69

Open the project in VB, and call AddToINI wich will add the addin to the VB6

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## Absolute_Zero

> Open the project in VB, and call AddToINI wich will add the addin to the VB6


Thanks!

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## Bobbles

Hi,
I am hesitant about using add-ins, and have not used any to date.
I notice on GitHub you mention this is available as a stand alone program - VBCodeDatabase 
Not sure if it is because I find GitHub confusing, but I could not find the download for standalone VBCodeDatabase
Is that available ?
Thanks,
Rob

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## Thierry69

VBCodeDatabase is my VBCode repository. It contained all the interesting VB code from all websites (including mine, now offline), since arround 1999
and outside of VBIDEUtils.
I am not sure that the code is on github.

And the database are very big (several Gb)

Try the VBIDEUTils, trust me, it worth a lot, and you can compile it.

If you want the My VBCode Database app, & DB, let me know by MP, I am not ready to publish open source, but I can share

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## shortbread

Hi, how to uninstall VBIDEUtils? I can't get it to not be listed in my VB6 add in manager. Thanks!

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## fabel358

Sorry: "INDENT MODULE" does not play. Does it happen to someone else?

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## Thierry69

It is working perfectly. I use it arround 200 times per day
Check the configuration to see if well configured.

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## fabel358

Thanks for the reply. IT works from the bar but not from the drop-down menu that opens with the right mouse button... I looked in "VBIDEUtils OPTIONS" but I didn't find where to put my hand...

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## Thierry69

Ha the dropdown menu.
Maybe, I never used in fact

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