Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step eBook

28 Part I Getting Started with Microsoft Visual Basic 2010

Inside MSDN Help

There are a couple of things to notice that will help you best utilize the Help documentation.

First, version information is listed at the top of the content window. MSDN supports multiple

versions of Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. As you’ll learn later in the book, the

current version of the .NET Framework is version 4.

In the Syntax section of the Help content, be sure that the VB tab is selected. When you

select this tab, you will see only Visual Basic syntax and code snippets. The other languages

will be hidden from view, making it easier to read the documentation. Your selection will be

remembered the next time you open the documentation.

On the left side of the Help window is a simplified table of contents (TOC). The title of the

topic currently being displayed is in bold and a different color. Above the current topic are

the parent topics, and below it are the child topics. Beneath the TOC is the Related Links

section. This section displays the peers of the current topic. You can click any links in the TOC

area to navigate within the documentation. Above the TOC is a search box, which is another

way to search the documentation.

Table 1-2 lists some useful tips about Help as you learn about the Visual Studio IDE,

Visual Basic, and the .NET Framework.

TABLE 1-2 Help Topic Locations in Visual Studio 2010

To Get Help Do This

Help documentation Click View Help on the Help menu.

or

Open http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/ in

a browser to view online Help.

Visual Studio IDE Select the item in Visual Studio and press the F1 key.

or

Search the Help documentation for “Visual Studio

2010 .”

A dialog box in Visual Studio Click the Help button (the question mark) on the

dialog box title bar.

Visual Basic Search the Help documentation for “Getting Started

with Visual Basic .”

.NET Framework Search the Help documentation for “ .NET

Framework 4 .”

Windows Forms Search the Help documentation for “Getting Started

with Windows Forms .”

A keyword or program statement in the

Code Editor

Select the keyword or program statement and press

the F1 key.