Contents

1. Installation
2. How to run a sample program
3. Requirements
4. What's New
   What's New in 3.0.0
   What's New in 3.0.1
   What's New in 3.0.2
   What's New in 3.0.3
   
5. Notes
6. Documentation
7. Support

Welcome to NS Basic/Desktop 3.0

NS Basic/Desktop 3.0 is a major update to NS Basic/Desktop, a tool to create apps for Windows desktop systems. We created this product since we saw a need for a development tool for desktop systems that would be as easy to use as our tools for handheld systems.

NS Basic/Desktop has an IDE that is similar to that of classic Visual Basic. The programming language is based on Microsoft's VBScript, which was designed as an easy to use, lightweight scripting language. It's solid and offers reasonable performance. When we realized the designers of VBScript had made it easy to add extensions to the language, it became possible to make a serious development tool.

We added extensions to the language in a couple of areas. Statements and functions were added to make the language complete enough for most applications. A set of standard intrinsic controls (Textbox, CommandButton, Popup and others) were added, so apps with a proper Windows look and feel could be created.

Most significantly, we added a powerful mechanism to use standard ActiveX controls. Thousands of these are available from Microsoft and third party developers. There is an ActiveX control for virtually every conceivable purpose: most are easily used from NS Basic/Desktop.

This allows NS Basic/Desktop programs to do some cool things. Besides providing all the usual features of a programming language, NS Basic/Decktop programs can easily interface with COM aware applications, such as Word, Excel and Outlook.

There are other things we did that are also important. The compiler produces a standalone exe file that is secure and easy to distribute. Unless you use ActiveX controls, no runtime libraries or installer are needed (not even MFC). Programs can be debugged using Microsoft's standard Script Debugger.

The implementation of NS Basic/Desktop is similar to NS Basic/CE. Code is almost completely portable between the two environments. The differences you will notice are in the screen size (Windows CE devices generally have much smaller screens) and the need to use versions of ActiveX controls that are designed for desktop versions of Windows.

See the "What's New" section for a detailed list of what is changed from previous versions.

Please visit our web site for the latest version of this document. You'll see the latest installation notes and updated news.

NS Basic/Desktop is a commercial software product, licensed subject to the License Agreement that must be must be agreed to before installation. The Agreement also appears in the NS Basic/Desktop Handbook.

If you are using the Demonstration Edition...

1. The Demo will only run for 30 days.
2. Apps you create will only run for 5 days.

• Easy to use, standard and structured BASIC
• Over a dozen built in screen objects
• Creates buttons, fields, popups and more
• Serial and internet communications
• Math and trigonometric function support
• Can produce stand alone, secure, installer free executables
• Uses standard third party ActiveX controls
• Easily hooks into databases such as Oracle and ADO
• Interfaces with COM aware apps like Word, Excel and Outlook
• Royalty free
• Supports Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
• Lots of sample code
• IDE is localized into English, German and Japanese
• 130 page hard copy Handbook

Installation

If you have problems during installation, see Tech Note 01 for common solutions. The hotlinks in this section work if you are reading this document from the CD. Otherwise, if you downloaded the files, click on the file names on your system.

1. Install NSBasic_Desktop.exe. (This link will work if you are running Internet Explorer. Otherwise, click on the file directly.) You may see the message "The publisher cannot be determined due to the problem below: Authenticode signature not found." It's safe to ignore this message.
2. Enter your serial number into Register under the Help menu. (Not in Demo version)
   

Using the Microsoft Script Debugger

You don't need this to develop NS Basic/Desktop apps, but it can be a big help in debugging. Download it from Microsoft and install it. You will also need to add the statement AllowDebug=True to your program.

Installation Problems

See Tech Note 01 for solutions to common problems.

1. From the Windows Start menu, select 'Simple Hello World' within 'NS Basic Desktop'.
2. The NS Basic/Desktop IDE will open to the program.
3. Click Start in the Run Menu
4. Hello World will run immediately.
5. You can see the actual .exe file in \Program Files\nsbasic\Desktop\Samples.

Requirements

You can develop programs using NS Basic/Desktop on the following platforms:

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP
• Windows XP Tablet Edition
• WIndows XP UMPC (Origami)
• WIndows XP Embedded
• Windows 2000
• Windows NT 4.0
• Macintosh using Virtual PC
• Linux using Win4Lin or VmWare

To use the NS Basic/Desktop Desktop, you need to have the following:

• A desktop computer with a Pentium class processor. A Pentium 90-MHz or higher processor is recommended.
• Microsoft Windows XP, 2000 Professional, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (with SP3 or higher, Internet Explorer 4.01 or higher).
• 64 MB memory for Windows 2000 Professional (128 MB recommended).
• 32 MB for Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (48 MB recommended).
• CD-ROM drive compatible with multimedia desktop computer specification.
• VGA or higher-resolution monitor required. A Super VGA monitor is recommended.
• Mouse device or compatible pointing device.
• Adequate hard disk space. For NS Basic/Desktop, 10 MB is required.

1. Code Window: Error 5 in Ctl F fixed.
2. Code Window: Go To line number should always go to correct line now.
3. IDE: Change tab order - fixed error 438 on exiting.
4. Missing objects on open project in Vista fixed.

1. Code Window: Go To line number now goes to correct line
2. Error 91 when changing bounds of ComboBox fixed.
3. Hebrew version of IDE added.
4. Intermittant Error 429 messages after installation fixed.
5. New Sample: ProgressBar
6. New Sample: SpreadSheet
7. Samples: Undefined variable messages fixed

1. IDE: End Select is properly colored.
2. IDE: Limit of 32k in TextBox.MaxLength removed - will now be limited by Windows at runtime.
3. IDE: Background grid on Design Screen draws properly on Vista.
4. Compiler: Encoding of special characters fixed.

1. ShowOkButton statement ignored (for NS Basic/CE compatibility).
2. Runtime: A SetFocus in an OptionButton's click routine will work properly.
3. IDE: The last item on a menu can now be deleted.
4. IDE: Make on the File menu now works.
5. IDE: Error when setting invalid value to Appearance property fixed.
6. ActiveX Control Manager: Copy to Clipboard now works reliably.

1. Windows Vista support added.
2. ActiveX Controls: Added NSBComDlg.dll control. See Tech Note 4.
3. ActiveX Controls: Added NSBControls.dll control, with ListView and ImageList. See Tech Notes 11 and 12.
4. ActiveX Controls: Added SerialTools control. See Tech Note 5.
5. ActiveX Controls: Added SQLite 3 Control, replaces SQLite 2. See Tech Note 15.
6. ActiveX Controls: Control Manager - Entries were getting lost if there were too many.
7. ActiveX Controls: Control Manager now shows all coClasses of controls.
8. ActiveX Controls: New controls are in the default list in ActiveX Control Manager.
9. ActiveX Controls: ToolBox now shows new controls.
10. Code Window: Error 438 when using 'Goto' popup on a new module fixed.
11. Code Window: Error when 'Goto' to Main on new project fixed.
12. Code Window: Hints show up on functions
13. Code Window: Lines ending in _ are syntax checked properly.
14. Code Window: Loop is syntax checked properly.
15. Code Window: More keywords and constants now colored.
16. Code Window: TextBox.SelStart, SelLength and SelText show up in hints.
17. DECLARE: now supports underbar character in function names.
18. DECLARE: SUBs work properly (only FUNCs did before)
19. Documenation: Language Reference updated.
20. Documentation: CHAIN statement removed. Use ShellExecute instead.
21. Documentation: Handbook updated extensively.
22. Documentation: Help file format changed from hlp to chm format.
23. Documentation: New Tech Note 19 on Regular Expressions.
24. Documentation: New Tech Note 29 on Classes.
25. Documentation: New Tech Notes on SerialTools (05), SQLite3 (15), NSBComDlg (04), ListView (12), ImageList (11).
26. Documentation: ReadMe is now on the Help menu - people might read it!
27. Documentation: Tech Notes renumbered.
28. IDE: Changes are saved after each replace.
29. IDE: Code Window: Intrinsic controls now show hints for methods as well as properties.
30. IDE: Form Caption can now be edited in Properties Window.
31. IDE: If you click on a scrollbar, the code window for its _Change is opened.
32. IDE: Loading .txt files of NS Basic/CE projects improved.
33. IDE: Problem with opening projects on network drives fixed.
34. IDE: PropertiesList control updated - more properties show for ActiveX objects.
35. IDE: Save will always save as .nsd, unless you use Save as TXT option.
36. IDE: Scrrun.dll is no longer used - less complaints from anti-virus software.
37. IDE: When opening a .txt file, existing .nsp with same name is ignored.
38. IDE: Error 6 when opening starting big files fixed.
39. Language enhanced with Regular Expressions.
40. Runtime: Label_Click event now works
41. Runtime: Max number of args on a DECLARE increased from 10 to 20.
42. Runtime: Textbox_Change event is fired when textbox value changed by code.
43. Runtime: Textbox_Click event now works
44. Samples: Serial samples updated.
45. Tools Menu: now accepts links in \program files\nsbasic\desktop\tools

1. New Controls: We have added a number of new controls to this release. The new controls have additional features and fix bugs, while supporting as much of the same feature set as possible.
2. IDE: Errors in Form_Load are now handled properly. Until now, if you had an error in a Form_Load routine, the routine would exit silently and continue execution. As a result, applications that seemed to be working may now raise errors which are finally being reported properly.

Notes and Warnings

1. If there is a compile or runtime error, the line number and error are reported. Use Edit...Goto line to go to the proper line in your program.
2. If you have the Script Debugger installed and get an error, the Script Debugger will open to the proper line of code, but will not report the error message.

Documentation

1. The NS Basic/Desktop Handbook. It is shipped with each copy of NS Basic/Desktop. It is approximately 130 pages and details all commands, functions and statements, with example for each.
   
2. The Language Reference, under the Help menu, contains a summary of all statements, functions, objects and constants.
   
3. Tech Notes: Detailed information on a number of topics is posted in a series of Tech Notes, in the Desktop IDE Help menu and posted on our web site.
4. Sample Code: There are a number of samples in
   \Program Files\nsbasic\desktop\samples. There is an overview of the samples in http://www.nsbasic.com/desktop/info/technotes/TN05.htm.
5. Tutorials: When you install NS Basic, two tutorials are installed on your system. You will find them under the Start Menu.
   
6. Other Resources: Tech Note 3 has a list of additional information on VBScript and the Script Debugger.

We're committed to delivering the best possible support. The following resources are available:

1. The NS Basic/Desktop Web Board. Post questions and comments, and get answers in a public forum. The best and fastest way!
   
2. Email Support: Send your questions to support@nsbasic.com
3. Tech Notes: The Tech Notes posted on our web site give additional and specialized information on a wide variety of topics.
4. Updaters: From time to time, we may offer updates to NS Basic/Desktop modules for download at no charge. Check to be sure you're up to date!
5. Microsoft On Line Help: Since NS Basic/Desktop uses the Windows VBScript Engine, your issue might be something that Microsoft has addressed in its Support Online section. If you enter "VBScript" as your question, you'll see a complete list of VBScript issues.