 
This chapter gives a brief overview of the QBasic interface. The interface has the following features:
 QBasic interface Current program The current program is displayed in the middle of the screen, and covers most of the QBasic interface. Menu The menu provides most of the operations for the QBasic editor. Such as opening a file, pasting text, and searching for a string. File 
Open - Loads a program from disk Save - Saves the current program to disk Save As - Saves the program, but under a different name Print - Prints the selected text, current window, or entire program Exit - Closes the QBasic interpreter Edit 
Copy - Copies the text instead of removing it Paste - Adds the text in the clipboard to the current position of the cursor Clear - Removes the text without storing it to the clipboard New Sub - Enables you to create a new subroutine (see Subroutines and Functions) New Function - Enables you to create a new function (see Subroutines and Functions) View 
Split - Displays the contents of the current program in two windows. If the window is already split, this hides the second window (NOTE: The text in each window is always the same, even if you alter the text in one window) Output Screen - Shows the QBasic output screen. Search 
Repeat Last Find - Continues the previous search operation Change - Replaces each instance of a string with another string Run 
Restart - Starts from the beginning Continue - Continues execution at the current position Debug 
Procedure Step - Processes the next command, but does not show QBasic going inside a subroutine or function Trace On - Shows the command that is being executed while the program is running Toggle Breakpoint - Sets or removes a breakpoint. Use this to have the QBasic interpreter stop when it reaches a specified line in the program Clear All Breakpoints - Removes all breakpoints in the program Set Next Statement - Allows you to continue execution at the specified line Options 
Help Path - The location of the QBASIC.HLP file Syntax Checking - Allows you to have the QBasic editor check the syntax of your program as you type Help 
Contents - The table of contents for QBasic help Topic - Show help for a specific keyword Using Help - Displays information on using QBasic help About - Shows information about the QBasic interpreter Name of current program The file name of the current program is displayed near the top of the screen in the center. You can change the name by selecting "Save As" on the "File" menu. Immediately execute a command QBasic provides a way to execute a command without running the current program. To do so, select the bottom window (under "immediate") and enter a command, then press Enter. Status bar The status bar is at the bottom of the screen. It displays a short list commands (<Shift+F1=Help> <F6=Window> <F2=Subs> <F5=Run> <F8=Step>). When you highlight an item on the menu, the status bar displays a short description of what the item does. Status of Caps Lock and Num Lock If Caps Lock is set, a "C" is displayed on the right side of the status bar. If Num Lock is set, an "N" is displayed on the right side of the status bar. Current line On the right side of the status bar, the current line of the cursor is displayed. Current column On the right side of the status bar, the current column of the cursor is displayed (immediately after the current line). Feel free to distribute this tutorial, upload it to your website, link to it from your site, etc. http://www.geocities.com/progsharehouse/qbtutor Mirror: http://development.freeservers.com/qbtutor |