Visual Basic

6-Jun-07 15:09

Looking for a tool to compress my projects EXE file and the DLL it uses. Tool doesn't necessarily need to put all files in 1 total package. I tried Netz but for some reason this gives errors and I can't figure out which DLL is causing the problem.
I wouldn't mind if I need to compress the DLL files individually.

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 15:15

6-Jun-07 15:15

Winzip ? Or are you hoping to create a smalle file, which also still runs ? Try removing/reducing the size of resources in your files.

Christian Graus - Microsoft MVP - C++
Metal Musings - Rex and my new metal blog
"I am working on a project that will convert a FORTRAN code to corresponding C++ code.I am not aware of FORTRAN syntax" ( spotted in the C++/CLI forum )

Mickey016-Jun-07 15:39

6-Jun-07 15:39

Some of the DLL's I'm using are rather big so I want to shrink them but still be able to run the app.

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 16:11

6-Jun-07 16:11

The only way to do that is to have things compressed and then decompressed within your app itself. What sort of files are they ? What sort of app is it ? ( compressing/decompressing will involve a performance hit )

Mickey016-Jun-07 16:34

6-Jun-07 16:34

The DLLs are 3rd party VB .Net tools required by the app. NETZ does a good job in compressing both EXE and DLL files and can even create one overall EXE file with the original EXE and the DLLs included. But...in this particullar case it doesn't work for me. That's why I was asking for any alternatives.

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 17:39

6-Jun-07 17:39

OK, if you have a tool that does this usually, then I'd suggest it's failing because the dlls are full of jpegs or some other file that's already highly compressed and won't compress further, whatever you do.

Mickey016-Jun-07 18:04

6-Jun-07 18:04

Don't think you've read my postings correctly. The tool I'm using (NETZ) compresses everything nicely but when the app runs it popping up some errors. I'm just asking for an alternative compressor. The DLLs are not resource DLLs containing pictures or what so ever.

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 19:09

6-Jun-07 19:09

OK - I see. If there are no resources, how big could these code files actually be ? I mean, most people have 60 gig + hard drives, how big is your project that you want to bother with this ?

Mickey016-Jun-07 19:31

6-Jun-07 19:31

Does it really matter how big my project is? Like I said I'm just looking for an EXE/DLL compressor as an alternative to NETZ.

lmoelleb6-Jun-07 23:46

lmoelleb

6-Jun-07 23:46

With the limited information you provide it's hard to tell if this is a solution for you - but have you considered simply setting the compressed attribute on the relevant files (maybe letting the installer do it)? Wouldn't work on FAT obviously, so if you need to save space to run from a USB key or something it's probably not an option.

Mickey017-Jun-07 12:49

7-Jun-07 12:49

What is limited? What I want (and I know it can be done by using NETZ) is compress the EXE file and the DLL I have created in a VB. Net and still be able to run this. NETZ only doesn't work on this project that is why I was asing for an alternative - if any.

lmoelleb7-Jun-07 21:01

lmoelleb

7-Jun-07 21:01

The limitation is that you are not trying to tell us what you try to achieve, you tell us what one specific tool does to achieve whatever it is you want. Obviously you want to compress the size of the files for a reason. Tell us WHY you want to do this (download size, size on hard disk, faster load time on slow medias, ...) and we can try to tell you if there are alternative ways of reacing this goal.

Let's try to take your last "requirements document" and break it down towards the solution I gave:
1) You want to compress you VB the EXE and DLL: Setting the compressed attribute on the file system will obviously do this.
2) You want the EXE and DLL to be able to run even though it is compressed: Obviuosly it will still run when the compression is on a file system level.

Hence my suggestion fits what you are telling us. But still it is clearly not good enough for you, so instead of simply repeating the "requirements" our solutions already satisfy, then tell us WHAT it is you want to achieve (as opposed to what you want to do to achieve it).

Mickey0111-Jun-07 20:33

Quick Crystal Reports question....

11-Jun-07 20:33

You're right.
Main goal would be 1 compressed EXE file which contains the original EXE file and all 3rd party DLLs it requires. This way helpdesk can send out just the file over whatever link and not have to worrie about getting all the correct files on a client.

CCG36-Jun-07 13:01

CCG3

6-Jun-07 13:01

Hello everyone, I am working with VB.Net 2005, going to an Access 2003 database. I am creating a few (like 3 or 4) reports with the version of Crystal that ships with VS.Net 2005. I have a report coming up and all is ok I am just working to modify it and change the way that some things show, etc. I was looking on line and notice a tutorial for connecting a crystal report to a dataset. I am connecting straight to the database. What I am wondering is which is the best practice? I am only a few days into this so I don't want to get done with it and find out that I should have done it a different way.

Thanks for your input.

Re: Quick Crystal Reports question....

Rupesh Kumar Swami6-Jun-07 20:06

Rupesh Kumar Swami

6-Jun-07 20:06

hi,
i don't understand properly what do you want (because of my poor english)
if you want to learn how to Generate a Crystal Report without a Database then click
http://www.codeproject.com/vb/net/NoDBReport.asp
or if you want to pass discrete parameters to the Crystal Reports then click
http://www.codeproject.com/vb/net/CrystalContrl.asp

if your requirement is diffrent, then Please describe more simple way

Hope this Helps

Rupesh Kumar Swami
Software Engineer,
Integrated Solution,
Bikaner (India)

Re: Quick Crystal Reports question....

Tirthadip6-Jun-07 20:13

Tirthadip

6-Jun-07 20:13

CCG3 wrote:
I am just working to modify it and change the way that some things show

What to show and in which way you want??

CCG3 wrote:
I am connecting straight to the database

if your work demands showing just full content of a table you can straightway do this..Otherwise if you have some specific query then you have to go for a typed Dataset(.xsd) to do this....populate the dataset with your query....make the Datasource of your report object to that Dataset.....

Tirtha

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82), American writer, philosopher, poet, essayist

VB6 - Unbelievable if true

#realJSOP6-Jun-07 12:19

#realJSOP

6-Jun-07 12:19

First, we're a C++ shop. You should know that before you continue reading. Second, we CANNOT convert to VB.Net because we're not being funded to do that, so don't bother even whispering it as a suggested workaround.

We've been tasked with maintaining a VB6 DLL that's used by a larger (VB.Net) program. This morning, my boss tells me she wants me to get ready to help out, meaning I have to set up my system to do the work. While going over the project documentation that describes the dev environment setup process, I came across two things I simply couldn't believe:

Unbelievable #1

After installing the app in question and putting all of the source code in the appropriate locations, the documentation says I have to copy the entire contents of the c:\Program Files\Visual Studio\VB98 folder to the application's bin folder, and create a new VB6 shortcut to run it from it's new location.

Ummm, PARDON ME?

If I'm not mistaken, I should be able to get away with simply creating a new shortcut with the appropriate working directory. Is this not the case? Did something in Windows change since the last time I manually created a shortcut?

Question: Can't I set the working directory in the project settings, or is VB6 really that incapable of providing common sense features? When you answer this question, keep in mind I have yet to even enter the VB6 IDE.

Unbelievable #2

This one is also associated with the shortcut. The documentation says I have to pass a parameter to VB6 so that VB6 can pass it to the application being "compiled". Is that really true? Is there no project setting for this?

Please tell me that VB6 doesn't suck nearly as bad as this.

"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
-----
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Re: VB6 - Unbelievable if true

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 12:39

Re: VB6 - Unbelievable if true

6-Jun-07 12:39

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Please tell me that VB6 doesn't suck nearly as bad as this.

LOL - it does, John, it really does.

Sorry, I can't offer any specific advice, but I got a grin out of this, sorry it's at your expense. VB6 was always a disaster.

I'd imagine that you don't need to copy those files to the local folder, but they need to be in the System32 folder instead, or the path to them needs to be in the lookup paths, so they are found. AFAIK, VB6 has dependency DLLs they are trying to get you to copy across.

Dave Kreskowiak6-Jun-07 12:57

Dave Kreskowiak

6-Jun-07 12:57

Yes, VB6 sucks, but not this bad. Your project "specs" suck more. I have no idea who wrote that crap, but it's a steaming pile of said substance.

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Unbelievable #1
After installing the app in question and putting all of the source code in the appropriate locations, the documentation says I have to copy the entire contents of the c:\Program Files\Visual Studio\VB98 folder to the application's bin folder, and create a new VB6 shortcut to run it from it's new location.

You do NOT need to copy the files to the project folder. I have no idea why they said that because there is no advantage to it. Everything done in the environment and compile sequence is done using fully qualified paths. It doesn't make any sense at all, other than the person who originally built it didn't know what they were doing.

John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:
Unbelievable #2
This one is also associated with the shortcut. The documentation says I have to pass a parameter to VB6 so that VB6 can pass it to the application being "compiled". Is that really true? Is there no project setting for this?

Uhhh, another steaming pile. Nothing is passed to the project being compiled, other than the usual compiletime constants, which you can specify in the project properties.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject[^]

Dave Kreskowiak
Microsoft MVP
Visual Developer - Visual Basic
2006, 2007

Re: VB6 - Unbelievable if true

Christian Graus6-Jun-07 13:37