Adding the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit To Your Project

Here are the steps for using the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit to your project.

• The Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit consists of an ActiveX component, VBECCO.EXE.  This file should be placed in a folder where your programs will have access to it; e.g. the Windows System folder.

NOTE: The Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit is written in Microsoft Visual Basic and requires the Visual Basic 6 runtime (MSVBVM60.DLL) to be used either in a development environment or by a user.  The programming direction and examples in this help file demonstrate how to use it to build applications in Microsoft Visual Basic.  However, other programming and scripting languages which support ActiveX components and COM automation (e.g. VBScript, VBA, Visual C++) can use the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit.

• The first thing you must do is register VBECCO.EXE on your computer, so that it is available to your programming environment, and so that the programs you write will execute.  This is done simply by launching VBECCO.EXE.  Nothing apparent will happen; but Microsoft Windows adds the necessary information about this component to your Registry.

Note: VBECCO.EXE needs to be distributed with your application, and needs to be registered on users' computers.  This can be done by having your Setup program launch it using the Shell statement.  Or, a self-installing application can test to see whether VBECCO.EXE is registered, and register it if necessary.

• Next, add a reference to VBECCO.EXE in your program.  In Visual Basic, simply select Project | References..., scroll down until you see the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit, and check the box.

• Define, using the Dim or Global statements, the object variables needed by your program.  For example:

	Dim MyEcco as EccoApp
	Dim PhoneBook as EccoFolder
	Dim Contacts as EccoItems
	Dim MyContact as EccoItem

• Create an instance of the EccoApp object using the New keyword.  For example:

   Set MyEcco = New EccoApp

• Register the EccoApp object using your developer ID.  The syntax for this depends on whether you have purchased a personal license or a developer license for the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit.

For those with a personal license, here is the correct syntax:

   EccoApp.Register DeveloperID

The first time that you do this on any computer, you will be prompted to enter the User Name and User ID that you were provided when you registered.  If this information is valid, this information will be saved in the Registry and you will not be prompted for it again.

For those with a developer license, the syntax is:

   EccoApp.Register DeveloperID, [UserID], [UserName], [Expiration]

Note, you can specify an expiration date for your application, or require the user to supply registration information (through a dialog box, or read from the Registry).  Here are a couple of different examples.  Note, in these examples, "xxxxxxxx" would be replaced with your valid developer code.

	'Register only if the user has valid credentials
	MyEcco.Register "xxxxxxxx", UserID$, UserName$

	'Register only if the expiration date hasn't passed
	MyEcco.Register "xxxxxxxx", 0, 0, #12/31/2001#

	'Register unconditionally
	MyEcco.Register "xxxxxxxx", -1, -1, 0

Your application can test whether it was successfully registered by reading the Registered property and acting accordingly.  Note, if registration fails, and you thereafter try to use any of the VBEcco objects, an error will be returned.

	If MyEcco.Registered = False then
	    MsgBox "Invalid User ID!"
	    End
	End If

• Use the EccoApp or other objects to control Ecco, and to read and write Ecco data.  This help file provides a complete reference to the objects and their respective properties and methods, along with examples, and even a demo application.

• You can also get help within Visual Basic using the Object Browser.  Press F2 to open the Object Browser.  Select the VBEcco object.  You can scroll through the various objects, and their respective properties and methods, getting information about each.

Also, while in a Visual Basic code window, when you enter the name for a declared object variable and then press the period, you will be presented with an auto-complete list of the available properties and methods.

• When your application is through, and before it terminates, close the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit using the following:

	Set MyEcco = Nothing

It is important that you include this statement before your application terminates.  Otherwise, VBECCO.EXE will not be unloaded from memory.  Note: a user can have more than one application which uses the Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit running at one time, provided that only one such application can communicate with Ecco at one time!  The Visual Basic Ecco Toolkit keeps count of the number of applications which use it, and will exit and remove itself from memory when the last application exits.