Article ID: 35762
Article Last Modified on 1/8/2003
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft QuickBasic Compiler for Macintosh 1.0
This article was previously published under Q35762
SUMMARY
This article explains the resources that are stored in the resource fork of Microsoft QuickBASIC (b) or (d) Version 1.00 for Apple Macintosh.
When you run ResEdit and open Microsoft QuickBASIC (b) or (d), you will see a list of resource types. You can change some of these resources to customize QuickBASIC. Please note that customizing QuickBASIC can be risky because it requires modifying QuickBASIC itself. The following are some possible changes:
- Define or change COMMAND-key equivalents for QuickBASIC's menu items.
- Change run-time error messages.
- Define new page sizes for the printer.
- Change the creator type of QuickBASIC so the Finder can distinguish the desktop icons of QuickBASIC's files from the icons of earlier versions of the BASIC Interpreter (2.00, 2.10, and 3.00). For a separate article describing the change, search on the following words:
icon and MSBB and MSBA
MORE INFORMATION
Note that the Finder uses the BNDL, ICN#, FREF, MSBB (or the lowercase msbb), and MSBA (or the lowercase msba) resources to give appropriate icons to QuickBASIC and the files created by QuickBASIC.
The following is an alphabetically-ordered list of the resources that are stored in the resource fork of Microsoft QuickBASIC (b) and (d) Version 1.00 for Apple Macintosh:
Name Description
---- -----------
BNDL Bundle resource.
id# 128 standard bundle.
id# 129 alternate bundle.
The alternate bundle is automatically used if the creator
type of QuickBASIC is changed to msbb (for binary
QuickBASIC) or msba (for decimal QuickBASIC) (lower case is
required). You may wish to change QuickBASIC's creator type
if you plan to use both QuickBASIC and an older version of
Microsoft BASIC Interpreter on the same disk.
CODE QuickBASIC Interpreter CODE.
CURS Stopsign CURSor used in QuickBASIC interpreter breakpoints.
DITL Dialog ITem Lists.
DLOG DiaLOG. The DITL and DLOGs are used together for
QuickBASIC's various dialogs.
FREF File REFerence.
ICN# ICoN list. Icons for QuickBASIC's files and the QuickBASIC
application.
ICON ICONs used in QuickBASIC's animated dialog that displays
whenever you compile a program.
MBAB Application BNDL.
MBAF Application FREF.
MBAI Application ICN#.
MBCB Application signature resource. The MBAB, MBAF, MBAI, and
MBCB resources are copied to the resource fork of the
compiled application, and their type is changed to BNDL,
FREF, ICN#, and MBCB, respectively.
MBCC Compiler Code.
MBCO Default Compiler Options.
MBCS Compiler extenSions. Filename extensions for compiler
output files: lst, sym, and apl. WARNING: these are NOT
Pascal strings, and your computer may hang if you Open
As... STR in ResEdit. Instead, just double-click to open
the desired extension resource, then click in the text area
of the dump. You may simply type the desired extension.
MBCV Compiler Version number.
MBKI Keyword Information. Resources of type MBKI are named
resources that contain the information that is displayed
when you select Get Info... from the Search menu in
QuickBASIC for help concerning a QuickBASIC statement. To
edit one, select Open As... in ResEdit, and select STR.
This allows you to add multiple lines to the information.
Since these are Pascal strings, they are limited to 255
characters.
MBLC Library Code. This resource contains library routines (for
example, the ToolBox and DrawText statements). These are
automatically copied to the resource fork of a compiled
application if the "Include MBPCs & MBLCs" compiler option
is selected in the Options... dialog box in the QuickBASIC
Run menu.
MBNC Null Code. MBNC resources become the CODE resources of an
application that did not compile successfully. This code
quits as soon as it starts.
MBPC Pure Code. There is just one Pure Code resource shipped
with QuickBASIC: the Eject routine. MBPC executable
resources may be created with other high-level languages.
These are automatically copied to the compiled application
if the "Include MBPCs & MBLCs" compiler option is selected
in the Options... dialog box in the QuickBASIC Run menu.
MBRL Run-time Library, which contains support code necessary to
make a compiled QuickBASIC program run. The appropriate
QuickBASIC run-time library is automatically copied to the
resource fork of the application if the "Include The
Runtime Code" compiler option is selected in the Options...
dialog box in the QuickBASIC Run menu. There are three
different run-time libraries: Decimal Math; Binary Math;
and 68881 Coprocessor Binary Math.
MBSC Startup Code.
MBTI Toolbox Information. Named resources with a type of MBTI
contain the information that is displayed when you select
Get Info... from the Search menu in QuickBASIC for help
concerning the toolbox library and ROM routines. You may
edit these the same way you do MBKI resources, selecting
Open As... STR in ResEdit.
MBTS ToolBox Syntax. This is the type-checking resource used by
the ToolBox statement. (Note that the "ToolBox" statement
is a routine of type MBLC). The QuickBASIC User's Guide
contains instructions on editing the MBTS resource to
provide type checking for more ROM traps.
MENU QuickBASIC's menu templates. You may edit this resource to
add or change command key equivalents for QuickBASIC's
menus. You cannot change the hidden command keys like
OPTION+COMMAND+I and OPTION+COMMAND+K, you can only change
the ones where a command key is listed in the menu item.
The following are some additions that you may find useful:
Command Key Menu item
----------- ---------
N New
OPTION+F Find Next (appears as a script 'f')
P Print...
= Find Selected text (find equivalent text)
A Save As...
\ Options... (or use - or / which are traditional
option symbols in other environments)
The ID numbers for QuickBASIC's menus are as follows:
Menu MENU ID
---- -------
Apple 256
File 262
Edit 258
Search 259
Windows 260
Run 261
File (runtime) 257
MSBB Microsoft BASIC signature resource for binary math version.
This resource contains a Pascal string that is displayed
when you highlight Microsoft QuickBASIC (b) on the desktop
and choose Get Info... from Finder's File menu.
msbb Alternate signature resource for binary math version. This
is automatically used when the creator type of QuickBASIC
(b) is changed to lowercase msbb.
MSBA Microsoft BASIC signature resource for decimal math
version. This resource contains a Pascal string that is
displayed when you highlight Microsoft QuickBASIC (d) on
the desktop and choose Get Info... from Finder's File menu.
msba Alternate signature resource for decimal math version. This
is automatically used when the creator type of QuickBASIC
(d) is changed to lowercase msba.
PREC PRint RECord. This resource may be edited to define
different page sizes. This lets you print mailing labels or
checks more easily. This resource is automatically copied
to the resource fork of your compiled application. The
QuickBASIC user's guide contains more information about
changing this resource.
SIZE MultiFinder memory allocation information. This may be
changed to enable QuickBASIC to load larger source files.
The README file on the distribution disks contains more
information about changing this resource.
STR STRing resources, such as error messages, etc. Note that
the type "STR " has a space character after the R. These
are Pascal strings.
vers QuickBASIC version number. (Note that "vers" is lowercase.)
WIND Default WINDow templates.
Additional query words: MQuickB
Keywords: KB35762
