StorageTools version 1.0, page 16

The ultimate data storage and file manipulation toolkit! Change the way you work with files and data forever!

You may have heard about OLE 2.0 with its ability to control applications and embed objects from one application into another. But there's another feature built into OLE 2.0 that until now was not accessible to Visual Basic programmers. It's called "Structured Storage" and StorageTools is your key to this powerful technology.

Structured Storage allows you to create files that organize information easily. Blocks of data can be placed in hierarchical form, just as files are placed in directories. It's like having an entire file system in each file. You can also create and work with compound documents - a new standard for document storage.

OLE 2.0 takes care of allocating and freeing space within a file, so just as you need not concern yourself with the physical placement of files on disk, you can disregard the actual location of data in the file. Plus: with its support for transactioning you can easily implement undo operations and incremental saves in your application.

StorageTools allows you to take advantage of the same file storage system used by Microsoft's own applications. Includes sample programs (with source) that let you examine the structure of any OLE 2.0 based file so you can see exactly how they do it!

StorageTools Storage Control:

The Storage control uses Visual Basic OLE Objects to represent storages and streams, creating a familiar interface for manipulating those elements using familiar "Get" and "Put" style commands. Within the Structured Storage standard are a number of functions that let you upgrade your file handling procedures easily: you can detect whether files are in Structured Storage format or not, and you can read any normal file as if it was a Structured Storage file. The Storage control also adds a number of features specifically for Visual Basic programmers. It lets you read and write information in any of the styles Visual Basic uses, such as "Sequential", "Binary" or "Random", including arrays.

StorageTools is the key to unlocking the following Structured Storage capabilities:

• Utilize a powerful new method for organizing information within a file or compound document.
• Buffered file modifications allow you to easily undo modifications to a file using Transactioning.
• The ability to create a compound document in a memory buffer instead of a disk file
• Full support for standard SummaryInformation fields lets you expose general document information while still maintaining a proprietary internal data format.
• Ability to look inside any compound document file including those generated by Microsoft's Office applications such as Word and Excel.
• Includes a compound document file browser with complete Visual Basic source code.
• You can organize information in memory exactly like you organize information on disk. Only one function call is required to copy information between a Storage in memory and a Storage on disk.
• Reduce disk access time by only saving the parts of the document that have changed.
• All disk space allocation and organization are done for you.
• And more....

StorageTools Registry Control:

The Registry Control makes it easy to access the Registry and the Registration Database. It provides all the power of Windows API calls and more. Keys within the Registry are accessed like directories. Values are converted to data types compatible with Visual Basic. Powerful search capabilities are included, allowing you not to only search among keys and value names, but within the value data itself. The documentation includes descriptions of areas in the Registry that might be useful and how to access them.

Using StorageTools - the Registry becomes the key to transforming your Visual Basic program into a truly professional application. Here are just some of the thing you can do:

• Register the filename extension to your documents, so your program is automatically launched when a user activates one.
• Create user-specific and machine-specific configuration settings, dramatically improving your user interface.
• Expose DDE links to your program.
• Interface with Windows 95: set icons, register an uninstaller, update reference counts for DLL's you use, and much more.
• Expose your program's version information.
• Read and modify system settings.
• And more....

StorageTools includes 16 & 32 bit OLE controls, documentation and sample code. only $129.

Desaware prides itself on products that address real-world programming issues. Desaware develops advanced tools that educate and expand the limits of software development. Desaware is the developer of SpyWorks, VersionStamper, StorageTools, The Custom Control Factory, CCF Cursors and The Common Dialog Toolkit. With the transition to 32 bit OLE controls, and new operating systems, these products reflect our commitment to remaining at the forefront of this new technology.

For further information contact:

Desaware Incorporated
1100 East Hamilton Ave, Suite 4
Campbell, CA 95008

(408) 377-4770. Fax: (408) 371-3530
Compuserve 74431,3534 or 74431.3534@compuserve.com

[BEGINNING OF ARTICLE]

[HOME] [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [SEARCH]