SpyWorks 8 Professional features

SpyWorks 8 Professional includes ATL versions of our dwsbc32.ocx, dwshk32.ocx and dweasy32.ocx controls. These versions are lightweight and do not require Microsoft runtime dependencies. SpyWorks 8 Professional also adds support for Visual Basic 6, and Windows 98.

Desaware is pleased to offer the following technologies:

Dynamic Export Technology
Visual Basic 5 and 6 make it possible to obtain the address of a function, but do not allow you to publicly export the function for use by other applications. Exporting functions is a requirement for many Windows extensions including control panel applets, ISAPI filters and more.

Desaware's Dynamic Export Technology makes it easy to export functions from your VB ActiveX DLLs. Simply add an export class to your DLL that implements a special interface. Our extension DLL does the rest. What's more, the exporting technology does not modify your compiled DLL in any way! This eliminates any possibility of corrupting your DLL or of you forgetting a step during the creation process. How is this possible? Sorry, that would be telling. But you'll be amazed by how easy it is to add this new capability to your Visual Basic components.

ActiveX Extension Library
Even as Visual Basic 5 & 6 extend the capabilities of Visual Basic, they opened new gaps -- gaps that SpyWorks is designed to fill.

The SpyWorks ActiveX Extension Library supports the following features and more:

• The ability to override the behavior of selected object interfaces
• The ability to utilize objects through selected interfaces
• The ability to implement custom and standard interfaces, including those that are not automation compatible
• The ability to utilize objects that are not automation compatible
• Supports Generic interface calls

Here are two examples of features provided by the ActiveX extension Library:

Custom Enumeration
Visual Basic 5 & 6 allow you to create custom collections that can be enumerated using the For Each construct, but only if it is based on an aggregate collection object. SpyWorks allows you to create your own enumerators, allowing you to enumerate any collection even if it is based on arrays, databases, or other technologies that do not use the VB collection object.

OLE Interface Hooks
Visual Basic ActiveX components and controls encapsulate many of the features of ActiveX interfaces in order to make them easy to use. However, in the course of doing so, some of the advanced features of these interfaces were not supported. Desaware's new OLE Interface hook technology allows you to take advantage of these features. For example: it allows your VB authored ActiveX controls to take full advantage of the IPerPropertyBrowsing interface which allows you to customize the operation of the VB property window with your control, and the IObjectSafety interface for safety marking of Internet downloadable controls.

Winsock Library
There are dozens of controls available to add Internet and Intranet features to your application including several controls that are part of the Visual Basic package. All of these controls suffer from the same limitations of every other control -- you are tied down to the features that are offered by the control. Even the most powerful controls rarely expose all of the capability of the underlying Winsock API. SpyWorks offers a different approach.

The dwSock.dll component has several unique characteristics:

• It provides a great deal of low level access to the underlying Winsock API
• It includes TCP/UDP support, plus HTTP and FTP classes
• It is written in Visual Basic
• It includes complete source code

MDI Taskbar ActiveX Control -- (Part of the Desaware ActiveX Gallimaufry)
Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 and NT 2000 (5) introduced the desktop taskbar as a great way to switch among applications. Why not add a taskbar to your MDI applications to switch among MDI child windows? It's easy with this MDI Taskbar control, and it demonstrates a number of advanced subclassing and messaging techniques. VB Source is included.

Common Dialog Component -- (Part of the Desaware ActiveX Gallimaufry)
The Desaware Common Dialog Component is a powerful ActiveX component which gives you much greater control over your common dialogs than the Microsoft Common Dialog OCX. It is written in Visual Basic, and includes full documented source code! It provides you with all the capabilities of the Microsoft Common Dialog control, plus a new Page Setup dialog and additional enhancements. VB Source is included.

SpyMem6 -- The SpyMem applications allow you to view the current state of the Windows 95, 98 or NT systems. They display all existing processes, and their constituent modules, threads, and heaps. They can also terminate processes -- even those that are no longer responding to the system. VB Source is included.

SpyWorks 8.0 Custom Controls:

DWSPYVB.DLL -- A brand new subclasser and hook control for in-process use with 32 bit VB and VBA applications. This efficient component is an ActiveX DLL, avoiding the overhead of custom controls, yet is based on the same principles for reliable use of hooks and subclassing used in our ActiveX control edition. Modular design makes it easy to customize new hook implementations for your unique needs. Plus -- we include all of the VB source code, thus offering you total flexibility in taking advantage of this technology in your applications.

DWSBCxx.ocx -- A subclassing control that provides you with complete access to the underlying Windows message stream for the forms, controls and other windows in your application or other applications. It allows you to modify the behavior of forms or controls, to detect system notifications and to perform easy messaging between applications. Enables Cross-task subclassing. You can use it to subclass other applications -- to create system utilities or add-ins to other programs.

SpyWorks now includes dwsbc36.dll -- an ATL version of this control. For the benefits of ATL technology please see A new article by Daniel Appleman, titled: "The ActiveX Control Choice -- VB, MFC or ATL?"

DWSHKxx.ocx -- The world's premier hook control in use at tens of thousands of installations worldwide. Provides in-process, task-specific and system-wide hooks of both 16 and 32 bit applications under Windows NT, Windows 95, 98 & NT.

SpyWorks now includes dwshk36.dll -- an ATL version of this control.

The DWEASYxx.ocx control provides an easy to use implementation of common subclassing tasks including virtual forms, MouseEnter/MouseExit detection, rollup windows, caption buttons and much more.

SpyWorks now includes dweasy36.dll -- an ATL version of this control.

The DWSPYxx.dll dynamic link library provides an array of library functions designed to help you take full advantage of both the Windows API and the SpyWorks controls. It also includes indirect property access capabilities, which let you programmatically access properties of other forms and controls in your application.

SpyWorks also includes a new ATL based version of this component called dwspy36.dll

The DWCBKxx.ocx control (for VB4) -- The DWCBKxx.ocx control allows you to use windows callbacks. These are Windows API and DLL functions that require a procedure address in order to work. These functions call the procedure either to notify the application that something has occurred, or to enumerate objects such as windows or objects in a metafile. DWCBKxx.ocx provides you with procedure addresses to pass to these API and DLL functions, and maps their calls into events, allowing you to take advantage of this powerful technique from languages such as Visual Basic 4 that do not provide function addresses.

Other SpyWorks 8 Features:

The Desaware API Class Library
Visual Basic programmer's have long been aware that you can substantially increase the power of your Visual Basic applications by taking advantage of the hundreds of functions that are built into the Windows API.

API functions are powerful, but they can be difficult to use. One way to help programmers learn and use API functions is to encapsulate them into a function, class or object library. The Desaware API Class Library takes a rather unique approach in this regard. You see, there is no one best way to access API functions.

Sometimes it's best to use a standalone API object library. Incorporate a class library into your application. Sometimes it's best to add inline code into your own program. By including complete source code, The Desaware API Class Library supports all of these approaches. Cut and paste code into your program. Add the classes into your application. Or compile the classes into your own API DLL server -- the choice is yours. Includes source code!

The Desaware API Class Library is included with SpyWorks 8 Professional, A partial version is included with the Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API and SpyWorks Standard.

SpyWorks Debugging Tools
SpyWorks contains a full suite of debugging and system monitoring tools to help you take full advantage of the capabilities of the package and help debug your own programs. It includes SpyMem which can track memory usage for your application and detect resource leaks. The SpyMsg helps you view the messages going to any window. It's fully Visual Basic aware and can even detect internal Visual Basic messages. SpyWin lets you explore the windows hierarchy for any application and includes complete source code.

SpyWorks Professional edition includes 16 & 32 bit ActiveX controls and the SpyWorks 2.1 VBX based package. Additional utilities, application notes, and new features will follow in subsequent shipments every 3-5 months.

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SpyWorks Professional Version 8 is part of the Desaware's Developers Suite