Windows Database Programming

Multiple Document Interface

Coverage:
This chapter teaches you to store data to and retrieve data from databases. The chapter focuses
on Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server databases; however, the programming
techniques covered also work with other database management systems (DBMS) such as Oracle
Corporation's Oracle DBMS and Oracle databases. You will learn to display data in various
Windows-based controls such as TextBox and DataGridView controls.

INTRODUCTION Chapter 10 In-Class Project

In this chapter you will develop a project for the VB University that enables administrators to
store new student records and retrieve detailed information about courses offered and students
enrolled in courses. You will develop several different forms that retrieve and store data.

The first form displays information from the Course table of the VBUniversity database
through use of a DataGridView control.

Databases and ADO.NET Concepts and Terminology

Terminology – learn these terms:

 Database – a special repository—consists of one or more physical files—used to store

and retrieve data.
  Relational database – a specific type of database where data rows are stored in separate
tables, and the tables are related to each other by key values (see figures showing table
data later in these notes).

 Table – basic database object that stores data – looks like a spreadsheet when you're
viewing data. This figure shows a Student table diagram from a Microsoft SQL Server
database.

Rows and Columns – a table consists of rows and columns.

 Row = a row is a record for an individual course or student.

 Column = a column is a field of data stored for each course such as CourseID, Title,
Department, or for each student such as the StudentSSN, LastName, and FirstName.

 Key Column (Field) – uniquely identifies a row in a table – almost all database tables
require one or more columns that form the key column(s) to identify rows uniquely –
eliminates the occurrence of duplicate rows.

Database Products – VB.NET stores and retrieves data for many different database products
including, but not limited to:

 Oracle (by Oracle Corporation) and DB2 (by IBM) for large systems—these are
competing relational database management systems.

 Microsoft SQL Server for mid-sized systems and larger scalable systems.

 Microsoft Access and other small-sized, individual user or small group systems.

Entities and Relationships – a database stores data about individual entities in separate tables –
example university database entities include Students, Courses, Enrollment (the enrollment of
students in courses), and States.

 This figure shows an entity-relationship diagram for tables in a Microsoft SQL Server
version of the VB University database.
  Relationship – the lines connecting entities represent relationships between the rows in one
table and rows in another table.

 One-to-many relationship – this is the relationship from rows in the Student table to
rows in the Enrollment table (there can be multiple enrollments by students in a course).

o The key symbol represents the one side of the relationship; the infinity symbol
represents the many side of the relationship.

o A student can have many enrollments, but an enrollment row belongs (is
associated) to only one student row.

o The relationship from Course to Enrollment is also one-to-many – a course can

have many enrollments.

o There are other kinds of relationships that you will study in your course on
database modeling and design.

Primary Key Columns –table rows are uniquely identified by one or more primary key
columns. Each table has a different primary key. In the above figure the primary key column
for the various tables are:

 Student table key = StudentSSN (social security number).

 States table key = StateCode (2-character abbreviation for the state name).

 Course table key = CourseID (up to 7-characters identifying a course).

 Enrollment table key = CourseID + StudentSSN + TermCode + YearEnrolled (all

four columns are required to uniquely identify a row in this table since students enroll in
a course more than once. Terms are coded values: SU=Summer; FA=Fall; SP=Spring.

Table Types
  Base table – a base table is one that stores basic information about entities – examples
above are the Course and Student tables.

 Association table – an association table stores information about associations between

entities or information about business transactions – the Enrollment table associates
Course and Student records and the act of enrolling in a course is a business transaction
for the university.

 Validation table – a validation table validates data entered into another table. The
States table is used to validate the value of the StateCode column information entered
for a student row in the Student table.

ADO.NET
VB.NET uses ADO.NET (Active-X Data Objects with .NET technology), a database technology
that supports connection to different database products. ADO.NET:

 Provides the application programming interface between the program application and the
Database Management System that manages the database. The current API is ADO.NET
4.

 Stores and transfers data using the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

 Provides four different types of connections to databases across networks:

o SQLClient – used to connect to Microsoft's SQL Server DBMS.

o OracleClient – used to connect to Oracle Corporation’s Oracle DBMS.

o OLEDB (Object Linking and Embedding Database) – used to connect to all other
database formats – this includes Microsoft Access DBMS.

o ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) – used to connect to miscellaneous data

sources.

 ADO.NET supports database access using forms developed for either a Windows or
Web Form environment.

 ADO.NET provides controls that you add to a form that are used to connect to and
manage data in a database table. Columns from a database table are bound to database
controls.

 Controls you can bind include: Label, TextBox, and ComboBox controls as well as some
new controls such as the DataGridView control.
 Connecting to a Database or Data Source with VB
This figure shows the steps in setting up a connection to a database or other type of data source.

Configure a binding source. The binding source links to a data source – a data source is usually
a specific database file, but can be another data source such as an array or text file.

 Configure a table adapter. A table adapter handles data retrieval and updating. The table
adapter creates a dataset.

 Create a dataset. A dataset stores data rows that have been retrieved.

 Add controls to the form and set properties of the controls to bind the controls to the columns of
a specific table in the dataset.

 VB will automatically write the code needed to fill a dataset.

Microsoft Access and Windows 7 Problems

The Windows 7 operating system is generally purchased as a 64-bit version. This creates a
problem:

 The Microsoft Access database provider (the Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 provider) is not available
in a 64-bit version -- it is only available as 32-bit.

 Generates the "Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 provider is not registered on the local machine"

error when attempting to load a form that connects to a database.

 This figure shows a data load failure exception for the Course Grid form that you will build
later in this note set. Also, the form will not display any data after you click the OK button.
 The approach you take to fixing this problem depends on whether you are running Visual
Studio Ultimate Edition or the Visual Basic Express Edition.

Visual Studio Ultimate Edition Fix

Use this procedure if you are running Visual Studio Professional Edition. In order to connect to
an Access database when running Visual Studio on a 64-bit machine, you need to specify for
Visual Studio to use 32-bit mode. Follow these steps to eliminate this error:

1. Open Solution Explorer -- click on the My Project node to open the My Project window.

2. Click the Compile tab along the left side of My Project -- the figure shown below will
display.

3. Click the Advanced Compile Options... button to display the Advanced Compiler Settings
dialog box.

4. Click the Target CPU drop-down arrow and select the x86 target -- this will allow your program
to run in 32-bit mode.
Visual Basic Express Edition Fix

Use this procedure if you are running Visual Basic Express Edition. In order to connect to an
Access database when running Visual Studio on a 64-bit machine, you need to specify for Visual
Studio to use 32-bit mode; however, the above procedure will not work because the Advanced
Compiler Settings window will not display a Target CPU drop-down box. Instead, you will need
to carefully modify the project file using a text or XML editor.

1. With your VB application program open, select the File menu, Close Project option to close
the project and/or solution as shown in this figure.

2. Select File menu, Open File option as shown in this figure.

 3. Navigate (browse) to the project directory, and highlight the project file (the file is inside the
solution folder for your project and ends in the filename extension of .vbproj as shown in this
figure). After highlighting the project file, click the Open button.

4. After opening the file, it should display (open) in an XML editor window.

5. Locate the first <PropertyGroup> section and add the following line:

<PlatformTarget>x86</PlatformTarget>

6. Save the project (.vbproj) file. You can now reopen the project—use the File menu, Open
Project option to browse for the project folder and click the solution file (.sln) to open the project,
and continue with your debugging and testing.

About SQL Server Express and Potential Problems

SQL Server Express (SSE) is a limited edition version of Microsoft SQL Server database
product.

 Designed for use as a single-user, desktop database.

  Operates very much like the full SQL Server database engine.

VB University Project – DataGridView Control

Class exercise
1. Begin a new project – name it Ch10VBUniversity.

2. Set the first form's properties as follows:

 FileName = CourseGrid.vb

 Text = Course Grid

 Font – Size = 9

 Font – Bold = True

Displaying Data
3. Access the Data section of the Toolbox in design view. Add a DataGridView control from
the toolbox as shown here.

4. Click the smart arrow tag in the upper right-corner of the DataGridView control – this
displays the DataGridView Tasks window shown in the figure given above.

5. Modify the DataGridView Tasks window as follows:

 Dock property – you can select either the value Fill in the Properties window or click
the Dock in parent container link shown in the figure above – this will cause the control
to fill the form.

 Check the Enable Column Reordering CheckBox.

  Uncheck the Enable Adding, Enable Editing, Enable Deleting –these check boxes that
are checked by default, but we want this form to be read-only.

 Choose Data Source – click the dropdown and select the Add Project Data Source…
hyperlink shown in the figure below – data sources can also be added with the Data
menu.

7. Data Source Configuration Wizard – the wizard displays the Choose a Data Source Type
window, select the Database as a data source type as shown in this figure, then click the Next
button.

8. Choose a Database Model window – click Dataset option and click the Next button.
 9. Choose Your Data Connection window – click the New Connection button. Your software
may show an existing connection such as that shown in the figure below – it shows a connection
to a server named doug8400 (my home computer) – you want a new connection for this project
so ignore any existing connections.

10a. Either a Choose Data Source or an Add Connection window will open.

 If a Choose Data Source window is displayed as shown in this figure, we will usually select the
Microsoft Access Database File option. Click Continue.
  If the Add Connection window is open or if you wish to change the type of connection to be
created, then click the Change button. The default Data Source is Microsoft SQL Server
(SqlClient) as shown in the figure below – to add either a SQL Server Database file or MS
Access database file to your project as the data source, click the Change button.

NOTE: Usually in class we will change to a Microsoft Access Database File option. If you
are using Microsoft Access, skip to Step 11b.

11a. If you are using SQL Server Express:

 The next figure shows the MS SQL Server Add Connection dialog box, click Browse –
locate the VBUniversity.mdf file you earlier copied to the My Documents location –
select it and click Open in the browse window – you will see the path and database file
name added to the Add Connection dialog box as shown in the figure below.

 The server logon will use Windows authentication.

 Click the Test Connection button – if the connection succeeds, you will see a popup
window telling you that the Test connection succeeded. Click OK to close the popup
and OK to close the Add Connection dialog box.

 Skip to step 12.

11b. If you are using Microsoft Access:

 The next figure shows the Microsoft Access Add Connection dialog box, click Browse
– locate the VBUniversity.mdb file you earlier copied to the My Documents location –
select it and click Open in the browse window – you will see the path and database file
name added to the Add Connection dialog box as shown in the figure below.

 The database logon will use the Admin user – no password is necessary for a MS Access
database.

 Click the Test Connection button – if the connection succeeds, you will see a popup
window telling you that the Test connection succeeded. Click OK to close the popup
and OK to close the Add Connection dialog box.
12. Choose Your Data Connection dialog box – you are returned to this window after selecting
the database. Note that the name of the database file has been added to the window. This
window shows an Access database file. Click Next.

13. Visual Studio now asks if you would like the database file (local data file) added to the
project as shown in the Figure 10.13 below. Click Yes.

 Clicking Yes causes the database file to copy to the project folder's root directory making
the project portable so you can take it back and forth to/from work/home/school – however, the
file is copied every time you run the project so any changes you make in terms of adding new
rows, modifying existing rows, or deleting rows will not be made permanently to the copy of the
file without making additional modifications to the properties of the database file – we will make
those changes after configuring the data source.

 Clicking No causes the project to point (locate) the file based on the
ConnectionString property setting in its original position – a copy of the database
file is not made in the project.
14. Save the Connection String to the Application Configuration File – defaults to a
selection of Yes – saving the connection string to a configuration file will enable you to change
the string if necessary at a later point in time. Ensure the check box is checked, and then click
Next.

15. Choose Your Database Objects – VB retrieves information from the database file about
the tables and other database objects available for your use. This takes a few moments as shown
in this figure.

15 (continued). Choose Your Database Objects – you must specify the table(s) from which to
retrieve the data to be data displayed by the DataGridView control.

 In this figure, the Tables node is expanded and the Course table is selected.

 Check the Course table checkbox – an alternative is to expand the Course table node and
check just selected columns—not all columns need be selected if they are not needed by
the application user.

 Change the dataset name generated by VB to CourseGridDataSet as shown.

  Click Finish.

16. After the wizard closes, the DataGridView control now has column names from the Course
table as column headings. Also the system component tray displays BindingSource,
TableAdapter, and DataSet objects with names assigned by VB.

Test the Project

Start Debugging – the CourseGrid form will fill with data.

 The form will appear to be similar to the figure shown below.

  You can expand the form to fill the entire computer screen if desired.

 Column sizes can be modified by the application user.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If the form does not display any data and/or you get an error message
The Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0 provider is not registered on the local machine shown in the
figure below, refer to the section Microsoft Access and Windows 7 Problems provided earlier
in these notes.

Changing the Database File's Properties

When the project runs, if you make changes to the data in the database, it is NOT saved with the
current settings.

 Copy to Output Directory property setting – you must change this property of the
VBUniversity.mdb or VBUniversity.mdf file as shown in the figure below.

 Change from Copy always to Copy if newer – when you make data row changes
(inserts, edits, or deletes) during program execution, the changes will now be saved
because the copy in the \bin\Debug folder will be the newest copy of the database file
 and the database file copy in the project root directory will not overwrite the database file
copy in the \bin\Debug folder.

Coding the Course Form

VB automatically generates code for the form's Load event. The code is shown here.

 Fill method – the table adapter’s Fill method executes the SQL statement (it is a
SQL SELECT statement) that is stored in the table adapter. This fills the data set
object with data from the Course table.

 VB generates the code automatically, but you can modify the code as necessary.

 Note that the keyword Me refers to the current form.

Private Sub CourseGrid_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

'TODO: This line of code loads data into the

'CourseGridDataSet.Course' table. You can move, or remove it, as
needed.

Me.CourseTableAdapter.Fill(Me.CourseGridDataSet.Course)

End Sub

 Modify the Load event – add a Try-Catch block to handle situations where a
network connection fails.

Private Sub CourseGrid_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

Try
 'Load Course table

Me.CourseTableAdapter.Fill(Me.CourseGridDataSet.Course)

Catch ex As Exception

Dim MessageString As String = "Report this error to

the system administrator: " & ControlChars.NewLine & ex.Message

Dim TitleString As String = "Course Data Load Failed"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

Formatting DataGridView Control Output

You can edit a DataGridView control in order to improve how data is displayed in its data
columns, primarily numeric and date/time data columns.

Format Column Headings and Width

Follow these steps to format column headings and column width.

1. Smart Tag – click the DataGridView control's Smart Tag arrow to display the
DataGridView Tasks window shown in the figure below – click the Edit Columns link as
shown in this figure.

2. Edit Columns window – edit the properties indicated.

3. CourseID Column – set the HeaderText property = Course ID (added a blank space for
readability). DO NOT CHANGE the DataPropertyName property by mistake.
4. Title Column.

 AutoSizeMode property – change from Not Set to None.

 Width property – change to 300 pixels – on startup the column will now display the
entire Title column value.

5. Other Columns – modify the HeaderText property of other columns as indicated:

 CreditHours – Credit Hours

 CourseFees – Course Fees

 DateLastUpdate – Date Last Updated

6. Modify the AutoSizeMode from Not Set to None and Width property to 75 pixels for the
CreditHours , Tuition, and CourseFees columns. Click OK to close the Edit Columns dialog
box.

7. AutoSizeColumnsMode property – an alternative to setting each column's Width property

is to set the DataGridView control's AutoSizeColumnsMode property to a value of AllCells. –

 This will cause all column sizes to vary to match the data displayed.

 Individual columns that have the AutoSizeMode property changed from Not Set to
None and the Width property set to a specific width will retain the specified width – this
will override the DataGridView control’s AutoSizeColumnsMode property setting.

 Close the Edit Columns window. In the Properties window access the
AutoSizeColumnsMode property of the DataGridView control and set the property to
AllCells.

Format Numeric Data Display

To format the display of numeric columns such as the Credit Hours, Tuition, and CourseFees,
open the Edit Columns dialog box again by using the smart arrow tag.

8. Select the Credit Hours column.

 DefaultCellStyle property – click the dialog button (… button) for this property to open
the CellStyle Builder window.

 Format property – click dialog button (… button) for this property to display the
Format String Dialog window – Select Numeric with 2 Decimal places.

 Alignment property in the CellStyle Builder window – choose the MiddleRight

setting.

 Click OK to close the window.

9. Repeat the steps for this column as you did in step 8 for the Tuition and CourseFees
columns.

10. Click OK to close the Edit Columns dialog box. Test the project – make any additional
changes needed in order to achieve a satisfactory display of data. Stop debugging when you
finish testing.

VB University Project – StudentGrid Form

This section provides you additional practice using the DataGridView control. Build a form like
the one shown in this table to display student information by using a DataGridView control.
 1. Add a new form to the project. Access the Project | Add Windows Form… menu to add a
new Windows form.

2. Name the form StudentGrid.vb.

 Set the form's Font property = 9 point.

 Set the form's Text property = Student Grid.

3. Drag a DataGridView control to the form.

4. Click the smart arrow tag of the DataGridView control to display the DataGridView Tasks
window.

 Dock the DataGridView control to fill the entire form.

 Enable column reordering, but disable adding, editing, and deleting data rows.

5. Choose a data source – use the existing data connection when the wizard displays the
Choose Your Data Connection dialog box.

 Work through the wizard. In the Choose Your Database Objects dialog box select the Student
table.

 Name the dataset StudentGridDataSet.

 Click Finish – when the wizard closes, observe the new objects in the system component tray
and the columns displayed in the DataGridView control.

6. Resize the form to make it large enough to display most of the data columns.

7. Open the coding window for the form and modify the Load event to add a Try-Catch block
like the one shown here.
 Private Sub StudentGrid_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

'Load the Student table

Try

Me.StudentTableAdapter.Fill(Me.StudentGridDataSet.Student)

Catch ex As Exception

Dim MessageString As String = "Report this error to

the system administrator: " & ControlChars.NewLine & ex.Message

Dim TitleString As String = "Student Data Load

Failed"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

8. Set the DataGridView control's AutoSizeColumnsMode property to AllCells.

9. Click the smart arrow tag to open the Edit Columns link. Use the Edit Columns dialog box
to:

 Set the HeaderText property – change selected columns to the values indicated:

o StudentSSN – SSN

o FirstName – First Name

o LastName – Last Name

o MiddleInitial – Mi

o StateCode – State

o ZipCode – Zip

o PhoneNumber – Telephone
 o EmailAddress – Email

o AccountBalance – Account Balance

 Reorder the first three columns to be SSN, Last Name, and First Name (Select LastName
and use the Up/Down arrows).

 Set properties for the AccountBalance column:

o DefaultCellStyle property – use this to format to display data as currency with 2

digits to the right of the decimal.

o Alignment property of this column to MiddleRight.

o AutoSizeMode from Not Set to None.

o Width property – change to 100 pixels.

10. Test the project. In the Solution Explorer window:

 Click My Project.

 Select StudentGrid as the Startup form from the dropdown selection.

 Close My Project.

 Run the project. Check the display of all column data. Adjust any column widths as
necessary with the individual column’s AutoSizeMode and Width properties in the
Edit Columns window.

VB University Project – Individual Data

Fields – StudentDetails Form
Binding Data to Other Controls
Another way to display data is with controls such as Label, TextBox and ComboBox controls –
in this design approach, the controls are termed bound controls.

 The form can be designed through use of the Data Sources window – set the data source
to display and drag the data table to the form.

 Data Sources window – access by selecting the Data menu, Show Data Sources menu
item or from the Data Sources tab in the Solution Explorer.
  Can be used to add a new data source to a project.

You will learn how to build a third form for the project like the one shown here.

Add a New Form

1. Project menu, Add Windows Form option – click to add a new form named
StudentDetails.vb.

2. Font Size and Bold properties – set as desired (the figure has a 9 point font with Bold =
True).

3. Text property – set to Student Data – Add, Edit, and Delete.

Add Data Source

4. Select Data menu, Show Data Sources menu item as in the figure below (you can also use
the Server Explorer window to add a new data source).

 You should see the existing CourseGridDataSet and StudentGridDataSet data sources.

 For existing data sources, the dataset(s) will display in the Data Sources window as in
this figure along with any tables or views stored in the dataset.
5. Add New Data Source – add a new data source for this form.

 Click the icon shown in this figure (or use the Data menu, Add New Data Source menu
option).

 This causes the Data Source Configuration wizard to display.

6. Data Source Configuration wizard:

 Select the Database icon – click Next.

 Choose a Database Model dialog box – click Dataset and then Next.

 Choose Your Data Connection dialog box – click Next to use the existing connection.

 Choose Your Database Objects dialog box – expand the Tables node as shown in the
figure below – checkmark the Student table – name the dataset object
StudentDetailsDataSet – click Finish.
Adding Bound Controls to the Form
You are ready to add bound controls to the form. You will use a drag/drop approach to build the
form – this is really fast and easy to use. If you mess it up, just delete the form and start over.

7. Data Sources window –

 Expand the StudentDetailsDataSet.

 Single-click on the Student table name as shown in the figure below.

 Select the drop-down arrow by the Student table and select Details (if the drop-down
arrow does not display, ensure that the form view for design mode is displayed – not the
coding view).

 Note that the icon for a Details view is different than that for a DataGridView.

8. Point at the Student table name in the Data Sources window – drag/drop the table to the
StudentDetails form to a position about an inch from the top and left margins of the form – the
form will automatically have Label and TextBox controls generated and displayed for each
column in the Student table as shown in this figure.
Note the following:

 The labels have the Text property setting generated automatically by VB – the column
names are automatically divided into prompts appropriate for the form.

o A column named StateCode will generate a label prompt of State Code:.

o A column named Email_Address will generate a label prompt of Email Address:.

 Note the new components that were automatically added to the system component tray:

o StudentDetailsDataSet

o StudentBindingSource

o StudentTableAdapter

o TableAdapterManager

o StudentBindingNavigator – corresponds to the StudentBindingNavigator control

that is automatically added across the top of the form. It has the following
features:

1. Student record (row) counter (1 of 14 in the figure).

2. Move buttons (Move first and Move previous are grayed out in the
figure) such as the Move next button highlighted in the figure next to
the Move last button.

3. Add, Delete, and Save button icons.

  The form will run and execute, but the layout is not very “user-friendly.”

9. Alter the layout by drag/drop the controls on the form as shown in the figure below.

 Adjust the size of the controls as appropriate as shown here.

 Reorder the name to display Last Name, then First Name, then Middle Initial.

 Change the labels as shown on the figure for the Middle Initial (to M), City, State Code,
and Zip Code (to City/State/Zip) and Phone Number (to Phone).

 Tab order – reset to reflect the new arrangement to tab from left-to-right, top-to-bottom.

 AccountBalanceTextBox control – set TextAlign property to Right.

Set the Startup Form/Test the Project

Change the startup form to the StudentDetails form.

 Open the My Project object in the Solution Explorer window.

 In the Application tab change the Startup Form property setting to the StudentDetails
form.

Test the project.

 Note the telephone textbox and account balance textbox controls do not display
formatted.

 Navigation buttons – test the ability to navigate from row to row. Note the display of
data as you navigate from row to row

 The form enables you to alter the dataset in memory, and will save changes to the
database.
 o Practice saving a row of data – click the Add button, enter the data, and click the
Save button.

o Shutdown and then run the project again – locate the new data row.

 The BindingNavigator also has some potential problems.

o Try adding a duplicate row (with Student SSN = 111-11-1111) – note that the
system generates an ConstraintException was unhandled error message when
the Save button is clicked.

o Try to delete a data row (with Student SSN = 111-11-1111) – note that the system
generates an OleDBException was unhandled error message when the Save
button is clicked – this is because the Student table data row is related to data
row(s) in the Enrollment table (the exception generated depends on whether you
are using a Microsoft Access or Sql Server database).

 These problems are addressed later in this note set by writing additional program code.

VB University Project – Individual Data Fields Coding

Form Load Event

The code generated by VB for the StudentGrid form’s Load event needs to be modified by
adding a Try-Catch block to catch exceptions as was done earlier for the Student form.

Private Sub StudentDetails_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object,

ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

'Trap exceptions that occur during data load

Try

Me.StudentTableAdapter.Fill(Me.StudentDetailsDataSet.Student)

Catch ex As Exception

Dim MessageString As String = "Report this error to the

system administrator: " & ControlChars.NewLine & ex.Message

Dim TitleString As String = "Student Details Data Load

Failed"

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
 End Try

End Sub

Sorting Data
The data displayed in the form is not sorted.

There are several ways to change the sorted display of data. This describes one approach.

1. Select the StudentBindingSource object.

2. In the Properties window select the Sort property – type the name of the column or columns
to be used to sort data in the dataset – the column name(s) entered must EXACTLY match those
in the dataset.

 The figure below shows sorting by LastName and then FirstName column name values.

 Enter the property value as LastName, FirstName – do not forget the comma between
the column names.

3. Run the project and confirm that the data is sorted by last name and then first name within
last name.

Formatting String Data – Using a MaskedTextBox –

Manually Setting Data Binding
You can use a MaskedTextBox control to format string output such as a telephone number, zip
code, and social security number values.

Format Telephone Number

1. Delete the PhoneNumberTextBox control and replace it with a MaskedTextBox control.

2. Name the control PhoneMaskedTextBox.

 3. Set the Mask property by opening the Input Mask window (click the … dialog box button)
and select Phone number for a mask.

The new MaskedTextBox will not display any data because the control is not bound to the
DataSource.

4. Select the MaskedTextBox control –

 Expand the DataBindings property.

 Select the Text property – Use the drop-down arrow for this property to select the
StudentBindingSource, and then select the PhoneNumber column – this will bind the
Text property so that it will display data from the PhoneNumber column of the
StudentBindingSource object to the MaskedTextBox control as shown in the figure
below.

5. Run the project.

 The telephone numbers should display with the mask.

 Navigate from row to row with the buttons and note how the form appears when the
student has no telephone number recorded in the database.

Format Student SSN and Zip Code

1. Replace the student SSN and the zip code TextBox controls with MaskedTextBox controls.

 Name the controls

o SSNMaskedTextBox.

o ZipMaskedTextBox.

2. Set the Mask property option for each control.

3. Bind the DataBindings-Text property of the controls to the appropriate fields from the
StudentBindingSource object.

4. Reset the tab order for the form.

5. Test the application.

Formatting Numeric or Currency (Money) Display – Format Account Balance

Some tables have data columns that represent numeric output such as the student
AccountBalance column.

 SQL Server stores the data with four digits to the right of the decimal point so simply
displaying the data to a TextBox results in a display that application users may find
confusing.

 Neither SQL Server nor MS Access displays numeric data formatted as currency or
numeric with appropriate currency symbols, commas, and the correct number of digits to
the right of the decimal point.

1. Select AccountBalanceTextBox control.

2. DataBindings-Advanced property – expand and select this property of the

AccountBalanceTextBox control to displays numeric data to open the Formatting and
Advanced Binding dialog box shown in the figure below.

 Text property – select this property.

 Binding – ensure the correct database table field is bound – here the AccountBalance is
bound.

 Format type – select either currency, numeric, or customize the formatting.

 Decimal places – usually select 2 decimal places.

 Click OK to save the formatting and advanced binding.

Data Row Edit Operations
This section explains Data Row Edit Operations with a BindingNavigator control.

 The default configuration enables an application user to modify any data row, but does
not provide a means to enforce saving changes when they are made.

 The Save button provided by default will save changes, but there is no way to ensure the
application user clicks Save other than through the Form's Closing event.

 Using the Form's Closing event to save changes can result in an attempt to save multiple
changes at the same time, but some of these may violate database integrity rules, such
as the length of a data value or the type of data to be saved from a TextBox or other
bound control. This can cause the save event code to ABEND.

The approach you will learn here changes the default configuration as follows:

 Make Bound Controls ReadOnly – each bound control on the form will have
ReadOnly = True – this will prevent changing any data row values.

 Add an Edit Button – edit operations will begin by having the application user click an
Edit Button on the BindingNavigator control – since there is no Edit Button on the
control, one will need to be added.

 Add a Cancel Button – a Cancel Button will need to be added to the BindingNavigator
control in the event that the application user decides not to edit a data row or clicks the
Edit Button by accident.

 Disable Cancel and Save Buttons – both of these buttons needs to be disabled while
viewing records – their Enabled property = False; during Add and Edit operations set
Enabled = True for both of these buttons.
  Alter the BindingNavigator Control Interface – during Edit operations, all items on
the BindingNavigator control except the Save and Cancel Buttons will be disabled by
making them invisible – set Visible = False.

 When the operation is either saved or canceled, the values of ReadOnly and Visible will
be reversed.

Adding BindingNavigator Buttons

1. Change the ReadOnly Property for Bound Controls.

 Set ReadOnly = True for all TextBox and MaskedTextBox controls that display data.

 Notice that the background color of the controls changes from white to light blue or gray.

2. Add EditToolStripButton and CancelToolStripButton Controls.

 Select the BindingNavigator control.

 Click the Add ToolStripButton drop-down on the control and select a Button to be
added as shown in this figure. This adds a ToolStripButton.

 Select the new ToolStripButton – set the Name property = EditToolStripButton.

 Right-click the EditToolStripButton button (the default image is a mountain with the
sun shining) and either set the Image property to an appropriate image or switch the
DisplayStyle property to Text – we will use an image.
  Images are available on drive Y: for the Chapter 10 project.

o Select the Image property.

o Click the dialog button ( … ) to open the Select Resource dialog box shown in the
figure below – click the Import button and navigate to the directory that stores
class image files – select the image file named edit-48x48.png (as shown in the
figure).

o Click OK to close the Select Resource dialog box.

 If you use Text instead of an image, set the Text property = Edit.

 Repeat these steps to add a second Button with Name property =

CancelToolStripButton.

 Set the DisplayStyle property = Image and import the image file named x-48x48.png.

The new buttons are shown in this figure.

3. Change the Enabled property for the button controls.

 Set Enabled = False for the Save (StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem) and Cancel

(CancelToolStripButton) Buttons on the BindingNavigator control.

4. Change the Text property for the new button controls

 Set the Text = Edit for the EditToolStripButton.

 Set the Text = Cancel for the CancelToolStripButton.

SetControls Sub Procedure

We need to code a separate sub procedure that can be called to alter the BindingNavigator
interface to make BindingNavigator controls invisible except for the Save and Cancel Buttons.

 This sub procedure will set ReadOnly = False for the bound controls that display data
row values.

 If the parameter ValueBoolean = True, then the controls are enabled.

 If the parameter ValueBoolean = False, then the controls are disabled

Private Sub SetControls(ByVal ValueBoolean As Boolean)

'This sub procedure sets the user interface for the

'BindingNavigator control and bound controls for Edit/Add

'operations

'ReadOnly/Not ReadOnly the bound controls

SSNMaskedTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

LastNameTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

FirstNameTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

MiddleInitialTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

AddressTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

CityTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

StateCodeTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

ZipMaskedTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

PhoneMaskedTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

EmailAddressTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

MajorTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

AccountBalanceTextBox.ReadOnly = ValueBoolean

'Make the Move, Position, and Buttons

'(except Save and Cancel) Invisible

BindingNavigatorMoveFirstItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorMoveLastItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorMoveNextItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorMovePreviousItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorPositionItem.Visible = ValueBoolean
 BindingNavigatorCountItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorAddNewItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

BindingNavigatorDeleteItem.Visible = ValueBoolean

EditToolStripButton.Visible = ValueBoolean

'Enable/disable the Save and Cancel Buttons

StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Enabled = Not
ValueBoolean

CancelToolStripButton.Enabled = Not ValueBoolean

End Sub

Add this sub procedure to your program. Check that the control names on your form match the
names used in the sub procedure.

EditToolStripButton Click Event

You must add a click event sub procedure for the new EditToolStripButton control. The event
is very simple. You are altering the controls on the form to allow editing by calling the
SetControls sub procedure with a value of False.

 Makes the TextBox and MaskedTextBox controls ReadOnly = False so the data can be
altered.

 Makes the BindingNavigator control’s Move, Position and Buttons (except Cancel and
Save) invisible.

 Enables the Save and Cancel buttons.

Private Sub EditToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
EditToolStripButton.Click

'Call SetControls with False to alter the form to

'allow editing a data row

SetControls(False)

End Sub
Add this sub procedure to your program. Check that the control names on your form match the
names used in the sub procedure.

CancelToolStripButton Click Event

You must add a click event sub procedure for the new CancelToolStripButton control. The
event requires two actions.

1. CancelEdit method – use this method of the BindingSource control to "throw away" any
changes that may have been made to the current data row.

 Application users may wish to cancel when they accidentally click Edit or Add.

 They may also wish to click cancel when they change their mind about editing a record.

2. SetControls – call this sub procedure with a value of True to make the form's bound controls
ReadOnly again and to make the BindingNavigator control's buttons visible.

 This reverses the status of the TextBox, MaskedTextBox, and BindingNavigator

control’s buttons.

Private Sub CancelToolStripButton_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
CancelToolStripButton.Click

'Cancel the operation

StudentBindingSource.CancelEdit()

'Call SetControls with True to alter the form to

'make the form ReadOnly

SetControls(True)

End Sub

Test the project.

 Run the project to ensure that the form starts up with all BindingNavigator controls
visible and enabled except for the Save and Cancel Button controls.

 Ensure the bound controls displaying data are ReadOnly.

 Click Edit – the form should now enable editing with only the Save and Cancel Button
controls visible on the BindingNavigator.
  Change a record and click Cancel – the change should be "thrown away" and the form
will be restored to its original configuration.

 Before you can save any changes, you need to modify the Save Button code—the next
section explains Data Row Save Operations.

Data Row Save Operations

This section explains Data Row Save Operations with a BindingNavigator control. It is
necessary to have a way to save changes made to a DataSet during both Edit and Add operations
so that the changes are updated across the network to the database.

About the Save Button – Coding the Save Button

Normally when a BindingNavigator control is added to a form it does not include a Save Button.

 Visual Studio adds a Save Button to the BindingNavigator when the TableAdapter is
generated when you drag the table onto the form.

 If you add a BindingNavigator control to a form, you will not see a Save Button and
will need to add one.

The code generated by VB for the Save button of the binding navigator control is very simple
and does not catch exceptions. The code is shown here.

Private Sub StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Click

Me.Validate()

Me.StudentBindingSource.EndEdit()

Me.TableAdapterManager.UpdateAll(Me.StudentDetailsDataSet)

End Sub

 The Validate method for the form confirms that any Validating event sub procedures
have validated data on the form – on this project you will not use any Validating event
sub procedures so this line of code has no purpose for your program – this line of code
can be deleted or converted to a remark in case it is needed later.

 The EndEdit method of the StudentBindingSource object ends all edit operations. This
applies to both updates of existing data rows and the addition of new data rows.
  The UpdateAll method of the TableAdapterManager control causes a reconnection to
the database and updates any modifications of StudentDetailsDataSet.

 If an exception occurs, it will be caused by the UpdateAll method – possible exceptions

include:

o Trying to save a new row that duplicates an existing database row.

o Trying to update a column value with an illegal value.

 It is also necessary to call the SetControls sub procedure to reestablish the user interface
on the form following a successful save.

Using a Try-Catch Block

Modify the code by using a Try-Catch block to catch exceptions. The revised sub procedure:

Private Sub StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem_Click(ByVal

sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
StudentBindingNavigatorSaveItem.Click

'Trap any exceptions during student table update

Try

'Me.Validate()

Me.StudentBindingSource.EndEdit()

Me.TableAdapterManager.UpdateAll(Me.StudentDetailsDataSet)

'Call sub procedure to enable BindingNavigator

controls

'by sending a parameter value True

Me.SetControls(True)

Catch ex As Exception

Dim MessageString As String = "Report this error to

the system administrator: " & ControlChars.NewLine & ex.Message

Dim TitleString As String = "Error During Save

Operation"
 MessageBox.Show(MessageString, TitleString,
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

The UpdateAll method is fairly complex and is more useful than the older Update method that
was previously used to update datasets.

 Updates are performed on a row-by-row basis – this means that if multiple DataSet
modifications (either Insert, Update, or Delete operations), then you would need to
control the order of the updates.

 Using the TableAdapterManager ensures that updates involving multiple tables are
processed in the correct order where the order of the updates is important.

 The code you're learning in this note set only allows a single update operation to take
place at a time – if the database rejects the update, then it is easier to handle the
OleDbException that is thrown by the database back to your application with a Try-
Catch block.

 The Structured Query Language commands to execute the required INSERT,

UPDATE, or DELETE statements on the database are generated automatically by
Visual Studio and the UpdateAll method automatically selects the correct command to
pass to the database.

 When an UpdateAll method fires, the TableAdapterManager examines each data row's
RowState property in order to execute the required INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE
statements.

 After a successful update, changes to the data row are accepted within the DataSet – this
makes it unnecessary to call the AcceptChanges method of the DataSet object.

Test the project.

 Run the project, select a data row to edit, and click the Edit Button.

 Make a change to the data (such as the student's Major field of study) and click the Save
button.

 Shutdown the application, then start it back up again – you should find that the data row
was saved with the new data value.

Data Row Add Operations

This section explains Data Row Add Operations with a BindingNavigator control. The
purpose of Add operations is to enable adding a new data row to a DataSet and then update a
database. New data row values are checked for violations of data integrity rules built into the
database.

Controlling Add Operations

An application program may ABEND during an Add operation if the application user does any
of these things:

 Clicks the Add New button to add a second new record before the first Add operation is
finished.

 Clicks one of the Move buttons – this triggers an Update of the dataset even though the
new record isn't complete.

Calling the SetControls sub procedure with a value of False will ensure that neither of the above
conditions can occur because during an Add Operation the Add New button and all Move
buttons are invisible.

The VB code must accomplish the following:

 Display the form with "empty" controls to allow entry of a new student record – this is
accomplished by the application user clicking the Add New Button on the
BindingNavigator control – this requires NO coding on your part as the AddNew
method is automatically called by clicking the Add New Button

 Once an Add operation begins, the application user must only be able to click Save or
Cancel. Calling SetControls accomplishes this.

 The initial focus should be set to the SSNMaskedTextBox control.

 When an Add operation is finished, the application user clicks either Save or Cancel.

BindingNavigatorAddNewItem Click Event

1. Add New Item button – add a Click event sub procedure for this button on the
BindingNavigator control as shown here.

 SetControls – the click event sub procedure calls the SetControls sub procedure to
disable some of the binding navigator controls.

 Focus method – this method sets focus to the SSNMaskedTextBox to make it easy for
the application user to begin to enter new row data.
 Private Sub BindingNavigatorAddNewItem_Click(ByVal sender As
System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
BindingNavigatorAddNewItem.Click

'Call SetControls with False to alter the form to

'allow adding a data row

SetControls(False)

'Set focus

SSNMaskedTextBox.Focus()

End Sub

2. Test the project.

 Click the Add Button – add a new data row for yourself as a student.

 Try to add a second data row that has a duplicate SSN value of 111-11-1111 – clicking
Save should cause the data row to be rejected because it would be a duplicate student
row.

 Clicking Cancel should "throw away" the new duplicate data row.

Data Row Delete Operations

This section explains Data Row Delete Operations with a BindingNavigator control. This
operation does not use the Save or Cancel Buttons – rather, the code for the Delete button click
event updates the database.

Changing BindingNavigatorDeleteItem Button Behavior

You should change the way that the Delete Button on the BindingNavigator works in order to
ask for application user confirmation a deletion before deleting a data row.

 Sounds simple, but by the time the code that you write for the Button's Click event
executes, the BindingNavigator has already called the RemoveCurrent method for the
BindingSource object and there is no simple way to cancel the action.

 The BindingNavigator has a DeleteItem property – when the ToolStripItem (Delete

Button) associated with the property is clicked, the RemoveCurrent method is called.
  To change the behavior, clear the DeleteItem property to prevent implicitly calling the
BindingSource object's RemoveCurrent method.

1. StudentBindingNavigator – select this component.

2. Properties window – set the DeleteItem property of the StudentBindingNavigator = (none)

at the top of the list of enumerated values as shown in the figure below.

BindingNavigatorDeleteItem Click Event

3. Code a sub procedure to handle removal of data rows.

 Delete Button of the BindingNavigator control – double-click to create a Click event

sub procedure.

 Add the code shown here.

Private Sub BindingNavigatorDeleteItem_Click(ByVal sender As

System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles
BindingNavigatorDeleteItem.Click

'Delete the row if there is no relationship to

'existing data rows in the ENROLLMENT table

'Store the current DataSet position in case the deletion

fails

Dim RowNumberInteger As Integer =

StudentBindingSource.Position

Try

Dim ResponseDialogResult As DialogResult =

MessageBox.Show("Confirm to delete the student record.", "Delete
Y/N?", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo, MessageBoxIcon.Question,
MessageBoxDefaultButton.Button2)

If ResponseDialogResult =
Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Yes Then

'Delete the row by removing the current record,

'ending the edit, and calling the Update method

StudentBindingSource.RemoveCurrent()
 StudentBindingSource.EndEdit()

TableAdapterManager.UpdateAll(StudentDetailsDataSet)

End If

Catch exOleDb As OleDb.OleDbException

'The deletion attempt failed due to a relationship

'to existing data rows in the ENROLLMENT table

'Restore the deleted row with the RejectChanges

method

StudentDetailsDataSet.RejectChanges()

'Reposition to the row that was deleted

StudentBindingSource.Position = RowNumberInteger

'Display appropriate error message

MessageBox.Show("This student cannot be deleted - the

student is enrolled in courses." & ControlChars.NewLine &
exOleDb.Message, "Delete Operation Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
MessageBoxIcon.Error)

Catch ex As Exception

'Some other exception was triggered

MessageBox.Show("Unexpected error in delete

operation: " & ControlChars.NewLine & ex.Message, "Delete
Operation Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

End Try

End Sub

 Assume that the delete operation may fail – it will be necessary to restore the dataset and
redisplay the deleted record. The first line of code saves the record number of the data
row to be deleted.
  If the application user responds to delete the row, the value of ResponseDialogResult is
checked. If it is "Yes", then:

o The RemoveCurrent method removes the row.

o The EndEdit method ends the edit.

o The UpdateAll method of the TableAdapterManager updates the

StudentDetailsDataSet object (This can also be coded using the Update method
of the StudentTableAdapter:

StudentTableAdapter.Update(StudentDetailsDataSet.Student)

 If the deletion fails, the line of code generating the exception will usually be the line of code
with the UpdateAll method. This triggers an OleDbException that is caught by the first of two
Catch blocks. The OleDbException is raised when a deletion fails due to referential integrity
constraints:

o A message box displays an appropriate message.

o The DataSet's RejectChanges method is used to reject the deletion in the DataSet
– essentially this undeletes the deleted row that the database rejected.

o The BindingSource's Position property is reset to the record number of the data
row for which deletion failed.

A DataSet's RejectChanges method rolls back all DataSet changes made since the DataSet was
created, or since the last execution of DataSet.AcceptChanges.

 When a DataSet's AcceptChanges method fires, all DataRow objects in edit-mode

successfully end their edits.

 Each DataRow's RowState property changes – Added and Modified rows become
Unchanged, and Deleted rows are removed from the DataSet.

 However, it is not necessary to code a call of the AcceptChanges method because the
UpdateAll method automatically does this for you as the programmer.

Data Validation
Additional Exception Handling
A program can be improved through the use of techniques to ensure data values entered during
Edit and Add operations are valid.
  You have learned to use a ValidData function to validate data entry

 This chapter also requires you to write a ValidData function to validate data. A good
practice is to use a ValidData function to validate data entered for a new record or
modified for an existing record prior to executing an UpdateAll method to modify the
database.

 You can replace the Me.Validate command generated for a Save button with the
BindingNavigator control with a call to a ValidData function.

ValidData Function
The function shown here enforces four different types of validation rules:

 Missing data – data cannot be missing from a bound control if the corresponding field in
the database table requires stores of data, i.e., required data.

o Here we are testing for missing data for the:

 LastNameTextBox

 FirstNameTextBox

 AddressTextBox

 CityTextBox

 StateCodeTextBox

 ZipMaskedTextBox (this control is allowed to be empty by the

database, but is required here to demonstrate how to test this type of
value/control for valid data).

o The following TextBox and MaskedTextBox controls are allowed to be empty:

 MiddleInitialTextBox

 PhoneMaskedTextBox

 EmailAddressTextBox

 MajorTextBox

 AccountBalanceTextBox
  Data cannot contain blank spaces – data fields such as the SSN and Zip Code cannot
contain blank spaces. The IndexOf method can test for the existence of any character (in
this case a blank space) within a specified portion of a string. You must validate that the
SSN contains no blank spaces. You must also validate that the Zip Code contains no
blank spaces within the first five characters – the last four characters of a zip code can be
blank.

 Data must be a specific length – data fields such as a SSN must be a specific length—
here that length includes storage of the dash "-" symbol so the field length is 11
characters. The SSNMaskedTextBox box control is tested for the reasonableness of the
data – a rule is enforced requiring the number of digits and dash symbols entered must be
exactly 11 digits by using the Length method – this method returns the number of
characters in a data string.

 Data must be numeric – the AccountBalanceTextBox is allowed to be blank; however,

if it contains data, it must be valid numeric data.

Initially the code sets the function name ValidData = False – this assumes that some of the data
is not valid.

 Each business rule is tested.

 If a rule fails, an error message is displayed and control passes to the End If at the
bottom of the function and the function exits returning a value of False. This approach
ensures that only one error message at a time will display.

 If all business rules are satisfied, the Else branch executes setting ValidData = True and
the function exits returning a value of True.

 Note the use of Focus and SelectAll methods to make the program more user-friendly.

1. ValidData Function – add the function to your program.

Private Function ValidData() As Boolean

'Initialize function return value

ValidData = False

Dim MessageString As String

'Test SSN is correct length

'Test existence of values in each textbox

If SSNMaskedTextBox.Text.Trim.Length <> 11 Then

 'The SSN value is not 11 characters

MessageString = "SSN value is not complete."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

SSNMaskedTextBox.Focus()

SSNMaskedTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf SSNMaskedTextBox.Text.IndexOf(" ", 0, 11) <> -1

Then

'The SSN value contains blank characters

MessageString = "SSN value contains blank

characters."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

SSNMaskedTextBox.Focus()

SSNMaskedTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf LastNameTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Validate Last Name

MessageString = "Last name is required."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

LastNameTextBox.Focus()

LastNameTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf FirstNameTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Validate First Name

MessageString = "First name is required."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
 FirstNameTextBox.Focus()

FirstNameTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf AddressTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Validate Address

MessageString = "Address is required."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

AddressTextBox.Focus()

AddressTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf CityTextBox.Text.Trim = String.Empty Then

'Validate City

MessageString = "City is required."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

CityTextBox.Focus()

CityTextBox.SelectAll()

ElseIf StateCodeTextBox.Text = String.Empty Then

'Validate State

MessageString = "State is required."

MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",

MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

StateCodeTextBox.Focus()

ElseIf ZipMaskedTextBox.Text.IndexOf(" ", 0, 5) <> -1

Then

'Zip code required

MessageString = "Zip code is incomplete."

 MessageBox.Show(MessageString, "Data Error",
MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

ZipMaskedTextBox.Focus()