With the risk of being accused of multi-posting I would like to draw the
attention to a serious visual basic/windows issue discussed in the
microsoft.publi c.vb.bugs newsgroup. As pointed out below by Norman Diamond
the bug may result in loss of data when saving files with the standard
common dialog control.
Norman Diamond describes the problem as follows:
----------
In VB6 SP6, VB6 SP5, and possibly others, the common dialog box sometimes
returns a different filename from the name that is displayed on the filename
line.
Write a small program that opens a common dialog box for saving a file.
When executed, the dialog box shows a list of files presently existing in
the
directory. Do a single click on one filename and the filename is
automatically copied to the filename line in the dialog box. Edit the name
on the filename line to a nonexistent file, as if you want to save a new
file
with a slightly different name instead of overwriting the existing file.
Now, if you don't want to see the bug occur, then click immediately on the
Save button.
But if you do want to see the bug occur, for example if your customer
complains that your program overwrote their valuable data and you need to
prove whose fault it is, then you do the following instead. After slightly
editing the name in the filename line, click a blank spot inside the list of
filenames in the main part of the common dialog box. This wasted click does
not select a file. The name shown on the filename line remains as you
edited
it, it does not automatically change. Then click on the Save button. The
common dialog control returns to your program a filename of an existing file
instead of the new name that you put on the filename line. Your program
will
destroy your customer's existing data.
My boss just did similar tests with Microsoft Word, Excel, and other
applications. They do not have this bug. Only VB programs get hit by this
bug.
----------
I have not been able to find any solution/work-around to this problem.
Soeren
attention to a serious visual basic/windows issue discussed in the
microsoft.publi c.vb.bugs newsgroup. As pointed out below by Norman Diamond
the bug may result in loss of data when saving files with the standard
common dialog control.
Norman Diamond describes the problem as follows:
----------
In VB6 SP6, VB6 SP5, and possibly others, the common dialog box sometimes
returns a different filename from the name that is displayed on the filename
line.
Write a small program that opens a common dialog box for saving a file.
When executed, the dialog box shows a list of files presently existing in
the
directory. Do a single click on one filename and the filename is
automatically copied to the filename line in the dialog box. Edit the name
on the filename line to a nonexistent file, as if you want to save a new
file
with a slightly different name instead of overwriting the existing file.
Now, if you don't want to see the bug occur, then click immediately on the
Save button.
But if you do want to see the bug occur, for example if your customer
complains that your program overwrote their valuable data and you need to
prove whose fault it is, then you do the following instead. After slightly
editing the name in the filename line, click a blank spot inside the list of
filenames in the main part of the common dialog box. This wasted click does
not select a file. The name shown on the filename line remains as you
edited
it, it does not automatically change. Then click on the Save button. The
common dialog control returns to your program a filename of an existing file
instead of the new name that you put on the filename line. Your program
will
destroy your customer's existing data.
My boss just did similar tests with Microsoft Word, Excel, and other
applications. They do not have this bug. Only VB programs get hit by this
bug.
----------
I have not been able to find any solution/work-around to this problem.
Soeren
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