Installing vb6 help after installation.

[tedsmith]

After fitting a new hard disk, I recently reinstalled vb6 and sp6 recently without continuing to instal MSDN as I was in a hurry. Using Windows 7

I tried to install MSDN separately later but although it reports as installed and I can open it separately, pressing F1 in vb6 doesn't work. Can't find any setup thingys in vb6.

Is there a quick fix or do I have to reinstall vb6 again?

I only ever had 1 MSDN disk although some old posts in forums say there should have been 2.
VB net has multiple help disks.
Also the MSDN install warns that I must install IE 4 which or course I can't in Windows 7.

 

[dilettante]

Only a very old and stale version of the MSDN Library is less than 3 CD-ROMs. When you licensed VB6 the original distribution included an original set and a subscription for about 3 years of quarterly documentation and samples CD updates. The last version that integrates as VB6 online Help is the October 2001 release, and pretty much anything earlier is nearly useless today.

Installing these CDs requires IE4 or later, but there is nothing binding the MSDN Library specifically to IE4.

Installing them is described at Finding, Downloading, and Installing MSDN Library for VB6 on Modern Windows, though unless you have a current MSDN subscription only the last part ("Install the MSDN Library") applies to you.

Short answer: run setup.exe from the 1st CD.

 

[tedsmith]

I bought it in the first week vb6 was released when I had brown hair! It has one CD.

 

[dilettante]

Then you never registered for the free subscription I guess.

 

[strongm]

>the October 2001 release

Indeed. And my copy is carefully preserved ...

 

[tedsmith]

I didn't know about the free subscription updates then. Maybe they came a little later?

 

[Unscruffed]

I've had similar problems which I couldn't solve. I install VB6 without certain features that I didn't plan on using, then installed database features at a later date. I uninstalled and reinstalled MSDN but the help for the database features are not availaible from within the IDE (either by F1 or by searching). If you check the folder where the help files are installed, you find that the database files are in fact there. This always seems to happen when I add features after the original installation.

I feel that when you "update" MSDN from the CD, the installer is not updating some required keys in the registry to let the IDE know that the files exist. I just don't know where to correct it. Every key that I've looked at related to help file locations, show the updaed files in the list.

Heaven doesn't want me, and Hell's afraid I'll take over!

 

[tedsmith]

Thanks, that is what I suspected too.
When I get the time I'll note every MSDN reference in the registry, reinstall vb6 sp6 and MSDN again and see if there are any extra registry entries.

Is it possible to download the more modern MSDN with vb6 in it and would it work from F1 if I did get it?

 

[Unscruffed]

Don't know mate.

Heaven doesn't want me, and Hell's afraid I'll take over!

 

[dilettante]

October 2001 is still available but only to those with the appropriate MSDN subscription. Subscriber Downloads cannot be shared with others.

So yes, you can, but it isn't free.

 

[tedsmith]

So where can I buy it?

 

[dilettante]

As far as I know you'd have to buy one of the "Visual Studio with MSDN Subscription" bundles:

http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/how-to-buy-vs

 

[tedsmith]

I ran Setup.exe on the one MSDN CD I have and reinstalled it few times until it said it was already installed and now it magically works!

 

[tedsmith]

After I closed the IDE then reopened it again HELP doesn't work!
I reinstalled it once again and it still doesn't work!

When I run the supposedly installed MSDN from the normally installed exe I get a totally different menu that looks more like an advertisement for it - nothing like I usually get with no VB6 help info anywhere anyway.

Seems like I cant buy a later MSDN for vb6 from Microsoft anyway.

When I did get it going briefly, the links to examples worked (they never did with XP)