VB Brings Back Drag and Drop Data

Visual Basic (VB) 2005 brings back the ability to build a form directly from a database, something that many longtime VB developers relied on but was missing from the initial .NET releases of VB.

On the left is a set of database tables that the developer has chosen to access. When the developer drags the tables to a form, the tool automatically generates the appropriate controls. In this case, the developer has chosen to generate a datagrid but the tool also supports creating a form with individual controls for each column in the database. In addition, the developer can expand the tables and drag only selected fields to the form.

In addition to generating the datagrid, VB now automatically creates a toolbar at the top of the form. This toolbar brings back the commonly used “Next”, “Previous”, “First,” and “Last” toolbar buttons that were present in VB 6 and earlier but missing from the initial .NET releases.

Finally, the pop-up menu shows additional options that can be chosen by the developer, including the ability to prevent the user from adding or deleting records, as well as bringing up additional tools, such as a window in which to preview the data or a tool for building master-detail displays.