gbForumCode

gbForumCode is a freeware tool for posting syntax highlighted source code into the PowerBASIC forums. It's built-in syntax highlighting source code editor and compilation options ensure that what you see is what you get when the encoded source code is transferred to the PowerBASIC forums and that users can compile your code!

Simplicity, ease of use, and support of key features were the design goal for gbForumCode - minimizing the interface and the actions required to use the application, but with enough capability to give users the features they need.

To install, simply unzip the installation file (gbForumCode.zip) in a folder of your choice. In addition to the EXE, the installation provides gbForumCode source code, resource file, and image files.

By default the gbForumCode main screen looks like this, with all options visible on the toolbar.

gbForumCode also offers a "mini-mode", for a reduced footprint as shown in this next image.

Download (v3.0, 300K)

Key Features
gbForumCode provides a wide range of features, all focused on making it easier to place syntax highlighted code into the PowerBASIC forums. The included syntax highlighting editor in gbForumCode ensures that what you see is what you post. The compilation feature ensures that what you post can be compiled by forum users.

Built-in source code editor with syntax highlighting
Compile/run code from within editor
Converts source code into vBulletin code (sends clipboard or open in Notepad)
Open code in default *.bas editor
Find & Replace dialog
Open existing *.bas and *.inc source code files
Drag & Drop (recognizes *.lnk files)
Does not write over existing *.bas/*.inc files

Other available features/options include:

Color of code elements can be set
Upper/Lower/Mixed code display
Highlight user procedure names
Font name/size/attributes may be set
Display font can be restricted to fixed-width fonts
Reduced footprint GUI option
Autoload source code from clipboard
Restrict vBulletin code to forum default
Turn off syntax highlighting
Set As TopMost
Code editor content summary
Display Ascii Table
Capture image of dialog to clipboard

OverView

Using gbForumCode couldn't be simpler:

Paste your code into the editor
Press the "CopyV" toolbar icon to place the vBulletin code onto the clipboard
Paste the clipboard content into a thread edit box on the PowerBASIC forum.

That's it!

gbForumCode saves it's last used size/location, and will restore it when the application is restarted.

Existing source files (*.bas and *.inc) files can be opened, but to ensure protection of user source code no Save option is provided.

However, any code in the editor is saved (to a temporary file) when gbForumCode closes, and restored when it is restarted. You can optionally have gbForumCode load (at startup) whatever is on the clipboard.

Code may be compiled (using the PowerBASIC compiler) from directly within gbForumCode. This will ensure that your posts contain valid code. You can also open the code within your default *.bas editor, or run the EXE that results from compilation.

Two text data files are used to stored a list of recognized PowerBASIC keywords and Windows API functions - gbforumcode_key.txt and gbforumcode_api.txt. Users may edit these files as desired. You can optionally highlight the procedures (Sub, Function, ...) found within the code.

There are no "Are you sure?" prompts. If you press the clear or other toolbar buttons which modify the editor content or color/font settings, action is taken without the user being prompted for approval.

Toolbar

gbForumCode's features are primarily accessed via the toolbar (no menu), although the built-in source code editor also has a short context menu as well.

In mini-mode, the toolbar is reduced to this:

Here are the toolbar options:

	Open	Opens and existing .bas or .inc file
	Clear	Clears the editor of all text
	Cut	Cuts selected text from the editor
	Copy	Copies selected text to the clipboard
	Paste	Paste text from the clipboard to the editor
	Delete	Deletes selected text from the editor
	CopyV	Copies vBulletin encoded source code to the clipboard
	View	Opens Notepad to display the vBulletin encoded source code
	View	Compile the code and view the compiler log (optional)
	Style	Determines the way in which source code is displayed (lower/mixed/upper)
	Custom	Allows independent assignment of case style for Keywords and API
	Font	Allows the user to select a font name, font size, and font attributes
	Default	Restores default colors to the editor or, using dropdown menu, selects syntax highlighting colors
	Color	Selects the display color for each source code element. There is one colored button for each source code element (Keyword, Remark, Symbol, Number, Assembler, Quote, and API). The buttons are colored with the current color of their corresponding source code elements.
	Help	Opens the gbForumCode home page

Dialog Context Menu

Right-mouse click on the dialog (outside the editor) to see the following dialog context menu:

Use vBulletin Default Font - generated vBulletin code does not specify a font
Fixed Pitch Fonts - font dialog shows only fixed pitch fonts
AutoLoad Clipboard on Start - loads contexts of the clipboard into the editor on startup
Use Syntax Highlighting - allow the use of color syntax highlighting
Highlight User Procedures - finds, and highlights, user procedures found in the code
Highlight Symbols - highlights symbols found in the code
TopMost On Startup
Set As TopMost - makes the dialog topmost over all other windows
Ascii Table - pops up an Ascii table
Capture Dialog - places image of dialog on clipboard
Display Procedure List - popup list of all procedures found in the code

When TopMost on Startup is enabled, gbForumCode will be set as TopMost when it starts, regardless of whether Set As TopMost is enabled. The Set As TopMost option is used to turn the topmost setting on/off at any time during a session.

Editor Context Menu

Right-mouse click on the editor to see the following editor context menu:

Cut/Copy/Copy All/Paste - standard functions
Delete Selected - deletes selected text
Delete UnSelected - removes all unselected text
Clear - clears all text
Find & Replace - opens Find and Replace dialog
Format Code - applies formatting to all code (not just selection)
Undo Formatting - restores last formatted code
Load Sample Code - replaces all text with default source code example
Display Code Summary - popup dialog with summary of editor content, including procedure list
Print Code - prints the source code in color

Compile Source Code

gbForumCode provides several features to help you test the source code before posting it onto the forums. The toolbar Compile button will compile the source code by saving the editor content to a temporary file and sending that file to the PowerBASIC compiler.

Other features are available by pressing the down arrow on the toolbar Test button:

Compile Only - compile the code, allow user to view the compiler log
Open In IDE - open code in default *.bas editor
Run Existing EXE - runs the EXE resulting from the last compile
Select Compiler - dialog to set the compiler *.exe file
Select Include Path - dialog to select the include path
Display Paths - display the compiler/include paths

The default compiler and include paths are:
c:\pbwin90\bin\pbwin.exe
c:\pbwin90\api

Font Handling

gbForumCode will correctly handle encoding the font name, as well as bold/italic font attributes. However vBulletin does not use the typical font point system for code size. Instead, it uses a system similar to how HTML is coded.

So, for point sizes of 10 or less, gbForumCode uses size=0 encoding (normal size). For points sizes of 11-14, gbForumCode uses size=1 encoding. All larger point sizes are encoded as size=2.

Optionally, gbForumCode can be set to provide no font information, allowing the post to take on the default font values of the forums.

Other Comments

gbForumCode saves all of it's options in an INI file, which is placed in the same folder as the EXE.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!