The questions I get most often are about Getting Started with Visual Basic. I am asked over and over about the best books to buy, which version of VB to use, where to get help and what products might be good for beginners. This special Focus On Visual Basic^TM section will give you some of the basics as well as providing additional resource and related product information that will help you on your way.

Note: Some people may have problems with the links below which use JavaScript to pop up a small window. Those who experience this can use the alternate [x] link. This opens a new window also but the script allows me to control the size, position and other aspects of the new window -in case you wondered. ;-)

If you spend anytime on beginner forums and newsgroups, you will invariably notice that certain questions come up over and over. Here are some of the questions most frequently asked.

1. What version of VB should I use?[x]
   
2. Can VB make standalone .EXE files?[x]
   
3. What are the best books to buy?[x]
   
4. Why should I use Option Explicit?[x]
   
5. Can I program games with VB?[x]
   
6. How do I play MID, WAV or other multimedia files?[x]
   
7. What are those funny characters at the end of some variable names?[x]
   

Some of these questions were supplied by the Visual Basic FAQ site. If you have a question and answer that you think qualifies as a good beginner's FAQ please send it to the webmaster@VBExplorer.com.

The following are some of my recommended places for beginners to get help. Many others can be found on the Great Links page.

• Beginner Forums[x]
  
• Newsgroups[x]
  
• Beginner Sites[x]
  
• Beginner Tutorials[x]
  
• Other Resources[x]
  

More Tutorials