Category Archives: tricks
Start gVim with Tab Pages or Windows
I’ve recently started using gVim more when I work with text files, and it makes me sad that I ever quit using it. I’ll write more about why I think Vim is awesome in another post; this is another “It … Continue reading
Ordering of numeric conditional tests
I’m reading Code Complete and something caught my eye in chapter 19. At first I wanted to argue with it, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it. The idea concerns the situation where you need … Continue reading
Working with Enumerations in PowerShell
Two posts in one day should show you I’m excited about PowerShell. I wanted to update the script from my last post to find my My Documents folder so if I hop to Vista I won’t get an error, and … Continue reading
Setting $home in PowerShell
Lately I’ve been getting acquainted with Windows PowerShell, which is something Windows has needed for a long time. Finally, there’s a real shell for Windows that supports scripting in a format other than horrific batch files. At work, for whatever … Continue reading
Programmatically Creating Windows File Associations
A user on the VB Development Forum I’ve visited for a few years asked a question about creating file associations. I chuckled and assumed that a Google search would return a wealth of information about the subject. I was wrong; … Continue reading
Getting Soft Word Wrap in gVim and Emacs
I really don’t like most Windows text editors. I use gVim for all of my text editing. Everyone extols the virtues of Notepad++ and several other text editors, but they miss some basic features that really make text editing a … Continue reading
Making a control that accepts arrow keys
I’m working on a project with a custom control on which I want to implement the arrow keys. I was completely mystified as to why I wasn’t getting KeyUp events when I pressed the arrow keys. I started using Reflector … Continue reading
Mixing numbers and replacement strings
This is yet another thing that I found took me too long to find on Google. I’m using the .NET regular expressions, and looking to replace values in a string with numbers, and I need to use the special $1 … Continue reading
Windows ComboBox keyboard shortcuts
I use the keyboard a ton, and I found myself almost twice a week having to look up the keys to drop the menu in a ComboBox control. The right stuff tends to be buried in large documents, and I … Continue reading