The Form_Load event

Remember the previous mail about the _KeyUp event resulting from the F5 keypress to run the program? To get rid of the pending WM_KEYUP from F5 you could put a DoEvents statement as the first line in your program when it uses the LoadForm command. But how does this interfere with the form's _Load event? First, give the next code sample a look. DoEvents // discard WM_KEYUP LoadForm frm1 // invokes frm1_Load Do : Sleep : Until Me Is Nothing Sub frm1_Load EndSub The _Load event is not invoked from within the message loop. Instead the sub frm1_Load is called as the last thing in the LoadForm command. The _Load event isn't like other event subs that result from some notification message from Windows. COM, and thus GFA-BASIC 32, defines a whole set of standard events (mouse, key, and focus events) for windowed Ocx controls. Windowless Ocx controls (ImageList and CommDlg) on the other hand cannot receive input messages and don't support these events. Where do the event calls come from? The standard Ocx event subs are invoked from within a subclassed window procedure. When an Ocx is created it is immediately subclassed and prepared to invoke the event subs. Windows controls typically send certain window messages to their parent window. Some of these messages, such as WM_COMMAND and WM_NOTIFY, provide notification of an action by the user. Others, such as WM_CTLCOLOR, are used to obtain information from the parent window. Rather than handling these messages, the parent (or container in COM terminology) intercepts certain window messages and sends them back to the control. The control, in its subclassed window procedure, can then process these reflected messages by taking actions appropriate for an ActiveX control (which is, firing an event) or setting a color. Fired events mostly originate from a real Windows message, but not always. The Form's _Load event is one of them, it is an event invoked from within the LoadForm command. There are no WM_PAINT, WM_ACTIVATE, or WM_NCACTIVATE messages pending to be fired as an event. The message queue is empty. Filling in the form wit data is to be done in the _Load event.