Alternative IDE for VB6 and VBA

Question

I've been spoiled by Visual Studio 2008 and Eclipse and have to do a little maintenance work on a Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6) application.

Is there an alternative/ updated IDE for Visual Basic 6.0?

A rewrite is not an option. I'm just fixing a couple of bugs and it's a big codebase.

What's wrong with the IDE? It's lightweight :-) It's very fast on any modern hardware. You can debug, it has breakpoints... What are you missing? — Darrel Miller, Oct 23 '08 at 13:15
What are you really asking? If VisualStudio 2008 has a VB6 IDE available? Answer to that is **no**. You have to install the VB6 compiler/IDE that is included in the VisualStudio6 setup. (you can select to install just the VB6 part and skip VisualStudio6 for C++ ) — awe, Oct 07 '09 at 09:49

score 63 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:36

63

I have never heard of an alternative IDE for Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6). However, these two (free) VB6 add-ins are indispensable and will make your life easier - especially if there is a lot of code. They are equally effective for VBA in Microsoft Office.

MZ-Tools: provides a superb collection of IDE tools - finding unused variables, unused methods, a great "search all", code snippets. Written by Carlos J. Quintero, to whom I now owe hours and hours of time.

And SmartIndenter, which takes care of all the auto-indenting. It does one thing and it does it well.

Screencap of MZ-Tools Menu

edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:36

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 22 '08 at 22:05

Shane Miskin

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In fact it's worth looking at all the answers to the VB6 IDE "tips and tricks" question. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/664370/your-favorite-visual-basic-6-tools-and-tips – MarkJ Jul 01 '09 at 16:58
Is MZTools 3 (free) no longer available? – StayOnTarget Oct 25 '18 at 18:06
Updated SmartIndenter link please? – Dev Apr 03 '19 at 11:49

Ilya Kochetov · Answer 2 · 2023-04-13T09:14:48.253

Some time ago I did some research and nothing came up. I don't believe you have any real alternatives...

But you could consider checking this out: http://www.axtools.com/products-codesmart-vb6.php (UPD: 13.04.2023 with new link)

It looks quite promising.

Addin for Visual Basic 6.0 packing more than 50 professional tools and assistants. The Code View Assistant enriches the standard VB6 code editor with branch lines for conditional statements, end-of-line details, and hotspots. Moreover, the Code Analyzer pinpoints dead and slow code, the SmartComplete and AutoText tools help you write code with a proficiency you never dreamed of, while the Enhanced Project Explorer with expanding code and Code Flow View can make accessing a code location the speedy action you always needed. Other tools: Extended Find, Find References, Designer Explorer, Code Formatter, TabOrder Designer (with auto-order), HotKey Designer, Error Handlers Inserter, Exception Protection, Spelling Checker, Strings Reviewer, Comments Conformity Checker, Task List Manager, Code Snippets Manager, Naming Standards Manager.Version 2007 adds Designer Analyzer, User Interface Standard Properties Manager, Library Explorer including Designer Snippets, many enhancements in most subsystems.

The link is (effectively) broken. It redirects to a generic page. — Peter Mortensen, Apr 11 '23 at 17:34
I just clicked on the link and got the new page: http://www.axtools.com/products-codesmart-vb6.php. It looks like the product was last updated in 2013 though... — Ilya Kochetov, Apr 13 '23 at 09:13

score 8 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:40

Because the VB6 IDE does not detect file changes made outside of the IDE, it can be quite difficult to develop code outside of the VB6 IDE, without running the risk of losing code changes.

But it is possible to run a VB6 project build from the command line, so it is possible to do simple VB development using any text editor/IDE capable of running a command and capture its output.

But for things like GUI changes and debugging there isn't really any choice but to revert back to the VB6 IDE.

Here are the commands needed to run the build from the DOS prompt:

set PATH="d:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\";%PATH%
vb6.exe /out ErrorFile.txt /make MyProject.vbp

For what it's worth, the Zeus IDE has the ability to import a VB project file and display the project details into project/workspace tree. It will also run the build and capture the output.

It is very annoying how the VB6 IDE doesn't detect external file changes!!!!! — mrsheen, Jan 27 '13 at 01:42
This answer has a fix for external file changes http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24766228/is-there-a-way-to-refresh-the-code-window-for-microsoft-visual-basic-6-without-r/24792427#24792427 — Marco Luglio, Jan 23 '17 at 17:23

score 8 · Answer 4 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:53

Visual Basic Tools For Visual Studio lets you open VB6 project in Visual Studio 2012/Visual Studio 2013, with basic outlining, syntax coloring, and a few more things.

It's a work in progress, but if like me you have some living dead VB6 programs to maintain, it's... intriguing.

Except there isn't any GUI editor and no debugging. I fear these points (especially debugging) are deal breakers. (Of course, I understand that not everything is possible.)

score 3 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:50

3

CodeHelp Add-In 2.2. It is an amazing VB6 plugin to help organize and coding.

http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=62468&lngWId=1

edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:50

Peter Mortensen

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answered Apr 11 '14 at 21:14

rubStackOverflow

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The link is broken (times out). – Peter Mortensen Apr 11 '23 at 17:50
@PeterMortensen https://ufile.io/h6r26hsr – rubStackOverflow Apr 13 '23 at 16:12

score 3 · Answer 6 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:44

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Yeah, no alternative IDEs to VB6 as far as I know. But one indispensable add-in I used was CodeHelp. It gives you tabs! For the windows, easy tab ordering, fullscreen switcher and maybe a mousewheel add-in. Check it out from the Planet Source Code page. And be sure to check the comments for a download to a setup file as I had problems with the source code and the author's site.

edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:44

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 27 '08 at 17:03

RayOK

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@RayOK I just downloaded CodeHelp, it is great...thanks – Dan R. Dec 30 '08 at 15:26

score 2 · Answer 7 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:46

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I used Visual Assist X while programming in VB6. It's a code coloring add-in. It is a must-have, once you got used to Visual Studio 2005 and later.

I don't know if VB6 is still supported in the current version, so you should take a look and see for yourself (and perhaps get an older version).

edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:46

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 24 '09 at 16:06

Ron Klein

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where can we get the older version? the current version only supports VC++6.0 even though it claims to support "Visual Studio 6.0" - i installed the current version and nothing in vb6 ide shows up ;( – Erx_VB.NExT.Coder Sep 15 '12 at 14:23
@Erx_VB.NExT.Coder, **maybe** you can find it in eBay. – Ron Klein Sep 15 '12 at 15:29
have you tried axtool's CodeSmart solution? I couldn't believe how comprehensive it is when it comes to VB6... my god was i in for a suprise! I'd love for anyone to give it a try and let me know what they think. I used the 2009 version which is available on torrent sites, and realized it has bugs (but they aren't annoying bugs), they are manageable bugs. Oh yeah, and it doesnt alter your code unless you specifically ask it to, and non of the bugs are related to altering or destroying your code (thankfully). – Erx_VB.NExT.Coder Sep 22 '12 at 08:03

score 2 · Answer 8 · edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:49

2

DoyleSoft BASIC alternative Visual Basic.

The Jabaco compiler too.

edited Apr 11 '23 at 17:49

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 17 '11 at 22:50

uli

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Alternative IDE for VB6 and VBA

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