1。 Highlight the project name in the Solution Explorer。 2。 Select File Save WindowsApplication。 3。 Notice that Visual Basic Express wants to save the solution using the WindowsApplication name； which isn’t ideal。 （We’re using three projects in this solution； of which one is a Windows Forms application。） To save the solution with a new name； you need to change the WindowsApplication solution name to ThreeExamples （make sure you leave the WindowsApplication project name as it is）。 Note the path of where Visual Basic Express saves your projects； as you will need to know it from time to time。 4。 Click the Save button。 When the solution and project are successfully saved； you’ll see the message “Item（s） Saved” in the status bar in the lower…left corner of the window。 In the future； whenever you want to save the solution and project； you can use the keyboard shortcut： Ctrl＋S。 ■Note If you have not saved your changes and choose to exit Visual Basic Express； you will be asked if you want to save or discard the solution and project。 To open a solution you have previously saved； you can choose File Open Project at any time and navigate to the solution file。 You can also select the solution from the Recent Projects window when you first start Visual Basic Express。 The Recent Projects window is always avail able on the Start Page tab of the main Visual Basic Express window as well （and the File menu contains a list； too）。 Running the Windows Application The source code generated by Visual Basic Express is a basic application that contains an empty window with no functionality。 The source code gives you a starting point where you can add more source code； debug the source code； and run the application。 To run the application； select Debug Start Debugging。 Alternatively； use the keyboard shortcut F5。 You’ll see a window representing the WindowsApplication application。 You can exit the application by clicking the window’s close button。 Figure 1…4 illustrates the process。 （Debugging is covered in Chapter 5。） Running the application enables you to see what it does。 When you run an application though the IDE； it is identical to a user clicking to start the application from the desktop。 In this example； WindowsApplication displays an empty window without any controls or functionality。 The source code’s functionality is to display an empty window when started and provide a button to end the application （and buttons to maximize and minimize the window）。 Close the appli cation now。 …………………………………………………………Page 30…………………………………………………………… 8 CH AP T E R 1 ■ R E A DY ； ST E A DY ； G O ！ Figure 1…4。 Running an application You have not written a single line of code； yet you have created an application and some thing actually happened； and all because Visual Basic Express generates some boilerplate Visual Basic code that works straight out of the box。 You have created an application； seen its source code； and run it。 You did all of this in the context of a fortable； do…it…all…for…you development environment called Visual Basic Express。 Visual Basic Express is both a good thing and a bad thing。 Visual Basic Express is good because it hides the messy details； but it is bad because the messy details are hidden。 Imagine being a car mechanic。 It is good that car manufacturers produce dashboards that have little lights that go on when something is wrong。 But it would be bad if the mechanic had to rely on the little lights to fix problems in a car。 Making the Windows Application Say Hello The Windows application does nothing other than appear with a blank window that you can close。 To make the application do something； you need to add user interface elements or add some code。 Adding code without adding user interface elements will make the program do something； but it’s not as exciting。 So； we’ll add a button that； when clicked； will display “hello； world” in a text box。 First； you need to add the Button control to the form。 Double…click Form1。vb in the Solution Explorer to display a blank form。 Then click the Toolbox tab to access the controls and open the mon Controls tab （click the pin icon on the Toolbox to leave the Toolbox tab open if you …………………………………………………………Page 31…………………………………………………………… C H AP TE R 1 ■ R E AD Y ； ST E AD Y ； G O！ 9 like）。 Click Button； and then click the form to place the button on the form。 These steps are illustrated in Figure 1…5。 Figure 1…5。 Adding a button to the form Next； add a TextBox control using the same basic procedure。 Finally； align the button and text box as shown in Figure 1…6。 To move a control； use the handles that appear when you high light the control。 Visual Basic Express will align the edge of a control to nearby edges as you drag it； so that you can align controls accurately。 Figure 1…6。 Aligned button and text box …………………………………………………………Page 32…………………………………………………………… 10 CH AP T E R 1 ■ R E A DY ； ST E A DY ； G O ！ If you now executed WindowsApplication by pressing Ctrl＋F5 （Ctrl＋F5 starts the applica tion without debugging）； you would see a window with a button and a text box。 You can click the button and add or delete text from the text box。 But whatever you do has no effect； because neither control has been associated with any code。 To make the application do something； you need to