ApiErrMsg

Description

How often do you get really irritated searching around for the meaning behind API error codes? Well, there's a quick and simple way to obtain the error text for thousands of these codes, with one simple API call.

This is a little tool I put together to quickly identify the meaning of API error numbers. It provides a search-o-matic listbox with all defined API error messages. Also will paste onto the clipboard the required routine to obtain error messages on demand using FormatMessage. This download now includes the full source for the utility, as well as a compiled (with VB5/SP3) EXE that I'll bet will end up on your desktop, as it has mine. Also included is a drop-in BAS module you can add instantly to any project.

It can be frustrating looking up values returned by Err.LastDllError, to be sure. What's that? You use GetLastError? As much as I hate to tell you, that's really not very smart. You see, the way Microsoft designed VB, there's a whole lotta API calls going on behind your back There's no guarantee that calling GetLastError will result in that set by the API call you made, as it could just as easily be referring to the return from an API call the VB runtime made for you..

All 32-bit versions of Classic VB automatically call GetLastError on your behalf, and store the returned value in Err.LastDllError, after every single API call that you make. This is of course a horribly inefficient scheme, perhaps adding an additional 20% or more to the time required to make each and every API call. But, because of UniMess�, there's really very few options. The ideal answer would've been adding a parameter to API declarations which would turn this generally unnecessary overhead off.

Here's the quick rundown on decoding API error messages.
   Option Explicit

   Private Declare Function FormatMessage Lib "kernel32" _
      Alias "FormatMessageA" (ByVal dwFlags As Long, _
      lpSource As Any, ByVal dwMessageId As Long, _
      ByVal dwLanguageId As Long, ByVal lpBuffer As String, _
      ByVal nSize As Long, Arguments As Long) As Long

   Private Const FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM As Long = &H1000

   Private Function ApiErrorText(ByVal ErrNum As Long) As String
      Dim msg As String
      Dim nRet As Long

      msg = Space$(1024)
      nRet = FormatMessage(FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM, ByVal 0&, _
                           ErrNum, 0&, msg, Len(msg), ByVal 0&)
      If nRet Then
         ApiErrorText = Left$(msg, nRet)
      Else
         ApiErrorText = "Error (" & ErrNum & ") not defined."
      End If
   End Function
The sample gets a little more involved by including messages contained in netmsg.dll and wininet.dll, so for a full-fledged, drop-in ready module, grab the whole thing below.

Published

This sample, or the one from which it originally derived, was published (or at least peripherally mentioned) in the following article(s):

Move Data With Memory-Mapped Files, Ask the VB Pro, VBPJ, October 1999

APIs Usage

This sample uses the following API calls:

Module Library Function

ApiErrMsg.frm kernel32

user32

FormatMessage
FreeLibrary
LoadLibraryEx
RtlMoveMemory
Sleep
InvalidateRect
LockWindowUpdate
SendMessage

CLstSrch5.cls user32 SendMessage

COpSysInfo.cls kernel32 GetVersionEx

CRegSettings.cls advapi32

RegCloseKey
RegCreateKeyEx
RegDeleteKey
RegDeleteValue
RegOpenKeyEx
RegQueryValueEx
RegSetValueEx

MApiErrMsg.bas kernel32

FormatMessage
FreeLibrary
GetVersionEx
LoadLibraryEx

Don't see what you're looking for? Here's a complete API cross-reference.

Module	Library	Function
ApiErrMsg.frm	kernel32 user32	FormatMessage FreeLibrary LoadLibraryEx RtlMoveMemory Sleep InvalidateRect LockWindowUpdate SendMessage
CLstSrch5.cls	user32	SendMessage
COpSysInfo.cls	kernel32	GetVersionEx
CRegSettings.cls	advapi32	RegCloseKey RegCreateKeyEx RegDeleteKey RegDeleteValue RegOpenKeyEx RegQueryValueEx RegSetValueEx
MApiErrMsg.bas	kernel32	FormatMessage FreeLibrary GetVersionEx LoadLibraryEx

Download

Please, enjoy and learn from this sample. Include its code within your own projects, if you wish. But, in order to insure only the most recent code is available to all, I ask that you don't share the sample by any form of mass distribution.
Download ApiErrMsg.zip, 36Kb, Last Updated: Monday, July 5, 1999