This file contains some additional information regarding the folder custom 
control.

This control is designed to provide a facility within Visual Basic to create 
a selection mechanism which serves as an alternative to menus or buttons and 
provides a more intuitive 'look and feel' by creating a 'virtual folder' 
effect. This type of interface can be seen on several recent commercial 
products such as Symantec C++ and the latest versions of Microsoft Word 
and Excel. The control is very flexible in this sense as it allows the 
creation of several different styles of virtual folders ranging from a set 
of horizontally aligned tabs with a three dimensional appearance to a
set of tabs, which when given incremented positions on the y-axis together 
with a diminishing width dimension, can create a three-dimensional 
perspective effect. Further programming in visual basic to respond to 
tab events and change the styles of the controls can enhance the basic 
features of the control. Some such features are demonstrated in the 
accompanying example application, such as giving the selected tab bolded 
text and a three-d appearance compared with the plain text and flat 
appearance of an unselected tab. Similarly, a selected and unselected colour 
property are provided which can be used for further highlighting of the 
selected tab.

The main consideration in using the folder custom control is to place the 
number of tabs which you wish to function as a group,  in a distinct 
container. So, for example, if you wish to provide several tabs on a main 
menu and to have submenus which also have tabs, then it will be necessary to 
place the submenu tabs in a different container to the main menu tabs. All 
tabs which are in the same distinct container, for instance, a form, a panel 
or a frame, will interact as a group. For internal reasons, the maximum 
number of controls which may occupy a distinct container is limited to twenty. 
In the above example, if the main menu tabs were put on the form, the submenu 
tabs would have to be placed on a frame or panel which  could also be placed 
on a form. In this respect, the control functions in a similar manner to the 
radio button control.

The example given makes use of the three-d panel control, from Sheridan 
Software Systems, Inc., which is provided with the Visual Basic Professional 
Toolkit. However, the frame control which is provided with the standard 
version of Visual Basic can also function as a container for folder controls.

A help file is provided with the folder control and gives online access to 
help by pressing F1 when the control is selected. Help on custom events and 
properties is available by selecting the appropriate property or event and 
pressing F1. When installing the folder control, place the help file in the 
Windows directory.

This Folder control is Shareware. If you find it useful, please register it 
by sending a cheque or bank draft for the amount specified, and by all means 
distribute to other developers who may also find it useful. In return, I will 
send an enhanced version of the control which provides the ability to create 
a folder with a downward orientation and which can host bitmaps and icons. 
For details of registration, see the about box of the folder control, or the 
registration section of the help file. 

I have done my best to ensure that this program is bug free.  However, as 
with any software it is impossible to be completely certain that this is so.  
In this respect, it is the responsibility of the developer to ensure that 
any programs that use the folder control are fully tested before being relied 
upon.   

