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Thread: How to Get Your Questions Answered

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    Former Admin/Moderator MartinLiss's Avatar
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    How to Get Your Questions Answered

    The following are some suggestions on how to get answers to your questions and what to do once you have the answer you want. New users in particular should take the time to read them.

    While there are many talented and helpful people on this forum who are willing to help you with your questions, please bear in mind that your question may have already been asked and a solution may already be available. You can find out if a solution is available in any one of several ways. For example:
    1. Click the Search dropdown menu at the top of this page and enter some details of what you are looking for in the Search dialog. This will return a list of previous topics that might help you with your problem. Even better is the Advanced Search which you can select from the same dialog.
    2. You may also find your answer in the wealth of information in our CodeBank and CodeLibrary forums.
    3. For answers to common questions about the forums themselves see the forum FAQ
    4. If you are having problems with the syntax or usage of a particular Visual Basic statement then in the IDE select the statement and press F1. This will bring up the VB help topic associated with this keyword and provide you with extensive details of the usage.
    5. Microsoft has an extensive library of tutorials, articles, examples and online help on their MSDN Library website. You will find this an invaluable resource of hints and tips.
    6. Use a search engine like Google and enter a word or two associated with your question. You'll be amazed at the amount of information available.
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    Sometimes the above sources will still not provide you with a solution and you will find yourself having to post a request for assistance to the forum, or maybe you are just feeling lazy and you don't want to bother. In either case please follow the guidelines below. Doing this will help others identify and respond to your question accurately and speedily.
    • Identify the forum that is most specific to your question. You can see a list of all the available forums here.
    • Try to use a descriptive title for your topic. It is much better to say 'I need help with this SQL' than the much less descriptive 'Help needed, I'm stuck' or 'Why won't this work?'.
    • BTW, from personal experience I've found that I learn better if I try to figure out how to do something as much as possible on my own, rather than just asking someone to "send me the code".
    • Provide as much information about your problem as possible. Useful things to include are your operating system, any error messages you may be getting, the line that is causing the error (along with enough code so that we can see what's going on), what you are trying to do and what is going wrong. It can also be helpful to include screenshots and code.
    • Bracketing your code with [highlight=vb][/highlight] or [code][/code] tags makes it much easier to read.

    After you've gotten the answer you want please help us and your original post and add the Message icon to your thread and/or edit the Subject and add [Resolved] or something similar.

    Following the above advice will help you to get the most from the forum. Whether or not you choose to do so, please don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask a "dumb" question.

    Finally, if someone has been particularly helpful please rate their post.

    Thanks to user Slaine for much of the above.

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