Set Visual Basic environment options

You can set the behavior and look of the Visual Basic development environment by using the Options dialog box. Use the:

Editor tab to specify Code window and Project window settings.
Editor Format tab to specify the appearance of your code.
General tab to specify form, error handling, and compile settings for your project.
Docking tab to specify whether a window is attached or "anchored" to one edge of other dockable or application windows.

To set environment options, on the Tools menu of the Visual Basic editor, choose Options. Each option is described in the following sections.

Editor

Option	Description
Auto Syntax Check	Visual Basic automatically verifies correct syntax after you enter a line of code.
Require Variable Declaration	Explicit variable declarations are required in modules.
Auto Indent	After tabbing the first line of code, all subsequent lines start at that tab location.
Tab Width	The tab width, which can range from 1–32 spaces. (Default is 4 spaces.)
Default to Full Module View	Procedures for new modules are displayed in the Code window as a single, scrollable list or one procedure at a time.
Procedure Separator	Display separator bars at the end of each procedure in the Code window.
Auto List Members	At the insertion point, Visual Basic displays information that logically completes a statement.
Auto Quick Info	Information about functions and their arguments is displayed as you type.
Auto Data Tips	Automatically display the value of any variable on which you place the mouse pointer. Available only in break mode.
Drag-Drop in Text Editing	Code elements can be dragged from the Code window into the Immediate or Watch windows.

Option	Description
Foreground, Background, and Indicator	The color of different categories of text listed in the Code Colors list.
Font	The font used for displaying code.
Size	The size of the font used for code.
Margin Indicator Bar	Display the Margin Indicator Bar.

Option	Description
Show Grid	Display a grid on a form.
Grid Units	Lists the unit of measurement for units in the grid.
Width	The width of the grid cells on a form.
Height	The height of the grid cells on a form.
Align Controls to Grid	Automatically position the outer edge of controls on the closest grid lines.
Show ToolTips	Display ToolTips for toolbar buttons.
Collapse Proj. Hides Windows	Automatically close the project, UserForm, object, or module windows when a project is collapsed in the Project Explorer.
Notify Before State Loss	Display a message that a requested action will cause all module-level variables to be reset for a running project.
Break on All Errors	Any error causes the project to enter break mode, whether or not an error handler is active, and whether or not the code is in a class module.
Break in Class Module	Any unhandled error produced in a class module causes the project to enter break mode at the line of code which produced the error.
Break on Unhandled Errors	Any other unhandled error causes the project to enter break mode.
Compile On Demand	A project is fully compiled before it starts, or code is compiled as needed.
Background Compile	Use idle time during run time to finish compiling the project in the background (available only if Compile On Demand is set).

Option	Description
The check box for the appropriate window	A window can be anchored to an adjacent dockable window or the Visual Basic Editor window.