June meeting--Marcia Akins on Using the API

Next week, we begin an exciting summer for our group. On Wednesday, June 18, Marcia Akins will present "Practical uses for the Windows API". Next month, on July 16, Cathy Pountney will present "Customizing Your Vertical Market App."

We'll provide dinner for both meetings. As usual, the meeting starts at 7, but dinner will begin at 6:30 PM. Please email tamar@tamargranor.com if you're planning to come for dinner for the June meeting, so we make sure to get enough food.

Location: Valley Forge Pension Management, 715 Twining Road, Suite 202, Dresher, PA 19025. (Note: The Oreland offramp from PA 309 Southbound has been permanently closed. The easiest way to reach the meeting location from the PA Turnpike or 309 Southbound is to come through the Fort Washington Industrial Park.)

Marcia's session introduces Windows API programming for Visual FoxPro developers. She begins by reviewing what the API is and how to translates the examples that are often in Visual Basic or Visual C++ into good old Visual FoxPro syntax. She will then present several practical examples using Windows API functions to do things that cannot be accomplished using native Visual FoxPro commands. These examples include code to read the Windows Registry and retrieve user settings from the Control Panel, code to ensure that the screen is really locked when we must manipulate the appearance of ActiveX controls in our VFP forms, and much more.

Bio: Marcia Akins is an independent Consultant and software developer who for the past few years has worked primarily with Visual FoxPro and SQL Server. She and her husband, Andy Kramek own and operate Tightline Computers, Inc. from their home in Akron, Ohio. She has been awarded the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional since 1999 and also has Microsoft Certified Professional qualifications for both Distributed and Desktop Applications in Visual FoxPro.

Marcia co-authored the Kitbox column in FoxTalk Magazine from November, 2001 through July of 2006. She and her husband, Andy, then wrote a regular column in The Advisor Guide to Microsoft Visual FoxPro database Development until the end of 2007. Their popular Kitbox column is now being published in FoxRockX magazine. Marcia's published work also includes several articles for both FoxPro Advisor and FoxTalk magazines as well as the very successful book "1001 Things You Wanted to Know About VFP" (Hentzenwerke publishing, 2000) and "MegaFox: 1002 Things You Wanted to Know About Extending VFP" (Hentzenwerke publishing, 2002).

Speaking engagements include SouthwestFox(Tempe, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), OzFox(Sydney, Australia, July 2003), Visual FoxPro Devcon (Prague, Czech Republic, June 2002, 2005, 2007), Essential Fox (Kansas City, 2002, 2003, 2004), Conference to the Max (Holland, May 2000 and May 2002), Great Lakes Great Database Workshop (Milwaukee, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006), Advisor Devcon (San Diego, September 2001 and Fort Lauderdale, September 2002), German Devcon (Frankfurt, November 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007), as well as user group meetings in Europe and the U.S.

Web site: www.tightlinecomputers.com