Posts by cgeier

It is probably a case-sensitive issue as ddanbe said. Try changing:

protected override void onload(EventArgs e)

To:

protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)

The "O" and the "L" should be capitalized.

Here is a version that passes data from the child form (CashBookUpdation) to the main form (CashBook). We will use the same classes as above, but will add to it. Also, I renamed "SendNotification" to "SendUpdates" in CashBookUpdation.

Additionally, for demonstration purposes I added two textboxes to CashBookUpdation.vb.

I added Property "Name" and "Amount" to ValueUpdatedEventArgs.vb as well as a constructor that can be used to set the values for them.

ValueUpdatedEventArgs.vb

Imports System

Public Class ValueUpdatedEventArgs
    Inherits System.EventArgs


    'forwards calls to appropriate event handler
    Public Delegate Sub ValueUpdatedEventHandler(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ValueUpdatedEventArgs)

    Private _name As String
    Private _amount As Double

    'constructor
    Public Sub New()

    End Sub

    'constructor
    Public Sub New(ByVal Name As String, _
                    ByVal Amount As Double)

        _name = Name
        _amount = Amount

    End Sub

    Public Property Name As String
        Get
            Return _name
        End Get

        Set(value As String)
            _name = value
        End Set
    End Property 'Name

    Public Property Amount As Double
        Get
            Return _amount
        End Get

        Set(value As Double)
            _amount = value
        End Set
    End Property 'Amount

End Class

CashBookUpdation is mostly the same. The main difference is that instead of using this constructor:

valueArgs = New ValueUpdatedEventArgs()

I am using this one:

valueArgs = New ValueUpdatedEventArgs(name, amount)

CashBookUpdation.vb

Public Class CashBookUpdation
    'Event interested parties can register with to know
    'when value is updated.
    'ValueUpdatedEventHandler is delegate defined in ValueUpdatedEventArgs

    Public Event ValueUpdated As ValueUpdatedEventArgs.ValueUpdatedEventHandler


    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click

        Dim name As …

Use an event and a delegate to notify the main form (CashBook) that an update has occured.

Create a new class and name it: ValueUpdatedEventArgs.vb

ValueUpdatedEventArgs.vb

Imports System

Public Class ValueUpdatedEventArgs
    Inherits System.EventArgs


    'forwards calls to appropriate event handler
    Public Delegate Sub ValueUpdatedEventHandler(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As ValueUpdatedEventArgs)

    'constructor
    Public Sub New()

    End Sub

End Class

In the child form (CashBookUpdation) we want to raise an event which the main form (CashBook) is listening for.

CashBookUpdation.vb

Public Class CashBookUpdation
    'Event interested parties can register with to know
    'when value is updated.
    'ValueUpdatedEventHandler is delegate defined in ValueUpdatedEventArgs

    Public Event ValueUpdated As ValueUpdatedEventArgs.ValueUpdatedEventHandler


    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        SendNotification()
    End Sub

    Private Sub SendNotification()

        'create a new instance of ValueUpdatedEventArgs
        Dim valueArgs As ValueUpdatedEventArgs
        valueArgs = New ValueUpdatedEventArgs()

        'raise event "ValueUpdated"
        'Me refers to this class
        'valueArgs is a new instance of "ValueUpdatedEventArgs"
        'and contains our schedule information
        'we want to pass to the main form (CashBook)

        RaiseEvent ValueUpdated(Me, valueArgs)

    End Sub

End Class

In our main form (CashBook), we need to add a handler (or listener) that performs an action whenever the event is raised in CashBookUpdation.

I know that you are using a DataGridView, but I used a button on the main form for demonstration purposes. Place the code that is inside "Button1_Click" below, in the event handler for your DataGridView (DataGridView1_CellDoubleClick or whatever one you are using).

CashBook.vb

    Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As System.Object, e As …

You haven't provided any code so it's difficult to know how you are transferring information between the forms or if you are transfering information between the forms.

Also what controls are on CashBookUpdation? What is supposed to cause the update to happen? Click on a button?

A screen capture would be beneficial.

What is your data source?

Place numbers 1-16 in an ArrayList:

        //holds numbers 1-16
        ArrayList uniqueNums = new ArrayList();

        //add numbers 1-16
        for (int i=0; i < 16; i++)
        {
            uniqueNums.add(i+1);
        }//for

Use the following random number generator method. It was taken from here.

randInt:

    public static int randInt(int min, int max) {

        // Usually this can be a field rather than a method variable
        Random rand = new Random();

        // nextInt is normally exclusive of the top value,
        // so add 1 to make it inclusive
        int randomNum = rand.nextInt((max - min) + 1) + min;

        return randomNum;
    }

"randInt" is used below.
Generate unique random numbers like this:

        //choose random int
        for (int j = 15; j >= 0; j--)
        {
            int selectedNum = randInt(0,j);

            //i print out the selected number.
            //you will add it to your matrix here
            System.out.println("selected:  " + uniqueNums.get(selectedNum));

            //after a number is added to the
            //matrix, remove it from
            //the arraylist
            uniqueNums.remove(selectedNum);

            System.out.println();
        }//for

You can add your numbers to the matrix where I have the "System.out.println...." statement.

You probably want to do some input validation to ensure that the user entered an integer value when an integer value is required. See "isInt" below for a way of performing integer validation.

Declare the following variables as global (before "Main"):

        //need to declare as static 
        //if used inside static methods

        //passenger array
        private static string[] passengers;

        //number of tickets sold
        private static int ticketsSold = 0;

        //number of seats remaining
        private static int seatsRemaining = 0; 

Main:

            //for prompting to exit
            string answer = string.Empty;

            //clear the screen
            Console.Clear();

            //write empty line
            Console.WriteLine();

            //total airplane seats
            //string variable is for console input
            //int variable is for use in our program
            int totalNumberOfSeatsInt = 0; 
            string totalNumberOfSeatsStr = string.Empty;

            //total airplane seats user is trying to purchase
            //string variable is for console input
            //int variable is for use in our program
            int ticketsToPurchaseInt = 0;
            string ticketsToPurchaseStr = string.Empty;

            Boolean isValidInput = false;

            //--------------------------
            //get number of seats
            //--------------------------

            //loop until we receive an int
            //if number of seats available = 0, exit
            do
            {
                //prompt user
                Console.Write("How many seats are on the airplane? ");

                //get number of seats being purchased
                totalNumberOfSeatsStr = Console.ReadLine();

                //check to see if input was an integer
                isValidInput = isInt(totalNumberOfSeatsStr);

                //if input is an integer, convert to int
                if (isValidInput == true)
                {
                    totalNumberOfSeatsInt = Convert.ToInt32(totalNumberOfSeatsStr);

                    //if no seats are available, exit
                    if (totalNumberOfSeatsInt <= 0)
                    {
                        Console.WriteLine("Exiting. Thank you.");
                        Console.WriteLine();
                        return; //exit
                    }//if
                }//if
                else
                {
                    //write empty line …

To start:

progressBar1.Style = ProgressBarStyle.Marquee;
progressBar1.MarqueeAnimationSpeed = 30;
progressBar1.Visible = true;

To stop:

progressBar1.Visible = false;

Additionally, to stop it, you could add:

progressBar1.Style = ProgressBarStyle.Continuous;
progressBar1.MarqueeAnimationSpeed = 0;

Although, it is probably unnecessary.

Did you try refreshing the form after the buttons are generated?

this.Refresh();

In line 19, use "String.Compare" instead of "<>". This seems unnecessary however, because you already passed all of the information in your SQL query and if it returns any rows, then the information is correct. You could just do a Select Count(*) FROM ...., if the result == 1 then the login information is correct. If the result== 0 then the login information was incorrect.

DataGridViewLinkColumnClass

See this post on how to add DataGridViewLinkColumn dynamically

Link column in DataGridView

Click Here

The code for Client.vb is above, in my very first post.

TextBox1.Focus will not work, since whenever one presses a virtual key (button) focus will now be on the button, not on the previously selected TextBox.

You haven't given any information about your code. I am going to make the following assumptions:

• Each virtual key is a Button
• TextBox named: TextBox1
• TextBox named: TextBox2

There are a few different events that you could probably use, although I don't have a touch-screen to test them:

• Click
• Double-click
• Enter

There may be more.

In my solution, we will use a variable to keep track of which TextBox is selected, since whenever we press a button (virtual key) focus will be on that control.

    'do not define as "New"
    'we will initialize it in form_load

    Dim desiredTextBox As TextBox

In "Load" event of the form, place the following:

        If desiredTextBox Is Nothing Then
            'initialize desiredTextBox
            'set to TextBox1
            desiredTextBox = TextBox1
        End If

So our code is something like this:

    Private Sub Form1_Load(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

        If desiredTextBox Is Nothing Then
            'initialize desiredTextBox
            'set to TextBox1
            desiredTextBox = TextBox1
        End If
    End Sub

I am going to use the "Enter" event for each TextBox to set the value of "desiredTextBox". This is the way we will keep track based on the last TextBox the user selected.

    Private Sub TextBox2_Enter(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox2.Enter
        Console.WriteLine("Textbox2 enter")

        'set desiredTextBox = TextBox2
        desiredTextBox = sender
    End Sub

    Private Sub TextBox1_Enter(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles TextBox1.Enter
        Console.WriteLine("Textbox1 enter")

        'set desiredTextBox = TextBox1
        desiredTextBox = sender
    End Sub

Now write to …

This post might help you.

Access is just a file, and uses a file lock. It is single-user. What issues are you having? Copy the file to your local computer, and see if you encounter the same issues you are having.

What is your connection string? Are you using a mapped drive?

ODBC Connection for remote MS Access database must use UNC path. Click here for more info.

Use a DataGridView

That error occurs if you have non-numeric data in the variable that you are trying to convert. Check to see what "BlockNo1" contains.

Ensure ListView.View = View.Details

'set to details view
ListView1.View = View.Details

Did you already create the columns? If not, add this to your code:

    'Add columns to listview
    ListView1.Columns.Add("SKU")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("Quantity")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("Description")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("UOM")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("SRP")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("Origin")
    ListView1.Columns.Add("Department")

To add the data to ListView1:

        'increment through each record in recordset
        'and add data to ListView1
        For i As Integer = 0 To rst.RecordCount - 1

            Dim item As ListViewItem

            'add new row and add value of "SKU" to first column
            item = New ListViewItem(rst.Fields.Item("SKU").Value.ToString(), 0)

            'add value to 2nd column
            item.SubItems.Add(rst.Fields.Item("Quantity").Value.ToString())

            'add value to 3rd column
            item.SubItems.Add(rst.Fields.Item("Description").Value.ToString())

            'add value to 4th column
            item.SubItems.Add(rst.Fields.Item("SRP").Value.ToString())

            'add item to ListView1
            ListView1.Items.Add(item)

            'move to next record
            rst.MoveNext()
        Next

One more note, my code above assumes that you have 3 radio buttons on your form and the radio buttons work as a group (are on a "Panel" or "Groupbox"). Finally, that the radio buttons are named: radDef1, radDef2, radDef3.

Additionally, my previous post assumes that you have a button on your form named: ButtonNext

If you want to use with a "Next" button then add the following:

 Private selectedRadioButton As RadioButton

Declarations after adding:

    Private kv As Dictionary(Of String, String) 'Define kv as a dictionary
    Private keyword As String
    Private correctDefinition As String
    Const NUMBER_OF_ANSWERS As Integer = 3 'Define the constant NUMBER_OF_ANSWERS

    'Added - keeps track of which button 
    'is selected
    Private selectedRadioButton As RadioButton

Then, add the following to "radDefx_CheckedChanged":

selectedRadioButton = rad

radDefx_CheckedChanged

    Private Sub radDefx_CheckedChanged(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles radDef1.CheckedChanged, radDef2.CheckedChanged, radDef3.CheckedChanged
        Dim rad As RadioButton = sender

        'Because this event triggers when a radiobutton is
        'deselected as well as selected, we only want to process
        'the SELECTED event. Also, one radio button will be
        'selected automatically. If you start with the label
        '(which displays the word) being blank then you can
        'ignore the initial SELECTED even on form load.

        If rad.Checked And LabelKeyWord.Text <> "" Then

            'set so we can use with next button
            selectedRadioButton = rad

            If rad.Text <> String.Empty Then 'Not sure what to put here Then
                Console.WriteLine("in rad")


                'check to see if answer is correct
                'Not used when button is used
                'checkAnswer(LabelKeyWord, rad)

            End If
        End If
    End Sub


    Private Sub ButtonNext_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles ButtonNext.Click


        checkAnswer(LabelKeyWord, selectedRadioButton)

    End Sub

Note: Use with "checkAnswer" in my previous post.

After you change lines 21-23 and 57-58

From:

RadioButtonDef1.Text = definitionsRandom(0)
RadioButtonDef2.Text = definitionsRandom(1)
RadioButtonDef3.Text = definitionsRandom(2)

To:

radDef1.Text = definitionsRandom(0)
radDef2.Text = definitionsRandom(1)
radDef3.Text = definitionsRandom(2)

Note: I renamed "radDef1_CheckedChanged" to "radDefx_CheckedChanged"

I added the following sub: checkAnswer

    Private Sub checkAnswer(ByRef myLabel As Label, _
                            ByRef selectedRadioButton As RadioButton)

        If Not selectedRadioButton Is Nothing Then
            If kv.ContainsKey(myLabel.Text) Then
                Console.WriteLine("contains labelkeyword.text. Value: '" & _
                                  kv.Item(myLabel.Text) & "'")
                Console.WriteLine("selectedRadioButton.text = '" & _
                                  selectedRadioButton.Text & "'")

                If String.Equals(kv.Item(myLabel.Text), _
                                 selectedRadioButton.Text) Then

                    MessageBox.Show("You are correct.")
                Else
                    'the answer is incorrect
                    MessageBox.Show("NOT correct.")
                End If
            End If
        End If
    End Sub

Then call it in "radDefx_CheckedChanged":

    Private Sub radDefx_CheckedChanged(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles radDef1.CheckedChanged, radDef2.CheckedChanged, radDef3.CheckedChanged
        Dim rad As RadioButton = sender

        'Because this event triggers when a radiobutton is
        'deselected as well as selected, we only want to process
        'the SELECTED event. Also, one radio button will be
        'selected automatically. If you start with the label
        '(which displays the word) being blank then you can
        'ignore the initial SELECTED even on form load.

        If rad.Checked And LabelKeyWord.Text <> "" Then

            If rad.Text <> String.Empty Then 'Not sure what to put here Then
                Console.WriteLine("in rad")

                'check to see if answer is correct
                checkAnswer(LabelKeyWord, rad)

            End If
        End If
    End Sub

In your latest code you seem to be referencing radio buttons:
radDef1 AND RadioButtonDef1.
radDef2 AND RadioButtonDef2.
radDef3 AND RadioButtonDef3.

Do you have 6 buttons or did you forget to change this after a rename of the radio buttons?

Since you are learning a new programming language, you may consider learning C# instead. I'm not certain, but I think that it may be more widely used. You could accomplish your project with either one, however.

C# Fundamentals For Absolute Beginners

I think that you should probably use either a book or some tutorials to work on the basics before you try to work on something more advanced.

There are many online tutorials--both written and video. Here is one that I found:

VB Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners

After you complete lessons 6-21, you should be equipped to do your project. I think that realistically, you could have your project completed by mid-July to mid-August.

Try something like the following:

    try
    {
        string SQLUpdateString = string.Empty;

        SQLUpdateString = "update Personaldata set BlockNo = @blockNo, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "LotNo = @lotNo, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "Numberofoccupants = @numOccupants, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "FamilyName = @familyName, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "Dateofbirth = @dateofbirth, Age = @age, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "Placeofbirth = @placeofbirth, ";
        SQLUpdateString += "Religion = @religion ";
        SQLUpdateString += "where BlockNo = @blockNo";

        OleDbCommand SQLCommand = new OleDbCommand();

        SQLCommand.CommandText = SQLUpdateString;

        SQLCommand.Parameters.Add("@blockNo", BlockNo);
        SQLCommand.Parameters.Add("@lotNo", LotNo);

        //         ...

    }//try
    catch (OleDbException ex)
    {
        MessageBox.Show("Error: " + ex.Message);
    }//catch

It will make your code easier to follow and help prevent SQL injection.

What are you trying to accomplish? Why are you replacing a single quote with two single quotes?

Check your where clause. What is the data type of BlockNo? You have

`+ "' WHERE BlockNo=" + BlockNo + "";

If BlockNo is a string you need to surround it with single quotes.

+ "' WHERE BlockNo= '" + BlockNo + "'";

Also, you should use parameterized queries to avoid SQL injection.

Your main (parent) form needs to be aware of any changes made to any of the files. I recommend passing everything to the main (parent) form and letting the main form write the information to the files that way the main form always has the most up-to-date information.

You could probably use the FileSystemWatcher class
. Although, I wouldn't use it in this case.

Check to see if this is causing the error: SET BlockNo ='" + BlockNo.Replace("'", "''") + "'. What data does "BlockNo" contain? And how are you wanting it to be stored in the database?

Using WMI, try looking in

• Win32_PnPEntity
• Win32_PnPSignedDriver

You may be able to get some info using WMI.

WMI Code Creator

What type of device is it? Is it a bluetooth device? Did you try searching the registry for COM9?

• regedit
• Edit
• Find

search for: COM9

Is Access 2013 installed on the development computer or did you copy the file from a computer that has Access 2013 installed? Did you add a reference to the Access object library?

Project => Add Reference => COM => Microsoft Access xx.x Object Library

Requesting the data twice will increase the load on the server. To say that it will make your application half as responsive is an overstatement--the server querying the database is only part of the process (the part which you can't get the progress of). Performing a database query is like any other thing in life, there are costs and benefits. One must ask, if the cost is worth the benefit. You must also take into account the cost to the database, the end-user, and the other users. Providing reassurance to an end-user always increases the cost of performing the operation.

You could probably use a ProgressBar with Style = Continuous (if using a BackgroundWorker). It doesn't show any actual progress, but is more of an animated graphic that provides reassurance to the end-user.

You only seem to be retrieving no rows or 1 row, so it seems unnecessary. You could use a status label, instead to keep the user informed what is going on.

In order to use a progress bar above, you will need to first get the number of rows:

Select Count(*) from Borrower where user_name='" & EmsTextBox1.Text & "' AND userpass = '" & EmsTextBox2.Text & "'"

This query most likely only returns 0 or 1 rows.

Then run the query (above) to retrieve your data.

This would be more useful if you are retrieving many rows such as:

Select * from Borrower

So, you would first get the row count using:

    Select Count(*) from Borrower

Then, get your data:

    Select * from Borrower

Use a counter in your loop to keep track of the current row number. You know the total number of rows from the first query.

You would probably have to use a BackgroundWorker to accomplish this.

How to: Use a Background Worker

101 Samples for Visual Basic 2005
(In "Base Class Libraries - Group 2 Samples", see "WorkingWithThreads")

I added another Try-Catch in this version:

    Private Sub readDB(ByVal username As String, ByVal userpassword As String)


        Using con As New SqlConnection
            con.ConnectionString = connString


            Try
                con.Open()

                Using cmd As New SqlCommand

                    Dim rd As SqlDataReader
                    Dim dbUsername As String
                    Dim dbUserpassword As String

                    Try
                        cmd.Connection = con
                        cmd.CommandText = "Select User_Name, userpass from Borrower where username= @username AND password = @userpassword"

                        cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@username", username)
                        cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@userpassword", userpassword)

                        rd = cmd.ExecuteReader
                        If rd.HasRows Then

                            'read row-by-row
                            Do While rd.Read
                                'get row data for username
                                dbUsername = rd("username").ToString()

                                'get row data for userpassword
                                dbUserpassword = rd("userpassword").ToString()
                            Loop

                            MsgBox("SUCCESS")
                        Else
                            MsgBox("wrong")
                        End If

                        'close the reader
                        rd.Close()

                    Catch ex As SqlException
                        Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

                    Catch ex As Exception
                        Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
                    End Try

                End Using 'SqlCommand

            Catch ex As SqlException
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            Catch ex As Exception
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
            End Try
        End Using 'SqlConnection

    End Sub

Adding "New" should fix your issue:

From:

Dim con As SqlConnection
Dim cmd As SqlCommand

To:

Dim con As New SqlConnection
Dim cmd As New SqlCommand

You should consider using a Using statement:

The scope of your variables should only be as big as
necessary. Also, use parameterized queries to avoid SQL injection.

I would consider changing your code as follows:

Imports System
Imports System.Data.SqlClient


Public Class Login

    Dim connString As String = "Server=IGNITER-PC\OBEXPRESS;Database=EMS;User ID=sa;Password=au"

    Private Sub readDB(ByVal username As String, ByVal userpassword As String)


        Using con As New SqlConnection
            con.ConnectionString = connString
            con.Open()

            Using cmd As New SqlCommand

                Dim rd As SqlDataReader
                Dim dbUsername As String
                Dim dbUserpassword As String

                Try
                    cmd.Connection = con
                    cmd.CommandText = "Select User_Name, userpass from Borrower where username= @username AND password = @userpassword"

                    cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@username", username)
                    cmd.Parameters.AddWithValue("@userpassword", userpassword)

                    rd = cmd.ExecuteReader
                    If rd.HasRows Then

                        'read row-by-row
                        Do While rd.Read
                            'get row data for username
                            dbUsername = rd("username").ToString()

                            'get row data for userpassword
                            dbUserpassword = rd("userpassword").ToString()
                        Loop

                        MsgBox("SUCCESS")
                    Else
                        MsgBox("wrong")
                    End If

                    'close the reader
                    rd.Close()

                Catch ex As SqlException
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                    MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)

                Catch ex As Exception
                    Console.WriteLine(ex.Message)
                    MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
                End Try

            End Using 'SqlCommand
        End Using 'SqlConnection

    End Sub

    Private Sub EmsStickyButton1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles EmsStickyButton1.Click

        readDB(EmsTextBox1.Text, EmsTextBox2.Text)

    End Sub


End Class

Probably a database lock issue. Make sure you are closing your connection after using it. Better yet, use a "using" statement.

Also, make sure you don't have the file open in Access. Access is not a DBMS, it is a database file and doesn't support multiple connections--it is single-user. When the database is in use, you will see a ".laccdb" file in the directory. 'l' stands for lock.

using (OleDbConnection  CONN = new OleDbConnection("Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=|DataDirectory|\\Vendors.accdb;"))
{

                       ....

}

You need to convert "splittedText2[i]" and "splittedText3[i]". What database are you using? Here are some mappings:

SQL Server Data Type Mappings

OLE DB Data Type Mappings

mySQL Data Type Mappings

Since you have limited experience, it may be easiest to do the following:

• Create a folder for the schoolyear (ex: 2013)
• Then within the folder, create either one text file, or one text file for each student.

If you aren't interested in writing the program, but want the end-result, you could hire someone to do it for you. There are websites like this one.

You can store your data however you like--in a plain text file if you want. A database or XML file would help to keep your data organized. How long does the data need to be kept for each student? How many students? You said you're not a "programmer", what is your programming experience and what is your goal? Are you trying to learn to program or just write this one program?

Here is a post that fills a combobox from a database. This may work for you.

Fill combobox from database

Where are you clearing the items? It should be

OleDbDataReader CMBRdr = DBcmd.ExecuteReader();           

//add it here
PhoneCombo.Items.Clear();

while (CMBRdr.Read())
{

I'm confused by your explanation. Can you post the code or post some screen captures?

Try clearing the PhoneCombo combobox before adding the items.PhoneCombo.Items.Clear()

I made some errors when posting "Students.xml" above. The tags should follow the format: <name> </name>

Students.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<students>
    <schoolyear startMonth="08" startYear="2013" endMonth="05" endYear="2014">
        <student id="1">
            <name>John</name>
        <firstTestDateFSF>02/10/2014</firstTestDateFSF>
            <lastTestDateFSF>03/10/2014</lastTestDateFSF>
        <firstTestDateLNF>02/15/2014</firstTestDateLNF>
            <lastTestDateLNF>03/15/2014</lastTestDateLNF>
        </student>

        <student id="2">
            <name>Susie</name>
        <firstTestDateFSF>02/12/2014</firstTestDateFSF>
            <lastTestDateFSF>03/12/2014</lastTestDateFSF>
        <firstTestDateLNF>02/18/2014</firstTestDateLNF>
            <lastTestDateLNF>03/18/2014</lastTestDateLNF>
        </student>
    </schoolyear>
</students>

listBox1.Items.Clear();

Everything you mentioned is possible. You might consider using an XML file or a database to store your data.

Here is a post I made about how to read an XML file--see my last post.

Your XML file might look like this:

Students.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<students>
    <student id="1">
        <name>John</name>
        <firstTestDateFSF>02/10/2014</firstTestDate>
        <lastTestDateFSF>03/10/2014</lastTestDate>
        <firstTestDateLNF>02/15/2014</firstTestDateLNF>
        <lastTestDateLNF>03/15/2014</lastTestDateLNF>
    </student>

    <student id="2">
        <name>Susie</name>
        <firstTestDateFSF>02/12/2014</firstTestDate>
        <lastTestDateFSF>03/12/2014</lastTestDate>
        <firstTestDateLNF>02/18/2014</firstTestDateLNF>
        <lastTestDateLNF>03/18/2014</lastTestDateLNF>
    </student>
</students>

OmittedDates.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<omittedDates>
    <omittedDate id="1">
        <name>Independence Day</name>
        <dayOfYear>07/04/2014</dayOfYear>
    </omittedDate>

    <omittedDate id="2">
        <name>Thanksgiving</name>
        <dayOfYear>11/27/2014</dayOfYear>
    </omittedDate>
</omittedDates>

PDF Library

Check line 91 on "Form1". You do the following: TextBox3.AppendText(TextBox1.Text & TextBox2.Text & Environment.NewLine) every time a date is selected.

Private Sub MonthCalendar1_DateSelected(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Windows.Forms.DateRangeEventArgs) Handles MonthCalendar1.DateSelected
     TextBox3.AppendText(TextBox1.Text & TextBox2.Text & Environment.NewLine)
End Sub

"Append" means to add to the end of that which already exists.

Use TextBox3.Text = instead. But you will probably have to see if the name already exists, to determine if you need to add it. Have you considered a ListBox?