Member Avatar for Simran Kaur

Hi friends,

I have downloaded VS Express 2010 edition from Microsoft website. I want to convert a VB 6.0 project into VB.Net using VS Express 2010. Is it possible to do it without the "Upgrade Wizard"? How much will it cost me to get basic VS 2010 Professional with the "Upgrade Wizard" option? What other tools (that I might require during conversion) are missing in the VS Express edition? Please help me in this matter.

Thanking you in advance,

Simran.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Oxiegen

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A compact, practical follow-up that expands on the answers from , and with concrete options and quick fixes you can apply today.

Start small (UI fixes) and plan big (migration path). For the DirListBox / FileListBox / DriveListBox trio, replace those VB6 intrinsic controls with a small folder/drive model built on System.IO and a FolderBrowserDialog / TreeView + ListView UI. Example VB.NET fragments (use as a drop‑in to show drives and files):

' populate drives
For Each d As System.IO.DriveInfo In System.IO.DriveInfo.GetDrives()
    lstDrives.Items.Add(d.Name)
Next

' list files in a folder
Dim files() As String = System.IO.Directory.GetFiles(folderPath)
lstFiles.Items.AddRange(files)

' pick folder
Using dlg As New FolderBrowserDialog()
    If dlg.ShowDialog() = DialogResult.OK Then folderPath = dlg.SelectedPath
End Using

If the project uses Excel as a backend, avoid brittle Office interop on servers or long-term maintenance paths. Modern libraries like EPPlus or ClosedXML let you read/write .xlsx files without requiring Excel on the machine; they are far simpler and more reliable than automating Excel. Consider migrating persistent data into a small database (SQLite / SQL Server Express) if the workbook is acting as structured storage; that will pay dividends for reliability and concurrency. (epplussoftware.com)

When the codebase is large or contains many ActiveX/third‑party controls, a managed conversion tool can save huge manual effort. Commercial products (for example Mobilize/ArtinSoft and VB Migration Partner) offer automated translations, helper libraries, and assessments; they typically license by lines‑of‑code and provide trial/assessment modes so you can estimate the remaining manual work before buying. Balance automated conversion against a rewrite: Microsoft guidance and field experience both show upgrades can still require substantial manual fixes, so pick the option (tooling + manual work vs rewrite) that fits budget and future plans. (docs.mobilize.net)

Quick triage checklist: inventory ActiveX/OCX and COM deps; run a static analyzer / code advisor; turn on Option Explicit and fix late binding where feasible; replace file/drive UI with System.IO + dialogs; pick an Excel strategy (Interop vs EPPlus/ClosedXML vs DB); try an automated tool in assessment mode to get a realistic effort estimate. These steps reduce the 5,000+ TODOs into manageable batches and make the final move to a modern Visual Studio solution far less painful.

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Member Avatar for Oxiegen

Visual Studio 2010 does not provide the necessary tools for upgrading a VB6 project.
In order to do that, you must first upgrade the project in a previous version of Visual Studio, and then upgrade THAT project with VS2010.
Check this article.

And the only way to upgrade your VB6 project to .NET, without using the wizard, is by manually recreating the entire project from scratch.

Member Avatar for Simran Kaur

Hi Oxiegen,
Thank you for your reply. It was very useful to me becoz now I can avoid investing in the proffesional version of VS 2010 in the assumption that it might have the "Upgrade Wizard".
As you suggested, I had converted the VB6.0 project in the VS 2008. Once we open the project in VS 2010, we cannot go back to VS 2008(as project is in newer version).
I am removing the 5000+ errors (in the upgrade report), one by one. Backend is Excel. I am struck near DirListBox, FileListBox and DriveListBox. Please let me know if you know any simple .Net equivalent code or example for that(eg.Microsoft.VisualBasic.Compatibility.VB6.DriveListBox()).
Regards,
Simran Kaur.

Member Avatar for Oxiegen

Those controls has been removed.
Instead you can use the standard ListBox control, or the OpenFileDialog/SaveFileDialog controls.

Although, it is possible to add VB6 controls to your project.
Just follow this article.

Member Avatar for Simran Kaur

Thank You for your fast reply. Will try it. I think you are very proficient in this field. Hope you will be there solve, when I get any new problems. :)

Member Avatar for Oxiegen

I'll be around. :)

Member Avatar for snschennai

I am using vsflex 8 in my vb6 project. Once i convert it to vs2005 itself, it shows many error. Please tell me how to solve ?

Member Avatar for Oxiegen

Many of the controls that you are used to in VB6 has either been removed or gotten replaced.
The control you mention is one of them. Most likely you can use DataGridView instead as it has similar (but not identical) features as the old flexgrids.

When you upgrade from a VB6 project to any version of .NET, be prepared to replace between 90-100 % of the code.
*Been there, done that*

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