How do I update the tutorial asset file?

Download the latest tutorial asset file and then open it with either Windows or your favorite archive software that can open .ZIP files, such as WinZIP, WinRAR, or 7-Zip. Copy and paste (or drag) the tutorial folder found in the .ZIP file to your QB64 or QB64PE installation folder. When asked to overwrite all files answer yes.

When I run the example code images and sounds are not working or the IDE tells me it can't find certain files. How do I correct this?

The asset files (source code, sounds, images, libraries, etc..) are located in folders named after the lesson you are currently working on. For example, if you are currently working on lesson 13 all the files related to this lesson are located in the Lesson13 folder found within the tutorial folder ( .\tutorial\Lesson13 ). Use the IDE to navigate to your lesson's folder and open the source code there. Make sure that you have "Output EXE to Source Folder" unselected in the IDE's RUN menu. If after doing this you are still receiving errors send me an email. You may have found a bug in my example code that I need to correct.

All tutorial source code examples that use external asset files (such as sounds, images, and library files) have the path to these files hard coded directly into them. For example, the first program in lesson 13 within the _LOADIMAGE section has these two lines of code:

DIM Sky& ' sky.png image handle
Sky& = _LOADIMAGE(".\tutorial\Lesson13\sky.png", 32)

The second line of code is instructing _LOADIMAGE to find the sky.png image file within the .\tutorial\Lesson13 folder from the current location. If you have the "Output EXE to Source Folder" option selected in the RUN menu then QB64 will compile the program in the .\tutorial\Lesson13 folder instead of the QB64PE or QB64 installation folder. When the IDE executes the EXE file it will look for a tutorial folder within the Lesson13 folder and not find it. However, when QB64 compiles the EXE in the QB64PE or QB64 installation folder the EXE file will now find the tutorial folder.

If you are unfamiliar with how paths work you may want to take some time and go through the side lesson entitled "The Command Line Interface". This will give you insight on how paths (folders within folders) work and how they can equate to .\tutorial\Lesson13.

Note: Alternatively you could copy all of the .BAS files from the lesson folders to the QB64PE or QB64 installation folder. This will alleviate the need to navigate to individual lesson folders when opening example source code.

I'm not getting any sounds with the example programs on my Mac. Is there a fix?

The QB64 Phoenix Edition developers tracked down an issue that a recent MacOS update caused with sound. Download and install the latest version of QB64 Phoenix Edition to resolve the issue.

Why am I having issues with using the mouse on my Mac?

QB64 and mouse support on the Mac has historically had issues until recently. The QB64 Phoenix Edition developers have corrected the issues in the latest version of QB64 Phoenix Edition. Download and install the latest version of QB64 Phoenix Edition to resolve the issue.

I'm a teacher, may I use your tutorial in the classroom?

Absolutely! The tutorial is free for all to use and learn from. I do ask for a favor in turn however. If you develop a set of lesson plans based on the tutorial please allow me to share them with other teachers around the world. I was a teacher for 18 years and realize the development of lesson plans is a very time consuming and personal task and you may not wish to share them. I get that. If you don't want to share your lesson plans that's ok too.

Also, I'm pretty good at spotting an email from a student asking me to complete their homework for them. I'll guide the student in the right direction but never complete a task for them.

How can I donate money to the tutorial?

I get this question a few times a year and am truly flattered that the tutorial means that much to users. If you want to donate money please donate it to the QB64 Phoenix Edition developers to help offset the cost of maintaining their web site. You can find more information about that here. The QB64PE developers are constantly updating, improving the language, and correcting bugs found in a remarkably short period of time. Your donation would be a great way to say thank you for their continued service.

If you still insist on donating to the tutorial I won't accept money but as a hobby I restore vintage computer hardware from the 1970s to 1990s to either sell to collectors or give to friends with similar interests. If the hardware is really oddball I've been known to send it to YouTube vintage computer content creators so others can see and learn about the hardware. If you have some old vintage computer equipment laying around and wish to donate it send me an email (address at the bottom of every page) and we'll discuss it. A portion of any money I make from refurbishing and reselling donated computer equipment will be given to the QB64 Phoenix Edition team for server maintenance costs.