Dim my_dictionary as Object
Set my_dictionary = CreateObject (“Scripting.Dictionary”)

Voila! We have a dictionary. What can we do with it? We can add items, check for the existence of items, return an array of keys, return an array of items, set how a dictionary compares keys and get the count and so on. An example:

‘First create the Dictionary Object
Dim my_dictionary as Object
Set my_dictionary = CreateObject (“Scripting.Dictionary”)

‘When adding an object or value to a dictionary you put the key first and the actual value or object second. The key is mandatory and you cannot add items without it.
my_dictionary.Add “Key 1″, “Value 1″
my_dictionary.Add “Key 2″, “Value 2″
my_dictionary.Add “Key 3″, “Value 3″
my_dictionary.Add “Key 4″, “Value 4″

So now we’ve added four values to the dictionary. Let’s do some things we cannot do cleanly or at all with a Collection. Say we want to replace “Value 3″ with the name “Zebra”. Too easy!

my_dictionary.Item(“Key 3″) = “Zebra”

You couldn’t do that with a collection! In a collection you would have to remove one item and add another, thus losing the order or your items. A dictionary behaves like an Array in this respect. What if we were not sure there was a key called “Key 3″ within the dictionary and wanted to avoid an error. Again, easy, we just use the Exists method of the dictionary object:

if my_dictionary.Exists(“Key 3″) then
my_dictionary.Item(“Key 3″) = “Zebra”
else
my_dictionary.Add “Key 3″, “Zebra”
end if

We might want to know how many items are in the dictionary, just use the Count method which is the same as the one in a collection.

MsgBox my_dictionary.Count

If you want to iterate through the items in a dictionary, you can’t use an integer counter as you would an Array or Collection but you can use two methods to do so:

‘You can just grab the items from the dictionary like so:
Dim items as Variant
items = my_dictionary.Items

‘Iterate through the array of items. These items can include objects aswell.
Dim separate_item as Variant
For Each separate_item in items
MsgBox separate_item
Next separate_item

‘Or you can extract the keys and iterate through the items (which is another advantage over a Collection that does not give you it’s keys or let you know what they are)
Dim keys as Variant
keys = my_dictionary.Keys

‘Iterate through the array of items. These items can include objects aswell.
Dim key as Variant
For Each key in keys
MsgBox my_dictionary. Item(key)
Next key

Too easy! To remove an item or all items you can use Remove and RemoveAll respectively:

my_dictionary.Remove(“Key 2″)

Or

my_dictionary.RemoveAll

These are the basics. I’ll look at the CompareMode method in un minuto. The Dictionary object is a real advantage when we need to build a Collection of Collections or a Class Collection. For example; say we had to collect data on spys and their current missions. Usually we would have to create a Class Object called Spy and hold a Private or Public Collection within the class to which we would add their missions. One class too many (A Collection is a Class)! Let’s use a Dictionary instead…

Dim my_dictionary As Object Dim missions As Collection Dim spy_name As String Dim keys, key As Variant Set my_dictionary = CreateObject(“Scripting.Dictionary”)

‘Add three lots of spies.
Set missions = New Collection
spy_name = “Alexander Poligraphovich”
missions.Add “Vladivostok”
missions.Add “Ukraine”
missions.Add “Beijing”
my_dictionary.Add spy_name, missions

spy_name = “Mohammed Ramadan”
Set missions = New Collection
missions.Add “Munich”
missions.Add “Tehran”
missions.Add “Sydney”
my_dictionary.Add spy_name, missions

spy_name = “Sri FitzPatrick”
Set missions = New Collection
missions.Add “Dublin”
missions.Add “San Francisco”
my_dictionary.Add spy_name, missions

keys = my_dictionary.Keys
For Each key In Keys
MsgBox key & vbCrLf & _
my_dictionary(key).item(1) & vbCrLf & _
my_dictionary(key).item(2) & vbCrLf & _
my_dictionary(key).item(3)
Next key

The CompareMode method lets you set how the dictionary compares it’s keys when looking for duplicates etc. There are four-compare modes vbBinaryCompare, vbTextCompare, vbDatabaseCompare (for MS Access only) and vbUseCompareOption (which uses the setting in the Option Compare statement at the top of a module). How can we use this? Say we add two values with the Keys of monkey and MONKEY’ one in all lowercase and the other in all uppercase.

my_dictionary.Add “monkey”, “Giraffe”
my_dictionary.Add “MONKEY”, “Elephant”
MsgBox my_dictionary.Count

The MsgBox will show an item count of 2, because the two keys are essentially different. The dictionary is performing a binary comparison upon the keys so you can add more than one ‘monkey’ as long as they have some difference in character case. What if we wanted the word monkey in all of it’s forms to be compared by name and not content? In other words we don’t want more than one ‘monkey’ in the dictionary. We use CompareMode vbTextCompare:

my_dictionary.CompareMode = vbTextCompare
my_dictionary.Add “monkey”, “Giraffe”
my_dictionary.Add “MONKEY”, “Elephant”
MsgBox my_dictionary.Count

On this example we don’t even get to the Msgbox, instead we get an error stating “This Key is already associated with an element of this collection.”. This stops two keys being added that have the same name. vbBinaryCompare behaves the same way as the first example does (it is the default) and vbDatabaseCompare….Well I read what it did once and never had to remember it again! You can find explanations for these, albeit very succinct, within the MS Help in Access, or better still Google it.

Hopefully this gives you an extra tool alongside the Collection or Array and some ideas on future use. A Dictionary makes code structure cleaner and more humanly understandable. This VBScript tool will really pay dividends.

Apple Computer
will not leave you totally hanging – for $59 they will grudgingly accept your iPod and, after a few weeks, will send you a refurbished one back. Nevertheless, most people are not willing to give up the iPod that they have grown to love in exchange for a used one with an unknown history, so they rightly choose to replace the battery in their iPod by themselves.

This can be a very affordable and feasible option for most people – with decent do-it-yourself battery replacement kits selling in the $20 to $40 range. And in most cases, the 3rd-party battery that you install will give you much greater playtime than the original, stock battery that came inside your iPod – a big plus.

Find a vendor that not only sells iPod batteries, but can also provide you with good tools, great instructions, and even better support. Avoid eBay fly-by-nights and hokey websites that sell cheap batteries and offer zero support. Installing a battery in your iPod is not the same thing as popping a new battery in your TV remote control, so do not proceed without the right tools and guidance in case you get in a jam.

iPod battery replacement seller ipodjuice.com is by far the category leader here, offering robust batteries, effective tools, detailed instructions with color photographs, and even customer support should you have any questions that aren’t already addressed in their written and online documentation.

Make sure that you get the right battery for your iPod model. iPod batteries physically vary in size and are not compatible between models (a battery for 4th Generation iPod will not fit, for example, inside an iPod mini). When shopping online, pay close attention to the color of the iPod being shown, the location of the navigation buttons, and the color of the ScrollWheel.

Before you grab a tool to change the battery in your iPod, find a clean, bright working space that is located in a non-carpeted area. You are going to be working with small connections and touching electrical components, and you will want to minimize chances of static electricity zapping your player.

This might seem basic, but read the directions that come with your battery replacement kit all the way through before proceeding. You are going to be in a hurry so that you can play music on your iPod once again, but rushing through the battery replacement process is ill advised. Take you time; look at every picture and read every word on the page – if you are unclear about any point, contact your vendor immediately for clarification before starting.

Plan to perform the iPod battery replacement process in one fell swoop. Do not start the project and stop halfway through. This not only increases the likelihood that you will skip a step, but may also cause unintended consequences. The iPod mini battery replacement process, for example, requires that you remove the two white top and bottom end caps. These end caps have adhesive underneath, and leaving these exposed for more than 20 minutes could cause the glue to dry out and prevent the end caps from sticking back in place.

Moreover, once you have connected the new battery, do not rush to close everything back up. Just like a mountain climber that has just reached the top of the peak – you are really just halfway done. Take your time and do not force any of the parts back together.

Once you have successfully installed your new iPod battery, you will be back to hours and hours of uninterrupted playtime once again

Why we want to make photo album with PowerPoint?

1. PowerPoint is available on most computers. You don’t need to buy other software to make a photo album. It is easy and cost-effective to do it with PowerPoint.

2. Show your photos according to the sequence you like, make your memories more beautiful.

3. Besides photos, you can also add effects such as attention-grabbing slide transitions, colorful backgrounds, specific picture layouts and more into your PowerPoint photo album.

4. A photo album that is made in PowerPoint is easy for wide sharing.

Below is the step of how to create an attractive digital photo album with PowerPoint 2007 in 6 steps:

1. Open PowerPoint, on the Insert tab, click the Photo Album button, in the drop-down list, there is the New Photo Album option.

2. Insert pictures

Click File/Disc button. Choose pictures you want to include in the album from folders on your hard disc. (Tip: you can import several pictures to the album at a time)

In the photo album dialogue box, you will see the selected pictures in the Picture in Album list. You can view each picture by clicking it. And you can also change the order of a picture by choosing it and clicking the Move Up or Move Down button. Below the preview of the picture, you will be able to see six buttons, which you can use to adjust the rotation, contrast and brightness of each picture.

3. Create album layout

Under Album Layout, by clicking Picture layout arrow, and then in the drop-down list, you can choose the layout format you like. By clicking Frame Shape arrow, in the drop-down list of it you can choose the frame you want to add to your pictures.

4.Create title and subtitle for your album

After you have clicked Create button, on Slide 1, type the title you want for your album in the place of the words of Photo Album.

Then if necessary, give your album a subtitle by inputting it in the place of your user name.

Display Slide 2, click the title placeholder, and then type the title for this slide.

5. Edit the photo album

On the Insert tab, click the Photo Album arrow, and then click Edit Photo Album.

In the Edit Photo Album dialog box, under Picture Options, select Captions below All pictures box, and then click Update.

Now you can edit the file name below each picture with a suitable caption.

6. Apply a theme to your album

On the Design tab of PowerPoint, in the Themes area, select a theme that meets the need of your album.

Or you can also customize the look of your album by choosing a theme from your computer.

Now you have finished making your own PowerPoint photo album. Want to e-mail it to your friends or colleague? Want to share it with others? Or you want to keep it for permanent store? Below are a few tips about how to do this.

1. E-mail your photo album to others

Maybe you will find that the photo album is in a huge size due to the mountainous images added in it, and you can’t send it properly via e-mail. In order to reduce the size of it, you can use compressed pictures in your photo album.

How: Open bitmap image with a program that converts images and save the image in one of the following graphic file formats: jpg, gif, tif, wmf. Once your image has been saved under another format, you can reinsert it into your photo album.

Here is an article tells how to reduce the file size of a PowerPoint

2. Share your photo album with others

You can upload your beautiful photo album to some online sharing websites, such as YouTube. Let more people enjoy it or let your friends view your photo album online.

How: Convert your Photo album to a certain format that YouTube accepts. Then upload it with your YouTube account.

Tool: Acoolsoft PPT2Video Converter

It helps you easily convert your photo album to WMV, AVI, MOV, and MPEG formats that can be accepted by YouTube. After the conversion, you can directly upload it.

Click here to get the tutorial about how to do it

3. Keep your photo album for permanent store

The photo album you make maybe valuable and meaningful. In order to store it and prevent it from being edited by others, so far the best way I know maybe is to record it on a DVD disc. As we know things stored in a digital way could be easily lost.

How: Use some professional tool to help you burn your photo album to DVD such as the PowerPoint to DVD tool from Acoolsoft.
Click here to get the tutorial about how to do it

To view the finished PowerPoint photo album is an enjoyable thing. The process of making it is also interesting. So, when are you going to create your next photo album? Very soon, I presume.