Useful VC6 Macros for quick Google Groups lookup

Introduction

I frequently need access to Usenet for programming assistance. I can't even count the times when some solution posted in Usenet has saved me time and frustration, or when a solution was proposed better than the one I had in mind. I do most of my work in MSVC6, and have found these two tool macros to be very helpful in doing quick lookups. They take advantage of the $(CurText) field macro that expands to whatever word is under the cursor, or whatever text is selected. Most of you are probably familiar with VC6 customizable tools (Tools|Customize|Tools Tab). Add the following two macros, (not the text in the "[]"):

• [Menu Contents] Usenet Search
  • [Command:] C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
  • [Arguments] http://groups.google.com/groups?q=$(CurText)
• [Menu Contents] Usenet Search (*vc*)
  • [Command:] C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
  • [Arguments] http://groups.google.com/groups?q=$(CurText)+group:*vc*

The first searches all of Usenet, the second searches all newsgroups containing "vc" which are mostly all the VC6/MFC related groups. You can add more group filters if you wish. E.g.:

[Arguments] http://groups.google.com/groups?q=$(CurText)+group:*vc*+OR+group:*win32*.

Notes.

The [Command:] entry may need modification based on the location of iexplore.exe on your PC.

If Google changes the URL parameters of their Usenet groups lookup facility, this technique could break.

Hope this is useful.