Since I started using Visual Studio, I've noticed the handy way this editor uses tooltips to prompt the programmer with prototypes, defines, and other stuff while he writes. It's been a real help in learning C/C++ and I've come to know something is wrong when I don't see a prototype, or I'm not given a menu of items when I'm using classes. That's why this is puzzling me so much... I think I'm ready to start experimenting with DirectX. The book I'm reading from seems to think so. What disturbs me is the way DirectDrawCreateEx() is NOT giving me a prototype tooltip. Ordinarily I'd expect this means something is wrong with the code, so I resorted to looking at sample source code from the author of the text I'm working through. I created a new project, pulled his source in, verified that I still get no tooltip, and you know what? The darned thing compiled without even a warning! lpdd class methods give me a prototype. It seems to be the regular functions without a scope that are duds, here. They apparently work, but the compiler's not giving me any tooltips. Why is that, and how can I fix it? It might be helpful to explain the deal with the SDK... I downloaded the two April 05 updates from MSDN and installed the main one. I have not installed the symbols file because I honestly have no idea what it is. I'm not totally certain that the compiler is using the April 05 stuff, though I expect as much (When I ask the compiler to show me ddraw.h, it pulls it from the April 05 SDK directory). Maybe these have something to do with it? This issue bugs the heck out of me. Please help! Wow...my first post is practically a beg-session. Real good start, Majikkan. REAL good start. ;)

Quote:
I have not installed the symbols file because I honestly have no idea what it is.

I have this nasty feeling that it contains the symbol info for displaying the appropriate tooltips. By the way, although a missing tooltip may indicate an error I think you should not take this as a rigid indication -- to see if the code is (syntactically) wrong, try compiling it.

Greetz,

Illco