coverting from ²Â§â€¢ to unicode text

[dynamic_sysop]

i currently reference the msn chat control library to convert from ansii text like say "™Ðynamic′§•ßrow§er™" to "™Ðynamic′§•ßrow§er™" readable format, to do this requires Msn.ConvertedString , however i was wondering if it is possible to convert from ansii / utf8 to unicode without having to use a large ocx file like the msn chat control?
say like sName = unicode(sName)

 

[dynamic_sysop]

also is there a Left function in .net? i use this alot in vb6, like say you have a row of data like ":TKCHATACHAT001" and you put sValue = Left(Data , 3)
sValue would be ":TK"

 

[Bucky]

You can access all the old VB6 String functions (Left, Right, Split,
and Mid which is now called Substring, etc.) by typing any string
variable followed by a . and the name, just like accessing any method
from a class. You can also do this with any normal string,
"like this".Left(4)

sValue = Data.Left(3)

For your text conversion, look in the System.Text namespace for
various encoders and decoders.

 

[dynamic_sysop]

when i do sValue = snick.Left it returns Left is not a member of string, it doesnt give left or mid or right as an option on the drop down menu, most odd

 

[divil]

.Substring

 

[dynamic_sysop]

i'm tearin me hair out i've tried....
Dim s as string
If s.Substring(1, 1) = "." Then Me.BeGold(s)

( ".") being the first character of the nickname
also tried
If s.Substring(1, s) = "." Then Me.BeGold(s)
and If s.Substring(1, 1) is "." Then Me.BeGold(s)
nothing seems to be working tho :S

 

[Bucky]

Sorry for confusing you with .Left, I could've sworn it was there...

And the reason it isn't working is because now all indexes are
zero-based. That means that the first character's index is 0, unlike
Mid$ where the first character has the index 1.

 

[Derek Stone]

The first parameter in Substring is 0 based. That means the first character would be Substring(0,1).

 

[dynamic_sysop]

cheers dude the 0 worked "If s.Substring(0, 1) = "." Then Me.BeGold(s)"
slowely getting to grips with it all

 

[divil]

Or you can use the nifty .StartsWith method

If myString.StartsWith(".") Then 'blah