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Thread: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

  1. #1

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    Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Brief description: There are plenty of threads scattered in vbforums which tell you how to interact with the registry but none of them are commented thoroughly so that a new user could understand them... I have tried to summarize here with snapshots all that you can do with the Windows registry... BTW I have tried this with Windows XP SP3 and VB 6.0

    Caution: Before you begin with this tutorial, The very first step that you should learn is how to back up windows registry. Please see the section "Backing up the Windows Registry" below.

    Topics
    1. Backing up the Windows Registry
    2. Writing to The Windows Registry
    3. Reading from The Windows Registry
    4. Deleting entries in The Windows Registry
    5. GetAllSettings
    6. Checking if a key created by SaveSetting exists using vb 6.0 code
    7. Writing to any portion of the registry for which you have permissions <A bit more advanced>
    8. Find keys in the Windows Registry... with an Project Example
    9. Other API References
    10. Summary
    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Mar 26th, 2009 at 07:57 AM.
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  2. #2

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    Backing up the Windows Registry

    Backing up the Windows Registry is very easy, and results in the generation of a text file. You can save the file to your hard drive or to any removable drive (except a floppy drive ). To backup the Registry, click on the Windows Start Button, then click on Run. Type regedit into the textbox, and click on the OK button as shown in the picture below


    The Windows Registry Editor will appear as shown below...


    Click on the menu File -> Export as shown in the picture. A dialog box will appear asking you to specify the name for the Registry Backup file.



    Give a suitable name for the backupfile. Make sure that the Export Range of 'All' is selected. The extension .reg will automatically be added to the file. Select the path where you want to save the registry backup file. Now click on the Save button, and a backup of the Registry will be saved for you.
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  3. #3

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    Writing to The Windows Registry

    To write to the registry we will use the SaveSetting command. SaveSetting Saves or creates an application entry in the application's entry in the Windows Registry. Visual Basic, by default using GetSetting and SaveSetting allows reading and writing only to the VB and VBA Programs key under HKEY_Current_User\Software.

    Syntax

    SaveSetting appname, section, key, setting

    The SaveSetting statement syntax has these named arguments:

    Part Description
    appname Required String expression containing the name of the application orproject to which the setting applies.
    section Required String expression containing the name of the section where the key setting is being saved.
    key Required String expression containing the name of the key setting being saved.
    setting Required Expression containing the value that key is being set to.

    Lets understand the syntax...
    You can compare the registry to a database which has fields and records in it...
    The first three arguments of the SaveSetting statement can be compared to fields in a record. The field names just happen to be appname, section, key and setting and we need to simply supply values to this via SaveSetting.

    The best thing about the SaveSetting statement is that you can specify any values you want for appname, section and key. However please ensure that you pick something meaningful. The last field "setting" holds the value that we are really interested in. Lets try it with an example which uses the SaveSetting statement to make entries in the Windows registry for the MyApp application.

    vb Code:
    1. '~~> Place some settings in the registry.
    2. SaveSetting appname := "MyApp", section := "Startup", key := "Top", setting := 75
    3. 'Or
    4. SaveSetting "MyApp","Startup", "Top", 75

    What this code does is that it saves the .Top value of your startup form in the Windows Registry.

    Once this line of code executes, a 'record' is written to the Windows Registry with these four 'field' values. If you want to check this out for yourself, you can start the Registry Editor again, and search for the value by selecting Edit-Find from the Registry Editor's Menu Bar.



    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Mar 26th, 2009 at 05:11 AM.
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  4. #4

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    Reading from The Windows Registry

    Now that we have the MyApp's startup form's .Top value saved in the Windows Registry, we need to access the value whenever our program starts up. We'll use the Visual Basic GetSetting function to read this value from the Windows Registry, and a good place to execute that function is in the Load Event Procedure of the form. Before I show you that code, let me show you the format for the GetSetting function.

    Syntax

    GetSetting(appname, section, key[, default])

    The GetSetting function syntax has thesenamed arguments:

    Part Description
    appname Required String expression containing the name of the application or project whose key setting is requested.
    section Required String expression containing the name of the section where the key setting is found.
    key Required String expression containing the name of the key setting to return.
    default Optional Expression containing the value to return if no value is set in the key setting. If omitted, default is assumed to be a zero-length string ("").

    As you can see, the first three arguments of the GetSetting function are identical to the SaveSetting statement. The difference lies in the fourth argument. With the SaveSetting Statement, the fourth argument was the value to be written to the Registry. For the GetSetting function, the fourth argument is an optional argument used to specify a default value to be returned in the event that the entry specified cannot be located in the Windows Registry.

    Here's the code to place in the Load Event Procedure of the Startup Form. I have inserted 2 message box in the code below so that you can understand how it works...

    vb Code:
    1. Private Sub Form_Load()
    2.     '~~> Check what is the current top value
    3.     MsgBox Form1.Top
    4.     '~~> Get value from registry
    5.     Form1.Top = GetSetting("MyApp", "Startup", "Top", 25)
    6.     '~~> Check the new top value
    7.     MsgBox Form1.Top
    8. End Sub
    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Mar 26th, 2009 at 03:51 AM.
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  5. #5

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    Deleting entries in The Windows Registry

    To delete the entry that you made in the registry, you need to use DeleteSetting statement

    Syntax

    DeleteSetting appname, section[, key]

    The DeleteSetting statement syntax has these named arguments:

    Part Description
    appname Required String expression containing the name of the application or project to which the section or key setting applies.
    section Required String expression containing the name of the section where the key setting is being deleted. If only appname and section are provided, the specified section is deleted along with all related key settings.
    key Optional String expression containing the name of the key setting being deleted.

    You can use it to delete the appname, section and key entry, similar to the way you created the entry to begin with. For example

    vb Code:
    1. DeleteSetting "MyApp", "Startup", "Top

    After deleting the key, try searching the registry again and you will see that the key has been deleted.
    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Mar 26th, 2009 at 03:57 AM.
    A good exercise for the Heart is to bend down and help another up...
    Please Mark your Thread "Resolved", if the query is solved


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  6. #6

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    GetAllSettings

    Visual Basic provides us a function called GetAllSettings which can be used to return the Registry entries for a particular Appname and Setting. Here's the format for the GetAllSettings function. This is used for example in case we loose track of the entries we have made in the windows registry.

    Syntax

    GetAllSettings(appname, section)

    The GetAllSettings function syntax has these named arguments:

    Part Description
    appname Required String expression containing the name of the application orproject whose key settings are requested.
    section Required String expression containing the name of the section whose key settings are requested. GetAllSettings returns aVariant whose contents is a two-dimensional array of strings containing all the key settings in the specified section and their corresponding values.

    Once GetAllSettings executes and returns a two dimensional array, we can use the Lbound and Ubound functions, in conjunction with a For-Next Loop to move through the elements of the Array and display them as shown in the code below

    vb Code:
    1. Private Sub Command2_Click()
    2.     Dim MyAppSettings As Variant, i As Long
    3.    
    4.     MyAppSettings = GetAllSettings("MyApp", "Startup")
    5.    
    6.     '~~> Loop through the array
    7.     For i = LBound(MyAppSettings, 1) To UBound(MyAppSettings, 1)
    8.         '~~> Display the values in the array
    9.         MsgBox MyAppSettings(i, 0), MyAppSettings(i, 1)
    10.     Next i
    11. End Sub
    A good exercise for the Heart is to bend down and help another up...
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  7. #7

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    Checking if a key created by SaveSetting exists using vb 6.0 code

    Assuming that you haven't deleted the key that we created above, lets now try to find the key we created.

    Like I mentioned above, Visual Basic, by default using GetSetting and SaveSetting allows reading and writing only to the VB and VBA Programs key under HKEY_Current_User\Software.

    Create a form and place a Text Box and a Command Button in it. Place the code in the general declaration of the form.

    vb Code:
    1. Private Declare Function RegOpenKeyEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegOpenKeyExA" _
    2. (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpSubKey As String, ByVal ulOptions As Long, _
    3. ByVal samDesired As Long, phkResult As Long) As Long
    4.  
    5. Private Declare Function RegCloseKey Lib "advapi32.dll" (ByVal hKey As Long) As _
    6. Long
    7.  
    8. Const KEY_READ = &H20019
    9. Const HKEY_CURRENT_USER = &H80000001
    10.  
    11. '~~> Return True if a Registry key exists
    12. Function CheckRegistryKey(ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal KeyName As String) As Boolean
    13.     Dim handle As Long
    14.     '~~> Try to open the key
    15.     If RegOpenKeyEx(hKey, KeyName, 0, KEY_READ, handle) = 0 Then
    16.         '~~> The key exists
    17.         CheckRegistryKey = True
    18.         '~~> Close it before exiting
    19.         RegCloseKey handle
    20.     End If
    21. End Function
    22.  
    23. Private Sub Command1_Click()
    24. '~~> Visual Basic, by default using GetSetting and SaveSetting allows reading and
    25. '~~> writing only to the VB and VBA Programs key under HKEY_Current_User\Software.
    26.     Dim strSubKey As String
    27.     strSubKey = Trim(Text1.Text)
    28.     '~~> will return True if it exists
    29.     MsgBox CheckRegistryKey(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, strSubKey)
    30. End Sub

    Run the Form and type "Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\MyApp" in the Text Box. Once done, click the Command Button. you will get the message "True" if the key exists or "False" if it doesn't.
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  8. #8

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    Writing to any portion of the registry for which you have permissions

    I have mentioned the constants for the hives in the Windows Registry so that you can experiment if you want to...

    vb Code:
    1. '~~> Constants for the Registry Hive in case you want to experiment
    2. Const HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT = &H80000000
    3. Const HKEY_CURRENT_USER = &H80000001
    4. Const HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = &H80000002
    5. Const HKEY_USERS = &H80000003
    6.  
    7. '~~> Other Constants for RegCreateKeyEx
    8. Const REG_OPTION_BACKUP_RESTORE = 4   '<~~ open for backup or restore
    9. Const REG_OPTION_VOLATILE = 1         '<~~ Key isn't preserved if system is rebooted
    10. Const REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE = 0     '<~~ Key is preserved if system is rebooted
    11. Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_ALL = &H1F0000
    12. Const SYNCHRONIZE = &H100000
    13. Const READ_CONTROL = &H20000
    14. Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ = (READ_CONTROL)
    15. Const STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE = (READ_CONTROL)
    16. Const KEY_CREATE_LINK = &H20
    17. Const KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY = &H4
    18. Const KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS = &H8
    19. Const KEY_NOTIFY = &H10
    20. Const KEY_QUERY_VALUE = &H1
    21. Const KEY_SET_VALUE = &H2
    22. Const KEY_READ = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_READ Or KEY_QUERY_VALUE Or _
    23. KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS Or KEY_NOTIFY) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
    24. Const KEY_WRITE = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_WRITE Or KEY_SET_VALUE Or _
    25. KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
    26. Const KEY_EXECUTE = (KEY_READ)
    27. Const KEY_ALL_ACCESS = ((STANDARD_RIGHTS_ALL Or KEY_QUERY_VALUE Or _
    28. KEY_SET_VALUE Or KEY_CREATE_SUB_KEY Or KEY_ENUMERATE_SUB_KEYS Or _
    29. KEY_NOTIFY Or KEY_CREATE_LINK) And (Not SYNCHRONIZE))
    30.  
    31. '~~> The RegCloseKey function releases the handle of the specified key.
    32. Private Declare Function RegCloseKey Lib "advapi32.dll" (ByVal hKey As Long) As Long
    33.  
    34. '~~> The RegDeleteKey function deletes the specified key
    35. Private Declare Function RegDeleteKey Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegDeleteKeyA" _
    36. (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpSubKey As String) As Long
    37.  
    38. '~~> The RegCreateKeyEx function creates the specified key. If the key already exists
    39. 'in the registry, the function opens it.
    40. Private Declare Function RegCreateKeyEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegCreateKeyExA" _
    41. (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpSubKey As String, ByVal Reserved As Long, ByVal _
    42. lpClass As String, ByVal dwOptions As Long, ByVal samDesired As Long, _
    43. lpSecurityAttributes As Any, phkResult As Long, lpdwDisposition As Long) As Long
    44.  
    45. '~~> The RegOpenKeyEx function opens the specified key.
    46. Private Declare Function RegOpenKeyEx Lib "advapi32.dll" Alias "RegOpenKeyExA" _
    47. (ByVal hKey As Long, ByVal lpSubKey As String, ByVal Reserved As Long, ByVal _
    48. samDesired As Long, phkResult As Long) As Long
    49.  
    50. Private Sub Command1_Click()
    51.     '~~> Code adapted from APIGuide <~~'
    52.     Dim Result As Long
    53.    
    54.     '~~> Check if the specified key "koolsid" exists under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
    55.     RegOpenKeyEx HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, "koolsid", 0, KEY_ALL_ACCESS, Result
    56.    
    57.     '~~> If the key doesn't exist, we create it
    58.     If Result = 0 Then
    59.         '~~> Create a new key under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
    60.         RegCreateKeyEx HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, "koolsid", 0, "REG_DWORD", _
    61.         REG_OPTION_NON_VOLATILE, KEY_ALL_ACCESS, ByVal 0&, Result, ret
    62.        
    63.         If Result = 0 Then
    64.             MsgBox "Error while creating the Key!!"
    65.             Exit Sub
    66.         End If
    67.         '~~> Inform user that the key has been created
    68.         MsgBox "Key Created..."
    69.     End If
    70.    
    71.     '~~> Inform user before deleting the key
    72.     MsgBox "Deleting the Key..."
    73.    
    74.     '~~> Delete the key
    75.     RegDeleteKey Result, ""
    76.    
    77.     '~~> Close the handle
    78.     RegCloseKey Result
    79. End Sub
    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Mar 26th, 2009 at 06:23 AM.
    A good exercise for the Heart is to bend down and help another up...
    Please Mark your Thread "Resolved", if the query is solved


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    ★ MB ★ ASUS TUF GAMING X570 (WI-FI) ATX Gaming
    ★ Storage ★ SSD SB-ROCKET-1TB + SEAGATE 2TB Barracuda IHD
    ★ Cooling ★ NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK 140mm + 10 of Noctua NF-F12 PWM
    ★ PSU ★ ANTEC HCG-1000-EXTREME 1000 Watt 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular PSU
    ★ Case ★ LIAN LI PC-O11 DYNAMIC XL ROG (BLACK) (G99.O11DXL-X)
    ★ Monitor ★ LG Ultragear 27" 240Hz Gaming Monitor
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  9. #9

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    Find keys in the Windows Registry

    Based on Article by Microsoft.Com....

    Using API functions to programmatically find keys in the system registry. The sample demonstrates searches of root subkeys for specified text strings. An option to perform case-sensitive text search is also available.

    The example uses the RegEnumKeyEx API function to enumerate subkeys of a specified open registry key. The function retrieves information about one subkey each time it is called.
    Attached Files Attached Files
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    ★ GPU ★ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 TI Founder Edition
    ★ RAM ★ G. Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB 3600MHz
    ★ MB ★ ASUS TUF GAMING X570 (WI-FI) ATX Gaming
    ★ Storage ★ SSD SB-ROCKET-1TB + SEAGATE 2TB Barracuda IHD
    ★ Cooling ★ NOCTUA NH-D15 CHROMAX BLACK 140mm + 10 of Noctua NF-F12 PWM
    ★ PSU ★ ANTEC HCG-1000-EXTREME 1000 Watt 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular PSU
    ★ Case ★ LIAN LI PC-O11 DYNAMIC XL ROG (BLACK) (G99.O11DXL-X)
    ★ Monitor ★ LG Ultragear 27" 240Hz Gaming Monitor
    ★ Keyboard ★ TVS Electronics Gold Keyboard
    ★ Mouse ★ Logitech G502 Hero

  10. #10

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    Other API References

    Please note that all these API's have been extensively covered in http://allapi.mentalis.org/agnet/apiguide.shtml and hence I will not cover them here. However if you have any questions then refer to Summary in the next post...

    RegCloseKey
    The RegCloseKey function releases the handle of the specified key.

    RegCreateKey
    The RegCreateKey function creates the specified key. If the key already exists in the registry, the function opens it. This function is provided for compatibility with Windows version 3.1. Win32-based applications should use the RegCreateKeyEx function.

    RegCreateKeyEx
    The RegCreateKeyEx function creates the specified key. If the key already exists in the registry, the function opens it.

    RegDeleteKey
    Windows 95: The RegDeleteKey function deletes a key and all its descendents.
    Windows NT: The RegDeleteKey function deletes the specified key. This function cannot delete a key that has subkeys.

    RegDeleteValue
    The RegDeleteValue function removes a named value from the specified registry key.

    RegEnumKeyEx
    The RegEnumKeyEx function enumerates subkeys of the specified open registry key. The function retrieves information about one subkey each time it is called.

    RegEnumValue
    The RegEnumValue function enumerates the values for the specified open registry key. The function copies one indexed value name and data block for the key each time it is called.

    Edit: 18/06/2010

    RegCreateKey, RegCloseKey and RegDeleteKey covered in this thread...

    http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=618594
    Last edited by Siddharth Rout; Jun 18th, 2010 at 11:05 AM.
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  11. #11

    Thread Starter
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    Summary

    Interacting with the registry is way too simple then what the grapevine says about it

    However you need to be careful while working with the registry. Always ensure that you backup the registry before you write to it and you will be fine

    If you have something useful to add to this thread then please be my guest but please do not use this thread to ask questions. Create a thread in the vb6 forum and send me a pm. I will definitely help, if I can.

    Hope you enjoy this tutorial as much as I did creating it.
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  12. #12
    PowerPoster Spoo's Avatar
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Kool

    Registry stuff is all greek to me, so I read your Caution in
    post #1 and took it to heart.

    I like the fact that you begin with Backing up the Registry
    in post #2 ... nicely sprinkled with screen shots.

    But, here's my beef.. there does not seem to be a Restoring
    the Registry
    post.

    For a newbie like me, it would be reassuring to see that
    subject discussed. I might then have more confidence
    to proceed onward and upward.

    Spoo

  13. #13

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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Could you explain a little more on "Restoring the Registry" and I will update that here as well
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  14. #14
    PowerPoster Spoo's Avatar
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Kool

    Sure. It may be covered in the Writing to Registry section, but ..
    • Let's say, per your BackUp section, I created MyBackup101.reg
    • I then do some stuff to registry
    • How would I Restore the registry using MyBackup101.reg?


    It must be a simple process, but, like I said, I'm a newbie regarding
    this stuff. A few words about that specific task would be helpful.

    Spoo

  15. #15

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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    In the 3rd picture in post 2 where you click on "Export", right above it is the Import Button. Simply click that and select you file "MyBackup101.reg" and click 'Ok'. That's it
    A good exercise for the Heart is to bend down and help another up...
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  16. #16
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Kool

    D'oh!!
    Like I said, it must be a simple process! Who knew?
    Thanks

    Spoo

  17. #17
    Addicted Member xavierjohn22's Avatar
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Why is this one returning stripped out handle in X64 OS?
    Thanks.

    http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...04#post3859104

  18. #18
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    Not sure about the answer.. but i know that Visual Basic 6 is great programming language!! coolest one)) i'm learning it for a month..hope will be successful

  19. #19
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    Re: Working with Windows Registry using Visual Basic 6 - A complete Tutorial

    just one question, in what exact part of the registry is the created one goes? i tried this code and it actually works however i'm searching my registry and i think it does not see the created one.

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