how do you register and unregister an .ocx

how do you register and unregister an .ocx?

I heard that to register it you have to
shell C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\Regsvr32.exe
or something, but how do you specify the .ocx file you want to register.

and how do you unregister an .ocx

If you choose the 'Run' option from the start menu and browse to the .ocx file you want to register when you select it, it'w path should then appear in the run text box enclosed in quotes. Move the cursor to the beginning of the path name before the first set of quotes and type
REGSVR32 and then a space then click ok. You should get a message telling you that registering has succeeded.

sorry I didn't explain that very well, what I actually want is to know how to register and unregister .ocx files in visual basic.

put this in a module:

Code:

---

Option Explicit

'All required Win32 SDK functions to register/unregister any ActiveX component
Private Declare Function LoadLibraryRegister Lib "kernel32" _
 Alias "LoadLibraryA" (ByVal lpLibFileName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function FreeLibraryRegister Lib "kernel32" _
 Alias "FreeLibrary" (ByVal hLibModule As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function CloseHandle Lib "kernel32" (ByVal hObject As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetProcAddressRegister Lib "kernel32" Alias "GetProcAddress" _
 (ByVal hModule As Long, ByVal lpProcName As String) As Long
Private Declare Function CreateThreadForRegister Lib "kernel32" Alias "CreateThread" _
 (lpThreadAttributes As Any, ByVal dwStackSize As Long, _
 ByVal lpStartAddress As Long, ByVal lpparameter As Long, _
 ByVal dwCreationFlags As Long, lpThreadID As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function WaitForSingleObject Lib "kernel32" _
 (ByVal hHandle As Long, ByVal dwMilliseconds As Long) As Long
Private Declare Function GetExitCodeThread Lib "kernel32" _
 (ByVal hThread As Long, lpExitCode As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub ExitThread Lib "kernel32" (ByVal dwExitCode As Long)

Private Const STATUS_WAIT_0 = &H0
Private Const WAIT_OBJECT_0 = ((STATUS_WAIT_0) + 0)

Public Enum REGISTER_FUNCTIONS
    DllRegisterServer = 1
    DllUnRegisterServer = 2
End Enum

Public Enum STATUS
    [File Could Not Be Loaded Into Memory Space] = 1
    [Not A Valid ActiveX Component] = 2
    [ActiveX Component Registration Failed] = 3
    [ActiveX Component Registered Successfully] = 4
    [ActiveX Component UnRegistered Successfully] = 5
End Enum

Public Function RegisterComponent(ByVal FileName$, ByVal RegFunction As REGISTER_FUNCTIONS) As STATUS
    Dim lngLib&, lngProcAddress&, lpThreadID&, fSuccess&, dwExitCode&, hThread&

    If FileName = "" Then Exit Function

    lngLib = LoadLibraryRegister(FileName)
    If lngLib = 0 Then
        RegisterComponent = [File Could Not Be Loaded Into Memory Space]    'Couldn't load component
        Exit Function
    End If

    Select Case RegFunction
        Case REGISTER_FUNCTIONS.DllRegisterServer
            lngProcAddress = GetProcAddressRegister(lngLib, "DllRegisterServer")
        Case REGISTER_FUNCTIONS.DllUnRegisterServer
            lngProcAddress = GetProcAddressRegister(lngLib, "DllUnregisterServer")
        Case Else
    End Select

    If lngProcAddress = 0 Then
        RegisterComponent = [Not A Valid ActiveX Component]              'Not a Valid ActiveX Component
        If lngLib Then Call FreeLibraryRegister(lngLib)
        Exit Function
    Else
        hThread = CreateThreadForRegister(ByVal 0&, 0&, ByVal lngProcAddress, ByVal 0&, 0&, lpThreadID)
    End If
   
    If hThread Then
        fSuccess = (WaitForSingleObject(hThread, 10000) = WAIT_OBJECT_0)
        If Not fSuccess Then
            Call GetExitCodeThread(hThread, dwExitCode)
            Call ExitThread(dwExitCode)
            RegisterComponent = [ActiveX Component Registration Failed]        'Couldn't Register.
            If lngLib Then
                Call FreeLibraryRegister(lngLib)
                Exit Function
            Else
                If RegFunction = DllRegisterServer Then
                    RegisterComponent = [ActiveX Component Registered Successfully]        'Success. OK
                ElseIf RegFunction = DllUnRegisterServer Then
                    RegisterComponent = [ActiveX Component UnRegistered Successfully]        'Success. OK
                End If
            End If
            Call CloseHandle(hThread)
            If lngLib Then Call FreeLibraryRegister(lngLib)
        End If
    End If
End Function

---

then use this in your form:

Code:

---

'to REGISTER a file
RegisterComponent "filename", DllRegisterServer

'to UNREGISTER a file
RegisterComponent "filename", DllUnRegisterServer

---

that should do the trick. i use it and it works fine. but be careful...the CreateThread function can be dangerous. i take no responsibility for anything that might happen to your computer through misuse. all you have to do is cut and paste. as long as you leave it at that and don't go trying to change any code, you should be fine. if you have any questions please e-mail me. i would be glad to help.