launch vb app as a third party helper app

This should be easy, but I don't know where to start.

Assuming someone has my helper app.... I would like the following operation.

When a link is clicked in a webpage, the linked file has an extension that automatically causes my application to launch and read in/operate on the file.

I've seen this functionality before and assume that the installation mechanism does two things:
1. register the file type as associated with my app
2. capture the 'clicked file' as a parameter or input stream for my app.

The operation would be like clicking an mp3 file and winamp starting. How can I make my VB app behave the same?

This might help you, or it might not, depending on whether I read your question right: http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...hreadid=156194

Sounds close to what I want to do. I guess I still have questions.
1. About the references to Innosetup. Can I use vb to set the reg key, or do I need something like Innosetup?
2. Link parameter. I'd like to send the file in the URL to my program. Is there special javascript needed, or can I simply force the launch of my vb program and it will automatically accept the file as a parameter? (Or both?).

1. You can use VB to do the registry stuff, you don't need innosetup. I just found it easier that way. Use the attached module to access the registry.

2. You will have to use a combo of either VB script or JavaScript with a helper ActiveX dll to shell your program, and then add the link URL or whatever to the end of the shell, so in your ActiveX dll:

Code:

---

<!-- this is in the html file !-->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE = "VBScript">
Dim oWindow, oURL, oDocument, oEvent, oElement, oStorURL
Set oStorURL = CreateObject("AddIt.Adder") 'this is my dll (addit.dll) and my class is called Adder while my sub is called add
Set oWindow = window.external.menuArguments
Set oEvent = window.external.menuArguments.event
Set oDocument  = window.external.menuArguments.document
Set oElement = oDocument.elementFromPoint(oEvent.clientX, oEvent.clientY)
if oElement.tagName = "A" then
  oStorURL.add("StorURL.exe " & oElement.href)
end if
</SCRIPT>

---

And this is in your ActiveX Dll

VB Code:

Private Sub Add(theURL As String)
Shell App.Path & "\myapp.exe " & theURL
End Sub

And this goes in your main program:

VB Code:

Private Sub Form_Load()
If Command$ <> "" Then
    'Do your code here, Command$ will contain the link
End If
'your other load stuff here
End Sub

Hope that helps a little better.

It looks simple enough, but I can't get it to work.

I've built the class and the a simple app, but I'm not sure where I'm messing up.

It took me several hours and I was finally able to download inno setup.

At least I think I know what I don't know:
1. use inno setup to register my dll
- I tried --> [Run}
Filename: "regsvr32 "; Parameters: "(sys}\addit.Dll"
- where my dll was called addit based on MidgetsBro's example
2. I tried to register the associations according to the innosetup faqs as such (no don't know if it worked):
Root: HKCR; Subkey: ".zzz"; ValueType: string; ValueName: ""; ValueData: "myapp"; Flags: uninsdeletevalue
Root: HKCR; Subkey: "myapp"; ValueType: string; ValueName: ""; ValueData: "myapp"; Flags: uninsdeletekey

3. My guess is the dll and scripting are wrong. Since I don't know vbscript, I simple used MidgetsBro's script exactly, where I added extra html using the format:
<a href=http://url/myfile.zzz>Test link</a>
- where .zzz is the association extension that will launch my app; and only contains text at the moment

. myapp.exe is simple prints the command line parameters to the form. But it doesn't even launch the program, so the problem can't be there.

It seems that my app now works and the file associations can cause my app to launch when the file is clicked on locally. I still need to make the app launch when a hyperlink is clicked. In a nutshell, here's the desired behavior.

1. Navigate to a page, with several links to files
2. Click on the link
3. My app automatically launches to open the file

More specifically, as an example:
1. Goto www.someurl.com
2. There's a link to a file <a href=http://someurl.com/file.isd>clickme</a>
3. Click the link, and a helper app automatically launches and process the file "file.isd"

I need this to work under IE and NSCP, so I guess if any scripting is needed, it should be javascript.