[twinBASIC] tbShellLib - Shell Interface Library (x64-compatible successor to oleexp)

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twinBASIC Shell Library :: tbShellLib

This project is a comprehensive twinBASIC replacement for oleexp.tlb, my Modern Shell Interfaces Type Library project for VB6, that is x64 compatible, due to the many problems using midl to create a 64bit tlb.

This and oleexp are projects to supply Windows shell and component interfaces in a format consumable by VB6/VBA/tB. This involves not only defining interfaces, but using VB/tB compatible types-- so in some cases, even though there may be an existing way to import references to interfaces, they may be unusable due to e.g. the use of unsigned types, C-style arrays, double pointers, etc.

All interfaces, types, consts, and APIs from oleexp are covered, and there's additional API coverage not included in oleexp. For a full list of interfaces, see INTERFACES.md.

This project is implemented purely in tB native code, as unlike VB6 there's language support for defining interfaces and coclasses. As a twinPACKAGE, regular code is supported in addition to the definitions, so the regular addin modules have been built in (mIID.bas, mPKEY.bas, etc). Does it still make sense to use a project like this when interfaces can be defined in-language? I'd say yes, because for a large number of interfaces, there's deep dependency chains with other interfaces and the types they rely on. It makes more sense to drop this in and be done with it than constantly have to define the interfaces you want and then stubs for their dependencies, especially when you might need those later on. This project is even more useful now with the API coverage; it should cover about 99% of your needs for system DLLS.

Please report any bugs via the Issues feature here on GitHub.
Requirements

twinBASIC Beta 269 or newer is required, Beta 368 or newer is strongly recommended..


Adding tbShellLib to your project

You have 2 options for this:
Via the Package Server

twinBASIC has an online package server and tbShellLib is published on it. Open your project settings and scroll to the COM Type Library / ActiveX References, then click TWINPACK PACKAGES. Add "twinBASIC Shell Library v4.14.182" (or whatever the newest version is). "twinBASIC Shell Library for Implements" contains Implements compatible versions of a small number of common interfaces not defined in a compatible way in the main project; you normally don't need this. For more details, including illustrations, see this post.

From a local file

You can download the project from this repository and use the .twinpack file. Navigate to the same area as above, and click on the "Import from file" button.

Guide to switching from oleexp.tlb

tbShellLib presented the best opportunity there would be to ditch some olelib legacy baggage. It's fairly simple to move your VB6 projects to tbShellLib, just follow these steps:

1. Replace public aliases: It's important to do this first. Run a Replace All changing oleexp.LONG_PTR to LongPtr, oleexp.REFERENCE_TIME to LongLong, oleexp.HNSTIME to LongLong, oleexp.KNOWNFOLDERID to UUID, oleexp.EventRegistrationToken to LongLong, oleexp.BINDPTR to LongPtr, and oleexp.LPCRITICAL_SECTION to LongPtr. If you've used them without the oleexp. prefix, you'll also need to replace those, but if you've imported into tB they should be tagged.
   
   
2. Replace oleexp.IUnknown with IUnknownUnrestricted. tbShellLib keeps this separate due to the major issues with conflicts with the former approach. If your project has IUnknown without oleexp. in front of it, do not replace those, as it's not referring to oleexp.
   
   
3. After you've done those two, you can now go ahead and simply delete all remaining instances of oleexp. (including the .).
   
   
4. Convert Currency to LongLong for interfaces and APIs: It's no longer neccessary to worry about multiplying and dividing by 10,000 since tB supports a true 64bit type in both 32bit and 64bit mode. So this change is ultimately for the better, but existing codebases will have had to have used Currency for all interfaces and oleexp APIs expecting a 64bit integer.
   
   
5. Manually address any errors remaining. Interfaces should be mostly fine at this point, but if you've made use of the APIs in oleexp, many of them have syntax differences, mainly not being able to rewrite an ending [out] argument as the return value, and changing String arguments to LongPtr you'll need StrPtr with. Another major difference is that the default for almost all APIs with ANSI/Unicode (A/W) versions, is now the Unicode version. A notable exception is SendMessage due to the overwhelming amount of VBx code expecting it to mean SendMessageA. In most cases, the W version is declared with LongPtr for strings, and the untagged alias version uses tB's new DeclareWide keyword to disable ANSI conversion while using String.
   Finally, a very small number of APIs and interfaces use ByVal UDTs. Since VB cannot do this, nor can tB yet, a typical workaround was to pass each member as an individual argument. This worked when arguments were 4 bytes each, but the x64 calling convention aligns arguments at 8 bytes. So the two options were to follow that convention, which also works for 32bit allowing a single call for both, or require two different calls for 32 and 64bit. Since one of the main points of twinBASIC is 64bit support, tbShellLib uses the former option. The downside of this is that VB-style calls will have to be rewritten. If you see, for example, ByVal ptX As Long, ByVal ptY As Long replaced with ByVal pt As LongLong, this was an unsupported ByVal POINT. You'd declare a LongLong, and use CopyMemory to fill it: Dim pt As POINT: Dim ptt As Long: ...: CopyMemory ptt, pt, 8.

Note that this is just for using tbShellLib-- you'll likely have a lot more changes to make if you want to make your project x64 compatible.

Guide to switching from oleexpimp.tlb

There's 'twinBASIC Shell Library for Implements' (tbShellLibImpl.twinpack/.twinproj) as well, but you'll note it has substantially fewer interfaces than oleexpimp.tlb. This is because there's two reasons for an interface to have an alternate version: It uses [ Preservesig ] on one or more methods, or it uses As Any. twinBASIC allows using Implements with As Any by replacing it with As LongPtr (which is what the alternate versions do). So many interfaces were in oleexpimp.tlb for this latter reason, and subsequently are not included in tbShellLibImpl as it's not neccessary.

If you find an oleexpimp.tlb interface is not in tbShellLibImpl, you will be able to use the one from tbShellLib, simply make sure As Any is changed to As LongPtr.

tB has announced plans to support [ PreserveSig ] in implemented interfaces in the future; when that happens tbShellLibImpl will be deprecated.

tbShellLib API standards

This was mentioned above, but it's worth going into more detail. In addition to the COM interfaces, tbShellLib has a large selection of common Windows APIs; this is a much larger set than oleexp. tbShellLib and twinBASIC represented the best opportunity there would be to modernize standards... most VB programs are written with ANSI versions of APIs being the default. This is not the case with tbShellLib. With very few exceptions, APIs are Unicode by default-- i.e. they use the W, rather than A, version of APIs e.g. DeleteFile maps to DeleteFileW rather than DeleteFileA. The A and W variants use [tt]String/LongPtr[tt], and in almost all cases, the mapped version uses String with twinBASIC's DeclareWide keyword-- this disables Unicode-ANSI conversion, so you can still use String without StrPtr or any Unicode <-> ANSI conversion. Note this usually only applies to strings passed as input, APIs passing a LPWSTR that's allocated externally will still be LongPtr, as they're not in the same BSTR format as VBx/TB strings.

All APIs are provided, as a minimum, as the explicit W variant, and an untagged version that maps to the W version. Some, but not all, APIs also have an explicit A variant defined that will perform the normal ANSI conversion for compatibility purposes. This is decided on a case by case basis depending on my impression of how much legacy code is around that needs the ANSI version. All new code should use the Unicode versions.

UDTs used by these calls are also supplied in the same manner, the W variant, an untagged variant that's the same as the W version, and in some cases, an A version. UDTs always use LongPtr for strings, even the untagged versions for DeclareWide.

As noted before, an exception to the rule is SendMessage, due to the enourmous volume of existing code expecting SendMessage to map to SendMessageA.

If you have any doubts about which API is being called, twinBASIC will show the full declaration when you hover your cursor over the API in your code.
A note on seeing UDTs where before they were As Any

The best example of this is many APIs, like file APIs, where in traditional VB declarations, you see 'As Any' and in tbShellLib you see e.g. SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES or OVERLAPPED. These are the correct the definitions, but VB6 had no facility to specify 'NULL', which is what they usually would be set to. So the VB6 way was a workaround, where you could pass ByVal 0.

twinBASIC has direct support for passing a null pointer instead of a UDT. You can pass vbNullPtr to these arguments where previously you would have used ByVal 0 on an As Any argument that you've found is now a UDT.

Example:

VB6:

Public Declare Function CreateFileW Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lpFileName As Long, ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal dwShareMode As Long, lpSecurityAttributes As Any, ByVal dwCreationDisposition As Long, ByVal dwFlagsAndAttributes As Long, ByVal hTemplateFile As Long) As Long

hFile = CreateFileW(StrPtr("name"), 0, 0, ByVal 0, ...)

twinBASIC:

Public Declare PtrSafe Function CreateFileW Lib "kernel32" (ByVal lpFileName As LongPtr, ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, ByVal dwShareMode As Long, lpSecurityAttributes As SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES, ByVal dwCreationDisposition As Long, ByVal dwFlagsAndAttributes As Long, ByVal hTemplateFile As LongPtr) As LongPtr

hFile = CreateFileW(StrPtr("name"), 0, 0, vbNullPtr, ...)

Project Download
Option 1: This project is published to the twinBASIC Package Manager; you can directly add it to your project via Settings->COM Type Library / Active-X References->TWINPACK Packages. It will show up in the list automatically, and selecting it will download it from the twinBASIC Package server.

Option 2: This project is also available on GitHub, which includes an Export folder where you can browse the source from your web browser.

(The attachment size limit no longer permits hosting it here)

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Currently Implemented Interfaces in Bold (oleexp additions) (as of v1.1.8)

IAccessible IAccessibleHandler IAccessibleWindowlessSite IAccIdentity IAccPropServer IAccPropServices; coclass CAccPropServices IApplicationAssociationRegistration*; coclass ApplicationAssociationRegistration IApplicationAssociationRegistrationUI*; coclass ApplicationAssociationRegistrationUI IApplicationDestinations IApplicationDocumentLists; coclass ApplicationDocumentLists IAppPublisher IAssocHandler IAssocHandlerInvoker IAutoCompleteDropDown IBrowserFrameOptions IColumnManager ICommDlgBrowser* ICommDlgBrowser2* ICommDlgBrowser3* ICondition, coclass LeafCondition et al. ICondition2 IConditionFactory; coclass ConditionFactory IConditionFactory2 IConditionGenerator IContextMenu3 IContextMenuCB ICurrentItem ICustomizeInfoTip ICreateObject ICustomDestinationsList; coclass DestinationList IDataObjectAsyncCapability‡ IDefaultExtractIconInit IDefaultFolderMenuInitialize; coclass DefFolderMenu IDelegateFolder IDelegateItem IDisplayItem IDragSourceHelperr; coclass DragDropHelper IDragSourceHelper2r; coclass DragDropHelper IDropTargetHelperr; coclass DragDropHelper IDynamicHWHandler IEntity IEnumAssocHandlers IEnumerableView IEnumExplorerCommand IEnumFullIDList IEnumPublishedApps IEnumReadyCallback IEnumResources* IEnumShellItems IExecuteCommand; coclasses ExecuteFolder, ExecuteUnknown, and AppShellVerbHandler IExecuteCommandHost IExplorerBrowser; coclass ExplorerBrowser IExplorerBrowserEvents IExplorerCommand IExplorerCommandProvider IExplorerCommandState IExplorerPaneVisibility* IFileDialog IFileDialog2 IFileDialogControlEvents IFileDialogCustomize IFileDialogEvents IFileIsInUse IFileOpenDialog; coclass FileOpenDialog IFileOperation; coclass FileOperation IFileOperationProgressSink IFileSaveDialog; coclass FileSaveDialog IFileSystemBindData IFileSystemBindData2 IFilterCondition IFolderView2 IFolderViewOptions IFolderViewSettings IFrameworkInputPane; coclass FrameworkInputPane IFrameworkInputPaneHandler IHomeGroup; coclass HomeGroup IHWEventHandler2 IIdentityName IImageList; coclass ImageList*** IImageList2 IImageRecompress; coclass ImageRecompress IInertiaProcessor; coclass InertiaProcessor IInitializeCommand IInitializeNetworkFolder, coclass NetworkPlaces IInitializeWithBindCtx IInitializeWithFile IInitializeWithItem IInitializeWithPropertyStore IInitializeWithStream IInitializeWithWindow IInternetSecurityManagerEx IInternetSecurityManagerEx2 IInternetZoneManagerEx IInternetZoneManagerEx2 IInterval, coclass Interval IItemFilter IItemNameLimits IKnownFolder IKnownFolderManager; coclass KnownFolderManager IManipulationProcessor; coclass ManipulationProcessor IManipulationEvents IMessageFilter IMetaData IModalWindow IMultiQI	INamedEntity INamedEntityCollector INamedPropertyStore INameSpaceTreeControl INameSpaceTreeControl2; coclass NamespaceTreeControl INameSpaceTreeControlAccessible INameSpaceTreeControlCustomDraw INameSpaceTreeControlDropHandler INameSpaceTreeControlEvents INameSpaceTreeControlFolderCapabilities INamespaceWalk INamespaceWalkCB INamespaceWalkCB2 INewMenuClient INewWindowManager IObjectArray IObjectCollection; coclass EnumerableObjectCollection IObjectWithFolderEnumMode IObjectWithPropertyKey IObjMgr IOperationsProgressDialog IParentAndItem IPersistFolder3 IPreviewHandler IPreviewHandlerFrame IPreviewHandlerVisuals IPreviewItem IPreviousVersionsInfo; coclass PreviousVersions IProgressDialog IPropertyChange IPropertyChangeArray IPropertyDescription IPropertyDescription2 IPropertyDescriptionAliasInfo IPropertyDescriptionList IPropertyDescriptionRelatedPropertyInfo IPropertyDescriptionSearchInfo IPropertyEnumType IPropertyEnumType2 IPropertyEnumTypeList IPropertyStore IPropertyStoreCache IPropertyStoreCapabilities IPropertyStoreFactory IPropertySystem IPublishedApp* IPublishedApp2* IQueryParser, coclass QueryParser IQueryParserManager, coclass QueryParserManager IQuerySolution IRelatedItem IRelationship IResolveShellLink IResultsFolder IRichChunk* ISchemaLocalizerSupport ISchemaProvider ISearchBoxInfo* ISearchFolderItemFactory; coclass SearchFolderItemFactory ISharedBitmap ISharingConfigurationManager; coclass SharingConfigurationManager IShellApp IShellChangeNotify IShellFolderViewCB* IShellIconOverlay IShellIconOverlayIdentifier* IShellIconOverlayManager; coclass CFSIconOverlayManager IShellImageDataFactory; coclass ShellImageDataFactory IShellImageData IShellImageDataAbort* IShellItem IShellItem2 IShellItemArray IShellItemFilter IShellItemImageFactory IShellItemResources IShellLibrary IShellLinkDataList IShellMenu* IShellMenuCallback* IShellRunDll IShellTaskScheduler; coclass ShellTaskScheduler IShellWindows; coclass ShellWindows IStartMenuPinnedList IStreamAsync ISystemInformation; coclass SystemInformation ITaskbarList3 ITaskbarList4; coclass TaskbarList ITaskService, coclass TaskS IThumbnailCache; coclass LocalThumbnailCache IThumbnailHandlerFactory IThumbnailProvider IThumbnailSettings ITokenCollection ITrackShellMenu; coclass TrackShellMenu ITranscodeImage; coclass ImageTranscode ITransferAdviseSink* ITransferDestination* ITransferMediumItem ITransferSource* IUri IUserNotification2; coclass UserNotification IUserNotificationCallback IUseToBrowseItem IViewStateIdentityItem IVirtualDesktopManager, coclass VirtualDesktopManager IVisualProperties IZoneIdentifier; coclass PersistentZoneIdentifier IZoneIdentifier2 IZombie	Task Manager IAction IActionCollection IBootTrigger IComHandlerAction IDailyTrigger IEmailAction IEventTrigger IExecAction IExecAction2 IIdleSettings IIdleTrigger ILogonTrigger IMaintenanceSettings IMonthlyDOWTrigger IMonthlyTrigger INetworkSettings IPrincipal IPrincipal2 IRegisteredTask IRegisteredTaskCollection IRegistrationInfo IRegistrationTrigger IRepetitionPattern IRunningTask IRunningTaskCollection ISessionStateChangeTrigger IShowMessageAction ITaskDefinition ITaskFolder ITaskFolderCollection ITaskHandler ITaskHandlerStatus ITaskNamedValueCollection ITaskNamedValuePair ITaskService; coclass TaskScheduler ITaskSettings ITaskSettings2 ITaskSettings3 ITaskVariables ITimeTrigger ITrigger ITriggerCollection IWeeklyTrigger Spell Checking IComprehensiveSpellCheckProvider IEnumSpellingError IOptionDescription ISpellChecker ISpellChecker2 ISpellCheckerChangedEventHandler ISpellCheckerFactory; coclass SpellCheckerFactory ISpellCheckProvider ISpellCheckProviderFactory ISpellingError IUserDictionariesRegistrar ListView IDrawPropertyControl IListView IListViewFooter IListViewFooterCallback ILVRange IOwnerDataCallback IPropertyControl IPropertyControlBase IPropertyValue ISubItemCallback Shell Automation DFConstraint DShellFolderViewEvents, coclass ShellFolderViewOC Folder Folder2 Folder3 FolderItem FolderItem2, coclass FolderItem FolderItems FolderItems2 FolderItems3 FolderItemVerb FolderItemVerbs IFolderViewOC IShellFolderViewDual IShellFolderViewDual2 IShellFolderViewDual3, coclass ShellFolderView IShellDispatch IShellDispatch2 IShellDispatch3 IShellDispatch4 IShellDispatch5 IShellDispatch6, coclass Shell IShellLinkDual IShellLinkDual2, coclass ShellLinkObject
Core Audio
IActivateAudioInterfaceAsyncOperation IActivateAudioInterfaceCompletionHandler IAudioAutoGainControl IAudioBass IAudioCaptureClient IAudioChannelConfig IAudioClient IAudioClient2 IAudioClient3 IAudioClock IAudioClock2 IAudioClockAdjustment IAudioEndpointFormatControl IAudioEndpointLastBufferControl IAudioEndpointOffloadStreamMeter IAudioEndpointOffloadStreamMute IAudioEndpointOffloadStreamVolume IAudioEndpointVolume IAudioEndpointVolumeCallback IAudioEndpointVolumeEx IAudioInputSelector IAudioLfxControl	IAudioLoudness IAudioMeterInformation IAudioMidrange IAudioMute IAudioOutputSelector IAudioPeakMeter IAudioRenderClient IAudioSessionControl IAudioSessionControl2 IAudioSessionEnumerator IAudioSessionEvents IAudioSessionManager IAudioSessionManager2 IAudioSessionNotification IAudioStreamVolume IAudioSystemEffects IAudioSystemEffects2 IAudioTreble IAudioVolumeDuckNotification IAudioVolumeLevel IChannelAudioVolume IConnector	IControlChangeNotify IControlInterface IDeviceSpecificProperty IDeviceTopology IHardwareAudioEngineBase IKsControl IKsFormatSupport IKsJackContainerId IKsJackDescription IKsJackDescription2 IKsJackSinkInformation IMMDevice IMMDeviceActivator IMMDeviceCollection IMMDeviceEnumerator IMMEndpoint IMMNotificationClient IPart IPartsList IPolicyConfig IPerChannelDbLevel ISimpleAudioVolume ISubunit
DirectShow**
IAMAnalogVideoDecoder IAMAsyncReaderTimestampScaling IAMAudioInputMixer IAMAudioRendererStats IAMBufferNegotiation IAMCameraControl IAMCertifiedOutputProtection IAMChannelInfo IAMClockAdjust IAMClockSlave IAMCollection IAMCopyCaptureFileProgress IAMCrossbar IAMDecoderCaps IAMExtendedErrorInfo IAMExtendedSeeking IAMMediaContent IAMMediaContent2 IAMNetShowConfig	IAMNetShowExProps IAMNetShowPreroll IAMNetworkStatus IAMStats IBaseFilter, multiple coclasses IBasicAudio IBasicVideo IBasicVideo2 ICaptureGraphBuilder ICaptureGraphBuilder2 IDeferredCommand IEnumFilters IEnumMediaTypes IEnumPins IFileSinkFilter IFilterGraph, coclass FilterGraph IFilterGraph2 IFilterGraph3 IFilterInfo	IGraphBuilder IMediaControl IMediaEvent IMediaEventEx IMediaFilter IMediaPosition IMediaSample IMediaSample2 IMediaSample3 IMediaTypeInfo IPin IPinInfo IQueueCommand IReferenceClock IRegFilterInfo ISampleGrabber, coclass SampleGrabber ISampleGrabberCB IVideoWindow
Windows Imaging Component (WIC)ª
IWICBitmap IWICBitmapClipper IWICBitmapCodecInfo IWICBitmapCodecProgressNotification IWICBitmapDecoder IWICBitmapDecoderInfo IWICBitmapEncoder IWICBitmapEncoderInfo IWICBitmapFlipRotator IWICBitmapFrameDecode IWICBitmapFrameEncode IWICBitmapLock IWICBitmapScaler IWICBitmapSource IWICBitmapSourceTransform IWICColorContext IWICColorTransform IWICComponentFactory	IWICComponentInfo IWICDdsDecoder IWICDdsEncoder IWICDdsFrameDecode IWICDevelopRaw IWICDevelopRawNotificationCallback IWICEnumMetadataItem IWICFastMetadataEncoder IWICFormatConverter IWICFormatConverterInfo IWICImageEncoder IWICImagingFactory, coclass WICImagingFactory IWICImagingFactory2, coclass WICImagingFactory2 IWICJpegFrameDecode IWICJpegFrameEncode IWICMetadataBlockReader IWICMetadataBlockWriter IWICMetadataHandlerInfo	IWICMetadataQueryReader IWICMetadataQueryWriter IWICMetadataReader IWICMetadataReaderInfo IWICMetadataWriter IWICMetadataWriterInfo IWICPalette IWICPersistStream IWICPixelFormatInfo IWICPixelFormatInfo2 IWICPlanarBitmapFrameEncode IWICPlanarBitmapSourceTransform IWICPlanarFormatConverter IWICProgressCallback IWICProgressiveLevelControl IWICStream IWICStreamProvider
Portable Devices
IEnumPortableDeviceConnectors**** IEnumPortableDeviceObjectIDs IPortableDevice, coclasses PortableDevice, PortableDeviceFTM IPortableDeviceCapabilities IPortableDeviceConnector**** IPortableDeviceContent IPortableDeviceContent2 IPortableDeviceDispatchFactory, coclass PortableDeviceDispatchFactory IPortableDeviceEventCallback IPortableDeviceKeyCollection, coclass PortableDeviceKeyCollection IPortableDeviceManager, coclass PortableDeviceManager	IPortableDeviceProperties IPortableDevicePropertiesBulkCallback IPortableDevicePropVariantCollection, coclass PortableDevicePropVariantCollection IPortableDeviceResources IPortableDeviceService, coclass PortableDeviceService IPortableDeviceServiceCapabilities IPortableDeviceServiceMethodCallback IPortableDeviceServiceMethods IPortableDeviceServiceOpenCallback IPortableDeviceValues, coclass PortableDeviceValues IPortableDeviceValuesCollection IPortableDeviceWebControl, coclass PortableDeviceWebControl IWpdSerializer, coclass WpdSerializer
Net Connections
IEnumNetConnection IEnumNetSharingEveryConnection IEnumNetSharingPortMapping IEnumNetSharingPrivateConnection IEnumNetSharingPublicConnection INetConnection INetConnectionConnectUi INetConnectionManager, coclass ConnectionManager INetConnectionProps	INetSharingConfiguration INetSharingEveryConnectionCollection INetSharingManager, coclass NetSharingManager INetSharingPortMapping INetSharingPortMappingCollection INetSharingPortMappingProps INetSharingPrivateConnectionCollection INetSharingPublicConnectionCollection

All related types/enums for finished interfaces are provided.

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Interfaces Included From Original OLELIB

IACList IACList2 IActionProgress IActionProgressDialog IActiveDesktop IAddressBarParser; coclass AddressBarParser IAdviseSink IAuthenticate IAutoComplete IAutoComplete2 IBindCtx IBindHost IBinding IBindProtocol IBindStatusCallback ICallAddRelease ICallGION ICallInvoke ICallQI ICategorizer; multiple coclasses‡ ICategoryProvider ICatInformation; coclass StdComponentCategoriesMgr ICatRegister ICDBurn; coclass CDBurn IClassFactory IClassFactory2 IColumnProvider IConnectionPoint IConnectionPointContainer IContextMenu IContextMenu2 IContinueCallback ICopyHookA ICopyHookW ICreateErrorInfo ICreateTypeInfo ICreateTypeInfo2 ICreateTypeLib ICreateTypeLib2 ICustomDoc IDataObject IDeskBand IDiscMaster; coclass MSDiscMasterObj IDiscMasterProgressEvents IDiscRecorder; coclass MSDiscRecorderObj IDispatch (renamed IDispatchUnrestricted) IDocHostShowUI IDocHostUIHandler IDocHostUIHandler2 IDockingWindow IDockingWindowFrame IDockingWindowSite IDropSource IDropTarget IDynamicHWHandler IEmptyVolumeCache IEmptyVolumeCache2 IEmptyVolumeCacheCallBack IEnumACString IEnumCATEGORYINFO IEnumConnectionPoints IEnumConnections IEnumDiscMasterFormats IEnumDiscRecorders; coclass MSEnumDiscRecordersObj IEnumExtraSearch IEnumFORMATETC IEnumGUID IEnumHLITEM IEnumIDList IEnumMoniker IEnumOleDocumentViews IEnumOLEVERB IEnumSTATDATA IEnumSTATPROPSETSTG IEnumSTATPROPSTG IEnumSTATSTG IEnumSTATURL

IEnumString IEnumUnknown IEnumVARIANT IEnumWorkItems IErrorInfo IErrorLog IExtractIconA IExtractIconW IExtractImage IExtractImage2 IFillLockBytes IFolderFilter IFolderFilterSite IFolderView IFolderViewHost; coclass FolderViewHost IHlink IHlinkBrowseContext IHlinkFrame IHlinkSite IHlinkTarget IHttpNegotiate IHWEventHandler IHWEventHandler2 IInputObject IInputObjectSite IInternetBindInfo IInternetHostSecurityManager IInternetPriority IInternetProtocol IInternetProtocolInfo IInternetProtocolRoot IInternetProtocolSink IInternetSecurityManager IInternetSecurityMgrSite IInternetSession IInternetZoneManager IJolietDiscMaster ILayoutStorage ILockBytes IMalloc IMarshal IMoniker INetCrawler; coclass NetCrawler INewShortcutHookA INewShortcutHookW IObjectSafety IObjectWithSite IOleCache IOleClientSite IOleCommandTarget IOleContainer IOleControl IOleControlSite IOleDocument IOleDocumentSite IOleDocumentView IOleInPlaceActiveObject IOleInPlaceFrame IOleInPlaceObject IOleInPlaceSite IOleInPlaceUIWindow IOleLink IOleObject IOleWindow IParseDisplayName IPerPropertyBrowsing IPersist IPersistFile; coclass ImageProperties IPersistFolder IPersistFolder2 IPersistIDList IPersistMemory IPersistMoniker IPersistPropertyBag IPersistPropertyBag2 IPersistStorage IPersistStream IPersistStreamInit IPrint

IProfferService IProgressDialog IPropertyBag IPropertyBag2 IPropertyNotifySink IPropertySetStorage IPropertyStorage IPropertyUI; coclass PropertiesUI IProvideClassInfo IProvideTaskPage IPublishingWizard; coclass PublishingWizard IQueryAssociations IQueryCancelAutoPlay; coclass QueryCancelAutoPlay IQueryContinue IQueryInfo IRecordInfo IRedbookDiscMaster IRichEditOle IRichEditOleCallback IRootStorage IRunningObjectTable IScheduledWorkItem ISchedulingAgent ISearchContext ISequentialStream IServiceProvider IShellBrowser IShellExecuteHookA IShellExecuteHookW IShellExtInit IShellFolder2 IShellFolder IShellIcon IShellLinkA IShellLinkW; coclass ShellLinkW IShellPropSheetExt IShellView2 IShellView ISpecifyPropertyPages IStorage IStream ISupportErrorInfo ITaskbarList ITaskbarList2 ITask ITaskTrigger ITextDocument ITextFont ITextPara ITextRange ITextSelection ITextStoryRanges ITypeComp ITypeInfo ITypeInfo2 ITypeLib ITypeLib2 IUniformResourceLocatorA IUniformResourceLocatorW IUnknown (renamed IUnknownUnrestricted) IUrlHistoryStg IUrlHistoryStg2 IURLSearchHook IURLSearchHook2 IUserEventTimer; coclass UserEventTimer IUserEventTimerCallback; coclass UserEventTimerCallback IUserNotification IViewObject IViewObject2 IWebWizardExtension; coclass WebWizardHost IWindowForBindingUI IWinInetHttpInfo IWinInetInfo IWizardExtension IWizardSite

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Major Update (v2.0.20): The project has reached it's initial goal of implementing all but the most obsolete oleexp.tlb interfaces. In addition, with similar exception of a small set of highly obsolete items, the API coverage is now available. Note that this was subject to extensive cleanup; native-language declares can't use the last param as retval on APIs, so all of those were converted, and TLB APIs pass Strings as BSTR, while native language passes ANSI strings, so there's currently a mix of either using LongPtr or tB's DeclareWide for BSTR/LPWSTR support (if it says String you can use a String without StrPtr).

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Project Updated to v2.1.24

twinBASIC now supports in-project CoClass syntax! All coclasses from oleexp have been added (I think, if you find one missing please let me know), and can once again be used with the New keyword. The prior sCLSID constants have been left in. Also greatly expanded the API declare coverage to match what was in oleexp, though a few DLLs are still pending. Finally, tbShellLib now declares an compiler constant, TB_SHELLLIB_DEFINED, to help avoid conflicts with other projects (chiefly, my upcoming Common Controls 64-bit compatible library). tbShellLib now requires twinBASIC Beta 167 or newer.

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Project Updated to v2.4.48

Apologies for not keeping the version here up to date with GitHub, but I've updated it now as the latest version has a critical bug fix and a number of new interfaces.

pdate (v2.4.48):

-CRITICAL BUG FIX: IFolderView was missing GetDefaultSpacing, breaking any use of it and IFolderView2.

-Bug fix: IsEqualIID API declare was not marked PtrSafe.

-IServiceProvider did not use PreserveSig in the original oleexp, so that has been changed to match here, for use with Implements.

-Added IShellUIHelper[2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9], IShellFavoritesNameSpace, IShellNameSpace, IScriptErrorList and related coclasses.

-Added IDesktopWallpaper with coclass DesktopWallpaper

-Added IAppVisibility and IAppVisibilityEvents

-Added coclass AppStartupLink

-Added IApplicationActivationManager with coclass ApplicationActivationManager

-Added IContactManagerInterop, IAppActivationUIInfo, IHandlerActivationHost, IHandlerInfo, ILaunchSource*****erModelId, ILaunchTargetViewSizePreference, ILaunchSourceViewSizePreference, ILaunchTargetMonitor, IApplicationDesignModeSettings, IApplicationDesignModeSettings2, IExecuteCommandApplicationHostEnvironment, IPackageDebugSettings, IPackageDebugSettings2, IPackageExecutionStateChangeNotification, IDataObjectProvider, IDataTransferManagerInterop. -Added coclasses for above: PackageDebugSettings, SuspensionDependencyManager, ApplicationDesignModeSettings

tbShellLibImpl (v1.0): tbShellLib for Implements initial release. This does not cover all of oleexpimp.tlb because there's no need for an out only vs in, out distinction which many had as the only difference.

Update (v2.3.44): ICategoryProvider and ICategorizer had BSTR instead of LPWSTR (LongPtr) arguments.

Update (v2.3.40): Fixes for SHGetPathFromIDList[W] and IVirtualDesktopManager::IsWindowOnCurrentVirtualDesktop.

Update (v2.3.38): ICategorizer::GetCategory had apidl argument incorrectly defined as ByVal.

Update (v2.3.35): IShellIconOverlay had incorrect pIndex params in both methods. This didn't effect 32bit projects as pointers were the same size as the index.

Update (v2.3.32): Fixed GWL_* duplicate error and LARGE_INTEGER restored to hipart/lowpart for compatibility; ULARGE_INTEGER still uses quadpart if desired.

Update (v2.3.30): Fixed CM_COLUMNINFO bug since it was causing SetColumnInfo to trigger an automation error.

Update (v2.3.26): Minor bug fixes.

Update (v2.2.24): Added IWebBrowser2 interface I thought was already there.

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Project Updated to v2.5.56

-Added Sync Manager interfaces and coclasses (SyncMgr.h), including undocumented ITransferConfirmation/coclass TransferConfirmationUI.

-Added interfaces IPersistSerializedPropStorage, IPersistSerializedPropStorage2, and IPropertySystemChangeNotify

-Added missing propsys coclasses CLSID_InMemoryPropertyStore, CLSID_InMemoryPropertyStoreMarshalByValue, CLSID_PropertySystem

-Added IListViewVista interface (Vista-only version of IListView)

-Added IPinnedList with variants IPinnedListVista (Windows Vista) and IPinnedList10 (Windows 10 build 1809 and newer). Also added IStartMenuPin, ITrayNotify and INotificationCB. These are undocumented taskbar interfaces for programmatically pinning items to the start menu and taskbar. Added TaskbandPin, TrayNotify, and StartMenuPin coclasses (the last one is officially documented for the IStartMenuPinnedList interface with remove pin only, but it implements the undocumented pinning interfaces too and those have been added to the supported list).

-Bug fix: Numerous enum values defined incorrectly as &H8000, causing sign issues in bitwise operations and downstream issues from that.

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Project Updated to v2.9.80:

-Substantially expanded Media Foundation set, also now includes all related GUIDs defined in mfidl.idl.

-Added basic Media Foundation interfaces from oleexp that were missing up until now.

-Fixed missing PtrSafe attributes and SwapVTable type errors.

- Added DXGI and DirectComposition interfaces (experimental).

-Shell automation intefaces using VARIANT_BOOL have been changed to Boolean to be more correct than Integer (the underlying typedef is short, which is why is was Integer at first).

[fafalone]

Latest Project Version: v3.2.30

There's been several new versions since last update here, including four major new features: Direct3D 11/12, all remaining Direct2D interfaces, the Microsoft Speech API interfaces v5.4 and the full set of WebView2 interfaces.

Here's full list:

(v3.2.30): Several Speech API interfaces were missing. Also, began using BOOL type as as enum with CFALSE (0) and CTRUE (1) members. I'll be slowly working on changing all the Long items that are actually BOOL to this over the coming months.

(v3.2.24): Numerous bugfixes to Speech API interfaces.

(v3.2.22): Missed some WebView2 interfaces that should have LongPtr instead of String; changed all String args to LongPtr just to be safe.

(v3.2.20): Bug fix: [out] LPWSTR* and [in] LPWSTR for Implements interfaces in WebView2 args changed to LongPtr. IEnumVARIANT was missed; added.

tbShellLibImpl (v1.2.6): Also was missing Implements version of IEnumVARIANT.

(v3.2.16): Added WebView2 (EXPERIMENTAL). Added IObjectProvider, IEnumObjects, and IIOCancelInformation interfaces.

(v3.1.14): Added Microsoft Speech APIs v5.4. Added IHttpNegotiate3.

(v3.0.13): -Added missing PROPSHEETHEADER and PROPSHEETHEADER_V2 types and PropSheet/PropSheetW APIs. Also corrected wrong values for PSN_TRANSLATEACCELERATOR/PSN_QUERYINITIALFOCUS.

-Began adding back in some Optionals in DirectX interfaces which weren't supported by MKTYPLIB so weren't in oleexp, where the tB code was generated from.

-(Bug fix) StringFromGUID2 now uses a Long instead of LPWSTR since the latter was not working.

-(Bug fix) D3D11CreateDevice and D3D11CreateDeviceAndSwapChain were declared incorrectly for 64bit compatibility (Softare param should be LongPtr).

(v3.0.10): Added all missing Direct2D interfaces/types/enums and corrected bugs in slDirectX.

(v2.9.90): EXPERIEMENTAL: Added Direct3D 11 and 12.

(v2.9.85):

-Bug fix: ITypeInfo::AddressOfMember returned Long instead of LongPtr (#11); ICreateTypeLib2 incorrectly extended IUnknown instead of ICreateTypeLib, and other misc bugfixes.

-Added objidl.idl interfaces IAdviseSink2, IClientSecurity, IServerSecurity, IMallocSpy, IClassActivator, IProgressNotify, IStdMarshalInfo, IExternalConnection and IThumbnailExtractor (w/coclass ThumbnailFCNHandler).

-Added undocmented hardware enum interfaces/coclasses.

(v2.9.81): Bug fix: ITypeLib::GetTypeInfoCount and several others never had [ PreserveSig ] restored after support was added.

[fafalone]

Sorry I haven't kept this thread more up-to-date.

The current latest project version is 4.8.147.

Here's the changelog since the last post:

• Update (v4.8.147): The OPENFILENAME[A,W] definitions were, inexplicably, still incorrect even though I thought I modified them when I made the issue for the pending fix.
  
• Update (v4.8.146): The Common Controls API set did not conform to the project API standards at all; sometimes even within a single control's definitions. Be mindful if you've been using untagged aliases of A/W here. Numerous other small bug fixes. Many additional APIs.
  
• Update (v4.7.144): Numerous bug fixes, including changing all olepro32.dll APIs to oleaut32, as the former doesn't exist in 64bit Windows and the functions have been exported by the latter since Win2k. Also added another large batch of APIs, with a focus on GDI drawing.
  
• Update (v4.6.142): Some improvements/fixes to certain argument types in DirectX ifaces. Added a large number of font and text APIs in preparation for an upcoming project.
  
• Update (v4.6.139): Bug fix: DirectComposition uses numerous overloaded methods; it's apparently an undocumented compiler behavior that these appear in reverse order from their declarations in the v-table, so the order had to be swapped for all overloads. These are currently uniquely named rather than taking advantage of tB's overloading supporting until I hear back from Wayne about the internals of support/implementation for it.
  
• Update (v4.6.138): Several bug fixes, added misc commonly used APIs so far overlooked, and a number of additional APIs, focusing on registery, setup apis, and display settings apis.
  
• Update (v4.6.134): Critical bug fix: A second WM_USER was accidentally made Public, which would cause numerous ambiguity and constant expression errors in any project using it or a constant derived from it. Also added keyboard APIs and some misc common ones that had been overlooked.
  
• Update (v4.6.132): Numerous bug fixes related to string handling (ByRef LongPtrs that should have been ByVal), added another large batch of APIs.
  
• Update (v4.5.130): Some minor bug fixes, added IInputPaneAnimationCoordinator, added another batch of APIs (focused on GDI, thread synchronization, and activation contexts).
  
• Update (v4.5.128): A number of DirectX interfaces were incompatible with x64 due to ByVal UDTs; these were imported from VB6 declares as e.g. 2 ByVal Longs for a point, but that won't work on x64 because of an 8 byte stack alignment. To keep codebases simple, points now use a single LongLong for both 32 and 64 bit. You declare a LongLong to pass, then use CopyMemory to copy your D2D1_POINT_F or other type into it. Also added some more APIs.
  
• Update (v4.5.126): Added DirectComposition Presentation Manager interfaces, added additional APIs (focused on window management and file i/o), some minor bugfixes.
  
• Update (v4.4.124): Important bug fixes and additional APIs (GDI printing and window transparency).
  
• Update (v4.4.122):
  
  -Critical bug fix for new tB builds (correctly) flagging Optional UDTs as errors.
  
  -Added UI Ribbon interfaces, coclasses, and PKEYs. (UIRibbon.h).
  
  -Added interface IContextCallback with coclass ContextSwitcher (and related APIs).
  
• Update (v4.3.120):
  
  -Added Disk Quota interfaces IDiskQuotaControl (with coclass DiskQuotaControl), IDiskQuotaUser, IDiskQuotaUserBatch, IEnumDiskQuotaUsers, and IDiskQuotaEvents.
  
  -Bug fixes for certain Optional issues
  
  -Added missing Direct2D flag to enable color fonts
  
  -Expanded APIs focusing on subclassing, file mapping, memory management, and NT objects.
  
• Update (v4.3.114): Important bug fixes for CreateThread (#14), other bug fixes including IDataObject:Advise sink arg, and additional APIs.
  
• Update (v4.3.112): Added some base OLE/COM interfaces I feel were substantial oversights from both olelib and oleexp; IDataAdviseHolder, IOleAdviseHolder, IDropSourceNotify, IEnterpriseDropTarget, and IContinue.
  
• Update (v4.3.102):
  
  -Added some missing base OLE/COM interfaces: IQuickActivate, IAdviseSinkEx, IPointerInactive, IOleUndoManager, IEnumOleUndoUnits, IOleParentUndoUnit, IOleUndoUnit, IViewObjectEx, IOleInPlaceSiteWindowless, IOleInPlaceSiteEx, IOleInPlaceObjectWindowless.
  
  -Additional APIs, focused on desktop/winstation APIs and DPI awareness APIs.
  
• Update (v4.2.98): Numerous new APIs; some minor bugfixes.
  
• Update (v4.2.96): Added missing Core Audio interfaces/GUIDs. Significant API coverage expansion.
  
• Update (v4.1.94): Added Packaging API interfaces (msopc.idl). Added Netaddress control defs (newer version of old IP address control, msctls_netaddress; the old one, SysIPAddress32, is still there).
  
• Update (v4.0.93): Currency in new interfaces changed to LongLong.
  
• Update (v4.0.92):
  
  -Completed Media Foundation interfaces up through the most recent Windows 11 SDK. This includes the capture engine and other entirely new feature sets.
  
  -Added CoreAudio Spatial Audio interfaces (newer Win10 versions/Win11 only)
  
  -Added IPropertyPage[2] and IPropertyPageSite interfaces.
  
  -Added ISimpleFrameSite interface
  
  -Bug fix: AUDCLNT_RETURNCODES were all incorrect.
  
  
• Update (v3.12.88): Added misc. interfaces IDelayedPropertyStoreFactory, IStorageProviderCopyHook, IDesktopGadget/Coclass DesktopGadget, IQueryCodePage, IStreamUnbufferedInfo, IUserAccountChangeCallback, IOpenSearchSource, IDestinationStreamFactory, ICreateProcessInputs, and ICreatingProcess. Continued adding APIs and Media Foundation interfaces.
  
• Update (v3.11.84, v3.11.86): Additional APIs and Media Foundation stuff.
  
• Update (V3.11.82): Additional API expansion for upcoming projects. Added Media Foundation / D3D12 sync interfaces/GUIDs. Added Media Foundation Capture Engine interfaces/GUIDs. Realized I actually have a ton more Media Foundation stuff not yet included.
  
• Update (v3.10.80): Additional API expansion for upcoming projects.
  
• Update (v3.10.72): Added a number of important APIs for upcoming projects. Added EP_* GUIDs for IExplorerPaneVisibility, added some missing SID_ guids. tbShellLib (v1.2.7): Added IMessageFilter. NOTE: tbShellLibImpl IS NOW WORKING! I hadn't realized the old VSCode plugin was continually refusing to save settings, thus ignoring the setting to disable the autoprettifying that didn't understand interfaces and thus ran together the declares, making them invalid. This has been fixed in 1.2.7.
  
• Update (v3.9.70): Reworked APIs to be more consistent when there's A/W versions. For most of these APIs, tbShellLib offers 3 versions: An explicit A version, an explicit W version, and an undecorated version that uses DeclareWide and String that's an alias for the W version. Some of the more advanced/newer APIs don't have the ANSI version declared. For APIs from oleexp/olelib without A/W but accepting strings, they've been left as LongPtr, but new ones added will use String. Also continued to add new APIs.
  
• Update (v3.8.66):
  
  -Added IActiveScript and all related ActiveX Script Host / Engine interfaces
  
  -Added IDispatchEx interface and related interfaces IDispError, IVariantChangeType, IProvideRuntimeContext, IObjectIdentity, and ICanHandleException
  
  -Added IFileSearchBand, coclass FileSearchBand
  
  -Corrected some Direct3D type names that got caught up in an autoreplace unintentionally.
  
  -Misc bug fixes (Long->LongPtr, APIs pointing to wrong A/W version, missing A/W versions)
  
  -Continued expanding API coverage.
  
• Update (v3.7.62): Added all remaining missing oleexp interfaces simply for completeness and not needing to qualify 'contains everything in oleexp'. IHostDialog/coclass HostDialog seemed like a major omission from those legacy interfaces so added it. Continued to substantially expand API coverage.
  
• Update (v3.6.56): Numerous bug fixes to IPinnedList[2,3], including their names: IPinnedListVista->IPinnedList, IPinnedList->IPinnedList2, IPinnedList10->IPinnedList3, to be more consistent with all other sources. Please do not abuse these interfaces: Never pin without permission. Added IWinEventHandler, IFolderBandPriv, and IAccessibleObject; added coclass TaskBand, and added numerous missing IIDs.
  
• Update (v3.6.54): Some items were Private that should have been Public; put SW_Flags back to SHOWWINDOW now that bug is resolved for compatibility purposes (SHOWWINDOW is in oleexp). To use this, twinBASIC Beta 269 or newer is needed. Misc bug fixes.
  
• Update (v3.6.52):
  
  -By popular request to expand the API coverage, tbShellLib now has had tbComCtlLib merged into it. You can exclude these definitions with the TB_COMCTL_LIB_DEFINED compiler constant.
  
  -Substantially expanded general API coverage.
  
  -Misc bugfixes including renaming SHOWWINDOW enum to SW_Flags to work around a tB bug.
  
• Update (v3.5.48):
  
  -Added accessibility UI Automation interfaces and APIs.
  
  ---NOTE: This API had a number of very generically named enums, like FillMode and ToggleState; these have been prefixed with Uia_ to avoid conflicts. In most cases, the actual members were left alone, with the exception of LiveSetting (renamed Uia_LiveSetting), which had Off, Polite, and Assertive; these have been prefixed with Uia_ as well.
  
  ---NOTE: IUIAutomation, IUIAutomationProxyFactoryMapping, IUIAutomationAndCondition and IUIAutomationOrCondition have members that use a SAFEARRAY of IUIAutomationCondition... MKTYPLIB does not support this so these return a pointer you'll need to dereference.
  
  -The package now includes a common helper function for interfaces: SwapVTableEntry, updated for use in both 32bit and 64bit mode.
  
  -Added misc interfaces ICurrentWorkingDirectory, IPropertyKeyStore, ISortColumnArray, and IBannerNotificationHandler
  
  -Added IHandlerInfo2, IDeskBar, IDeskBarClient amd IShellFolderBand
  
  -Began expanding general API coverage
  
• Update (v3.4.46): Added all GDIPlus APIs and all Common Dialog APIs.
  
• Update (v3.3.41): Bug fix: IExplorerBrowserEvents::NavigationFailed was misspelled.
  
• Update (v3.3.40): -Inexplicably, the IDeskBand, IDockingWindow, IDockingWindowFrame, and IDockingWindowSite interfaces were missing.
  
  -Added ITrayBand, IDeskBand2, IDeskBandInfo, IBandHost, and IBandSite interfaces, IMenuBand, and coclasses TrayDeskBand, TrayBandSiteServices, and AddressBand.
  
  -Added IRegTreeItem interface
  
  -Added IPrintDialogCallback/IPrintDialogServices interfaces.
  
  -Bug fix: Certain DirectWrite interface members had ByRef Long for strings where they should have had ByVal.
  
  -Bug fix: SHELLSTATE had an extra member on the end (shouldn't have impacted use, but if MS changed the API to look for an exact size it would be an issue).
  
  -Bug fix: Attempted to correct INameSpaceTreeControlEvents context menu crashing.
  
  -Bug fix: INameSpaceTreeCustomDraw::ItemPrePaint was missing members.

You can obtain the latest version from the twinBASIC package server, or download from the repository. Detailed instructions for adding from the package server can be found here.

[Semke]

is tbShellLib a replacement of oleexp (can i remove oleexp from my vb6 projects and replace it with tbShellLib)

[fafalone]

It's a replacement for oleexp only in twinBASIC at this time. If you load a VB6 project into twinBASIC, yes, this replaces oleexp in it, with some minor changes possibly needed depending on what you use detailed in the readme in the GitHub repo, although yes I should copy that here later.. At some point in the future, twinBASIC has planned support for exporting a .tlb file; when that happens tbShellLib will completely replace oleexp. oleexp can be used in twinBASIC as well, but it's not possible to compile a 64bit version, so you'd be limited to 32bit.

But right now there's no way to load it into the VB6 IDE. For this reason I'm still keeping oleexp in terms of interfaces; all interfaces in one are added to the other.

[fafalone]

For everyone's enjoyment, as of the latest twinBASIC version, Beta 368, massive improvements to Intellisense mean that tbShellLib is vastly more usable, with no long delays. Intellisense is now cached and lag-free.