Some Notes on ASP Component / ActiveX DLL and OCX Registration

An ActiveX component or ASP component is a DLL or OCX file containing one or more classes which can be called from a programming language that supports ActiveX. Before the programme can call the component, it must be "registered" on the computer or server that is running the programme.

There is a command line utility called REGSVR32.EXE that is provided by Microsoft for registering components. It can be found in the Windows System directory and it can be run from the command prompt or from the Run option in the Start Menu. (Note that in Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server the Command Prompt must be run as an administrator otherwise running REGSVR32 will produce an error.)

The syntax is:

regsvr32 c:\ThePath\DllName.dll

The path to the DLL is required and this can be difficult to type at the command prompt, so we provide a free utility that can be used to register DLL and OCX files using a Windows interface for selecting the file.

Using DLLRegSvr

To use this utility, unzip the file and run the executable. In Windows Vista you must run as the administrator. Click the "Browse" and navigate to, and select, the DLL or OCX file that you wish to register. Then click the Register button. Files can also be unregistered by using the other button.

In the case of ASP components which are used by IIS, you must make sure that the Internet Guest User has read and execute permission on the DLL file, or the directory containing the DLLs, otherwise an ASP 0178 error will result.

It is not usually necessary to reboot the computer after registration, but occasionally this is required. If you register an ASP component and receive an ASP 0177 error, check that you have typed the class name correctly in the script and if it is correct and you still get the error, try rebooting the machine.

On 64 bit systems

On 64 bit systems it is important to avoid putting 32 bit DLL or OCX files in the Windows\System32 folder. The equivalent folder for 32 bit files is Windows\SysWOW64 although any other location can be used. The way in which the 32 bit emulator maps files means it cannot find 32 bit files inside the System32 folder.

If a 32 bit ASP component is to be used on a 64 bit system it is necessary to either run the web site in 32 bit mode or add the component to a COM+ Application in Component Services. All Chestysoft components are 32 bit.