Hello,

on WinXP and Win2003 Server one now has the possiblity of not beeing forced to register COM Dll's in the registry .. one now can provide a manifest XML file with the registration data and place it into the application directory ..

here's an article about it:
http://www.red-gate.com/other/com_without_registration.htm

Regards
Christian

Christian,

I just created a manifest file for the MERE ActiveX control for testing with an older copy of the OCX. I placed both the manifest file and an older copy of my OCX file directly into my VFP9 folder and it worked without a hitch. I named the manifest file vfp9.exe.manifest. The key point being that the manifest file is named the same as your executable file name including the file extension plus the ".manifest" file extenstion after that. Then I started VFP 9 and then from the COMMAND WINDOW instantiated an instance of the control as follows:

oRPT = CREATEOBJECT('MindsEyeReportEnginePro1.MindsEyeReportEnginePro1')

And it instantiated the older instance of the control from within the VFP 9 folder. This a great way to deprecate to some older versions of controls while running newer versions for other apps if needed. As his article states, this method can definitely help with resolving DLL HELL situations.

Here is the Manifest file for the MERE ActiveX control:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
<file name="MindsEyeReportEnginePro1.ocx">
<comClass description="Mind's Eye Report Engine ActiveX Control"
clsid="{7FEC6DA5-DA92-4F95-9F7E-0CAB77F61DC4}"
progid="MindsEyeReportEnginePro1.MindsEyeReportEnginePro"
threadingModel="apartment" />
</file>
</assembly>

Thanks!