Hi Bill:

Are you referring to the license key required to use BlackBox, or getting a public key in order to encrypt a file?
If it's the license key there should be a file "LicenseKey.der" somewhere with their files. And, if so, this is how I load the key when first starting BlackBox:

    TRY
        ***************************************************************
        * License the products
        ***************************************************************
        go_PGPLicense1 = CREATEOBJECT( "BaseBBox8.ElSBLicenseManagerX" )
        go_PGPLicense2 = CREATEOBJECT( "pgpbbox8.ElPGPLicenseManagerX" )
        lc_LicenseKey  = FILETOSTR(    "LicenseKey.der"                )
        go_PGPLicense1.SetLicenseKey( lc_LicenseKey )
        go_PGPLicense2.SetLicenseKey( lc_LicenseKey )
        ***************************************************************
        * Instantiate the necessary components to encrypt a file
        ***************************************************************
        go_PGPKeyRing  = CREATEOBJECT( "pgpbbox8.ElPGPKeyringX"        )
        go_PGPPubKey   = CREATEOBJECT( "pgpbbox8.ElPGPPublicKeyX"      )
        go_PGPWriter   = CREATEOBJECT( "pgpbbox8.ElPGPWriterX"         )
    CATCH
        ? "Damn! didn't work this time"
        ll_RetVal = .F.
    ENDTRY
RETURN( ll_RetVal )
End If

And, if that's not what you meant then I'll try to help with the next question. I had to kind of figure out how to make BlackBox work with VFP on my own because their docs are pretty poor (for a non "C++" programmer anyway) and their customer support is worse. Fortunately their software is reliable.

>Excuse my ignorance, Scott.
>
>Where does the online query for the key go?
>
>Does it go to them or somewhere else?
>
>
>
>>>The end user, if that's what you're referring to is totally oblivious of what's under the hood. Once the component was installed it's like any other ActiveX component. No doubt if MS were to break compatibility, or there was a change in PGP, you might have to do something in the future. Otherwise, once I made it a part of the application I sort of forgot about it.
>
>As a programmer I found they were about the only player who provided the seamless functionality I was looking for. The application had to be PCI-DSS compliant so building an un-encrypted file then calling a separate program to do the encrypt it was just too clutzy. Topping that off, the user would have to install my application and gnuPG (or something similar to provide the encryption) which was a show stopper. As it is they install my application only.