>I can copy the .dll just to my winnt\system32\ directory and register it and it will appear as a choice in the ODBC control panel?

Umm, no. OLE DB providers have absolutely nothing to do with ODBC. ODBC doesn't even know OLE DB exists. OLE DB providers are for use with OLE DB (which you can't directly use with late-binding clients such as VFP 6) and ADO.

So where does it show up? Depending on the circumstances, it will show up anytime a program needs for you to configure an OLE DB connection. For instance, right-click the desktop, select New/Text File and call it foo.udl (Universal Data Link). Once created, double-click on it. In the resulting list of providers, you should see the one for VFP. The Rowset Viewer will do the same thing when you configure a connection.

> What is the Merge Module for?

It's for the installer. It has registration information, and other stuff that the installer needs to know about a shared component. You'll have no use for it for your purposes.