INFO: Troubleshooting ActiveX Control Installation

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INFO: Troubleshooting ActiveX Control Installation

Document ID: IR02016

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The information in this article applies to:

• Setup Factory 6.0
• ActiveX Controls

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SUMMARY

This article outlines techniques that can be used to troubleshoot ActiveX control installation issues.

DISCUSSION

Many programs now depend on ActiveX (COM) controls to provide both visual and behind the scenes functionality. However, installing ActiveX controls can be troublesome for various reasons. If you do not know what ActiveX controls are or how to install them with Setup Factory 6.0, please read the Knowledge Base article "HOWTO: Register an ActiveX Control" (Document ID: IR02013.)

The problem with ActiveX control installation is that it is hard to tell if it worked properly or not until your application actually runs for the first time on your user's system. And then it is usually a pretty cryptic error that is thrown from your program or the Visual Basic runtime library. Often the error is something like, "Run Time Error 6, Automation Error. Object Invoked has disconnected from client." or "Class does not support automation or does not support expected interface" or something equally uninformative.

Here are some troubleshooting techniques that can be used in these kinds of situations:

• Make sure the user has Administrative privileges. In order to install an ActiveX control, the user will need to have Administrative privileges on the system that they are installing to. Without such privileges, the user may not be allowed access to the System folder or the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Registry key, both of which are central to ActiveX control registration.
• Make sure you are not missing dependency files. Many ActiveX controls require other DLLs or ActiveX controls to be already installed on the system in order to register properly. To find out if you are missing any files, you can use Setup Factory's Scan Dependencies screen. You can access this screen from Tools | Scan File Dependencies from the menu. Another thing to do is to consult the documentation available for the ActiveX control for installation instructions. If you purchased the control from a third-party vendor, contact them and ask if they can help you out.
• Check the installation log file. If you are not sure which control failed to register or install, check the installation log file. You can turn on the log file feature for your setups from the Settings tab of the General Design screen.

MORE INFORMATION

Here are some other resources that may help you with this problem:

• Indigo Rose Knowledge Base article "HOWTO: Register an ActiveX Control" (Document ID: IR02013)
• Indigo Rose Knowledge Base article "HOWTO: Detect Administrator Privileges" (Document ID: IR02010)
• The topic Command Reference | Design Environment | Dialogs | General Design | General Design tabs | Settings tab in the Setup Factory 6.0 help file.
• Page 125 of the Setup Factory 6.0 User's Guide

KEYWORDS: ActiveX, registration, dependencies, Setup Factory

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Last reviewed: October 3, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Indigo Rose Corporation. All rights reserved.