Q167158: HOWTO: Package MFC Controls for Use Over the Internet
Article: Q167158
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): 3.0,4.0,4.1,4.2,5,5.0,5.5,6,6.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbole kbActiveX kbCAB kbCOMt kbCtrl kbInprocSvr kbInternet kbMFC kbSDKInet kbVC410 kbVC
Last Modified: 26-JUL-2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 4.1, 4.2, 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Internet Explorer (Programming) versions 3.0, 4.0, 5, 5.5, 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY
=======
When you embed ActiveX Controls in a Web page using the OBJECT tag, the CODEBASE
attribute used to specify the download location can point to a .cab file. This
is the recommended way to package MFC ActiveX Controls. Packaging an MFC ActiveX
Control in a cabinet file allows an .inf file to be included to control
installation of the ActiveX Control, allows for dependent DLLs to be named and a
location for them provided, allows for code signing, and automatically
compresses the code for quicker download.
MORE INFORMATION
================
ActiveX controls are embedded in Web pages using the OBJECT tag. The CODEBASE
attribute of the OBJECT tag specifies the location from which to download the
control. CODEBASE can point to a number of different file types successfully.
For instance, CODEBASE can point directly to an .ocx file as follows:
CODEBASE="http://example.microsoft.com/somecontrol.ocx#version=4,70,0,1086"
Because this downloads and installs only the .ocx file, this solution relies on
any necessary supporting DLLs already existing on the client machine. In most
cases, it should not be assumed that these DLLs will exist on the client and be
the correct version.
Another alternative is for CODEBASE to point to an .inf file, for example:
CODEBASE="http://example.microsoft.com/doyoutrustme.inf"
An .inf file controls the installation of an .ocx file and its supporting files.
This method is NOT recommended because it is not possible to sign an .inf file
(see the REFERENCES section for references on code signing).
The best solution is for CODEBASE to point to a cabinet file. With this method,
supporting DLLs can be referenced and the cabinet file signed.
NOTE: If the directions below for referencing the MFC DLLs are followed, the MFC
DLLs will not be downloaded if they already exist on the client. The CODEBASE
line will resemble the following:
CODEBASE="http://example.microsoft.com/acontrol.cab#version=1,2,0,0"
Note here that the #Version information applies to the version of the control
specified by the CLASSID parameter of the OBJECT tag.
Cab Packaging Overview
----------------------
In the Cabinet Software Development Kit (also called Cabinet SDK, or CAB
Development Kit) you will find the necessary tools to construct cabinet (.cab)
files. See the following Microsoft Web site:
Microsoft Cabinet SDK
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dncabsdk/html/cabdl.asp
The cabinet file that CODEBASE points to should contain the .ocx file and an .inf
file that will control the installation of the ActiveX Control. Dependent DLLs
that may already exist on the system, such as the MFC DLLs, should not be
included in this cabinet file. Instead, the MFC DLLs, and other dependent DLLs,
should be packaged in separate cabinet files and referenced by the control's
.inf file. The following example illustrates how to package the MFC Spindial
sample control.
The OBJECT tag to include the Spindial control in a Web page resembles the
following:
<OBJECT ID="Spindial1" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=200
CLASSID="CLSID:06889605-B8D0-101A-91F1-00608CEAD5B3"
CODEBASE="http://example.microsoft.com/spindial.cab#Version=1,0,0,001">
<PARAM NAME="_Version" VALUE="65536">
<PARAM NAME="_ExtentX" VALUE="2646">
<PARAM NAME="_ExtentY" VALUE="1323">
<PARAM NAME="_StockProps" VALUE="0">
<PARAM NAME="NeedlePosition" VALUE="2">
</OBJECT>
In this case, Spindial.cab must contain two files, Spindial.ocx and Spindial.inf.
The command to build this cabinet file is similar to the following depending on
the path to your installation of the Cabinet Development Kit:
C:\CabDevKit\cabarc.exe N spindial.cab spindial.ocx spindial.inf
The following is an example .inf for the MFC Spindial control. This .inf file can
be modified to download any MFC ActiveX Control by changing Spindial's
information to the desired MFC ActiveX Control's information. See comments
below.
; ========================= spindial.inf ========================
; This .inf file will control the installation of the MFC Spindial
; control. This control has been compiled with Visual C++ version 4.2.
; The FileVersion tags in the dependent DLLs section on this file
; reflect this requirement.
[version]
; version signature (same for both NT and Win95) do not remove
signature="$CHICAGO$"
AdvancedINF=2.0
[Add.Code]
spindial.ocx=spindial.ocx
; These are the necessary supporting DLLs for MFC 4.2 ActiveX Controls
mfc42.dll=mfc42.dll
msvcrt.dll=msvcrt.dll
olepro32.dll=olepro32.dll
; thiscab is a keyword which, in this case, means that Spindial.ocx
; can be found in the same .cab file as this .inf file
; file-win32-x86 is an x86 platform specific identifier
; See the ActiveX SDK - ActiveX Controls - Internet Component Download -
; Packaging component code for automatic download
[spindial.ocx]
file-win32-x86=thiscab
; *** add your controls CLSID here ***
clsid={06889605-B8D0-101A-91F1-00608CEAD5B3}
; Add your ocx's file version here.
FileVersion=1,0,0,001
RegisterServer=yes
; dependent DLLs
[msvcrt.dll]
; This is an example of conditional hook. The hook only gets processed
; if msvcrt.dll of the specified version is absent on client machine.
FileVersion=4,20,0,6164
hook=mfc42installer
[mfc42.dll]
FileVersion=4,2,0,6256
hook=mfc42installer
[olepro32.dll]
FileVersion=4,2,0,6068
hook=mfc42installer
[mfc42installer]
file-win32-x86=VALUE=http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
; If dependent DLLs are packaged directly into the above cabinet file
; along with an .inf file, specify that .inf file to run as follows:
;InfFile=mfc42.inf
; The mfc42.cab file actually contains a self extracting executable.
; In this case we specify a run= command.
run=%EXTRACT_DIR%\mfc42.exe
; ====================== end of spindial.inf =====================
The following sections of this .inf file will need to be modified depending on
your control and the version of MFC that you are using to build your control:
- Any reference to spindial should be changed to the name of your control. This
includes comments and the following:
spindial.ocx=spindial.ocx
[spindial.ocx]
- The following should be changed to the correct CLSID and FileVersion for your
control:
clsid={06889605-B8D0-101A-91F1-00608CEAD5B3}
FileVersion=1,0,0,001
The CLSID above can be obtained for your control from the control's ODL file.
The CLSID is associated with the coclass for the control. For instance, the
above CLSID was obtained from the following section of Spindial.odl:
[ uuid(06889605-B8D0-101A-91F1-00608CEAD5B3),
helpstring("Spindial Control"), control ]
coclass Spindial
The FileVersion for the control can be obtained from the version resource for
the control. As is true of any file with a version resource, this can be
obtained by opening the file (Spindial.ocx in this case ) version resource
with Visual Studio. From the File menu, select Open, and click Open as:
Resources. Open the Version resource; the FileVersion that you are interested
in is listed after FILEVERSION.
- The last change that you need to make is to enter the correct FileVersion for
each of the MFC DLLs, [mfc42.dll], [olepro32.dll], and [mscvrt.dll]. Note
that if you are using Visual C++ 4.1 or earlier, you need to change any
reference to Mfc42.dll to Mfc40.dll and any reference to Msvcrt.dll to
Msvcrt40.dll.
The following FileVersions should be used:
VC 4.1 and earlier, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc40.cab
Olepro32.dll 4,1,0,6038
Mfc40.dll 4,1,0,6139
Msvcrt40.dll 4,10,0,6038
VC 4.2b and earlier, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 4,2,0,6068
Mfc42.dll 4,2,0,6256
Msvcrt.dll 4,20,0,6164
VC 5.0, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 5,0,4055,1
Mfc42.dll 4,21,0,7022
Msvcrt.dll 5,0,0,7022
VC 5.0sp1, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 5,0,4055,1
Mfc42.dll 4,21,0,7160
Msvcrt.dll 5,0,0,7128
VC 5.0sp2, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 5,0,4055,1
Mfc42.dll 4,21,0,7160
Msvcrt.dll 5,0,0,7128
VC 5.0sp3, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/controls/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 5,0,4230,1
Mfc42.dll 4,21,0,7303
Msvcrt.dll 5,0,0,7303
VC 6.0, use::
http://activex.microsoft.com/comtrols/vc/mfc42.cab
Olepro32.dll 5,0,4261,0
Mfc42.dll 6,0,8168,0
Msvcrt.dll 6,0,8168,0
Notice that all versions of MFC between 4.2 and 6.0 use Mfc42.cab. This .cab file
always contains the latest version of the DLLs because they are
backward-compatible. If you are not compiling with a later build of MFC, you may
not want to specify the latest FileVersion. Doing so may trigger an unnecessary
download of the MFC DLLs.
REFERENCES
==========
For more information, visit the following Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web
sites:
Packaging ActiveX Controls
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/components/activex/packaging.asp?frame=true
Safe Initialization and Scripting for ActiveX Controls
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/components/activex/safety.asp?frame=true#iobjsafe
Signing Code with Microsoft Authenticode Technology
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/security/authcode/authenticode.asp
Using ActiveX Controls to Automate Your Web Pages
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/components/activex/tutorial.asp?frame=true
For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q264570 INFO: WebCast: How Does Internet Component Download Work?
Additional query words: 4.00
======================================================================
Keywords : kbole kbActiveX kbCAB kbCOMt kbCtrl kbInprocSvr kbInternet kbMFC kbSDKInet kbVC410 kbVC420 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbGrpDSMFCATL
Technology : kbVCsearch kbIEsearch kbAudDeveloper kbSDKIESearch kbZNotKeyword kbVC410 kbSDKIE300 kbSDKIE400 kbSDKIE500 kbSDKIE550 kbVC420 kbVC500 kbVC600 kbVC32bitSearch kbVC500Search kbSDKIE600
Version : :3.0,4.0,4.1,4.2,5,5.0,5.5,6,6.0
Issue type : kbhowto
=============================================================================
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.
Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1986-2002.