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Q175325: PRB: Can’t Create VB ActiveX Control with Embedded Licensed Ctrl

Article: Q175325
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): 
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 11-JAN-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 6.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Control Creation Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, version 5.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

If you embed a licensed ActiveX control inside a Visual Basic ActiveX control
and then attempt to use it on another machine, the Visual Basic ActiveX control
can fail to instantiate.

CAUSE
=====

By default, Visual Basic ActiveX controls do not support embedding licensed
controls.

RESOLUTION
==========

There are two possible solutions:

1. If you make the outer Visual Basic control licensed, embedded licensed
  controls will be created successfully. You can turn on licensing by selecting
  Project/<ProjectName> Properties, clicking the General tab and checking
  "Require License Key."

  -or-

2. For a licensed control to support being instantiated in a Visual Basic
  control, it needs to support the following interface GUID:

  {0x6e6e9780, 0x165d, 0x11d0, {0xb3, 0xe6, 0x00, 0xa0, 0xc9, 0x0f, 0x27,
  0x31}}

Visual Basic will call QueryInterface() on the embedded licensed control's
IClassFactory for the GUID above. If the embedded control's IClassFactory
::QueryInterface function returns S_OK and a pointer to the IUnknown interface,
Visual Basic will create the licensed control using the cached license key.

STATUS
======

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION
================

If the outer Visual Basic control is converted to a licensed control, and if the
client/container creates the outer Visual Basic control dynamically (via a
function call), as opposed to inserting it into a dialog, a license key will
have to be passed to the function. Hosting licensed ActiveX controls in Internet
Explorer will also require a license key. See the REFERENCES section of this
article for more information.

When you use a licensed control in a non-ActiveX Control project, Visual Basic
caches the control's run-time license key as part of the compiled program. When
you run the program on a machine that doesn't have a design- time license,
Visual Basic will use the stored license key to instantiate the licensed
control.

Licensed controls that come with Visual Basic that cannot be used inside a
UserControl include Crystal(crystl32.ocx)and DBGrid(dbgrid32.ocx).

The common controls in COMCTL32.OCX are licensed but were written so you can use
them in a Visual Basic ActiveX control.

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

  Q151771 193025 159923 : SAMPLE: LICREQST.EXE Requesting a License Key from an
  Object

  Q159923 : HOWTO: Using Licensed ActiveX Controls in Internet Explorer

  Q193025 : BUG: Cannot Dynamically Add a Non-Licensed MFC Control

Additional query words: kbdsi kbDSupport kbVBp kbVBp500 kbVBp600 kbActiveX KbCtrl KbInternet

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Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVBA500Search kbVB500 kbVB600 kbZNotKeyword3
Issue type        : kbprb

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