Q184696: HOWTO: Create a DCOM VBR File for a VC++ Server
Article: Q184696
Product(s): Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows
Version(s): 5.0,6.0
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbcode kbnokeyword kbGrpDSVB
Last Modified: 11-JUN-2002
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
- Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows, versions 5.0, 6.0
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SUMMARY
=======
The Application Setup Wizard in Visual Basic 5.0 and the Package and Deployment
Wizard in Visual Basic 6.0 require a Visual Basic Registration (.vbr) file to
create a setup program for a client application that uses a distributed
Component Object Model (DCOM) server. If you use Microsoft Visual C++ to create
a DCOM server, you must also create a .vbr file because Visual C++ does not
automatically create .vbr files. This article demonstrates how to create a .vbr
file for a Visual C++ DCOM server.
MORE INFORMATION
================
NOTE: This article requires extensive use of the Windows Registry Editor
(RegEdit.exe). You should be familiar with modifying the Windows registry before
attempting the steps outlined in this article.
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that
problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use
Registry Editor at your own risk.
For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And
Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete
Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in
Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If
you are running Windows NT or Windows 2000, you should also update your
Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).
A .vbr file is similar to a .reg (Windows Registry) file. It has a slightly
different format, but contains most of the same information. For more
information about .reg files view the "Importing and Exporting the Registry to a
Text File" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
A .vbr file has the following general format:
- Visual Basic 5.0 header information.
- Registry keys to identify the server type library (.tlb).
- Registry keys for the server.
- Registry keys to identify each class within the server.
- Registry keys for each interface of each class.
To see what a .vbr file looks like, you can make a simple ActiveX server in
Visual Basic and automatically generate a .vbr file.
Steps to Create a Sample .vbr File in Visual Basic
--------------------------------------------------
1. Create a new ActiveX EXE project in Visual Basic.
2. On the Project menu, select Project Properties, and then select the Component
tab.
3. Select the Remote Server Files check box.
4. On the File menu, click Make <sample>.exe to make the sample .exe file.
Visual Basic creates a .vbr file in the same folder as the .exe file.
NOTE: You can add some properties and methods to the default Class1 module in
your ActiveX EXE project to see a more detailed example of a .vbr file.
Steps to Create a .vbr File for a Visual C++ Server
---------------------------------------------------
If a .reg file for your Visual C++ server is available, you can use it to obtain
the information you need to create a .vbr file. If you have a .reg file for your
Visual C++ server, go to the "Create The .vbr File" section later in this
document.
Complete the following steps to manually create a .vbr file:
Collect Registry Information:
1. Use Notepad to view the .idl file for the type library for your Visual C ++
server. Depending on the type of control you have (ATL or MFC), you might
need to use the .odl file instead. You can copy and paste the information
into a Notepad text file for future reference.
2. Note the universally unique identifier (UUID) for the server's type library
from the .idl file. You will use this UUID in step 3. You can find the type
library UUID in the section delimited by square brackets that precedes the
line "library <AppName>". The following example shows the UUID in an
.idl file for an application named MyServer.exe:
[
uuid(EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35),
version(2.0),
helpstring("My Server is a Test")
]
library MyServer
3. Start Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe). From the Edit menu, select Find, and
then locate the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\<UUID from step 2>
Select Export Registry File from the Registry menu to export the key. Save the
file as RegData.txt.
NOTE: The .txt extension allows you to easily modify the file with Notepad.
4. Run Notepad and open RegData.txt. Leave this file open.
5. Using RegEdit.exe locate the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<ServerName.ClassName>\CLSID
There may be several of these keys. (You can use CTRL+F to Find Again). For
each occurrence you find in the registry, export the key to a file with the
.txt extension. For example, you can find the following keys in the sample
MyServer.exe, which has three classes:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsCar\CLSID
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsDriver\CLSID
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsRoad\CLSID
6. Open the .txt files created above, and copy and paste their contents into
RegData.txt.
7. For each ClassId obtained in step 5, use RegEdit to find the relevant keys,
such as:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\<GUID from step 5>
Export each key to a file with the .txt extension.
8. Open each .txt file created above, and copy and paste the information to the
end of the RegData.txt file created in step 4.
9. Return to the .idl file and find the interface IDs. You can tell which
globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) are the interface IDs because each one is
in a section that is enclosed in square brackets and precedes the line that
begins with "interface myInterfaceName," as in the following example:
[
odl,
uuid(EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35),
version(1.0),
hidden,
dual,
nonextensible,
oleautomation
]
interface _clsCar : IDispatch {
10. For each interface ID, use RegEdit.exe to find the relevant keys, such as:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\<GUIDfrom step 8>
Export each key to a file with the .txt extension. Copy and paste the data
from the .txt files into RegData.txt
Create the .vbr File:
1. Add the following three lines to a text file:
VB5SERVERINFO
VERSION=X.X
APPDESCRIPTION=My app description
NOTE: In the above three lines, replace X.X with the major.minor version
numbers from the .idl file. Also, replace "My app description" with the
"helpstring" data from the .idl file.
2. Add several lines based on the keys under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\
ServerID. In your Notepad file, RegData.txt, they look similar to the
following lines:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0]@="My Server is a Test"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\0]
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\0\win32]@="E:\\AutoServer\\MyServer.exe"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\FLAGS]@="0"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\HELPDIR]@="E:\\AutoServer"
Copy and paste the matching lines either from the RegData.txt file or from the
.reg file created for the Visual C++ object.
3. Modify the text as follows:
a. Remove the square brackets and @ symbols.
b. Delete the fully qualified paths to file names. For instance, replace
"E:\\AutoServer\\MyServer.exe" with "MyServer.exe".
c. Remove the quotes around any values on the right side of the = sign.
d. Put each entry on its own line. Due to screen width the text may wrap on
the screen for appearance only.
4. You do not need to include the first entry, which indicates the parent key.
Nor do you need to include any keys that also reference the HELPDIR key. The
modified version of the preceding .reg file looks like the following sample
in the .vbr file:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\2.0
= MyServer is a Test
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\0\win32 = MyServer.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\FLAGS = 0
5. Follow the same conversion process for each registry key you exported. The
.vbr file used for the Myserver example has three classes and looks like the
following:
Sample Code
-----------
VB5SERVERINFO
VERSION=1.0.0
APPDESCRIPTION=My Server is a Test
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\2.0
= My Server is a Test
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\2.0\0\win32 = MyServer.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Typelib\{EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\2.0\
FLAGS = 0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsRoad\CLSID = {EDBFE991-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE991-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\ProgID
= MyServer.clsRoad
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE991-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\Version = 2.0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE991-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE991-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
LocalServer32 = MyServer.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE990-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35} =
clsRoad
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE990-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE990-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid32 = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE990-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE990-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib\"version" = 2.0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsDriver\CLSID =
{EDBFE98F-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98F-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\ProgID
= MyServer.clsDriver
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98F-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\Version = 2.0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98F-1FC6-11D1-9D43-
00AA00A70E35}\Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98F-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
LocalServer32 = MyServer.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98E-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35} =
clsDriver
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98E-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98E-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid32 = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98E-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98E-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib\"version" = 2.0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MyServer.clsCar\CLSID =
{EDBFE98D-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98D-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProgID = MyServer.clsCar
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98D-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Version = 2.0
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98D-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EDBFE98D-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
LocalServer32 = MyServer.exe
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
= clsCar
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
ProxyStubClsid32 = {00020420-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib = {EDBFE98B-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\INTERFACE\{EDBFE98C-1FC6-11D1-9D43-00AA00A70E35}\
Typelib\"version" = 2.0
The Application Setup Wizard in Visual Basic 5.0 and the Package and Deployment
Wizard in Visual Basic 6.0 can use this .vbr file to create a setup program for
a Visual Basic client that uses the server remotely.
REFERENCES
==========
For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q161837 HOWTO: Create a DCOM Client/Server Application
Q266717 HOWTO: Create a DCOM Client/Server Application by Using VB
Q267836 HOWTO: Create a DCOM Client/Server with Events by Using Visual Basic
Q268550 HOWTO: Use Dcomcnfg for a Visual Basic DCOM Client/Server Application
Q269330 HOWTO: Troubleshoot DCOM for Visual Basic Client/Server Applications
Additional query words:
======================================================================
Keywords : kbcode kbnokeyword kbGrpDSVB
Technology : kbVBSearch kbAudDeveloper kbZNotKeyword6 kbZNotKeyword2 kbVB500Search kbVB600Search kbVB500 kbVB600
Version : :5.0,6.0
Issue type : kbhowto
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