ID Number: Q83557
3.10
WINDOWS
Summary:
The Registration Database is a system resource that was added to
Windows at version 3.1. The Registration Database contains two types
of strings: keys and values. All information regarding object linking
and embedding (OLE) objects, and support for the StdFileEditing
protocol, is stored in the Registration Database. This article
describes the objects that support the StdFileEditing protocol and the
related values stored in the Registration Database.
More Information:
Because all OLE-related objects are members of the same class, all
OLE-related keys start from a root key called HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. A
subkey is separated from the root key by a backslash (\) character.
Information regarding an OLE object is kept in the Registration
Database under a key that matches the object's class name.
The first subkeys from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT are the OLE object's class
name and the OLE server application's file extension.
Key Name Required Value
-------- --------------
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name> Readable version of class name. For
example "Excel 3.0 Worksheet"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<.ext> File extension associated with the
class name.
The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name> key has two standard extensions to
which additional subkeys are attached:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdFileEditing
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdExecute
Additional subkeys attached to \protocol\StdFileEditing describe more
specific OLE-related characteristics of the object. Each key name
listed in the table below is a subkey of
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdFileEditing. An asterisk
(*) by the key name indicates that a value is optional.
Key Name Value Example
-------- ----- -------
server Full path to server executable c:\schmoo.exe
handler* Full path to object-handler DLL c:\schmooh.dll
verb\0 Primary verb Edit
verb\1* Secondary verb Play
verb\n* N-ary verb Open, and so
forth
SetDataFormats* CSV string of data formats Native, CF_BITMAP
RequestDataFormats* CSV string of data formats Native, CF_BITMAP
Verbs indicate the actions a user can perform on an object, such as
play, edit, and open. Most graphical applications provide only the
edit verb because editing is typically the only action supported for
graphical data. The Windows 3.1 Sound Recorder supports two verbs,
play and edit, where play is the primary verb and edit is the
secondary verb. When a user double-clicks an object in a client
application, the client invokes the primary verb for the object. (For
a sound object, the Sound Recorder plays the sound.) The user accesses
any other verbs through menu selections in the client application.
The \protocol\StdExecute\server key is an optional key. Its associated
value is the path to the server application, similar to the server
subkey of the StdFileEditing key. Windows uses the
application sends commands using the OleExecute function.
Additional reference words: 3.10