OLE Registry Entries

To become functional, COM servers and containers must add information to the system registry. Most of that information is stored in keys and named values under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OLE keys. This section discusses the registry keys and information required to support COM functionality. For general information on the registry, the structure of registry entries, and registry functions, search for Registry topics in the Microsoft Win32 Programmer's Reference.

Note that HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT is equivalent to HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes and that these keys can be used interchangeably. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT also provides compatibility with Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.