BUG: Setup Wizard Doesn't Register VB OLE DLLs w/ DLL Install

 Last reviewed: October 17, 1996
Article ID: Q153020
The information in this article applies to:
  • Professional and Enterprise Editions of Microsoft Visual Basic for Windows, 32-bit only, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When the 32-bit Setup Wizard is used to generate a setup program for an OLE DLL, the DLL will not be registered correctly when the setup program is used. This problem does not occur if the Setup Wizard is used to generate a program for an OLE automation client and the OLE server DLL is included in Step 4 of the Setup Wizard.

WORKAROUND

The Setup Wizard generates a SETUP.LST file for each set of installation media it generates. This file is used to determine which files to copy, where to copy them, and how they can be registered, among other things. The SETUP.LST file can be modified to cause the Setup Wizard-generated program to correctly register the DLL upon installation.

After generating setup media with the Setup Wizard, open the SETUP.LST file with a text editor such as Notepad. The line that refers to the DLL file will look something like this (all on one line): 

   File2=1,,DS.dl_,DS.dll,$(CommonFiles)\OleSvr,,$(Shared),2/19/1996,10240,
   1.0.0.0
To cause the DLL to be registered properly when installed, simply add the text '$(DLLSelfRegister)' between the correct set of commas, so that the line now looks like this: 

   File2=1,,DS.dl_,DS.dll,$(CommonFiles)\OleSvr,$(DLLSelfRegister),$(Shared
   ),2/19/1996,10240,1.0.0.0
The setup program will now know to register the DLL file after it has been copied to the hard drive.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be an issue in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps To Reproduce

  1. Start Visual Basic 4.0, 32-bit and open the DS sample project (vb\samples\oleserv\ds.vbp). Compile an OLE DLL from the code by selecting 'Make OLE DLL File...' from the File menu. Save the changes.

  2. Start the 32-bit version of the Visual Basic 4.0 Setup Wizard. In step 1, select the project file for the DS sample. This will cause the check box below the text field to change to 'Rebuild the Project's DLL File.'

  3. Follow through the steps, ensuring that 'Install as OLE automation shared component' is selected in Step 6. Click Finish to let the Setup Wizard generate the setup files for the DLL.

  4. On the same machine that was used to generate the setup disks, unregister the DS.DLL file. This can be done by running REGSVR32 with a -u switch:

    REGSVR32 -u DS.DLL

  5. Run the SETUP.EXE generated in step 3 and install the DLL.

  6. Start Visual Basic 4.0 and select References from the Tools menu. Observe that 'Demonstration OLE Server' is not listed in the references because it was not registered by the setup program. The problem can be fixed by manually registering the DLL (with REGSVR32) or by modifying the SETUP.LST file as described above and then rerunning the setup program.

Additional reference words: 4.00 vb4win vb432
KBCategory: kbsetup kbbuglist
KBSubcategory: TlsSetWiz

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Last reviewed: October 17, 1996
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