HOWTO: Test Your ActiveX Documents (.VBD)

"C:\Program Files\DevStudio\Visual Basic\MyTestDocument.VBD"

NOTE: Your path to the .VBD file may be different, so modify the line above as appropriate.

The .VBD file should open in Internet Explorer, displaying any controls you added to the document and executing any code you've added to the project, as appropriate.

If this test worked, you can modify the project as desired, adding code, adding controls, etc. You may then continue to test the VBD file with Internet Explorer simply by running the project and viewing the VBD file with Internet Explorer.

NOTE: The VBD file is temporary; Visual Basic will delete the file when the project stops executing.

Creating Your Internet Download Setup

The following steps take you through the creation of your Internet download setup. If you have created your own ActiveX document (rather that using the example created above), substitute your ActiveX document name where necessary.

1. From the File menu, choose Make MyActiveXDocument.Exe. Create the executable file in the desired location.

   NOTE: The executable file created is designed to execute as an ActiveX document within Internet Explorer. The file cannot be executed successfully by itself.

2. Exit Visual Basic 5.0.

3. Run the Application Setup Wizard. This Setup Wizard should be available from the Start menu, under Programs\Visual Basic 5.0.

   If you are prompted with the "Setup Wizard - Introduction," click Next.

4. From the "Select Project and Options" step, click the Browse button to locate your ActiveX document project. If you created the example provided with this article, locate MyActiveXDocument.vbp.

5. Under "Options," choose to "Create Internet Download Setup." Click Next.

6. On the "Internet Distribution Location" step, select the location where you would like to place the files for Internet download and click Next. For testing purposes, "SWSETUP" may be sufficient.

   NOTE: It is important to note that the folder must be accessible, with at least read-only access, from other machines on your network in order to test. In future deployments, you may wish to place the files created onto a web server.

7. For the "Internet Package" step, choose "Download from the Microsoft Web site."

   NOTE: With this option selected, when a user hits your ActiveX document with Internet Explorer and needs a component installed, IE will go to the Microsoft Web site to install the latest version. If you would like information on how to use an alternate location, refer to the chapter on "Distributing Your Applications" in the Visual Basic 5.0 Programmer's Guide. You may desire to use an alternate location if you are developing an ActiveX document for an intranet where potential users may not have access to the World Wide Web.

8. For the remaining steps in the Setup Wizard, go with the defaults, clicking Next until you reach the final step.

9. On the final step, you may save the template if you prefer. When you are done, click Finish.

Testing the Internet Download

As a developer, you may want to test the Internet Download from your own machine first. Remember, however, that because Visual Basic 5 is already installed on your machine, you know all of the necessary files are installed and the ActiveX document should load without incident. To test the document from the development machine, locate the Internet download files the Setup Wizard created. In the setup folder there will be an HTM file; if you created the example above this file will be named MyActiveXDocument.HTM. Simply double-click the file or locate it with Internet Explorer to open it.

The second test you should apply to your ActiveX document is testing it from a machine without Visual Basic 5.0 installed. If you do not have such a machine available to you for testing, refer to the "Simulating a Clean Machine" section of this article.

From a machine that does not have Visual Basic 5.0 installed, use Internet Explorer to locate and open the HTM file created by the Setup Wizard.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Before testing the ActiveX document, be sure the safety level in Internet Explorer is set to Medium or None. If the safety level is set to High, the required files will not get downloaded and the ActiveX document will not load. To check the security level in Internet Explorer, choose Options from the View menu. From the Options window, select the Security tab, and then click the Safety Level button.

If you set the Safety Level to None, all of the missing components will be installed without warning. If the Safety Level is set to Medium, the following warnings will occur:

First, you will be warned that an attempt to install the CAB file is being made if you created the example above you will be prompted to install MyActiveDocument.CAB. If you respond Yes, the MyActiveXDocument.Exe and MyActiveXDocument.INF will be installed onto the client machine in the Windows\OCCache folder.

Second, you will be asked if you wish to install Microsoft Automation. The Authenticode screen will display information about this component. If you respond Yes, a similar screen will warn you that the Microsoft Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library is going to be installed. Both of these components will be installed from the Microsoft Web site into the Windows\System folder (Windows\System32 folder on Windows NT).

Third, a script warning will appear warning the user that the HTM file contains scripting code. This code is necessary in order to view your ActiveX document.

These warnings are all part of the Internet Explorer's safety mechanisms. If you do not receive all of the above warnings, do not be alarmed. You may not receive a warning if a necessary component is already installed on the client machine or a security level option in Internet Explorer is set to something other than the defaults.

As part of testing, you may wish to test various Internet Explorer security settings to be sure your document loads as expected under varying circumstances.

Simulating a Clean Machine

As a developer, you should test your application on various machines with varying configurations. However, if you do not have a "clean machine" (one that does not have Visual Basic 5.0 or the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library installed), the steps outlined below describe how to configure a development machine so that it behaves like a clean client. These steps may also be taken to clean a client machine that may have been previously exposed to your ActiveX document, Visual Basic 5.0, or the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library.

WARNING: Before following the steps below to simulate a clean machine, be aware that unregistering, renaming, and deleting any of the following files could impact other applications installed onto your machine. For more information about undoing the steps provided here, see the "Restoring Your Machine" section of this article.

In order to clean a machine for testing an Internet download, you must begin by unregistering the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library. This step will require a copy of REGSVR32.EXE. This file may be installed onto your development machine; if it is not, it may be found on the Visual Basic 5.0 installation CD-ROM.

1. From the Start menu, choose Run.

2. In the Run dialog, type in the following command;

   "<PATH>\REGSVR32.EXE /U <Path to Windows folder>\System\MSVBVM50.DLL"

   NOTE: If you are running on a Windows NT machine, the MSVBVM50.DLL is installed into the Windows\System32 folder.

3. Next, rename or delete the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library.

4. From the Start menu, choose Find, and then select Files or Folder.

5. In the Find dialog, search the entire hard drive for files named MSVBVM50.DLL.

   The file MSVBVM50.DLL may appear in more than one location; if it does, delete or rename the file located in the Windows\System folder (System32 on Windows NT platforms).

6. Next, the Microsoft Automation DLL must be deleted or renamed. Follow the steps outlined above for MSVBVM50.DLL, except locate and rename ASYCFILT.DLL, which will also be located in the Windows\System folder (System32 on Windows NT platforms). Do not delete other versions of this file if it is found in alternative locations.

7. Next, you must unregister and delete or rename any remaining dependency files installed on the client machine. These files will typically be custom controls that are used in the ActiveX document. For a list of the dependency files used by your ActiveX document, open the INF file created by the Setup Wizard and placed in the Support folder of the Internet Download setup.

   The INF file will have a [Add.Code] section, listing the dependency files used by your ActiveX document. For example, the MyActiveXDocument.INF file created for the example in this article appears as follows:

         [Add.Code]
         MYACTIVEXDOCUMENT.EXE=MYACTIVEXDOCUMENT.EXE
         ASYCFILT.DLL=ASYCFILT.DLL
         MSVBVM50.DLL=MSVBVM50.DLL
   

   The dependency files must be unregistered, if necessary, and deleted or renamed. The MyActiveXDocument.Exe file does not need to be unregistered. However, it will need to be deleted or renamed. Internet Explorer 3.x places this file into the \Windows\OCCache folder. Internet Explorer 4.0 places this file into the "\Windows\Downloaded Program Files" directory. If you are uncertain whether a file needs to be unregistered or not, you can run REGSVR32.EXE with the /U switch to determine whether or not it can be unregistered. If you receive an error, the file does not need to be unregistered.

   NOTE: One file installed that is not listed in the [Add.Code] section is the INF file which is installed into the Windows\OCCache folder for each ActiveX document. This file will have the same name as the ActiveX EXE with an INF extension; for example, MyActiveDocument.INF. For a truly clean machine, this file would need to be deleted as well. However, not deleting the file will not have any adverse affects on the setup.

   Other dependency files may include OCX files for custom controls or DLLs for various components. For example, if you used any of the Windows Common Controls in your application ,the Add.Code section of your INF file may appear as follows;

         [Add.Code]
         MYACTIVEXDOCUMENT.EXE=MYACTIVEXDOCUMENT.EXE
         ASYCFILT.DLL=ASYCFILT.DLL
         MSVBVM50.DLL=MSVBVM50.DLL
         COMCTL32.OCX=COMCTL32.OCX
   

   In order to remove the COMCTL32.OCX file from the system, run:

         REGSVR32.EXE /U <PATH>\System\COMCTL32.OCX
   

   This will unregister the control, then locate the file and either delete or rename it. Most of the custom controls that ship with Visual Basic 5.0 will install themselves into the Windows\System folder. Internet Explorer, however, will install some custom controls into the Windows\OCCache folder. You will need to be sure the path to the desired OCX is correct when using REGSVR32.EXE or else an error will occur.

   This same procedure must be followed for every dependency file used by your ActiveX document.

   Once all of the dependency files have been unregistered and renamed or deleted, open Internet Explorer and view your HTM page. When you view the HTM page, all of the missing components will automatically be downloaded and installed onto the user's machine.

Restoring Your Machine

Opening the HTM file as described in the last step of the previous section of this article will restore your machine to its original configuration. Internet Explorer will download and register each required file for you. However, if something should go wrong during the Internet download setup, you can reverse the changes made by restoring all of the original files and registering the necessary components.

Any file deleted or renamed would need to be renamed back to its original name or restored from the Windows Recycle Bin. If a file cannot be restored from the Windows Recycle Bin, an original may be found on the Visual Basic 5.0 CD-ROM (unless the file was provided by a third party, in which case you will need to restore the file from the appropriate location). Once the necessary files have been restored, you can run REGSVR32.EXE to register those files that were initially unregistered. For example, to register the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library, execute the following command from the run dialog:

   REGSVR32 <Path to Windows>\System\MSVBVM32.DLL

This section will attempt to cover some of the possible problems you may experience with the Internet Download setup.

Problem:

• You are receiving an error deleting or renaming the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library:

  "Cannot delete MSVBVM50.DLL: Access is denied."

  -or-

  "Cannot rename MSVBVM50.DLL: Access is denied."

• You cannot delete a file while it is in use because Visual Basic 5.0 uses this file while it is running. Be sure Visual Basic 5.0 is not running when you attempt to delete this file. This error may also occur if Internet Explorer is currently or has recently viewed a Visual Basic 5.0 ActiveX Document. In this case, close Internet Explorer before attempting to delete the file.

• "The dynamic link library could not be found in the specified path..."

• The ActiveX document file is still present on the machine. Delete or rename the ActiveX document file found in the Windows\OCCache folder and refresh the page. If you built the ActiveX document example in this article, the file would be named MyActiveXDocument.Exe.

• "An error has occurred copying MSVBVM50.DLL. Ensure the location specified below is correct...C:\TEMP\ICD10E.TMP"

  The exact file names and paths may vary.

• There is insufficient disk space on the target machine. Free up disk space on the target machine and refresh the page.

• Internet Explorer prompts:

  "Opening file <ActiveX Document>.VBD" "What would you like to do with this file?" Open it or Save it to disk

• This error occurs because the Visual Basic 5.0 Run-time Library (MSVBVM50.DLL) is not installed. This will most likely occur if the Internet Explorer safety level is set to High. Set the Internet Explorer safety level to Medium or None.

REFERENCES

Visual Basic 5.0 Component Tools Guide, Chapter 5 "Creating an ActiveX Document"

Visual Basic 5.0 Programmer's Guide, Chapter 17 "Distributing Your Applications"

Keywords          : AXSDKDocObjects vb5all vb5howto kbhowto
Version           : 5.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto