Preparing Your Add-in for Installation

After you have completed the initial phase of testing and debugging, you’re almost ready to install your add-in by using the Add-in Manager, which is available from the Add-ins submenu (Tools menu). Your users will also use the Add-in Manager to install your add-in.

After your add-in is installed, its name appears in the appropriate place in Microsoft Access. If your add-in is a form wizard, for example, it appears in the list of form wizards that users see when creating a new form. Users can run your add-in by choosing it from the list.

However, before you can use the Add-in Manager, you must first set several database properties and create a USysRegInfo table in your add-in’s database.

Setting Database Properties

The first step in preparing your add-in for installation is to set database properties which provide general information about your add-in.

Û To set database properties before you install your add-in

1. In the Database window, click Database Properties on the File menu.
2. Click the Summary tab (if it’s not already selected).
3. In the Title, Company, and Comments boxes, enter values that provide information about your add-in.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box and save the changes that you’ve made.

Creating the USysRegInfo Table

When users install your add-in, the Add-in Manager uses a table in the add-in’s database named USysRegInfo to determine what type of add-in to install and to get general information about the add-in to display for your users. You create the USysRegInfo table in the database that contains the add-in, and then you add records that give the Add-in Manager the information it needs to install your add-in.

Note   Table names that start with USys or MSys are system tables that aren’t displayed in the Database window unless you select the System Objects check box on the View tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu). The built-in Microsoft Access system tables all start with MSys. You can use the prefix USys to create your own system tables and hide them by clearing the System Objects check box.

The simplest way to create a USysRegInfo table is to import the table from one of the wizards that comes with Microsoft Access.

Û To create the USysRegInfo table

1. If your system doesn’t currently display system objects, display them. On the Tools menu, click Options, then click the View tab. Under Show, select the System Objects check box, then click OK.

   Microsoft Access displays the system tables (tables with names that start with MSys or USys) in the Database window. With system objects showing, your USysRegInfo table will be displayed in the list of tables in the Database window.

2. On the File menu, point to Get External Data, then click Import.

   Microsoft Access displays the Import dialog box.

3. In the Look In box, click the folder where Microsoft Access is installed.
4. Click Wztool80, then click Import.

   Microsoft Access displays the Import Objects dialog box.

5. On the Tables tab of the Import Objects dialog box, click USysRegInfo in the list of table objects, then click OK.

   Microsoft Access imports the table.

The USysRegInfo table imported from Wztool80 is empty. You now need to add the records that will register your add-in. The next section describes how to do this.

Adding Records to the USysRegInfo Table

After you have imported a copy of the USysRegInfo table from Wztool80, you need to add records to the table. There are four fields in your USysRegInfo table: Subkey, Type, ValName, and Value. When you add records to the table, you define values in these fields as described in the following sections.

Adding the First Record

The value in the Subkey field defines the names of the subkeys that the Add-in Manager creates in the Windows Registry to register your add-in. This value must be the same for all records in the USysRegInfo table. The value you enter in the Subkey field consists of two parts; the first part is called the root key, which is followed by the subkeys below it.

The root key can be either HKEY_CURRENT_ACCESS_PROFILE or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. If you use HKEY_CURRENT_ACCESS_ PROFILE and the installation is using a user profile (an alternate set of Windows Registry keys that is invoked when Microsoft Access is started with the /profile command-line option), the Add-in Manager adds the keys and values required to register the add-in in the user profile. If you use HKEY_CURRENT_ACCESS_ PROFILE and a user profile is not in use, the Add-in Manager adds the keys and values required to register the add-in in the appropriate key below HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE. If you want to make sure that your add-in is registered for all users of Microsoft Access, use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE as your root key. If you use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, the Add-in Manager always adds the keys and values to register the add-in in the appropriate key below HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

The format of the second part of this entry depends on the kind of add-in you’re installing.

Entering the Subkey Value for Control Wizards, ActiveX Control Wizards, or Builders

If the Control Wizards tool in the toolbox is pressed in, a control wizard is invoked when a user adds a control to a form or report with one of the control tools in the toolbox. An ActiveX control wizard is invoked when a user adds an ActiveX control, formerly called OLE controls or custom controls, to a form or report with the More Controls tool in the toolbox. A builder is invoked when a user clicks the Build button next to a property box in a property sheet. To register a control wizard, ActiveX control wizard, or builder, the format for the value you enter in the Subkey field is:

HKEY_CURRENT_ACCESS_PROFILE\Wizards\WizardType\WizardSubType\WizardName

Note that the first part of the value you enter in the Subkey field can be either HKEY_CURRENT_ACCESS_PROFILE or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, as described earlier. The second part of the entry must begin with Wizards. Assuming there is no user profile in use, this causes the Add-in Manager to write the keys and values to register the wizard or builder in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Access\Wizards key. WizardType defines whether the add-in is a control wizard, ActiveX control wizard, or a builder (called a property wizard in the Windows Registry). WizardSubType defines the specific type of wizard. WizardName is the name of the key where the values to register the wizard or builder will be added.

Note   WizardName must follow Microsoft Access object-naming rules. For information on Microsoft Access object-naming rules, search the Help index for “naming conventions.”

The following table describes the possible values for WizardType and WizardSubType.