An ActiveX control is an extension to the Visual Basic Toolbox. You use ActiveX controls just as you would any of the standard built-in controls, such as the CheckBox control. When you add an ActiveX control to a program, it becomes part of the development and run-time environment and provides new functionality for your application.
ActiveX controls leverage your capabilities as a Visual Basic programmer by retaining some familiar properties, events, and methods, such as the Name property, which behave as you would expect. Then, however, the ActiveX controls feature methods and properties that greatly increase your flexibility and capability as a Visual Basic programmer.
For example, the Visual Basic Professional and Enterprise editions include the Windows Common controls that allow you to create applications with the look and feel of Windows 95 toolbars, status bars, and tree views of directory structures. Other controls allow you to create applications that take full advantage of the Internet.