View source for RegSvr32

==Navigation==
[[computing]]: [[software]]: [[programming]]: [[Windows programming|Windows]]: [[ActiveX]]: [[RegSvr32]]
==Reference==
* {{wikipedia|Regsvr32.exe}}
* Microsoft:
** [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/207132 How Regsvr32.exe Registers and Unregisters COM DLLs]

==Overview==
[[RegSvr32]].exe is the program used to manually register [[ActiveX]] DLLs in [[Windows (MS)|Windows]]. It is usually found in c:\windows\system, c:\windows\system32, or other related folders depending on the version of Windows. (It is ''not'' used to reg/unreg [[ActiveX EXE]]s; see [[ActiveX]].)

Running RegSvr32 with no parameters causes a [[message box]] to pop up on the screen listing the available [[command-line]] options. The version for [[Windows 98]] shows the following information (with clarifications added):
{{quoteon}}
'''Usage''': regsvr32 {{optarg|/u}} {{optarg|/s}} {{optarg|n}} {{optarg|i[:cmdline]}} <u>dllname</u>
* '''/u''' &ndash; unregister server (i.e. unregister the file <u>dllname</u> as an ActiveX server)
* '''/s''' &ndash; silent; display no message boxes
* '''/c''' &ndash; console output
* '''/i''' &ndash; call [[dllinstall]] passing it an optional {{optarg|cmdline}}; when used with '''/u''', calls [[dlluninstall]]
* '''/n''' &ndash; do not call [[DllRegisterServer]]; this option must be used only with '''/i'''
{{quoteoff}}

The basic commands, then, are:
* {{faint|(path)\}}'''regsvr32''' <u>dllname</u>
* {{faint|(path)\}}'''regsvr32''' /u <u>dllname</u>

'''''Note''': I was not able to get these commands to work with Windows 98, although I used them frequently in Windows 95 (which I don't have currently available for testing), so I may have some detail wrong or there may be some prerequisite about which I have forgotten. Failing this, you can always use [[RegEdit]] to remove everything that refers to your ActiveX module &ndash; so it's a good idea to be sure that your module has a name unlikely to be part of any other data in the registry. Run [[RegClean]] afterwards, to be on the safe side. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 21:25, 29 January 2007 (EST)''

If you are doing a lot of installing or uninstalling of ActiveX modules on a particular system, it is a fairly simple matter to add those actions to your right-click menu :
* In [[Windows Explorer]], click on the '''Tools''' menu
* Select '''Folder Options...'''
* Select the '''File Types''' tab
* If the "Application" type already exists and is non-editable, you can make it editable by running [[RegEdit]] and deleting the key "\\My Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\EditFlags". (If the "Application" type does not exist, create it, or look to see if .exe files are handled by a differently-named type. The name of the type will be whatever [[Windows Explorer|Explorer]] shows as the "Type" for .exe files.)
* Add the action "register", with the command as "{{faint|(path)\}}regsvr32.exe %1"
* Add the action "unregister", with the command as "{{faint|(path)\}}regsvr32.exe /u %1"