Licensing an IDL ActiveX control with an embedded IDL key

Topic:

The IDL ActiveX control can be used to access IDL functionality in applications written in other languages that support ActiveX, such as Visual C++ or Visual Basic. An IDL ActiveX control contains an embedded license string along with some initialization code that it executes before its initial call to IDL. This TechTip describes how to use the embedded licensing method in your ActiveX control.Discussion:

Step 1. Obtain Your Licensing Information:
RSI Technical Support will send a text file that contains the embedded license strings that IDL uses to launch in licensed mode.

Step 2. Modify Your Application Code:
Add the code provided by RSI Technical Support to your external application. Please note: For VisualBasic, the InitStringInfo method must be called to define the embedded license prior to ActiveX initialization (e.g., "IDLDrawWidget1.InidIDL(Me.hwnd)"). The code sample below shows an example embedded license key:

     ' IDL ActiveX Control Application license for: myapp, My App
     'License built for IDL Version 6.0
     IDLDrawWidget1.InitStringInfo("12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd," & _
     "12345678abcdabcd")

For the IDL DrawX control called from Visual C++, callable IDL must be initialized in embedded license mode prior to the initialization of the IDLDrawWidget. See TechTip 3554 for information on callable IDL licensing.

Step 3: Prepare the application for distribution:
Prepare the application for distribution by following the steps in "Building Your Application" and "Preparing a Distribution" in the Building IDL Applications manual, located in the IDL on-line documentation.

For more information on developing IDL ActiveX controls, please see the External Development Guide in the IDL on-line documentation.

For more information on embedded licensing options, please see TechTip 3552: Licensing options for compiled IDL applications.Solution:
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