In VB6 is linking to a tlb generated from an ocx the same as linking to an ocx directly

Question

The reason I am asking is I have an ocx that I don't want to register on the build machine but I would still like to build against it. If the tlb route is not the right direction any hints on how to accomplish this would be appreciated.

Thanks

Answer 1

Yes. It's the same thing.

The TypeLib is the metadata of the OCX.

Answer 2

If you own the Enterprise Edition you may create a stand-alone Type Library by selecting the "Remote Server Files" checkbox that you find in the Component tab of the Project Properties dialog box. When you then compile the component, Visual Basic will also create two additional files in the same directory as the executable file. One of these two files is the TLB you were looking for.

Found here and confirmed to work with VB6 Enterprise Edition.

Otherwise you have to use OLEVIEW in the Visual Studio 6.0 tool to copy the IDL and compile it using the MIDL compiler into a TLB file.