Adding an ActiveX Control to a Visual C++ Project
- Adding an ActiveX Control to a Visual C++ Project
- On the Project menu, click Add to Project. A shortcut menu appears.
- Click Components and Controls. The Components and Controls Gallery dialog box appears.
- Click the component to add to your project. Visual C++ displays a dialog box from which you can select a subset of the component's classes to add to your project.
- Click to select the check boxes of the classes you want to add, and click OK.
- Type Library Viewers and Conversion Tools
- OLE-COM Object Viewer
- MIDL compiler
- MkTypLib
- Visual Basic Tools for Visual Studio
- Visual Basic Tools for Visual Studio 2015
- How to open visual basic 6 program with visual studio.net
- Support Statement for Visual Basic 6.0 on Windows
- Opening Visual Basic 6 file through Visual Studio 2017
- Module-Definition (.Def) Files
- EXPORTS
- Rules for Module-Definition Statements
- .def files C/C++ DLLs
- c++ visual studio - how to create .def file
- In the folder where your project file (.vcproj) is, create a new text file.
- Rename it to "outputname.def", where "outputname" is the name of your project's output. By default, this is the name of the project, see Step 4 for clarifications.
- In Visual Studio, go to Project->Properties. Go to Configuration Properties->Linker->Input -> Module Definition File and enter the name of the DEF you just created into the field named Module Definition File.
- Repeat steps 1 - 3 for each configuration that outputs a different named DLL. I.e. my Debug configuration makes output_d.dll, so I need an output_d.def for Debug along with an output.def for Release.
- Open all of the DEF files in your current Visual Studio editor. The format for the DEF is easy:
LIBRARY outputnameEXPORTS Function1 @1 Function2
Replace "outputname" with the name of the configuration output. As mentioned in step 4, this could be output in output.def and output_d in output_d.def.
List all of the functions you are exporting. Those functions need to be correctly exported using the correct syntax in your source files. You can manually assign an ordinal by using the @number syntax. Alternatively, you can leave it assigned automatically by not having it.
- Dependency Walker 2.2
- Creating a DLL with a .def file
- Generate def from lib
- Generate a DEF file from a DLL
- mingw-w64
- gendef: generate Visual Studio .def files from .dll files.
- genidl: generate .idl files from .dll files.
- widl: compile .idl files.
- Add DEF file to Visual C++ project
- DLL Module-Definition Files:: a very good project to demo
- How to Export Symbols in a Dynamically Loadable Library
- EXPORTS
- TestOne
- TestTwo
- TestThree
- TestFour
The following procedure adds dispatch class and header files for an ActiveX control to a Visual C++ project.
To add an ActiveX control to a Visual C++ Project
Type libraries contain the specification for one or more COM elements, including classes, interfaces, enumerations, and more. These files are stored in a standard binary format. A type library can be a stand-alone file with the .tlb file name extension, or it can be stored as a resource in an executable file, which can have an .ocx, .dll, or .exe file name extension. The type library viewers and conversion tools described following read this format to gain information about the COM elements in the library.
Before you can program an object in a particular programming language, you must be able to view its type library in that language. Doing this provides you with the proper syntax for the classes, interfaces, methods, properties, and events of the COM object.
Microsoft development products provide the following tools that you can use to generate, extract, and view type library information.
C++
Visual Basic Tools for Visual Studio is a language service extension for Visual Studio 2012 and 2013 allowing us to work on classic Visual Basic projects within Visual Studio. Its intention is to provide better development tools for teams that have to maintain legacy code or working on migration projects. Right now the toolset is still under development and some valuable features are not available yet, but it could already worth it to try. This is pre-release software that is not intended to be used in a live operating environment. The software is
Visual Basic Tools for Visual Studio is a language service extension for Visual Studio 2015 allowing us to work on classic Visual Basic projects within Visual Studio. Its intention is to provide better development tools for teams that have to maintain legacy code or working on migration projects. Right now the toolset is still under development and some valuable features are not available yet, but it could already worth it to try.
This is pre-release software that is not intended to be used in a live operating environment. The software is licensed "as-is" and you bear the risk of using it.
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.DEF file and its rules
Module-definition (.def) files provide the linker with information about exports, attributes, and other information about the program to be linked. A .def file is most useful when building a DLL. Because there are MSVC Linker Options that can be used instead of module-definition statements, .def files are generally not necessary. You can also use __declspec(dllexport) as a way to specify exported functions.
Introduces a section of one or more export definitions that specify the exported names or ordinals of functions or data. Each definition must be on a separate line.
To find the decorated names produced by the compiler, use the DUMPBIN tool or the linker /MAP option. The decorated names are compiler-specific. If you export the decorated names in the .DEF file, executables that link to the DLL must also be built by using the same version of the compiler. This ensures that the decorated names in the caller match the exported names in the .DEF file.
You can use @ordinal to specify that a number, and not the function name, goes into the DLL's export table. Many Windows DLLs export ordinals to support legacy code. It was common to use ordinals in 16-bit Windows code, because it can help minimize the size of a DLL. We don't recommend exporting functions by ordinal unless your DLL's clients need it for legacy support. Because the .LIB file will contain the mapping between the ordinal and the function, you can use the function name as you normally would in projects that use the DLL.
By using the optional NONAME keyword, you can export by ordinal only and reduce the size of the export table in the resulting DLL. However, if you want to use GetProcAddress on the DLL, you must know the ordinal because the name will not be valid.
The optional keyword PRIVATE prevents entryname from being included in the import library generated by LINK. It does not affect the export in the image also generated by LINK.
The optional keyword DATA specifies that an export is data, not code. This example shows how you could export a data variable named exported_global:
All four methods can be used in the same program. When LINK builds a program that contains exports, it also creates an import library, unless an .EXP file is used in the build.
The following syntax rules apply to all statements in a .def file. Other rules that apply to specific statements are described with each statement.
Statements, attribute keywords, and user-specified identifiers are case sensitive. Long file names containing spaces or semicolons (;) must be enclosed in quotation marks ("). Use one or more spaces, tabs, or newline characters to separate a statement keyword from its arguments and to separate statements from each other. A colon (:) or equal sign (=) that designates an argument is surrounded by zero or more spaces, tabs, or newline characters. A NAME or LIBRARY statement, if used, must precede all other statements. The SECTIONS and EXPORTS statements can appear more than once in the .def file. Each statement can take multiple specifications, which must be separated by one or more spaces, tabs, or newline characters. The statement keyword must appear once before the first specification and can be repeated before each additional specification. Many statements have an equivalent LINK command-line option. See the description of the corresponding LINK option for additional details. Comments in the .def file are designated by a semicolon (;) at the beginning of each comment line. A comment cannot share a line with a statement, but it can appear between specifications in a multiline statement. (SECTIONS and EXPORTS are multiline statements.) Numeric arguments are specified in base 10 or hexadecimal. If a string argument matches a reserved word, it must be enclosed in double quotation marks (").
A Question:I am not understanding the point of using .def files with DLLs.
It seems that it replaces the need to use explicit exports within your DLL code (ie. explicit __declspec(dllexport)) however I am unable to generate a lib file when not using these which then creates linker issues later when using the DLL.
So how do you use .defs when linking with the client application, do they replace the need to use a header or .lib file?
A Question: I'm working on a project in visual studio and I'm creating a dll project and it tells me to add a .def file, I've been doing some research and unable to locate how to create this .def file. I'm using visual studio 2008, any help would be great. thanks.
A Good Solution: If you need to create a DEF file for your DLL by hand:
That's all there is to it. Make sure to Build->Rebuild Solution afterwards. Use Dependency Walker to verify your DLL is correctly exporting your functions with the expected names.
Dependency Walker is a free utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, sys, etc.) and builds a hierarchical tree diagram of all dependent modules. For each module found, it lists all the functions that are exported by that module, and which of those functions are actually being called by other modules. Another view displays the minimum set of required files, along with detailed information about each file including a full path to the file, base address, version numbers, machine type, debug information, and more.
Dependency Walker is also very useful for troubleshooting system errors related to loading and executing modules. Dependency Walker detects many common application problems such as missing modules, invalid modules, import/export mismatches, circular dependency errors, mismatched machine types of modules, and module initialization failures.
Dependency Walker runs on Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 7, and 8. It can process any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module, including ones designed for Windows CE. It can be run as graphical application or as a console application. Dependency Walker handles all types of module dependencies, including implicit, explicit (dynamic / runtime), forwarded, delay-loaded, and injected. A detailed help is included.
Dependency Walker is completely free to use. However, you may not profit from the distribution of it, nor may you bundle it with another product.
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If I already have an import library is there a way to create a .def file from it? This is backwards from the normal thing you'd do - normally you create an import library from a .def file. Is there any way to do the opposite?
It's possible - Microsoft tool dumpbin /exports
Last night I spend multiple hours trying to get a non-broken CSFML build ready, which requires to have import libraries for MSVC and GCC that both depend on the same DLL. This works because the import library only points to the symbols that are in the DLL, thus acts as sort of instruction how to use the DLL.
Only after multiple hours of searching I finally stumbled up on the mentioning of gendef.exe which is shipped with MinGW-w64 distributions and oh look, it’s sole purpose is to generate DEF files from DLLs. With gendef and dlltool, both part of any MinGW-w64 distribution, you can now quite easily generate GCC import libraries from any DLL.
Mingw-w64 Mingw-w64 is an advancement of the original mingw.org project, created to support the GCC compiler on Windows systems. It has forked it in 2007 in order to provide support for 64 bits and new APIs. It has since then gained widespread use and distribution.
Tools
where to add directory for def file in visual studio, 2 Answers. It's on the Project Properties > Linker > Input page. Edit the Module Definition File field to point to your . DEF file. You can invoke a.def file during the linker phase with the /DEF (Specify Module-Definition File) linker option. If you are building an.exe file that has no exports, using a.def file will make your output file larger and slower loading. For an example, see Exporting from a DLL Using DEF Files. See the following sections for more information:
Exporting from a DLL Using DEF Files, Add the names of the functions to be exported to this file. For non-MFC DLLs, create the DEF file yourself and add it to your project. Then go to Project > Properties > Linker > Input > Module Definition File and enter the name of the DEF file. For details, see Set C++ compiler and build properties in Visual Studio. Click the Linker folder. Click the Input property page. Modify the Module Definition File property.
DEF file format DEF File - What is it and how do I open it?, def) files provide the linker with information about exports, attributes, and other information about the program to be linked. A .def file is most Module-definition (.def) files provide the linker with information about exports, attributes, and other information about the program to be linked. A.def file is most useful when building a DLL. Because there are MSVC Linker Options that can be used instead of module-definition statements,.def files are generally not necessary.
Design Exchange Format, A module-definition or DEF file (*.def) is a text file containing one or If you are building an extension DLL, and exporting using a DEF file, File Type 1 M.U.G.E.N Character Definition File What is a DEF file? A DEF file is a game data file used by M.U.G.E.N (or just Mugen), a free sprite-based game engine used for making 2D fighting games. It contains the definition for a character, which includes the character name and version information.
Module-Definition (.Def) Files, Design Exchange Format (DEF) is an open specification for representing DEF files are usually generated by place and route (P&R) tools and are used as an A module-definition or DEF file (*.def) is a text file containing one or more module statements that describe various attributes of a DLL. If you are not using the __declspec (dllexport) keyword to export the DLL's functions, the DLL requires a DEF file. A minimal DEF file must contain the following module-definition statements:
Definition File Fundamentals We mentioned that a dll must provide a means of importing its functions and making them available to client applications. We learned above how to help the compiler create the import library by preceding at least one function with the _declspec(dllexport) modifier. Microsoft Windows (I don't know if this technique is available on Linux although I know Linux also uses DLLs) allows another technique. Instead of preceding your functions with a modifier, you can instead add another file called the Module-Definition file.
A definition file is a text file that has the extension def. It must contain at least two sections. The first section is made of one line. It starts with the LIBRARY word followed by the name of the DLL. It is important that the name you specify be the same name as the DLL that will be made available to other applications. The second section starts with the EXPORTS word and contains a list of the functions that will be exported.
In the following exercise, we will create a DLL that can be used to calculate the moment of inertia using the following illustrations and formulas:
How to Export Symbols in a Dynamically Loadable Library in Windows.
All DLLs contain symbols that specify entry points into the library. In lay terms these symbols are the names of functions in "C" or subroutines or functions in Fortran. For IDL to properly access these functions or subroutines, the entry points must be specified during the build of the library. Specifying these symbols causes the symbols to be exported. There are two different methods for specifying these symbols.
The first method is to create a "library name".def file in the following format:
Visual Studio's LINK.EXE provides a a linker option /DEF:filename.def for this purpose. For more information about how the linker uses a *.def file please consult your linker's documentation.
Another method for exporting symbols in "C" is to define symbols in "C" source code using the Visual C++ __declspec macro. An external export definition file is not needed in this case. The Example Code section illustrates the use of the __declspec macro. The simple "C" function test is declared to be exported in the DLL. IDL can then locate the entry point 'test' in the DLL when the CALL_EXTERNAL function is called.
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