FIX: ATL Controls Don't Remove CLSID Key During Unregistration (186391)



The information in this article applies to:

  • The Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL) 2.0, when used with:
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 4.2b
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 4.2b
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 5.0
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 5.0
  • The Microsoft Active Template Library (ATL) 2.1, when used with:
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 4.2b
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 4.2b
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Enterprise Edition 5.0
    • Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Professional Edition 5.0

This article was previously published under Q186391

SYMPTOMS

When you unregister an ATL ActiveX control using "REGSVR32.EXE /u," not all registry keys are removed. Specifically, the following subkeys under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{<guid>} are not removed:

  • Insertable
  • MiscStatus
  • ToolboxBitmap32

CAUSE

The .rgs (Registrar Script) file created by the ATL Object Wizard has a duplicate entry for the Programmable subkey. When the unregistration code encounters the duplicate, it aborts and fails to remove any other keys that come after the duplicate entry.

RESOLUTION

Open the .rgs file and remove the duplicate entry.

For example, in the following code remove the second occurrence of the line "ForceRemove 'Programmable'":

Sample Code

   NoRemove CLSID
   {
      ForceRemove {C875C6A0-E8F9-11D1-8F73-00C04F9403C2} = s 'PolyCtl
         Class'
      {
         ProgID = s 'PolyCtl.PolyCtl.1'
         VersionIndependentProgID = s 'PolyCtl.PolyCtl'
         ForceRemove 'Programmable'
         InprocServer32 = s '%MODULE%'
         {
            val ThreadingModel = s 'Apartment'
         }
         ForceRemove 'Control'
   // Remove the next line. It's a duplicate that causes the parser to
   // abort.
         ForceRemove 'Programmable'
         ForceRemove 'Insertable'
         ForceRemove 'ToolboxBitmap32' = s '%MODULE%, 1'
         'MiscStatus' = s '0'
         {
            '1' = s '131473'
         }
         'TypeLib' = s '{C875C692-E8F9-11D1-8F73-00C04F9403C2}'
         'Version' = s '1.0'
      }
   }
				
To avoid this problem in future .rgs files generated by the wizard, remove the same duplicate line from the following files. The wizard uses these files when creating the .rgs files:

C:\Program Files\DevStudio\SharedIDE\Template\atl\Control.rgs
C:\Program Files\DevStudio\SharedIDE\Template\atl\Ie3ctl.rgs

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a bug in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Visual C++ version 6.0 for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

Entries under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib are also not removed. You must add a call to UnregisterTypeLib() to DllUnregisterServer. This is documented in the following Knowledge Base article:

179688 PRB: ATL Servers Do Not Unregister Their Type Library

(c) Microsoft Corporation 1998, All Rights Reserved. Contributions by Samson Tanrena, Microsoft Corporation

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/2/2003
Keywords:kbATL300fix kbBug kbCtrlCreate kbfix kbRegistry kbVC600fix kbwizard KB186391