VB.EXE Error: License File for Custom Control Not Found (81458)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition for Windows 2.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Standard Edition for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 2.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Professional Edition for Windows 3.0
This article was previously published under Q81458

SUMMARY

If you distribute the source code (.FRM) of a program that uses a custom control, you must also distribute the necessary custom control files for that control (.VBX, .DLL, and/or .EXE support files).

If a user has not purchased the Professional Edition of Microsoft Visual Basic versions 2.0 or 3.0 for Windows, or the Microsoft Professional Toolkit for Microsoft Visual Basic programming system version 1.0 for Windows, and the user receives a program containing an .FRM file written with the Professional Edition or Professional Toolkit, then the Visual Basic for Windows programming environment (VB.EXE) will not be able to load the program, and will display the following error message:
License file for custom control not found. You do not have
an appropriate license to use this custom control in the
design environment.

NOTE: Anyone who acquires a program in the form of an executable (.EXE) file that uses the custom controls from versions 2.0 or 3.0 of the Professional Edition of Visual Basic for Windows, or from version 1.0 of the Professional Toolkit for Visual Basic for Windows, will be able to run that program with no error.

MORE INFORMATION

The licensing file, VB.LIC is installed by the SETUP.EXE program included in the Professional Edition of Visual Basic for Windows, or the SETUP.EXE included in the Visual Basic for Windows Professional Toolkit. This licensing file is installed into the Windows' \SYSTEM subdirectory. You are NOT allowed to distribute this file with any application that you develop and distribute.

A custom control's startup code checks to see if this VB.LIC licensing file exists when the control is loaded into the environment. If the file does not exist, or is corrupt, the control aborts the loading process and displays the following Alter message box:
License file for custom control not found. You do not have
an appropriate license to use this custom control in the
design environment.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/12/2003
Keywords:KB81458
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.