Using the Pipeline Component Registration Tool

  • Article

Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 includes the Pipeline Component Registration Tool for efficient registration of pipeline components written in Visual Basic. Typically, registration would be done using the DllRegisterServer entry-point routine, as is done in C++. However, because Visual Basic developers cannot export functions from their components, they usually have to find a way to register the components themselves, which can be a difficult task.

The Pipeline Component Registration Tool simplifies the registration process by registering pipeline components for stage affinity and then exporting the data to a Registry Script (.reg) file so it can be deployed on other servers.

To open the Pipeline Component Registration Tool

To register your pipeline component(s)

To open the Pipeline Component Registration Tool

  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Commerce Server 2002, and then click Software Development Kit.
  2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to <drive>:\Program Files\Microsoft Commerce Server\SDK\Tools\Registration Tool.
  3. Double-click the PipeReg.exe icon.

The Pipeline Component Registration Wizard appears. You can now begin registering your component(s).

To register your pipeline component(s)

  1. In the Pipeline Component Registration Wizard (Step 1 of 3) dialog box, do the following:

    Use this To do this
    Select component by ProgID Type the ProgID for the component you want to register in the ProgID box. This registers a single component.
    Select component Type Library Type the path to the Type Library (.tlb or .dll) for the component(s) you want to register in the Path box. This registers some or all of the components in the indicated type library.

  2. Click Next.

  3. If you selected the option Select component by ProgID, in the Pipeline Component Registration Wizard (Step 2 of 3) dialog box, or, if you selected Select component Type Library and selected a type library with only a single component, do the following:

    Use this To do this
    Available Categories Select from the list of available pipeline stages in which you want to make your component available, and then click the right arrow button to move the pipeline stages to the Selected Categories box.
    Selected Categories Select from the list of available pipeline stages that you do not want this component to appear in, and then click the left arrow button to remove those stages.
    Add Custom Stage Click to add a custom stage for this component. In the Add Custom Stage dialog box, type the custom stage label in the Label box, type the GUID for the custom stage in the GUID box, and then click OK.

    Click Next.

  4. If you selected the option Select component Type Library and selected a type library with more than one component, in the Pipeline Component Registration Wizard [Select Components] dialog box select the components you would like to register, and then click Next.

    Return to Step 3 for each component you selected.

  5. In the Pipeline Component Wizard [Registration] dialog box, do one of the following:

    Use this To do this
    Register components only Click to update the Implemented Categories of the component for the corresponding registry hive. This option is best for the workstation of a site developer, where components and stages may change on a regular basis.
    Export registration data Click to export the registry information to a registry script. In the Export path box, select the path to which you want the registry script exported.
    Register and export data Click to register and export the registration data to a registry script. In the Export path box, select the path to which you want the registry script exported.

    Click Next.

  6. In the Pipeline Component Registration Wizard [Finished] dialog box, review the information to make sure the correct components were loaded and exported to the correct path.

  7. To close the Pipeline Component Registration Wizard, click Close.

The Pipeline Component Registration Wizard adds keys under the Implemented Categories entry in the registry to indicate that it is a pipeline component and to indicate which stages the component may appear in. The Implemented Categories entry can be found at \HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\component_classid\implemented categories\stage_clsid key within the Microsoft Windows NT Registry, where stage_class_id is the GUID of the stage with which the component will have an affinity, and component_class_id is the class ID of the component itself. See the file pipe_stages.h in the Microsoft Commerce Server Software Development Kit (SDK) for the GUID values for different pipeline stages.

See Also

Using the Visual Basic Pipeline Component Wizard

Implementing the IPipelineComponent Interface

Persisting Data

Special Considerations for Visual Basic Pipeline Components

Copyright © 2005 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.