ActiveX Script Task

The ActiveX Script task provides a way to continue to use custom code that was developed using ActiveX script, until such scripts can be upgraded to use the more advanced features provided by the Script task.

Important

The ActiveX Script task is provided only for purposes of backward compatibility with the deprecated component, Data Transformation Services (DTS). For more information, see Data Transformation Services (DTS).

ActiveX script has typically been used for the following purposes:

  • Including business logic in packages. For example, ActiveX script can use conditional logic to manage package workflow.

  • Writing functions that use conditional logic to set variable values. For example, an ActiveX script can access values in a database table by using ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) and populate variables with the table values.

  • Performing complex computations. For example, an ActiveX script can compute new dates by applying built-in functions such DateAdd and DateDiff to data values.

  • Accessing data using other technologies that are not supported by built-in connection types. For example, an ActiveX script can use Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) to access and extract the user names from Active Directory.

If you have existing ActiveX scripts that you would like to continue to use until they can be upgraded, you can configure the ActiveX Script task in the following ways:

  • Provide the existing script that the task runs.

  • Specify the scripting language that was used in the script. The ActiveX Script task supports the VBScript and JScript languages and other scripting languages installed on the local computer.

  • Specify the name of the function that is the entry point for the script.

Comparing the ActiveX Script Task and the Script Task

When you write new scripts for SQL Server Integration Services packages, you should always consider using the Script task instead of the ActiveX Script task. The Script task offers the following advantages:

  • Scripts written in programming languages such as Microsoft Visual Basic .NET can be precompiled to deliver better performance.

  • Scripts coded in the VSA environment are supported by integrated Help, IntelliSense, and debugging.

  • Scripts can reference external .NET assemblies in addition to the standard .NET framework and COM objects.

For more information, see Script Task.

Configuring the ActiveX Script Task

You can set properties programmatically or through SSIS Designer.

For more information about the properties that you can set in SSIS Designer, click one of the following topics:

For more information about setting these properties in SSIS Designer, click the following topic:

Configuring the ActiveX Script Task Programmatically

For more information about programmatically setting these properties, click the following topic:

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