ID: Q83557
The information in this article applies to:
The Registration Database is a system resource that was added to Windows at version 3.1. The Registration Database contains two types of strings: keys and values. All information regarding object linking and embedding (OLE) objects, and support for the StdFileEditing protocol, is stored in the Registration Database. This article describes the objects that support the StdFileEditing protocol and the related values stored in the Registration Database.
Because all OLE-related objects are members of the same class, all OLE-related keys start from a root key called HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. A subkey is separated from the root key by a backslash (\) character. Information regarding an OLE object is kept in the Registration Database under a key that matches the object's class name.
The first subkeys from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT are the OLE object's class name and the OLE server application's file extension.
Key Name Required Value
-------- --------------
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name> Readable version of class name. For
example "Excel 3.0 Worksheet"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<.ext> File extension associated with the
class name.
The HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name> key has two standard extensions to
which additional subkeys are attached:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdFileEditing
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdExecute
Additional subkeys attached to \protocol\StdFileEditing describe more
specific OLE-related characteristics of the object. Each key name
listed in the table below is a subkey of
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\<class_name>\protocol\StdFileEditing. An asterisk
(*) by the key name indicates that a value is optional.
Key Name Value Example
-------- ----- -------
server Full path to server executable c:\schmoo.exe
handler* Full path to object-handler DLL c:\schmooh.dll
verb\0 Primary verb Edit
verb\1* Secondary verb Play
verb\n* N-ary verb Open, and so
forth
SetDataFormats* CSV string of data formats Native, CF_BITMAP
RequestDataFormats* CSV string of data formats Native, CF_BITMAP
Verbs indicate the actions a user can perform on an object, such as
play, edit, and open. Most graphical applications provide only the
edit verb because editing is typically the only action supported for
graphical data. The Windows 3.1 Sound Recorder supports two verbs,
play and edit, where play is the primary verb and edit is the
secondary verb. When a user double-clicks an object in a client
application, the client invokes the primary verb for the object. (For
a sound object, the Sound Recorder plays the sound.) The user accesses
any other verbs through menu selections in the client application.
The \protocol\StdExecute\server key is an optional key. Its associated value is the path to the server application, similar to the server subkey of the StdFileEditing key. Windows uses the \protocol\StdExecute\server key to find the server when a client application sends commands using the OleExecute function.
Additional reference words: 1.00 KBCategory: kbole kbprg KBSubcategory: LeOneSvr
Last Reviewed: February 17, 1995