How to Publish ActiveX Controls in Windows 2000 Using IntelliMirror

This article describes how to publish ActiveX controls using the IntelliMirror Software Installation and Maintenance technology in Windows 2000.

When you perform a "clean" installation of Windows 2000 (that is, you have not upgraded from Microsoft Windows NT 4 or Microsoft Windows 98), members of the Users default group cannot download ActiveX controls because they are not permitted to write to the Downloaded Program Files folder. However, administrators who want to make particular ActiveX controls available can do so by using the IntelliMirror technology in Windows 2000.

Publishing ActiveX controls with IntelliMirror is similar to publishing programs. However, the following conditions must be met for this to work successfully:

• The control must be packaged in a Microsoft Installer package (.msi file).
• The Microsoft Installer package must be published to Active Directory.
• The following value must be added to the registry on computers that are permitted to download the control:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\UseCoInstall
  Note that this can be any type of value and can contain any or no data.

When a Windows 2000 client visits a Web site that contains an ActiveX control that has not yet been downloaded, the registry value listed above is checked. If this value exists, Active Directory is checked to determine whether the ActiveX control has been published. If the control is available, it is downloaded and installed with Windows Installer. If the control has not been published, Internet Explorer determines whether or not the current user has adequate permissions to download and run the control. The control is downloaded and run if the user's permissions are sufficient. If they are not sufficient, a red X is displayed on the Web page where the control should appear.