Button and Cursor Design / ActiveX Components (ActiveX Controls, COM Objects & OLE Objects)

ActiveX Components (ActiveX Controls, COM Objects & OLE Objects)

Microsoft first introduced the term ActiveX in 1996 when they launched a downloadable user interface control or software component that could be used by Internet Explorer to give more interactive or active content on a Web page to the reader. ActiveX controls were a re-branded subset of OLE custom controls (OCX) or OLE controls (OCXes) that were streamlined for downloading over the Internet and that could be digitally signed for security and authentication reasons. These ActiveX downloads were also tagged or marked as being safe for scripting and safe for initialization, to help give users confidence in using them in ActiveX Internet apps, as they were less likely to start making unauthorized actions on their systems. ActiveX controls also supported threading models, such as Apartment Model Threading, to try and improve performance in a multi-user or multi-process environment.

OLE controls (OCX's) or Object Linking and Embedding controls were themselves the successor to VBX controls first introduced by Microsoft to help programmers extend the functionality and features of their Visual Basic program by buying and reusing a VBX control built by another programmer or company, with expertise in a specific area. VBXes were limited to 16 bit usage for example on Windows 3.x, OCXes were available for both 16 bit or 32 bit architectures and began being widely used as people adopted Windows 95, although most people tended to use VBXes on 16-bit systems and OCX controls or OLE components on 32-bit systems for performance reasons. OLE itself was based on earlier work by Microsoft in their Office products to allow data to be exchanged and reused as objects inside other documents or files, such as embedding an Excel spreadsheet in a Word document and updating the content of that Excel spreadsheet for display using Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). Hence the term OLE document, that is still in use today.

OLE was part of the Microsoft COM or Component Object Model, that enabled programmers to reuse software components and services in a logical and object oriented manner. COM was extended and expanded over the years to include DCOM, the Distributed Component Object Model that allowed programmers to call OLE objects or COM objects situated on other computers or servers. COM+ was added to support transaction services using technologies such as Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) and this first appeared when Windows 2000 was launched to better support distributed transactions in more complex applications, where higher performance and throughput was required. COM has gradually become a common term used to refer to: COM, DCOM, COM+, OLE and ActiveX technologies in general.

ActiveX components can be created in a variety of object oriented programming languages, but are most commonly created using C++ and the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC), such as: MFC 4.0, MFC 4.2 and MFC 6.0. When VB 5 was released in became possible for a Visual Basic programmer to create an ActiveX component for reuse by other people and whilst most programmers claim that the best ActiveX components were written in Visual C++ or by utilizing the ActiveX Template Library, it did not stop some entrepreneurial developers from Janus Systems writing one of the bestselling ActiveX UI controls of all time in VB5 and VB6, called Janus GridEx, a VB6 ActiveX, that gives the look and feel of the Microsoft Outlook UI inside your app.

ActiveX components and ActiveX controls come with a variety of file extensions such as: .exe, .dll and .ocx and these denote a certain type of usage either in-process as part of your program or app (an ActiveX DLL), or out-of-process as a standalone executable (an ActiveX Exe), as an ActiveX control or OCX control mainly used as a UI control on a form or page. Downloadable ActiveX controls are also packaged as .cab files or Cabinet files. These CAB files are packages of files compressed to take up less space and hence can be downloaded more efficiently over the Internet.

In this ActiveX Component gallery you will find a variety of commercial products that are ActiveX objects or ActiveX controls that people sometime refer to as VB controls or as a VB object, as they are often used within Visual Basic. You will find ActiveX Windows components that allow you to carry out visuals tasks, such as an ActiveX UI control for displaying video or images, an ActiveX image control or a non-Visual ActiveX upload component that will allow you to push a file up onto a server over the Internet using HTTP or FTP protocols.

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1. Button Objx

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Publisher: GrapeCity Primary Category: Button and Cursor Design Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / DLL / VBX

Create fully customized active buttons and toolbars as well as custom-shaped containers. Button Objx is an ActiveX component designed to replace the Windows button component to create visually enhanced buttons. It allows you to dynamically change pictures and shapes, add multiple hotspots within a custom-shaped region, and more. Features include: IE or Netscape-style buttons, make buttons or individual cells transparent, 3D text characteristics, and much more.
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2. Enterprise Developer Toolbox

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Publisher: GrapeCity Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / DLL

Add Button, Calendar, Data Input, ListBox, Spreadsheet and Tab functionality to your windows applications. Enterprise Developers Toolbox contains all FarPoint COM technologies products like FarPoint Spread 8, FarPoint List Pro, Calendar Objx, Input Pro, Button Objx and more. Use FarPoint Spread 8 to easily incorporate advanced grid and high-level spreadsheet features into your applications, Button Objx to create fully customized active buttons and toolbars as well as custom-shaped containers, Calendar Objx enabling you to display or select date and/or time values, Input Pro to create professional data entry screens with input masking, List Pro which provides robust ListBoxes and ComboBoxes and Tab Pro to add organized and professional user interfaces to your Windows applications.
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3. NetAdvantage ActiveX

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Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

Create applications with the familiar, easy-to-use interfaces of Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Windows Explorer and Windows XP. NetAdvantage ActiveX includes grids, toolbars, navigation components, scheduling, editors, explorer UI and additional UI elements. Products included in the NetAdvantage ActiveX are UltraGrid, UltraToolBars, ScheduleX, Data Explorer and ActiveTreeView.
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4. NetAdvantage COM

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Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

Create applications with the familiar, easy-to-use interfaces of Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Windows Explorer and Windows XP. UltraSuite includes grids, toolbars, navigation components, scheduling, editors, explorer UI and additional UI elements. UltraSuite includes UltraGrid, UltraToolBars, ScheduleX, Data Explorer and ActiveTreeView. Infragistics UltraSuite was formerly known as Sheridan Protoview UltraSuite.
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5. UltraSuite

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Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

Create applications with the familiar, easy-to-use interfaces of Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, Windows Explorer and Windows XP. UltraSuite includes grids, toolbars, navigation components, scheduling, editors, explorer UI and additional UI elements. Products included are UltraGrid, UltraToolBars, ScheduleX, Data Explorer and ActiveTreeView. Infragistics UltraSuite Source code is available. Infragistics UltraSuite was formerly known as Sheridan UltraSuite or UltraSuite 3.0
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6. Codejock Xtreme Suite Pro  Average Review: based on 4 reviews

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Publisher: Codejock Software  Primary Category: Product Suites  Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

Give your application a professional, modern appearance with toolbars, menus, docking, property grid, reporting and calendar functionality. Codejock Xtreme SuitePro provides Windows developers with a sophisticated set of components to give your application a professional, modern appearance. Xtreme Suite Pro combines seven components, Xtreme Controls, Xtreme CommandBars, Xtreme Docking Pane, Xtreme Property Grid, Xtreme Report Control, Xtreme Chart Pro, Xtreme Calendar, Xtreme ShortcutBar, Xtreme SyntaxEdit, Xtreme Skinframework, and Xtreme Task Panel. With Xtreme Suite Pro you can create enterprise class applications that incorporate a full set of highly customizable user interface components that include Microsoft Office style toolbars and menus. Several popular visual styles are included such as Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2010 and Visual Studio .NET.
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7. Codejock Xtreme Command Bars Visual C++ MFC

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Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: Toolbar / Menu / Ribbon Product Type: Component / DLL / VC++ Class Library / Static Link Library

Provides Windows GUI engineers with all the components needed to create Microsoft Office XP style toolbars and menus with enhanced docking algorithms. Codejock Software's Xtreme CommandBars provides Windows developers with comprehensive, fully customizable menus and toolbars giving your application a professional and modern interface with sophisticated Office style command bars and One Note style MDI tab windows. The framework fully supports menu and toolbar customization to give you more control over your applications workspace. Xtreme CommandBars comes with built in theme support that will allow you to choose from predefined themes such as Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2010, Visual Studio .NET, Visual Studio 2005, or create your own custom theme.
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8. Codejock Xtreme Command Bars ActiveX

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Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: Toolbar / Menu / Ribbon Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

Provides Windows GUI engineers with all the components needed to create Microsoft Office XP style toolbars and menus with enhanced docking algorithms. Codejock Software's Xtreme CommandBars provides Windows developers with comprehensive, fully customizable menus and toolbars giving your application a professional and modern interface with sophisticated Office style command bars and One Note style MDI tab windows. The framework fully supports menu and toolbar customization to give you more control over your applications workspace. Xtreme CommandBars comes with built in theme support that will allow you to choose from predefined themes such as Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007, Office 2010, Visual Studio .NET, Visual Studio 2005 or create your own custom theme.
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9. Codejock Xtreme Skin Framework Bundle Visual C++ MFC

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Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: User Interface Product Type: Component / DLL / VC++ Class Library / Static Link Library

Create Microsoft Office and Ribbon style toolbars and menus with enhanced docking algorithms and completely skin every part of an application. Codejock Xtreme SkinFramework Bundle combines two of Codejock Software's most popular products, Xtreme CommandBars and Xtreme SkinFramework. Xtreme SkinFramework will completely skin every part of an application with today's most popular themes including Windows XP and Windows Vista themes. The Xtreme CommandBars provides Microsoft style toolbars, Ribbon bar, menus, pop-ups, tabbed MDI interface, status bar, and much more which can all be skinned using the Xtreme SkinFramework Bundle.
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10. Codejock Xtreme Skin Framework Bundle ActiveX

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Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: User Interface Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

Create Microsoft Office and Ribbon style toolbars and menus with enhanced docking algorithms and completely skin every part of an application. Codejock Xtreme SkinFramework Bundle combines two of Codejock Software's most popular products, Xtreme CommandBars and Xtreme SkinFramework. Xtreme SkinFramework will completely skin every part of an application with today's most popular themes including Windows XP and Windows Vista themes. The Xtreme CommandBars provides Microsoft style toolbars, Ribbon bar, menus, pop-ups, tabbed MDI interface, status bar, and much more which can all be skinned using the Xtreme SkinFramework Bundle.
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Button Objx

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Button and Cursor Design / ActiveX Components (ActiveX Controls, COM Objects & OLE Objects)

ActiveX Components (ActiveX Controls, COM Objects & OLE Objects)

Related News

BCGControlBar Professional 15.0 released

1. Button Objx

Publisher: GrapeCity Primary Category: Button and Cursor Design Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / DLL / VBX

2. Enterprise Developer Toolbox

Publisher: GrapeCity Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / DLL

3. NetAdvantage ActiveX

Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

4. NetAdvantage COM

Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

5. UltraSuite

Publisher: Infragistics Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX

6. Codejock Xtreme Suite Pro Average Review: based on 4 reviews

Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: Product Suites Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

7. Codejock Xtreme Command Bars Visual C++ MFC

Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: Toolbar / Menu / Ribbon Product Type: Component / DLL / VC++ Class Library / Static Link Library

8. Codejock Xtreme Command Bars ActiveX

Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: Toolbar / Menu / Ribbon Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

9. Codejock Xtreme Skin Framework Bundle Visual C++ MFC

Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: User Interface Product Type: Component / DLL / VC++ Class Library / Static Link Library

10. Codejock Xtreme Skin Framework Bundle ActiveX

Publisher: Codejock Software Primary Category: User Interface Product Type: Component / ActiveX OCX / ActiveX EXE / ActiveX DLL / DLL / VB Class Library / ActiveX Designer

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