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ProgID Key

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A programmatic identifier (ProgID) is a registry entry that can be associated with a CLSID. Like the CLSID, the ProgID identifies a class but with less precision because it is not guaranteed to be globally unique.

Registry Entry

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\{ProgID}

Registry key Description
CLSID Associates a ProgID with a CLSID.
Insertable Indicates that this class is insertable in OLE 2 containers.
Protocol Indicates that this OLE 2 class is insertable in OLE 1 containers.
Shell Provides Windows 3.1 shell printing and File Open information.

 

Remarks

You can use a ProgID in programming situations where it is not possible to use a CLSID. ProgIDs should not appear in the user interface. ProgIDs are not guaranteed to be unique, so they can be used only where name collisions are manageable.

The format of a ProgID is <Program>.<Component>.<Version>, separated by periods and with no spaces, as in Word.Document.6. The ProgID must comply with the following requirements:

  • Have no more than 39 characters.
  • Contain no punctuation (including underscores and slashes) except one or more periods.
  • Not start with a digit.
  • Be different from the class name of any OLE 1 application, including the OLE 1 version of the same application, if there is one.

Because the ProgID should not appear in the user interface, you can obtain a displayable name by calling IOleObject::GetUserType. Also, see OleRegGetUserType.

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes key corresponds to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key, which was retained for compatibility with earlier versions of COM.

IOleObject::GetUserType

OleRegGetUserType