CodeSign ActiveX Reference Documentation
CodeSign
Current Version: 11.1.0
A class for signing Windows executables and DLLs, and for verifying signed executables and DLLs. This is a Windows-only class. The class and functions will exist on non-Windows systems, but will be no-op functions (stubs) that simply return a failed status.
Object Creation
Note: For a specific major version, use "Chilkat.CodeSign.<major_version>", such as "Chilkat.CodeSign.10" for Chilkat v10.*.* See Chilkat ActiveX Object Creation (ASP) set obj = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.CodeSign") (AutoIt) $obj = ObjCreate("Chilkat.CodeSign") (Visual Basic 6.0) Dim obj As New ChilkatCodeSign (VBScript) set obj = CreateObject("Chilkat.CodeSign") (VBA, such as Excel) Dim obj As New ChilkatCodeSign See How to Use ActiveX in Excel (Delphi) obj := TChilkatCodeSign.Create(Self); (FoxPro) loObject = CreateObject('Chilkat.CodeSign') (PowerBuilder) lole_object = create oleobject li_rc = lole_object.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.CodeSign") (SQL Server) EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.CodeSign', @obj OUT (Javascript) var obj = new ActiveXObject("Chilkat.CodeSign");
Properties
DebugLogFilePath
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
HeartbeatMs
The interval in milliseconds between each AbortCheck
event callback, which enables an application to abort certain method calls before they complete. By default, HeartbeatMs is set to 0
, meaning no AbortCheck event callbacks will trigger.
LastBinaryResult
This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1
. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.
LastErrorHtml
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1
means success, 0
means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.
LastStringResult
In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.
LastStringResultLen
The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.
topUncommonOptions
This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string and should typically remain empty.
Can be set to a list of the following comma separated keywords:
codesign-allow-expired-cert
- Don't fail authenticode signature validation because the signing certificate is expired.
VerboseLogging
If set to 1
, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0
. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"
Methods
AddSignature
Authenticode signs a DLL or EXE.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AddSignatureAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the AddSignature method with the arguments provided.
Note: Async method event callbacks happen in the background thread. Accessing and updating UI elements existing in the main thread may require special considerations.
Returns Nothing
on failure
GetSignerCert
This method retrieves the signer certificate after calling VerifySignature. If successful and the signer certificate is fully available, cert will contain the certificate.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topRemoveSignature
Removes the authenticode signature of a Windows executable or DLL. The path to the executable/DLL is passed in path.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
VerifySignature
Verifies the signature of a Windows executable or DLL. The path to the executable/DLL is passed in path. Information about the signature is returned in sigInfo. Returns 1
if the signature is verified indicating the EXE or DLL can be trusted. Otherwise returns 0
.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
Events
AbortCheck
Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs
property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.
VB6 Event callback implementation:
Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks
Dim WithEvents myCodesign As ChilkatCodeSign Private Sub myCodesign_AbortCheck(abort As Long) 'Insert application code here. End Sub
PercentDone
This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).
The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck
event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.
To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to 1
. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.
VB6 Event callback implementation:
Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks
Dim WithEvents myCodesign As ChilkatCodeSign Private Sub myCodesign_PercentDone(ByVal pctDone As Long, abort As Long) 'Insert application code here. End Sub
ProgressInfo
This event callback provides tag name
/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.
VB6 Event callback implementation:
Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks
Dim WithEvents myCodesign As ChilkatCodeSign Private Sub myCodesign_ProgressInfo(ByVal name As String, ByVal value As String) 'Insert application code here. End Sub
TaskCompleted
Called from the background thread when an asynchronous task completes.
VB6 Event callback implementation:
Important: Event callbacks from asynchronous method calls are generally not possible from the ActiveX. See VB6 Event Callbacks
Dim WithEvents myCodesign As ChilkatCodeSign Private Sub myCodesign_TaskCompleted(task As ChilkatTask) 'Insert application code here. End Sub