Secrets ActiveX Reference Documentation
Secrets
Current Version: 11.1.0
Provides a unified API for managing secrets stored in the following locations:
- Windows Credentials Manager
- Apple Keychain
- AWS Secrets Manager
- Azure Key Vault
- IBM Cloud Secrets Manager
- Oracle Cloud Secrets
- Doppler Secrets
- In-Memory Secrets
Object Creation
Note: For a specific major version, use "Chilkat.Secrets.<major_version>", such as "Chilkat.Secrets.10" for Chilkat v10.*.* See Chilkat ActiveX Object Creation (ASP) set obj = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.Secrets") (AutoIt) $obj = ObjCreate("Chilkat.Secrets") (Visual Basic 6.0) Dim obj As New ChilkatSecrets (VBScript) set obj = CreateObject("Chilkat.Secrets") (VBA, such as Excel) Dim obj As New ChilkatSecrets See How to Use ActiveX in Excel (Delphi) obj := TChilkatSecrets.Create(Self); (FoxPro) loObject = CreateObject('Chilkat.Secrets') (PowerBuilder) lole_object = create oleobject li_rc = lole_object.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.Secrets") (SQL Server) EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.Secrets', @obj OUT (Javascript) var obj = new ActiveXObject("Chilkat.Secrets");
Properties
AutoSplit
The AutoSplit property is specific to local_manager
secrets on Windows. The Windows Credentials Manager supports a maximum of 2560 bytes per secret. If a secret exceeds this size, it will be automatically compressed and split when created or updated, and automatically recomposed when retrieved.
A secret can be split into a maximum of 10 parts.
The default value is 1
.
Compression
If set to 1
, then the contents of the secret will be stored compressed. The default value of this property is 0
.
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.
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.
topLocation
The location of the secrets. Possible values are:
local_manager
- On Windows this is the Credentials Manager. On MacOS and iOS it is the Keychain. This is not yet an option on Linux or Android.aws_secrets_manager
- AWS Secrets Managerazure_key_vault
- Azure Key Vaultibm_cloud
- IBM Cloud Secrets Manageroracle_cloud
- Oracle Cloud Secretsdoppler
- Doppler Secretsmemory
- In-Memory Secrets
The default location is the local_manager
. On Linux and Android, local_manager
will behave the same as memory
.
UncommonOptions
This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string and should typically remain empty.
topVerboseLogging
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
DeleteSecret
Deletes a secret. Cloud secrets managers will typically disable the secret and schedule the secret for deletion after some number of days.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
DeleteSecretAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the DeleteSecret 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
GetSecretBd
Fetches a binary secret and returns the content in bd.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
GetSecretBdAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the GetSecretBd 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
GetSecretJson
Fetches a JSON secret and returns the content in jsonOut.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
GetSecretJsonAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the GetSecretJson 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
GetSecretSb
Fetches a string secret and returns the content in sb.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
GetSecretSbAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the GetSecretSb 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
GetSecretStr
Fetches a string secret and returns the content of the secret.
Returns Nothing
on failure
GetSecretStrAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the GetSecretStr 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
ListSecrets
Lists secrets matching the wildcarded or exact values passed in json. The results of the query are returned in jsonOut.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
ListSecretsAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the ListSecrets 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
SetBootstrapSecret
Accessing a cloud-based secrets manager requires authentication credentials, which cannot be stored in the manager itself. Instead, they must be securely stored locally.
One solution is to store the authentication credentials as a secret in the Windows Credentials Manager or Apple Keychain. These credentials serve as the bootstrap secret
for authenticating with the cloud-based secrets manager.
jsonId contains the name of the bootstrap secret. secretContent contains the bootstrap's secret content.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
UpdateSecretBd
Creates a binary secret if it does not yet exist, or updates an existing secret. The name of the secret is specified in jsonId, and the binary content of the secret in secret.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
UpdateSecretBdAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UpdateSecretBd 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
UpdateSecretJson
Creates a JSON secret if it does not yet exist, or updates an existing secret. The name of the secret is specified in jsonId, and the JSON content of the secret in secret.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
UpdateSecretJsonAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UpdateSecretJson 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
UpdateSecretSb
Creates a string secret if it does not yet exist, or updates an existing secret. The name of the secret is specified in jsonId, and the string content of the secret in sb.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
UpdateSecretSbAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UpdateSecretSb 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
UpdateSecretStr
Creates a string secret if it does not yet exist, or updates an existing secret. The name of the secret is specified in jsonId, and the string content of the secret in secret.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
UpdateSecretStrAsync (1) (2) (AutoIt) (PowerBuilder) (VBScript) (Visual Basic 6.0) (Visual FoxPro)
Creates an asynchronous task to call the UpdateSecretStr 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
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 mySecrets As ChilkatSecrets Private Sub mySecrets_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 mySecrets As ChilkatSecrets Private Sub mySecrets_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 mySecrets As ChilkatSecrets Private Sub mySecrets_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 mySecrets As ChilkatSecrets Private Sub mySecrets_TaskCompleted(task As ChilkatTask) 'Insert application code here. End Sub