TChilkatCert Delphi ActiveX Reference Documentation

TChilkatCert

Current Version: 9.5.0.97

Digital certificate component / class

Importing the Chilkat ActiveX into Delphi

Important: When upgrading to a new version of Chilkat, make sure to re-imported ActiveX DLL into Delphi to regenerate the files described below.

Two things are required to use an ActiveX in Delphi:

  1. The ActiveX DLL needs to be registered via regsvr32 on the system where the Delphi application runs. See How To Register ActiveX DLLs for detailed information.
  2. See also: ActiveX Registration Tutorial
  3. The ActiveX component needs to be "imported". Use the Delphi Import Component Wizard to import the Chilkat type library. This creates the following files: Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB.pas and Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB.dcr. The Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB.pas should be added to your project.

To import the Chilkat type library, do the following:

  1. In the Delphi RAD Studio, select the menu item "Component" --> "Import a Type Library".
  2. Find "Chilkat ActiveX v9.5.0" in the list and select it. This will only appear in the list if the ChilkatAx-9.5.0-win32.dll (or ChilkatAx-9.5.0-x64.dll) has been registered w/ regsvr32.
  3. Check the "Generate Component Wrappers" checkbox.
  4. Select a directory where the unit files (.pas and .dcr) should be generated.
  5. Select "Create Unit" and then "Finish".
  6. Add the .pas to your Delphi project.

To use a Chilkat ActiveX object in your Delphi code, add "Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB" to the "uses" statement. For example:

uses
  Winapi.Windows, Winapi.Messages, System.SysUtils, System.Variants, System.Classes, Vcl.Graphics,
  Vcl.Controls, Vcl.Forms, Vcl.Dialogs, Vcl.StdCtrls, Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB;

Object Creation

var
obj: TChilkatCert;
...
begin
obj := TChilkatCert.Create(Self);
...
// When finished, free the object instance.
obj.Free();

Properties

AuthorityKeyId
property AuthorityKeyId: WideString readonly
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The authority key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.35.

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AvoidWindowsPkAccess
property AvoidWindowsPkAccess: Integer

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If 1, then any method that returns a certificate will not try to also access the associated private key, assuming one exists. This is useful if the certificate was installed with high-security such that a private key access would trigger the Windows OS to display a security warning dialog. The default value of this property is 0.

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CertVersion
property CertVersion: Integer readonly

The version of the certificate (1, 2, or 3). A value of 0 indicates an error -- the most likely cause being that the certificate object is empty (i.e. was never loaded with a certificate). Note: This is not the version of the software, it is the version of the X.509 certificate object. The version of the Chilkat certificate software is indicated by the Version property.

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CspName
property CspName: WideString readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) If the HasKeyContainer property is 1, then the certificate is linked to a key container and this property contains the name of the associated CSP (cryptographic service provider). When a certificate is linked to a key container , the following properties will provide information about the key container and private key: CspName, KeyContainerName, MachineKeyset, and Silent.

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DebugLogFilePath
property DebugLogFilePath: WideString

If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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Expired
property Expired: Integer readonly

Has a value of 1 if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has expired. (This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers.)

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ExtendedKeyUsage
property ExtendedKeyUsage: WideString readonly
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a string containing a comma separated list of keywords with the extended key usages of the certificate. The list of possible extended key usages are:

  • serverAuth - TLS WWW server authentication
  • clientAuth - TLS WWW client authentication
  • codeSigning - Signing of downloadable executable code
  • emailProtection - Email protection
  • timeStamping - Binding the hash of an object to a time
  • OCSPSigning - Signing OCSP responses

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ForClientAuthentication
property ForClientAuthentication: Integer readonly

1 if this certificate can be used for client authentication, otherwise 0.

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ForCodeSigning
property ForCodeSigning: Integer readonly

1 if this certificate can be used for code signing, otherwise 0.

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ForSecureEmail
property ForSecureEmail: Integer readonly

1 if this certificate can be used for sending secure email, otherwise 0.

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ForServerAuthentication
property ForServerAuthentication: Integer readonly

1 if this certificate can be used for server authentication, otherwise 0.

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ForTimeStamping
property ForTimeStamping: Integer readonly

1 if this certificate can be used for time stamping, otherwise 0.

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HasKeyContainer
property HasKeyContainer: Integer readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Indicates whether this certificate is linked to a key container. If 1 then the certificate is linked to a key container (usually containing a private key). If 0, then it is not.

When a certificate is linked to a key container , the following properties will provide information about the key container and private key: CspName, KeyContainerName, MachineKeyset, and Silent.

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IntendedKeyUsage
property IntendedKeyUsage: Integer readonly

Bitflags indicating the intended usages of the certificate. The flags are:
Digital Signature: 0x80
Non-Repudiation: 0x40
Key Encipherment: 0x20
Data Encipherment: 0x10
Key Agreement: 0x08
Certificate Signing: 0x04
CRL Signing: 0x02
Encipher-Only: 0x01

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IsRoot
property IsRoot: Integer readonly

1 if this is the root certificate, otherwise 0.

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IssuerC
property IssuerC: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's country.

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IssuerCN
property IssuerCN: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's common name.

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IssuerDN
property IssuerDN: WideString readonly

The issuer's full distinguished name.

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IssuerE
property IssuerE: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's email address.

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IssuerL
property IssuerL: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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IssuerO
property IssuerO: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's organization, which is typically the company name.

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IssuerOU
property IssuerOU: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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IssuerS
property IssuerS: WideString readonly

The certificate issuer's state or province.

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KeyContainerName
property KeyContainerName: WideString readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) If the HasKeyContainer property is 1, then the certificate is linked to a key container and this property contains the name of the key container.

When a certificate is linked to a key container , the following properties will provide information about the key container and private key: CspName, KeyContainerName, MachineKeyset, and Silent.

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LastBinaryResult
property LastBinaryResult: OleVariant readonly

The binary data returned by the last (binary data returning) method called. Only available if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This provides a means for obtaining large varbinary results in the SQL Server environment (where limitations exist in getting large amounts of data returned by method calls, but where temp tables can be used for binary properties).

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LastErrorHtml
property LastErrorHtml: WideString readonly

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorText
property LastErrorText: WideString readonly

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorXml
property LastErrorXml: WideString readonly

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
property LastMethodSuccess: Integer

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of 1 indicates success, a value of 0 indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = 1 and failure = 0.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to 1. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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LastStringResult
property LastStringResult: WideString readonly

The string return value of the last (string returning) method called. Only available if Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to 1. This provides a means for obtaining large string results in the SQL Server environment (where limitations exist in getting long strings returned by method calls, but where temp tables can be used for string properties).

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LastStringResultLen
property LastStringResultLen: Integer readonly

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

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MachineKeyset
property MachineKeyset: Integer readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) If the HasKeyContainer property is 1, then the certificate is linked to a key container and this property indicates whether the key container is in the machine's keyset or in the keyset specific to the logged on user's account. If 1, the key container is within the machine keyset. If 0, it's in the user's keyset.

When a certificate is linked to a key container , the following properties will provide information about the key container and private key: CspName, KeyContainerName, MachineKeyset, and Silent.

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OcspUrl
property OcspUrl: WideString readonly

If present in the certificate's extensions, returns the OCSP URL of the certificate. (The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) is an Internet protocol used for obtaining the revocation status of an X.509 digital certificate.)

More Information and Examples
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PrivateKeyExportable
property PrivateKeyExportable: Integer readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Indicates whether the private key was installed with security settings that allow it to be re-exported.

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Revoked
property Revoked: Integer readonly

1 if the certificate or any certificate in the chain of authority has been revoked. This information is not available when running on Windows 95/98 computers. Note: If this property is 0, it could mean that it was not able to check the revocation status. Because of this uncertainty, a CheckRevoked method has been added. It returns an integer indicating one of three possible states: 1 (revoked) , 0 (not revoked), -1 (unable to check revocation status).

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Rfc822Name
property Rfc822Name: WideString readonly

The RFC822 name of the certificate. (The RFC822 name is one part of the Subject Alternative Name extension of a certificate, if it exists. It is often the only part of the SAN.)

If the certificate contains a list of RFC822 names then this property will return the comma separated list of names.

Starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.85, to get the complete Subject Alternative Name extension as XML, use the SubjectAlternativeName property.

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SelfSigned
property SelfSigned: Integer readonly

1 if this is a self-signed certificate, otherwise 0.

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SerialDecimal
property SerialDecimal: WideString readonly
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

The certificate's serial number as a decimal string.

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SerialNumber
property SerialNumber: WideString readonly

The certificate's serial number as a hexidecimal string.

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Sha1Thumbprint
property Sha1Thumbprint: WideString readonly

Hexidecimal string of the SHA-1 thumbprint for the certificate. (This is the SHA1 hash of the binary DER representation of the entire X.509 certificate.)

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SignatureVerified
property SignatureVerified: Integer readonly

Returns 1 if the certificate and all certificates in the chain of authority have valid signatures, otherwise returns 0.

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Silent
property Silent: Integer readonly

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.)

If the HasKeyContainer property is 1, then the certificate is linked to a key container and this property indicates that the key container will attempt to open any keys silently without any user interface prompts.

When a certificate is linked to a key container , the following properties will provide information about the key container and private key: CspName, KeyContainerName, MachineKeyset, and Silent.

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SmartCardNoDialog
property SmartCardNoDialog: Integer
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

If set to 1, then no dialog will automatically popup if the SmartCardPin is incorrect. Instead, the method requiring the private key on the smart card will fail. The default value of this property is 0, which means that if the SmartCardPin property is incorrect, a dialog with prompt will be displayed.

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SmartCardPin
property SmartCardPin: WideString
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Can be set to the PIN value for a certificate / private key stored on a smart card.

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SubjectAlternativeName
property SubjectAlternativeName: WideString readonly
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

The subject alternative name (SAN) name of the certificate returned as XML. See the examples linked below.

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SubjectC
property SubjectC: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's country.

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SubjectCN
property SubjectCN: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's common name.

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SubjectDN
property SubjectDN: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's full distinguished name.

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SubjectE
property SubjectE: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's email address.

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SubjectKeyId
property SubjectKeyId: WideString readonly
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

The subject key identifier of the certificate in base64 string format. This is only present if the certificate contains the extension OID 2.5.29.14.

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SubjectL
property SubjectL: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's locality, which could be a city, count, township, or other geographic region.

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SubjectO
property SubjectO: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's organization, which is typically the company name.

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SubjectOU
property SubjectOU: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's organizational unit, which is the unit within the organization.

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SubjectS
property SubjectS: WideString readonly

The certificate subject's state or province.

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TrustedRoot
property TrustedRoot: Integer readonly

Returns 1 if the certificate has a trusted root authority, otherwise returns 0.

Note: As of version 9.5.0.41, the notion of what your application deems as trusted becomes more specific. The TrustedRoots class/object was added in v9.5.0.0. Prior to this, a certificate was considered to be anchored by a trusted root if the certificate chain could be established to a root (self-signed) certificate, AND if the root certificate was located somewhere in the Windows registry-based certificate stores. There are two problems with this: (1) it's a Windows-only solution. This property would always return 0 on non-Windows systems, and (2) it might be considered not a strong enough set of conditions for trusting a root certificate.

As of version 9.5.0.41, this property pays attention to the new TrustedRoots class/object, which allows for an application to specificallly indicate which root certificates are to be trusted. Certificates may be added to the TrustedRoots object via the LoadCaCertsPem or AddCert methods, and then activated by calling the TrustedRoots.Activate method. The activated trusted roots are deemed to be trusted in any Chilkat API method/property that needs to make this determination. In addition, the TrustedRoots object has a property named TrustSystemCaRoots, which defaults to 1, which allows for backward compatibility. It will trust CA certificates stored in the Windows registry-based certificate stores, or if on Linux, will trust certificates found in /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt.

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UncommonOptions
property UncommonOptions: WideString
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string, and should typically remain empty.

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ValidFromStr
property ValidFromStr: WideString readonly

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate becomes (or became) valid. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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ValidToStr
property ValidToStr: WideString readonly

The date (in RFC822 string format) that this certificate becomes (or became) invalid. It is a GMT/UTC date that is returned.

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VerboseLogging
property VerboseLogging: Integer

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.

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Version
property Version: WideString readonly

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.94"

More Information and Examples
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Methods

CheckRevoked
function CheckRevoked(): Integer;

Returns 1 if the certificate has been revoked, 0 if not revoked, and -1 if unable to check the revocation status.

Note: This method is only implemented on Windows systems. It uses the underlying Microsoft CertVerifyRevocation Platform SDK function to check the revocation status of a certificate. (Search "CertVerifyRevocation" to get information about it.)

Non-Windows (and Windows) applications can send an OCSP request as shown in the example below.

More Information and Examples
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CheckSmartCardPin
function CheckSmartCardPin(): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Verifies that the SmartCardPin property setting is correct. Returns 1 if correct, 0 if incorrect, and -1 if unable to check because the underlying CSP does not support the functionality.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertDer
function ExportCertDer(): OleVariant;

Exports the digital certificate to ASN.1 DER format.

Returns a zero-length byte array (as an OleVariant) on failure.
An empty array will have a VarArrayHighBound of -1 meaning 0 elements.

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ExportCertDerBd
function ExportCertDerBd(cerData: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the digital certificate in ASN.1 DER format to a BinData object.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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ExportCertDerFile
function ExportCertDerFile(path: WideString): Integer;

Exports the digital certificate to ASN.1 DER format binary file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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ExportCertPem
function ExportCertPem(): WideString;

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted string.

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertPemFile
function ExportCertPemFile(path: WideString): Integer;

Exports the digital certificate to an unencrypted PEM formatted file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

More Information and Examples
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ExportCertXml
function ExportCertXml(): WideString;

Exports a certificate to an XML format where the XML tags are the names of the ASN.1 objects that compose the X.509 certificate. Binary data is either hex or base64 encoded. (The binary data for a "bits" ASN.1 tag is hex encoded, whereas for all other ASN.1 tags, such as "octets", it is base64.)

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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ExportPrivateKey
function ExportPrivateKey(): TPrivateKey;

Exports the certificate's private key.

Returns nil on failure

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ExportPublicKey
function ExportPublicKey(): TPublicKey;

Exports the certificate's public key.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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ExportToPfxBd
function ExportToPfxBd(password: WideString; includeCertChain: Integer; pfxData: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to pfxData. The password is what will be required to access the PFX contents at a later time. If includeCertChain is 1, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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ExportToPfxData
function ExportToPfxData(password: WideString; includeCertChain: Integer): OleVariant;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.31

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to an in-memory PFX image. The password is what will be required to access the PFX contents at a later time. If includeCertChain is 1, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX.

Returns a zero-length byte array (as an OleVariant) on failure.
An empty array will have a VarArrayHighBound of -1 meaning 0 elements.

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ExportToPfxFile
function ExportToPfxFile(pfxFilename: WideString; pfxPassword: WideString; bIncludeCertChain: Integer): Integer;

Exports the certificate and private key (if available) to a PFX (.pfx or .p12) file. The output PFX is secured using the pfxPassword. If bIncludeCertChain is 1, then the certificates in the chain of authority are also included in the PFX output file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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FindIssuer
function FindIssuer(): TChilkatCert;

Finds and returns the issuer certificate. If the certificate is a root or self-issued, then the certificate returned is a copy of the caller certificate. (The IsRoot property can be check to see if the certificate is a root (or self-issued) certificate.)

Returns nil on failure

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GetCertChain
function GetCertChain(): TChilkatCertChain;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Returns a certficate chain object containing all the certificates (including this one), in the chain of authentication to the trusted root (if possible). If this certificate object was loaded from a PFX, then the certiicates contained in the PFX are automatically available for building the certificate chain. The UseCertVault method can be called to provide additional certificates that might be required to build the cert chain. Finally, the TrustedRoots object can be used to provide a way of making trusted root certificates available.

Note: Prior to v9.5.0.50, this method would fail if the certificate chain could not be completed to the root. Starting in v9.5.0.50, the incomplete certificate chain will be returned. The certificate chain's ReachesRoot property can be examined to see if the chain was completed to the root.

On Windows systems, the registry-based certificate stores are automatically consulted if needed to locate intermediate or root certificates in the chain. Chilkat searches certificate stores in the following order. See System Store Locations for more information.

  1. Current-User "CA" Certificate Store
  2. Local-Machine "CA" Certificate Store
  3. Current-User "Root" Certificate Store
  4. Local-Machine "Root" Certificate Store
  5. Current-User "MY" Certificate Store
  6. Local-Machine "MY" Certificate Store
  7. Current-User "ADDRESSBOOK" Certificate Store (if it exists)
  8. Local-Machine "ADDRESSBOOK" Certificate Store (if it exists)

Returns nil on failure

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GetEncoded
function GetEncoded(): WideString;

Returns a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format, which can be passed to SetFromEncoded to recreate the certificate object.

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetExtensionAsText
function GetExtensionAsText(oid: WideString): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.89

Returns the certificate extension data as a string. This method should only be called for those extensions with text values NOT stored as binary ASN.1. In most cases, applications should call GetExtensionAsXml because most extensions contain ASN.1 values that need to be decoded..

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetExtensionAsXml
function GetExtensionAsXml(oid: WideString): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the certificate extension data in XML format (converted from ASN.1). The oid is an OID, such as the ones listed here: http://www.alvestrand.no/objectid/2.5.29.html

Note: In many cases, the data within the XML is returned base64 encoded. An application may need to take one further step to base64 decode the information contained within the XML.

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetExtensionBd
function GetExtensionBd(oid: WideString; bd: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Returns the certificate extension data specified by oid in bd.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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GetPrivateKeyPem
function GetPrivateKeyPem(): WideString;

Exports the certificate's private key to a PEM string (if the private key is available).

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetPubKeyDer
function GetPubKeyDer(preferPkcs1: Integer; bd: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's public key in ASN.1 DER format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 selects which format to return.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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GetSignature
function GetSignature(bd: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.92

Loads the bd with the certificate's signature.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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GetSpkiFingerprint
function GetSpkiFingerprint(hashAlg: WideString; encoding: WideString): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.55

Returns the SPKI Fingerprint suitable for use in pinning. (See RFC 7469.) An SPKI Fingerprint is defined as the output of a known cryptographic hash algorithm whose input is the DER-encoded ASN.1 representation of the Subject Public Key Info (SPKI) of an X.509 certificate. The hashAlg specifies the hash algorithm and may be "sha256", "sha384", "sha512", "sha1", "md2", "md5", "haval", "ripemd128", "ripemd160","ripemd256", or "ripemd320". The encoding specifies the encoding, and may be "base64", "hex", or any of the encoding modes specified in the article at the link below.

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetSubjectPart
function GetSubjectPart(partNameOrOid: WideString): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Returns a part of the certificate's subject by name or OID. The partNameOrOid can be a part name, such as "CN", "O", "OU", "E", "S", "L", "C", or "SERIALNUMBER", or it can be an OID such as "2.5.4.3".

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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GetValidFromDt
function GetValidFromDt(): TCkDateTime;

Returns the date/time this certificate becomes (or became) valid.

Returns nil on failure

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GetValidToDt
function GetValidToDt(): TCkDateTime;

Returns the date/time this certificate becomes (or became) invalid.

Returns nil on failure

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HashOf
function HashOf(part: WideString; hashAlg: WideString; encoding: WideString): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.75

Returns an encoded hash of a particular part of the certificate. The part may be one of the following:

  • IssuerDN
  • IssuerPublicKey
  • SubjectDN
  • SubjectPublicKey

The hashAlg is the name of the hash algorithm, such as "sha1", "sha256", "sha384", "sha512", "md5", etc. The encoding is the format to return, such as "hex", "base64", etc.

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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HasPrivateKey
function HasPrivateKey(): Integer;

Returns 1 if a private key associated with the certificate is available.

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LinkPkcs11
function LinkPkcs11(session: TChilkatPkcs11): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Links to the certificate's private key located on an HSM (smart card, token, or cloud HSM). Once linked, the certificate can be used for signing where the signing occurs on the HSM. See the example below for more detailed information.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadByCommonName
function LoadByCommonName(cn: WideString): Integer;

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Searches the Windows Local Machine and Current User registry-based certificate stores for a certificate having the common name specified. If found, the certificate is loaded and ready for use.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadByEmailAddress
function LoadByEmailAddress(emailAddress: WideString): Integer;

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Searches the Windows Local Machine and Current User registry-based certificate stores for a certificate containing the email address specified. If found, the certificate is loaded and ready for use.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadByIssuerAndSerialNumber
function LoadByIssuerAndSerialNumber(issuerCN: WideString; serialNumber: WideString): Integer;

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Searches the Windows Local Machine and Current User registry-based certificate stores for a certificate matching the issuerCN and having an issuer matching the serialNumber. If found, the certificate is loaded and ready for use.

Note: The hex serial number should be uppercase. Starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.88, the hex serial number is case-insensitive.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadBySubjectOid
function LoadBySubjectOid(oid: WideString; value: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Searches the Windows Local Machine and Current User registry-based certificate stores for a certificate containing a subject part matching the oid and value.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadByThumbprint
function LoadByThumbprint(thumbprint: WideString; encoding: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

(Relevant only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system.) Searches the Windows Local Machine and Current User registry-based certificate stores for a certificate having an MD5 or SHA1 thumbprint equal to the thumbprint. The hash (i.e. thumbprint) is passed as a string using the encoding specified by encoding (such as "base64", "hex", etc.).

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

More Information and Examples
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LoadFromBase64
function LoadFromBase64(encodedCert: WideString): Integer;

Loads an ASN.1 or DER encoded certificate represented in a Base64 string.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromBd
function LoadFromBd(certBytes: TChilkatBinData): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads an X.509 certificate from data contained in certBytes.

Note: The certBytes may contain the certificate in any format. It can be binary DER (ASN.1), PEM, Base64, etc. Chilkat will automatically detect the format.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

More Information and Examples
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LoadFromBinary
function LoadFromBinary(data: OleVariant): Integer;

Loads an X.509 certificate from ASN.1 DER encoded bytes.

Note: The data may contain the certificate in any format. It can be binary DER (ASN.1), PEM, Base64, etc. Chilkat will automatically detect the format.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromFile
function LoadFromFile(path: WideString): Integer;

Loads a certificate from a .cer, .crt, .p7b, or .pem file. This method accepts certificates from files in any of the following formats:
1. DER encoded binary X.509 (.CER)
2. Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER)
3. Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard - PKCS #7 Certificates (.P7B)
4. PEM format
This method decodes the certificate based on the contents if finds within the file, and not based on the file extension. If your certificate is in a file having a different extension, try loading it using this method before assuming it won't work. This method does not load .p12 or .pfx (PKCS #12) files.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromSmartcard
function LoadFromSmartcard(csp: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Important: It's important to set the SmartCardPin property before calling this method.

Starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.87, the csp can be a string that specifies the certificate to be loaded by either Subject Common Name (CN) or hex serial number. For example, instead of passing a CSP name, your application would pass a string such as "CN=The cert subject common name" or "serial=01020304". See the linked examples below. If a certificate is specified by CN or Serial, then each connected smartcard and USB token is searched for the matching certificate. If the certificate is found, it is loaded and this method returns 1.

Otherwise, this method loads the X.509 certificate from the smartcard currently in the reader, or from a USB token.

If the smartcard contains multiple certificates, this method arbitrarily picks one.

If the csp does not begin with "CN=" or "serial=", then the csp can be set to the name of the CSP (Cryptographic Service Provider) that should be used. If csp is an empty string, then the 1st CSP found matching one of the following names will be used:

  • Microsoft Smart Card Key Storage Provider
  • Microsoft Base Smart Card Crypto Provider
  • Bit4id Universal Middleware Provider
  • YubiHSM Key Storage Provider (starting in v9.5.0.83)
  • eToken Base Cryptographic Provider
  • FTSafe ePass1000 RSA Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SecureStoreCSP
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v2.0
  • Gemalto Classic Card CSP
  • PROXKey CSP India V1.0
  • PROXKey CSP India V2.0
  • TRUST KEY CSP V1.0
  • Watchdata Brazil CSP V1.0
  • Luna Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Luna SChannel Cryptographic Services for Microsoft Windows
  • Safenet RSA Full Cryptographic Provider
  • nCipher Enhanced Cryptographic Provider
  • SafeSign Standard Cryptographic Service Provider
  • SafeSign Standard RSA and AES Cryptographic Service Provider
  • MySmartLogon NFC CSP
  • NFC Connector Enterprise
  • ActivClient Cryptographic Service Provider
  • EnterSafe ePass2003 CSP v1.0
  • Oberthur Card Systems Cryptographic Provider
  • Athena ASECard Crypto CSP"

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPem
function LoadPem(strPem: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the certificate from a PEM string.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxBd
function LoadPfxBd(pfxData: TChilkatBinData; password: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.70

Loads the certificate from the PFX contained in pfxData. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxData
function LoadPfxData(pfxData: OleVariant; password: WideString): Integer;

Loads a PFX from an in-memory image of a PFX file. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxFile
function LoadPfxFile(pfxPath: WideString; password: WideString): Integer;

Loads a PFX file. Note: If the PFX contains multiple certificates, the 1st certificate in the PFX is loaded.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadTaskResult
function LoadTaskResult(task: TChilkatTask): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

Loads the certificate from a completed asynchronous task.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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PemFileToDerFile
function PemFileToDerFile(fromPath: WideString; toPath: WideString): Integer;

Converts a PEM file to a DER file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveToFile
function SaveToFile(path: WideString): Integer;

Saves a certificate object to a .cer file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SetCloudSigner
function SetCloudSigner(json: TChilkatJsonObject): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Provides information for a cloud signing service to do the signing via a remote signing server. Current supported services are AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, and ARSS (Aruba Remote Signing Service). See the examples below.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SetFromEncoded
function SetFromEncoded(encodedCert: WideString): Integer;

Initializes the certificate object from a base64 encoded string representation of the certificate's binary DER format.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SetPrivateKey
function SetPrivateKey(privKey: TPrivateKey): Integer;

Used to associate a private key with the certificate for subsequent (PKCS7) signature creation or decryption.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SetPrivateKeyPem
function SetPrivateKeyPem(privKeyPem: WideString): Integer;

Same as SetPrivateKey, but the key is provided in unencrypted PEM format. (Note: The privKeyPem is not a file path, it is the actual PEM text.)

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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UploadToCloud
function UploadToCloud(jsonIn: TChilkatJsonObject; jsonOut: TChilkatJsonObject): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

This is an open-ended method to accomodate uploading the private key to a cloud service, such as AWS KMS, or Azure Key Vault. For details, see the examples below.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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UploadToCloudAsync (1)
function UploadToCloudAsync(jsonIn: TChilkatJsonObject; jsonOut: TChilkatJsonObject): TChilkatTask;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.96

Creates an asynchronous task to call the UploadToCloud method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

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 nil on failure

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UseCertVault
function UseCertVault(vault: TChilkatXmlCertVault): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Adds an XML certificate vault to the object's internal list of sources to be searched for certificates for help in building certificate chains and verifying the certificate signature to the trusted root.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

More Information and Examples
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VerifySignature
function VerifySignature(): Integer;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.40

Verifies the certificate signature, as well as the signatures of all certificates in the chain of authentication to the trusted root. Returns 1 if all signatures are verified to the trusted root. Otherwise returns 0.

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X509PKIPathv1
function X509PKIPathv1(): WideString;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

Returns the base64 representation of an X509PKIPathv1 containing just the calling certificate. This is typically used in an X.509 Binary Security Token. It is a PKIPath that contains an ordered list of X.509 public certificates packaged in a PKIPath. The X509PKIPathv1 token type may be used to represent a certificate path. (This is sometimes used in XAdES signatures.)

Returns a zero-length WideString on failure

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Events

AbortCheck
procedure AbortCheck(ASender: TObject; out abort: Integer);

Provides the opportunity for a method call to be aborted. The AbortCheck event is fired periodically based on the value of the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is 0, then no AbortCheck events will fire. As an example, to fire 5 AbortCheck events per second, set the HeartbeatMs property equal to 200.

Delphi ActiveX Event callback implementation:

procedure TForm1.certAbortCheck(ASender: TObject;  out abort: Integer);
begin
    // Application code goes here...
end;


procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  cert: TChilkatCert;

begin
  cert := TChilkatCert.Create(Self);
  cert.OnAbortCheck := certAbortCheck;
  // ...
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PercentDone
procedure PercentDone(ASender: TObject; pctDone: Integer; out abort: Integer);

Provides the percentage completed for any method that involves network communications or time-consuming processing (assuming it is a method where a percentage completion can be measured). This event is only fired when it is possible to know a percentage completion, and when it makes sense to express the operation as a percentage completed. The pctDone argument will have a value from 1 to 100. For operations (Chilkat method calls) that complete very quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks will vary, but the final callback should have a value of 100. For long running operations, no more than one callback per percentage point will occur (for example: 1, 2, 3, ... 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback counts as an AbortCheck event. For method calls that complete quickly such that PercentDone events fire, it may be that AbortCheck events don't fire because the opportunity to abort is already provided in the PercentDone callback. For time consuming operations, where the amount of time between PercentDone callbacks are long, AbortCheck callbacks may be used to allow for the operation to be aborted in a more responsive manner.

The abort output argument provides a means for aborting the operation. Setting it to 1 will cause the method to abort and return a failed status (or whatever return value indicates failure).

Delphi ActiveX Event callback implementation:

procedure TForm1.certPercentDone(ASender: TObject;  pctDone: Integer; out abort: Integer);
begin
    // Application code goes here...
end;


procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  cert: TChilkatCert;

begin
  cert := TChilkatCert.Create(Self);
  cert.OnPercentDone := certPercentDone;
  // ...
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ProgressInfo
procedure ProgressInfo(ASender: TObject; const name: WideString; const value: WideString);

A general name/value event that provides information about what is happening during a method call. To find out what information is available, write code to handle this event and log the name/value pairs. Most are self-explanatory.

Delphi ActiveX Event callback implementation:

procedure TForm1.certProgressInfo(ASender: TObject;  const name: WideString; const value: WideString);
begin
    // Application code goes here...
end;


procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  cert: TChilkatCert;

begin
  cert := TChilkatCert.Create(Self);
  cert.OnProgressInfo := certProgressInfo;
  // ...
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TaskCompleted
procedure TaskCompleted(ASender: TObject; const task: IChilkatTask);

Called in the background thread when an asynchronous task completes.

More Information and Examples

Delphi ActiveX Event callback implementation:

procedure TForm1.certTaskCompleted(ASender: TObject;  const task: IChilkatTask);
begin
    // Application code goes here...
end;


procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var
  cert: TChilkatCert;

begin
  cert := TChilkatCert.Create(Self);
  cert.OnTaskCompleted := certTaskCompleted;
  // ...
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