Using the Visual Studio PD Wizard to distribute your applications created using Windale Technologies ActiveX/COM Components is very easy, but there are some considerations that you need to handle when using it. In particular, since our ActiveX/COM components require you to distribute a runtime DLL, it is necessary and important that you use this version of the DLL in your deployed application.

When you run the Visual Studio PD Wizard to create a setup file for a project created using the more recent versions of our ActiveX/COM components, and then try to run the resulting setup on a test computer other than the development one, you will receive receive an error like this:

Error: A valid license for the component Options/X could not be found.

This problem occurs because the PD Wizard will initially detect and include the design-time DLL. This design-time DLL however, is not licensed for use on other computers and will not work in the resulting setup file which was created in the first step. There is a runtime DLL that should be used when you distribute your application. This DLL is contained in the Runtime_Deploy subdirectory where the ActiveX component was installed.

The PD Wizard can be made to use the correct runtime DLL by doing the following:

1. Run the PD Wizard to create the setup file for your project.
   
2. Locate the PD Wizard Support subdirectory. In this directory you will find a copy of all the DLL files used by the Wizard. There will be a file named wtComponentNamex.dll. This is the designtime DLL which you do not want to distribute.
   
   To check this file if you wish - Right click on the DLL. Then select Properties, Version, Special Build Description. The runtime DLL will be identified as such. If you do not see the words Runtime here, then it is the design-time DLL.
   
3. Locate the Deploy_Runtime DLL file it will be in a directory something like:
   C: Program Files Windale Technologies   ActiveX  ComponentName  Deploy_Runtime
   
4. Copy this runtime DLL over the top of the existing design-time DLL in the PD Wizard support directory created in the previous steps.
   
5. Run the bat file in the support directory to recreate the CAB file. Now it should work as expected.

Note that any time you change the project and then re-run the PD Wizard, you will need to make sure that you copy the Runtime DLL over as above. If you don't then there will be the same error. Hence we recommend running a test onthe setup file before you deploy it to be certain it works as it should.