**************  DevReg.com Registration Control and Tool *************

This file describes how to use the DevReg.com Registration Control and the 
DevReg.com Product Registration Tool.

Once you register the control with regsvr32, you should find it among the 
list of COM components in the IDE as "DevReg.com Registration Control". The 
Control should be placed on a splash screen in the design environment. It is 
not visible at runtime. Descriptions of the properties and methods are shown 
below:

---------------------- Registration Control Properties ------------------------

EnableTrial......Returns/Sets whether the user will be given the choice of a 
                 trial license. This will ONLY determine the choices presented 
                 by the dialog. It has no effect on trial settings made to the 
                 product via the DevReg.com Web site. If you do not plan to 
                 offer a Trial License, set this to False so that the user 
                 will not be led to believe a trial is available.

Expiration.......Used only during a Trial period, this will be set to the date 
                 when the Trial License will expire. You can use it to remind 
                 the user of the expiration.

License..........Used only when the application is registered, it will return 
                 the License Key. Otherwise it will return an empty string.

ShowMessages.....Returns/Set whether default messages should be shown to the 
                 user. Set this to False when using custom messages. When set 
                 to False, you should provide messages that inform the user 
                 when the License Key has been accepted. Default messages are 
                 given when a valid Trial Key or License Key is given, and 
                 each time the product starts during the trial period.

SplashTime.......Returns/Set the amount of time before any events can fire, or 
                 the registration dialog appears. This is useful for showing a 
                 splash screen, as the name implies. Basically, the control 
                 doesn't do anything until this time has expired.


---------------------- Registration Control Methods ------------------------

FeedBack.........Opens the user's default browser to the DevReg.com feedback 
                 page for the product.

Help.............Opens the user's default browser to the DevReg.com help page 
                 for the product.

Register.........Opens the user's default browser to the DevReg.com product 
                 registration page.

Update...........Opens the user's default browser and automatically queries 
                 the DevReg.com Web site for updates to the product.

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The Registration Control notifies your program through events. In normal 
operation, only one event should fire when the control activates. The event 
that fires is determined by the License found, or entered by the user. Below 
is a description of each event:

------------------------ Registration Control Events --------------------------
Success..........A valid License Key was entered into the registration dialog.
Verified.........A valid License was found on the system
TrialSuccess.....A valid Trial Key was entered into the registration dialog.
TrialVerified....A valid Trial License was found on the system
Unregistered.....No License. The user also canceled the dialog
Error............Normally won't ever fire

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Do not place the Registration Control on your splash screen until the program 
is near completion. This is because you won't be able to test it without a 
License Key. Although you can use the Unregistered event to allow your program 
to function without a License, be sure to remove any code for this before you 
compile your distributable file. The Unregistered event can also be used when 
you want to allow use of the program without any License. This is suitable for 
programs that have functional limitations until registered.

If the Error event fires, the program should be unloaded. It is basically a 
failsafe, in case of an unforeseen problem. This also gives your program a 
chance to inform the user that an error has occured. Though the event offers 
an error number and description, the values should be ignored.

The Registration Control automatically activates when it is instanciated. 
Basically, when your program starts, only the splash screen should be shown. 
The control will then fire one of the events, at which time your program would 
either load the appropriate user interface, or quit.

Before compiling the executable in which you have referenced the Registration 
Control, be sure to set the file version information. This is used by the 
Registration Tool so that the product name, version, etc. will be included in 
the database. The company name must match that of your DevReg.com Developer 
Account. The information which you should be sure to set is as follows:

CompanyName
FileDescription
ProductName
ProductVersion

The FileDescription is also used by our search facility, so this should be an 
accurate description of the product. For example, a text editor program could 
simply be described as "Text Editor". Other information such as Comments are 
not used, but you may set them if you wish.


The example code provided on the Web site under "SDK & Tools" demonstrates 
usage of the various properties, methods, and events of the Registration 
Control.

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-------------------------- Registration Tool Usage ----------------------------

The Registration Tool is used to add products to your DevReg.com account, and 
make it possible for users to obtain Licenses. It requires the Visual Basic 
runtime (Win95 must have the winsock2 update). The wizard style interface will 
guide you through the process quickly and easily.
