Open DLL File

Register DLL or OCX with Regsvr32

Certain types of DLLs need to be registered, this includes DLL files which contain OLE (Object Linking and Embedding technology) components including ActiveX controls. Same pertains to OCX files which are variation of DLL file specifically designed for ActiveX controls storage.

Typically, DLL and OCX files are registered automatically when application is installed. But there are cases when registration didn’t happen due to some reason or component needs to be installed manually. In this case you need to use specific Windows OS utility to register it.

What is Regsvr32

Regsvr32 is a Windows utility which can register and unregister OLE objects stored in DLL and OCX files. Regsvr32 stores information about OLE and ActiveX objects in Windows Registry.

Regsvr32 is included in every Windows OS installation and is located in the following folders:

• %systemroot%\System32\regsvr32.exe file contains 32-bit version of Regsvr32
• %systemroot%\SysWoW64\regsvr32.exe file contains 64-bit version of Regsvr32

But you don’t need to be in the specific folder to run the Regsvr32 command. You can run it from any location.

Running Regsvr32 from Command Prompt

Below are instructions on how to run Regsvr32 from the command prompt.

• Start cmd.exe or “Command Prompt” by going to the Windows OS start menu and typing “cmd.exe” or “Command” in the search bar.
• You will see “Command Prompt” utility as a first result.
• Right-click on it to open popup menu. Select “Run as Administrator” to start command prompt with administrator permissions (this is required to run regsvr32.exe utility).
• Switch folder in “Command Prompt” to the folder where your DLL or OCX file is located. To do this type “cd [folder name]” and press Enter.
• Type "regsvr32.exe [dll file name]"
• You will see a small dialog window confirming that your DLL or OCX was registered or informing you that there was a problem with it.