Active controls are specially designed to be embedded in programs, and especially in web pages that browsers can display. Creating active controls means we shall be able to place those controls in other programs. Which is a vary powerful technique. In fact we shall even be able to add our ActiveX controls to the dialog editor’s toolbox and drag such controls directly into dialog boxes under design.

An ActiveX control, like other windows controls you have used so far, is a self-contained object packed with related functionality, similar to window controls, it can be also be included within a container object ( such as dialog window). How ever, it can not run on its own.

Using active technique, you can create your own customized controls with desired set of properties, methods and events.

Properties

Properties are attributes or controls that are visible to and often modifiable by, the container in which it placed.

There are four basic types of properties of active x controls.

·         Ambient Properties

·         Extended Properties

·         Stock properties

·         Custom properties

Methods

Methods of the ActiveX control are functions that can be called by its container application or object.

Events

Events are notification a message that is sent from the control to the container.

We create ActiveX control in VC++ we choose the MFC ActiveX control Wizard type