Knowledge Base Articles
Supported Versions of Visual Studio
The Visual Studio releases supported by SocketTools 12 depends on the edition and languages being used. The following table lists which editions are compatible with Visual Studio and whether the edition is supported with that version.
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SocketTools System Requirements
SocketTools 12 components support all modern Windows desktop and server platforms. We recommend you install the latest security updates from Windows Update and the current network drivers available for your system. The following Windows desktop and server operating systems are supported by SocketTools 12: Windows 11 Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 8 Windows 7 SP1 Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 ...
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SocketTools 12 Library Redistribution
When you create an application using the SocketTools 12 Library Edition DLLs and you're ready to deploy it, you must ensure the libraries you're using are initialized correctly. This is done by providing a runtime license key to the initialization function for each of the SocketTools APIs you are using. It is important to note your runtime license key is not your product serial number. If you have an evaluation ...
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SocketTools 12 ActiveX Redistribution
When you create an application using the SocketTools 12 ActiveX Edition controls and you're ready to deploy it, you must ensure the controls you're using are initialized correctly. If you are developing with Visual Basic 6.0, and you've placed the controls on a form, it will automatically initialize the controls when the form is loaded.
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SocketTools 12 .NET Redistribution
When you create an application using the SocketTools 12 .NET Edition components and you're ready to deploy it, you must ensure it is initialized correctly. This is done by either providing a runtime license key to the Initialize method or setting the RuntimeLicense attribute for the executable assembly. It is important to note your runtime license key is not your product serial number. If you have an evaluation version of ...
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MSCOMCTL.OCX Could Not Be Loaded in VB6 Examples
MSCOMCTL.OCX Could Not Be Loaded in VB6 Examples If one of the SocketTools VB6 example projects fails to open because MSCOMCTL.OCX cannot be loaded, the system typically has an older version of the Microsoft Common Controls library installed. This article explains why the error occurs, which controls are affected, and how to resolve the problem using Microsoft’s supported update package. The Microsoft update is the recommended fix because it installs ...
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Rated 5 out of 5
SocketTools and Catalyst Development have by far surpassed my expectations
I’ve been very impressed with all aspects of this project, and both SocketTools and Catalyst Development have by far surpassed my expectations. We ran into a number of roadblocks on this endeavor, and I appreciate your persistence and patience, particularly with the inconsistent test environment our client provided. I am also very impressed with the functionality of our new custom control. Very slick! Once again, thanks very much for all your hard work!
Kevin Taylor, Tailored Software, Inc. (Canada)
Rated 5 out of 5
The documentation is amongst the best I’ve seen and used
Great product! I recently purchased the SocketWrench library and I’m pleasantly surprised by the ease of use and exceptionally intuitive API.
I wanted to replace some home-grown code with the new component and it just dropped into place and worked on the first compilation! The documentation is amongst the best I’ve seen and used, with lots of clear and concise tips and helpful information. I am very impressed with the price-quality level.
I look forward to many years of mutual benefits for both our companies.
Martin Hart, Memory Soft (Spain)
Rated 5 out of 5
The best and most productive controls I have ever come across
Thanks for the amazing controls, the best and most productive I have ever come across. They work every time as per the detailed documentation with no gotchas. Great work.
Martin G Nagle, InfoMining PL (Australia)
Rated 5 out of 5
I'm impressed with how you maintain backwards compatibility
I wanted to let you know how impressed I am with maintaining backwards compatibility. I had a VB6 program with 6 different implementations of the SocketWrenchCtl.SocketWrench class v4.5 (which was from 2006). I dropped the new in the updated .ocx file expecting to suddenly invoke 11 years worth of renamed properties, added dependencies and breaking changes. I have not yet changed a single line of code and so far (fingers crossed) it appears to be stable.
I just thought I'd point that out because most devs can't go 3 months without introducing a breaking change (myself included)
Russell Phillips, Echotech (Australia)