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InprocServer32

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Registers a 32-bit in-process server and specifies the threading model of the apartment the server can run in.

Registry Entry

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID
   {CLSID}
      InprocServer32
         (Default) = path
         ThreadingModel = value

Remarks

ThreadingModel is a REG_SZ value the specifies the threading model. The possible values are shown in the following table.

Value Description
Apartment Single-threaded apartment
Both Single-threaded or multithreaded apartment
Free Multithreaded apartment
Neutral Neutral apartment

 

You must use the same value for every object provided by the in-process server.

If ThreadingModel is not present or is not set to a value, the server is loaded into the first apartment that was initialized in the process. This apartment is sometimes referred to as the main single-threaded apartment (STA). If the first STA in a process is initialized by COM, rather than by an explicit call to CoInitialize or CoInitializeEx, it is called the host STA. For example, COM creates a host STA if an in-process server to be loaded requires an STA but there is currently no STA in the process.

Whenever possible, the in-process server is loaded in the same apartment as the client that loads it. If the threading model of the client apartment is not compatible with the model specified, the server is loaded as indicated in the following table.

Threading model of server Apartment server is run in
<\not specified> Main STA
Both Same apartment as client
Free Multithreaded apartment
Neutral Neutral apartment

 

If the threading model of the server is Apartment, the apartment the server is loaded in depends on the apartment the client is running in, as indicated in the following table.

Apartment client is run in Apartment server is run in
Multithreaded Host STA
Neutral (on STA thread) Same apartment as client
Neutral (on MTA thread) Host STA

 

COM can also create a host multithreaded apartment (MTA). If a client in a single-threaded apartment requests an in-process server whose threading model is Free when there is no MTA in the process, COM creates a host MTA and loads the server into it.

For a 32-bit in-process server, the InprocHandler32, InprocServer, InprocServer32, and Insertable keys must be registered. The InprocServer entry is needed only for backward compatibility. If it is missing, the class still works but it cannot be loaded in 16-bit applications.

If a container is searching the registry for an in-process server, the 16-bit version has priority with a 16-bit container and the 32-bit version has priority with a 32-bit container.

InprocServer