This ActiveX control provides an interface for implementing an embedded,
lightweight server that can be used to exchange files with a client
using the standard File Transfer Protocol. The server can accept
connections from any third-party application or a program developed
using the SocketTools FTP ActiveX control.
The application specifies an initial server configuration by
setting the relevant properties and can implement event handlers to
monitor the activities of the clients that have connected to the
server. The control automatically handles the standard FTP commands
and requires minimal coding on the part of the application that is
hosting the control. However, the application may
also use event mechanism to filter specific commands or to extend
the protocol by providing custom implementations of existing commands
or add entirely new commands.
The server supports active and passive mode file transfers, has
compatibility options for NAT router and firewall support, and
provides support for secure file transfers using explicit TLS
sessions. Secure connections require that a valid TLS certificate be
installed on the system using the Certificate Manager tool, or
provided as a PKCS 12 (PFX) certificate file. Secure connections
support TLS 1.2 or later, with TLS 1.3 support requring either Windows
11 or Windows Server 2022 or later versions.
The SocketTools ActiveX Edition components are self-registering
controls that are compatible with any programming language that
supports the Component Object Model (COM) and the ActiveX control
specification. If you are using Visual Basic 6.0, Service Pack 6 (SP6)
is required. We recommend installing all available updates for your
development tools. Although the Visual Basic 6.0 runtime is supported
on Windows 11, the IDE itself is no longer officially supported by
Microsoft. Legacy IDEs and compilers may also require elevated
(administrator) privileges to run properly.
The ActiveX controls are supported on Windows 7, Windows Server
2008 R2, and later versions of both desktop and server editions of
Windows. For Windows 7, Service Pack 1 (SP1) is the minimum
requirement. For Windows 8 systems, the 8.1 update must be installed.
On ARM-based platforms, the minimum supported version is Windows 10
build 1709.
SocketTools includes components for both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit
(x64) Windows platforms. All modern versions of Windows are 64-bit,
but we continue to include 32-bit components for compatibility with
legacy development tools such as Visual Basic 6.0. We also provide
native ARM64 ActiveX controls for systems running Windows on ARM. Note
that 32-bit applications on ARM run using x86 emulation, and Microsoft
no longer supports native ARM32 applications.
If you are using VBScript, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), or
another scripting environment on an ARM-based system, be aware that
64-bit hosts will require ARM64 components, while 32-bit hosts will
use x86 components under emulation. This includes applications created
with Visual Basic 6.0. To reduce deployment complexity and avoid
confusion, SocketTools does not include ARM32 ActiveX controls in its
standard redistribution packages but they are available on request for
legacy or specialized scenarios.
When you distribute an application that uses this control, you can
either install the file in the same folder as your application
executable or as a shared component in the appropriate system folder.
If you install the control in the system folder, it is important that
you distribute the correct version for the target platform and it
must be registered. If you install the control in the same folder as
your executable, it is recommended that you use registration-free
activation or COM redirection to ensure that the correct version of
the control is loaded by the application.