Hypertext Transfer Protocol Control  
 

Transfer files between the local system and a web server, execute scripts and perform remote file management functions.

Reference

Control Information

Object Name HttpClientCtl.HttpClient
File Name CSHTPX12.OCX
Version 12.0.3024.1286
ProgID SocketTools.HttpClient.12
ClassID 4D8A16DE-6F64-47A4-99C2-6BEA00228341
Threading Model Apartment
Help File CST12CTL.CHM
Dependencies None
Standards RFC 1945, RFC 2616, RFC 7230, RFC 7540

Overview

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a lightweight, stateless application protocol that is used to access resources on web servers, as well as send data to those servers for processing. The control provides direct, low-level access to the server and the commands that are used to retrieve resources (i.e.: documents, images, etc.). The control also provides a simple interface for downloading resources to the local host, similar to how the SocketTools FTP control can be used to download files.

In a typical session, the control is used to establish a connection, send a request (to download a resource, post data for processing, etc.), read the data returned by the server and then disconnect. It is the responsibility of the client to process the data returned by the server, depending on the type of resource that was requested. Secure connections are established using TLS 1.2 or 1.3 and supports HTTP/2.0 and HTTP/3.0 protocols. For backwards compatibility, the control also supports TLS 1.0 if explicitly requested. This enables the control to connect with legacy servers while automatically selecting the strongest encryption available on the platform. Authentication is supported using both basic passwords and OAuth bearer tokens.

Requirements

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.

Distribution

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.