Import COM component: Difference c# vs. Delphi XE

Question

I need to work with a COM component. Unfortunately its producer explicitly doesn't support Delphi and delivers only C# and VB.NET examples. There is no type library available for that component.

OTOH it's quite straightforward in VS2010 because the respective COM library (WinSig.exe) is listed as a reference.

In the VS2010 IDE this is in "Project - Add reference - COM tab". In Delphi XE I cannot find that entry in "Component - Import Component - ActiveX".

I have inspected the entries in the two IDEs and found that there are some COM components included in the Delphi IDE which are also in the VS IDE but there are a lot of COM components missing in the Delphi IDE.

See for screenshot file which shows that the first seven COM components are not displayed within the Delphi IDE.

Can one explain why this is so and maybe a help for that specific problem?

Answer 1

Did you checked Import a Type Library option in Import Component wizard (on the first page)? ActiveX is narrower thing than COM. Also, you can use Add button to choose a file if you know library location.