Windows XP includes replacement controls for COMCTL32.DLL, which enhances the look and feel of many common components such as buttons, text fields, list controls, tab controls, etc. Because these new controls change the behavior and shape of the components, in some cases this might cause applications that depend on the old style to fail. To ensure Windows XP does not break any older applications, XP will only use the newer version of COMCTL32 if the application specifically links against it. One method of linking against the newer Common Controls is by creating what Microsoft calls "an assembly" which is a XML text file used to describe which versions of which DLLs are to be loaded with for a particular EXE.. If you select the option below, Thinstall will generate an assembly that tells Windows XP to load the new common controls. This option has no effect on your EXE when it is running on versions of Windows before Windows XP.
The assembly generated by Thinstall will look something like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0">
<assemblyIdentity version="1.0.0.0" processorArchitecture="X86" name="YourCompany.ApplicationName.ExeName" type="win32" />
<description>Thinstall auto-generated assembly </description>
<dependency>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity
type="win32"
name="Microsoft.Windows.Common-Controls"
version="6.0.0.0"
processorArchitecture="X86"
publicKeyToken="6595b64144ccf1df"
language="*"
/>
</dependentAssembly>
</dependency>
</assembly>
If you wish to include your own assembly instead of having Thinstall generate one for you, simply create a text file with your assembly and add it to your Thinstall project. Change the Virtual Name of this text file to :
%InstallPath%/%programname%.manifest
During the build process Thinstall will then link this manifest into the EXE so that Windows XP will use it to load your EXE.
