Add or remove an ActiveX control from the Controls task pane
Before you can use a Microsoft ActiveX control on your form, you must make it available in the Controls task pane. Any controls that you add to Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 appear at the bottom of the Insert controls list, under the Custom category.
Add an ActiveX control to the Controls task pane
- In design mode, click More Controls on the Insert menu.
- In the Controls task pane, click Add or Remove Custom Controls.
- In the Add or Remove Custom Controls dialog box, click Add.
- On the first page of the Add Custom Control Wizard, click the control that you want in the Select a control list, and then click Next.
Note The Select a control list shows ActiveX controls that are currently registered on your computer, including the ActiveX controls that are included with Microsoft Windows. If you created your own custom ActiveX control, you must register it in order for it to appear in the Select a control list. If ActiveX controls are incompatible with InfoPath or are deemed unsafe, you won't be able to add them to InfoPath.
- On the next page of the wizard, specify whether you want to include an installation cabinet (.cab) file with your form, and then click Next.
- In the Binding property list, do one of the following:
- To bind a property of the ActiveX control to a field in the data source, click an item. (If the control includes a Value property, InfoPath automatically selects it, but you can choose to change it.)
- To leave the control unbound, click (do not bind).
- Click Next.
- Depending on the type of ActiveX control you've chosen to add, an Enable or Disable property list may appear. If this is the case, click a property, and then click Next. (If the control includes an Enabled property, InfoPath automatically selects it, but you can choose to change it.)
- If you specified a binding property in step 6, you must now specify binding options. In the Field or group type list, do one of the following:
- To bind the control to a field with a simple data type, click Field (element or attribute). This type of binding is used by simple ActiveX controls, such as the slider control that is included with Microsoft Windows. If you select this option, you must specify a default data type for the control, as well as any additional data types to which the control can be bound.
- To bind the control to a field with a custom data type, click Field (element with custom data type). This type of binding is used by ActiveX controls that function as editors for a specific type of content, such as an equation editor that edits MathML. If you select this option, you must also specify a namespace for the XML that will be edited.
- To bind the control to a field or group, regardless of its data type, click Field or Group (any data type). This type of binding is used by ActiveX controls that analyze information that is entered elsewhere on the same form, such as a graph or chart, or by ActiveX controls that manipulate XML data directly.
- Click Finish.
Remove an ActiveX control from the Controls task pane
- In design mode, click More Controls on the Insert menu.
- In the Controls task pane, click Add or Remove Custom Controls.
- In the Custom controls list in the Add or Remove Custom Controls dialog box, click the name of the control that you want to remove.
- Click Remove.
Notes
- If you develop your own ActiveX control for use in InfoPath, you must identify that control as both safe for initialization and safe for scripting. Otherwise, you won't be able to add your control to the Controls task pane. For specific information about these options and about designing ActiveX controls in general, visit the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) Web site.
- The information in this topic may not apply if you are working with a form designed using Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 without the service pack installed. Learn more