What does it mean to append “\” to file paths under HKCR\TypeLib\

Question

I\'ve seen several (not all) registry values like the followings, when trying to parse out the file path under the TypeLib registry key:

HKEY_CLASS_ROOT\\TypeLib         


        

Answer 1

In Visual Studio use File > Open > File and select C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 14.0\Common7\Packages\mswebprj.dll. You'll see the resources embedded in the DLL. Open the TYPELIB node and you'll instantly see what 5 means.

It is the resource id.

More typically there is only one type library embedded in the file and has resource id #1. Sometimes the type library is not embedded but stored in a separate file, commonly with the .tlb or .olb filename extension. Like a .NET [ComVisible] assembly, Office is a common example.