On Microsoft Windows operating systems, a DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library. DLLs are relatively small files that include a library of functions- usually data that can be shared across multiple applications. Various applications call on DLLs, which they can load and utilize concurrently.
Registering a DLL
There are two easy ways to register a DLL in a Windows operating system’s registry. The first way is via self registering files and the second way is to manually register the DLL.
Self Registering Files
It should be noted that many DLL files are self registering, they include information required to store themselves in the operating system’s registry. As the name states, self registering files require no human intervention. Self registering files automatically store themselves on computers and become accessible when needed. Besides DLL files, other types of files that are sometimes self registering include .EXE and .OCX.
Manually Register Files
The second method used to register DLL files on computers is manual registration. Manually registering a DLL file is quite simple and can be done in only a few steps:
Turn on the computer, which launches the Windows operating system.
Once the Windows operating system has loaded completely, click Start then click Run.
In the third step, type a command in the Run field that tells the computer to register the DLL file. Input specific information including the path and file names. The following is a template for the command: regsvr32 ” FileName.dll”
It is important to note that path is the file’s actual location or the file location’s directory. Filename is the DLL file’s name that will be registered. Here is a sample command: Regsvr32 “C:WindowsSystem32example.dll”
Once the command is put into the Run field correctly, press Enter.
Once the DLL has been registered, a pop up box will confirm registration. This message will list the newly registered DLL file and confirm that is was successfully registered into the registry.