An ActiveX control is essentially an OLE or Component Object Model (COM) object. It is a self-registering program or control; that is, it adds registry entries for itself automatically the first time it is run.

An ActiveX control can be as simple as a text box, as complex as an Office Viewer Component, and in some cases as complex as a small application. ActiveX controls are used as controls or dialogs for Internet Web sites, as add-ins to major applications from third-party vendors, and as plug-in utilities. Therefore, ActiveX is synonymous with Java, Netscape plug-ins, and scripting. However, the advantage of ActiveX over these other programming options is that ActiveX controls can also be used in applications written in different programming languages, including all of the Microsoft programming and database languages.

ActiveX controls are not stand-alone solutions. They can only be run from within host applications, such as Internet Explorer, a Microsoft Visual Basic® application, Visual C++® development system, Visual Basic, Delphi, DotNet for Applications, and so on. ActiveX controls facilitate the distribution of specialized controls over networks and the integration of those controls within Web browsers. This includes the ability of the control to identify itself to applications that use ActiveX controls.

ActiveX controls can be scripted from Web pages. This means you can use an ActiveX control to provide a control for a user interface or graphics device interface element. Once created, you can use a scripting language such as Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) or JavaScript to use the control. Your script instructs the control how to work.

EDraw Office Viewer Component is a standard ActiveX Control. It can be intergrated into the other develop circumstance supports the ActiveX Control.