CertStore Delphi DLL Reference Documentation

CertStore

Current Version: 10.1.0

Represents a collection of certificates that can be loaded from various sources, including:

  • .pfx or .p12 file containing certificates and private keys.
  • PEM file containing multiple certificates and keys.
  • Windows Certificate Store
  • Apple Keychain (starting in version Chilkat v10.0.0)
  • Connected Smartcards and USB Tokens

Create/Dispose

var
myObject: HCkCertStore;

begin
myObject := CkCertStore_Create();

// ...

CkCertStore_Dispose(myObject);
end;
function CkCertStore_Create: HCkCertStore; stdcall;

Creates an instance of the HCkCertStore object and returns a handle (i.e. a Pointer). The handle is passed in the 1st argument for the functions listed on this page.

procedure CkCertStore_Dispose(handle: HCkCertStore); stdcall;

Objects created by calling CkCertStore_Create must be freed by calling this method. A memory leak occurs if a handle is not disposed by calling this function.

Properties

AvoidWindowsPkAccess
function CkCertStore_getAvoidWindowsPkAccess(objHandle: HCkCertStore): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putAvoidWindowsPkAccess(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If True, then any method that returns a certificate will not try to also access the associated private key, assuming one exists. This is useful if the certificate was installed with high-security such that a private key access would trigger the Windows OS to display a security warning dialog. The default value of this property is False.

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DebugLogFilePath
procedure CkCertStore_getDebugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putDebugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__debugLogFilePath(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples
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LastErrorHtml
procedure CkCertStore_getLastErrorHtml(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__lastErrorHtml(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

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LastErrorText
procedure CkCertStore_getLastErrorText(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__lastErrorText(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

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LastErrorXml
procedure CkCertStore_getLastErrorXml(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__lastErrorXml(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

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LastMethodSuccess
function CkCertStore_getLastMethodSuccess(objHandle: HCkCertStore): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putLastMethodSuccess(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: True means success, False means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages.

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NumCertificates
function CkCertStore_getNumCertificates(objHandle: HCkCertStore): Integer; stdcall;

The number of certificates held in the certificate store.

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SmartCardPin
procedure CkCertStore_getSmartCardPin(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putSmartCardPin(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__smartCardPin(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.86

Can be set to the PIN value for a certificate / private key stored on a smart card.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

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UncommonOptions
procedure CkCertStore_getUncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putUncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: PWideChar); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__uncommonOptions(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string, and should typically remain empty.

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

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VerboseLogging
function CkCertStore_getVerboseLogging(objHandle: HCkCertStore): wordbool; stdcall;
procedure CkCertStore_putVerboseLogging(objHandle: HCkCertStore; newPropVal: wordbool); stdcall;

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
procedure CkCertStore_getVersion(objHandle: HCkCertStore; outPropVal: HCkString); stdcall;
function CkCertStore__version(objHandle: HCkCertStore): PWideChar; stdcall;

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

See the notes about PWideChar memory ownership and validity.

More Information and Examples
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Methods

AddCertificate
function CkCertStore_AddCertificate(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    cert: HCkCert): wordbool; stdcall;

On Windows, this updates or adds cert to the open Windows certificate store.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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CloseCertStore
function CkCertStore_CloseCertStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.94

This method closes any open certificate stores, removes all certificates from the object, and sets the NumCertificates property back to 0.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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CreateFileStore
function CkCertStore_CreateFileStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    filename: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

This method, available only on Microsoft Windows, creates a new file-based certificate store. You can save certificates to this store by using the AddCertificate function.

Internally, the Microsoft function CertOpenStore is called with the provider type CERT_STORE_PROV_FILE and the flag CERT_STORE_CREATE_NEW_FLAG, to create a new, empty certificate store that is backed by a file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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CreateMemoryStore
function CkCertStore_CreateMemoryStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore): wordbool; stdcall;

This method, available only on Microsoft Windows, creates an in-memory certificate store. Certificates may be added by calling AddCertificate.

Internally, the Microsoft function CertOpenStore is called with the provider type CERT_STORE_PROV_MEMORY to create a new in-memory certificate store. This store acts as a temporary container for managing certificates during runtime. The store exists only in memory and is not backed by a file or persistent storage. Certificates can be added, retrieved, or removed, but the store is lost when the application ends unless explicitly saved elsewhere.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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CreateRegistryStore
function CkCertStore_CreateRegistryStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    regRoot: PWideChar;
    regPath: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

This method, available only on Microsoft Windows, creates a new registry-based certificate store. You can save certificates to this store by using the AddCertificate function.

Internally, the Microsoft function CertOpenStore is called with the provider type CERT_STORE_PROV_REG and a registry key to create a new, empty certificate store in the Windows registry.

regRoot can be the string "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". regPath is a registry key path such as "Software/MyApplication/Certificates".

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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FindCert
function CkCertStore_FindCert(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    json: HCkJsonObject;
    cert: HCkCert): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

Searches for a certificate using the criteria in json and stores the result in cert. See the examples below for details.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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FindCertBySerial
function CkCertStore_FindCertBySerial(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    str: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertBySha1Thumbprint
function CkCertStore_FindCertBySha1Thumbprint(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    str: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertBySubjectCN
function CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectCN(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    str: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertBySubjectE
function CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectE(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    str: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertBySubjectO
function CkCertStore_FindCertBySubjectO(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    str: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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FindCertForEmail
function CkCertStore_FindCertForEmail(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    emailAddress: PWideChar): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

This method is deprecated and will be removed in a future major version. Use FindCert instead.

Returns nil on failure

More Information and Examples
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GetCert
function CkCertStore_GetCert(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    index: Integer;
    cert: HCkCert): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

Loads the Nth certificate into cert. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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GetCertificate
function CkCertStore_GetCertificate(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    index: Integer): HCkCert; stdcall;
This method is deprecated. It will be removed in a future version.

Returns the Nth certificate from the store, with indexing starting at 0. This function is deprecated; please use GetCert instead, as demonstrated in the example below.

Returns nil on failure

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LoadPemFile
function CkCertStore_LoadPemFile(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    pemPath: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads the certificates contained within a PEM formatted file.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPemStr
function CkCertStore_LoadPemStr(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    pemString: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads the certificates contained within an in-memory PEM formatted string.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPfxBd
function CkCertStore_LoadPfxBd(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    bd: HCkBinData;
    password: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

Loads the PFX/P12 bytes contained in bd. password is the password to the PFX.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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LoadPfxFile
function CkCertStore_LoadPfxFile(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    pfxFilename: PWideChar;
    password: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;

Loads a PFX file. Once loaded, the certificates within the PFX may be searched via the Find* methods. It is also possible to iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1, calling GetCertificate for each index, to retrieve each certificate within the PFX.

Note: This method does not import certificates into the Windows certificate stores. The purpose of this method is to load a .pfx/.p12 into this object so that other API methods can be called to explore or search the contents of the PFX. The Chilkat Pfx class also provides similar functionality.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenCurrentUserStore
function CkCertStore_OpenCurrentUserStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    readOnly: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

On Windows, this method opens the Current-User\Personal certificate store in the registry. Set readOnly to True to open the store in read-only mode, which allows you to fetch certificates without adding or removing them. This prevents "permission denied" errors that require read-write access.

After opening the store, you can search for certificates using the Find* methods. Alternatively, you can iterate through the certificates by indexing from 0 to NumCertificates-1, using GetCertificate to access each one.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenFileStore
function CkCertStore_OpenFileStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    filename: PWideChar;
    readOnly: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens a file-based certificate store.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenLocalSystemStore
function CkCertStore_OpenLocalSystemStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    readOnly: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

(This method is only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens the registry-based Local-Computer\Personal certificate store. Set readOnly = True if only fetching certificates and not updating the certificate store (i.e. certificates will not be added or removed). Setting readOnly = True causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenRegistryStore
function CkCertStore_OpenRegistryStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    regRoot: PWideChar;
    regPath: PWideChar;
    readOnly: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens an arbitrary registry-based certificate store. regRoot must be "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". regPath is a registry path such as "Software/MyApplication/Certificates".

Setting readOnly = True causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenSmartcard
function CkCertStore_OpenSmartcard(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    csp: PWideChar): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

This function identifies connected HSM devices such as smart cards and USB tokens, and loads the certificates from each device. It has been significantly enhanced in Chilkat v10.1.2 and is compatible with Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Linux. Android is not supported.

Note: If multiple HSM devices are connected, avoid setting the SmartCardPin property unless all devices share the same PIN. Otherwise, Chilkat will attempt to use that PIN for each device, which could cause issues.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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OpenWindowsStore
function CkCertStore_OpenWindowsStore(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    storeLocation: PWideChar;
    storeName: PWideChar;
    readOnly: wordbool): wordbool; stdcall;
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens a Microsoft Windows certificate store. storeLocation must be "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". storeName is the name of the certificate store to open. It may be any of the following:

  • AddressBook: Certificate store for other users.
  • AuthRoot: Certificate store for third-party certification authorities (CAs).
  • CertificationAuthority: Certificate store for intermediate certification authorities (CAs).
  • Disallowed: Certificate store for revoked certificates.
  • My: Certificate store for personal certificates.
  • Root: Certificate store for trusted root certification authorities (CAs).
  • TrustedPeople: Certificate store for directly trusted people and resources.
  • TrustedPublisher: Certificate store for directly trusted publishers.

Setting readOnly = True causes the certificate store to be opened read-only, and will prevent "permission denied" errors caused by the need for read-write permission.

Once loaded, the certificates within the store may be searched via the Find* methods. An application may also iterate from 0 to NumCertficates-1 and call GetCertificate to access each certificate by index.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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RemoveCertificate
function CkCertStore_RemoveCertificate(objHandle: HCkCertStore;
    cert: HCkCert): wordbool; stdcall;

(This method only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Removes the passed certificate from the store. The certificate object passed as the argument can no longer be used once removed.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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