CertStore Delphi ActiveX Reference Documentation

TChilkatCertStore

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

Importing the Chilkat ActiveX into Delphi

Important: When upgrading to a new version of Chilkat, make sure to re-imported ActiveX DLL into Delphi to regenerate the files described below.


Chilkat v9.5.*: If using Chilkat v9.5.*, then use "Chilkat_v9_5_0_TLB" instead of "Chilkat_TLB", and the DLLs are named ChilkatAx-9.5.0-win32.dll (or ChilkatAx-9.5.0-x64.dll).


Two things are required to use an ActiveX in Delphi:

  1. The ActiveX DLL needs to be registered via regsvr32 on the system where the Delphi application runs. See How To Register ActiveX DLLs for detailed information.
  2. See also: ActiveX Registration Tutorial
  3. The ActiveX component needs to be "imported". Use the Delphi Import Component Wizard to import the Chilkat type library. This creates the following files: Chilkat_TLB.pas and Chilkat_TLB.dcr. The Chilkat_TLB.pas should be added to your project.

To import the Chilkat type library, do the following:

  1. In the Delphi RAD Studio, select the menu item "Component" --> "Import a Type Library".
  2. Find "Chilkat ActiveX" in the list and select it. This will only appear in the list if the ChilkatAx-win32.dll (or ChilkatAx-x64.dll) has been registered w/ regsvr32.
  3. Check the "Generate Component Wrappers" checkbox.
  4. Select a directory where the unit files (.pas and .dcr) should be generated.
  5. Select "Create Unit" and then "Finish".
  6. Add the .pas to your Delphi project.

To use a Chilkat ActiveX object in your Delphi code, add "Chilkat_TLB" to the "uses" statement. For example:

uses
  Winapi.Windows, Winapi.Messages, System.SysUtils, System.Variants, System.Classes, Vcl.Graphics,
  Vcl.Controls, Vcl.Forms, Vcl.Dialogs, Vcl.StdCtrls, Chilkat_TLB;

Object Creation

var
obj: TChilkatCertStore;
...
begin
obj := TChilkatCertStore.Create(Self);
...
// When finished, free the object instance.
obj.Free();

Properties

AvoidWindowsPkAccess
property AvoidWindowsPkAccess: Integer

Applies only when running on a Microsoft Windows operating system. If 1, 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 0.

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DebugLogFilePath
property DebugLogFilePath: WideString

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.

More Information and Examples
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LastBinaryResult
property LastBinaryResult: OleVariant readonly

This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.

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LastErrorHtml
property LastErrorHtml: WideString readonly

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.

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LastErrorText
property LastErrorText: WideString readonly

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.

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LastErrorXml
property LastErrorXml: WideString readonly

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.

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LastMethodSuccess
property LastMethodSuccess: Integer

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 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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LastStringResult
property LastStringResult: WideString readonly

In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.

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LastStringResultLen
property LastStringResultLen: Integer readonly

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

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NumCertificates
property NumCertificates: Integer readonly

The number of certificates held in the certificate store.

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SmartCardPin
property SmartCardPin: WideString
Introduced in version 9.5.0.86

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

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UncommonOptions
property UncommonOptions: WideString
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.

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VerboseLogging
property VerboseLogging: Integer

If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
property Version: WideString readonly

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

More Information and Examples
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Methods

AddCertificate
function AddCertificate(cert: TChilkatCert): Integer;

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

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CloseCertStore
function CloseCertStore(): Integer;
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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateFileStore
function CreateFileStore(filename: WideString): Integer;

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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateMemoryStore
function CreateMemoryStore(): Integer;

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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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CreateRegistryStore
function CreateRegistryStore(regRoot: WideString; regPath: WideString): Integer;

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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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FindCert
function FindCert(json: TChilkatJsonObject; cert: TChilkatCert): Integer;
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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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FindCertBySerial
function FindCertBySerial(str: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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 FindCertBySha1Thumbprint(str: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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

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FindCertBySubjectCN
function FindCertBySubjectCN(str: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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 FindCertBySubjectE(str: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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

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FindCertBySubjectO
function FindCertBySubjectO(str: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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 FindCertForEmail(emailAddress: WideString): TChilkatCert;
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 GetCert(index: Integer; cert: TChilkatCert): Integer;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

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

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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GetCertificate
function GetCertificate(index: Integer): TChilkatCert;
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 LoadPemFile(pemPath: WideString): Integer;

Loads the certificates contained within a PEM formatted file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPemStr
function LoadPemStr(pemString: WideString): Integer;

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

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxBd
function LoadPfxBd(bd: TChilkatBinData; password: WideString): Integer;
Introduced in version 10.1.2

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

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadPfxFile
function LoadPfxFile(pfxFilename: WideString; password: WideString): Integer;

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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenCurrentUserStore
function OpenCurrentUserStore(readOnly: Integer): Integer;

On Windows, this method opens the Current-User\Personal certificate store in the registry. Set readOnly to 1 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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenFileStore
function OpenFileStore(filename: WideString; readOnly: Integer): Integer;

(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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenLocalSystemStore
function OpenLocalSystemStore(readOnly: Integer): Integer;

(This method is only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens the registry-based Local-Computer\Personal certificate store. Set readOnly = 1 if only fetching certificates and not updating the certificate store (i.e. certificates will not be added or removed). Setting readOnly = 1 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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenOutlookStore
function OpenOutlookStore(readOnly: Integer): Integer;

(This method is only available on Microsoft Windows operating systems.)
Opens the registry-based Current-User\Other People certificate store. This is the certificate store use by Microsot Outlook. Set readOnly = 1 if only fetching certificates and not updating the certificate store (i.e. certificates will not be added or removed). Setting readOnly = 1 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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenRegistryStore
function OpenRegistryStore(regRoot: WideString; regPath: WideString; readOnly: Integer): Integer;

(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 = 1 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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenSmartcard
function OpenSmartcard(csp: WideString): Integer;
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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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OpenWindowsStore
function OpenWindowsStore(storeLocation: WideString; storeName: WideString; readOnly: Integer): Integer;
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 = 1 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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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RemoveCertificate
function RemoveCertificate(cert: TChilkatCert): Integer;

(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 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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