StoreFront makes use of many different server components, often called COM objects, for a variety of tasks. Sites that use a payment processing service will usually require the installation of a server-side component, and most StoreFront web stores make use of the StoreFront Server Component for credit card encryption or weight-based shipping calculation. CanadaPost and USPS rate calculation also requires the installation of server-side components. The mail functions of StoreFront, such as Email-a-Friend, Promotional Mail, and the customer and merchant confirmation emails use a mail component to build and send e-mails. Although they are used for different purposes, all of these components must be registered and assigned the same basic permissions in order to function correctly.
Registering COM Objects and Setting Permissions Most components are installed as a part of an automated installation routine, which will place the file in the appropriate folder, assign the correct permissions, and register it. In some cases, however, you may need to manually perform some of these tasks.
Almost every component must be registered. To register a component, first click on the Start menu, then select Run. In the Run command line, enter the command "regsvr32", followed by the full path to the component on the computer's hard drive. For example: regsvr32 C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\RegisterMyComponent.dll Hit Enter. You should receive a message saying that the component was successfully registered; if you receive an error, try rebooting and running the command again. Keep in mind, however, that some components can't be registered. A component can be unregistered prior to removal, replacement or relocation in much the same way by simply following the regsvr32 command with "/u". For example: regsvr32 /u C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\UNRegisterMyComponent.dll That's all there is to it.
Permissions for most components should be RX (read and execute) for the IUSR account or Everyone group; this is because a component is executed within the context of the user account that originally executed the script that instantiated the component. For example, suppose a customer browses to an ASP page called automail.asp in one of your sites that includes code that will automatically send an email when it is loaded. The page does this by using a mail component called EMailCOM.dll. When automail.asp runs and tells EMailCOM.dll to build an email, it does so on behalf of the anonymous customer, likely a member of the IUSR guest account.
