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An existing unmanaged C++ project uses a COM component declared and implemented in C#, and my header looks a bit like this:
#import "MyComponents.tlb" no_namespace named_guids
IComponentXYZ *pComponent;
Sometimes when I right-click on IComponentXYZ in the .h file and "Go to declaration", a MyComponent.tlh file is displayed which shows me the COM wrapper definitions. But other times, it says no definition exists.
Can I manually open this file in Visual Studio? I think it's being auto-generated. And while the Object Browser window lets me inspect TLB contents, it doesn't display the raw COM method declarations.
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Do File > View TypeLib , open your . tlb file. The tool decompiles back to IDL, essentially. Worked for me.
On the object viewer File menu, click View TypeLib. An Open dialog box appears. Specify the type library file you want to open, and click OK.
A type library (. tlb) is a binary file that stores information about a COM or DCOM object's properties and methods in a form that is accessible to other applications at runtime. Using a type library, an application or browser can determine which interfaces an object supports, and invoke an object's interface methods.
Type library file(. tlb) is not considered as typical library file, the compiler won't try to find it from "Tool -> Options -> VC++ Directories -> Library Files". You can add it as reference or import it with full path.
I also used OLEView twenty years ago. Some other good tool for looking inside a TLB and much more is:
COMView
Very helpful...
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