Editing Windows Registry (section)

=== Programs or scripts ===
The registry can be edited through the APIs of the Advanced Windows 32 Base API Library (advapi32.dll).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/lpt/a/5016 | title = Reading and Writing Registry Values with Visual Basic | access-date = 2007-07-19}}</ref> List of registry API functions:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* {{tt|RegCloseKey}}
* {{tt|RegConnectRegistry}}
* {{tt|RegCreateKey}}
* {{tt|RegCreateKeyEx}}
* {{tt|RegDeleteKey}}
* {{tt|RegDeleteValue}}
* {{tt|RegEnumKey}}
* {{tt|RegEnumKeyEx}}
* {{tt|RegEnumValue}}
* {{tt|RegFlushKey}}
* {{tt|RegGetKeySecurity}}
* {{tt|RegLoadKey}}
* {{tt|RegNotifyChangeKeyValue}}
* {{tt|RegOpenKey}}
* {{tt|RegOpenKeyEx}}
* {{tt|RegQueryInfoKey}}
* {{tt|RegQueryMultipleValues}}
* {{tt|RegQueryValue}}
* {{tt|RegQueryValueEx}}
* {{tt|RegReplaceKey}}
* {{tt|RegRestoreKey}}
* {{tt|RegSaveKey}}
* {{tt|RegSetKeySecurity}}
* {{tt|RegSetValue}}
* {{tt|RegSetValueEx}}
* {{tt|RegUnLoadKey}}
{{div col end}}

Many [[programming language]]s offer built-in [[runtime library]] functions or [[class (computer science)|classes]] that wrap the underlying Windows APIs and thereby enable programs to store settings in the registry (e.g. <code>Microsoft.Win32.Registry</code> in [[Visual Basic .NET|VB.NET]] and [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], or <code>TRegistry</code> in [[Delphi (programming language)|Delphi]] and [[Free Pascal]]). [[Component Object Model|COM]]-enabled applications like [[Visual Basic 6]] can use the [[Windows Scripting Host|WSH]] <code>WScript.Shell</code> object. Another way is to use the Windows Resource Kit Tool, <code>Reg.exe</code> by executing it from code,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.petri.co.il/reg_command_in_windows_xp.htm | title = REG command in Windows XP | access-date = 2007-07-19}}</ref> although this is considered poor programming practice.

Similarly, [[scripting language]]s such as [[Perl]] (with <code> Win32::TieRegistry</code>), [[Python (programming language)|Python]] (with winreg), [[Tcl|TCL]] (which comes bundled with the registry package),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tcl.tk/man/tcl8.6/TclCmd/registry.htm|title=registry manual page – Tcl Bundled Packages|website=www.tcl.tk|access-date=2017-12-14}}</ref> [[Windows Powershell]] and [[Windows Scripting Host]] also enable registry editing from scripts.