Certificate object
[CAPICOM is a 32-bit only component that is available for use in the following operating systems: Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Instead, use the X509Certificate2 Class in the System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates namespace.]
The Certificate object represents a single digital certificate.
The Certificate object exposes the following interfaces:
- ICertificate — Introduced in CAPICOM 1.0.
- ICertificate2 — Introduced in CAPICOM 2.0.
When to use
The Certificate object is used to perform the following tasks:
- Load certificate data, including the private key, from a file.
- Get information from the certificate.
- Return basic constraints, EKU, extended properties, extensions, key usage, public key, and template objects associated with the certificate.
- Determine whether the certificate is valid and check the access availability of the certificate subject's private key.
- Display the certificate.
- Import and export the certificate.
- Save the certificate to a file.
- Retrieve or set properties that describe the certificate.
Members
The Certificate object has these types of members:
Methods
The Certificate object has these methods.
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| BasicConstraints | Returns a BasicConstraints object that represents the basic constraints extension of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Display | Displays a certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Export | Copies a certificate to an encoded string. The encoded string can be written to a file or imported into a new Certificate object. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| ExtendedKeyUsage | Returns an ExtendedKeyUsage object that indicates the valid extended key uses of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| ExtendedProperties | Returns a collection of the extended properties of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| Extensions | Returns a collection of the extensions associated with the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| GetInfo | Retrieves information from the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| HasPrivateKey | Determines whether the certificate has a private key associated with it. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Import | Imports a previously encoded certificate from a string into the Certificate object. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| IsValid | Builds a certificate verification chain for a certificate and returns a CertificateStatus object that contains the validity status of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| KeyUsage | Returns a KeyUsage object that indicates the valid key usage of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Load | Imports a certificate from a file. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| PublicKey | Returns a PublicKey object. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| Save | Saves the certificate to a file. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| Template | Returns the template associated with the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
Properties
The Certificate object has these properties.
| Property | Access type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Archived |
Read/write |
Sets or retrieves a Boolean value that indicates whether the certificate is archived. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| IssuerName |
Read-only |
Retrieves a string that contains the name of the certificate issuer. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| PrivateKey |
Read/write |
Sets or retrieves the private key associated with the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2) |
| SerialNumber |
Read-only |
Retrieves a string that contains the certificate serial number. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| SubjectName |
Read-only |
Retrieves a string that contains the name of the certificate subject. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Thumbprint |
Read-only |
Retrieves a hexadecimal string that contains the SHA-1 hash of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| ValidFromDate |
Read-only |
Retrieves the beginning date for the validity of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| ValidToDate |
Read-only |
Retrieves the ending date for the validity of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
| Version |
Read-only |
Retrieves the version number of the certificate. (Inherited from CertificateICertificate2ICertificate) |
Remarks
The Certificate object can be created, and it is safe for scripting. The ProgID for the Certificate object is "CAPICOM.Certificate.2".
CAPICOM 1.x: The ProgID for the Certificate object is "CAPICOM.Certificate.1".
Requirements
| Requirement | Value |
|---|---|
| End of client support |
Windows Vista |
| End of server support |
Windows Server 2008 |
| Redistributable |
CAPICOM 2.0 or later on Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP |
| DLL |
|