ActiveX doesn't check on startup anymore?

Question

We are heavily using ActiveX and recently built labVIEW drivers for them in 8.5.1. Why is it when the DLLs are not installed and registered is the code completely runnable? A force recompile doesn't break the VI like it used to? Is there some ini option for LabVIEW to re-enable this? 
I've read on sites that a bug was fixed from 8.2.1:
49HH05G0 Registering an updated ActiveX COM library breaks VI and requires relinking all Invoke Nodes
Also I read an ini option that does NOT work advertised:
checkActiveXLibs=True
It is vital for our project to check all of our drivers are indeed correctly linked before running the executable. We need to track which VIs are broken to ensure they are all contained in our driver folder. 
Many Thanks, 
--Kevin
Kevin Shirey
PVI Systems Inc.
Certified LabVIEW Developer

Answer 1

Hello Kevin,
It sounds like you are registering a new version of an ActiveX assembly,
and the VIs which call it are automatically updated with the new
version's properties, methods, and sub-classes.  As you can imagine, it
was a big pain point for people to be calling external components, and
then have to manually re-code their VI when updating the ActiveX
assembly.  As you have pointed out, you took advantage of this
"feature", and used it as a way to check and make sure that all of the
ActiveX calls you were making were valid.
If you need confirmation of any property or invoke nodes that contain
values that are now invalid with the new assembly, you will still have
errors in the error list for the VI.  For instance, if registered type
library contained "Class A" with "Property B", but in the new type
library "Class A" no longer has "Property B" and now has "Property Z"
instead, you will receive an error on the property node that once
accessed "Property B" similar to the following:
All of the wires will not be broken, but the actual property being
referenced by the property node will appear in black, indicating that it
is no longer valid.  The same goes for invoke nodes.  So if you are
looking for a simple hand-check/inspection to see if the ActiveX calls
are still valid, this should not be a problem.  Broken wires are not
necessary to detect invalid calls (calls that do not exist in a new
version of a type library). 
Also, if you wish to search all existing property nodes and invoke nodes
(not just ones that no longer work), then you can use the find tool
(CTRL+F) to find all instances of a function (property nodes, invoke
notes, automation open, register event callback node, etc.).  However,
if there are no errors in the VI, then all ActiveX calls should be
properly registered.  As for verifying the behavior of their functionality, obviously that would take an actual functional test.
Do you wish to check just for functions that contain invalid references (like the example above)?  If so, LabVIEW should automatically give you this information already.  If not, are you looking to verify all functions, whether they contain an invlaid reference or not?
Chris_G
Sr Test Engineer
Medtronic, Inc.