I am having a problem where I am trying to serialize a message of a template class. The template's class message is of type BaseClass, but I want it to serialize the derived versions of the class. As of right now, it is only serializing the BaseClass. How am I supposed to register with boost::serialization the types of the derived classes that I want it to serialize? I have tried several methods such as using the 'BOOST_CLASS_EXPORT' macro. I have also tried boost::serialization::void_cast_register(). Also, I have tried using this example: ar.register_type(static_cast<bus_stop_corner *>(NULL)); from here: http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_36_0/libs/serialization/example/demo_gps.hpp but still no luck. It seems to me that all of the things I have posted above are different ways to achieve the same end result: serialize a derived class via a base class pointer. But I am not clear on when to use which one, and which method is appropriate for my case. Here is an example of what my code is like: template <class T> class Frame{ ... private: T message; }; class BaseType{}; class SubTypeA : public BaseType{}; class SubTypeB : public BaseType{}; int main(){ std::vector< Frame<BaseType> > myFrames; //add a bunch of Frame<SubTypeA> and Frame<SubTypeB> objects to the myFrames vector. //serialize the vector. return 0; } This code is not compilable at all, but was included to give you an idea of the structure of my program. I am pretty new to mailing lists, so I apologize if I am not using proper formatting etc.