What is the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange?

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Vista

The Microsoft® Compatibility Exchange is a Web service that propagates application compatibility issues from various data sources, such as Microsoft Corporation, independent software vendors (ISVs) and the ACT Community, from the server to the client. This process involves allowing the client to connect to Microsoft via the Internet to check for updated compatibility information.

Benefits of the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange

The Microsoft Compatibility Exchange provides the following benefits:

  • It uses the Object Framework to enable the synchronization of application compatibility information between the Application Compatibility Manager database and the Application Profile database, keeping your compatibility issue data current.

  • It uploads your compatibility issue data to your ACT database, enabling you to view your information as reports in the Application Compatibility Manager.

Common Scenarios

The following sections describe common Microsoft Compatibility Exchange scenarios.

Synchronizing Your Data with Microsoft

The Microsoft Compatibility Exchange enables you to synchronize your compatibility issues with Microsoft Corporation and to receive the most current issue information from Microsoft, ISVs and, if you are a member, the ACT Community.

Viewing Compatibility Issue Reports

The Microsoft Compatibility Exchange uploads your compatibility issue data to your ACT database. After the information exists in your database, you can view your data as reports in the Application Compatibility Manager.

The following sections describe the technologies that are related to the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange.

Application Compatibility Manager

The Application Compatibility Manager works with Microsoft Compatibility Exchange to synchronize your data through the Send and Receive button on the Analyze screen. Additionally, after you have synchronized your data, the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange uploads your issues to your ACT database, so you can view the information in report form on the Analyze screen.

See Also

Concepts

Microsoft Compatibility Exchange Technical Reference
Phase 1: Collecting Your Compatibility Data
Sending and Receiving Compatibility Data