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What's New for ACT 5.6?

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Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Vista

This topic provides detailed information about the updates made to the Microsoft® Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.6. The updates include the following:

  • Support for migration to 64-bit Windows® 7

  • New compatibility Web service

  • Additional detection for Windows 7 deprecated components

  • Updated and improved functionality for the ACT Community

  • Addition of the StockViewer demonstration application, to be used with the new walkthrough topic in the online Help system, Mitigating Issues by Using Compatibility Fixes

Support for Migration to 64-bit Windows 7

ACT 5.6 has been updated to support issue detection and reporting for applications running on a 64-bit version of the operating system. You can use this to get the most up-to-date information from software vendors about whether their applications have been tested and certified to run on Windows 7, regardless of whether you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. This update also enables you to do the following:

  • Deploy data collection packages to 64-bit operating systems.

  • Use the Update Compatibility Evaluator (UCE) to provide compatibility assessments for security patches that are designed for 64-bit installations of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

  • Separately manage your compatibility readiness for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. You can now specify compatibility based on the operating system architecture and create different assessments and reports for each.

  • Create and apply compatibility fixes for 64-bit applications and Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL)-compiled applications. ACT 5.6 now includes a 64-bit version of the Compatibility Administrator, which you can use to create and apply compatibility fixes from the 64-bit compatibility fix database. In addition, the Compatibility Administrator is now able to detect and apply compatibility fixes to MSIL-compiled applications.

  • Use the Standard User Analyzer (SUA) and the Internet Compatibility Test Tool (IECTT) on systems running the 64-bit version of the operating system.

New Compatibility Web Service

ACT 5.6 uses an updated Web service for the Microsoft Compatibility Exchange, which enables the ACT to send less data, to speed up the synchronization process, and to update the software vendor compatibility assessments data more frequently.

Additional Detection for Windows 7 Deprecated Components

ACT 5.6 has added three additional entries to the list of deprecated Windows 7 components: milcore.dll, outlook.exe, and msagent.exe. This list is used by the Windows Compatibility Evaluator (WCE) to detect and report applications that require these missing components.

Updated Functionality for the ACT Community

The ACT community can rate the compatibility of an application. Ratings are displayed graphically (changing from red to yellow to green) in the Community Assessment column. This change also includes a numerical value next to the color bar, presenting you with the total number of votes that led to the color shown. Both of these changes enable you to more quickly see the compatibility of application and how many people have reviewed the application. For more detailed information about how a compatibility ranking is determined, see What is an Assessment Rating?

Inclusion of the StockViewer Application and Tutorial

ACT 5.6 includes the StockViewer demonstration application and the online Help tutorial, Mitigating Issues by Using Compatibility Fixes. You can use this tool and tutorial to walk through the process of using the Standard User Analyzer (SUA) tool and the Compatibility Administrator to locate user account control (UAC)-related issues, to fix them, and to deploy the fix into your environment.

See Also

Concepts

Introduction to the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) Version 5.6