Hello,
My Add-In is in production, and works pretty well under Outlook 2000,
2002, and 2003.
But since we are nearly at the middle of 2005, there must be another
version of Outlook in the pipe by now.
Does anyone know when it might appear, and how similar/different it
might be from Outlook 2003?
I recall that when Outlook 2003 was released, I had to make some
changes to my Add-In to compensate for differences from Outlook
2000/2002. So I am thinking ahead to the impact on my Add-In (and my
customers) when the next version of Outlook emerges.
I'm not asking for any insider knowledge that is under non-disclosure.
But any publicly available timeline and Add-In compatibility
information would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Jim
As follow-up, here is what I have been able to learn doing web searches
(see citations further below):
- Office 12 is scheduled for summer 2006
- Office 12 Beta 1, 29 Aug 2005
- Office 12 Beta 2, 5 Dec 2005
- Office 12 Production, 17 Jul 2006
- next Windows version (Longhorn) will support VB6 runtime
- VB6 paid support and security fixes will continue
- Office 12 will continue to support VBA (Add-In/etc.)
- Visual Studio 2005 will not host VB6 (so use the old IDE)
Obviously, some of this is speculative and certainly it is all subject
to change. But it gives the shape of what to expect. It looks like
good news for my VB6 based Add-In -- it should continue to be supported
under the next version of Windows and the next version of Outlook --
although the Outlook feature differences that may require changes
remain an open question.
Thanks.
Jim
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1710821,00.asp
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Office 12 Details Begin to Trickle Out
By Mary Jo Foley
Microsoft's next Office System release is set to ship by the summer of
2006, sources say. Expect new desktop apps, servers and services in the
mix.
Microsoft still isn't ready to talk publicly about Office 12, its next
major release of its information-worker family of products. But the
company is briefing selected partners and customers about the
forthcoming family of Office desktop and server products.
According to partner sources who requested anonymity, Microsoft has
established an internal Office 12 ship calendar that pegs Office Beta 1
availability for August 29, 2005. Beta 2 is slated for December 5,
2005. The internal release-to-manufacturing target is May 22, 2006.
And the target for "street" availability for the Office 12 System is
July 17, 2006, the sources said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://blogs.msdn.com/jroxe/search.aspx?q=vb6+runtime+longhorn&p=1
Thursday, March 17, 2005 8:20 PM by JRoxe
An Open Letter to the Community
<cut VB.NET discussion here>
There's also been a great deal of debate around the end of mainstream
support <with regards to VB6>. To clarify, this is a switch from free
to paid support.
<snip>
However, I want to highlight to you that Microsoft is still supporting
Visual Basic 6 and will continue to for quite some time. In fact, the
Visual Basic 6 runtime is slated to ship as a part of Windows Longhorn,
which means that it will be covered under Longhorn's support
lifecycle.
<snip>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.theserverside.net/news/thread.tss?thread_id=32806
Eric Rudder Answers Tough Questions on Whidbey
Posted by: Paul Ballard on March 23, 2005 @ 01:09 PM
In a recent web chat, Microsoft's Senior VP of the Server and Tools
Division Eric Rudder fielded some pointed questions about Whidbey and
Microsoft's tools strategy.
<snip>
Eric Rudder [MSFT]:
<snip>
I have heard basically two types of feedback. The first centers mainly
around support and the second focuses on some sort of new VB6-based
product. Let me deal with support first. Support is NOT ending.
<snip>
We have heard strong feedback about making sure that crtical security
fixes continue to be made. We will do this. We have heard a large
number of folks ask for VB6 runtime support on Longhorn. We will do
this.
<snip>
For VBA, we will continue to have support in "Office 12."
The second issue around "a new product" or "hosting VB6 inside of
Visual Studio 2005+" is different. Here, we have been clear that this
is not currently in our plans.
<snip>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
