14 DAY TRIAL // Following the general availability of Windows 7, Microsoft has started backporting bits and pieces of its latest Windows client to previous releases of the operating system. At the end of the past month, the Redmond-based company released the Platform Update for Windows Vista and the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008. One component of the Platform Update for Windows Vista is the Windows Automation API 3.0 Platform, which is now available as a standalone download not only for Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) but also for Windows XP SP3, as well as Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003.
“We released 5 major packages. 32-bit versions for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. We shipped 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. In addition, we supported all major languages for each of the operating systems. If the language was a base language on the down-level platform and the resources were built for Windows 7, our package supports that language,” revealed Senior Program Manager for the Windows Experience Accessibility group Michelle Maislen.
The Windows Automation API library is designed to offer the same accessibility tools and test automations set up to access the Windows user interface across all Windows releases. Specifically, Windows Automation API 3.0 Platform delivers Windows 7’s Microsoft User Interface Automation (UI Automation) and Microsoft Active Accessibility libraries but for XP and Vista.
“Our platform now provides a consistent API surface for both providers and clients to create solutions for customers all supported Windows platforms. This release enables ISV’s to adopt the Windows 7 platform by allowing them to transition to UIA for both down-level and Windows 7 customers and accelerate the move by developers from MSAA to UIA,” Maislen explained.
Moving forward, Microsoft will include the Windows Automation API 3.0 Platform into future service packs for down-level platforms, Maislen noted. This means that Service Pack 3 for Windows Vista will include the Windows Automation API 3.0. But seeing that SP3 was the last service pack for XP, the same is not valid for Vista’s precursor.
“The packages will make their way down-level in these scenarios: many users will install these updates by default. The Windows Automation API will be installed as a recommended update from Windows Update on the client and server SKU’s of XP and Vista,” Maislen added. “ISV’s can use Windows Update API’s to see if the package has not been installed during their own software installation. If it has not been installed, they can use Windows Update API’s to automatically pull the package to the user’s machine and install it.”
Below are the download links for Windows Automation API 3.0 Platform from Microsoft:
- Download the Update for Windows Server 2003 for x86-based systems package. - Download the Update for Windows Server 2003 for x64-based systems package. - Download the Update for Windows Server 2008 for x86-based systems package. - Download the Update for Windows Server 2008 for x64-based systems package now. - Download the Update for Windows Vista for x86-based systems package. - Download the Update for Windows Vista for x64-based systems package. - Download the Update for Windows XP for x86-based systems package.