ACT Community

An online environment that enables Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) users to share issues and solution data with other registered ACT users.

ACT Log Processing Service (LPS)

The service that processes the log files uploaded from your client computers, adding the information to your ACT database.

AppHelp message

A type of compatibility fix. An AppHelp message is designed to appear when a user starts an application that has compatibility issues. The message can prevent the application from starting, or simply provide information about compatibility issues in the application.

Application Compatibility Manager (ACM)

The user interface that enables you to view reports generated from the ACT database. This is also where you create data-collection packages.

Compatibility Administrator

A tool that enables you to create and deploy compatibility fixes, compatibility modes, and AppHelp messages, to resolve your compatibility issues.

compatibility fix

A small piece of code that intercepts API calls from applications, transforming them so that Windows Vista will provide the same product support for the application as previous versions of the operating system. Previously known as a "shim".

compatibility mode

Group of compatibility fixes found to resolve many common application compatibility issues.

compatibility solution

The solution to a known compatibility issue, as entered by the user, Microsoft, or a vendor.

data-collection package

A Windows installer (.msi) file created by Application Compatibility Manager (ACM) for deploying to each of your client computers. Data-collection packages include inventory collection packages and runtime analysis packages.

deployment

The process of distributing and installing a software program throughout an entire organization. A deployment is not the same as a pilot, which is where you provide the software application to a smaller group of users to identify and evaluate problems that might occur during the actual deployment.

independent software vendor (ISV)

An individual or an organization that independently creates computer software.

inventory-collector package

A package that examines each of your organization's computers to identify the installed applications and system information. You can view the results on the Analyze screen in ACM.

Microsoft Compatibility Exchange

A web service that transfers compatibility information between Microsoft and the ACT database.

runtime-analysis package

A data-collection package that you deploy to computers in a test environment for compatibility testing. The runtime-analysis package includes tools for monitoring applications for compatibility issues and submitting compatibility feedback.

session 0

The session that is used for all of the system services. Previously, users could run in Session 0 without issues; however, this was changed in Windows Vista so that all users are now required to run in Session 1 or later.

shim

See Other Term: compatibility fix

User Account Control (UAC)

A security feature that helps prevent unauthorized changes to a computer, by asking the user for permission or administrator credentials before performing actions that could potentially affect the computer's operation or that change settings that affect multiple users.