Home / Windows 7 / Getting Started

Testing Application Compatibility

Application compatibility is often a deployment-blocking issue. It's also the issue that most deployment projects focus on the least-until things begin to fall apart. By focusing on application compatibility early, you can better ensure a successful deployment project.

Three common reasons that application compatibility blocks operating-system deployment are fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Companies simply don't know what applications are in their environments, whether the applications are compatible with the Windows 7 operating system, and what risks each application poses if it fails after deployment.

To help overcome these issues, this tutorial describes the Microsoft tools that are available for discovering the applications in your environment, evaluating their compatibility with Windows 7, and then developing fixes for any issues. The primary tool in Windows 7 is the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5.

In this tutorial:

  1. Understanding Compatibility
  2. Why Applications Fail
  3. Choosing the Best Tool
  4. Program Compatibility Assistant
  5. Windows XP Mode
  6. Application Virtualization
  7. Understanding the ACT
  8. Support Topologies
  9. Compatibility Evaluators
  10. Planning for the ACT
  11. Choosing a Deployment Method
  12. Preparing for the ACT
  13. Sharing the Log Processing Folder
  14. Installing the ACT 5.5
  15. Collecting Compatibility Data
  16. Analyzing Compatibility Data
  17. Prioritizing Compatibility Data
  18. Assessing Application Compatibility
  19. Managing Compatibility Issues
  20. Filtering Compatibility Data
  21. Rationalizing an Application Inventory
  22. Testing and Mitigating Issues
  23. Modeling the Production Environment
  24. Using the Compatibility Administrator
  25. Deploying Application Mitigation Packages