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After much internet reading on Office 365, I realize that they consist of desktop installation of the traditional (non-cloud) Office apps. Furthermore, one can even write VBA for them in the back end.

I haven't been able to find information about whether one can start up those apps using Component Ojbect Model (COM), manipulate the apps, exchange information with them, and whether their object model is the same as for the traditional non-cloud apps. Can anyone shed light on this?

Thanks.

P.S. Regarding the object model, https://www.softwareone.com/en-nl/en-nl-5-common-office-365-myths says "Office 365 has not had any changes in its object model or API". Not sure if this refers to the object model of (say) Excel or Word, or whether "API" means/includes COM.

user2153235
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  • Yes; Office 365 (on supported versions of Windows) supports COM. Supported versions of Windows are limited to those versions that run on Intel and AMD hardware. – Ramhound Feb 16 '20 at 17:03
  • Thanks, Ramhound. Is there a (presumably Microsoft) information page on this? Would you want to post the answer, including whether the object model is the same as the non-cloud apps? – user2153235 Feb 16 '20 at 17:07
  • I don't know of any specific MS page that discusses this and I'm sure you can google as well as I can ;-) But I develop PowerPoint add-ins for a living and test under pretty much every version of Office. They all behave identically other than the differences between 64- and 32-bit versions. Office 365 will get feature updates that 2016/2019 doesn't, but generally these won't be exposed in the OM. BTW, when you install O365 on your desktop, it's not a cloud app, though it needs to call home every so often and will do its best to talk you into storing your work in the cloud. You don't have to. – Steve Rindsberg Feb 16 '20 at 17:32
  • I haven't found anything about COM and 365 in my Google searches, which is why I psoted. Good to know that it doesn't store your info in the cloud behind your back, but it sounds like you can trip up easily and do so inadvertently. – user2153235 Feb 16 '20 at 18:59

1 Answers1

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HansV, MS MVP, replies the exact question on Microsoft Community:

The desktop apps in Office 365 support COM exactly the same way the older versions do.

Jan Molnár
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