Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework

The Information Bridge Framework empowers developers to reduce the cost of development and increase the flexibility, manageability, security, and extensibility of Microsoft Office-based information integration solutions. Information Bridge is a set of software components, tools, and guidance that developers can use to create solutions that connect Microsoft Office applications with Web services or common language runtime (CLR) services that are written for line-of-business (LOB) services, such as accounting, supply chain management, and resource planning applications. With this system, users can interact with LOB services directly from content that is hosted by Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003, and Microsoft Office Outlook�?????�????�???�??�?�® 2003.

Microsoft Office Information Bridge Framework includes:

• A client component that displays contextual information about line-of-business (LOB) data in the Office task pane or a modal window. Using this task pane or modal window, users can perform specific actions on that data.
• A server component, the Information Bridge metadata service, which provides metadata that enables the client component to connect to Web services. These, in turn present the data, views, and actions of LOB services.
• An add-in for Microsoft Visual StudioÃ??????Ã?????Ã????Ã???Ã??Ã?® .NET, the Information Bridge Metadata Designer tool, which you use to create and manage Information Bridge solution metadata.
• An Architecture and Planning Guide that provides a description of the basic Information Bridge concepts and more detailed overviews of underlying architecture and technologies, infrastructure requirements, and planning guidelines.
• An Installation and Deployment Guide, which provides IT professional and solution developers with the necessary guidance to successfully install the server and client components of the Information Bridge Framework in addition to the Metadata Designer.
• A Metadata Schema Reference help file that contains a description of all the metadata elements used in the development of Information Bridge solution metadata.