They've kept it up for 15 years now but it has been running out of steam. Actually doing this is questionable, Microsoft has a hard time keeping new Office versions completely compatible with old versions. If that's a requirement then you still need the PIAs for that version, force the Embed Interop Types to True in the Properties window. If you load an old project that previously used PIAs then just remove those reference assemblies and add them back from the COM tab.ĭo note that a feature is lost, intentionally targeting an old version of Office that you don't actually have installed on your dev machine is more difficult. And pick, say, ' Microsoft Excel 15.0 Object Library' to generate the interop types for a program that uses Excel. NET Framework tab, you now use the COM tab.

Instead of adding a reference to the assemblies as available in the Add Reference dialog. Many megabytes reduced to a few kilobytes. In addition, the PIAs for Office are very large, the great advantage of embedding the interop types is that your assembly only contain the types that you actually use. Solving the issue when neither takes care of it, an entirely too common mishap. The feature is very desirable, it avoids your customer having to install the PIAs on his machine and for you to include them with your installer. Which is the reason that Microsoft doesn't publish the PIAs for Office 2013, they expect you to embed the interop types instead.

A good video that covers the underlying technology is available here. Supported since Visual Studio 2010, you'll find it back in the Properties window when you select a reference assembly. They have been thoroughly and elegantly replaced by the 'Embed Interop Types' feature, also known as the 'No PIA' feature. PIAs are a historical artifact, required only by old.

Microsoft office 2012