ACC: Description of Vendor Independent Mail (VIM)

ID: Q112133

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Access versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0

SUMMARY

Advanced: Requires expert coding, interoperability, and multiuser skills.

This article describes how the Microsoft Access Setup program installs support for electronic mail (email) applications, and how you can modify your Windows settings to support one of two different electronic mail interface protocols: messaging application programming interface (MAPI) or vendor independent messaging (VIM), which is used by the Lotus cc:Mail electronic mail application.

MORE INFORMATION

All of the Microsoft Office for Windows applications (Microsoft Access, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Mail, and Microsoft PowerPoint) support the MAPI protocol by default. To support VIM electronic mail systems, the applications use a MAPI-to-VIM translation dynamic-link library (DLL) called MAPIVIM.DLL. The following diagrams demonstrate the route Microsoft Access uses when you send electronic mail using either the Send command from the File menu or the SendObject macro action:


   Sending to Microsoft Mail             Sending to Lotus cc:Mail
   --------------------------            --------------------------
   Send command or SendObject            Send command or SendObject
   macro action                          macro action
       |                                     |
   MAPI.DLL                              MAPIVIM.DLL
       |                                     |
   Microsoft Mail                        VIM.DLL or SMI.DLL
                                             |
                                         cc:Mail

How Microsoft Access Installs Electronic Mail Support

The Microsoft Access Setup program searches the Windows WIN.INI file for the following setting, which indicates that a VIM-compliant email application (such as cc:Mail) is installed on your computer:
```
      [Mail]
      MAPIDLL=<WINDOWS>\SYSTEM\MAPIVIM.DLL 
```
where <WINDOWS> is the location of your Windows program directory (for example, C:\WINDOWS). If Setup finds this setting, it copies the MAPIVIM.DLL file to your <WINDOWS>\SYSTEM directory and updates the MAPIDLL setting in your WIN.INI file to reflect the location of the new MAPIVIM.DLL file.

If the MAPIDLL setting points to a different .DLL file, Microsoft Office applications use the MAPI functions in the specified .DLL instead of MAPI.DLL.

If Setup does not find the above MAPIDLL setting, it searches the WIN.INI file for the following setting, which indicates that a MAPI- compliant email application (such as Microsoft Mail) is installed on your computer:
```
      [Mail]
      MAPI=1 
```
NOTE: If Setup installs MAPI support, it deletes any existing MAPIDLL entry from your WIN.INI file.

If Setup detects both MAPI and VIM on your system, it prompts you to select which messaging system to support.

If Setup finds either of the above settings, it adds the email commands to the Microsoft Access menus (for example, Setup adds the Send command to the File menu).

NOTE: the cc:Mail program directory must be part of your PATH statement. If it is not, the email commands will not be added to your Microsoft Access menus.

How to Switch from One Mail System To Another

When you access email from Microsoft Access, Microsoft Access searches first for the MAPIDLL setting. If found, Microsoft Access supports VIM- compliant email systems. If not found, Microsoft Access then searches for the MAPI=1 setting and, if found, supports MAPI-compliant email systems.

If you work on a network that uses both MAPI- and VIM- compliant email applications, you may want Microsoft Access to be able to switch back and forth between the two applications. To do this, add both of the above settings to the [Mail] section of your WIN.INI file. When you want to use a MAPI-compliant email application, comment the MAPIDLL line to deactivate it (to comment a line in the WIN.INI file, type a semicolon [;] at the beginning of the line).

The following sample WIN.INI entries demonstrate this procedure:

To use a MAPI-compliant email program (such as Microsoft Mail), comment the MAPIDLL line:


   [Mail]
   ;MAPIDLL=<WINDOWS>\SYSTEM\MAPIVIM.DLL
   MAPI=1

To use a VIM-compliant email program (such as cc:Mail), remove the semicolon (;) from the MAPIDLL line to reactivate it:


   [Mail]
   MAPIDLL=<WINDOWS>\SYSTEM\MAPIVIM.DLL
   MAPI=1

If you want to use VIM-compliant email systems but Microsoft Access did not install the MAPIVIM.DLL file because there was no MAPIDLL line in the WIN.INI file, you can install the MAPIVIM.DLL file manually. To do this, copy the DECOMP.EXE file from disk 1 of your original Microsoft Access installation disks to your Windows directory. Insert disk 5 (for 3.5-inch disks) or disk 4 (for 5.25-inch disks) in drive A, and then type the following command at a DOS prompt:


   c:\windows\decomp.exe a:\mapivim.dl_c:\windows\system\mapivim.dll

This command will install the MAPIVIMM.DLL file in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

cc:Mail is manufactured by Lotus Development Corporation, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

For more information about Vendor Independent Messaging in Microsoft Office for Windows 95, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q137098 Contents of the Ofreadme.txt File

Additional query words: mail msacc20.ini cc


Keywords          : kbinterop GnlAcini 
Version           : 1.0 1.1 2.0
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: April 3, 1999