OfficeWriter version 3.x includes ExcelWriter version 6.x and WordWriter version 3.x.

OfficeWriter v3.x is no longer supported, and upgrading to the current version is highly recommended.   However, if for some reason you need to use version 3.x on a 64-bit system, this article provides all the information you need.

OfficeWriter 3.9.1 and 3.9.2

The first version of OfficeWriter to include 64-bit support was version 3.9.1.  The 3.9.1 installer will run on a 64-bit machine.   The .NET assemblies in 3.9.1 and above are compiled with the /anycpu flag, which means they will work with both 32-bit and 64-bit processes.  The COM dlls, however, are 32-bit.  Here are all the considerations when using 3.9.1 or 3.9.2 on a 64-bit system:

1. If you are using OfficeWriter in a classic ASP application or an ASP.NET application that is using our legacy .NET wrapper classes for ExcelWriter COM, you will need to set your application pool to 32-bit mode   (For more information about OfficeWriter COM, see Using OfficeWriter COM)
   1. Open the IIS management console
   2. Create a new app pool or select an existing one
   3. Click on “Advanced Settings”?
   4. Set “Enable 32-Bit Applications” to True
   5. Click OK
2. If your application is ASP.NET, whether it is using the pure .NET objects or the wrapper classes, you will need to install the 64-bit version of the J# runtime before running the OfficeWriter installer.  OfficeWriter 3.x had a dependency on J#.   This was removed in version 4.  You can get the 64-bit J# redistributable here.   Note that the version of J# must match the version of the .NET framework you are using for your application.   Microsoft has deprecated J# and there is no version of J# later than 2.0.

OfficeWriter 3.0 to 3.8.1

Versions of OfficeWriter 3 prior to version 3.9.1 do not officially have 64-bit support, however the dlls may be used on a 64-bit system with certain limitations. The automatic installer is not 64-bit compatible and the .NET assembles are not compiled with the /anycpu flag.  Therefore, both the .NET and COM dlls are 32-bit.  OfficeWriter 3.0 – 3.8.1 can be used on a 64-bit system only in the following manner:

1. You must do a manual installation:
   1. If your application is ASP.NET, make sure the 64-bit J# runtime is installed.  See step 2 above.
   2. Copy the OfficeWriter dlls and LicenseManager.exe from an OfficeWriter program folder on a 32-bit machine
   3. Enter the OfficeWriter v3 (or ExcelWriter v6) license key with LicenseManager.exe
   4. If you are using OfficeWriter in classic ASP or if you are using the .NET wrapper classes for the COM objects, register the COM dlls (see Using OfficeWriter COM)
   5. Copy the .NET dlls to the bin directory of your application(s)
2. You must be using OfficeWriter in a custom application rather than in SQL Server Reporting Services.   A 32-bit dll cannot run in a 64-bit process.  64-bit SSRS does not have an option to set it to run in 32-bit mode.  Therefore in order to use OfficeWriter in 64-bit SSRS, you must use version 3.9.1 or above.
3. You must assign your application to a 32-bit application pool:
   1. Open the IIS management console
   2. Create a new app pool or select an existing one
   3. Click on “Advanced Settings”?
   4. Set “Enable 32-Bit Applications” to True
   5. Click OK

Upgrading from v3.x

If you have an ASP.NET application and you wish to upgrade from version 3.x in order to eliminate the dependency on J# and take advantage of  fixes and enhancements in later versions, you will need to make some changes to your code.  See these pages in the documentation:

• Upgrading from WordWriter v3 to v4
• Upgrading from ExcelWriter v6

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