# Why Microsoft Office Automation is Not a Good Idea > Microsoft explicitly discourages automating Office on the server, citing instability, limited scalability, and security gaps. TX Text Control Server for ASP.NET provides a purpose-built alternative that handles document creation and rendering in unattended server environments. - **Author:** Bjoern Meyer - **Published:** 2010-07-09 - **Modified:** 2026-07-17 - **Description:** Microsoft explicitly discourages automating Office on the server, citing instability, limited scalability, and security gaps. TX Text Control Server for ASP.NET provides a purpose-built alternative that handles document creation and rendering in unattended server environments. - **2 min read** (377 words) - **Tags:** - Sample - **Web URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/09/why-microsoft-office-automation-is-not-a-good-idea/ - **LLMs URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/09/why-microsoft-office-automation-is-not-a-good-idea/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2010/07/09/why-microsoft-office-automation-is-not-a-good-idea/llms-full.txt --- ![No Office automation](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2010/07/09/a/assets/nooffice.webp "No Office automation")Generally, all kind of business applications have to create documents: invoices, reports, quotations or similar business correspondences. Typically, developers author applications that enable end users to modify text and spreadsheets and to create print-ready documents that can be sent via e-mail (PDF), fax or my traditional mail. The majority of applications deploy Microsoft® Office to create such documents. But even Microsoft® does not recommend automating their end-user software Microsoft® Office: > Microsoft® does not currently recommend, and does not support, Automation of Microsoft® Office applications from any unattended, non-interactive client application or component (including ASP, ASP.NET, DCOM, and NT Services), because Office may exhibit unstable behavior and/or deadlock when Office is run in this environment. > > [MSDN, Considerations for server-side Automation of Office](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/257757). Potential problems and pitfalls when deploying Microsoft® Office: - **Interactivity with the Desktop**Microsoft® Office is an end-user application and such applications need to be made visible in order to work correctly. If an error occurs, an error message might be displayed, which requires user interaction. - **Scalability**Microsoft® Office is designed to provide functionality to a single client. It is not recommended to automate Microsoft® Office in server-side applications as it is not scalable. - **Stability**"Using Microsoft® Office as a service component on a network server may reduce the stability of that computer, and therefore may reduce the stability of your whole network." - **Security**"Microsoft® Office applications were never intended for server-side use. Therefore, Microsoft® Office applications do not take into consideration the security problems that distributed components face." A much better way to integrate word processing is by using **TX Text Control Server for ASP.NET (incl. Windows Forms)**, built from scratch for such scenarios. With our partner GrapeCity, we founded the Document Automation Alliance. The idea is to provide developers a one-stop competence center to gain information on how to effectively automate Microsoft® Office documents without attempting to deploy Microsoft® Office. Read more about this joint venture on our dedicated website: Or download our trial version and test our shipped ASP.NET samples today: [TX Text Control Trial Versions](https://www.textcontrol.com/product/tx-text-control-dotnet-server/download/) --- ## About Bjoern Meyer As CEO, Bjoern is the visionary behind our strategic direction and business development, bridging the gap between our customers and engineering teams. His deep passion for coding and web technologies drives the creation of innovative products. If you're at a tech conference, be sure to stop by our booth - you'll most likely meet Bjoern in person. With an advanced graduate degree (Dipl. Inf.) in Computer Science, specializing in AI, from the University of Bremen, Bjoern brings significant expertise to his role. In his spare time, Bjoern enjoys running, paragliding, mountain biking, and playing the piano. - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernmeyer/) - [X](https://x.com/txbjoern) - [GitHub](https://github.com/bjoerntx) --- ## Related Posts - [Create a Table of Contents in Windows Forms using C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/01/23/create-toc-in-windows-forms/llms.txt) - [Official TX Text Control .NET Sample Applications Are Now Hosted on GitHub](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/01/08/official-tx-text-control-net-sample-applications-are-now-hosted-on-github/llms.txt) - [Detect Toggle Button Changes Using a MutationObserver](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2021/11/11/detect-toggle-button-changes-using-a-mutationobserver/llms.txt) - [Two Ways to Restart Numbered Lists in TX Text Control](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2021/11/03/two-ways-to-restart-numbered-lists/llms.txt) - [Zoom Tricks: Disabling CTRL + MOUSE WHEEL and More](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/12/09/zoom-tricks-disabling-ctrl-mouse-wheel-and-more/llms.txt) - [AutoCorrect Using TX Text Control and TX Spell .NET](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2017/08/17/autocorrect-using-tx-text-control-and-tx-spell-net/llms.txt) - [Creating Conference Badges with Text Control Reporting](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2017/02/14/creating-conference-badges-with-text-control-reporting/llms.txt) - [Using Custom Document Properties to Store Additional Document Information](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2017/02/09/using-custom-document-properties-to-store-additional-document-information/llms.txt) - [Use SubTextParts to Protect Document Parts](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/12/29/use-subtextparts-to-protect-document-parts/llms.txt) - [Reporting: Styling the DocumentViewer for ASP.NET](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/06/14/reporting-styling-the-documentviewer-for-aspnet/llms.txt) - [Reporting: Merging MS Word Documents with DocVariables](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/06/10/reporting-merging-ms-word-documents-with-docvariables/llms.txt) - [TextControl.Web: Determine when a Document Has Been Completely Loaded](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/06/09/textcontrolweb-determine-when-a-document-has-been-completely-loaded/llms.txt) - [TextControl.Web: Adding Custom Ribbon Tabs](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/05/29/textcontrolweb-adding-custom-ribbon-tabs/llms.txt) - [Building a Touch-enabled Button Bar with Javascript](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/05/27/building-a-touch-enabled-button-bar-with-javascript/llms.txt) - [TextControl.Web: Inserting Merge Fields Using Javascript](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/05/16/textcontrolweb-inserting-merge-fields-using-javascript/llms.txt) - [MailMerge: Merge Hyperlinks into Merge Fields](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2015/05/15/mailmerge-merge-hyperlinks-into-merge-fields/llms.txt) - [Mail Merge: Suppress Lines with Empty Merge Fields](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2014/08/01/mail-merge-suppress-lines-with-empty-merge-fields/llms.txt) - [Interactive Spelling Suggestions Using TX Spell .NET](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2014/07/30/interactive-spelling-suggestions-using-tx-spell-net/llms.txt) - [Alternate Row Colors Using NEXT Fields](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/12/30/alternate-row-colors-using-next-fields/llms.txt) - [Loading Dictionaries Dynamically in TX Spell .NET](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/12/20/loading-dictionaries-dynamically-in-tx-spell-net/llms.txt) - [Restart the Page Numbering Fields Per Section](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/11/08/restart-the-page-numbering-fields-per-section/llms.txt) - [TX Barcode .NET: Test the Barcode Engine Live!](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/07/10/tx-barcode-net-test-the-barcode-engine-live/llms.txt) - [SD Times .NET Component Buyers Guide 2013: Simplify Report Creation](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/06/06/sd-times-net-component-buyers-guide-2013-simplify-report-creation/llms.txt) - [Inserting MS Word Compatible Page Number Fields](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2013/05/30/inserting-ms-word-compatible-page-number-fields/llms.txt) - [MailMerge: Creating Shipping Labels Using TX Text Control](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2012/11/23/mailmerge-creating-shipping-labels-using-tx-text-control/llms.txt)