Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) is a server-side collaborative component that is used in conjunction with Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) 2.5 and Active Directory® Service Interfaces (ADSI). You can use CDO to create Web collaboration solutions based on the Exchange store and Microsoft Active Directory® service in Microsoft Windows® server operating systems. Whereas OLE DB, ADO, and ADSI provide the fundamental data access mechanisms to the Exchange store and Active Directory, CDO provides extended collaborative functionality that includes the creation and management of the following:

• Folders and non-folder items
• Messages
• Appointments
• Meeting request messages and responses (accept, accept tentative, decline)
• Contacts
• Mailboxes, recipients, and the Exchange store folder hierarchies and settings
• Exchange store event-driven workflows that manage process-driven applications

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, CDO is available only on the same computer (or cluster) as Exchange Server 2003 itself. In addition, CDO can access data only in a local Exchange Server 2003 public store or mailbox store. It cannot directly access data residing in different Exchange Server 2003 stores.

This section consists of the following topics:

CDO Components

CDO and ADO

Data Sources and Binding

The Configuration Object