Introducing InstallShield 2012 Spring. The global de facto standard on more than 500 million PCs, InstallShield 2012 Spring picks up where InstallShield 2012 left off: empowering software producers with support for new Microsoft technologies; both traditional and agile development processes; and the unique product packaging needs of today’s global software producers. It meets the exacting standards of the new generation of app-savvy users by delivering a positive and modern end-user experience. And, it provides automated tools that allow software producers to productize, bundle and install their products in both traditional MSI and virtual application formats.

InstallShield 2012 Spring is at the forefront of the Enterprise transformation—the consumerization of IT, desktop transformations, and leveraging the cloud—providing capabilities and supporting technology to make it easy for customers to deploy and manage your applications when, where and how they are needed.

InstallShield 2012 Spring – Microsoft's Software Installer of Choice – includes the following new capabilities:

Hybrid Cloud Deployments
InstallShield 2012 Spring includes new Microsoft® SQL Azure™ database scripting capabilities enabling Software Producers to support hybrid cloud SQL deployments. This allows configuration of both on-premises and hybrid cloud database servers.

The cloud is transforming how application data is accessed and stored. To meet customer demand, Software Producers must support their products both on-premises and in hybrid cloud environments. SQL Azure enables Enterprises to offload database processing tasks and free up on-premises database resources—saving both money and compute capacity within the Enterprise.

InstallShield 2012 Spring includes new Microsoft® SQL Azure™ database scripting capabilities enabling Software Producers to support hybrid cloud SQL deployments. This allows configuration of both on-premises and hybrid cloud database servers.

Pre-Release Support for Microsoft® Windows® 8 and Windows Server® 2012
InstallShield 2012 Spring allows specification that the installation requires Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, plus it lets you build feature and component conditions for these operating systems.

Microsoft’s release of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 will be major events in 2012. Today, many Enterprises are in the midst of major operating system (OS) migrations to Windows 7 and will soon begin to explore compatibility with Windows 8. Windows 8 also has a significant focus on capabilities for the consumer. Software Producers, regardless of whether they serve the enterprise and/or the consumer market, will want to ensure their applications are both compatible with and can install and run on Windows 8 as soon as possible —demonstrating their commitment to supporting the latest technology.

InstallShield 2012 Spring allows specification that the installation requires Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012, plus it lets you build feature and component conditions for these operating systems.

Microsoft® Visual Studio® 11 Support
InstallShield 2012 Spring includes support for Microsoft Visual Studio 11

Microsoft recommends that all Visual Studio developers standardize on InstallShield.InstallShield is the ultimate setup solution for .NET software developers with full support for Visual Studio, including the new Visual Studio 11.

InstallShield lets you create your installations within the same Visual Studio interface where you create your products, making .NET install authoring more efficient. All InstallShield views are presented within the Visual Studio .NET Solution Explorer in a separate window, so no scrolling is necessary and side-by-side viewing options are available.

With full .NET integration and support, InstallShield gives you everything you need to efficiently author reliable .NET software installations. You have the option of creating installations directly within the Visual Studio interface or using the intuitive InstallShield IDE. You can also link the primary outputs of your .NET projects to your installs, scan C# and .NET projects for file dependencies, configure .NET custom actions, distribute the .NET Framework or .NET Compact Framework, and much more.

InstallShield ensures your .NET installations are always current and reliable. It dynamically links your install project to other Visual Studio .NET project outputs, automatically updating your installation with your latest source files every time your product is built. Your installation projects also automatically include both Debug and Release build configurations, ensuring the proper source files will be included in your build.

Visual Studio 2010

Advanced Wizard Page Editor and Redesigned Wizard Pages
InstallShiled 2012 Spring includes an entirely new end-user interface with redesigned built-in wizard pages and a new wizard page editor to provide richer user interface capabilities and full control over the user interface layout, text strings and dialog behavior to create a better run-time experience.

A new generation of “app-store savvy” users means the bar has been raised for installation run-time. Current MSI dialogs are very limited and prevent Software Producers from being able to deliver a modern experience.

InstallShiled 2012 Spring includes an entirely new end-user interface with redesigned built-in wizard pages and a new wizard page editor to provide richer user interface capabilities and full control over the user interface layout, text strings and dialog behavior to create a better run-time experience.

Automatic Checking for Installer Updates and Patches
InstallShield 2012 Spring checks for the latest updates and patches at installer run-time. If an update is found, it will automatically be downloaded and run in place of the old installer ensuring that users always have the latest version of the application installed.

Update and patch deployment is a key element of modern software applications. Software producers must continually update their applications to keep up with customer demand. Research has shown that a Software Producers ability to notify and deliver the latest updates and patches has a direct impact on support call volume and overall product satisfaction.

InstallShield 2012 Spring checks for the latest updates and patches at installer run-time. If an update is found, it will automatically be downloaded and run in place of the old installer ensuring that users always have the latest version of the application installed.

Suite Installation Enhancements
We’ve incorporated customer requests into the new Suite capabilities available in InstallShield 2012 Spring, including the ability to import and reference PRQ files as Suite packages, dynamic links for Suite packages, advanced reporting and logging on Suite packages as well as a new UI for custom conditions.

The need to bundle multiple products and packages together and deliver a unified installation experience continues to rise, resulting in widespread adoption of the InstallShield 2012 Premier Suite/Advanced UI project type. We’ve incorporated customer requests into a set of new, enhanced Suite capabilities available in InstallShield 2012 Spring:

• Import and reference PRQ files as Suite packages
• Dynamic file links for Suite packages
• Advanced reporting and logging on Suite packages
• New UI for custom conditions

Microsoft® System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Support
InstallShield 2012 Spring helps you provide deployment metadata to your Enterprise customers, reducing their burden to manage your application.

Anywhere, anytime access to applications is becoming pervasive in the Enterprise. To accomplish this many Enterprise customers often use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager to provision applications provided by Software Producers. Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager was recently updated to support user-centric computing. Enterprises migrating to this latest version need accurate deployment metadata to populate Systems Center 2012 Configuration Manager’s new App Model.

InstallShield 2012 Spring helps you provide this metadata to your Enterprise customers, reducing their burden to manage your application.

The General Information view in InstallShield 2012 Spring has new settings that let you specify whether you want to include System Center Configuration Manager application data in your installation.

PowerShell Support
InstallShield 2012 Spring includes support for custom actions that run PowerShell scripts. This helps Software Producers streamline installation scripting requirements and support best practices of their Enterprise customers.

PowerShell has become the standard for scripting in the Enterprise. PowerShell supports Enterprise scripting best practices and can greatly expedite developer scripting tasks. It is now included with both Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 and enabled by default. Nearly all Microsoft products can be managed through PowerShell with a fraction of the time and skill set required from legacy scripting languages.

InstallShield 2012 Spring includes support for custom actions that run PowerShell scripts. This helps Software Producers streamline installation scripting requirements and support best practices of their Enterprise customers.

Buy or Upgrade Today to Qualify!

Be one of the first 500 customers to buy or upgrade to InstallShield 2012 Spring and you’ll receive a free InstallShield 2012 Spring T-shirt AND be entered into a drawing to win one of three Samsung Series 7 Slate Windows Tablets ($1199 value)!