Benefits of Patching

The role of patches in the software deployment life-cycle is to get already installed software up to date after it becomes outdated. Patching technology offers numerous benefits over simply redistributing new versions of the original software in whole form.

Smaller file size

Because they only contain the data that has changed from one version to another, patches can be much smaller than a full software installer needs to be. Especially in situations where large data files are involved, the savings are often dramatic-patches that are less than 1% of the original file sizes are possible.

Reduced bandwidth

Smaller file sizes translate into reduced bandwidth costs, and reducing the amount of traffic leaves more bandwidth for other services.

Faster transmission speeds

Having less data to transmit means that updates can be sent and received faster, which means less time is spent waiting for updates.

Security

The best way to protect information during transmission is to never transmit it in the first place. By only transmitting the data that has changed, patches reduce the risk of third-party interception. Even if some hypothetical future technology made it possible to “crack” the encryption methods used to package the changes, the unchanged data would remain safe.

Integrity

A patch can’t update something that isn’t there. If a user doesn’t already have your software installed, they won’t be able to apply the patch. And if someone is using a modified version of a file, that file won’t be updated-unless you expressly permit it when you design your patch.

Patching Methods

There are two basic methods that can be used to update a file: binary patching, and whole-file patching.

Binary Patching

Binary patching or “delta compression” involves analyzing two versions of a file in order to extract only the data that has changed. The same changes can then be applied to any file that matches the old version, in order to “transform” it into the new version.

Creating a binary patch involves performing a byte-by-byte comparison between the original file and the new file, and then encoding the differences into a difference file. Each difference file contains the actual bytes that are different in the new file, along with a number of instructions that describe which bytes need to change, and which bytes are the same. This information is said to be encoded into the difference file.

Tip: The term “difference file” is often shortened to “diff file” or just “diff.”

When the patch is applied, the difference file is decoded, and the instructions are used to build the new file by copying the “unchanged” data out of the old file, along with the “changed” data that was encoded into the difference file.

For example, given an old file “A” and a new file “B,” a binary patching engine would compare A to B and then produce a difference file; let’s call it “AB.diff.” Once the difference file is created, you can use it to create the B file from any file that matches the A file. In fact, the binary patching engine could recreate B using A and AB.diff.

Because binary patching only stores the parts that have changed, the difference files can be very small-often less than one percent of the new file’s size. The size of the difference file depends entirely on how much data has changed between the two versions.

Each difference file can update a single, specific version of a file to another single, specific version of that file. The encoded instructions in the difference file are only valid for a file that is a perfect match of the original source file. Note that binary patching cannot be used to update a file if it has been modified in any way.

For patches that need to update multiple files, the patch executable will need to contain a separate difference file for each file that needs to be updated. So, for example, to update a single file from version 1.0 or 1.1 to version 1.2, using a single patch executable, it would need to contain one difference file to go from 1.0 to 1.2, and another to go from 1.1 to 1.2.

In most cases, the difference files are so small that you can fit a lot of versions into a single patch executable and still use less space than you would by just including the whole file, as in whole-file patching (see below).

Note: An advanced patch maker like Indigo Rose’s Visual Patch will automatically switch from binary to whole-file patching on a file-by-file basis whenever the total size of all the difference files surpasses the size of the whole file.

Whole-File Patching

Whole-file patching operates on a different principle. Instead of only containing the parts that have changed (as binary patches do), whole-file patches just copy the entire file. The “patch” is just a copy of the new version.

Whole-file patches can be faster to apply, because they don’t have to search through the original file in order to copy the parts that haven’t changed to the new version. They just overwrite the old file with the new one. The downside, of course, is that whole-file patches tend to be much larger than binary patches.

There are, however, two situations where whole-file patches can actually be smaller: when creating a single patch file that is able to update many different versions, and when the files being patched are too dissimilar.

A smart patch maker like Visual Patch chooses the patching method that produces the best results. It automatically switches between binary patching and whole-file patching on a file-by-file basis in order to produces the smallest patch possible for your project.

About the Author

For more information on choosing a binary patch maker that creates compact and secure software updates, visit http://www.indigorose.com/products/visual-patch/ and download a free trial version of Visual Patch.

More Information:

1. Software Developers: Add a “Check for Update” Feature to Your Software Applications Today’s rapid product cycles, security vulnerabilities and short turnaround times...
2. Build a Bullet-Proof Windows Software Installer: 4 Critical Steps You Can’t Overlook So, you’ve created a great new software application for the...
3. Choosing an AutoPlay Multimedia Software Development Tool Getting started developing multimedia software applications can seem intimidating at...

TrueUpdate enabled software works by contacting an update server, and automatically determining if it is out-of-date according to a developer specified rules. Once it has been determined that an update is required, the TrueUpdate client software automatically downloads and applies the update using standard Internet or LAN protocols. Unlike competing products that lock developers into a hosted service or require proprietary hardware/software systems, TrueUpdate features a compact client executable that interfaces with any standard web server (Windows, Linux, etc.). Additionally, it does not use the .NET framework or require installation of any 3rd party dependencies.

“Making certain that every client system is running the most recent software release can be a daunting task, especially when balancing rapid product cycles, security vulnerabilities and short turnaround times,” said Colin Adams, President of Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation. “With TrueUpdate 3.5, we’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation and made it easier than ever for development teams to eliminate legacy technical support issues, reduce user frustration and ensure the latest software features have been deployed. It’s all about improving customer and client satisfaction.”

By easily integrating into software applications, TrueUpdate offers nearly unlimited flexibility and customization options. It works with any software installation tool or binary patch maker, including Indigo Rose’s Setup Factory and Visual Patch products. The TrueUpdate client executable is compatible with Microsoft Windows 95 straight through to Microsoft Windows 7.

“Our ISV community is alive with innovation, and we’re committed to helping our partners drive the next generation of software experiences,” said Ross Brown, Vice President of ISV and Solutions Partners for the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft. “Adding compatibility for the latest Microsoft operating systems helps ISVs to stay ahead of the competition and give their customers access to cutting-edge technologies.”

Features include automatic firewall and proxy server negotiation, silent updating, a multilingual user interface, a compact and standalone client application, customizable dialogs and much more. An easy-to-use Project Wizard walks software developers through the system by helping to identify file versions, configure patch download locations and then uploading the update information to the server.

The software also incorporates an easy-to-use scripting language featuring everything from loops and conditional branching to functions, variables and associative arrays. Programmers can also take advantage of hundreds of high-level functions for making registry changes, executing programs, starting and stopping services, reading ZIP files, parsing XML data and interacting with Web scripts and other advanced tasks.

TrueUpdate 3.5 sells for $395 (US$) per developer or $995 for the Five Developer Team Pack. It can be purchased through all major software development tools resellers, or directly from Indigo Rose Software at http://www.indigorose.com. A free 30-day trial download is also available from the company’s website.

About Indigo Rose Software Corporation
Indigo Rose provides software developers with tools to manage the complete software deployment life cycle. From multimedia software development and CD/DVD autorun menu systems with AutoPlay Media Studio and Autorun MAX, to automated software installation, updating and patching solutions with MSI Factory, Setup Factory, TrueUpdate and Visual Patch, Indigo Rose offers an array of integrated solutions. Privately held, Indigo Rose has been developing innovative software development tools since 1991 that are used by over 20,000 corporate, government and ISV software developers around the world. Indigo Rose is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, and may be found on the Internet at http://www.indigorose.com.

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TrueUpdate is a registered trademark of Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation.  All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

More Information:

1. AutoPlay Media Studio 7.5 Brings Visual Multimedia Software Development to Windows 7 Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of AutoPlay Media...
2. Indigo Rose Software Ships TrueUpdate 1.0 – New Internet Updating Technology Unveiled Indigo Rose Software, developers of the award-winning Setup Factory and...
3. Setup Factory 8.2 Creates Windows 7 Compatible Software Installers Indigo Rose Software today announced the launch of Setup Factory...

There are several things you need to know in order to create a software installer:

• What files do you need to distribute?
• Where do your files need to be installed?
• What system changes need to be made?
• What information do you need from the user?

This article will help you collect the information you need to answer these questions as quickly and accurately as possible. Once you have this information collected, it’ll be a snap to build your installer. Of course I have a suggestion as to which installer builder software you should use as well, but you’ll have to wait until the end of the article for that…

1. What Files Do You Need to Distribute?

The first step in preparing your installation is to determine exactly what files your software application requires for proper operation. There are four basic types of files that you may need to distribute: program files, configuration files, operating system components, and shared application resources.

Program Files
Program files are the “main files” of your application. These files are essential to your application and are only useful in the context of your application. They can be executables, help files, documents, templates, or any other data files that your application requires. Program files usually make up the bulk of your software.

Configuration Files
Configuration files are used to store startup options, user settings, and other configuration options for your software. Information can be read from and written to these files during the normal operation of your application. These files are often referred to as “config” files, and come in many different formats, from traditional “INI” files (which adopt the same internal structure as Windows .ini files) to modern XML files.

Operating System Components
These files are usually included with the Windows operating system, but you may want to distribute the newest versions of certain files, or you may have developed custom system files of your own. These files are generally DLLs, OCX components, or hardware drivers like SYS files and VxDs.

Shared Application Resources
These are files that may be shared by more than one application, such as ActiveX controls, OCX components, and DLL files. Some of the files that you need to distribute will be obvious, such as the main executable and help files. Others may be less apparent, such as DLLs and ActiveX controls installed in the Windows directories of your development system. Note that many of today’s development tools require that you distribute runtime support files along with your application. Please consult your development tool’s documentation to determine what files you need to distribute with your software.

Dependency Files
Dependency files are external support files that an executable requires for proper operation. In other words, they are external files that a program file “depends on” in order to function properly. Dependency files may include INI files, DLLs, ActiveX controls, OCX components, or any other support file type. Although it’s generally preferable to install dependency files in the same folder as the program that needs them, they are often installed in other locations, such as the Windows system directories.

Tip: Professional Windows installer makers like Indigo Rose’s Setup Factory have a built-in dependency scanner that you can use to identify dependency files and add them to your project. You can access this feature by choosing Tools > Scan File Dependencies.

2. Where Do Your Files Need To Be Installed?
Once you have your software organized, you need to determine exactly where each file needs to go on the user’s system. While an install creator like Setup Factory does a lot of this work for you by maintaining directory structures when you add files to your project, there are still some files that may need to be directed to different locations on the user’s system.

Here are some guidelines to help you determine where you should install your files on the user’s system. Once again, there are four basic types of files that you may need to distribute: program files, configuration files, operating system components, and shared application resources.

Installing Program Files
Program files should be installed in a folder that the user chooses during the installation process. This folder is referred to as the application folder. The path to the application folder is usually represented by the variable %AppFolder%.

It’s okay to install program files in sub-folders within the application folder – in fact, organizing your program files into sub-folders is a very good idea. Your files don’t all have to be in the application folder itself; the folder that the user chooses can be used as a common application folder, with sub-folders for all of your program files.

Installing Configuration Files
In the past, initialization or “INI” files were often installed in the Windows folder. This is definitely not necessary or even a good idea anymore. Unless your application shares a configuration file with other programs, it’s best to install the file in the application folder along with your program files or more suitably in a User Data folder. In fact, the current best practice it to avoid installing any files in the Windows folder, or in any other folders where critical operating system files are stored.

Installing Operating System Components
Operating system components, such as DLL or OCX files, are traditionally installed in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder (%SystemFolder%). If your application doesn’t need to share these files with other applications, it’s best to install them in your application folder (%AppFolder%) instead.

Installing Shared Application Resources
Shared application resources, such as some ActiveX controls or DLL files, are generally installed in the WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder (%SystemFolder%). Keep in mind that some DLL and OCX files have dependency files themselves, and these dependency files need to be distributed and possibly also registered before the DLL or OCX files can be used. You should consult the documentation for your components to determine what dependencies they have.

3. What System Changes Need To Be Made?
The next step is to think about what changes, if any, need to be made to the user’s system. This can include changes to system files, changes to the Registry, and even such things as installing and registering fonts. All of these changes can be handled easily using a professional install creator like Setup Factory.

4. What Information Do You Need from the User?
The final step in planning your software installation is to consider what information you will need from the user, and what information you will need from the user’s system. For example, in order to personalize your software or register it to a specific user, you may want to ask the user to provide their name on a User Information screen. Or, you may want to ask the user for a serial number on a Verify Serial Number screen.

Final Steps
Now that you’ve planned everything out, you can actually build your software installer. Simply start up your software installer maker tool and follow the blue-print you created. Assuming you have an install creator that is easy to use, let’s you visually organize your files and gives you full control over where files get installed and what system changes are made, you shouldn’t run into any problems!

For more information on choosing a software install maker that is easy to use and gives you complete control over the installation process, visit http://www.indigorose.com/products/setup-factory/ and download a free trial version of Setup Factory.

More Information:

1. Software Developers: Add a “Check for Update” Feature to Your Software Applications Today’s rapid product cycles, security vulnerabilities and short turnaround times...
2. Choosing an AutoPlay Multimedia Software Development Tool Getting started developing multimedia software applications can seem intimidating at...
3. Using a Binary Patch Maker to Create Secure Software Patches Once a software product has been released into the field,...

1. What Is Automatic Software Updating?
Automated updating is the ability of software to handle some or all of the update process so the user doesn’t have to. The update process consists of all the steps required to determine whether a newer version exists for a given piece of software, as well as all the steps required to bring an older version up to date. Automating the update process allows software to keep itself current after it has been deployed to users.

2. Who Benefits from Automatic Updates?
Software developers, network administrators and end-users alike share in the benefits of Internet updated enabled software. Developers appreciate it for the control it gives them over software that has already been deployed. Network administrators benefit from improved security and better control of network nodes. End-users see live update enabled software as an assurance of quality-a symbol that the developer is there to stand behind their product.

Any company who develops software applications or distributes data needs to add automatic updating to their applications. Any organization that needs to ensure its network is secure and updated with the latest patches needs automated software updating.

Ensuring that everyone is using the most recent point release of a particular package makes good sense. It eliminates legacy technical support calls, and corresponding user frustration. It ensures that data is current. It also serves to maintain customer satisfaction. And that’s something everyone can appreciate.

3. What’s Wrong With Manual Software Update Methods?
One of the most serious problems with traditional update methods is that they require users to do most of the work. The problem with relying on an update process that demands too much user involvement is obvious; the users might decide it isn’t worth the hassle to keep their systems up to date. This results in a higher incidence of legacy support issues, more security holes and other related problems. Additionally, when users don’t update, they don’t benefit from bug fixes and product improvements. Automatic software update systems help solve all of these problems.

4. What Can You Do With An Automatic Software Updating System?
Software products and network clients that have been auto-update enabled can quickly and efficiently determine if they are out of date. Embedding into a software product makes it extremely easy to manage, control and update “in the field”. Likewise, deploying a TrueUpdate client to computer systems throughout your network gives you a fast and manageable way to ensure that each node is current with the latest patches, documents and data that your company requires.

5. Why Add Automatic Updating To Your Software Applications?
In a traditional release cycle, once your application or data files are released to customers, clients or other end-users, they are static, expensive and time-consuming to alter. However, once you distribute an automated update client with your application, you’ll be able to easily update your product or data as often as you require.

From the developer’s point of view, when a new software release is available-perhaps a bug has been fixed-an automated software updating system makes it trivial to publish the changes and bring all of your users up to date. The next time the user runs the application, the Internet update client will detect that a new release is available and take steps to handle it.

Final Words…
Today’s software users are savvy; they demand responsiveness from software companies and they want tools that meet their needs and make them more productive. In order to maintain customer loyalty and maximize the user’s experience with your software, you need to make updating your software as easy as possible. In any case, the benefits include lower technical support costs, faster time-to-market, more frequent bug fixes, hassle-free security updates and quicker feature additions.

From a software development perspective, it’s easy to add these benefits to your applications. There are excellent software development tools available for adding a sophisticated software updating and patch management solutions to both software products and network infrastructure. Whether you’re a software developer needing to add a “Check for Update” feature to your program, or you’re a network administrator wanting to automate the detection and application of system patches to hundreds or thousands of computer systems in your organization, the value will far outweigh the upfront costs.

About the Author
Colin Adams is the President of Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation. Indigo Rose has been creating professional software development tools since 1991 and can be found on the web at http://www.indigorose.com. For more information on choosing an automatic software update system, visit http://www.indigorose.com/products/trueupdate/ and download a free trial version of TrueUpdate.

More Information:

1. Using a Binary Patch Maker to Create Secure Software Patches Once a software product has been released into the field,...
2. Choosing an AutoPlay Multimedia Software Development Tool Getting started developing multimedia software applications can seem intimidating at...
3. Build a Bullet-Proof Windows Software Installer: 4 Critical Steps You Can’t Overlook So, you’ve created a great new software application for the...

There are many different software development tools that you can use, but very few are suited to the task of multimedia authoring. You want a development environment that makes it easy to combine multiple types of media into a single application. For example, a specialized multimedia software development tool like AutoPlay Media Studio, will allow you to simply drag and drop images, music, video, Adobe Flash, HTML, text and interactive control objects right onto a blank page or “canvas”, and then arrange the layout using your mouse.

Traditional programming languages can be used to build multimedia applications, but you’ll have to invest a large amount of time into learning how to adapt them to the task at hand. You’ll find that you spend a lot of timing struggling to reinvent the wheel, such as dealing with low-level graphics, handling video playback formats and streaming multiple audio channels. Don’t waste your time figuring all of these things out from scratch. You’d be much better off picking an appropriate development system that can handle these things right out of the box.

There are also a variety of tools that are suitable for making multimedia animations and simple applets, but aren’t particularly well suited for developing full software applications. I put products like Adobe Flash into that category. Flash is a fantastic tool for making website content, short videos and mini applications, but it’s really not suited for building desktop multimedia applications. You should instead look for a tool that can incorporate “bits” of Flash into your application for effect, and then extend that into a full professional software application.

Creating the visual interface to your application is the first step in multimedia software development, but that’s just the beginning. You’re going to want to tie together all of those visual elements into an interactive software product. For example, if you have a button on your application screen that says “Install Software”, you need a way to hook in the logic and events that make that button do something! A good multimedia software development tool will make this extremely easy on you, the programmer.

Whether you’re making an autorun CD / DVD menu system, a database front-end or a software training application, the basic process is the same. There is an “object” like a “button” that has “events” like “Mouse Click” associated with it. When that event occurs, the program will execute a particular sequence of actions, or a “script”. What that script does should be totally in your control. For example, AutoPlay Media Studio has a library of over 750 functions that you can use, including running programs, sending email, copying files, parsing XML data and much more. The more actions you have at your disposal, the faster you can create your software applications without having to develop any custom code.

Once your application has been developed, you’re going to want to distribute your software to your customers. That’s sometimes the most complicated step in the process. If you use a product like Visual Basic, you may have dozens of ActiveX controls, OCX controls or other addons and libraries that need to be distributed as well. Keeping track of them all can be a real headache. On the other hand, products like AutoPlay Media Studio generate a single-file executable, without any external dependencies. Additionally, it can burn your application right to an AutoPlay CD-ROM or DVD-ROM that will autorun as soon as your customer inserts it into their computer. Alternatively, if you distribute your software from your website, you can just upload that single autorun.exe to your site and your customers can download it directly. No software installation or setup wizard required!

Getting started with multimedia software development can be difficult if you choose the wrong programming tools, but if you do your research and choose an appropriate agile software development tool, you’ll be able to rapidly create professional multimedia software applications in no time.

About the Author
Colin Adams is the President of Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation. Indigo Rose has been creating professional software development tools like AutoPlay Media Studio since 1991 and can be found on the web at http://www.indigorose.com.

More Information:

1. Software Developers: Add a “Check for Update” Feature to Your Software Applications Today’s rapid product cycles, security vulnerabilities and short turnaround times...
2. Build a Bullet-Proof Windows Software Installer: 4 Critical Steps You Can’t Overlook So, you’ve created a great new software application for the...
3. Using a Binary Patch Maker to Create Secure Software Patches Once a software product has been released into the field,...

An easy-to-use Project Wizard helps programmers create ready-to-build software installation projects in minutes. They can simply drag and drop files and folders onto the project window and they’re ready to build. Setup Factory outputs a compact, single-file setup.exe that is ideal for distribution via Internet download, CD/DVD-ROM, USB memory keys and corporate networks.

“Indigo Rose is excited to launch this new version of Setup Factory,” said Colin Adams, President at Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation. “Making Setup Factory compatible with Microsoft Windows 7 ensures that our customers can deploy their software development projects on the widest variety of Windows operating systems possible. It’s just one more reason that over 20,000 companies worldwide rely on Indigo Rose’s software development tools to help deliver their digital products.”

While retaining Setup Factory’s popular visual development environment, Setup Factory 8.2 also includes a fully featured scripting engine. It has everything from “for, repeat and while” loops, to “if/else” conditions, functions, variables and associative arrays. With a library of over 360+ functions and a fill-in-the-blanks style Action Wizard, advanced installers can be created to handle even the most sophisticated installation tasks. High-level actions are provided to make registry changes, call DLL functions, execute programs, start and stop services, interact with web scripts, enumerate processes, parse XML data, download files and much more.

With Setup Factory 8.2’s Visual Dialog Editor and Skin/Theme System, software engineers can create installers that even the marketing department can approve of. Developers can either create custom install wizard dialogs from scratch, or select from 20+ ready-made dialogs such as license agreement acceptance and serial number verification. Once the dialog sequence has been created, installation developers can then choose from dozens of pre-made visual themes, letting them customize background images, fonts, logos, colors and other style settings with a single click.

Other features of Setup Factory 8.2 include high performance LZMA data compression with up to 300% better compression ratios and 20% faster installation speed, automatic Authenticode signing, support for files larger than 2GB, an extensive Windows Installer MSI action library, auto-detecting international language support, HTML-based project reports, full uninstaller, silent install mode, and support for automated builds.

Setup Factory 8.2 sells for $395 (US$) per developer or $995 for the Five Developer Team Pack. It can be purchased through all major software development tools resellers, or directly from Indigo Rose Software at http://www.indigorose.com. A free 30-day trial download is available from the company’s website.

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More Information:

1. Indigo Rose Ships Setup Factory 6.0 – Create Internet Enhanced Software Installers Indigo Rose announces the immediate availability of Setup Factory 6.0....
2. Visual Patch 2.0 Creates Smaller and Faster Software Patches Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of Visual Patch...
3. TrueUpdate 3.5 Brings Automated Software Updating to Microsoft Windows 7 Applications Software Development Tool Simplifies Adding a "Check for Update" Feature...

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AutoPlay Media Studio 7.5 is a rapid application development (RAD) platform with specialized multimedia capabilities. Simply drag and drop video, audio, images, Flash and HTML onto a blank page and arrange the layout with your mouse. With no programming knowledge required, you can instruct your project to perform actions automatically or in response to events such as mouse clicks. There are over 640 actions to choose from including executing programs, querying databases, copying files, displaying dialog boxes, sending emails, parsing XML data, interacting with web scripts and much more.

“It’s a very unique software development tool,” says Indigo Rose Software President Colin Adams. “More and more companies are using it as a rapid-development alternative to tools like Delphi, C++ and Visual Basic. While well known as being the industry standard tool for creating autoplay CD / DVD menus, it’s also being used to develop thousands of other creative applications like web tools, network utilities and much more.”

AutoPlay Media Studio’s scripting engine is based upon the fast and efficient open-source Lua programming language. This scripting language offers advanced functionality, with everything from functions and control structures to arithmetic operators and associative arrays. It also features full syntax highlighting, code completion and other advanced programming facilities.

Other features of AutoPlay Media Studio 7.5 include 17+ interactive objects (Rich Text, Slideshow, Grid, Flash, Web, Checkbox, Radio Button, Input, Video, Tree, Progress Bar and more), resource stamping, custom window shapes, enhanced cryptography actions and security features, and much more.

AutoPlay Media Studio 7.5 sells for $295 (USD) per developer (or $995 for the 5 developer Team Pack) and can be purchased from most software development tools vendors or online at http://www.indigorose.com. AutoPlay Media Studio 7.5 is compatible with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP and earlier versions. A free 30-day trial download is available from the company’s website at http://www.indigorose.com/products/autoplay-media-studio.

About Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation
Privately held, Indigo Rose Software has been developing innovative software products and multimedia authoring tools since 1991 that are used by thousands of corporate, government and ISV customers around the world. Indigo Rose is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, and can be found on the Internet at http://www.indigorose.com.

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More Information:

1. Drag-and-Drop Multimedia Authoring with AutoPlay Media Studio 5.0 Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of AutoPlay Media...
2. TrueUpdate 3.5 Brings Automated Software Updating to Microsoft Windows 7 Applications Software Development Tool Simplifies Adding a "Check for Update" Feature...
3. Indigo Rose Releases AutoPlay Media Studio 4.0 Indigo Rose announces the immediate availability of AutoPlay Media Studio...

Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 presents users with a streamlined interface that is intuitive to work with. It’s like using traditional paper and scissors. Users can start with a pre-made (but fully customizable) template page, or build their pages from scratch using photos, embellishments, paper scraps and a variety of artistic text options. A new archival quality graphics engine gives Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 superior speed and accuracy, allowing scrapbookers to move, resize, rotate and crop elements in real-time, while maintaining sub-pixel precision -features exclusive to Scrapbook MAX! 2.0.

Sophisticated design tools allow users to bend, stretch and shape text; fill text characters with images and patterns; colorize and tint graphics to exact specifications; and even control the angle, distance and color of shadows. Support for all popular graphics formats and digital scrapbooking kits is also included.

“Scrapbookers want a program that offers lots of creative options, but they’ve been frustrated by the complicated, cluttered interfaces found in other digital scrapbooking software products,” says Scrapbook MAX! Public Relations Director Karin Adams. “We’ve spent years listening to digital scrapbookers, in order to build a next-generation product that would really meet their needs. Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 helps bridge the gap between traditional paper scrapbooking and the benefits of digital scrapbooking.”

Digital scrapbooking is all about preserving your memories and having fun while you do it. “Our goals for Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 were to not only build on the success of version 1.0, but to really push the boundaries of what scrapbookers can do,” says Adams. “We wanted to inspire them with creative possibilities, but at the same time keep the software easy to use. I believe Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 makes digital scrapbooking more creative and more accessible than ever.”

Turning digital creations into physical pages is a matter of a few mouse clicks with Scrapbook MAX! 2.0. Users can output their pages as high-resolution prints using their own color printer, or turn them into digital slideshows and movies. Additionally, support for generating JPG, TIF and PNG images makes sharing through email, blogs, social networking sites and the free online Scrapbook MAX! web gallery possible. Ordering professional prints and photobooks are other options.

Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 sells for $59.95 (US$) and can be purchased at select retailers or online at http://www.scrapbookmax.com. Scrapbook MAX! 2.0 is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. A free 30-day trial download is available from the company’s website at http://www.scrapbookmax.com.

More Information:

1. Scrapbook MAX! Digital Scrapbooking Software for Windows Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of Scrapbook MAX!,...
2. PhotoSpark Software Turns Digital Photos Into Fun Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of PhotoSpark for...
3. Indigo Rose Software Ships TrueUpdate 1.0 – New Internet Updating Technology Unveiled Indigo Rose Software, developers of the award-winning Setup Factory and...