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SMS Installer
 by Rod Trentxxx

Finally! I have heard dozens of inquiries for a book covering the SMS Installer and it has finally arrived. Microsoft has provided a quick online walkthrough of the product and some marginal help files, but there has not been anywhere to get your hands on more detailed instructions for many of the functions available. There are dozens of other tools like it on the market, but SMS Installer is still among the best of them. You start out using the wizard to generate installations, but then you get a look at the script editor and realize all the things you could be doing. But you'll need a guide- and this is it.

Rod gets straight into it covering the basics, up through some more advanced concepts. The book first walks through the Installation Expert, digging into each of the options available in the wizard. This section makes up a quarter of the book and is aimed toward the beginner. 

The next chapter drills into the Script Editor. Starting at the command list, and moving downward, this book does an excellent job of detailing items you probably clicked on, played with, and then gave up on. A good example is the Call DLL function, not only is it explained in detail, but an example is offered to help you understand its use. As you might expect, the Script Editor section makes up the majority of this book, and makes a great reference you will want to have at your side for your next package.

Next the book goes into some advanced techniques and does a nice job of putting some of the new features you've learned to good use. Real-world examples like these will not only give you the context you need to appreciate the capabilities of the SMS Installer, but is also likely to give you some ideas on new uses for it. In a short time, you'll have a handful of new ideas! (Now just find yourself some time to follow through on them)

A "quick tips" section rounds off the book with some things to help you overcome common problems, and make proper use of commands. If you already have experience with SMS Installer, you will likely browse through this section wishing you had this book in your hands before you had to figure these things out on your own!

Of course there is the obligatory CD included. It contains all of the examples in the book as well as a super secret bonus chapter! (okay, its not really a secret.)  In PDF format a tenth chapter to the book is titled, "Quick References and Resources". These additional 93 pages cover how to handle some of the limitations of the SMS Installer by employing some outside tools, such as those from Microsoft resource kits. It also covers the possible boot.ini switches, complex operators, expressions and other great references and examples.

This book has been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has access to the SMS Installer. This is an indispensable book you will wonder how you got along with out. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to use the SMS Installer, where I may try out all the new things I have learned.    

Bob Kelly
AppDeploy.com

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