Creating Trialware

Offering prospective customers a free trial version of your product can be a highly effective sales tool, but it carries the risk that some will abuse the privilege and continue to use the product without paying for it. InstallShield enables you to create a protected trialware version of your product without requiring you to modify the source code.

With the Trialware view, you can configure trialware settings for one or more of your product’s executable files to protect your product from piracy. Using InstallShield to protect your product lets you:

Invest minimal time and expense to turn your product into trialware.

Set firm expiration dates using sophisticated, flexible technology that blocks unauthorized extensions of trials.

Specify hyperlinks that should be displayed in the trialware run-time dialogs, which are launched whenever end users launch a protected application. The hyperlinks direct users to Web pages that inform them, for example, how to purchase your product.

Ensure that paid-for copies of your product automatically revert to trial mode when they are shared with other end users.