In this recipe we will introduce you to the System Center 2012 Service Manager Authoring Tool, which we will use for subsequent recipes in this chapter.
The System Center 2012 Service Manager Authoring Tool is a separate product that is part of the System Center 2012 Service Manager Component Add-ons and Extensions. The Authoring Tool can be obtained as a free download from the following URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28726
You can install the Authoring Tool on Windows Vista (with the latest Service Pack) and Windows 7, or on Windows Server 2008 (with the latest Service Pack) and Windows Server 2008 R2. As a prerequisite, the Authoring Tool requires the .NET Framework 3.5, which you can download from the Microsoft Download Center, and the Visual Studio 2008 Shell, which can be installed from the Prerequisites page of the Authoring Tool setup wizard.
Follow these steps to install the Authoring Tool: