Since Preview 2 dropped in November, I'm pleased to say our amazing customers and partners have done an outstanding job of testing and providing valuable feedback. In fact, one customer in Mexico used Preview 2 to deploy Windows 11 close to 300 times!

Today I'm pleased to announce Preview 3 is now available. Let's take a look at what's new.

Pre-built base images

In Preview 2 we introduced a new offering named ENGL Image Service. The Image Service includes access to Imaging Toolkit 12 pre-built base images for the latest versions of Windows 10 and 11. This is a game changer and a huge saving in deployment preparation time as there is no longer a need to manually create the base image on a physical or virtual reference machine. For those who like to create their own base images, Preview 3 includes the ability to create a WinPE ISO that can be booted using a virtual machine and includes the full Windows unattended install and ENGL Image Preparation process.

For Preview 3 we've created a selection of pre-built images (all built-in packages except Xbox) for Windows 10 version 21H2 and 11 version 21H2. All pre-built images are captured for Linux/ZMG, WinPE/WIM and WinPE/ZMG formats. We've created an Image Service page on the ENGL site that lists all currently available images so you know which media is required. At a later date we'll add more editions and languages.

Simply select a Windows version and edition in the Build Console file library, then click ENGL Image Service.

The Image Service window will appear and once your license and subscription level is verified a list of base images will be displayed. You can select an image and download it.

Custom built base images

Pre-built images contain all built-in Windows packages excluding Xbox. If you would like to tailor the package selection, you can create a custom image provided you have the appropriate subscription level and allowance to do so. Click New Custom to display the custom image form.

In the form, select a language and the packages you wish to be included in the base image, then click Submit.

At the confirmation prompt, click Yes to queue the custom image build that will be built in the ENGL Image Factory.

Once the request has been received the image will be displayed as in-progress. Custom image builds can also be monitored from the Image Service page. In the future we'll add notifications to keep you informed when the status changes.

Once the custom image build has completed, select the image then click Download.

Using the downloaded base image in a project

Downloaded pre-built and custom base images will appear in the file library assigned to the source media and edition. In the base image property view click Image Contents Display to show a report of which packages are included in the image.

To use the downloaded base image, open the project, run Deployment Wizard and select Create base image.

Once the wizard completes, open the images folder and gaze in wonder at the painless appearance of your base image in the required imaging format!

ENGL Monitor Service™ enhancements

With Preview 2 we introduced the Monitor Service which is a hosted version of ENGL Deployment Monitor. For Preview 3 we extended the deployment progress view to include ZISD/EBD OS and Project columns. We've also improved performance by introducing dynamic updates. Finally, we've added column filtering and improved sorting.

Get Preview 3

This is the last Imaging Toolkit 12 preview before the full release. Which means it's the last opportunity to provide important feedback before we lock the code down. If you'd like to get involved please open a new support ticket for Imaging Toolkit 12 and request a license. Enjoy!