First off, I enjoy most of your comments here and on GOTD. I have often upvoted you on GOTD; did one just the other day where you had a -3 (I brought it up to -2). You very often bring up a good point but others (including possibly some vendors) will very easily downvote a comment. When I upvote you, it is because I believe you are right. There have been several other times where you were wrong, and more often than not, non-specific as to how you arrived at a decision of whether a software offer was any good. For Soft Xpansion’s Perfect PDF Editor, you are wrong; the software does install and activate and works. If it does not for some users, then it has to be something unique to them or their system.
I agree with you that Soft Xpansion should have a trial edition available, and they do have one on their page about the software. The trial is for the current version (10.x), not the same as the version we are being offered (9.x). I don’t know why you had trouble finding it. Soft Xpansion has trials for multiple programs of theirs, so I expect they have trials for all of them.
I have not tried their trial because the version 9.x offered here installed just fine for me. Most trial editions do not need any type of activation, but some do. If they do, it is usually an activation for a specified period, and it is probably the same type of activation the full purchase has. These types of trials/programs usually activate via the Internet, and if that fails, good companies offer an option to activate via e-mail (as Soft Xpansion does). Granted, if the user cannot communicate with the developer’s servers, then these types of Trials cannot be activated via the Internet, so the alternative is via e-mail. From what I can tell, that is how the Soft Xpansion trials work.
You stated that the current SoS offer is not the current version, and you also mention you would prefer the current version: “so long as we get current programs.” I like current programs as well, but I never complain about Franzis previous version offers, so I will not complain about a program that is 3 years old. I don’t mind if it is older, if it works reliably, and fills a need, and the licensing agreement is acceptable, and the price is right. Free on SoS is a good price.
>”… but not only am I a computer tech ( whatever that means to anyone – someone who is 20 minutes ahead of their customers in reading the owner’s manuals? ), ”
That sounds about right, but you must read too fast and miss some things. If you get it wrong, and then inform other users based on your incorrect assumption, you should not refer to yourself as a computer tech. If I have a group of computer techs working for me, and all can install the same program except for one of the computer techs, I am going to have my doubts on whether that person should be called a computer tech or work in my group. I would have to suggest the only way for them to be a computer tech would be to claim it on the Internet where they have a better chance of convincing others.
>”but as I wrote, I tried a variety of computers”
You only mentioned that you tried it on one other:
>”I just tried the SOS Englemann Soft-Xpansion PDF 9 Editor download sequence again from another computer using another email and got the same banging-my-head-on-a-brick-wall results”
>”and a variety of downloads from SOS,”
There is only one download from SoS.
>”AND I tried downloads directly from the vendor,”
You were never clear if it was a Trial for version 10, or a Trial for version 9 they allowed you to download. Regardless of which version you used as a Trial, it is understandable that it would work the same way as the offer on SoS. Either way, you were not able to complete the install and registration. Therefore, you should not refer to yourself as if you are a knowledgable computer tech person when others were successful.
>”the failure was ONLY at the vendor’s authorization brick wall or telling me I have to do something else, and then the program installation self-exiting,”
Then that is a problem you had with the activation, not the software itself as you have been suggesting. Your claims have been “the software” does not work, but the ones of us that installed it and activated it know that it does work.
>”or telling me I have to do something else”
If the Internet activation method fails, then what other choice do they have but to tell you to do something else. A lot of the offers we have seen on SoS did not even offer an alternative. The e-mail activation method works for anyone.
>”installation self-exiting”
The installation does not self-exit unless you fail to do a step the installation requires or you have some other process on your computer that would stop the installation process. When prompted to install the C++ redistributables, if you do not allow the installation to continue, the setup will end. The text, “Otherwise, the setup process will abort” is an example of how the setup can “self-exit.”
>”at the vendor’s authorization brick wall”
You cannot fairly call it a brick wall if it was designed to allow activation via the Internet, and if you do not have anything that blocks that process, it does exactly that … otherwise, no one would be able to register the software. Obviously, others have. You also stated that this is 2017 software, so if the activation process did not work, don’t you think Soft Xpansion would have discovered the problem way before this?
They probably use the same activation method on all of their software, so I am sure within the last three years, Soft Xpansion has had many successful activations, so do you think they will suddenly take your word for it that it does not work? Not likely.
>”– the number SOS gives fails,”
You never explained how you arrived at the decision that it fails. Most likely, the activate via Internet failed, and you did not want to create an e-mail to activate as the alternative method. If that is not the case, you need to explain exactly how you arrived at “– the number SOS gives fails.” I would love to see a screen session of your entire experience from download, e-mail received, install steps, your choice at how you chose to activate, and why there was an ultimate failure on your end.
Activation via the Internet cannot succeed if something blocks the method used. If it is not your computer, it might be in a router, a modem, or the ISP that blocks it, so it wouldn’t matter how many computers you try it on. Since Soft Xpansion offers an alternative method (via e-mail), anyone should be able to activate the software.
>”If anyone here can share how they got it working, great … what, nobody can share how they got it working, oh my.”
I can share how I got it working. I save a screenshot of every step of all my installs so that I have a reference as to what each screen had on it.
I got it working with no problems. I followed the directions. There are two reviews so far; they got it working just fine. Several other comments say they too got it working. Because you could not register the software, you are so mad at Soft Xpansion that you don’t want anyone that does get it working to even try-it-out to see if it meets their needs. You stated:
>”… rip it out if you accidentally installed anything”
I don’t think anyone “accidentally installed” the software, but if they did successfully install and activate it, let them be the judge. If it is awful software, we are bound to hear it from multiple people, not have to base our opinions on someone that couldn’t even install it.
If it truly is an activation failure, after 3 years of being sold and installed, seems like someone else would have problems too.
>”Soft Xpansion needs to know what the hardware-key is for your computer [ … because they have trust issues that we can’t overcome, they have put themselves behind a brick wall of their own construction ].”
Most software companies do have trust issues, and for good reason, … people will take advantage of them otherwise. They (Soft Xpansion) need the hardware-key to keep track of which computers their software is installed on. It certainly is not a brick wall, and if it is a design of their own construction, I have seen other software products use the same method successfully. Soft Xpansion might have purchased the code from one of the companies specializing in setup and activation software. It really doesn’t matter what its origins are; it works.
>”They will send the 16-digit key to their servers to activate the program [ How can they send us anything when they do not have our email address?”
They cannot and they are not trying to. Read what I stated again. The 16-digit key is referring to the hardware-key that defines your computer. Soft Xpansion is sending the hardware-key FROM the user’s computer TO themselves using their own activation software. They do not need the user’s e-mail address to do that. That takes place if you activate by using the Internet method.
If the user chooses the e-mail method, then the user sends the hardware-key and the product key using their (the user’s) e-mail, thus Soft Xpansion knows what e-mail address to respond to with the activation key. They are not sending you anything via e-mail until you first send them an e-mail, and that happens only if the user chooses the e-mail method.
>”But their email address, and whatever number they want, are not cut-and-pastable from the same screen, and so we have to manually cobble together an email from a variety of sources and or hand-typing”
Well, boo hoo hoo. No, they are not on the same screen, but they each can be copied. The license displayed on the download page can be copied and so can the one in the e-mail. The hardware-key can be copied on the dialog that it is displayed on (I know it looks greyed out, but you can select it and copy it). Their e-mail address can be copied from the SoS offer page. All three pieces can be copied, no typing needed. Sending the data to support@soft-xpansion cannot be considered a major issue. Sure they could have prepared the e-mail themselves, but the e-mail method is probably not used very often; after all, it is a backup to the Internet activation method. It probably is not their top priority to prepare the e-mail body for you. It must be high on your list; I’m surprised you even mentioned it. No matter if they did prepare it for you, the user would have to copy the “prepared e-mail” and put the information in an e-mail, and click the send button.
>”So, did you try that route, email?” >”No?”
Yes, of course I did. I did both (Internet activated and e-mail). I wanted to make sure both methods worked so when I suggest it or recommend it to others that I will know what happens. Here are the details:
I copied the license key/product key they displayed on the download page (and also in the e-mail SoS sent), and then pasted it into a new e-mail.
I copied the hardware-key from the setup dialog and pasted it into the same e-mail.
As requested, I sent them to [email protected].
It took a while until they responded, probably due to being in a different time zone far away from me, but they did send the activation key file. It was in a ZIP file named activation(nn).zip (nn is a number).
I opened the zip file. It contained a file with the same name as the zip file it was in, but with the extension “key.” I extracted the activation(nn).key file and placed it with the other setup files. Back in the dialog of the setup program displayed after I chose the e-mail route, I pasted in the license/product key (sent in the e-mail) in the blank field on the left (labeled Product key). The right side has the hardware-key already.
Then I used the browse feature under the product key and hardware-key to locate the activation(nn).key file. I selected the activation(nn).key file, and then clicked OK. Instantly, the program displayed a dialog stating “Congratulations! Your product is successfully registered now. Good luck! That is the same message displayed when the program is activated via the Internet.
>”I’m shocked, SHOCKED!”
Maybe you should be. Both methods work as specified.
>”And locking the license into computer hardware is so mainframe.”
And so is everything else about PC software. There is no such thing as “so mainframe.” It is a mute point. Some PC software is licensed per computer and some is licensed per user. Licensing per user was never really an option for mainframes. Mainframes had many users, and even the department head could change. Sensibly, the software was licensed per computer. Now with individuals using a computer that no others access, there is the option to license per user, but there is no rule that all software must now be licensed per user.
Soft Xpansion produces a lot of software that is used in Enterprise level businesses. Those businesses have people come and go over time. It makes sense that Soft Xpansion would not license per user. The phrase “so mainframe” does not indicate Soft Xpansion is not keeping up with modern times, but it is a badge of honor that they have big-time customers.
>”Heck, even ancient Acrobat 5 Pro beats Soft-Expansion”
If you claim that you were not successful in activating Soft Xpansion’s Perfect PDF Editor, then how do you know that Acrobat 5 Pro beats “Soft-Expansion” (presuming you mean Soft Xpansion)?
>”Adobe released self-authenticating lifetime licenses along with final program installations for CS Creative Suite programs including Acrobat Pro with OCR, and offered them to ANY [ Adobe. com ] registered users”
You did not mention that it was offered to “Adobe registered users” before now. Offering them free to Adobe registered users is not helpful to the individuals that are NOT Adobe registered users. You never mentioned to Gene that he needs to be an Adobe registered user or his endeavors will fail. Regardless, the person I spoke to at Adobe says that it is not possible to activate the Adobe Creative Suite of any version regardless if it is for an Adobe registered user or not. They have discontinued the Adobe Creative Suite product line.