PDF-XChange Deployment Planning
There are several things that are important to note before purchasing and deploying the PDF-XChange products:
•PDF-XChange Editor can be installed via three different products - PDF-XChange PRO, PDF-XChange Editor and PDF-Tools.
•There is no difference between PDF-XChange Editor and PDF-XChange Editor Plus from the point of view of installation, as they use the same installers. The difference in their functionality is dictated by the license key applied to them after they have been installed.
•Installers are available in both .exe and .msi format, but the .msi installer should always be given preference for the reasons detailed here.
•PDF-XChange Editor contains many free features that do not require a license key - an unlicensed installation of PDF-XChange Editor may be sufficient to meet your needs.
•PDF-XChange Printer Standard and PDF-XChange PRO license keys do not license PDF-XChange Printer Lite.
•The PDF-XChange Editor and PDF-XChange PRO products both include virtual PDF printers - PDF-XChange Printer Lite and PDF-XChange Printer Standard respectively. However, these products are not the same and their licenses are not interchangeable. PDF-XChange Printer Lite is a simplified version of PDF-XChange Printer Standard and does not contains as many features or as much functionality. If printing to PDF is a priority, then PDF-XChange Printer Standard should be purchased. It is important to take note of this difference in licensing because a PDF-XChange Editor key will only unlock the PDF-XChange Printer Lite printer and will not unlock the PDF-XChange Printer Standard printer. Similarly, a PDF-XChange PRO or PDF-XChange Printer Standard key will not unlock the PDF-XChange Printer Lite printer. If the wrong printer is deployed for the license key purchased then watermarks will appear on its output PDF documents and it is then necessary to remove the problematic printer and install the correct one, or to buy a license for the printer installed in order to resolve the issue.
It's important to take note of several factors when planning your deployment, for example:
Do you plan to have a mix of licensed and unlicensed instances?
PDF-XChange supports licensed, unlicensed, and blended deployments. Many users can achieve everything they need to do with the unlicensed version of PDF-XChange Editor, as more than half of the features are available in that version. This gives system administrators the option of licensing only those users whose needs are more advanced - even on multi-user systems. We support blended licensing by storing per-user keys in their HKCU registry hive.
Are you going to deploy to multi-user machines (RDS, workstations etc)?
Multi-user systems, especially those that employ load-balancing across servers, can pose unique deployment and licensing challenges. PDF-XChange supports RDS servers (formerly Terminal Services) and multi-user workstations.
Are you going to employ virtualization (VDI, Application Virtualization etc)?
Load-balancing and application virtualization across your VDI environment can present unique challenges to deployment and licensing. Further information on these issues is available here.
Do you intend to apply your license key during or after installation?
How you deploy the software will be impacted by the decision to license the software during or after installation. Further information on applying keys during product installation is available here, and further information on applying keys after installation is available here.