Installation
There are several things that are important to note before PDF-Tools is installed:
•PDF-Tools can be installed via two different products - either via the stand alone PDF-Tools installer or as a part of the PDF-XChange PRO bundle.
•Installers are available in both .exe and .msi format, but the .msi installer should always be given preference for the reasons detailed here.
PDF-Tools Installers
The PDF-Tools component is included in the following product installers:
•PDF-Tools - the stand-alone PDF-Tools application. Note that a license for this product includes a free license for PDF-XChange Editor and the PDF-XChange Printer Lite virtual printer, both of which are also installed when PDF-Tools is installed.
•PDF-XChange PRO. A license for PDF-XChange PRO includes a license for PDF-Tools, which will install when PDF-XChange PRO is installed.
This section of the manual covers the PDF-Tools installers and their options and best practices. If you are installing PDF-Tools via PDF-XChange PRO then please refer to the section of the manual here.
Please note that the PDF-Tools 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 contain 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-Tools 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 be added to 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 that was installed.
Discrete .msi installers for the current version of PDF-Tools are always available at:
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/ToolsV10.x64.msi
https://www.pdf-xchange.com/ToolsV10.x86.msi
The installation of a product using an .msi is achieved by passing the .msi file as a parameter (along with the desired options) to the system executable msiexec.exe using standard Microsoft Syntax. Please note the following:
•If no options are specified then the default options will be used.
•If no features are specified then all features will be installed.
•The full UNC paths to the .msi installer and any supporting files should be used.
•Product features are specified using the ADDLOCAL standard .msi property.
•Product properties are specified using the Product Specific Properties.
A comprehensive list of the PDF-Tools installer switches and their options is available here.
The standard options that the PDF-Tools .msi installers use enable a consistent installation experience over a range of deployment methods. The switches and options remain the same whether they are assigned/published via GPO, SCCM or through third-party deployment tools. They are always applied via command line switches or through the modification of the .msi - either directly or using a transform file.