Applying Keys During Product Installation

Keys applied during an install are always Per Machine.

Installation of all PDF-XChange products requires write access to %programfiles% and as such an elevated account is used, typically NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Since the SYSTEM account is not designed to write to user's HKCU hives it will put licensing data in HKLM, specifically Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Tracker Software\Vault. Because of this, license keys applied to PDF-XChange products during installation are always a Per Machine license and available for all users on a device.

If you want to apply a license to only a specific group of users then it is necessary to apply the license after the installation.

Unattended Installations

Applying a key during an unattended installation requires the use of the .msi installation switches KEYFILE or KEYDATA. Unattended installations put the license keys into HKLM (as they run as an elevated account that does not have access to HKCU) and make the license keys available to all users on the system. Further information on the .msi installation switch options is available in the online manuals for each product:

•The PDF-XChange Editor .msi installation switches are detailed here.

•The PDF-Tools .msi installation switches are detailed here.

•The PDF-XChange Printer Standard .msi installation switches are detailed here.

•The PDF-XChange PRO .msi installation switches are detailed here.

Please note that we do not recommended using the .exe installers for unattended installations due to the issues detailed here.

Methods for Passing License Keys to an Installer

The two switches available for passing a license key to an installer - KEYFILE and KEYDATA each have advantages and disadvantages in comparison to each other, but the end result is the same regardless of which method is used to pass the key.

KEYFILE and KEYDATA are options that are passed to MSIEXEC.EXE along with the MSI installer package itself.

KEYFILE

Pros:

•Uses simple syntax.

•Avoids CR and LF issues in license key string.

Cons:

•Sensitive to file system permissions issues.

•Potential for challenges when used with user-mapped drives.

KEYDATA

Pros:

•Does not depend on file system permissions.

•Independent of network structure.

•When used with a transform can be re-applied for multiple installations without modifying the transform.

Cons:

•The length of the string can result in an unwieldy command that is difficult to read.

•Potential for CR and LF issues when copying/pasting the string. Passing the key data string will fail if there is extraneous white space characters in it. A simple test is to view the keystring in notepad and ensure it is all on one line. When pasting keys into the software via the GUI we strip and such extra characters but MSIEXEC.EXE does not. You must do this yourself when passing KEYDATA to MSIEXEC.EXE

Command line Examples:

msiexec /i ProV10.x64.msi /qb KEYDATA="PXP10-R1i2UTPS...A5AvAUl4Q=" - Installs the PDF-XChange PRO bundle with a license using a (very long) key string.

msiexec /i EditorV10.x64.msi /qb KEYFILE="\\UNC\path\to\Personal.xcvault" - Installs PDF-XChange Editor with a per machine license using an .XCVault file.

See here for passing the key via a transform (MST file).