Applying Keys During Product Installation
Installation of all PDF-XChange products requires write access to %programfiles%. Therefore, an elevated account must be used - typically 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM'. SYSTEM accounts are not designed to write to users' HKCU hives, and will instead put licensing data in HKLM, at:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Tracker Software\Vault.
This means that 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's necessary to apply the license after the installation, as detailed here.
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.
KEYFILE and KEYDATA are options that are passed to MSIEXEC.EXE along with the MSI installer package.
KEYFILE
Pros:
•Uses simple syntax.
•Avoids CR and LF issues in license key strings.
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.
•Independence from network structure.
•When used with a transform, it 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 extraneous white space characters are present. 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. Therefore this must be done manually when passing KEYDATA to MSIEXEC.EXE.
Command line Examples:
msiexec /i ProV10.x64.msi /qb KEYDATA="PXP10-R1i2UTPS...A5AvAUl4Q=" - uses a key string to install the PDF-XChange PRO bundle with a per-machine license.
msiexec /i EditorV10.x64.msi /qb KEYFILE="\\UNC\path\to\Personal.xcvault" - uses an XCVault file to install PDF-XChange Editor with a per-machine license.
See here for information on how to pass keys via a transform (MST file).