What is trial-enablement?

Trial-enablement creates a software trial from your application. This trial allows a prospective customer to use your software for free before buying a full, licensed version. Each time the prospective customer starts your software, a dialog pops up with a reminder to buy. After 30 days, if the prospective customer has not bought the licensed version, the software stops working.

Do we need to modify our code to add trial enablement or copy protection services?

No. These services are added to your existing product and do not modify the code. You will have to rebuild your installer package to include the new trial-enabled, copy protected file.

Can I change the trial period?

Yes. You can set any interval in minutes or days, from one minute to two years.

Can I specify a certain number of trial uses, instead of a time period?

Yes. You can specify any number from 1 to 100. If you set the number of trial uses to 20, for example, the trial stops on the 21st use of the product.

Can we upload our own serial numbers?

Yes, but only if you're not using the Protexis copy protection service. On the Serial Number Configuration page, browse to a local text file containing your serial numbers. Numbers must be one to a line, with a hard return at the end of each line. Make sure the file is plain text, with a TXT extension.

I want to cripple some features in the trial version. Can I upload two binaries?

Yes. You can trial-enable a crippled version and then provide an ESD link to the fully licensed product. To do this, you should choose the Standard Try & Buy Configuration. You could also list your own trial version on Download.com and simply use Hosted E-commerce services to sell the fully licensed product.

Do users have to activate their software?

Yes. Once a trial ends, and they want to start the fully licensed version of the software, they'll have to activate it using a valid serial number and activation code.

Where does the activation code come from?

The activation code is generated on our server and displayed to the end user on a web page and contained in their purchase confirmation email. The end user can type or copy paste the code into the activation dialog box.

How many times do end users have to activate their software?

Only once, when they first install the product.

How many times can end users activate their software?

Only once. If they need to re-activate the software for some reason, such as a hard drive crash, they will have to contact technical support for assistance.

Is registration part of Merchant Services?

Yes. It is part of the Protected Try & Buy and Standard Try & Buy configurations. Registration collects end user contact data such as name, address, phone number and email address. You can select whether you would like to collect registration data and, if you would, you then select which fields are mandatory and which fields are optional.

Will my users be forced to register?

It depends on your particular business model and how you configure your product. When configuring your trial configuration, you can decide if you would like to collect user registration data. If you choose to collect the data, users must register to use the trial product. In this case, you can choose to leave some fields as optional, allowing the user to decide what information to provide you. If you choose not to collect the data, users will not see the registration form and will not have to register.

Can I customize the registration entry fields?

You can select which fields are mandatory on the Configure Trial Registration page but you cannot add additional fields beyond the standard name, address, e-mail, and phone number fields.

What does the registration email do?

This optional email goes to the end user after a successful registration. You can customize it as you wish, ie, to confirm the registration, and add additional marketing offers and information.

Can I use email to remind the end user to upgrade to the full version during the trial?

End users see the upgrade option every time they launch the program. As well, you can configure an automated email to go to end users any time after they register.

If I change my application will I have to rebuild my trial-enabled package?

Yes. A change to your application will require a rebuild if you want to enable it with trial or copy protection. You will not have to change your other options, such as Merchant Services Options, Fulfillment Options, the Purchase Confirmation Email, Serial Number Configuration and Trial Registration Options.

If I change the purchase confirmation email do I have to rebuild my trial-enabled package?

No. You can change Merchant Services Options, Fulfillment Options, the Purchase Confirmation Email, Serial Number Configuration and Trial Registration Options, without having to rebuild.

What happens when I build a trial-enabled package?

We protect and rename your executable with a DAT extension, e.g., ProductName.exe becomes ProductName.dat.

We also build a new application, using the original application name and icon, with the licensing and trial options you selected, e.g., ProductName.exe.

We ZIP these two files and send them to you. You unzip them, and incorporate them into your installation package.

What types of executables do you support?

The EXE file you supply must be a Windows PE (Portable Executable) file.

Are there any types of executables you don't support?

We currently support most mainstream applications.

Will applying this technology to my product change the size of my product?

Yes. Your installation package will increase in size by approximately 1 MB.

Can I host the protected or trial-enabled file on our own server?

Yes. You can use the trial and/or protected version of your product anywhere that you want to distribute your product. However, since this service is tied to your Download.com listing, if you cancel your listing, the file will no longer work.

Are there any system requirements I need to be aware of?

Yes. End users who install your software must be running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or greater on one of the following Microsoft operating systems: Windows 98/ME/NT4.0 SP6/2000/2003/XP.