IMatch 5.5 Trial

Started by Ted, December 02, 2015, 09:27:04 PM

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Ted

Saw the announcement of 5.5 on facebook and decided that I'd download the trial version and give it a try.  I installed it in another folder and loaded it. 

Mario, was it your intent to NOT allow users to actually use the trial copy for 30 days???  I received the following message when I ran 5.5 - just doesn't seem right, but maybe that's what you intended.



[attachment deleted by admin]
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Mario

I think you probably had the trial installed on this computer at some time?
The trial version does not really expire, but it will recognize when it was installed already.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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Ted

Quote from: Mario on December 02, 2015, 09:36:31 PM
I think you probably had the trial installed on this computer at some time?
The trial version does not really expire, but it will recognize when it was installed already.

Mario, I don't know how I could have had the trial installed -  I've been using only production copies of IMatch for years.  This computer was built from scratch on July 29th with Windows 10 - the hard disk being formatted at that time.

When it loaded it did auto load my production database which of course is several months old.  Could that be a problem?
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

jch2103

Did you try creating a new database?
John

Ted

Trying that right now.  Seems to be working.  Still it seems that for 30 days I shouldn't have to do that.  I sure would like to use it for awhile to see if I want to go with it - without having to start all over.  That would be a big waste of my time.
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Mario

The trial version recognizes when it was installed already. Even if this was a long time in the past.

And the trial version opens all databases older than 30 days in read-only mode. That's hard coded.
You can create a new database and it will work 30 days in fully writable mode.
The trial does not really expire.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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Ted

Quote from: Mario on December 02, 2015, 09:51:05 PM
The trial version recognizes when it was installed already. Even if this was a long time in the past.
Not sure if you're trying to say that I installed it previously - if you are, then you are absolutely wrong. Period.

Quote from: Mario on December 02, 2015, 09:51:05 PM
And the trial version opens all databases older than 30 days in read-only mode. That's hard coded.
You can create a new database and it will work 30 days in fully writable mode.
The trial does not really expire.
That sucks!  Hard to evaluate your 'new' product if I have to start all over.  Reading your announcement it doesn't seem like you have added any really compelling reasons for me to buy your 'new' upgrade.  I would suggest that you come up with a better way of providing a trial.  Just my thoughts.
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

jch2103

#7
In terms of the trade-off between new and old features, each user has to make his/her own determination as to whether they're worth the cost. And of course the 'old' version will continue to work indefinitely (unlike some other products).
John

Mario

Quote from: Ted on December 02, 2015, 10:04:28 PM
That sucks!  Hard to evaluate your 'new' product if I have to start all over.  Reading your announcement it doesn't seem like you have added any really compelling reasons for me to buy your 'new' upgrade.  I would suggest that you come up with a better way of providing a trial.  Just my thoughts.
That's just how it is, I'm afraid.

The trial version allows new users to install IMatch with all functions enabled and test it for 30 days. After that period the database becomes ready-only.
If a trial user needs more than 30 days to decide whether or not IMatch is useful for her/him, she/he can create a new database and use it again for 30 days.
The trial never really expires.

The trial version is not really aimed at existing users who want to replace their existing licensed product with a time-limited trial version to try out a new version of IMatch.
Although I can understand your motives, this just does not happen often enough for me to spend time to make this work.
And it would open another door for crackers and software pirates, and I had enough of that in the past.


A comprehensive list of all changes and enhancements in IMatch 5.5 can be found in the release notes in the IMatch help file. This help file is installed with the trial version automatically, and you can download it separately from my web site (download section).

I think that the improved speed of the new Viewer and Quick View Panel is a compelling reason for upgrading already.
Even if you don't print or produce outputs for web sites, collages or similar. There is also a separate File categories panel, which was often requested and may improve your workflow considerably. And of course bug fixes, many other performance improvements and usability enhancements.

You can try all the new things out with the trial version, even with read-only databases.


Please understand that I will not ship further updates or bug fixes to the 5.4 branch of IMatch. But this version will not expire and you can use it as long as it works on your platform. This is no subscription model, after all.

Just be so kind and mention that you use the 5.4 when you ask questions or report a bug in the community.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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P.Jones

Just double checking before I try

If I install the trial does it leave my 5.4 version  and databases intact and un-altered

Mario

QuoteIf I install the trial does it leave my 5.4 version  and databases intact and un-altered

No.

Newer versions of IMatch may always introduce changes to the database, settings or configuration files. This happens when new features are added or I have to fix a bug or implement some performance improvements.

Older versions cannot longer read databases modified or creates with IMatch 5.5.
You will get a message when you attempt to open a database created or modified with 5.5 in older versions.

I don't test or support this.
It just never occurred to me that users would not upgrade. Or first try to install a trial version on top of a licensed product.
Not after all the months of work I've put into IMatch 5.5.



As always before installing a newer IMatch version, make a backup copy of your settings, database, presets.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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Ted

Quote from: P.Jones on December 03, 2015, 12:14:24 PM
Just double checking before I try

If I install the trial does it leave my 5.4 version  and databases intact and un-altered

Simple answer: No.

Normally, I install IMatch in C:\Apps\IMatch5 and I have to re-specify this folder each time I install an upgrade.  I've asked Mario to change IM to remember where it was installed and use that for upgrades, but he has chosen not to.  Most other programs will do t his automatically.  So, I thought I'd be safe to install the 5.5 Trial in the folder that Mario chose.  This morning, I find that the 5.5 installation deleted all files in my C:\Apps\IMatch5 folder, except a couple of .chw files.  So again, DO NOT INSTALL 5.5 ON THE SAME PC AS 5.4 IF YOU THINK YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 5.4
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Mario

QuoteI've asked Mario to change IM to remember where it was installed and use that for upgrades, but he has chosen not to.

I can't.
The installer software I use for IMatch automatically defaults to the standard Windows installation folder - depending on the Windows version and language.
Changing this would require me to

a) upgrade the installer software to a 'Pro' version (about 1000 US$ per year) and
b) learn how to write custom plug-ins for this software so I can store the current IMatch folder somewhere and then initialize the installer with that info.

A lot of cost and effort. And when users don't buy upgrades, I don't have the money to update the development software and licenses, pay royalties etc.

QuoteThis morning, I find that the 5.5 installation deleted all files in my C:\Apps\IMatch5 folder, except a couple of .chw files. 

That's the normal behavior. You are installing an upgrade (a newer version of IMatch on top of an older version). That this is a trial does not matter.
Windows installer thus replaces the old version of the software which you install with the new version.
This is just how it works with standard Windows installer packages.

QuoteSo again, DO NOT INSTALL 5.5 ON THE SAME PC AS 5.4 IF YOU THINK YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 5.4

You can do that easily.
+ Backup your settings, database etc. as detailed in the release notes. And as you should do daily anyway.
+ Install the 5.4 trial version. If you don't like it, uninstall it and install the 5.4.18 again.
+ Restore your settings and database.

-- Mario
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P.Jones

Quote from: Ted on December 03, 2015, 01:35:23 PM
Quote from: P.Jones on December 03, 2015, 12:14:24 PM
Just double checking before I try

If I install the trial does it leave my 5.4 version  and databases intact and un-altered

Simple answer: No.

Normally, I install IMatch in C:\Apps\IMatch5 and I have to re-specify this folder each time I install an upgrade.  I've asked Mario to change IM to remember where it was installed and use that for upgrades, but he has chosen not to.  Most other programs will do t his automatically.  So, I thought I'd be safe to install the 5.5 Trial in the folder that Mario chose.  This morning, I find that the 5.5 installation deleted all files in my C:\Apps\IMatch5 folder, except a couple of .chw files.  So again, DO NOT INSTALL 5.5 ON THE SAME PC AS 5.4 IF YOU THINK YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 5.4

Hi Tom thanks for clarifying that.

I was thinking Ver 5.5 would have worked in a similar way that ver 5 did when it was released.

That is, if I remember correctly, it would install in to  a new  directory and once trialled and if not wanted could be deleted and you could go back to using the old version.

From Marios post
Older versions cannot longer read databases modified or creates with IMatch 5.5.

it appears this is not possible.

Ted

Even though the 5.5 trial said that it opened my database as 'read only', it modified the database and it can no longer be used by 5.4.  Apparently 'read only' in IMatch doesn't mean the same thing as 'read only' to me.
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Ted

So, yesterday after my first post, I decided to create a new database and load a 'few' (10,000) photos into it for testing.  I expected this to go fairly quickly.  16 hours later (this morning) I checked on it and it had read the metadata but had not yet finished building the thumbnails.  I clicked on one of the folders (the + sign) to open it up and got an error message saying that IMatch had encountered a problem and would have to close.  Really, I thought this release had some bug fixes, but apparently it has some new bugs as well.

So for now I've decided to return to 5.4.  I may check it out in a few weeks when it's more stable.
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Ferdinand

Short version:  If you back up your database and PTS file, then you can downgrade by reverting to these backups.  I.e. you'd lose any changes to the database or settings (or at least those that are stored in the PTS file) since the upgrade when you downgrade.

In this respect 5.5 is not any different to 5.1 to 5.4.  An upgrade to a newer version will generally make changes to the database that the older version can't interpret.  Ditto for the PTS file.

Imatch 5 was in effect a new product compared to IMatch 3.6, so a parallel install was possible.  But 5.5 is an upgrade of of 5.4.

Mario

Quote from: Ted on December 03, 2015, 02:10:55 PM
So, yesterday after my first post, I decided to create a new database and load a 'few' (10,000) photos into it for testing.  I expected this to go fairly quickly.  16 hours later (this morning) I checked on it and it had read the metadata but had not yet finished building the thumbnails.  I clicked on one of the folders (the + sign) to open it up and got an error message saying that IMatch had encountered a problem and would have to close.  Really, I thought this release had some bug fixes, but apparently it has some new bugs as well.

So for now I've decided to return to 5.4.  I may check it out in a few weeks when it's more stable.
IMatch has been tested very well, with local user groups and selected testers. It is the same tried-and tested code base as IMatch 5.4.18,

If you have problems with IMatch, e.g., 16 hours to load a few thousand files, the problem is probably something on your system. Damaged metadata crashing ExifTool. Virus checker interfering. I cannot tell without you giving me any information.

Please follow the tips given in this post: How to report problems and see the IMatch help system for log file for details.

and add a bug report with the log file. The log file will tell us which type of files you are processing, how long each step takes, if ExifTool or IMatch encountered any problem, logged warnings etc. Just waiting a few weeks for me to magically fixing a bug which only happens on your system will not work. If you give me information to work with, I can provide assistance and fix bugs.


-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
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AndyL

#18
Quote from: Mario on December 03, 2015, 01:03:49 PM
I don't test or support this.
It just never occurred to me that users would not upgrade. Or first try to install a trial version on top of a licensed product.

The difference here is that money is involved. There's no reason not to upgrade if it is free, but if you have to pay, people like to be sure the new features are things they want and are worth paying for. It is difficult to tell this just from a set of release notes, particularly when the main new feature boils down to "it goes faster". This is a subjective thing, so it would be nice to try it before committing to paying the money.

So maybe next time you could consider this option - or at least provide easy to follow instructions to let people do it. Keeping customers happy is never a bad thing.  ;)

Mario

I made a mistake in shipping IMatch 3 updates for years at no cost. Never again. Users apparently tend to think they get everything for free.

QuoteIt is difficult to tell this just from a set of release notes, particularly when the main new feature boils down to "it goes faster".

Your impression is wrong.
The Viewer and the Quick View panel are much faster.
There is a very flexible printing module.
Numerous detail changes in all areas.
Many other new features.
Many bug fixes.

Andy, please remember: I'm not a faceless corporation with the only goal to squeeze money out of you. I don't sell your customer data. There are no advertisements here in the community or in the IMatch software. When you write a message here in the community, it costs money. And that money comes from my pocket - from the money I make by selling IMatch and upgrades. I have no big shiny cars and I don't make shareholders rich.

IMatch is a personal project. Over the past 18 months I've spent almost every evening and every weekend with supporting IMatch 5, making it better, shipping 50 updates to you for free. Yes, this means you, Andy.

I've written 10,000 (ten thousand!) posts here in the community, answering questions, giving tips, explaining things. Know-how articles on the photools.com web site. And I don't count the emails I answer every day.

And yes, this was also free.

The money I make from IMatch goes straight back into the product, allowing me to pay license fees, royalties, the software I need to create it, and every couple of years a new computer. My PC is now almost six years old and really needs a replacement.

And now you come and tell me: "Ehm, listen. 50 updates for free are cool and all that. But paying to support the future development of IMatch...? I don't know. Just continue developing and supporting it for free, and when I'm in a mood or I like a feature very much, I may pay a few bucks.".

And then users wonder why software company force them into subscription models, with monthly or annual payments...

-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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Ted

Mario,
I could be wrong, but I think you may have over reacted to Andy's comment.  It seemed to me that he was just expressing his honest opinion.  Like I say, I could be wrong.
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Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

Mario

This is no fine-tuned, politically correct, legal department approved, press relations department written reply.
This is just Mario telling Andy how Mario understands his comment and what Mario thinks about it. Like I would tell him face to face over a beer.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
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AndyL

#22
Mario, you have definately over reacted. I was not criticising you for charging for the update. I was mearly pointing out that some people like to do a full investigation before parting with hard earned cash. They want to make sure they are spending money wisely.

Whether the update is worth buying is entirely up to each individual. Some will think it is a bargain, others will not and that is their decision.

You provide a trial, which is great. So some will want to test that trial to see if it does what they want, even if it is an update.

Even your description is still vague...

It goes faster, it prints better and has numerous other things.

That was the "headline" I had taken in and I felt some would find it difficult to decide if that was enough to spend cash on. You can't beat trying it for real and so that is why some will want to install the trial. You seemed to find this odd as you hadn't imagined anyone would want to do it. I was trying to explain why they would.


Ferdinand

#23
Just to repeat, it is possible for a 5.4 user to install the 5.5 trial, test and revert to 5.4, provided that they had backed up both their database and PTS file, and restored these backups as part of the reversion.

I do this every time I install a new version of IMatch, paid upgrade or free.  I think it's good practice.  (Frequently backing up the DB is good practice anyway, but doing the same for the PTS file may not be as obvious.)   If there is a gremlin in a new release, it enables you to keep working for the short time while the gremlin is fixed.  In that sense, 5.5 is no different to any of the earlier releases - reversion requires a full reversion.

What people are asking for is the ability to install parallel versions.  If that's possible, and it mightn't be, that is likely to require a huge programming effort on Mario's behalf, just for an occasional, limited benefit which could be had anyway with simple, common-sense precautions.  Where would you prefer Mario to devote his limited resources to - that, or developing IMatch?

DavidOfMA

Quote from: Mario on December 03, 2015, 01:03:49 PM
Quote
It just never occurred to me that users would not upgrade. Or first try to install a trial version on top of a licensed product.
Not after all the months of work I've put into IMatch 5.5.



I can't speak for others, but I installed the trial version instead of immediately buying the upgrade because I wanted to make sure it would run well on my 2009 computer. IMatch 5 runs slower than 3.6 on my computer, but it is still workable. If the overall speed of IMatch 5.5 was slower, it would not be usable until I buy a new computer. As it is, I found out I can't use the new QuickView and Viewer "out of the box" on my machine, so, knowing that I will have some debugging to do, I will wait until I have time to spend on that before I upgrade, so I still have full use of the program.

I didn't realize, like some others, that the update would tinker with my database and overwrite the program files. Now I understand. I do suggest you put the notice that's on the trial download page into a "nag" screen on the trial itself. I missed it on the web page, in my haste to download, and I can see that at least a few others did, too, but I wouldn't miss a "nag" screen.

Just my two cents,
David

RalfC

Hm, I also belong to the group of people who like to test an upgrade before paying for it.

And having the print module in IMatch would also some require a readjustment of my workflow because I would only print only developed/processed images which are than required to be in the DB as well, i.e. finding a way how to handle variants efficiently in IMatch for print processing. To figure out if I can find a way for myself, it would have been nice to use the trial in parallel to the earlier version (with a different DB).

If I look at other SW, e.g. Capture One, Microsoft Office:

  • Updates replace the older version
  • It is possible to install the upgrade / new version beside the old version
  • in C1: When opening the database in the trial version, there is a clear message that the database will be changed (i.e. not useable in older version anymore) and a backup of the (old) database is made

In my very humble opinion:
I appreciate that Mario might not have considered the changes to justify a major version change. Anyhow, with the current method the upgrade simply behaved like being an update. Thusmaking the major version change might have made it easier to allow current users to trial the new version without affecting the installed version (but warning that the DB is changed and proposing a PackandGo session before continuing?).


All in all, the situation is like it is now. But maybe the dicussion can help Mario to finding an alternative way for future Upgrades / Releases.

Best regards,
Ralf

Mario

Installing two versions of the same generation of IMatch on the same machine would be way too much trouble.
I did that with IMatch 3 and IMatch 5 in June 2014. I did not do it for the 5.0 to 5.5 step-up.

Why not just backup everything? Then try the new version and if you don't like it or it does not work, un-install and restore the backup.
How this is done is explained on the download page for IMatch, with details in the Backup help topic. It can be done easily using Pack & Go, for example. Since you backup your system every day anyway, you can also just restore using your normal backup solution.

In theory, every IMatch update (like the one from today, for example) may introduce changes to the database, settings database, configuration files and presets. So it's just good practice to backup before installing and running the new version. If something goes wrong, you can file a bug report, rollback to the last working version and continue. This is explained in the installation instructions and common sense.

If a user really needs to download the trial version, replace his existing licensed version of IMatch with it in order to tell if the continuing development and my support is worth his money, it should not be too much effort to backup his data before doing so. It's quick and should be your standard operation before installing a new software or -version anyway.
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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mking

Mario,

You should really put up a warning before people install the trial that it wont work with databases created more than 30 days.
I just downloaded the 5.5 trial while I am awaiting "shareit" to give me a new paid key (no idea while its not instant), but anyway its not for me. I thought no problem I'll install trial while I am waiting, and find I can't use my database !! Now I can't easily go back to 5.4.x either.

I also think your messaging around the paid for 5.5 upgrade sucks. Its not the money its the messaging... you should have said upfront  with 5.0 release that you were going to start charging every 18 months or whatever, to set customers expectations that this was not going to be like Imatch 3, and you should have sent out an email to all your customers BEFORE the paid update explaining that the next update was a paid update. Its just a shock to go for the update and suddenly find you are expecting payment. My first reaction was that somehow it forgot I was an existing customer !

Plus then I find the key issuing on purchase is not instant.

My experience of Imatch in the last 90 mins has not been great.

Mike






Menace

#28
Maybe the only mistake is, that it isn't called IMatch 6.0.  >:(

I know all this: "I don't need a backup, just install whatever I can get in my fingers.", because I did it a lot in the past. But seriously, at least a DAM-Databases need a backup a week and you know the risk, which all kind of troubles, i.e. HD-Crashes. To start complaining, because you haven't made a backup in time is for me strange. And I hope, you have more than just one backup.

I see a lot of less new features in other software which come back every year, called somethine like Magix XY 2015, Magix XY 2016, ...!

At least: Everybody is old enough to deside, if he want to pay for the features in 6.0 aka 5.5 or not. Are you happy with 5.4? Is it still working? So stay with it. You can use it I guess the next 5 years without a problem and without paying a cent for it.

I don't understand this people who want that other people work for free for them.  >:(

Mario

QuotePlus then I find the key issuing on purchase is not instant.
Share-it sends out emails immediately after your purchase is completed.
If this did not happen in your case, please contact Share-it via their customer support portal:

https://www.mycommerce.com/support/shoppers.html?view=ordersearchs

I'm not involved in the purchase process.
-- Mario
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Mario

Quote from: mking on December 05, 2015, 07:55:12 PM
You should really put up a warning before people install the trial that it wont work with databases created more than 30 days.

It says, clearly on the download page:

See Installation Instructions for information about how to install the trial version of IMatch and restrictions in the trial version.

And the http://www.photools.com/installation-instructions/ explains:

Restrictions in the 30-day Trial Version

The trial version of IMatch is fully functional. All databases older than 30 days will become read-only automatically. You can still open them in the trial version, but all features which update the database are disabled. The licensed version of IMatch of course opens all databases in fully writable mode.

-- Mario
IMatch Developer
Forum Administrator
http://www.photools.com  -  Contact & Support - Follow me on 𝕏 - Like photools.com on Facebook

Mario

#31
QuoteI also think your messaging around the paid for 5.5 upgrade sucks. Its not the money its the messaging... you should have said upfront  with 5.0 release that you were going to start charging every 18 months or whatever, to set customers expectations that this was not going to be like Imatch 3,

Just because version 3 of IMatch was free for so long does not mean that future versions will be free.
Users would have complained if I would have charged for IMatch 3 updates, and users complain when I charge for IMatch 5 upgrades. I cannot do it right. But I cannot pay for everything out of my pockets, and hence i have to charge for upgrades in order to continue developing and supporting IMatch. You won't get it for free, sorry.

And I don't think that I need to announce explicitly that future upgrades of the software will be at a cost. That's all spelled out in my Update and Upgrade Policy, which is in place since around 2003.

http://www.photools.com/shop/

If you're happy with 5.4, please continue using it. It will not expire.

I will discontinue support for 5.4 in a few months time, as per my End of Support policy explained here:

http://www.photools.com/shop/
-- Mario
IMatch Developer
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Ted

Quote from: Mario on December 05, 2015, 08:18:42 PM
And the http://www.photools.com/installation-instructions/ explains:

Restrictions in the 30-day Trial Version

The trial version of IMatch is fully functional. All databases older than 30 days will become read-only automatically. You can still open them in the trial version, but all features which update the database are disabled. The licensed version of IMatch of course opens all databases in fully writable mode.


Mario,
I must take exception with a portion of your statement: "but all features which update the database are disabled".  This is simply a misstatement of the truth.  The fact that my database had been modified by the trial software and it was no longer usable by 5.4 is proof that "all" features are not disabled.  Perhaps 'read-only' has a different meaning in German than in English.  I don't know German, but I'd be surprised if the meaning is different.

Also, you spend a lot of time maintaining and improving IMatch, much more than any of your user base.  You know it inside out.  Most of us are amateur or professional photographers, not programmers.  You know all the tricks to upgrading and downgrading software.  We depend on you via IMatch to help us in our work or hobby and to help protect us from ourselves.  You, on the other hand depend on us, your customers, to pay for the product that you have developed so that you can pay your bills.  I don't think anyone has a problem with that.

You have expenses associated with maintaining IMatch and based on your previous statements you probably don't buy software or hardware unless you feel or know that it will help you.  Likewise, we have expenses that we deal with, and one of those is IMatch.  Before I spend money to upgrade to the next version, whether it is $60 or $600, I want to know if it will work for me, and I want to determine if I think it is worth whatever the price is.  If I were running PhotoShop and an upgrade came out, I would not just buy it because it was available without some sort of evaluation first.  For that reason I am very surprised at a statement you made previously: "It just never occurred to me that users would not upgrade."

I've rambled on long enough and probably didn't say as much as I wanted to, but I will restate what Andy said on his initial post: "Keeping customers happy is never a bad thing."
-----
Ted
Enjoying life one day at a time.

jch2103

I think there are two distinct complaints here about the new and trial versions:

1. Cost. But this is something each user had to evaluate on his or her terms, and I think the cost is very clear to everyone and that there are no surprises here.

2. Trial version. Here I think the complaint is about unexpected behavior. I don't think is was obvious to everyone that installing the trial a) would convert their existing database and b) completely replace their existing version (rather than installing in parallel). Even though I immediately bought the upgrade (first purchaser, by chance!), I had assumed that if I had installed the trail I would have been able to revert back to my existing database after reinstalling the old version. I agree with Menace that the risks might (possibly) have been implied if the version number had changed more dramatically (e.g., to 6.0), but that in any event everyone should routinely backup in their databases, especially before an upgrade.

I think the fact that Mario's been so good in pushing out updates may have lulled users into thinking that there wouldn't be any issues. I think it would better to have a more explicit warning that installing a trial version will replace an existing installation; that any existing database may be rendered unusable in prior IMatch version; and that therefore any existing databases should be backed up before trying a trial version.

Folks who aren't power users or developers may not be aware of some of these implications, and may need more warning about potential risks.
John

dmarritt

#34
Quote from: Ted on December 03, 2015, 01:35:23 PM
Quote from: P.Jones on December 03, 2015, 12:14:24 PM
Just double checking before I try

If I install the trial does it leave my 5.4 version  and databases intact and un-altered

Simple answer: No.

Normally, I install IMatch in C:\Apps\IMatch5 and I have to re-specify this folder each time I install an upgrade.  I've asked Mario to change IM to remember where it was installed and use that for upgrades, but he has chosen not to.  Most other programs will do t his automatically.  So, I thought I'd be safe to install the 5.5 Trial in the folder that Mario chose.  This morning, I find that the 5.5 installation deleted all files in my C:\Apps\IMatch5 folder, except a couple of .chw files.  So again, DO NOT INSTALL 5.5 ON THE SAME PC AS 5.4 IF YOU THINK YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO 5.4

I really think that a warning should pop up before it does anything.  I've fallen foul of this just opening the 5.5 version...no warning and no way back.... to say I'm not happy is an understatement. 

And to compound matters I'm now struggling to get my back ups to work !