I’ve been dipping into the DT4 beta I downloaded a while back to see if DT is for me, but now that version has expired.
I’d still like to try DT some more before committing.
So, do I now download the DT4 release version, or do I simply “upgrade” the beta—which I presume will let me retain the test material I’ve been putting into the beta? Whichever of those methods is best, can I then wallow in the release version’s 30-day/150-hours trial period?
You could either download the release version and replace the installed app or simply use the integrated updater, this doesn’t make a difference.
The trial period began right after launching DEVONthink 4 for the first time. Possibly remaining trial time can be still used of course.
Thanks CG. Just to be clear, do you mean the trial period starts as soon as I launch the new release version?
No, the trial started the first time any version of DEVONthink 4 was started.
OK, I didn’t realise that. Hmmm, looks like decision time has arrived sooner than I expected.
Actually, CG, doesn’t your explanation contradict what Bluefrog said in his reply to this April 5 post?
That “DEVONthink 4 is a beta, not a trial edition. It is also not intended for mission-critical or production use, though it is stable and you need to make that decision for yourself. There will be a trial period when the gold master version is publicly released.”
Unfortunately, here our technical support has exceeded his competences and answered a license model question. If this should have caused confusion, we apologize.
OK eboehnisch … so what is the correct situation?
Well, just as @cgrunenberg laid our here:
When you had already had the beta running, this counted as trial time. If you used up the 30 days or 150 hours of runtime, the public version asks for a license code.
Please note that we have a two week no-questions-asked refund policy should you decide to purchase and then feel it’s still not for you.
This is the popup message I got when I tried to open DT4beta on my main machine (Mac mini) three days ago:
“THIS BETA HAS EXPIRED ON JUNE 30, 2025 Our public beta releases usually run for four to eight weeks and must then be replaced by either a new public beta or the final release. While this usually happens automatically through the Check for Updates mechanism, you may have missed to install the update before the expiry date. Please visit our web site and download a new public beta or the final release from our Download page.”
The sync’d version on my laptop (Macbook Air) is still happily running DTbeta4.
I’m still somewhat confused, especially as I was trying the beta with the assumption that I could take as long as I needed with it, given what Bluefrog said back in April, and then start again afresh with the release version and its trial as and when that was released.
After quitting it the next time it won’t launch any longer. And of course usage of betas is not recommended in production environments.
OK, we’re going around in circles. I don’t think this is entirely satisfactory, but I get the message.