Feature Request - Allow installation of Indesign Plug-in on Virtual Machine

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BrianS

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Feb 25, 2015, 10:57:49 AM2/25/15
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I'd like to request that XMPie follow the lead of Adobe, Enfocus and others and update the EULA to allow a second installation of the uDirect / uCreate plugin on a Windows Virtual Machine running within MAC OS, without having to purchase a second license.

Adobe's Language is as follows:

You may activate the Software on up to 2 devices (or virtual machines) at a time, if
these activations are associated with the same Adobe ID for the same individual, unless stated at
​ ​
http://www.adobe.com/go/activation. However, you may not use the Software on these devices simultaneously.

​Enfocus has a provision for Double Activation as well, they ask the customer to sign an agreement which says:

I acknowledge that the EULA (End-User License Agreement) for the Enfocus product I purchased
specifies that the product may be used on one Computer only and that this policy is enforced using
​ ​
software activation technology.
 Hereby I request that I am allowed to activate the Enfocus product I purchased (with the product
name, version and product key specified at the bottom of this letter) on two (2) Computers at the
same time.
​ ​
I understand this is allowed by Enfocus under the condition that the product is used on both
​ ​
Computers by the same user only and that it will not be used simultaneously.


The Process for creating a Feature Request with XMPie is to Open a Support Case by emailing sup...@xmpie.com

Igor

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:02:41 AM2/25/15
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XMPie has their own EULA and licensing mechanism , Adobe for example has now subscription based licenses but it doesn't mean XMPie has to follow the same.
In any case   what is a nature of this request ? Why you think it is important?
Igor.

BrianS

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:14:26 AM2/25/15
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I'm working on a project to replace all of our Prepress MAC machines with an iMAC with Windows running virtualized via Parallels.
The larger Graphics Arts Software vendors are allowing this and by extension it expands the Prepress / Designer's effectiveness by providing a larger set of tools on their desk.

As far as your questions:
what is a nature of this request ? Why you think it is important?

It will save me Money

Mark Kuehn

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:19:00 AM2/25/15
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I totally agree.

-Mark

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Igor

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:24:09 AM2/25/15
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First Adobe license stand "However, you may not use the Software on these devices simultaneously." , I mean using Parallels or VMWare could be the case it will be hard to vendor check it and from my experience  , trust is a nice things then it enforced.
Second I understand what you want to save money , same as XMPie would like to be able to produce new features and expand it's offering , hence it has to make money 
Third I will pass your request.

BrianS

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:33:54 AM2/25/15
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Thanks Igor.
What else is a User Forum for but to posit a discussion on the use of an Application?
I'm not trying to poke the bear (well maybe a little) by posting this request publicly, but it will be interesting to see how much of the XMPie user base agrees.

I don't see a mechanism to Follow and "Me Too" feature requests in the XMPie Support Portal, can you point me there?

Igor

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Feb 25, 2015, 11:50:07 AM2/25/15
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First you can place any request and ask others,  poke the bear , as you can see I like to hunt.
Second similar as you are I do not have access to such system , so placing requests can be by email me, support , we used to have something but I think this no longer available.
I think we can open generic discussion even here and place those requests , I think it is beneficial as for users as for XMPie, as you can see I do active on this forum and some other XMPie R&D members are.
Now regarding requests in general , all requests received by XMPie going to R&D , they put weight on each request depends on many factors .
R&D also try to bring innovation and create features , modules that nobody thought or requested, bug fixes ...., market direction ....
In the end all this comes to resources ... 
Igor.

couch

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Feb 25, 2015, 4:26:07 PM2/25/15
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I have a couple VMs with different versions of InDesign installed, and I use one uDirect license by simply deactivating the license on one installation, and activating it on the one I need.

Also, BTW, the way to submit feature requests is via a form in the http://info.xmpie.com website.  I have noticed in the past that requests from customers seem to get more weight from R&D than they do when submitted by staff, so I would recommend you put your own name and voice to your feature requests.

Brian Shipe

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Feb 25, 2015, 6:52:50 PM2/25/15
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Thanks Couch,
I had the same thought while commuting this afternoon. Seems like the XMpie Activation process is much more reliable than other Variable Data publishing applications, so that workflow would be fairly painless.

I appreciate the tip on feature requests. Apparently I received bad information.

On Feb 25, 2015 4:26 PM, "couch" <sco...@gmail.com> wrote:
I have a couple VMs with different versions of InDesign installed, and I use one uDirect license by simply deactivating the license on one installation, and activating it on the one I need.

Also, BTW, the way to submit feature requests is via a form in the http://info.xmpie.com website.  I have noticed in the past that requests from customers seem to get more weight from R&D than they do when submitted by staff, so I would recommend you put your own name and voice to your feature requests.

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David Baldaro

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Mar 9, 2015, 8:11:44 PM3/9/15
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I second Steve's process. I am using on MacBook, with InDesign CS6, CC and CC 2014 - I can quickly swop between InDesign instances and swop the licenses between them. If I need to move that license to another machine (Parallels) then I can easily do that as well. 

Another thought would be to look at uCreate Designer, which was (when I was there) the same as uCreate Print, just without 'dynamic print' option - this ideal for editing templates but without the ability to print - and at a greatly reduced cost. 

Dave

couch

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Mar 9, 2015, 8:43:48 PM3/9/15
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uMerge is under $40 and offers another alternative:

It is not as full-featured as uDirect when used stand-alone on the desktop. But, if you save the document to a uProduce server, then you get uDirect-like features.

George Marsh

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Mar 10, 2015, 1:09:13 AM3/10/15
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Does uMerge work with plan files?

couch

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Mar 10, 2015, 1:31:31 AM3/10/15
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uMerge includes the new uProduce connectivity feature that allows you  to "open from uProduce" and "save to uProduce".

Assuming that you open a document from uProduce, then you will get plan editing capability inside of InDesign/uMerge and proofset provided by the server (even if using SQL server datasources and even if using uImage).

However, remember that this feature cannot (currently) be used for cross media campaigns. For a VDP or uStore project, it is possibly a viable option.

Also, note that the uProduce connectivity feature is available only on version 7 and later, and, it requires an available connection license. 
The number of desktop connections is controlled by a server license. There will be 1, 3 or 5 connections permitted depending on the PersonalEffect Solution that was purchased. (Additional connection licenses can be purchased.)

David Baldaro

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Mar 10, 2015, 6:31:42 AM3/10/15
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"The number of desktop connections is controlled by a server license." - really? :-(

Personally I can see a case for allowing unlimited access to things like uCreate Designer or uMerge - within the organisation - because that's where they work best. 
Things like uMerge and the uProduce connection tools are useless outside the organisation because the vast majority will have firewalls, proxys, VPNs and other security measures in places that render these tools useless. 

The more propagation and access to the design tools that an organisation can have without increasing spend will only add the growth. Clearly this argument only holds true if an organisation has invested in a server already. 

Dave

George Marsh

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Mar 10, 2015, 6:49:02 AM3/10/15
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We have an issue where we have a library of legacy InDesign documents linked to plan files that may need editing/updating by designers without a uCreate licence. This is before the programming step, and in some cases we may not have a non-programmed version. 

What I'm hoping for is a version that allows the designer to open a previously programmed document, link to plan/proof set, possibly step through records (jump to longest/shortest etc) and turn the proofset off. No need to run outputs as we have a server. 

I really can't understand why uDirect Designer etc don't acknowledge/allow working with documents with external plan files. Even if they could run up to say 5 (watermarked) records, what's the issue?

David Baldaro

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Mar 10, 2015, 7:54:04 PM3/10/15
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uDirect Designer should allow this. 
One other train of thought (and Steve might be able to confirm/deny this) but what are the capabilities of the uCreate Print free trial after the 30 day?
I know that the output is limited - but that is not needed here. The question is, "Could you still connect to a plan file, edit and save" with an out-dated free trial?

couch

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Mar 10, 2015, 8:27:22 PM3/10/15
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The features of / differences between the uDirect/uMerge desktop tools are documented in the release notes here:

Neither permit you to create a document and link to a plan file - or to open an InDesign document (on the desktop) which is linked to a plan. 
The only solutions for documents linked to uPlan are:
1) to use the uProduce Connectivity feature (assuming you have a server and are not doing Cross Media), 
2) to deactivate/activate a uCreate Print or uCreate Designer license to move them between computers.
3) buy another uCreate Print or uCreate Designer license. (which is back to where we started the thread)

Dave, I understand (and can't say I disagree with) your comments about limiting the number of desktop connections to the server. But don't "shoot the messenger" :)  
There are obviously business decisions behind this which we are not aware of and that may change in future. - Especially if enough customers tell the product manager via the feature request form: http://info.xmpie.com/app/cip.nsf/contactus?openform&type=102

George Marsh

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Mar 11, 2015, 3:13:44 AM3/11/15
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Free trial definitely can't connect to plan files and gives a warning when opening documents that are already linked. Will try again with designer. 

Thanks
George

George Marsh

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Mar 12, 2015, 11:16:15 AM3/12/15
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Thanks for the pointer to the table - I had looked and couldn't see it before posting. The responsive menu for the table of contents wasn't obvious until I went full screen with my browser. 

uCreate Print Designer does work with Plan files. uCreate/uDirect in demo mode doesn't. Cheers
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