Upgrading Your Software

My company dropped software maintenance years ago. We need to upgrade. How much will it cost?

An upgrade to a subscription license is your only path forward. Contact your AMT representative for more information.

I have version 7.X of ExpertCAD and ToolDesigner. How do I install this on the Windows 10/11 operating system?

You don't.  It is not possible to install 7.x or earlier versions of software on Windows 7, 8.x, 10, 11 or later versions of the Windows operating system. The installation program does not recognize the operating system as being supported. Your only option is to upgrade your software to the latest release.

If I upgrade, will all my data files created from the old version of the software read into the new version?

Yes. All data files written by older versions are 100% compatible with the current release.

I only have budget to upgrade 2 of my 5 licenses. Can files written from the new version be read by the older one?

Maybe. It depends on which applications you are upgrading and what version(s) they are are. Periodically the file formats of the application change in order to implement new features or functions. When this happens the files written from these new versions of the software can't be read by older versions. Contact your AMT Software representative to discuss your situation to determine if there will be compatibility issues.

If I upgrade, will I have to retrain everyone to use the new version?

That shouldn't be necessary. We never remove functionality or fundamentally change how our software works in terms of the user interface, placement of menus and icons, short key commands, strokes, ... New functionality is blended into the software in additive form. On the ExpertCAD, ExpertCAM and ToolDesigner pages of this web site are the release summaries for each version of the software. These are very useful for you to see what has changed over time.

I don't want to upgrade my software but I do need to switch from the parallel port dongle to the USB key or other form of licensing. Can I do that?

Maybe. The old version of your software must be able to recognize the USB key. If it can't, then your only option is to upgrade. If it is compatible with the USB key security scheme, you can swap your parallel port dongle for a USB key. Because you do not have software maintenance, a fee is charged for this exchange. The USB key will be issued with licenses that authorize the same applications at the same version level you currently have. Changing to a different form of licensing may also be possible (iLicense of floating license). It all depends on what version of the software tou have. Contact your AMT Software representative to find out what your options are.

If I upgrade, will all my current ScriptLink custom macros, icons and short keys be compatible with the new release?

Provided you are not changing platforms (i.e. you are not switching from UNIX to Windows), they should be compatible. We can't say with 100% certainty that they will be because we don't know what you might have customized. A typical problem we run into is where a customer has "stepped on" a critical macro by overwriting the factory default macro with one that is totally different such that it interferes with the proper functionality intended. In any case, we can help with any problems that may arise. Contact your AMT Software representative to explain the issue(s).