Compatibility of PDF-XChange Standard and Lucion FileCenter

[david king]

I purchased PDF-XChange Pro earlier this year and have been using the PDF-XChange Standard driver for PDF printing. I recently installed a trial copy of the Lucion FileCenter Pro document management system (http://www.lucion.com/) for evaluation for going paperless using a Windows 10 Pro desktop with a document scanner. When I installed the FileCenter trial version, the PDF-XChange Standard disappeared from my list of available printers. I then uninstalled FileCenter and reinstalled PDF-XChange Pro to restore access to the PDF-XChange Standard print driver.

Are there any known incompatibilities between PDF-XChange Standard print driver and FileCenter and workarounds? Although I have submitted a problem report to Lucion Support, I ask here because it appears that FileCenter was developed using the PDF-XChange SDK to provide its PDF functionality and installs some related drivers. Also, the Pro version of FileCenter includes an option to install a FileCenter PDF Printer which appears to be PDF-XChange Lite. However, the disappearance of PDF-XChange Standard from my list of available printers occurred whether the FileCenter PDF Printer was installed or not.

[Patrick-Tracker Supp]

Hello david king

Thank you for the post and report. FileCenter licenses our technology including Lite printer driver. I just installed the FileCenter trial as well and my standard printer was replaced by FileCenter PDF printer (AKA PDF-XChange Lite).

We have called them and they are aware of the issue, which is a new issue, and our development team and Lucion are working on a resolution. We will update you on the matter as information becomes available.

Thank you for the report. Please do also report this issue to FileCenter to expedite the resolution.

Cheers!

[david king]

Note that the problem with PDF-XChange Standard disappearing seems to occur whether you install the FileCenter PDF Printer (aka PDF-XChange Lite) or not.

I initially did a default installation of the FileCenter Pro trial which includes the FileCenter PDF Printer. After discovering the problem with Standard, I uninstalled the FileCenter trial using the Control Panel but found that an entry for PDF-XChange Lite was left behind in Start - Programs, as well as a driver in Program Files (x86)\FileCenter\Drivers. After removing those remnants and re-installing PDF-XChange Pro to restore Standard, I reinstalled the FileCenter Pro trial but this time without the FileCenter PDF Printer. However, Standard immediately disappeared again.

[Patrick-Tracker Supp]

Hi David,

Thank you for your diligence. We have discovered the cause of this issue. Usually, our installers would not replace it's own driver as long as a new name was given during installation.

For example, if PDF-XChange Printer 2012 was installed, and you installed the same printer driver with the same name, the original would simply be replaced. In the most recent build, the installer would automatically replace the existing instance of its driver regardless of the name. The code has been changed and the issue has been rectified for the next build. The new installer has also been given to the developers at FileCenter for implementation.

If you still have not regained the use of PDF-XChange Standard, please do run the installer below: https://www.pdf-xchange.com/PDFX5SA.zip

You may not see the printer in your list, however, you are able to manually add it using CMD.

Please open the command prompt as administrator (right click-->Run as administrator). Next, please go to the following directory: C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF-XChange 5

Once there please type the following. You may add whatever printer name you desire between the double quotations.

Code: Select all

 pdfSaver5/addprinter "printername"

The CMD line should look like so:

Code: Select all

C:\Windows\system32> cd C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF-XChange 5
C:\Program Files\Tracker Software\PDF-XChange 5> pdfSaver5/addprinter "printername"

You will find both instances of the printer under one Icon in the control panel:



You will notice that there are three printers listed here as I have done this procedure already. If you make a mistake, you can simply right click and remove the printer:

This will remove all the printers associated with that specific driver, and remove it from the control panel. You will then need to add it using the instructions above.

I hope that help!
Once again, thank you for your diligence and for reporting this issue!

[david king]

It is not clear to me whether your response is saying that PDF-XChange Standard can be reinstalled on top of an installation of FileCenter Pro by following the instructions in your response.

As noted in my previous response, I was able to restore the PDF-XChange Standard printer by uninstalling FileCenter and reinstalling PDF-XChange Pro. In fact, I did this twice: first after installing FileCenter with the FileCenter PDF Printer and second after installing FileCenter without the FileCenter PDF Printer. However, I did not try reinstalling PDF-XChange Standard without first uninstalling FileCenter and as a result, uninstalling the Xchange Internal Driver.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi David,

Thanks for the post - you should be able to install the PDF-XChange Standard printer on top of the FileCenter printer, but you may not be able to do this with a standard GUI install. Patrick's instructions are the standard instructions for installing multiple copies of our printer (usually done to have multiple printers, with unique settings and unique names).

You can try running the XChange Standard installer again with a GUI (installation that allows you to click options, etc. with the mouse), but you may find that it just overwrites your FileCenter printer. If that's the case, then you'll need to use Patrick's instructions (manual page link below) to install a new instance of the PDF-XChange printer through the windows command line:
https://help.pdf-xchange.com/EUM/de ... inter_2012

I understand that this is inconvenient and not a fix, as such, but a workaround. As Patrick mentioned, we've ascertained the cause and are working to fix the issue for the next release.

Apologies for the inconvenience, but I hope the above helps!