Good morning @rpoole,
If you just installed PL3 and opened a folder with PL2 sidecars the virtual copies should not be created - this behavior is not correct.
If you can reproduce this behavior 100%, can you, please, clean your logs %UserProfile%\Documents\DxO PhotoLab 3 logs and then reproduce the issue? Then provide us with the log created and detailed steps.
Thank you,
Regards,
Svetlana G.
Interestingly, I was just informed by DxO support that we’re no longer licensed to run a previous version of Photolab after an upgrade. Not very clear in the EULA IMO, and it does work in practice, but there’s no guarantee that old license keys will continue to function apparently.
I certainly want to be able to run an old version if I run into something unexpected in the new one and want to compare, but for that I was told I should purchase a new version instead of an upgrade.
I think this is somewhat theoretical because PL2 continues to run even if the license was upgraded to PL3. But still, I can understand that position, because theoretically you could give away the old license key and run more copies of PL than you are actually allowed to. Therefore I can understand that they retain the right to revoke upgrade license keys.
According to my user account with DxO, versions that I upgraded, changed:
Nevertheless, I can still run DPL2 with the keys I entered long time ago. This might change which complies with current practices I encounter elsewhere.
One question remains: Will it be possible to get a key for a previous version to enable comparisons?
Yes, it continues to run (for now) as long as you stay on the same computer, but if you need/want to move for another computer for any reason and don’t have an available activation then you’re out of luck since DxO won’t reset the activation counter for an unlicensed version. (I asked. I’m no longer licensed was the answer.)
All DxO has to do to prevent me from running more too many copies of the software is count activations. If an upgrade is replacing the old version then it makes little sense for them to provide a new license key the way they currently do, which does give the impression of a new license having been purchased.
Comparison, and being able to open an image in the version I edited it in if there’s a problem in the new one, is the only reason I want to be able to run an old version, and not allowing this after an upgrade (in a more formal way than it happens to work now) is too restrictive IMO.
Capture One and Exposure (for two) don’t seem to have a problem with this. They don’t even mention upgrade in their license that I can see: it’s just a new license for the new version, not a replacement for the old one. (In the case of Exposure, they list both X4 and X5 as licensed products after my recent upgrade.) They also have more robust activation management though, that allows you to activate and deactivate from within the software, instead of having to contact DxO support to reset an activation counter manually. The software itself also deals with running multiple versions since sidecar files are written to version-specific directories, so that different versions can’t step on one another as with Photolab.
Hello guys,
Even if you activate PL3 your PL2 is running on your PC with its personal activation key (which is actually displayed in your personal account at dxo.com). So the comparison can be done with no problem.
Regards,
Svetlana G.
Svetlana
Can you carify if a new behavior for new computer.
Can we activate a old version on a new computer ?
Thanks
Pascal
I can’t say about the PL2 to PL3 upgrade since I haven’t purchased it, but PL1 is no longer listed under my account, and the answer support has given me is that it’s because I’m no longer licensed: I lost my PL1 license when I upgrade to PL2. True or not?
If true, why is the PL2 to PL3 upgrade any different?
Hello,
Second, when you do an upgrade the product in your account is replaced by a new one with the latest key and this is expected.
If I’m not mistaken if you didn’t use your license over the max limit of activations it’s still possible to activate it on the other machine.
Regards,
Svetlana G.
That it continues to run on the machine the upgrade is performed on isn’t an issue. That’s clearly true, today at least.
Yes, and this is because I’m no longer licensed to run PL1 after the upgrade, correct?
This is where we get to the fine print. What you say looks to be true today: as long as you have available activations on your old license you will be able to activate on a new computer. The problem is when you don’t have available activations and need to contact support to reset the activation counter. Then support says that they can’t help since you no longer have a license for the old version. There’s also no guarantee that DxO will continue to allow you to even run your old version since you’re simply not licensed to run it after the upgrade. This is a big difference compared to upgrades in which you’re given a new license without losing your old one.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the DxO license, except that I think it’s overly restrictive, and I don’t think the interpretation is abundantly clear from the EULA.
Yep, true to all. And yes, you can’t ask to reset the older version activation counter.
Regards,
Svetlana G.
Of course I can ask to reset the counter. 
The problem is that support says they can’t (or won’t) do it for a version I’m no longer licensed to run.
Maybe one can get lucky and reach an unusually compliant support person, but there are no guarantees once you’ve lost the license for the old version.
Sorry, it’s misprint from my side. Should be read as “can’t”.
Regards,
Svetlana G.
Thanks, then it’s clear.
Svetlana:
What I need to know and cannot seem to get a clear answer about (in another thread I started 4 days ago) is this: I plan to keep PL2 (with Nik) on my current Win 7 computer. It will be main photo editing computer and kept offline soon.
If I buy the PL3 upgrade, can I put that version only on my Win 10 computer. I do not plan to put PL2 on the Win 10 computer.
One version, one activation on each computer.
And–does the upgrade to PL3 include NIK? Hope my questions are clear.
Thanks.
Hello Nikki,
Regards,
Svetlana G.
Not to flog a horse that’s probably well and truly dead already, but …
… my only sticking point with this is that I lose the ability to move PL2 to another computer once I’ve purchased a PL3 upgrade and already have three PL2 activations. I can move PL3 as much as I want/need, but PL2 is restricted to existing installations.
Not that I particularly want to continue using PL2 at all if/when I buy PL3, but I dislike not being able to reinstall both PL2 and PL3 on a new computer in case of failure with DxO’s upgrade model. I do sometimes restore disk images instead of reinstall, and that may well circumvent the need for any new activation, but I’m really at the mercy of DxO as to whether or not I can keep the old version running.
Thanks. I have Nik Collection 2 that came with PL2. I do seem to remember that there were 2 install exe files so I guess that means I would install the Nik.exe first and then the PL3 update on the Win 10 computer. Does that sound correct? Or maybe the other way arpund makes more sense.
(Still have not had time to even get the Win 10 customized–having a small SSD drive is making everything very complicated due to default appdata file storage. Sigh.)
Hello,
Regards,
Svetlana G.