Knowledgebase

XCVault.exe is a licensing utility that is installed by default with all PDF-XChange products. All users should note that some command line options for the XCVault utility have been updated in the V9 release of the products, and some new options have been added. System administrators should note that this information is stored within the Windows Registry. The method used to license the application can have an effect on both the storage location and the users to whom the license applies. The storage location dictates whether a license is available to the current user or all users. The license key information is stored in two locations when an XCVault file is used:

HKCU\Software\Tracker Software\Vault - for per-user settings

and

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Tracker Software\Vault - for per-machine settings. Note that administrative rights are required to modify this option.

It should also be noted that license information is stored in the Windows Registry and is encrypted using a machine-specific seed, which means that keys cannot be directly copied between hosts. This is especially important in the case of VDI environments, RDS farms that employ load balancing, and any case where the licensed software can be run on different hardware than that used when the key was applied. Further information on these issues is available here.

Standard Deployment

Copy and paste serial keys into the installer to implement them during installation. Alternatively, click the personal.xcvault file after installation has taken place.

Silent Deployment

XCVault files can also be used for silent deployment of serial keys after installation has taken place. A Windows command line can be used to push the XCVault file to each user that qualifies for a full license. The command line for operation is: XCVault.exe /Option <path_to_xcvault_file>. Available command line options are detailed below:

/AddKeys filename [/S] [/M] [/R]

Installs the specified license keys.

Parameters:

  filename     The full path to the *.xcvault file that contains license keys to be installed on the machine.
  /S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.
  /M           Installs keys into HKLM for per-machine use. This option requires administrative rights. If this option is not specified then keys will be installed in HKCU for per-user use and administrative rights are not required.
  /R           Specifies that new keys will be unencrypted when added.

/AddKeyData "<key>" [/M] [/S] [/R]

Installs the specified key.

Parameters:

  <key>     The full key body like "PER90-IgrWIoT2U...vhPjB3414=" needs to be specified here.
  /M           Installs key into HKLM for per-machine use. This option requires administrative rights. If this option is not specified then key will be installed in HKCU for per-user use and administrative rights are not required.
  /R           Specifies that new keys will be unencrypted when added.

/OpenKeys [/S] [/M]

Stores all keys in an open form, instead of encrypting them by machine-specific ID. This option is useful for terminal servers that have a load-balancing and/or VDI environment.

Parameters:

  /S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.
  /M           Decrypts keys only in the per-machine store (HKLM). This option requires administrative rights. If it is not specified then the keys will be changed only in the per-user store (HKCU).

/ProtectKeys [/S] [/M]

This option is the opposite of the "OpenKeys" command:

Parameters:

  /S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.
  /M           Encrypts keys only in the per-machine store (HKLM). This option requires administrative rights. If it is not specified then the keys will be changed only in the per-user store (HKCU).

/ActivateKeys [/S] [/AA]

Activates installed keys.

Parameters:

  /S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.
  /AA         Specifies that currently activated keys will be reused in the activation process.

/RemoveKeys [/S]

Removes all license keys for all products from the per-user store (HKCU). If the per-machine store (HKLM) is available for modification then all keys will be removed from it, otherwise keys from this store will be marked as removed for only the current user.

Parameters:

  /S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.

/Cleanup [/S]

Removes all license-related information for all installed products from per-machine (HKLM) and per-user (HKCU) stores. If the per-machine store is not empty, administrative right are required.

Parameters:

/S           Specifies silent mode and suppresses any messages with information about results.

/Install  Designates the utility as the default handler of *.xcvault files in the system. Requires administrative rights.

Example Command Lines

xcvault.exe /Install

xcvault.exe /AddKeys "c:\Personal.xcvault"

 xcvault.exe /OpenKeys

Passing License Details During Installation

The inclusion of XCVault files since version 5.5 and build 308 means that the command line install option KEY=<regkey> no longer passes license details to associated products. The command line can be used to resolve this issue and there are two methods available:

The first method is to use the option KEYFILE=<xcvault file> to specify the UNC location of the license vault file <filename>.xcvault. For example:

KEYFILE="C:\Users\JohnDoe\Desktop\Personal.xcvault".

The second method is use the option KEYDATA=<regkey> to specify the registration key with a text string. For example:

KEYDATA="PXP70-TE5t....f4kEL1ceNzE=".

The first method is recommended as the new keys are very complex and therefore less suited to being passed as strings at the command line. The details of these switches and examples of their use are available here.