Family Historian User Group

I have tried to get my 30% discount coupon. But i am not able to log on my account. The page wont accept my password and when i use the "forgot password" link on the page, i don't get any mail with a reset link. According to the FB MH group, i am not alone with this problem.

They have now posted this:

"We are experiencing very high traffic levels.
e-mails from this site are currently being delayed.
We are working on the problem. Please do not request new accounts or passwords until this message is removed.
Thank You"

Big surprise

FH6 and earlier were completely stand-alone programs, so if you bought a retail copy with a CD and license key, that was all you needed and you could carry on happily using it without registering or contacting Calico Pie ever again.

FH7 is fundamentally different, and cannot be activated without registering. This has the advantage for the user that lost keys become a thing of the past and simplifies reinstallation after PC maintenance for example. For Calico Pie, it has the advantage that it actively polices installations, and locks your licenced copies to particular hardware, in the same way that Windows 10 does. This is bound to mean heavy web traffic in the early days, given the demand that has built over the past few months...

I'll add that there's no point posting here about problems with the Family Historian website/processes -- this is an independent user group; we can't do anything about those problems.

That explains why I appeared to have an account in that the site recognised my email address and wouldn't let me register again, but I couldn't find a record of a password in my password manager.

I too failed to receive a password reset email and opened a support ticket. To give Calico Pie their due, I had an email reply with a new password within minutes. As said, there is now an explanatory warning on the website, but it wasn't there when I was trying to reset my non-existent password!

It looks as though the problem could be more widespread than just email issues. I tried to enter my name and registration key from the v5-v6 upgrade email from Calico Pie to get my discount. Info was cut and pasted but the message still came back "Registration Key not Recognised".

Will try again when the warning message on email problems is removed.

Some people like me didnt even know version 7 was out.
Nor do we understand about codes and discount coupons and all the rest of it.

I tried to enter my name and registration key from the v5-v6 upgrade email from Calico Pie to get my discount. Info was cut and pasted but the message still came back "Registration Key not Recognised".

Did you buy a full licence for 5 back in the day? I believe you need to have bought full 5 or full 6 to get a discount. If like me you've been upgrading since dinosaurs ruled the earth (V2 onwards) you have to buy a full copy of 7. So it should work if you enter your V5 registration key as long as it was a full copy of V5.

Some people like me didnt even know version 7 was out.
Nor do we understand about codes and discount coupons and all the rest of it.

V7 was announced today on the Family Historian mailing list and these forums (viewtopic.php?f=30&t=18264).

Take a look at What's new at www.family-historian.co.uk/whats-new-in-7 but I'd sit on your hands for a few days before purchasing (if you decide to do so) until the feeding frenzy subsides You'll also want to check that any plugins you depend on have been updated to work with the new version -- Mike Tate is working as fast as he can, but he has to sleep sometimes. https://pluginstore.family-historian.co.uk/all-plugins will let you check which currently work with FH7.

On codes and coupons etc. put simply, if you bought a full copy of V5 or V6 in the past, you can get a discount of V7. How much depends on whether you bought V5 or V6, and if V6, when you bought it (before or after the free upgrade to 7 was offered for V6 purchasers). If you upgraded to V5, you'll have to pay full price.

Nothing has come to me on the mailing list yet, but it has been a bit hit and miss at times. I did notice that the store was down just now, so it will probably take a day or two to settle down...

I read somewhere that v7 could be installed on 2 locations. For mee at my primary pc and my laptop. But now i cant find it anymore? What is correct?

Yes, you can install and activate the licence on 2 PCs that are used by yourself (not 2 PCs used by different people).

I found out via a pop up message when I opened FH at about 4.30 pm today. Must say I was quite surprised as I had not heard anything on here at the time.
Anne

E Wilcock wrote: ↑

08 Dec 2020 16:10

Some people like me didnt even know version 7 was out.
Nor do we understand about codes and discount coupons and all the rest of it.

You are not alone. The first I knew it was out, was when I saw posts referring to FH7, even then it took a few moments for the penny to drop
As for discounts when upgrading, I had dig deep to find I was eligible, it was not obvious unless you looked for it. But alls well that ends well!

rfj1001 wrote: ↑

08 Dec 2020 16:08

It looks as though the problem could be more widespread than just email issues. I tried to enter my name and registration key from the v5-v6 upgrade email from Calico Pie to get my discount. Info was cut and pasted but the message still came back "Registration Key not Recognised".

Will try again when the warning message on email problems is removed.

Got an email from CP at 2200 last night that the problem with unrecognised v6 registration keys had been fixed.

My discounted upgrade to v7 went through very smoothly this morning

I believe this is my first post, although I'm a long-time reader of the posts on the group!

I have a problem in that my computer tells me that the V7 download is unsafe. This may be a quirk in Microsoft Defender but it's the first time that this has happened to me with anything else I've downloaded. I'm tempted to either turn off Defender (don't remember installing it to be frank) or continuing to try and download it.

Can anyone offer me some useful advice? I'm sorry that this post is a call for help

For new software products, Microsoft Defender and other virus checkers usually err on the side of caution.

FH7 is safe to download and install.

Microsoft Defender comes willy-nilly with windows -- you didn't need to install it and you shouldn't turn it off.

Does it display a 'More info button' -- click on that and select 'Run Anyway' (I'm doing this from memory so I may not have exactly the right wording).

Thank you for your reply. Because I know that FH downloads are safe I was tempted to go for the 'download anyway' option but thought I'd check with the good people on the forum first.

Unfortunately clicking on that option only resets the screen back to the warning message. I've also managed to lose the activation key for the download since yesterday, which adds a further layer of complication to what ought to have been a straightforward process . Methinks I'm going to have to get in touch with Mr Orde for that.

I know I'll get there eventually: my apologies in advance for any stupidish questions I may reluctantly post on here

The activation key was in the email they sent. Have you already deleted the email?

LornaCraig wrote: ↑

09 Dec 2020 16:38

The activation key was in the email they sent. Have you already deleted the email?

Thank you for prompting me, I have found it now after double checking. I don't delete emails very quickly and I'm usually much better at dealing with this kind of problem.

Mikey,
I use Epim as my Personal Information Manager, which I swear by.
It has everything I need to remember those passwords etc. It even has the ability to generate secure passwords at the click of a button.
It come with calendar, notes, e-mail, and contacts sections, even in the free version.
It has an iPad/android app so you can sync with your iPad/tablet calendar, contacts etc.
I’ve been using it for the past 20 years, and can’t fault it.
Give it a (free) try, you won’t be disappointed

Am I correct in thinking that it is no longer necessary to archive activation keys and downloaded installation media?
Once the installation activation key has been registered you only need your CP Account username and password?
Can you then install any downloadable copy of FH and activate it via the CP Account?

tatewise wrote: ↑

09 Dec 2020 19:14

Am I correct in thinking that it is no longer necessary to archive activation keys and downloaded installation media?
Once the installation activation key has been registered you only need your CP Account username and password?
Can you then install any downloadable copy of FH and activate it via the CP Account?

I'd been wondering about this kind of thing too. FH6 is the only version I've used, and I bought it on CD. I haven't got FH7 yet, but I'm expecting to pay the upgrade price when I do.

Thinking ahead to when I next change my computer:
(a) will I need the FH6 activation details as well as the FH7 ones? (I think this is basically Mike's question, but I've tied it to a specific scenario.)
(b) since my FH7 will be an upgrade rather than a fresh full price purchase, will I also need to keep my FH6 CD (and a CD drive) and install that before putting FH7 on it?

Upgrades since FH V5 have never need earlier versions of FH installed.
All they needed was the current installation media and the current licence details and the previous licence details.

Now with FH V7 when you purchase the upgrade you must supply your previous licence details to obtain a discount and the activation code. Once that has been activated when FH V7 is installed all you need is your CP Account details.
The fact that it is an upgrade and the previous licence details are all encapsulated in the activation code.

It is like when users upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10. Their Win 7 licence migrated to a Win 10 licence and activated Win 10.

Thanks, Mike.