Knowledgebase

If your license key has expired then it is necessary to download the portable version of PDF-XChange Editor from the previous builds archive, available here. You will need to be signed into your user account, holding an Editor license to see previous builds.

1.  Go to the PDF-XChange Editor Downloads page.

2. Click the dropdown arrow beside the Download button, then click Editor Plus Portable Version:

The portable version of PDF-XChange Editor will then download.

3. When the download is complete, open the compressed folder, click the Extract tab and then click Extract all:

The Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box will open. 

4. Click Browse to select a destination for the application, then select the desired folder and click Extract:

Please note that we recommend the creation of a new folder for this purpose, as doing so avoids the possibility of conflicts with other files on your portable device.

The folder that contains the portable drive will open when the extraction is complete:

PDF-XChange Editor is then available to be used on this portable drive. We now offer both 32 and 64-bit versions of the portable for download. Note that as with our installed products, officially we can only support their use on versions of Windows still receiving updates form Microsoft. (Microsoft's official “Windows 10 End of Life” date is - Oct. 14th 2025)
Using older versions of Windows may still work, but we cannot guarantee effective support for issues encountered in older environments.

Follow these steps to open and license the portable version of PDF-XChange Editor: 

1. Open the file that contains PDF-XChange Editor, then double-click PDFXEdit to launch the application:

PDF-XChange Editor will open.

2. Click the Help tab, then click License Key:

The Preferences dialog box will open and the Registration category will be selected.

3. Click Add New License Key:

The Add New License Key/Activation Code dialog box will open:

4. Enter the key into the text box and click Continue.

Your license key is then applied to the portable version of PDF-XChange Editor.

If you encounter any issues during this process then please contact support@pdf-xchange.com for assistance.

Updating the portable version of PDF-XChange Editor (rather than reinstalling) avoids the need to reapply your license key and also means that customizations to the user interface are retained. PDF-XChange will sometimes request that users update their version of the application in order to resolve certain issues. Follow the steps below to update. (Please note that settings and user interface customizations cannot be carried over from V6 or Earlier to V7 or later)

1. Open the folder that contains the portable version of PDF-XChange Editor, then click and drag the Settings.dat file (and the Stamps folder if you have one) to the desktop:

2. Group-select and delete the remaining files in the folder.

3. Follow the installation instructions to download, extract and install the latest version of the application.

4. Copy the settings.dat file (and Stamps folder) from the desktop into the folder of the new installation of the application.

The new installation of the application is then up to date and will contain the settings and customizations of the previous installation.

If you encounter any issues with licensing after performing an update, your license key may be expired or blocked due to an upgrade. Please contact support@pdf-xchange.com with your license key and any error message encountered, so that we can assist you promptly.