Pagemaker Windows - activate Trial

[JAN24137400qvxt]

I have a Professer on campus who swears by Pagemaker for Windows and has used it since the early 2000's. He is moving to a newer windows 10 computer (which has been running PM 7 with no issue) and we have managed to lose his install disks. We still have a copy of the original order through Adobe with the license key. I opened a support ticket with Adobe for assistance and was told basically to go fish.

I know the program has been out of support for years. I've been able to download a trial version of Pagemaker so I then asked support about how to enter my license key to activate it and was told to go to the Community forum for help as they no longer support PM.

I don't see an obvious way to enter the license key. Anybody have any suggestions? 

I am not looking forward to being the one to tell the Prof that his only option is to go to InDesign especially since my boss (who is no longer here) was the one that would not let the Prof hold onto the install disks!

[John T Smith]

I don't use that program, but 'most' programs will have an activation page when you press F1 to get to Help

>my boss (who is no longer here) was the one that would not let the Prof hold onto the install disks

I hope he was fired for stupidity !!!

[Nancy OShea]

A nice gesture on your part but not practical.

Aldus Pagemaker came out in 1985 for early Apple Macintosh and Windows 1.  It was subsequently bought by Adobe and ended after 2001.  Even if you had an old supporting computer, it's fair to say that activation is no longer possible due to it's advanced age. 

Software has a shelf-life of 3-5 years after which it needs to be replaced with modern software that's compatible with modern equipment and operating systems.  

Current day replacements are InDesign, QuarkExpress or Affinity Publisher.  Some people use MS Publisher.  

Sorry I don't have better news for you.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Unlike current products, the trial versions of PageMaker were not able to be used for a full install, hence there not being any way to insert your serial. Full installers were only available on disk media.

Since there is so much malware infected versions out there, I hesitate to suggest this, but if you can find a disk image (.iso) "out there" or even buy old disk media on ebay, since you do have your serial number, you should be good to go. It sounds like you might have found the trial version that way anyway.

The fact is, PM 7 was not designed to run in Win10, and even though it IS possible (I have it running on a Win10 virtual machine) there's nothing to say that the next minor "update" to Windows won't break PM for good, and now your professor is so far away from being able to convert old files to ID (since CS6 was the last version that could do that anyway) that delaying the crossover to ID will be a large lesson in regret. I deal with people everyday that need old files converted (I do it as a billable service), and when faced with the cost of doing that as opposed to the cost of buying current supported software, it's a no brainer.

[dcambly]

I have a similar difficulty using PageMaker in October 2022. I used PageMaker to produce a non-profit publication from 1995-2005. Now the local Archives is asking for PDFs of all 112 issues of this local magazine. In my closet I found a 2005 Acer laptop we used with Windows XP on it along with PageMaker. The original disc along with the packing label is also there too. It is the final release of PageMaker 7.x. Every issue of the magazine is in PageMaker format. The laptop still connects with the Internet. Is there a possible way of activating the legally purchased software? If there is other software that can read PageMaker files please let me know. Thank You

[kglad]

pagemaker on that xp computer was never activated?

[dcambly]

I had to format it and re-instal XP and software.

[Nancy OShea]

It's a shame you didn't convert PageMaker files to a more generic file format. 

I think InDesign can still read PM7 files.  But files from pre-PM7 era are probably a lost cause now.  Hopefully the magazine kept hard copies somewhere that can be scanned and digitized for archival purposes.

[Test Screen Name]

PageMaker came and went long before software activation was invented. If you have the serial number, it should be enough. Somehow...

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

@dcambly : Yes, all PM7 requires is a serial number that came with the software package. It's a 24-digit number in this format xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. There was a situation where some updates also required the serial number of a previous version, so it depends on whether the PM7 install disk is a full version or an upgrade.

"I think InDesign can still read PM7 files"

No, unfortunately @Nancy OShea ; the last version to do so was CS6. If they have that (or any version of ID before that), conversion is possible.

Regardless, converting is not the main issue here. If they are merely doing PDF archives of the existing documents, then one will want to keep them in PageMaker. Otherwise, it's necessary to recompose the files and deal with missing graphics, missing/incompatible fonts, text reflow, etc etc etc when you open them in ID. The amount of work to massage these back into what was in the PM files wouldn't be worth the time.

I'm actually currently working on a large project of exactly this kind of archive. In my case my client has hundreds of books from the 1995-2000 era that they want PDF archives of. Fortunately, their graphic designers were very good and kept all the assets, so it was comparitvely easy to reopen them in PM and make PDFs (i.e.1-2 hours work each, as opposed to many times that to recompose in ID).

[dcambly]

Likely thought the same as many others that PageMaker would not disappear. I thought too late having paid for every version and update, it would somehow survive, or not leave us out of luck. I do have all of the original graphics and did create a few PDFs many years ago. A year or two ago I was doing something on the laptop with XP after a crash. I'm sure many people remember the XP re-instal. All of my discs are legal and have the serial numbers. You made me look at the number of pages being archived 5,376 plus a few supplements.

[dcambly]

PS: it's the full version of PageMaker

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse]

Well, if you have the full installer and a serial number, you should be good to go. Is that not happening?

[NESAR35022315mbxp]

pleas mera adobe pagemaker expired ho geya please enable

[kglad]

@NESAR35022315mbxp 

enable what?

[Nancy OShea]

There's nothing to enable.  Pagemaker ended 23 years ago.