RoboHelp 2017 and 2019 Classic still part of the RoboHelp subscription?

[Philip.H]

We use mainly RH2017 under the subscription licensing to manage hundreds of legacy RH projects.

Our RH 2017 and 2019 Classic are now asking for a serial number while the Reimagined 2019+ are still working fine.

Did Adobe remove the old RH from the subscription licensing? If so, what is everyone doing to be able to use the old version if they were on the subscription? 

[Peter Grainge]

You haven't said what happens if you put the serial number in for 2017. Does it then work or is there an issue with the activation servers? 

2019 Classic should work via your subscription as that covered both. Certainly I have a machine with 2019 Classic running under a subscription licence as well as 2019 New UI. Also 2020 and 2022 for what it is worth.

I suggest for this one you need to go to Adobe Support. See https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/enterprise-support.other.html#robohelp for your Adobe Support options. The email link tcssup@adobe.com is recommended as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp.

Only Adobe can sort out licencing issues. I haven't seen others report this for 2017 and 2019 Classic.

One last thought, are you trying to set up Classic on a new machine. Then there might be issues if you did not uninstall on the old machine. Again that is for Adobe to advise you.

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My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

Hi Peter,

I have never had a serial number for RoboHelp. I have always used the subscription license, which just had me log into my Adobe account with the subscription.

RoboHelp 2017 and 2019 Classic was working fine on this same machine for almost 4 years under subscription until recently. Now only the Reimagined versions work and it put me on a trial for Classic.

Thank you for the support contacts. I'll reach out to Adobe now that I know it is supposed to work.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Yes, you might be running into this problem with the old acivation servers. See https://helpx.adobe.com/tech-comm-suite/kb/deprecated-internet-explorer-10-with-ims.html

[Philip.H]

Thank you, Jeff. I will check with tech support and let them know of this knowledge base article.

[Peter Grainge]

I didn't think 2017 was available on subscription but Support will confirm that.

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My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

I can personally confirm from experience that 2017 was part of the subscription for at least the last 4 years. 

I'll let everyone know what I find out from support.

[Peter Grainge]

2019 was five years ago and I thought it was RoboHelp 2019 that introduced the subscription option. Support will confirm.

If it does turn out that you need a key for 2017, don't worry if you cannot find it. There were very few differences between the 2017 and 2019 Classic versions so you should be OK on that score as the subscription definitely covers 2019 Classic and New UI.

________________________________________________________

My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

It did NOT go well with support.
First off. I was bounced around the chat system many times before they could find someone that could answer questions about RH. After they found someone, I asked if 2017 was part of the subscription. The rep told me to wait while he checked with the RH team and then came back and said with certainty, yes. When I tried it again, the serial number came up, and the rep passed me on to another tech support. That rep told me that the subscription would not work. When I copy and pasted the chat from the previous rep, the previous rep then called me on the phone. He did a complete 180 by saying 2017 and 2019 Classic would not work and could not have worked for the past couple of years unless we had bought a license and received a serial number. He confirmed on our account histories that we never had serial number. He told me it’s impossible now to buy a serial. So basically, he doesn’t believe that we have been using both 2017 and 2019 Classic on subscription for years until it stopped working last month.
Any ideas? We need the old version to work. Does anyone have a 2017 serial number to sell? Can that even work?

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Echoing what Peter said - this is why we all say this - "The email link tcssup@adobe.com is recommended as it reaches a team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp."

[Peter Grainge]

That is plain wrong. I have 2019 Classic running from a subscription. I have asked an Adobe contact to see if they can help

 ________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

It definitely seems wrong to me too.

We have been using just individual licenses for years.

Are you able to try 2017 with your subscription? 

[Peter Grainge]

For future issues, chat was not the best place to go. Emails go to a team dedicated to RoboHelp, chat does not. Hence advising that option. 

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

Here's a follow up email I received today.  Does it seem the "internal team" is the same as "team dedicated to Technical Communication Suite products including RoboHelp?"

Thank you for contacting customer support.
 
As per our discussion regarding Adobe RoboHelp 2017. We checked with the internal team and RH 2017 will not work with the current subscrition. The serial-based licensing system is already end-of-life (EOL). RH 2017 will only work with the serial number.
The subscription-based license system started in RH 2019. And as we discussed, the Subscription plan will only work for the latest version and one version back.
I hope the given information has helped you. Please let me know if you still need any assistance.

Please feel free to write back in case of any further concerns. You may also contact the technical support team directly via phone (1800-833-6687 followed by IVR option 2128 for the US) or chat (  https://www.adobe.com/getsupport) for immediate assistance

[Philip.H]

I have the same problem with 2019 Classic, so I ask them to clarify if the subscription is supposed to work with 2019 Classic without a serial number.

And I also asked them to be specific on when 2017 stopped being a part of the subscription. Just seems so odd the rep claimed on the phone yesterday that we couldn't have been using 2017 with the sub without a serial number, but we've been doing it for years.

We'll see what they say. 

[Peter Grainge]

I have gone back to my contact. I have 2019, 2020 and 2022 on one machine so that is plain wrong. One version back is related to Support, not installation. 

Do you have have individual licenses or are you on an enterprise license?

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Peter Grainge]

I did open 2017 when you posted and was not prompted. It was installed with a serial number. On that part I agree serial number is needed for 2017 only.

I am travelling so unable to test anything now.

Do you have a spare machine on which you can install 2019 under subscription?

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

Yes, I will try 2019 Classic on a spare machine this weekend and let you know.

Curious, how did you get a serial number for RH 2017? Were they still selling perpetual licenses back then? And if you had a serial number, did you still have to buy a subscription? 

[Peter Grainge]

2017 was serial number and I don't believe there was a subscription option. 

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

"2017 was serial number and I don't believe there was a subscription option."

This is like a Twilight Zone episode. Multiple people in our company have been using 2017 under subscription for at least the past 4 years and have never bought a serial number.

[Peter Grainge]

It seems there was an issue affecting some subscription licences. Adobe are looking at whether this is the issue here.

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Peter Grainge]

I've got to the bottom of the licensing and will explain when I get home. Has the issue been fixed? 

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.

[Philip.H]

Thank you, Peter.

No, it hasn't been fixed. I still cannot access 2017 or 2019 Classic with the subscription, and I don't have serial numbers for either one.

I asked for more details about when 2017 was no longer part of the subscription, and I got this confusing reply that still doesn't explain how we were using 2017 without a serial number using the personal RH subscription for years until it stopped working last month:

The subscription eventually started with the RH 2019 version. Before that, there was a serial number sign-in for RoboHelp.(perpetual license). But now, as you recently purchased an Individual subscription to RH 2022, RH 2019 will not work with that plan. Only VIP,eVIP, and ETLA subscriptions provide access to n-4 versions (n=current version).

[Peter Grainge]

That is still wrong. 2017 was available on subscription. I wasn't aware. I will go back to my contact again. 

________________________________________________________
My site www.grainge.org includes many free Authoring and RoboHelp resources that may be of help.