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regcurry
regcurry16-Pearl
16-Pearl
March 25, 2020
Solved

Lost Help File in Mathcad 15

I had to reinstall Mathcad 15.  Now it cannot find the help files for either M045 or M050.

Any help is appreciated.  This is the error message I get when I click on Help>Mathcad Help or I press F1.

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Reg Curry

Fred_KohlheppAnswer
23-Emerald I
March 26, 2020

PTC has gotten a lot of flak for changing the licensing; but it's been pointed out that other vendors (Microsoft) are now "renting" you the software.  If PTC were putting out useful new editions annually there would probably be fewer complaints.  Note that there have been desertions (Alan Jackson one of the most prominent recent ones), so you are not alone.  (I would like to be able to continue running both 15 and Prime, but the "retired" annual fee is too large for me to justify.

 

Turns out that Express can be pretty powerful; it will challenge you to figure out work-arounds.  Luc Meekes has published a document with many of them, although I can't locate my copy right now.  Express will save a file, but if you open a file with "priviledged" features don't resave it--you'll lose all the advanced stuff that you could see in the original file as Express recomputes.

 

There is a lot of discussion here about alternatives, spend a little time browsing.

 

And, good luck!

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14 replies

VladimirN24-Ruby IV
24-Ruby IV
March 26, 2020

"Mathcad Installation & Licensing Support Center": https://support.ptc.com/support/mathcad_supportCenter.htm

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regcurry
regcurry16-PearlAuthor
16-Pearl
March 26, 2020

This is the most convoluted procedure I have ever encountered.  I don't want a new account.  I don't want to upgrade my account.  I just want my paid for Student Mathcad 15 to run permanently on my PC that I upgraded to Windows 10 Pro 64 bit.  If I follow the endless links in the link you provided, I get to a page that seems to be for licensing.  When I give it my product code it opens a page with most of my information.  However, THIS PAGE DOES NOT WORK!!!  It needs some Host ID; I have no idea what that is.  When I click on the Host ID blue link, I get an error message in my browser.  So, I am stuck with a temporary license that is of no use to me considering I paid for my copy of Mathcad 15 (student edition) and I have the product code.

 

If you could provide a little more direction; that would be helpful.  Otherwise, I have a useless copy of Mathcad, for which I paid.

Dr. J. Regnald Curry

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Fred_Kohlhepp23-Emerald I
23-Emerald I
March 26, 2020

PTC has moved from a paid permanent license to annual licenses (AKA rental agreements.)  I'm not sure how that's going to affect what you're trying to do.  Any time I've changed computers (once) I've had to release the license on the old computer before I could get a license on the new one.  (My licenses at home were tied to my job; since I've retired I've lost version 15 altogether, and am constrained to Express most of the time.

 

There may be someone in PTC support who can help you, but all of us in the user's forum can only offer suggestions and commiseration.

 

Good luck!

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