Cantabile 3 includes one year worth of free updates. Beyond that first year there is a annual subscription to continue to receive updates.
This Discussion is linked to from one of the main website pages that I came to, while trying to figure out what to do to renew my expired license. I reached this page by clicking Start Discussion at the bottom of this page:
The process of renewal needs some instructions.
I read the linked pages I could find, and looked around the website, then I tried searching the forum for “renewal” or “renew”. It seems most people here already know what to do, but I was unable to find any actual description of the process.
I think I’ve now figured it out, and I’ll try when I’m less tired, but the page in the user portal has broken links to help pages, which doesn’t fill me with confidence that it’s actually going to work.
On https://www.cantabilesoftware.com/portal/purchase?licenseId=(number I maybe shouldn’t show here)&productTypeId=13 it says this, and both links give 404 errors:
For more details, see Explaining Cantabile’s Subscription Model and Early Bird Discount.
Also, from what I’d previously read in the forum, I was under the impression I had to pay full price, as though I’d never bought it before, since it expired some time ago. That’s put me off for quite a while, so I’d suggest this really needs to be clearer, if that’s not the case.
Log in to your Cantabile account. Under your licenses, click on your current license and there is a link to “extend subscription”. My link shows a $99 renewal price.
Thanks for reporting… the broken links on the upgrade page have been fixed. Let me know if you need clarification on anything.
Brad
HI Brad,
I’ll let you know how I get on, but the main problem is there wasn’t anything to tell me what to actually do.
I’ve figured out I need to use the User Portal via the Help menu in Cantabile (the software, not the website), but I hadn’t seen any advice to do that. I found things in the forum that said “You need to log in”, but not where.
The first few times I looked at the user portal, I couldn’t see any way to pay for a renewal. Clicking what looks like a link for the license just showed me an invoice from when I paid.
Eventually, I found that clicking the part that didn’t look like a link or a button took me to the renewal payment page.
I’d suggest looking again at your Purchase page, on the main website, bearing in mind that people will have reached it wanting to pay for renewal, then giving clear, step by step instructions, on how to do that, maybe via a linked page.
The current pages linked from it seem to be about the policy, and the change in policy a few years ago… which would have been relevant at the time, though mostly to people who understood the previous policy.
I don’t think it’s safe to assume that anyone wanting to renew has used the forum at all, but if they did, they’re not likely to have found anything useful by searching.
Basically, I think you need to take a fresh look at that part of the website. The Purchase page should have a focus on telling a returning customer what to do to renew, assuming they know nothing about it, or about the history of it…
We really don’t need to know anything other than the current policy on renewals, and how to actually pay for it.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the feedback - I’ll revisit this soon.
Brad
You’re welcome, Brad.
One remaining small source of confusion, but not really a big deal, is that after paying for the renewal, and going to Change License, in Cantabile 3.x, I was shown two identical Cantabile Solo 3 licenses to choose from, with no indication of which was which.
I guessed the second one, which seems to have worked… Maybe that’s already been dealt with in a later version than the one I currently have installed though.
May be a side effect of someone who is more interested in creating than monetizing that creation.
After a lifetime of experiencing HEAVILY SOLD, !! BUY NOW !!, THIS IS THE GREATEST BLAH BLAH BLAH product where the actual product seems like an afterthought, it is endlessly refreshing to experience a real product where the main hiccup is renewal.
Yes, please fix the subscription process (I’m almost due!), but don’t worry about making it pretty, lest it slow down … Version Four!
FYI: I’ve made some improvements here.