Update Conversion Service on Windows Server

Learn how to update the Conversion Service to the latest version on Windows Server.

Procedure

Before you begin

In the Conversion Service Configurator, review the current version of the Conversion Service. Go to the About tab, where you can view the version number and the installation directory.

All relevant files, such as appsettings.json and workflows, are backed up during the update. In the unlikely event of an error during the update process, you can restore your installation using these files.

To update to the latest version of the Conversion Service, follow these steps:

1. Download the installer MSI file from Licenses & Kits area of MyPdfTools.
   Check the name carefully to identify the latest version, as you may have access to more than one version.
2. Open the MSI installation package to run the installer.
3. In the installation wizard, click Next.
4. Read the license agreement, select the I accept the Terms checkbox, and click Next.
5. Click Install.
6. Once the process has been completed, click Finish.

caution

Do not uninstall the Conversion Service before updating. Doing so will cause you to lose any Microsoft Office configuration you have set up in the Conversion Service. If this happens, you need to configure the Office setup again.

Additional information

Use the installer to update the complete Conversion Service installation, including workflows, profile configurations, and integrations. It updates the service and the main client (GUI client and shell client). The installer detects the current installation version and updates all required files as appropriate. The name of the service installer file is in the ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi format.

Available installers

To update either the Conversion Service or its clients, use an appropriate installer:

1. Windows Server: The ConversionService-VERSION_NUMBER.msi installs the Conversion Service itself and provides interfaces that let you configure workflow profiles and more. This installer comes with the following interfaces:
   • Conversion Service Configurator
   • PDF Client for Conversion Service
   • Conversion Service shell client (CLI)
   • Licensing Gateway Service
2. Windows clients: ConversionService-Client-VERSION_NUMBER.msi to install the following interfaces:
   • PDF Client for Conversion Service
   • Conversion Service shell client (CLI)
   • Office Add-ins

You can use the installer to update from any version to the latest version. If the installer does not detect any existing Conversion Service configuration, it installs a new instance of the Conversion Service.

Restore previous configuration

caution

When you update the Conversion Service installation to the latest version, the configuration is is incompatible with previous versions.

If this happens, you may downgrade to a previous version of the Conversion Service. Then, restore the configuration using automatically created backups with the following steps:

1. Locate the following backup configuration files in the installation directory:

   • Workflows (Backup DATE_AND_TIME).xml
   • appsettings (Backup DATE_AND_TIME).json
   • Connections (Backup DATE_AND_TIME).xml

   Example paths:

   C:\Program Files\Pdftools\Conversion Service\bin\Workflows (Backup 2024-12-02 02-38-11).xml
   C:\Program Files\Pdftools\Conversion Service\bin\appsettings (Backup 2024-12-02 02-38-11).json
   C:\Program Files\Pdftools\Conversion Service\bin\Connections (Backup 2024-12-02 02-38-11).json

2. Rename each file by removing (Backup DATE_AND_TIME) then replace the default configuration files with these backups.