“The specific end of support day for Windows 7 was January 14, 2020. Technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC are no longer available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.”
This will pose problems for many companies, especially considering the fact that this operating system is still being used on approximately one-third of PCs globally.
Many customers have been hesitant to move to Windows 10 for a variety of reasons, and one significant issue is that some software applications that worked in Windows 7 don’t work in Windows 10. Since upgrades to Windows 10 can break older versions of business applications, IT departments have been reluctant to make the changes so far until they work out solutions that are compatible.
The good news for Win2PDF users is that Win2PDF 10 fully supports both Windows 7 and Windows 10, so there should not be any issues as far as Win2PDF is concerned. And we plan to continue support of both operating systems as well as Windows XP and Windows Vista for the foreseeable future.
One note, however: Anyone using the older Win2PDF 3.5 or earlier versions (prior to 2009) will need to upgrade to the most recent Win2PDF 10 version to use the software with Windows 10.
If you are using Windows 10 on a newer PC, you may have noticed some new changes recently. The Windows 10 Creators Update was released on April 11th and contains a series of updates and enhancements to the Windows 10 operating system.
What is it?
This update contains a series of user-based interface changes to the Windows operating system. Most of the enhancements in the Windows 10 Creators Update are focused on 3D sketching, remixing and viewing, new gaming features, more expansive immersive headset support, better tab handling in Microsoft Edge, improvements to Cortana (Microsoft’s voice assistant), and several other privacy, security, and usability features.
Newer Windows devices with touch-screen interfaces and VR headsets will likely get the most benefit from this operating system update.
To see a complete overview of the features, visit Microsoft’s blog post on Windows 10 Creators Update. A short video describing the changes is also available on YouTube:
How do I get it?
This update will be automatically rolled out in a phased approach as a normal Windows update, starting with newer Windows 10 devices first, and then eventually pushed to everyone. You can manually download the update now, however, if you wish. You can read more about getting the update at Microsoft’s blog.
How much does it cost?
The Windows 10 Creators Update is free for existing Windows 10 users. Microsoft has previously made Windows 10 free for everyone, but that’s not the case now. Windows 7 users have to pay to upgrade to Windows 10.
What impacts are there with Win2PDF or PDF?
There are no specific new features, but there were some changes needed for our installation program. We’ve updated our Win2PDF software to version 10.0.17 for full support and these are available now at our Win2PDF download page.
This is a free Win2PDF update for users of Win2PDF version 7 users and higher. If you have any questions about this 10.0.17 update or observe any issues or problems, please let us know at [email protected].
Since we first introduced Win2PDF on Windows NT over 16 years ago, we have been committed to supporting new Windows operating system releases as soon as they are released.
How do I get more information?
If you visit the Microsoft Creators Update FAQ page there are more details on the features and topics related to this update.
We’ve just released our latest and greatest version of Win2PDF with some significant new features, and it’s available now at our Win2PDF 10 download page.
We’ll be covering these features in greater detail over the next several weeks, but here’s an overview:
Win2PDF 10 fully supports Microsoft Windows 10 and continues to support Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.
Win2PDF 10 Terminal Server Edition continues support for Windows Server 2003, Server 2008 (+R2), and Server 2012 (+R2).
Win2PDF 10 has added the ability to save files as JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIFF, or BMP images (color or black & white) through a new Win2Image printer, which is included at no additional charge.
Win2PDF 10 makes it easier to add a new copy of the Win2PDF printer. Auto-name and other settings are stored separately for each printer, so you can create different Win2PDF printers for specific settings.
Win2PDF 10 improves performance and reliability.
Win2PDF 10 is a free upgrade for Win2PDF 7 users. If you purchased Win2PDF before October 2009, you can purchase an upgrade for Win2PDF 10 on the updates page.
We’ll be adding more updates on these new features in the coming weeks, but please download you copy today and get started.
Microsoft has announced the following planned editions of Windows 10, with each edition serving a core device and/or type of user.
Once Windows 10 is released, Win2PDF will support these editions of Windows 10 using the familiar ‘Print to PDF’ interface as in past editions.
Windows 10 Home
Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Enterprise
Windows 10 Education
Win2PDF will NOT support these mobile editions of Windows 10, however.
Windows 10 Mobile
Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise
The mobile editions are designed primarily for phones and tablet devices that run on non-Intel processors, and will not have the same type of printing interface that the desktop operating systems have.
Those of you of a certain age will likely remember one of the most controversial events of 1985 — the day when Coca-Cola changed its formula and rebranded its flagship product as New Coke. This led to an inevitable customer backlash and the company re-introduced Coca-Cola Classic a mere 3 months later. Many viewed this as one of the largest marketing blunders in history, but others saw it as a brilliant ploy. When the classic version returned to the shelves, Coca-Cola sales surged, and it allowed Coca-cola to make one other change — the cane sugar ingredient in the original was replaced by high-fructose corn syrup in the re-introduced Coca-Cola Classic.
Why bring this up? Well, we see some similarities with Microsoft’s recent operating systems changes. As many know, Microsoft has had a bumpy road of it since the introduction of Windows 8 and 8.1. Gone was the Start menu, the interface changed radically, and even basic things like printing changed dramatically with the introduction of a Charms bar. Windows 8 added new interface support for tablets and touch-enabled PCs, but then forced these same (often non-intuitive changes) on regular desktop and laptop users as well. Many businesses said, “No thanks,” and kept their users on Windows 7 or XP.
Cue the bugles, because now Microsoft intends to (hopefully) bring back some of the classic features in its upcoming Windows 10 operating system, scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2015.
Wait a minute? Windows 8.1 is the current available operating system. What happened to Windows 9? There was actually a funny April Fool’s Day joke by Infoworld titled Microsoft skips ‘too good’ Windows 9, jumps to Windows 10. But the truth is actually a little simpler but not too far off the mark. According to this article in the Times of India:
Microsoft doesn’t want people to associate the next version of Windows with the unpopular Windows 8… “Windows 10 is not going to be an incremental step from Window 8.1,” he explained. “Windows 10 is going to be a material step. We’re trying to create one platform, one eco-system that unites as many of the devices from the small embedded Internet of Things, through tablets, through phones, through PCs and, ultimately, into the Xbox.”
Earlier this month, Microsoft released a public preview build of Windows 10 which we immediately downloaded and tested. The most obvious addition to Windows 10 is the return of the Windows Start menu, which replaces the Start screen by default on desktop PCs. And the whole Charms bar interface to access devices like printers (which includes access to PDF creators like Win2PDF)? Windows 10 disables the Charms bar on non-touch-enabled PCs. The interface returns to a more Windows 7 friendly view of the desktop, which is what most business customers want.
And Win2PDF? Well, good news there. Win2PDF is currently working with Windows 10 with our Win2PDF 7 release without any code modifications, which is a good sign. We’ll keep on top of developments to make sure Win2PDF will be fully supported by the time Windows 10 is released to the public.
If your business relies on PDF files, make sure you stay up-to-date with new developments. We’ll be covering all of the news here.
P.S. If you want to try the Windows 10 Technical Preview, sign up at Microsoft’s web site.
PDF Blog - Topics from the makers of Win2PDF 