Upgrade Policy

Official dBASE® Upgrade Policy

This is the dBase, LLC official Upgrade Policy, it is subject to change at any time. These rules apply to all of our products, not just dBASE® 2019. Let’s start with the basics!

  1. We sell two types of licenses* .
    • “Named User” which means that each license belongs a single person. That single named person is the purchaser of the software unless that person notifies us that a different person will use the product. They can install that license on multiple machines as long as they meet three (3) simple criteria:
      • It is NOT a dbDOS™ or dbDOSv™ product
      • They are the ONLY person to ever to use the software
      • They do NOT use the software on multiple machines at the same time.
    • “Node Locked” which means the license is bound to a single computer and cannot be moved without written request.
      1. Applies to all dbDOS™ versions. dbDOS™ versions are also restricted to a single “named user“.
  2. There are two types of upgrades, free and paid
    • Paid upgrades happen when upgrading to a new major version of the software, denoted by a increasing change in the version number left of the decimal point or by a new name for the software. For example, upgrading from dBASE® PLUS 12.x to dBASE 2019.x is a major version upgrade and would require you to pay for the upgrade. There is ONLY ONE exception, when you purchase a version of the software within 30 days prior to the release date of the next new major version, then you are given a free upgrade to the new version.
    • Free upgrades happen when you are upgrading point releases of the software, denoted by a change in the version number to the right of the decimal point after the major version. That means if you already own dBASE® 2019.1 then the dBASE® 2019.2 upgrade would be free to you.
  3. We do NOT make you purchase upgrades to intermediate versions to upgrade to the current version. As a matter of fact, we do NOT sell previous versions of the software, i.e. since the release of dBASE® 2019, we no longer sell any versions of dBASE® PLUS 12. When you upgrade, you always upgrade to the most current version and pay one upgrade price.
  4. NEW license or UPGRADE? If you currently own a copy of dBASE® then you qualify for the Upgrade pricing. If you do not own a copy or if you are buying an additional licenses then you must purchase the NEW license.
  5. The only difference between a new license and an upgrade is the pricing. All installation files are full installations from dBASE® PLUS 9 onward.
  6. We Believe You! We do NOT require you to have any previous version of the software installed prior to installing your upgrade. We also do NOT require you send any back CDs, diskettes, or documentation covers. You get to keep all that for your library.

So what do you do to upgrade? If this is a free upgrade, then just download the installation file from the Updates and Fixes page on dBASE.com. Then just install, no need to uninstall the previous version first!

If this is a paid upgrade, then purchase an Upgrade license from the dBase Store and download, install and activate the new version with the information provided in the License email sent after your purchase.

One last note on our licenses and it is our dBASE® Return Policy. Please read it closely so you know your rights!