TextExporter Installation and Activation Issues

Here are a few frequently asked questions with regards to TextExporter:

Installer Hurdles

Make sure to first fully extract the .zip file you downloaded before double-clicking the Installer.app (on Mac) or Installer.exe (on Windows) file. On Windows, if you click Installer.exe while browsing into the .zip file, the installation will fail.

You might get some security warnings when running the TextExporter 4 installer. Please allow the installer to run. On Windows, click ‘More Info’ then ‘Run Anyway’.

Also, sometimes the ‘installation complete’ window gets hidden behind other application windows. If the installer seems to hang for a long time, make sure it is not simply waiting for you to click a button on a window buried behind other windows.

Allow Some Time for Activation

To speed up the activation process, you can try activating a second time. This forces our software to ‘ping’ our license server immediately, as you start the second activation, and the activation process should pick up the results of the first activation straight away.

One reason activation fails is that the activation process takes a little bit of time. If you have clicked the Activate… button, allow for some time. Don’t quit InDesign.

It might take up to 15 minutes when things are slower than usual.

Don’t immediately quit and restart InDesign.

Trying to Re-Use a One Time Activation Code

Another common issue is trying to re-use a One Time Activation Code.

It is very important to read the following documentation:

https://www.rorohiko.com/licensing

Once a One Time Activation Code has been used, it cannot be used ever again.

If you upgrade your computer or upgrade InDesign you need a new activation.

Upgrading InDesign can sometimes happen without you realizing it. Adobe’s Creative Cloud Control Panel makes it very easy to inadvertently upgrade InDesign to a new version.

When you upgrade InDesign, you need a new activation. If you have a Personal Activation Code that is not an issue. If you have a One Time Activation Code you’ll need purchase a new code.

Only Personal Activation Codes can be used multiple times and be used to issue multiple activations.

If you have a One Time Activation Code, and it fails to activate your system that means you’ve probably switched computers or upgraded InDesign and you will need to purchase a new activation code.

Note that if your code is older than the end of 2014, it is a One Time Activation Code, even if it was not named that way back at the time.

We only started issuing the first Personal Activation Codes near the end of 2014.

Where Is My Invoice?

There should a direct link to your invoice in the email you received after your purchase.

Alternatively, to get a printable invoice, please log in to

https://sales.rorohiko.com

You can also access the invoice for your purchase there.

Contacting Us

For support, you can contact us at [email protected]

But before contacting us, please make sure you read all the information below.

Only if you tried everything below, and still cannot find the answer, you should try to email us.

Furthermore, when emailing us, please be considerate and try to be forthcoming with the information we need to help you. We often get emails with just a sentence like ‘It does not work’, which does not give us much to go on.

We need to know:

– Are you on a Mac or a PC?
– What version of InDesign are you using?
– Is your InDesign up-to-date with the latest fixes and patches from Adobe?
– Do you have a One Time Activation Code or a Personal Activation Code?
– Do not email us your license/activation file. If you do, you’re telling us that you did not bother to read the documentation below.
– For TextExporter 3: Open a document in InDesign, or create a brand new, empty document. Then select the API – APID ToolAssistant… menu item and make a screenshot of the dialog you see.
– For TextExporter 4: Open a document in InDesign, or create a brand new, empty document. Then select the Window – Extensions – TextExporter… menu item and make a screenshot of the dialog you see.
– For TextExporter 3: Using the Finder or Explorer, navigate to your InDesign Plug-Ins folder and make a screenshot. Triple-check that you are navigating to the correct Plug-Ins folder. You might have more than one Plug-Ins folder on your computer, and it is easy to navigate to the wrong one.
– For TextExporter 3: If there is a Rorohiko folder inside the Plug-Ins folder, open it and make a screenshot.

TextExporter 3 vs TextExporter 4

We have two versions of TextExporter: TextExporter 3 and TextExporter 4.

They are functionally equivalent, but have been packaged in a different way.

TextExporter 3 is a plug-in. It is activated by means of the API – TextExporter… menu item

TextExporter 4 is an extension. It is activated by means of the Windows – Extensions – TextExporter… menu item.

  • TextExporter 3 works with any version of InDesign, from InDesign CS all the way up to InDesign CC 2018.
  • TextExporter 4 only works with InDesign CC 2014 and upwards.

For some versions of InDesign, you can install both versions at the same time. That should work fine, and activating one will automatically activate the other: TextExporter 3 and TextExporter 4 use the same activation system.

Make Sure to Use the Latest Version

The first thing to do is to start over: remove anything that you installed, and re-visit our download pages.

You can find uninstallation instructions for both versions of TextExporter a bit further below.

To (re)download:

TextExporter 4: https://www.rorohiko.com/textexporter

TextExporter 3: https://www.rorohiko.com/textexporter3

TextExporter 4 comes with an Installer application. This application will automatically remove, then update any older version if you re-download and re-install.

For TextExporter 3 we recommend you use the manual install procedure.

There is an installer for TextExporter 3, but it does not cover all versions of InDesign, and we often find that some computers have permission issues that cause problems for the automated installer.

Using the manual install procedure avoids these issues.

TextExporter 3 issues

Forgetting to Open a Document

In order to kick TextExporter 3 into gear, you must open a document first. This seemingly irrelevant step is important, so don’t overlook it.

The Wrong Plug-Ins Folder

One of the most common causes of problems is when you have multiple versions of InDesign installed.

Each of these versions of InDesign has its own Plug-Ins folder.

The InDesign Plug-Ins folder resides beside the application file. Find the application file first (often somewhere inside /Applications/Adobe InDesign CC…/ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CC…\), then look for a subfolder called Plug-Ins in the same folder.

It is quite common to install a copy of TextExporter in the Plug-Ins folder for one version of InDesign, and then launch a different version of InDesign. And then nothing seems to work.

Especially on Windows, where both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of InDesign are often installed side-by-side it is easy to start looking at the wrong Plug-Ins folder.

For example, you might be on Windows, and install TextExporter in the Plug-Ins folder for the 32-bit version of InDesign CC. You then launch the 64-bit version of InDesign CC, and find nothing seems to be installed.

So, before anything else: double-check that the version of InDesign you’re running and the Plug-Ins folder you’re looking at are for one and the same application.

Incomplete Installation

When trying to activate TextExporter 3, a common problem an incomplete installation.

Assuming that there is an API menu item on your menu bar, select the API – APID ToolAssistant… menu item and look at the dialog.

If TextExporter 3 is correctly installed you should see something similar to this:

If you don’t see TextExporter listed, it probably means that you either only have APID ToolAssistant installed, or there is a problem with TextExporter.spln in your Plug-Ins folder.

If you see something similar to the following screenshot, you have a problem with TextExporter.spln:

This second screenshot shows only APID ToolAssistant is installed.

Don’t try to activate APID ToolAssistant – that won’t do any good. Your activation code is for TextExporter, and it definitely won’t work for APID ToolAssistant.

Either TextExporter.spln is not installed, or in some cases, there can be permission issues.

To remedy this, the best approach is to remove anything related to TextExporter you installed previously.

Then re-do the manual install procedure you find on this page:

https://www.rorohiko.com/textexporter3

In most versions of InDesign, you’ll have multiple files and folders related to APID ToolAssistant in your Plug-Ins folder, as well as a file called TextExporter.spln.

Example for InDesign CC 2018 on Macintosh:

Consult the ReadMe.txt file that comes with the downloads for TextExporter and APID ToolAssistant to determine the exact list of files that are needed to be installed.

The required file names are different for Mac vs. Windows and for different versions of InDesign.

Trying to Use The Activation File Instead Of The Activation Code

It is very important to read the following documentation:

https://www.rorohiko.com/licensing

Our activation system will email out an activation file (a.k.a. license file) when you activate TextExporter.

Chances are you will never need or use this file.

These files are only useful in rare circumstances, for people behind very restrictive Internet firewalls.

What then often happens is that someone who has activated in the past, upgrades their copy of InDesign or switches to a new computer.

When they then try to use their previous activation file, it does not work.

That is because that activation file is tied to their previous computer and/or their old version of InDesign.

The solution is to not use the activation file unless explicitly told to do so, by our support staff.

In nearly all cases, you need to use your activation code, rather than any activation file.

Click the Activate… button when the activation dialog appears.

Alternatively, you can select the API – APID ToolAssistant… menu item, then click the line with TextExporter and then click the Activate… button.

In case you had previously activated TextExporter on this computer and this version of InDesign, the activation will happen nearly immediately.

If this is a brand new activation, you will be taken to a web page. Use your activation code, and put in a description of the computer+copy of InDesign you’re activation (e.g. Janine laptop with InDesign CC 2014).

Your TextExporter activation code will be a code that starts with the letters ‘TXE’.

Personal Activation Codes often start with TXE3A_ or TXE3_.

Workgroup Activation Codes start with TXE30A_ or TXE30_.

Any other code starting with TXE is either a One Time Activation Code or a bundle of multiple One Time Activation Codes.

Uninstalling TextExporter 3

To uninstall TextExporter 3 you need to remove any related items from your plug-ins folder.

Depending on how you installed, the TextExporter and its supporting plug-ins might reside inside a Rorohiko folder which itself resides in your InDesign Plug-Ins folder, or alternatively, the plug-ins might reside in the Plug-Ins folder itself.

Quit InDesign if it is running.

Remove the file called TextExporter.spln to uninstall TextExporter itself.

Remove any files and folders whose name starts with APID… or (APID… to uninstall APID ToolAssistant.

Start InDesign – the API menu item should not be visible any more.

TextExporter 4 issues

Old version of TextExporter 4

Older versions (<= 4.0.5) of TextExporter 4 had an issue: once you let the demo time-out lapse, they ‘locked up’ and could not be activated.

To fix this, make sure to download the latest version of TextExporter 4, and install it using the Installer program.

It is OK to ‘install on top of’ the previous version.

Uninstalling TextExporter 4

To uninstall TextExporter 4 you need to re-run the Installer program. If necessary, re-download the TextExporter 4  installer from:

https://www.rorohiko.com/textexporter

The Installer program has a ‘Remove’ function.