After a very long development and beta process, GP Software are pleased to announce that Directory Opus 13 is now available for purchase!
If you're running the beta, you can get the release version from the update checker now (or download manually).
Thanks to everyone who's been helping to beta test Opus 13 - hopefully you've enjoyed the experience, and we couldn't have done it without you!
Highlights
If you prefer reading text:
- Directory Opus 13 - Highlights
- Directory Opus 13 - Detailed list of changes
- Directory Opus 13 - Tips for Upgrading from Opus 12
If you prefer watching a video:
Pricing
As with previous major updates, the upgrade price is discounted at a rate based on your previous version (and free for those who bought recently).
Please visit Upgrade an existing licence and enter your registration code to see your upgrade price (it'll also tell you if your upgrade is free or not).
For a limited time only, upgrades come with two years of free updates instead of the regular one (see below for details on our new licencing model).
Certificate upgrade
If you're running the Opus 13 beta then once you upgrade via the website, you should be able to use the "check for updates" link in the Licence Manager to automatically get your new certificate without having to install it manually (apologies if this doesn't work - and of course you can install it manually if you need to).
If you're not quite ready to upgrade, installing the release version will give you a new 30 day trial (and you can register for 60, as with previous versions). Alternatively, clicking the "check for updates" link in the Licence Manager should give you another beta certificate extended through to the end of February.
New Website
As well as a brand new version of Opus we also have a new website to go with it. Please check it out and let us know what you think (and also please let us know of any glitches you come across!)
Soft launch
We don't want to rush things because of the new website, so we're not going to be emailing existing users or announcing the upgrade in the news feed just yet (probably in a week or two).
Opus Light
As some may have noticed, the Light version has been withdrawn and is no longer available for sale. Users of Opus 12 Light will be able to upgrade to Opus 13 as if they owned Pro.
New licencing model
We've been discussing how to handle the problem of long development periods between major releases (e.g. 7 years between Opus 12 and 13) and after much debate have decided that with Opus 13 we're moving to an upgrade subscription model instead of occasional paid major upgrades.
That doesn't mean you need a subscription to keep using Opus (we're not Adobe!). As always, you can keep using the version you buy for as long as you like.
But what it does mean is that you'll need a paid subscription to receive updates after a certain period of time. If your subscription expires you won't be able to install new versions of Opus released after that date.
The hope is that with this new system we can move to a faster development/release cycle for major features rather than having to keep them in-house for years while we slowly work towards the next major upgrade.
Once subscriptions start, the price is currently expected to be $25 AUD (about $17 USD or €16 EUR) a year for a single licence. That's only after your initial free update period - so after one year for new users, or two years for upgraders.
We may offer a "lifetime" licence in the future but haven't decided on that yet. Since no one will need to pay for a subscription for at least one year (and for many people it'll be two years) we have a bit of time to work out the details 