Install and activate Foxit PDF Editor

Foxit PDF Editor comes from Foxit; Lizensa supplies the licence. Your order therefore contains a key and no installer. The steps below take you from that key to a registered Foxit PDF Editor on Windows.

What you received

Your order confirmation email carries the code that activates the editor. You find it again in My Library in your Lizensa account.

Which activation path you follow depends on the product you ordered:

• Foxit PDF Editor, with no term in the name, is a perpetual licence. You activate it with the registration code. Foxit calls this the Perpetual License option.
• Foxit PDF Editor 12 months, 24 months and 36 months are subscriptions for the period in the name. Foxit ties a subscription to a Foxit account, so you sign in instead of typing a code. If no subscription appears in your account, contact our support. Use the term in your product name to choose the route. If it is unclear, ask our support before you start.

Before you start

• Foxit lists Windows 11 and Windows 10 for the Windows edition, with 1 GB of RAM recommended and 7.5 GB of free disk space.
• If activation reports ERR10001, run Foxit PDF Editor as administrator.
• If you see ERR007 or ERR12007, turn off a VPN or proxy and try again (see the troubleshooting section).

This guide covers Windows.

Get the software

1. Open Foxit's download centre.
2. Choose Foxit PDF Editor for Windows and download the installer.
3. Save the file in Downloads or another folder you can find again.

Install the version that matches your licence, because Foxit checks the key against the version of the program (errors ERR102 and ERR103). If you are unsure which version your key supports, contact our support before you install. Lizensa supplies the key, not the software: your order email and My Library contain the key.

Install

1. Double-click the installer.
2. If Windows asks whether the app may make changes to your device, select Yes.
3. Follow the setup instructions. A key can be limited to one language version (Foxit error ERR105), so use the language version your key supports.
4. Finish the setup and start Foxit PDF Editor.

Activate

When you start the editor for the first time, an Activation window opens.

Perpetual licence with a registration code

1. In the Activation window, select Activate (bottom right in recent versions).
2. Enter your registration code in the box under Perpetual License. Paste it from the email.
3. Select Activate.
4. Foxit shows "Activated successfully. You have successfully activated 1 time(s)". Select OK.

If no activation window opens, start Activation.exe from the installation folder, usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Editor. If you see ERR10001, run it as administrator.

Subscription with a Foxit account

1. In the Activation window, select Activate, then Sign In.
2. Sign in with the Foxit account tied to the subscription.
3. Foxit confirms with the message "You have successfully registered your formal license key". Select OK, then OK in the restart message. The editor restarts.

Foxit's guides: How to Activate Foxit PDF Editor and Activate Foxit PDF Editor Subscription.

Check it worked

1. In Foxit PDF Editor, open Help > About Foxit PDF Editor.
2. Select License Information.
3. Check the licence information against your order.

A subscription runs for the term in its product name. If the details do not match your order, contact our support.

If you move to another PC later, select Help > Deactivate on the old one first. This frees the activation for the new PC.

If something goes wrong

ERR202: activation limit reached. The code is already active on as many PCs as it allows. Open Foxit PDF Editor on an old PC you no longer use and select Help > Deactivate. Then activate again on the new PC. If you cannot reach the old PC (ERR206), Foxit asks you to submit a ticket to its support team with your registration code and the name of the old PC.

ERR101 or ERR3002. Foxit reports an invalid code, or a code that is not complete. Paste the code again from the email. Check that you copied the whole code and no extra space.

ERR102 or ERR103. The code does not fit the installed version. Check which version your key supports and get the matching installer from Foxit. If you are unsure, contact our support before you reinstall.

ERR007, ERR12007, ERR200 or ERR12029. The activation server could not complete the request. Turn off VPN or proxy, check the internet connection and try again.

ERR1000. Foxit asks you to delete the local key file fpmkey.txt in the installation folder, for example C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Editor.

ERR10001. Foxit asks for administrator rights. Right-click the program and select Run as administrator.

Foxit explains each message in its article Activation Error Code for Foxit PDF Editor and Quick Fix. Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number and the exact error code.