Free Licenses
Sometimes we provide free license keys for selected items of software. All you have to do to take advantage of these offers is to link back to our web site. You'll need to tell us where your link is and once we've verified it we'll issue you with a free license. As an alternative you can always purchase a commercial license.
We also issue free licenses of any of our software to worthy causes and notable individuals on a discretionary basis. In general worthy causes are subject to relaxed rules on linkbacks and notable individuals are not required to link back at all. However the fact that we relax the rules here does mean that there is a level of discretion involved and that not everyone who applies will get accepted.
You don't need to insert a link instantly. All our products will work on a 30 day trial basis so that gives you 30 days of uninterrupted use whether or not you decide to apply for a free license.
Please note that a link entitles you to one licence covering one software installation. If you need to install on more than one server you must purchase extra licenses.
If you'd like to provide a product endorsement we can use we'd love that too. We'll assume we can quote anything you say unless you ask us not to do so.
We expect that the link will be maintained at least as long as you are using our software.
Link Guidelines
Links must appear on the front or default page of your public web site. For example if you're using ABCpdf you might want to include the following link.
 | We use the ABCpdf ASP PDF component for HTML to PDF conversion... |
Or...
| We use the ABCpdf .NET PDF component for HTML to PDF conversion... |
Or for ABCUpload....
| We recommend the ABCUpload ASP file upload component... |
Or...
| We recommend the ABCUpload .NET file upload component... |
The link can go through to any page on our site. However people typically link to the specific product page. Or you can use one of our URLs http://www.html-to-pdf.org, http://www.websupergoo.com, http://www.abcpdf.com, http://www.abcupload.com, http://www.abcdrawhtml.com.
Using meaningful text and descriptions not only results in a more flowing structure within your site but also assists visitors who may be deciding whether to visit our site or not.
Please note that we do not accept placeholder sites or subdomains such as intranets, extranets and portals. This is because they are not what we would classify as your public web site. Almost by definition subdomains only represent one aspect of your company. Almost by definition a placeholder site does not represent you properly. We expect a link on your top level www domain - the site that best represents you and your company.
Worthy Causes
We like to support the community. So we're willing to offer free licenses of any of our software to charitable groups and other worthy causes.
Please do not assume that we will know you are a worthy cause unless you have emailed us first. We have very specific requirements. Simply entering notes into the application form is not sufficient.
Please be aware that we judge worthy cause applications on both worthiness and also need. Not every worthy cause will be judged eligible. Not every non-profit organization will be judged suitable. Please do not take this as any reflection on you or the quality and utility of your work.
To take an example - the US Military. It's a non-profit organization and it's a worthy cause staffed by responsible people doing good work. However it's not really the type of organization we're going to be issuing free licenses to because it's well funded and it doesn't need this kind of help.
Please write to us explaining what kinds of things you do and how your cause is organized. If your organization has accounts we'd like to see them to establish how income is apportioned. We expect financial transparency - your accounts must be publicly available. The only exceptions we make are for organizations which obviously have no need of accounts such as Scout Packs and school projects.
We like to support causes with lots of volunteers. We like causes like Medecins Sans Frontieres. We are unlikely to support causes which provide directors or employees with large salaries (eg more than $100,000 per year) or which do not result in the majority of aid being passed on to those who need it.
If you are applying as a worthy cause you will need to place a link on the site on which it is used. You will need to state that the software has been kindly donated by WebSupergoo. We'll probably state this on our site as well.
Notable Individuals
So what is a notable individual?
We're looking for people who are passionate about areas that interest us. People who make a significant public contribution in these areas. By public contribution we mean something done for free. A service provided as a gift to the community and not for profit.
For example we think Wikipedia is great and we're happy to offer free licenses to those who make significant contributions in areas that interest us. No linkback is required for this type of free license.
So if you make regular contributions to the PDF, PostScript and JPEG pages you might be interested in a free license for ABCpdf. Alternatively if you make regular contributions to the HTTP and .NET pages you might want to look at a free license for ABCUpload .NET.
In the case of Wikipedia we need to look up your name so that we can find out in what ways you've contributed. As such please supply us with a URL to your Wikipedia user page. So that we can verify that you are who you say you are - please put your email address on your user page - this should match up with the email address you use when you contact us. If you don't wish to advertise your complete email address just note the domain name. Please do not use freemail addresses such as hotmail or gmail.
We judge your application on a number of factors based on your contributions over the last calendar month. In general we'll be expecting to see a number of contributions totaling at least four hundred words on pages directly relevant to areas we're interested in. However there is some leeway if we feel that the quality or relevance of your contributions is particularly notable.
Just because we talk about Wikipedia doesn't mean we're restricting this offer to it. For example if you make similar contributions to newsgroups we're happy to look at these as well. However we may not be familiar with other platforms and we can find it difficult to judge the quality of your work. In these cases we tend to err on the side of caution so it may be that the bar is slightly raised for platforms we don't understand.
If you feel you might be a notable individual please contact us providing the information listed above. Please bear in mind that notable individuals are by definition rare and that you can always apply on the basis of a link - the same basis as everyone else.
Telling Us
Please use our standard application form to submit your application. Please don't be put off by the legal nature of the form - it just repeats what's said on this page.
Please allow five working days for the issue of your license. Links have to be manually checked and this can take a little time. Once you get your license, take care of it. If you lose it you will have to reapply to get it reissued.
Current special offers are for 'ABCpdf ASP Std', ABCpdf .NET Std', 'ABCUpload ASP', 'ABCUpload .NET', 'ABCDrawHTML' and 'ABCEventLog'. Other products are not available on special offer.
Please note that special offers do have a limited life span. We'll extend any offer a couple of weeks if you've been relying on it. However we can't extend offers indefinitely.
We want people to use our products. Help us help you.