What is Surfer Beta and how can I participate?

What is Surfer Beta?

Surfer Beta is an unreleased version of Surfer, distributed for feedback and testing purposes only. It gives you a sneak-peek of upcoming Surfer features and the chance to provide feedback on the new features and report any issues. Active maintenance on your Surfer license allows you exclusive access to Surfer Beta. 

Run Surfer Beta as a stand-alone installation using your current Surfer license, or install Surfer Beta alongside your current Surfer software. There are no specific questions to answer or workflows to try, we just ask that you use the Beta version in your day-to-day work and let us know of any issues you encounter or any features you've found that don't work as expected. Please email us with any concerns, suggestions or feedback at surfersupport@goldensoftware.com. 

Check out the pre-release features currently available in Surfer Beta here: What's New in Surfer Beta?

Who can use it?

There's no sign-up necessary to try out Surfer Beta, you just need to download and install the Beta build. If you have a Surfer license under active maintenance, you will be able to use the Beta build in lieu of, or in addition to, your current version of Surfer until your maintenance expires. Surfer Beta is not available to Trial users or customers with expired maintenance.

• If you have a Surfer license that has expired maintenance, you will need to purchase a maintenance renewal to use Surfer Beta.
• If you have an old Surfer license that does not have maintenance, you will need to purchase a new license to enroll in software maintenance and use Surfer Beta. 
• If you are currently using the Surfer Trial then you will need to purchase a Surfer license to access Surfer Beta.

Please refer to the following article for restrictions on Beta use: Surfer Beta: Terms & Conditions

How can I download Surfer Beta?

1. Navigate to the Golden Software My Account page.
2. In the Returning Customer section, type in your Email Address and Password then click Log In. If you have not logged into My Account before, or can't recall your password, follow the instructions here to set up a new password for the email address your license is registered to.
3. Click the gold My Products button.
4. Click your active Surfer license to expand that section.
5. In the Surfer block, click the Downloads link on the left.
6. Click the Download Surfer Beta link to download the software
   
6. Once the file is completely downloaded, double click on the file to install the program.
7. You are first asked if you want to uninstall your current version of Surfer (if you have this version installed). Do not check this check box, just click Next. You can still have your current version of Surfer installed on the same computer as Surfer Beta, and you are welcome to continue using the current version of Surfer if you need to.
8. After the software is fully installed, open the program.

Licensing

All you need to do is install and run Surfer Beta. If you install Surfer Beta on the same computer as your existing Surfer software, you will not need to activate your product key again or make any other changes to your license. If you install Surfer Beta on a new computer, you can activate the license using your existing Surfer product key.

If you have any questions about licensing, or encounter any problems, please contact licensesupport@goldensoftware.com.

Updates

Once you have the Surfer Beta version installed, we will release periodic updates to the Beta software, which you can install using the File | Online | Check for Update command. Please follow the Surfer Beta Version History page or click File | Options, click the Updates page in the General section on the left, and verify Automatically check for updates is checked to be notified when an update is released.

We want your feedback!

We would love to hear your feedback on any of the new features and functionality in Surfer Beta, so please comment on existing articles, email us with any questions or comments you have, or any problems you encounter.

Updated September, 2022