A reader tells me that PaperMaster, the once great scanning and file saving software, is no longer available. Tech support, the reader says, says only that the product was pulled today and no other info is available.
Try to order one online and the message ‘531031 PaperMaster Pro International - not available’.
A sad end to what was once—and for many still is—the best program for scanning documents into folders where you can easily find them again. Paperport just isn’t quite the same, somehow.
That said, the company that bought PaperMaster, j2, have had it coming to them for a while. I found them unhelpful in my efforts to review earlier versions of the software, and this blog has been something of a gathering point for disgruntled users.
I don’t think they really understood the software, or the fanbase, that they had. The product has not been mentioned on their corporate website for some time (except, interestingly, on their legal page.)
Sad, really, given that there are lots of users still out there. If you’re in that boat, and you’re still looking for a replacement, you might want to try Evernote. It’s not quite ready to do what PaperMaster did, but they’re promising PDF thumbnails (Macs already have it, natively) so you might find it works for you.
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
OK – Ive been struggling keeping papermaster working as technology advanced and time after time the program wouldn’t work with each new version of Windows. Now after paying for the upgrade to Papermaster 7 six months ago and converting my cabinets Im faced with upgrading to VISTA. and once again PM not working. Years of documents and Im unsure what to do with them. Im not wanting any new whistles and bells – just to have Papermaster work with Vista. Has anyone found a work around such as running in compatibility mode or tweaking something ??? J2 certainly doesn’t care. Call me frustrated.
David, I would recommend finding an XP machine to convert your documents to PDF and then using them in another program — Paperport, or somesuch. PaperMaster is dead and I think continuing to use the program will always be a source of frustration.
I have been using the PaperMaster for 15 years, and I found the product had terminated, just today. I am planning to convert all my cabinets to PDF and will utilize them with PDF cabinet function of Adbe Acrobat standard.
I am very sad for the product termination, but PDF format will be better than multipage tiff for future survivability of the data.
If anyone knows better solution for the document management, I want to listen. Also, it is better for me if they can handle 2-byte character (Japanese)if possible.
Does anyone know of a similar software package, which will open/import Papermaster databases and files?
25/11/2008 Email from Papermaster support.
Thank you for contacting Papermaster Customer Support. Unfortunately we no longer sell or provide PaperMaster to any existing customer or new customer, we only provide technical support .
Sincerely,
+ Matt M.
PaperMaster Customer Support
1-323-817-3214
Does anyone have or know of a conversion program to convert 10 gigs of PM docs. It will take years to convert doc by doc to pdf. Will any company buy PM like Paperport?
These guys have an export util.
http://www.lucion.com/index.html
Let me know if you find any further information.
Alex
I am still using the now dead FILINGCENTRAL by E-fax which was free and performs much better than papermaster.
It scans, imports, retrieves, indexes etc and its graphic interface is oustanding.
We have been using Papermaster for some years now and find it a very useful tool. Have got a small problem with it at the moment and emailed j2 expecting a reply but never got anything. Have just discovered this blog and am dismayed to read that Papermaster is dead! Has anybody come across any solutions to replace it??
Hey folks, come over to FileCenter – we’ve worked hard to provide a migration path for abandoned PaperMaster users. Many ex-PaperMaster users have found it a simple switch and are very happy with the interface and feature set.
PaperMaster Export Tool: http://www.lucion.com/papermaster-overview.html
PaperMaster Comparison: http://www.lucion.com/spotlight-papermaster-alternative.html
I am in the same situation was all of you. I am still running PaperMaster98 under XP. Can anyone tell me how to move these files to someother file management system. Someone wrote use XP to convert them to PDFs. Please give me a clue how to do that if you know.
Thank you
William H Wallace
bill@williamhwallace.com
I am still running with PaperNaster98 on an XP machine. Anyone know what software etc and what upgrade steps I need to do to keep this data alive, besides staying with an XP machine?
Any help would be appreciated. Please e-mail me direct to tell me you responded or snd a copy direct as well. Thank you
Bill Wallace
bill@williamhwallace.com
Another Papermaster fan here. 15 years worth of docs. Easy interface. Loved it! If we convert to a program that uses pdf’s, what would be the best replacement?
Paper Master 98 will work on any 32 bit OS.
I currently am using it on Windows 7 Pro
32 bit. It will not work on 64 bit OS’s.
Has anyone transfered their PaperMaster documents over to FileCenter (Basic or Pro)?
Please let me know directly in addition to this blog.
Thanks,
mtevans@zahav.net.il
Have you tried FileCenter? If so, let me know how it is. Thanks.
David
mtevans@zahav.net.il
I loaded my Papermater onto my new computer (Windows 7 64-bit). I can read and search the documents however I cannot scan or add documents as it does not recognize PM as a printer nor does it recognize the scanner (as on Windows XP). As a temporary solution, I add documents using my Windows XP computer and copy the files into my Windows 7 computer.
I originally loaded PM Pro on my old system with XP OS, and later downloaded FileCenter Free trial to batch transfer the efx files to pdf. There is an advantage to this in that FileCenter saves the files so that they can be accsessed liked any other file. But, I replaced my old computer with an HP Touchsmart, 64 bit, with Windows 7 OS. I loaded Papermaster and it works as good as it did on the old computer, and still using it today. File center is a good alternative in my view, but I consider them a little greedy, charging $200 for the product that includes the ability to batch convert and file from efx to pdf. For me, PaperMaster is working like a charm and I am enjoying the software. For those having trouble, I would recommend the Lucion product without hesitation. flc
Frank, thanks for this. That’s really interesting, that you’ve managed to make Papermaster work. I still miss that product. I’d agree on FileCenter; it’s pricey for what it is, and doesn’t really do what Papermaster managed.
I still have and use PM 98 (a brilliant programme) but I did buy PaperMaster Pro 7 with 3 licenses and an official copy on CD, hoping to use it for some years. However when eventually there’s a computer problem, the programme has to be reactivated with a key or code that one got by phoning J2. Now I can’t get such a code, and the programme refuses to run. I have lost access to a great deal of information. I can’t figure out how this “reactivation” can be achieved without the company’s support, and feel very let down.