May 7, 2018

Everything You Need to Know About Solspace Plugins and Craft 3

Kelsey Martens
Kelsey Martens
Director of Products

With the launch of Craft 3 and the shift of purchasing plugins through the Craft 3 Plugin Store, we figured it would be good to clarify as many things as we could. This is a fairly exhaustive resource to ensure all things Craft 3 are covered, so to make it a little easier to skim to parts that are applicable to you, here's an overview of the information covered:

Solspace plugin availability for Craft 3 #

Solspace Freeform 2 and Calendar 2 were available as betas for Craft 3 during the Release Candidate period. They have proven to be very stable now, and are finally nearing the end of their beta status. They will likely be officially released this week, but they have been more than safe enough to use in production environments for a while now.

Freeform 2 and Calendar 2 generally contain no extra features, as the development focus was almost purely on compatibility with Craft 3. However, last week we released a large update for Freeform that includes more options for spam protection and Element & Data Feeders for multi-option fields. As the dust settles now, you can expect to see many more large improvements to Freeform and Calendar in the near future!

Purchasing Solspace plugins for Craft 3 #

Our plugins for Craft 2 were available for purchase directly from Solspace.com. However, now that Craft 3 includes its official Plugin Store directly inside the control panel, Freeform 2 and Calendar 2 for Craft 3 are available for purchase there. When purchased there, you'll receive a Craft 3 plugin license key as well. If you purchase Freeform or Calendar on Solspace.com, you won't receive a valid Craft 3 plugin license key (if you make this mistake, just contact us and we'll sort things out for you).

One of the most exiting things about using the Craft 3 Plugin Store is that you can trial plugins, view available updates for installed plugins and one-click update them directly from the control panel.

Craft ID Account #

One thing that seems to be a missed detail in the launch of Craft 3 is that there's a new centralized license management area called Craft ID. It's where you manage all your Craft licenses and Craft Plugin licenses. When we transfer a license to the Craft 3 Plugin Store for you (see below), you'll need to already have a Craft ID account, and then log into your Craft ID account afterward to see the license(s) we've transferred to you to get the Craft 3 license key(s).

How do I enter / validate my plugins? #

Once you've been granted your license(s), visit your Craft ID account and go to the Plugins area. You'll see your new plugin license key(s). If by chance you have your Craft ID account under a different email address than the email address you had us transfer your plugin(s) to, go to the Claim Licenses area and in the Claim licenses by email address field, enter the email address. Once you have access to your license(s), you can then copy and paste the license key(s) into the plugin(s) inside your Craft control panel at CP -> Settings -> Plugins. Just paste the key in, and it will validate right away (don't click the "Buy Now" button in this context).

How to upgrade plugins from Craft 2 to Craft 3 #

Upgrading your Solspace plugins (and most others) from Craft 2 to Craft 3 is fairly simple actually, but it might seem slightly unconventional compared to previous upgrades. First, it should go without saying... backup your database. Second, update your site from Craft 2 to Craft 3. Once you've completed that, your site will appear to have no plugins installed. You'll then need to visit the Plugin Store inside the Craft 3 control panel and search for each plugin you had installed before. Then, click on the Try button (or Install for free plugins) to install a trial of the plugin. To clarify, if your site already has Freeform Lite installed from Craft 2, running the install through the Craft 3 plugin store will load the Craft 3 version files to your site (in the vendors folder) and then run the upgrade migration (instead of a normal fresh install). Once that's done, the plugin is updated and ready to go. Other plugins may require other steps for various reasons, etc), but Freeform and Calendar specifically have nothing else you need to adjust. Of course, it's good practice to carefully review your control panel and front end to make sure everything appears to work correctly. You'll then need to make sure you request to have your license transferred and enter the new license key for your plugin in the Craft 3 control panel (see below).

For those that have an existing Craft 2 license for Freeform or Calendar, you may be eligible for a free transfer to the Craft 3 Plugin Store. Continue reading for more info...

Transferring your Craft 2 plugin license to Craft 3 #

The license keys for our Craft 2 plugins are only for Solspace's use, and do not tie in with the Craft 3 Plugin Store licensing verification system in any way. If you'd like to transfer your Craft 2 plugin license(s) over to the Craft 3 Plugin Store, that's something we can do for you.

Both new and previous purchases of our Craft 2 plugins receive 12 months of quality, private helpdesk support and 12 months of access to all updates of the plugin. If you purchased a Solspace plugin for Craft 2 within the past 12 months, you can receive the remaining balance of that time on Craft 3 upon request. So for example, if you purchased Freeform Lite on November 15, 2017, you can request your license be transferred to the Craft 3 Plugin Store for no extra charge at any time until November 15, 2018, where you'll receive the duration of your 12 month license (which would expire November 15, 2018).

Once your 12 month term is finished (whether that's a new purchase or the remaining time from a Craft 2 license transfer), you will be allowed to continue using Freeform and Calendar, but you will not be eligible for new updates and official product support until you purchase a renewal.

If your Craft 2 plugin license has already expired, we can grant you an expired license for Craft 3. That way you only need to purchase the renewal fee instead of a full new purchase to have a valid Craft 3 plugin license. That said, the Craft 3 Plugin Store isn't quite ready for renewal functionality yet (though we have been informed it should be available soon). In these cases, we will grant you a free 1 month Craft 3 license for the plugin so that the license will be valid for you while we wait for renewal functionality.

For any Craft 2 licenses you'd like to transfer over to Craft 3, please contact us and let us know the following info:

  1. Your Solspace.com account email address
  2. Plugin name & Solspace license key (listed together if you have more than 1 to transfer)
  3. Your Craft ID account email address

NOTE: Since Craft 3 currently does not have the Edition toggle feature yet, Freeform Pro is a separate but additional plugin for Freeform Lite, and in this case you will be issued 2 license keys (one for Lite and one for Pro). Also worth noting: if you have Freeform Pro edition, please see Freeform Pro differences in Craft 3 further below.

Do I have to renew my license every year? #

Renewing your license(s) is optional. You do NOT need to renew your Solspace plugins (or other Craft 3 plugins) every 12 months. When your license expires, it just means that you will no longer be able to update your plugin to a newer version that is released after expiry date, and you won't have access to our private helpdesk support. Our products are actively maintained, frequently updated and well supported, so if you do choose to renew, the renewal cost is roughly 40% of the new purchase price. Other developers may offer a slightly lower or higher price percentage.

I have a license for 'Freeform Lite + MailChimp' #

Earlier on, we included the MailChimp API integration with Freeform Lite. Eventually it was no longer included with Lite and is now only available within the Freeform Pro edition. Customers that purchased Freeform Lite while it included MailChimp will see licenses in their Solspace.com account listed as 'Freeform Lite + MailChimp', which grants them continued access to the MailChimp integration. This is not available in Craft 3, so for customers that wish to switch 'Freeform Lite + MailChimp' licenses to Craft 3, we're offering a free license to the Pro edition (waiving the $59 additional cost), which will grant you access to MailChimp and all the other API integrations and Pro features.

Freeform Pro differences in Craft 3 #

Perhaps one of the most confusing things about Freeform Lite and Pro editions is that they're separate plugins in the store, and some things might appear a little bit clumsy about them. This will hopefully explain why things are the way they are...

The Craft 3 Plugin Store will eventually have Edition toggling (where you can conveniently switch between edition of the same plugin and pay the difference, like how it was in Craft 2 CMS license purchasing), but until then, we don't have any other way to do it. All of this clumsiness is only temporary, and will be changed in the not-too-distant future!

We offer Freeform Lite for $99, and Freeform Pro for an additional $59 ($158), but it's dependent on having Freeform Lite installed/purchased first ($99 + $59 = $158). This allows users to try out and/or purchase Lite and later switch to (or try out) Pro for the difference in price.

Why do I have to update 2 plugins when I have Freeform Pro?

Since Freeform Pro requires you to have Lite installed, you actually have 2 plugins, and both of them need to be updated as updates are made to them. Technically speaking, it's very possible that sometimes an update may only need to occur in Lite OR Pro (and not both) plugins, but then it would be a bit confusing if, for example, you have Freeform Lite 2.0.6 and Freeform Pro 2.0.3 installed, and those are both the latest versions. So, we made the decision that regardless of whether or not both plugin packages are affected, we will coordinate version increments on both plugin packages so they are always in sync. When Editions toggling is added by Craft, this will all be cleaned up.

How come I see 'Freeform Pro' twice in Craft Updates area?

Freeform was built in a way that allows the Freeform Pro edition - when installed - to overwrite all instances of 'Freeform Lite' with 'Freeform Pro'. This works beautifully and makes it obvious which edition you have. However, the one downside here is that it overwrites the 'Freeform Lite' heading on the Craft Updates area as well, so you end up seeing 'Freeform Pro' twice in the Updates list (along with matching change logs - see above), and it seems like it's showing as a duplicate. However, the first one of is actually Freeform Lite. You'll need to update both of these each time.

Kelsey Martens
Kelsey Martens Director of Products