Expression Web 4 Licensing FAQ

We’ve received a number of questions about the free upgrade from Expression Web 3 to Expression Web 4.  With this post, I hope to answer the most frequently asked questions and eliminate any confusion.

The upgrade path for Expression Web 4 depends on how you acquired Expression Web 3.  If you purchased a retail version of Expression Web 3 (e.g., from the Microsoft Store, from a local software retailer, from Digital River, etc.), you should download and install the Expression Web 4 Trial version from microsoft.com.  The upgrade should happen automatically as you install Expression Web 4.  In this scenario, the Setup program for version 4 locates your version 3 license in the Windows License Store and applies that license to version 4.  After you have installed version 4, you are free to either uninstall version 3 or leave it installed.

NOTE:  Please keep your copy of Expression Web 3 and your version 3 product key.  Should you need to reinstall Windows or have a hard drive failure, you will need to first install Expression Web 3, then reinstall Expression Web 4.

If you have any other version of Expression Web 3, e.g., acquired through a volume license, MSDN, DreamSpark, etc., you should not install the trial version.  Instead, you should get your copy of version 4 through the same program you used to acquire version 3.  I’ve listed a few examples below:

  • MSDN – Browse to the MSDN download center to download Microsoft Expression Studio 4 and acquire your product key.  Once you have that the product key, you should select Help->Enter Product Key to license your copy of Expression Studio 4.
  • DreamSpark – Browse to the download center location to download Microsoft Expression Studio 4 and acquire your product key.  Once you have that the product key, you should select Help->Enter Product Key to license your copy of Expression Studio 4.
  • Volume Licenses – Visit the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) to make arrangements to download the upgrade.  Your company and/or your reseller need to be registered with the VLSC in order to successfully download the upgrade.  As with DreamSpark, at the time I write this, Expression Web 4 and Expression Studio 4 are not yet available on the VLSC, but should be soon. We will update this post when we have the link to the download page.

If your free upgrade to Expression Web 4 is not yet available from your supplier, please download and use the free trial version of Expression Web 4 at https://www.microsoft.com/expression/try-it/.  When your free upgrade becomes available, you can uninstall the trial version and install the full version.

Some additional notes:

  • If you’re in doubt about whether your copy of Expression Web is fully licensed and activated, select Help->About Microsoft Expression Web and look for the phrase, “This is a fully licensed copy.” (Note: The information that appears when you choose Help->Activate Product or Help->Enter Product Key is not a reliable measure of whether the app is licensed.)
  • If you’re in doubt about whether your copy of Expression Web 3 is eligible for the automatic upgrade, select Help->About and look for the product ID which is in the form of a 5-digit number, a dash, a 3-digit number, a dash, etc.  If the 3-digit number is 617, the Expression Web 4 installer should automatically license your copy during the installation.
  • If you acquired version 3 through a program like MSDN or DreamSpark but are no longer participating in the program, you are not eligible for the free upgrade.  You are still eligible for the reduced-cost upgrade.

I hope this answers your questions.

Paul Bartholomew

Microsoft Expression Web