How do I make PDFsam Basic start quietly?
Disable update, news, premium and donation prompts in PDFsam Basic. It takes four steps: open Settings, untick the startup checks, hide the paid-edition prompts and restart the app.
- Open Settings. Click Settings near the bottom of the left sidebar.
- Untick the startup checks. Clear Check for updates at startup and Check for news at startup.
- Hide the paid-edition prompts. Clear Show premium features and Show donation window.
- Restart the app. Close PDFsam Basic and open it again; the update option only takes effect after a restart.
Which settings control what the app does at startup?
Settings is split into Appearance, Behavior, Output and Workspace. The Behavior group holds the choices most people change on day one. The labels below are the exact wording in the PDFsam Basic preferences source.
| Setting | Default | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Check for updates at startup | On | Asks pdfsam.org for the newest version number; restart needed |
| Check for news at startup | On | Downloads the project’s news list for the News panel |
| Show premium features | On | Fetches and shows cards for tools in the paid editions |
| Show donation window | On | Allows the occasional donation notice after finished tasks |
| Play alert sounds | On | Sound when a task finishes or fails |
| Ask for a confirmation when clearing the selection table | On | Guards against clearing a long file list by mistake |
The screen also has a Check for updates now button, so turning the automatic check off does not cut you off from new releases.
Which output defaults are worth setting?
The Output group sets defaults that every tool starts with, so you do not have to change them job by job:
- Output files compression: Compress, Unchanged or Uncompress. Compress applies FlateDecode to the file’s streams; Unchanged leaves them as they were. Inside a tool, the same choice is labelled Compress, Neutral and Uncompress.
- Default PDF version for generated files.
- Default prefix for output file names,
PDFsam_out of the box. Right-click the field to add keywords that are replaced at run time. - Overwrite files and Discard bookmarks, which set those two checkboxes on by default in every tool.
- Use the selected PDF document directory as output directory, handy when outputs belong next to the input.
What do the workspace options do?
A workspace saves a tool’s file list and settings so you can reload a repeated job. Load default workspace at startup opens one automatically, and Save default workspace on exit keeps it current. Store passwords when saving a workspace file is off unless you tick it; leave it off if the workspace sits on a shared drive, because it would save the passwords of protected PDFs with it.
How do you set defaults in a silent MSI install?
IT teams can set the same defaults when deploying. The installer definition, pdfsam.wxs, declares public properties that a custom action writes into the app’s launch options:
| MSI property | Installer default |
|---|---|
| CHECK_FOR_UPDATES | true |
| CHECK_FOR_NEWS | true |
| PREMIUM_MODULES | true |
| DONATE_NOTIFICATION | true |
| PLAY_SOUNDS | true |
| PDF_COMPRESSION | true (older on/off switch; since 6.0 the app uses the three-way choice) |
| OVERWRITE_OUTPUT | false |
| LOCALE_CODE | en_GB |
| PREFIX, PDF_VERSION | empty, so the app defaults apply |
A command such as msiexec /i pdfsam-basic-6.0.5-windows-x64.msi /quiet CHECK_FOR_UPDATES=false CHECK_FOR_NEWS=false PREMIUM_MODULES=false installs without prompts or startup traffic. Further system properties are listed on the project’s properties and arguments wiki page.
Where do these settings live?
They are stored per user through Java’s preferences store, not in the program folder, so they survive an update and are shared by an installed copy and the portable ZIP on the same account. To start from scratch, uninstalling is not enough; remove the preferences for your user as well. What each startup check actually sends is covered in the safety guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop PDFsam Basic from checking for updates?
Untick Check for updates at startup in Settings and restart the app. You can still check by hand with the Check for updates now button on the same screen.
How do I hide the PDFsam Visual and Enhanced cards?
Untick Show premium features in Settings. The app then stops fetching and showing the cards that advertise the paid editions' tools.
Can I set these options for every user during a silent install?
Yes. The MSI accepts public properties such as CHECK_FOR_UPDATES=false and PREMIUM_MODULES=false on the msiexec command line, which set the defaults for that installation.