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Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently asked questions

If you (or your organisation) purchased PRIMER 6 in your own name (with or without PERMANOVA+), then we will have recorded your licence(s) serial number(s) along with your name as the end-user/owner. Simply contact us directly and you can upgrade your licence(s) easily to PRIMER version 7. If the software was not purchased in your name, it may be hard for us to identify the specific licence(s) you are wishing to upgrade without more information (such as an original invoice). Email us primer@primer-e.com to start the discussion.

  • Technical support for 3 years after purchase
  • Maintenance updates for 3 years after purchase
  • Check out our full suite of manuals and online books on our Learning Hub

If you have technical questions or require additional support, just email us at primer@primer-e.com.

Yes. We offer single end-user licences and also group (multi-end-user) licences.

We do not offer floating licences or site licences “out of the box”.

However, we do provide bespoke licensing solutions for large-scale organisations that include volume discounts. Please email us at primer@primer-e.com to request a bespoke site/volume licensing solution.

To purchase a licence, we require the following for each end-user or for the person managing the licence(s):

  • Name
  • Affiliation
  • Physical address
  • Email address

Furthermore, if you are purchasing a student licence, we also require verification of full-time study, and you’ll need to provide the following additional information:

  • the name of the institution and degree programme in which the student is enrolled
  • the name and email address of the student’s primary academic supervisor
  • the title of the student’s research/thesis topic
  • Student ID or acceptable proof of enrolment

To upgrade from PRIMER 6 we also require:

  • Your PRIMER 6 serial number (to confirm prior purchase)

If your licence has been transferred to you by the original owner, we also require an email from them stating:

  • They have transferred the licence to you
  • They have removed the software from any devices it was previously installed on
Yes. Teaching licences are intended to service the needs of individual students enrolled in a course that uses PRIMER / PERMANOVA+. Teaching licences permit installation onto multiple machines in a computer lab and can only be used by students for non-research and non-commercial purposes. Instructors must use their own (single end-user) licence of PRIMER / PERMANOVA+. Please email us at primer@primer-e.com for details or to request a quote. Tell us the number of student licences (seats) you require for teaching purposes.
Yes. We would need to know who the owner of the Licence is (the Licensee) and the student would be listed as the registered end-user.
  1. We send you a quote
  2. You accept the quote – within 30 days. (Note: You can also request an invoice directly, rather than a quote)
  3. We send you an invoice.
  4. You pay the invoice – within 30 days.
  5. Within 2 business days (New Zealand time-zone) of payment (typically less), we will email you directly:
    • the software download and installation instructions
    • a licence key
We do accept purchase orders, but software will not be administered, and course registrations will not be confirmed until payment has been received into our bank account. Before sending us a copy, please ensure you use the Beneficiary name and Beneficiary address as shown on your quote or invoice. The purchase order must state the amount and currency exactly as it is shown on your invoice. Please also include the quote or invoice number so we can match it to the purchase order.

We offer the following payment options:

  • Direct electronic transfer to our bank account.
  • Credit card/debit card via our secure online website portal or over the phone (during New Zealand business hours).

Note that payments made via credit/debit card may incur an additional card processing fee of up to 2.7%, depending on your chosen payment provider. Please do not email us any credit card details. Note also that we do not accept bank cheques of any kind. Further payment details will be provided on your quote or invoice.

We may be able to find a solution for you, depending on your country. Please email us at primer@primer-e.com and we can explore your options.
If I already have PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER 6, do I have to buy it again when I upgrade to PRIMER 7?
No. If you upgrade from PRIMER 6 to PRIMER 7 and you already have the PERMANOVA+ add-on, then your new PRIMER 7 licence will automatically include PERMANOVA+ as well.
The organisation or IT representative should notify PRIMER-e of any changes to its nominated end-user. Ask them to email us primer@primer-e.com so that we can update our licence database and you can begin using the software.

You can find your serial number by opening PRIMER and navigating to Help > About PRIMER…. This will open a screen that displays your licence type, add-on, and serial number.

If you are still having trouble or have purchased a lot of licences, please contact us (primer@primer-e.com) with the purchaser details or invoice number so we can help you find your serial number(s).

If the student has purchased the licence with their own funds, they may carry on using it once they have completed their studies. Once the student begins working professionally and uses it within a commercial, public, or academic entity, then they should obtain a licence appropriate for their new status within their specified organisation.

However, in accordance with our end-user licence agreement (EULA), if the University (or other organisation) owns the student licence, they may transfer it to another student, and advise us of the change so we can update our records accordingly. Alternatively, the University may choose to gift the licence to the student and the student will then own it.

We sell Designated Computer licences for this purpose (refer to our EULA for usage limits). Please email us at primer@primer-e.com for more information.
No. Our licence keys do not expire.

Each Individual end-user licence is for use by a single individual, named as the registered end-user at the time of purchase. The licence key may be installed on up to two (2) machines (e.g., a work machine and a home machine or laptop).

A Group licence is designed for use by a specified number of end-users (e.g., 5), and may be installed on that specified number of machines at any one time.

If you have multiple devices with PRIMER installed, simply uninstall PRIMER from one of them to allow you to install it on another.

If you are unable to uninstall it from your device before installing on a new device, please email us directly at primer@primer-e.com with your name, licence serial number (or licence key) and a request to reset your licence. We’ll check the information you provide against our records and let you know once the licence is free for re-installation (within 1-2 business days). If you are not the registered end-user, please note that we will need the registered end-user to get in touch with us to confirm your request.

Yes. PRIMER 7 can load PRIMER 6 workspace files. When working in PRIMER 7, you can also save your files in a PRIMER 6 workspace format. However, if you used any of the new features in PRIMER 7 that are not available in PRIMER 6, then you will not have full access to those particular results if you save the file in a PRIMER 6 workspace format and load it into PRIMER 6.
Yes. PERMANOVA+ works seamlessly with both PRIMER 6 and PRIMER 7. If you currently have a licence for PRIMER 6 with PERMANOVA+ and you purchase an upgrade to obtain a PRIMER 7 licence, you will automatically get PERMANOVA+ with it.
We don’t provide updates or security patches for PRIMER 6. We encourage anyone using PRIMER 6 to upgrade to PRIMER 7 (with or without PERMANOVA+).
No.
No, PRIMER 7 cannot currently be installed natively on a Mac computer. However, using PRIMER on a Mac is still possible through dual-booting or by running PRIMER within Windows virtualization software written for a Mac.
Please refer to the documentation provided to you with your purchase. Visit our Learning Hub for an installation guide, or email us at primer@primer-e.com for assistance.
  • Operating system: Windows XP or later (this includes Windows 11). Note that PRIMER will not run natively on Apple Mac OSX, but it is possible to use it via virtualization software.
  • CPU: Modern Intel or AMD processor
  • RAM: Enough to run the operating system
  • Hard-disk space: 100 MB or more

Please note that these are the minimum requirements to run PRIMER. As PRIMER runs numerical analyses, a faster CPU and more RAM and storage will positively affect the performance of PRIMER on larger datasets and/or more complex analyses.

Additionally, it is helpful to have Excel 2000 or later installed if you want to use excel files with PRIMER.

Learning Hub

Access our full suite of manuals and documentation:

  • ‘A Quick Guide to PRIMER’
  • ‘Change in Marine Communities, 3rd edition’
  • ‘PRIMER v7: User Manual / Tutorial’
  • ‘PERMANOVA+ for PRIMER: Guide to Software and Statistical Methods’
  • ‘Should I Use PRIMER or R?’
learninghub.primer-e.com

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Get in Touch

Email:
primer@primer-e.com
Phone:
+64 09 869 2230

Office 12, 2nd Floor
Lion Foundation House
3 William Laurie Place
Albany, Auckland 0632
New Zealand

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