Support Policy2024-10-10T09:36:54-06:00

Golden Software Support Policy

Here at Golden Software, LLC, our mission is to help every scientist and engineer communicate complex ideas by transforming their data into easily understandable forms. Each of our products is designed around simplicity and control, backed by our legendary customer success team.

The Golden Software support policy clarifies the level of support we can offer over time so that we can continue to provide the high quality software and technical support you value for years to come.

FULL SUPPORT

We stand by the quality of our products and are consistently introducing new features, improvements, and fixes with each update.  The latest versions of our software will always be the most secure and up to date.

As a user of the current version, you will appreciate having fully supported software as well as priority support from our legendary team of software experts. Priority support entitles you to scheduled support via Zoom as well as support via telephone, chat, or email. Contact us with a problem you’re trying to solve and we’ll work with you to find the best solution as quickly a possible.

Keeping your software subscription or software maintenance active will ensure you continue to receive the best software and service we can offer.

STANDARD SUPPORT

While we would of course love for everyone to always have the latest release, we understand that time, budgets and bureaucracy sometimes slow things down.  We therefore offer standard support to software versions that are less than 3 years old.  We do not update these versions unless we deem an emergency fix is required to ensure continued software install and licensing operability.

As a user of a previous version, your needs are met with your software as is but you still appreciate support from time to time.  With standard support you are welcome to email or chat our team with questions and we’ll work with you to find a solution.  It may take some extra time for our team to find solutions in previous versions if the functionality has been improved in a more recent release.

Should you wish to regain full support, simply renew your software maintenance.

LIMITED SUPPORT

We do not offer any software support or operational guarantees for software more than 3 years old.  It is entirely possible that your software will continue to function for years to come.  We are simply unable to promise updates if something should happen.

We still want you to succeed and find value in our software so if you do encounter a problem or have a question about the software you are still welcome to contact our support team via email.

Release Date Surfer version Grapher version
October 2024 24
September 2024 28
March 2024 23
February 2024 27
October 2023 22
September 2023 26
March 2023 21
January 2023 25
September 2022 24
August 2022 20
February 2022 19
January 2022 23
3+ years ago 22 and lower 18 and lower
Full Support Standard Support Limited Support

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I have active software maintenance?2023-12-19T11:25:55-07:00

The easiest way to check the status of your software maintenance is to click File | License Info in the software.  The License Information dialog will tell you if your maintenance is active or expired in the top grey bar.  The last letter of your Support Code also indicates your software maintenance status with A=Active and E=Expired.

Surfer License Information dialog showing active maintenance status

See the article How do I know if I have ‘active maintenance’? for more detailed instructions and additional options.

 

What is the expected email response time for standard and limited support?2023-12-19T11:25:14-07:00

Priority and standard support recipients can expect an email response in less than one business day. Limited support may take us longer to respond to (1-2 business days) because we do not maintain expertise in these versions of the software.

Can I get support for an old version of the software if I have active maintenance but prefer to use an older version?2023-12-19T11:27:41-07:00

We understand that some companies have complex software validation requirements before newer releases can be installed and therefore don’t always validate every release. For this reason, we offer priority technical support to users with active maintenance running versions that are less than 3 years old.

If you have active software maintenance and you are running a version that is more than 3 years old, please contact our support team to discuss your situation and your team’s needs and they will make a recommendation for the best path forward.

Are there any exceptions to the email-only policy for versions with limited support?2023-12-19T11:27:59-07:00

Yes and no.

We ask that everyone honor this policy when contacting our team. However, our support team has full authority to make the call on how best to support any customer. If the best and fastest solution will be achieved via a different medium, they will offer to connect with you that way.

Golden Software

TESTIMONIALS

Hear what other scientists & engineers have to say!

Golden Software is like a close family. Your team is always ready to answer questions, to solve problems, your products are of fine quality, low prices for updates.

Thierry Hatt
Historical GIS Cartographer Université de Strasbourg, France

We have been Golden Software clients for 35 years and have never been disappointed. For us, it’s the premier data presentation package.

Felicia Bechtel
Senior Geophysical Advisor

I’ve used Surfer for many years. It helps me tell my data’s story which allows me to clearly communicate important information with clients.

Richard Koehler, PhD
PH Founder, Visual Data Analytics, LLC

The wide variety and functionality of the interpolation/extrapolation algorithms, as well as the geostatistical functionality, is simply awesome!

Grant van Heerden, MAIG
Mine Geotechnical Engineer / Engineering Geologist

As an author, I make beautiful maps of the ground surface from LiDAR data. Surfer allows me to tease out subtle features. It is a delight to use and the tools are there, no matter what function I wish to apply.

Peter Hatherly
Geophysicist

Golden Software products are the most intuitive of any software I've ever used.

Anna Klene, PhD
Professor

Surfer is the best GIS software I have ever used…better than AutoCAD and ArcGIS … I love it!

Liliana Cecan, PhD, PE
Senior Project Manager

Surfer appears to have been designed by people who really understand what scientists like myself want to do. This allows me to look at data and ask questions without being concerned at the technicalities of how to load, manipulate and map data.

Barry Gardiner
Senior Scientist

Bridge the gap between complex data and clear communication.

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