This archived support thread addresses Do you offer Trial version for download?. The discussion below documents the reported issue and the steps taken to resolve it.

Troubleshooting Steps

When encountering errors in APG vNext, the following steps help diagnose the problem quickly:

Enable detailed errors: Set customErrors mode="Off" in web.config to see the full error message and stack trace.
Check the Windows Event Log: Application-level ASP.NET errors are logged in the Windows Event Log under Application.
Review the APG error log: Admin Panel → Logs → Error Log shows application-level errors with timestamps.
Verify recent changes: If the error appeared after an upgrade or configuration change, roll back or review what changed.

Common Fixes

Restart the IIS Application Pool to clear stale state
Verify database connectivity and run any pending SQL upgrade scripts
Check that all required .NET assemblies are present in the bin folder
Clear the ASP.NET temporary files folder (%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\...\Temporary ASP.NET Files)

For further assistance, visit the support forum or review the Knowledge Base.

Does APG vNext Offer a Trial Version?

Yes - APG vNext is available as a fully functional trial. The trial version has all features enabled and is identical to the licensed version. It runs for 30 days before requiring activation with a purchased licence key. There are no artificial feature restrictions - the trial is intended to give you a genuine assessment of APG vNext in your environment.

Downloading the Trial

Download the trial at aspplayground.net/download.aspx. No credit card is required. The download includes:

The APG vNext application installer
SQL Server database setup scripts
The default skin package
The full documentation PDF

Trial Limitations

30-day time limit (not feature-limited)
A small "Trial Version" watermark in the footer (removed with licence)
No access to the private support forum (public forum access is available)

Converting Trial to Production

<!-- After purchasing, update web.config with your licence key: -->
<add key="APG.LicenseKey" value="YOUR-PRODUCTION-LICENSE-KEY" />
<!-- Recycle app pool - no reinstall required. Data is preserved. -->

Extending the Trial

If 30 days is not sufficient to complete your evaluation (e.g. enterprise procurement processes), contact support to request a trial extension. Extensions of up to 30 additional days are available on request.

Evaluating APG vNext During the Trial Period

Make the most of your 30-day APG vNext trial by following a structured evaluation plan. In week one, complete the installation and basic configuration — get the forum running with your preferred skin, email notifications, and initial forum structure. In week two, test the features most important to your use case: for a community forum, this means posting, moderation, and member management; for a corporate intranet, focus on SSO/LDAP integration and group-based permissions. In week three, involve future members or stakeholders in a controlled test of the user experience. In week four, evaluate performance under simulated load using a tool like JMeter or Locust, and review the admin panel's monitoring tools.

If you reach the end of your trial with unresolved questions, request an extension rather than purchasing under uncertainty. The APG vNext team prefers that customers purchase with confidence — an informed customer who has thoroughly evaluated the product is far more likely to be satisfied long-term than a customer who purchased quickly without completing their evaluation.

What to Test Specifically for Your Use Case

Community Forums

Member registration, email verification, and first-post experience
Moderation queue and spam filtering
Search functionality on realistic data volumes
Mobile responsiveness on multiple devices

Corporate Intranets

Active Directory or LDAP authentication integration
Group-based forum permission system
Private messaging and department-specific forums
Audit logging for compliance requirements

Setting Up the Trial in a Controlled Environment

For organisations with IT governance requirements, set up the APG vNext trial in a controlled staging environment rather than on production infrastructure. A single Windows Server VM (4 CPU cores, 8GB RAM, 50GB SSD) running IIS and SQL Server Express provides more than adequate resources for an evaluation with up to 20 concurrent test users. This environment can be spun up on Azure, AWS, or your own virtualisation infrastructure for the duration of the trial period and decommissioned after the evaluation is complete. The trial licence is tied to the machine's domain or IP at activation — contact support if you need to move the trial to different hardware mid-evaluation.

Trial Data Retention After Conversion

When you convert your APG vNext trial to a production licence, all data created during the trial period is fully preserved. There is no data migration required — you simply update the licence key in web.config, recycle the application pool, and the trial watermark disappears. Members registered during the trial retain their accounts, posts, reputation points, and all other data. This makes the trial genuinely useful for early community building — you can start recruiting members and seeding content during the trial period without losing any of that momentum when you convert to production.

Do you offer Trial version for download?