Snagit or Camtasia shows Trial or Expired Trial after I’ve purchased

If Snagit or Camtasia still shows a trial or expired trial message even though you have a valid license or subscription, this article will walk you through steps you can try on your own to fix it.

We’re sorry for the trouble this is causing and understand how frustrating it is when you can’t use the software as expected. The steps below will help confirm your license and clear any old trial data that might be stuck on your computer.

Step 1: Confirm the account you’re using

First, make sure the software is signed in with the correct email address.

1. Open Snagit or Camtasia.
2. In the upper‑right corner, check which email address is signed in.
3. Confirm that this is the same email you used to:
   • Purchase Snagit/Camtasia, or
   • Activate your TechSmith subscription.

If the email is not correct, sign out and sign back in using the email address associated with your purchase or subscription, then check if the trial message goes away.

Step 2: Refresh the license status

Next, refresh the license information inside the application.

1. Open Snagit or Camtasia.
2. Go to Help > About Snagit or Help > About Camtasia.
3. Click the Refresh icon to update the license information.

After refreshing, check if:

• The product now shows as Licensed, or
• It still shows Trial or Expired.

If it still appears as Trial/Expired, continue with the steps below.

Step 3: Check your network connection

Snagit and Camtasia may need to contact TechSmith’s servers to validate your license.

• If you are connected to a VPN, disconnect from the VPN temporarily and try refreshing the license again.
• If you are behind a firewall or proxy, you may need to allow TechSmith traffic or try a different network (for example, a home network instead of a corporate network) to test.

If the license still does not update, move on to clearing cached license data.

Step 4: Clear cached license data (Windows)

The next steps remove old license information that may be stuck on the computer.

Note: The paths below mention either Snagit or Camtasia. Follow them for the product you’re having trouble with.

1. Close Snagit/Camtasia completely.
   • Make sure the editor and capture/recorder windows are closed.
2. Open the Run dialog:
   • Press Windows + R on your keyboard.
3. In the Run window, paste one of the following paths, then press Enter:
   • For Camtasia:
     %LocalAppData%\TechSmith\Camtasia Studio or %LocalAppData%\TechSmith\Camtasia
   • For Snagit:
     %LocalAppData%\TechSmith\Snagit
4. In the folder that opens, open the License folder.
5. Delete all files inside the License folder.
   • Do not delete the License folder itself—only its contents.
6. Open Run again (Windows + R), and enter:
   %programdata%\TechSmith\
7. Open the Snagit or Camtasia folder.
8. If you see an Identity folder and/or a RegInfo.ini file, delete them.
9. Close all File Explorer windows.
10. Open Snagit or Camtasia again from the Start menu and check the license status.

If the product now shows as licensed, you’re all set. If it still shows Trial/Expired, continue with the deeper cleanup below.

Step 5: Deeper cleanup (if the issue persists)

If you’re still stuck in trial or expired trial after the steps above, try also clearing license data from your Public profile folders.

1. Make sure Snagit/Camtasia is fully closed:
   • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
   • Look for any of the following and end them if they’re running:
     • SnagitCapture.exe, SnagPriv.exe, SnagitEditor.exe
     • Camtasia.exe, CamtasiaStudio.exe, CamtasiaRecorder.exe
   • Right‑click each one and choose End task.
2. Open the Run dialog (Windows + R) and enter:
   %LocalAppData%\TechSmith\
3. Open the Camtasia or Snagit folder.
4. Open the License folder and delete all files inside it (do not delete the License folder itself).
5. Open Run again (Windows + R) and enter:
   %Public%\TechSmith\
6. Open the Camtasia or Snagit folder.
7. Open the License folder and delete all files inside it (again, do not delete the folder itself).
8. Open the Start menu and launch Snagit or Camtasia from the TechSmith folder.
9. Sign in again with the email address associated with your purchase or subscription and check the license status.

Still seeing Trial or Expired?

If you’ve tried all the steps above and Snagit or Camtasia still shows as Trial or Expired:

• Take a screenshot of any error or trial/expired message you see.
• Visit our Support page and contact TechSmith Technical Support.
• Include your product version, Windows version, and a brief summary of which steps from this article you’ve already tried.

Our team will be happy to take a closer look and help you get up and running.