Download the free trial
Take the installer if you want Start-menu entries and an uninstaller, or the portable ZIP if you would rather not change anything on the PC. Both contain the same two apps: the Dialogs edition and the Vocabulary edition.
Files
Version 1.2.0. The trial starts the first time you launch an app and runs for seven days.
| Product | Installer (.exe) | Portable (.zip) |
|---|---|---|
| ChineseBuddy Mandarin Chinese | ChineseBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe 57.5 MB | ChineseBuddy_1.2.0.zip 47.1 MB |
| FrenchBuddy French | FrenchBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe 50.6 MB | FrenchBuddy_1.2.0.zip 42.9 MB |
| SpanishBuddy Spanish | SpanishBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe 57.2 MB | SpanishBuddy_1.2.0.zip 48.8 MB |
| ItalianBuddy Italian | ItalianBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe 56.5 MB | ItalianBuddy_1.2.0.zip 48.0 MB |
| GermanBuddy German | GermanBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe 52.9 MB | GermanBuddy_1.2.0.zip 45.0 MB |
| CantoBuddy Cantonese | Ask us for the current build | Online word list |
Install, step by step
- Install the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime (x64) if you do not have it yet:
download the Microsoft installer
(
windowsdesktop-runtime-10.0.x-win-x64.exe, about 57 MB). It is the official Microsoft file, x64 build, and every other programme that needs .NET 10 can share it. - Download a file from the table above. The installer is the simplest option; the ZIP is for a USB stick or a PC where you would rather not install anything.
- Run the installer and follow the wizard - it adds Dialogs, Vocabulary and
Uninstall to the Start menu. If you chose the ZIP, right-click it and choose Extract All, then open the folder
and start
<Brand>.dialogs.exe. - Get past SmartScreen once. "Windows protected your PC" is the unsigned-publisher warning: click More info, then Run anyway.
- Use it. Everything is unlocked for seven days. When you decide to keep it, buy a key on the purchase page and activate it from the right-click or tray menu: Enter License Key….
What is inside the ZIP
README-install.txt- the same steps as above, plus the runtime link, ready to print or copy.<Brand>.dialogs.exeand<Brand>.vocab.exe- the two apps.Data\- lesson and vocabulary data with the native-speaker recordings. Do not rename or delete it.Help\- the help pages that open from the app's Help menu.
Uninstalling, and where settings live
- Installed version: Start menu → Uninstall, or Settings → Apps.
- Portable version: just delete the folder.
- Settings, window position and licence state stay in
%AppData%\<Brand>. Delete those folders as well if you want the app to forget everything. - On Windows,
%AppData%is your own profile folder, so nothing leaks to other users.
SHA-256 checksums
Compare the file you downloaded with the value below to be sure nothing was altered in transit. In PowerShell:
Get-FileHash .\ChineseBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe -Algorithm SHA256
| File | SHA-256 |
|---|---|
| ChineseBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe | 9514C9416C7C706412F9D6F69E32C17FE434F2A06C326EAB309BDC90F6067842 |
| ChineseBuddy_1.2.0.zip | 0B5BC7DF4A0704AF4A84747529C6DA25701A6B2811E3E1671B9632402123E69E |
| FrenchBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe | 5116D899E7461461A205589AAD4BBA7C454FD77A58D0BED238A1DBFC7997C733 |
| FrenchBuddy_1.2.0.zip | 64CFCF9114E46F9C6FF9205AB63C73D01E4891010687082F4F7A002C32105B77 |
| SpanishBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe | F8ADE0C640BFCC3FDCA3BB5441A7A674902AA707ECA3DA34CEE51EA988E705EC |
| SpanishBuddy_1.2.0.zip | 250E429429125B672E29804D08FEE5CC83DE874E1101DC90BC80C8EF79C55870 |
| ItalianBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe | 560F8A90E36F11CA485CFE66B62F49A345FA9D75410554E02D10782FEA014987 |
| ItalianBuddy_1.2.0.zip | 560F1870366A2605FCC268CB18CC1A67492C0382460758EA492B29246E837465 |
| GermanBuddy-Setup-1.2.0.exe | B26C9F33058F7AD38D34DF4621A3DCAB068788E4881F9585DFF3C2AA514E96BF |
| GermanBuddy_1.2.0.zip | C4F905FB0A4690CECD0C3F65E5EEE26D45B7419177C62B27F240D9296B5B0566 |
Download questions
Do I have to install the .NET runtime?
For the installer and the portable ZIP, yes - the free Microsoft .NET 10 Desktop Runtime (x64) has to be on the PC once, and every other programme that targets .NET 10 can use the same copy. It is a single Microsoft download of about 57 MB. To avoid any web page, the download link on this site points straight at the Microsoft .exe.
Do I need administrator rights?
The installer writes to Program Files and asks for permission once. The portable ZIP does not install anything - unpack it into a folder you can write to, such as your own Documents folder, and run the exe from there.
Windows says the publisher is unknown. Is that a virus?
No. The apps are simply not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen shows its generic warning. Choose More info, then Run anyway. You can confirm the file is ours by comparing its SHA-256 checksum with the value on this page.