How to use parameter "--keepexisting" ?

[generalmotors85]

Hi everyone,

maybe the question ist stupid, but I'm struggling to use the parameter "--keepexisting". My windows task looks like this:

C:\temp\wacs.exe" --renew --force --keepexisting --baseuri "https://XXXXXX/directory"

When running the command, I receive the following message:

Renewal parameters cannot be changed during --renew. Edit the renewal using the renewal manager or recreate the existing one to make changes.

So I started the Simple ACME GUI and entered the "Manage Renewals" menu, but I cant find any option to enable the parameter "--keepexisting".

I already googled my problem, but all I find are some old threads from 2018, when Simple ACME was WIN ACME I guess. The users mention a JSON-File, where the renewals are stored, but I cant find this file anywhere in my Simple ACME folder, so maybe the info is outdated.

It is vital for me, that the existing certificate is not removed in the renewal process, because it is used for an exchange server, so I need the command "--keepexisting". The idea is to keep the old certificate, generate a new one, run a second script that enables the new one for the SMTP-Service and then delete the old certificate.

Can anybody help?

Thanks in advance!

[Legacy777]

Is Simple ACME being run on the Exhange server? Use the provided exchange server script. It will take care of upgrading the certificate correctly and remove the old one. I've being using WIN acme and now simple acme for this for several years.

I can share an example of the code when I'm in front of my computer.

[Legacy777]

Actually, the example on the site is a good reference. I am using the original exchange script, not the v2 version. You can play with either and see what works best for your implementation.

https://simple-acme.com/manual/advanced-use/examples/exchange

[generalmotors85]

Hi everyone and thanks for your answers so far!

Yes I'm using Simple ACME on an Exchange server and I Initially tried the exchange script mentioned on

https://simple-acme.com/manual/advanced-use/examples/exchange

However, the command does not seem to work at all for me. It just starts the Simple ACME GUI (see attached screenshot). That's why I tried to build the needed command myself, using the "--keepexisting" parameter.

Anyone got an idea, why the command does not work at all? I just copied it from the URL and customized it with my hostname and script-path.

I think it might be a syntax error, because the same thing happens when i just add nonsense to the parameters like I did in the second screenshot. However, I can't find out what the problem is with the command.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[WouterTinus]

Adding the --verbose toggle may provide you with some better clues about whats wrong with the command line (I don't see it either at first glance)

[generalmotors85]

Hi,
I ran the same command again with the "--verbose" parameter and this is the result:

There seems to be a parsing error with the parameters of the command, but I still don't understand what is wrong :(

[WouterTinus]

It's like your spaces are not real spaces. Did you copy this from somewhere?

[generalmotors85]

Yes, I copied it from here and customized it with my hostname and script-path: https://simple-acme.com/manual/advanced-use/examples/exchange

After reading your reply, I inserted the command into notepad and copied it from there, hoping it would fix the problem, but unfortunately, it did not.

But then I retyped the whole command by hand and now it works!

So thank you for your support! If anyone reading this has the same problem, it may help you too!

[generalmotors85]

Okay one last update:

The blank spaces do not seem to be the problem - the hyphen is. If you insert the copied command from the URL into notepad and search for "-", the only result is inside the word "acl-fullcontrol"