How Does Your License Checking Work?

[tonyv]

We are upgrading, finally, from an ancient version of InstallShield Express to something more powerful. I have evaluated both InstallShield 12 and InstallAware, and can live with either -- it's all going to come down to licensing and support.

I HATE FLEXlm, and being tied to an network connection. I want to be able to use the product on a laptop without being connected to a network, and then use it on my desktop when I'm at work. (Like I can with all my Microsoft development tools).

How does your license management work, exactly?

Thanks,
tonyv

[CandiceJones]

Hi Tony,

InstallAware is free from artificial limitations and offers truly FLEXible licensing - pun intended

You will be able to use your copy of InstallAware regardless of whether you have a network connection or not. You can run it on your laptop and desktop.

[tonyv]

Thanks for the quick reply.

It seems that your license scheme is more flexible than InstallShield's (I was told by their sales guy that I would have to uninstall the product from one machine before I could install it on another), but your reply was rather short on details. How does your license manager work, exactly? Is there something I can read on your website that explains the details?

Additionally, I notice you have a competive upgrade pricing, but it, too, is rather short on details. We use InstallShield Express v 2.1 on an everyday basis, and also own Microsoft's Visual Studio Enterprise Edition (version 6), which comes with a full, but outdated, version of InstallShield. Does either of these qualify me for the competive upgrade price?

Thanks

[tonyv]

Thanks for the quick reply.

It seems that your license scheme is more flexible than InstallShield's (I was told by their sales guy that I would have to uninstall the product from one machine before I could install it on another), but your reply was rather short on details. How does your license manager work, exactly? Is there something I can read on your website that explains the details?

Additionally, I notice you have a competive upgrade pricing, but it, too, is rather short on details. We use InstallShield Express v 2.1 on an everyday basis, and also own Microsoft's Visual Studio Enterprise Edition (version 6), which comes with a full, but outdated, version of InstallShield. Does either of these qualify me for the competive upgrade price?

Thanks

[CandiceJones]

I cannot disclose the details of how our licensing system works internally, but as long as you do what you have described, you will not have any problems - guaranteed!

About your question, I'm afraid those two products are very old and they would not qualify you for the competitive upgrade discount. Products released since 2002 do qualify you for the discount. Apologies for the inconvenience.

[tonyv]

OK, I didn't really expect a discount for such old versions of InstallShield, but I thought it didn't hurt to ask.

I'm still very confused,however, about your licensing.

Is it hardware based, with a USB-dongle or something (my preference, since if your company goes under, I still have something that works).

Do I need to activate the copy upon installation, and then no more contact with your company is required? In this case, how do install it on both my laptop and desktop? Activation schemes generally don't support this.

Do I need to install a software license server somewhere, and then transfer the license between laptop and desktop before use?

Do I simply need to enter a product key each time I install it, than have no further hassle, like on Microsoft's development products?

I don't want source code to your license scheme or anything, I just want to know how, as a user, I am supposed to interact with it -- BEFORE I buy the product. I can't undestand why this is such a secret, and why it is not clearly stated somewhere on this website.

Tony

[CandiceJones]

Hi Tony,

There is no USB-dongle, or other hardware in the process
You do need to activate your product copies post-purchase. The activation scheme will work successfully with the scenario that you have described. Additionally you will not need an active Internet connection.
There is no license server that you need to install and/or use to transfer licenses either
The process is as simple as entering a product key, yes.

I think you've been plagued by complex licensing systems so far...hardware dongles, license servers...that sounds like scary stuff to me! You can rest assured you will have a MUCH better user experience with InstallAware.

[tonyv]

Thank you for the info.

I will order my copy today.

Tony

[tonyv]

I received my copy and have installed it on my desktop and laptop.
I am very satisfied with the licensing mechanism.

Here is sort of pre-purchase info I was looking for. Feel free to delete this if you consider it proprietary, but I can't imagine why you would.

1. After purchasing the Studio version from the web I was sent an email informing me that I would receive an additional email in about 30 minutes that would allow me to download a "watermarked" version of the program.

2. The email arrived as promised, with login info into a support site.

3. Upon logging in, I was given links to download the latest trial version, and a customized installation package to convert the trial version into my "watermarked" version.

4. I downloaded the trial, and used the trial installation password supplied in yet another email to install it.

5. I downloaded the customized installation package, and successfully converted the trail version into a "watermarked" installation.

6. All of the above was done on my desktop while connected to the internet. I next installed the trial and the conversion package on my laptop while disconnected from the net. This went smoothly and worked perfectly, giving me some reassurance that my installs would work in the future, even if InstallAware Corp disappears or morphs into something else.

I am very happy with the product and the support I have received thus far -- Thanks!

tonyv

[Gizm0]

We are glad to hear that you are satisfied!

Enjoy your InstallAWARE copy and feel free to ask any kind of questions that you might have!