Pre-Generated
Activation Licensing
This tutorial demonstrates a pre-generated activation licensing
scenario in which you can generate Activation
Keys in advance of the distribution of your software. Various situations
fit this scenario. For instance, you can pre-generate Activation Keys in bulk,
export and print them as labels for software package distribution such as
CD/DVD. You can easily create a list of Activation Keys for your software,
without having to generate it each time you receive an order. You can also
provide a list of Activation Keys to your partner or affiliate that helps to
sell your software.
In this tutorial, we assume that your application is protected as a
full distribution node-locked license. Specifically, you want to distribute
your application on a CD/DVD, or via download, along with the Activation Key.
After installation, the user can immediately use the Activation Key to activate
the application into the full registered license.
Based on the settings used in this tutorial, the following describes
how the user would experience the protected application.
·
You can log in to your Activation Server to generate
Activation Keys, and then export them or print them out as labels for your
software distribution.
·
The user makes a purchase and obtains the
application on a CD/DVD or via download, along with the Activation Key.
·
When starting the application, the
Registration and Activation dialog box pops up, allowing the user to enter
their registration information such as name, company, address, email, etc.
·
The user can then enter the Activation Key to
activate the application instantly online as the full registered license. In
this step, the user registration information is automatically sent to the
Activation Server.
·
Alternatively, if the user’s computer does
not have an Internet connection, the user may use the offline activation method.
·
The user may contact you by email, phone, or
through your activation web page, and provide the Activation Key and Registration ID (shown in the Registration and
Activation dialog box).
·
With the received Activation Key and
Registration ID, you can log in to your Activation Server and manually generate
the License Key to be returned to the user.
·
The user can activate the application offline
by entering the License Key in the Registration and Activation dialog box.
Protecting Applications
The following instructions use ElecKey Integrator (the shell
protection method) to protect the application. The necessary settings are
described below. However, you may change the options as you want.
Besides the shell protection method, you may also use the provided KeyCheck API (including
the KeyCheck Class Library and the KeyCheck .NET Component) to protect your application, by
specifying the same settings as described below. Please see Protecting Applications
Using API and the provided code examples
for more information.
To Protect an
Application
1.
Run ElecKey
Integrator. The wizard dialog box appears.
2.
In the Select
Application License Type dialog, select Machine
License.
3.
In the Select
Integration Task dialog, select Protect Code
and Enforce Licensing.
4.
In the Specify
Protected Program dialog, specify your executable file name in
the Original field. In the Target field, specify a different name for the protected
executable file that will be created.
5.
In the Set
Identification dialog, assign a Program ID
in the Program ID field.
6.
In the Key Detection
Method dialog, select Detect
Stand-Alone Key.
7.
In the Set Options
dialog, you can use the default settings.
8.
In the Choose
Implementation dialog, select Distribution.
9.
In the Customize
Messages dialog, the needed dialog boxes for the
implementation you have chosen are automatically checked. However, you can
enable the dialog boxes as well as edit messages and options as you want.
10. From
the Dialog Box Style drop-down list,
select Default Dialog Box/Auto-Activation.
Then, click the Edit
button of the Registration Dialog Box
checkbox.
11. In
the Registration Dialog Box
Properties dialog box, click the Registration Form Dialog
tab, and then enable the Enable Registration Form
Dialog Box checkbox.
12. Under
the Appearance Options box, select Show auto activation first, followed by manual activation
from the drop-down list.
13. Click
the Options tab. Then, in the URL/Email/Document/Executable field, enter your
registration web page URL. For instance, https://demo.eleckey.net/registration_activation.aspx.
14. In
the Web Service URL field, enter your
Activation Server web service URL. For instance, https://demo.eleckey.net/service.asmx.
15. In
the Create End-User Utilities
dialog, the needed end-user utilities for the implementation you have chosen
are automatically checked. However, you can choose to build the end-user
utilities as you want.
16. In
the Summary dialog, review the action
you have chosen.
17. Click
the Integrate button. The protected
version of your executable file is created.
It is recommended that you save your unprotected executable file in a
safe place. You can then rename the protected version to its original file
name, and use it further to create a setup package and distribute your
application to the user.
Distributing Protected Applications
To create a setup package and distribute your application, please
ensure to include the protected version of your executable file and the ElecKey system files. For Win32/Win64/.NET applications,
the following is the list of the needed system files:
·
Ekc3220.dll
(in \Deploy\Win32App\KeyCheck\)
·
Ekc6420.dll
(in \Deploy\Win64App\KeyCheck\)
·
Ekag20nt.exe
(in \Deploy\Win32App\KeyCheck\)
·
Ekag6420.exe
(in \Deploy\Win64App\KeyCheck\)
·
End-user utilities
(optional)
The above system files must be placed in the same directory as the
protected executable file. Depending on the features you have enabled, you may
need additional system files. See the topic Protecting Windows
Apps/Deployment for more details.
Setting up Activation Server
Before you can use the Activation Server to license your application,
you must first create a product in the Products table. This table contains
information about the product and the Master ID and Master License, which
encode the licensing properties of the product. You can generate the Master ID
and Master License by using the LicenseKey Manager tool.
To Generate Master
ID and Master License
1. Run LicenseKey
Manager.
2. From the Tools menu, select Generate
Master ID.
3. In the Generate
Master ID
dialog box, from the Program ID drop-down list, select the Program ID of your
application. Then, click the Generate button. A Master ID is generated.
4. Copy the Master ID. Then, go
to the Main
tab of the Key Properties pane. Paste the Master ID in the Registration
ID field,
and click the Check button.
5. The Identification field shows the Key ID, Program
ID, and flag decoded from the Master ID.
6. From the Implementation drop-down list:
·
Select Distribution if you want to generate the Master License that
turns the application into the full version with no limit.
7. From the Note pane, you can enter notes about
the Master ID and Master License in the Messages field.
8. From the Main tab of the Key
Properties
pane, click the Generate button. The Master License is shown in the License Key field.
To Add a Product
1.
Log in to Activation Manager, and click the Products menu.
2.
Click the Insert New
Product button. A new record is created.
3.
On the new record, click the Edit button.
4.
In the ProductName edit box, enter your product name.
5.
In the ProgramID edit box, enter the Program ID of your
application.
6.
In the MasterID and MasterLicense edit boxes, enter the
Master ID and Master License generated by LicenseKey
Manager.
7.
In the MaxActivation edit box, enter the
maximum number of activations allowed, or enter -1 for unlimited activations.
8.
In the ProductTitle edit box, enter the full title of your
product.
9.
Click the Update
button.
Licensing Protected Applications
You can license the protected application by creating an activation
account in the Activation Server, and then associating it with a product listed
in the Products table. Each activation account contains a unique Activation Key
that is randomly generated. In the pre-generated activation licensing scenario,
the Activation Server provides an option that you can easily generate
Activation Keys in bulk, and export them to a CSV (Comma Separated Values)
file.
To Add Accounts and
Export Activation Keys
1.
Log in to Activation Manager, and click the Accounts menu.
2.
Below the menu bar, under New Account, enter the number of accounts in the
provided field and select a product from the drop-down list. Then, click the Insert New Account button. New records are created.
3.
Below the menu bar, under Export, select Activation Key
from the drop-down list and click the Export
button.
Note that you do not need to fill any data for the new accounts you
have just created. When an account is used or activated, the user information
will be filled automatically.
|
https://demo.eleckey.net/exported/AK12653984.csv
https://demo.eleckey.net/exported/UI645887084.csv To ensure the security, after you save
the exported file, it is recommended that you remove them from your
Activation Server. |
Providing Web-Based and Offline Activation
Besides automatic online activation, you can optionally provide offline
activation in case if the user’s computer does not have an Internet connection.
Offline activation requires that the user must provide the Activation Key and
Registration ID (shown in the Registration and Activation dialog box). You can
then generate the License Key to be returned to the user.
The Activation Server already includes the ready-to-use activation web
page. To provide web-based activation, you can customize from the following
file:
\ACTIVATIONSERVER\PRECOMPILEDWEB\MANAGER\REGISTRATION_ACTIVATION.ASPX
|
|
To provide offline activation by phone, email, etc., you can log in to your Activation Server and manually generate the License Key to be returned to the user.
To Generate a
License Key
1.
Log in to Activation Manager, and click the Control menu.
2.
Below the menu bar, enter the Activation Key
and click the Get Information
button.
3.
Under the License
Activation box, enter the Registration ID and click the Activate button.
4.
The License Key is generated and shown in the
Activation Logs pane.