Atalasoft licensing is file-based (there are certain code based licenses which I will address below - but they're uncommon), and we often get asked where does one find the files.
SDK Licenses (for developers and certain automated build machines)
SDK (development / testing / build) licenses are activated per developer using our activation wizard. For more on activation, please see:
HOWTO: Activate DotImage SDK or Server (Including Offline Activation)
That activation process will put the license file(s) in a specific location that is unique to the user who activates and also to the major.minor version of DotImage
The short answer is the file goes into
C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage X.Y/
the files will have names ending in .lic such as
- Atalasoft.dotImage.lic
- Atalasoft.dotImage.Pdfium.lic
- Atalasoft.dotImage.Office.lic
- Atalasoft.WingScan.lic
- etc...
The license file is uniquely bound to the machine where it was activated on and can not be copied /moved to another machine. If you're changing machines, you need to activate on the new machine. Please see the above mentioned KB article link for how to activate and feel free to create a support case with Atalasoft support if you have questions/issues activating your license.
YOUR_USERNAME
The username in YOUR_USERNAME is your windows username, not the user name (email address) you use to activate the license. If your name is "John Doe", your windows login may be John.Doe or JDoe or John etc... so you'll need to
DotImage X.Y
The X.Y part of the folder name is the MAJOR.MINOR version - so you may be using 11.4.0.3.0.311 but your license will be activated for 11.4 - similar for older versions - we separate licenses only on those major/minor releases so that folder may be "DotImage 11.4" or "DotImage 11.3" or "DotImage 10.7" etc...
Putting it Together
So for John Doe who logs into windows as JDoe and activated both 10.7 and 11.4, he will have 2 directories containing his Atalasoft licenses
For his 10.7 version, they will be in
C:\users\JDoe\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 10.7\
and for his 11.4, they will be in
C:\users\JDoe\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 11.4\
Automated Build Processes
Each developer using DotImage requires their own serials / licenses. An Automated Build process requires licensing as if it were a separate developer
The license should be actiavted while logged on to the machine AS the build user. Given the example above where John Doe (logging on to his machine as JDoe) is also managing an automated build machine - on that machine the build logs in as "TFS_Build" when he activates that he would log onto the machine as TFS_Build and actiavate as normal - so in that case the licenses will be found in
For the 10.7 version, they will be in
C:\users\TFS_Build\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 10.7\
and for 11.4, they will be in
C:\users\TFS_Build\AppData\Local\Atalasoft\DotImage 11.4\
Server Licensing
Identifying Server Licenses
Server licenses are distinct from SDK (dev/build) licenses and can be identified by the X in the first group of letters.
Example:
DotImage Document Imaging - our base SDK and the basis for most all projects using DotImage - serials start with DID2 for developer/SDK licenses but DIDX2 for server versions.
PdfReader addon serials changed over time - for 10.7 and older they were PRS2 for SDK licenses and PRSX2 for server but for 11.0 and newer, they are PRP2 and PRPX2 respectively.
Over time we've had a LOT of different serials for different products please see INFO: Descriptions of Various Licenses for a complete list.
Locating Server Licenses
Unlike SDK licenses, when activated, server licenses are not automatically placed in any specific location. Instead, the activation wizard will ask you where you want to save the license.
As a general rule, for a server deployment, the license file is placed in the application bin directory next to the Atalasoft.*.dll files being referenced/included in the deployment.
NOTE that one serial / license file for a given version of an Atalasoft product is good for any and all apps on the server so EACH APP may have its own copy of the Atalasoft licenses it needs - this is acceptable - to activate once for the server then copy the same license file to many different apps as long as they are all on the same server.
So to locate a license for a given application, start by looking in the app's bin directory next to the Atalasoft.dotImage.dll and other Atalasoft.*.dll files being referenced. There may be many different files (Atalasoft.dotImage.lic, Atalasoft.dotImage.Pdfium.lic, Atalasoft.PdfDoc.lic etc...)
Alternate Locations and Special Cases
Program Files (x86)
Support does not recommend using this location, but at times it's useful - so it's worth checking to even see if it exists
C:\Program Files (x86)\Atalasoft\DotImage X.Y\bin
again, the X.Y being 11.4, 11.3, 11.2, etc...
This is a left over relic from over 15 years ago when it used to be the default to install licenses to the SDK install directory. We stopped doing that years ago, switching to the local user AppData\Local directory to avoid needing to be running as Administrator to make changes / activate licenses.
Custom License File location
There is a way to specify a custom location for licenses by setting a String key called AssemblyBasePath. The process for doing so is laid out in:
HOWTO: Configure your deployment to use Atalasoft license files in a custom location
If you are unable to find your licenses, they may have been set in that path (it may also be set to the above Program Files location as a defuault
Use your Registry editor to find that key (if present)
Code Based Licenses
In rare cases, you may have a CCW, PKL or ATL license which is an XML string that is embedded directly in code with a call to
Atalasoft.Licensing.SetAssemblyLicense("string of xml here");
If you're unable to find your license files you can search your code for "SetAssemblyLicense" to see if you're using such a license in your app.
Search for Atalasoft.*.lic
You can always search your entire driver for Atalasoft.*.lic files