Knowledgebase

Symptoms

I have installed the software with a valid license key but now I can’t find a way to activate the key for "all users".
 

Cause

Activation is always and in every case a "per user" requirement.  It cannot be done for "All Users" on a system under any circumstances.  Activation involves setting a flag in a user's HKCU registry, as such can only be done as the target user.

The process of installing/applying a license key to a device is distinct and separate from activating it for users.  Getting a fully licensed instance of the software is a two step process, the key must be installed on the device and subsequently activated by every user.

Installing/Applying a license.

This is the process of passing a license key (as a file or string) to any of our products. Installing a license key results n the key being stored in the Windows registry in either HKLM, HKCU, or both.

• One can apply a key during application installation, or post install.

• One can apply a key per machine or per user.
  • Per Machine
    • A per machine key is one that is stored in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Tracker Software\Vault
    • requires Administrative rights.  
    • can be done during or post install.
  • Per user
    • A Per User key is one stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Tracker Software\Vault
    • A Per user key cannot be applied during installation as the elevated rights users required for the installer does not have access to HKCU.
    • Per user keys must be applied post install and from within a user session, be it scripted or manually via the application GUI.

Activating a License.

This is the second step in the process of getting a user up and running with an already installed license.

• Activation is always a per user process.  It requires write access to a user's HKCU registry so as to set an "Activated" flag for that user.  As such a license cannot be activated for "All Users" on a device.

• Activation ties a license to a device by creating a hash of some machine specific variables and registering this against the license key on our Activation Servers.
• Users may activate 2 devices only.  Attempts to activate a third device without "De-registering" one of the two existing Activations will result in a failure and the third instance will not be licensed.
• Activation can be done silently by and Admin or manually by users via the application GUI.

Resolution