Disconnecting from Altium's On-Demand Services
Contents
- Connect or Disconnect - the Choice is Yours
- Effect of Disconnection...
- ...On Licensing
- ...On Software Updates
- ...On Automatic Login to the SUPPORTcenter
- ...On Altium Labs Features
- ...On Currency Conversion for Live Supplier Data
- ...On Altium Designer's Home Page
- ...On NanoBoard Registration
- ...On Automatic Firmware Updates (NanoBoard 3000)
- Reconnecting with Altium
Related article: Connecting with Altium
Through the secure Altium portal, Altium Designer is able to present a range of productivity-enhancing, 'on-demand' services, including on-demand licensing and updated exchange rates when using live links to supplier data. To access and use these services, you must 'allow' Altium Designer to connect with Altium through this portal.
However, despite the allure of these on-demand services and the many benefits they bring to the table, there may be occasion where you need to disconnect from these services altogether. For example, your company may have strict, non-negotiable policies in-place for connection to the 'outside world'. To this end, Altium makes it readily possible to disconnect from its on-demand services, placing full control in your hands. Should your circumstances (or mind) change further down the track, you can reconnect with Altium at any time – on-demand!
Connect or Disconnect - the Choice is Yours
You have the choice of either allowing connections to Altium – which is the default 'state' – or remaining disconnected from Altium. This choice can be made, at any time, from the System – Account Management page of the Preferences dialog (DXP»Preferences). To disconnect, simply enable the No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium option. The page will change to display a 'severed' connection graphic and all other options on the page will be disabled (account sign-in and server management).
Altium Designer completely from Altium at any time - you always have full control!
Before taking a look at the effects of remaining disconnected, it is worth spending a minute or two to identify what these two options actually mean:
- Allow connections to Altium's on-demand services – by enabling this option you are allowing Altium Designer to connect with Altium, over its secure portal, whenever you want to access and use one of Altium's on-demand services. Enabling this option does not mean you are instantly and constantly connected to Altium. Nor does it mean we are constantly gathering your information. Rather, connection is only made at the time you actually use one of the on-demand-style features that require connection to Altium (through the portal). For example, to sign in to your account from within Altium Designer, and install a new plugin, you are using a feature that requires connection with Altium – which is only possible if you have enabled this option to allow such a connection. Data may be gathered at the time of using an on-demand service, to ensure that you are provided with the right service for you.
- Remain disconnected from Altium – by enabling this option, your installation of Altium Designer will stay completely disconnected from Altium. While disconnected, you will not be able to access or use any of the on-demand services that require a connection with Altium. In essence, this option is a 'Full Off' switch, with the trade off of not being able to use any of Altium's on-demand services, for peace of mind that absolutely no hidden connections to Altium will be made.
Effect of Disconnection...
Altium delivers various productivity-enhancing features through connection to its secure portal while you are signed in to your Altium account. When you choose to disconnect from Altium, you are severing that connection – cutting the umbilical as it were. You are no longer able to sign in to your account through Altium Designer and access and make use of, those features. The following sections take a look at what features you essentially 'lose access to' while you remain disconnected from Altium's on-demand services.
...On Licensing
Related article: Altium Designer Licensing System
While disconnected from Altium, you will not be able to utilize on-demand licensing.
If you are actively using a Standalone license, disconnecting from Altium will not affect the license, in the sense that it is already activated and in use. Irrespective of whether you are signed in or working offline with the license, simply disconnect and carry on working in true standalone fashion.
If you are accessing your Standalone license for the very first time, or you have inadvertently deleted the license from your computer (and have no backup of the associated license file), you will need to activate (reactivate) the license. This can be done while disconnected from Altium. In this case, the Available Licenses region of the My Account page (DXP»My Account) will reflect that you are currently Unlicensed.
License activation can be carried out directly from within Altium Designer, or from the AltiumLive Dashboard. Note that only Group Administrators on the Altium Account can access and use the Dashboard.
To activate your Standalone license from within Altium Designer, simply click on the Activate License option. The Activate Standalone License dialog will appear. By using this dialog, a temporary connection with Altium will be enabled that allows you to sign in to your Altium account and activate your Standalone license. Once successfully activated, closing the dialog will place you back in a disconnected state.
To proceed with activation, enable the checkbox to confirm that you have read and understood the warning – regarding a connection to Altium and the gathering of information about your PC hardware over the secure Altium portal. Ensure that your Altium Account credentials (Username and Password) are filled in, then click the Sign In button.
The connection to Altium will be made and the Standalone license(s) that are available to you will be presented within the dialog. Select your license and click the Activate License option. Once activated, a confirmation dialog will appear to reflect successful activation.
Click OK out of the confirmation dialog, then click the Close & Sign Out button at the bottom of the Activate Standalone License dialog. The Available Licenses region of the My Account page will update to reflect your use of the Standalone license.
In accordance with the End-User License Agreement, the Standalone license can also be installed on a home computer, so long as this second installation is never used simultaneously with the original installation. You will need to first backup your Standalone license file, take a copy of this file (*.alf) to the target computer, then add the Standalone license file to the system.
Backing-up the license file also means you will not have to sign-in to your account, and reactivate, should you accidentally delete the license file.
While disconnected from Altium, you will not be able to convert your Standalone license to an On-Demand license.
...On Software Updates
While disconnected, automatic checking for updates will not be performed. Also, should you access the Plugins view to perform a change to your installation – such as installing a new plugin – you will not be able to proceed. All installation changes – management of plugins – requires that you be signed in to your Altium Account.
...On Automatic Login to the SUPPORTcenter
When you disconnect from Altium, the inability to sign-in to your account from within Altium Designer also means you no longer have automatic login to the SUPPORTcenter – for logging and tracking cases, and browsing solutions to common (and not so common) design tasks.
is disabled when you are disconnected from Altium.
Although the convenience of automatic login is removed, you can of course still access the SUPPORTcenter through your normal web-browser, or by using the link from the main Help menu. You will just need to login manually using your Altium Account credentials.
...On Altium Labs Features
Related article: Altium Labs
While disconnected from Altium, you will not be able to activate any features that are currently resident in, or become added to, the Altium Labs.
yet-unreleased Altium Designer features!
...On Currency Conversion for Live Supplier Data
Related article: Live Links to Supplier Data
Use of Altium Designer's Live Links to Supplier Data feature does not require you to be signed in to your Altium account, as searching is conducted directly with the suppliers through web services. However, when displaying pricing information in alternate currencies, exchange rates for currency conversion are refreshed daily, provided you are signed in to your account. When you disconnect from Altium, access to these rates – which are updated every 24 hours – is lost.
...On Altium Designer's Home Page
Related article: Altium Designer Home Page
Disconnecting from Altium also affects the Home page within Altium Designer, in that you will no longer have access to the 'Live Web' view. This is the region of the page that provides a 'portal' into Altium web-based content, including design issues and solutions, features and late-breaking design news and videos – but only while you are signed in to your Altium account.
...On NanoBoard Registration
If you are connecting a NanoBoard (NanoBoard NB2 or 3000-series NanoBoard) for the first time, and you are currently disconnected from Altium, you will not be able to register your board to your Altium account.
...On Automatic Firmware Updates (NanoBoard 3000)
Main article: NanoBoard 3000 - Firmware Updates
The Automatic Firmware Update feature (for 3000-series NanoBoards) is automatically disabled whenever you elect to disconnect from Altium's on-demand services. When in a disconnected state, indication will be displayed at the top of the FPGA – NanoBoard Firmware Updates page of the Preferences dialog, and all controls on that page will be disabled. To take advantage of the Automatic Firmware Update feature, you will need to reinstate your connection with Altium.
Although disconnection from Altium's on-demand services disables Automatic Firmware Updates, you can still manually update your firmware by choosing a firmware file from a local hard disk or network location.
Reconnecting with Altium
Perhaps you're missing that portal-delivered feature you had become accustomed to using, never realizing it was delivered only while signed in to your Altium account. Or, perhaps you've noticed a feature in Altium Labs that has you 'chomping at the bit' to try out. Perhaps another productivity-enhancing feature has been added to Altium's on-demand services since the last time you 'connected'. Whatever the reasoning, it is always great to be welcomed back with open arms, and reconnecting with Altium is no exception!
Simply choose the option Yes, I would like to allow connections to Altium's on-demand services, on the System – Account Management page of the Preferences dialog and then sign in to your account to get back the features as though you had never left – that's all there is to it!