Using a Standalone License
Contents
Altium Designer's Standalone licensing allows you to effectively manage your own license through use of a Standalone licensing file (*.alf). This file can be saved, copied and backed-up as required. The .alf file is reusable on a home computer (in accordance with the EULA) simply by copying the file to a specific folder on that computer and then adding the file as part of Standalone License Configuration.
With a Standalone license, the only time you need to sign in to your Altium account (through the Altium portal), is when you initially activate your Standalone license. During this process information about your PC is gathered, this is only done to ensure that the license is being used in accordance with the EULA. Other than that, once this type of license has been activated you can work in a self-contained, offline fashion – the very definition of standalone.
The following sections take a look at the various options and commands available to you as a user of a Standalone license.
Signing In
Whether 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 sign in to your Altium account in order to activate/reactivate the license. This, however, is a one-off event, after which you need not sign-in again from a licensing perspective.
For convenience, controls for account sign-in access are presented at the top of the Home - Admin - License Management workspace view (DXP » My Account).
Activation/reactivation of your Standalone license requires you to be signed in to your Altium account.
Available Portals
When you sign in to your account, you do so through an Altium portal. On the Altium side, a portal is simply a secure connection through to a specific Altium Account Management Server. The default portal is:
- portal2.altium.com
Account Management
The Connection, Sign in and Portal Server details are all available in the System — Account Management page of the Preferences dialog. This page can be accessed by clicking the Account Preferences link in the License Management workspace view, or by selecting DXP » Preferences from the menus.
Note that once you have signed-in via the License Management page this state is retained, even if you click Sign out, you will automatically be re-signed in the next time you start Altium Designer. If you prefer to work offline, you will need to open the System — Account Management page of the Preferences dialog and select the option No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium. Now when you shut down and restart Altium Designer you will not be automatically signed in.
Available portals through which connection to your Altium account is made.
License Availability
Once signed in, your Standalone license will be presented in a grid, within the Available Licenses region of the page. If any other licenses (or license types) are available to you, these will also be presented.
Your Standalone license (as well as any other licenses available to you) will be listed in the Available Licenses region.
- Product Name – what is being licensed. The name typically reflects a feature set and release.
- Activation Code – the activation code for the license.
- Activated – reflects the activation state of the license. While not activated, the entry will display
-. After activation, the entry will change toActivated. When in use by your installation of Altium Designer, the entry will displayUsed by me. - Expiry – the date at which the license will no longer be considered valid
- Status – the current state of the license. This entry can be one of the following states:
- OK – license is in-date.
- Expired – license expiry date has been reached.
- Subscription Status - details if the license is covered by subscription, or if the subscription has expired.
First-time Activation
To activate a Standalone license that has not been previously activated, click on the license in the grid, then click on the Activate option in the area below the grid.
Click to activate your Standalone license.
The Activated field for the license will change to Used by me. In addition, the 'banner' for the Available Licenses region will change from Available Licenses - Unlicensed to Available Licenses - Licensed to AccountName – reflecting the account to which the license is associated. A summary of the subscription status will also be shown.
The Available Licenses region will update to reflect your use of the Standalone license.
Reactivation
If you delete your Standalone license, then sign-in to your account, the Standalone license is still available to you, although you will no longer be using it. The Activated field will reflect the license's prior activation with the entry Activated. To use the license again, either add the Standalone license file back in or, if you haven't made a backup of the file, simply reactivate the license, using either the Reactivate option on the My Account page, or by activating through the AltiumLive Dashboard.
When reactivating a Standalone license that has already been activated, a dialog will appear alerting you to this fact and warning that using the license again may conflict with another user on the network if they are using the same license. If you are sure that you are the only person using the license, click Yes to proceed with activation.
Proceed with reactivation if you are sure no-one else is using the license.
The Activated field will change to Used by me. In addition, a history of activation can be viewed by clicking on the plus (+) symbol to the left of the license entry. This will show who activated the license, and on what date.
View the activation history for a Standalone license.
Working Offline
Having activated/reactivated your Standalone license, you are free to sign-out of your account and work offline with the license. This, after all, is the very nature of a Standalone license, and an aspect put to use by many. To remain signed out, open the System — Account Management page of the Preferences dialog and select the option No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium.
When you sign out, the grid in the Available Licenses region of the My Account page will change from showing available Standalone license(s), to showing the Standalone – Offline license that you are currently using.
When you are signed out from your Altium account the license state will show as Standalone - Offline.
Backing up Your License File
With the Standalone license type, the onus is very much on you, the user, when it comes to management of the associated license file (*.alf). To be able to use the license between two computers – for example to work between the office and home (though not running the two instances of Altium Designer simultaneously!) – you will need to have a copy of the license file to transfer it to the other computer. This requires first saving, or backing-up the file.
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.
To create a back-up, simply select the Standalone license in the Available Licenses region and then click on the Save standalone license file option. Use the subsequent dialog to determine where to save the file.
It is a good idea to create a back-up of the Standalone license file - especially if you want to use it on another computer.
Adding a Standalone License File
In accordance with the EULA, 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. To do so, take a copy of your saved license file (*.alf) to the target computer, then add the license file to the system using the Add standalone license file option.
The license will appear listed in the Available Licenses region as a Standalone – Offline license.
You do not need to sign-in to use the Standalone license on the other computer — just add the license file and continue working offline with the license.
Removing a Standalone License
To remove a Standalone license from a computer – essentially deleting the license file – simply select the Standalone license in the Available License region, then click on the Delete option. A confirmation dialog will appear – click Yes to proceed.
Delete the use of a Standalone license on the computer.