Licenses Window

Concept

The licenses window displays each license on the KeyServer, as well as a summary of current configuration and usage.

Licenses are defined by administrators, in order to impose usage limits and access restrictions on a program or group of programs. Most importantly, a license can limit the number of programs which can be used to the number of copies which have been purchased. However, licenses can also restrict who uses programs, when, and for how long.

Three default licenses (KeyCheckout, KeySentry, KeyVerify) are created at installation. All other items in this window are defined and maintained strictly through KeyConfigure. Unlike the Computers, Programs, and Users windows, items are never automatically added to the Licenses window, regardless of user activity.

In most cases, a program will be controlled by a single license. In turn, this license will control only that one program. However, a program can be controlled by multiple licenses, and likewise, a license can control multiple programs.

In short, a license can be thought of as a particular set of access and usage rules being applied to one or more items in the Programs Window. When a user attempts to run a controlled program, each license which controls the program is used to determine whether the program launch will succeed.

Columns

The columns in the Licenses Window give you a simple overview of all licenses. They show the most basic configuration options, as well as a summary of the current usage.

• The In Use column shows how many copies of the license are currently in use (checked out). It is blank if no copies are in use.
• The Waiting column is blank unless at least one user is queued and waiting for a a copy of the license to become available, so that they can run a program which is controlled by this license.
• The Enabled column shows the total number of copies of this license which are enabled. If the license is a Node-Locked license, a computer icon appears to the right of the number.
• The License Name column shows the name which has been chosen for this license. For licenses which control a single program, this is usually the program name, plus the word “License”.

Creating Licenses

There are a number of ways to create a new license.

• Dragging a program file from the system into the Licenses window of KeyConfigure allows you to create a license to control the program. In addition, this will give you the choice of keying the program (see help on programs for more on this subject).
• Dragging a program item from the Programs Window to the Licenses Window will do the same thing as above, but you will not have the option to key the program.
• Right-clicking a logged or ignored program in the Programs Window, and selecting Controlled will also prompt you to create a License to control the program
• You can also select Create License... from KeyConfigure's File menu. You can then either create an empty license, or browse the local computer for an executable you wish to control, and select whether to key it or not.
• Right-clicking in white-space in the Licenses window and selecting Create License will do the same as the above.

Modifying Licenses

Most license parameters are modified from the License Details Window (double click on a particular license) but some drag actions are also supported.

• Additional programs can be placed under the control of an existing license simply by dragging an item from the Programs window onto a particular license item in the Licenses window – the license will immediately impose control on the program without a confirming save dialog. Use this procedure to easily aggregate several programs under the control of a single "suite" license.

Note: the Programs pane in the license details lists all programs under control of the license so you can drag and drop items into this pane as an alternate way to configure suite control. Drag a program out of this pane and drop onto the Ignore or Log icon on the left of the Programs window in order to remove control.

Context Menu Actions

Right-clicking on a License in the Licenses window allows you to Show Computers or Set Template License.

• Show Computers will bring up a window that lists every computer which has used the license, or has been manually added to the node list for the license. In the case of a Node-Lock license, this is the list of computers which may use the license, and must be less than the Limit for the license. Selecting this menu item is equivalent to pressing the Computer List button in the Limits pane of the License Details window.
• Set Template License saves the configuration options for the license, so that whenever you create a new license, these same values will be used as the defaults.

Right-clicking anywhere else in the licenses window allows you to Create License..., or sort the licenses window by two fields which are not actually shown in the window itself (Sort By Date Created or Sort By Date Modified)

Drag and Drop Actions

Licenses in the Licenses Window can be Dragged and Dropped to the following locations:

• Into the licenses list in the Licenses pane of a program details window. This sets the program so that it is controlled by the license. If the program is not already marked as controlled, the action is changed to controlled.
• Into a licenses file. This copies the license into the file so that they can be copied to a different KeyServer.

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