Managing licenses in Studio Server

To use Studio Server or any of the client applications that connect to it, licenses are required.

This article explains how to manage licenses in Studio Server:

• Activating the Studio Server license for the first time
• Activating client licenses
• Activating additional licenses
• Deactivating licenses
• Removing connections
• Removing licenses
• Manually renewing licenses
• Various issues when (de-)activating licenses

A note about serial numbers and security In Studio Server 10.35.0 and higher, serial numbers on License Maintenance pages are no longer shown in readable form. Instead, they are either obfuscated or fields in which they were automatically added are left empty. This affects the following pages: On the License Status page, the last 10 characters are replaced by asterisks (***** *****). On the License Registration page, the serial number is not automatically filled in when activating a license. In a not below the field, the start of the serial number is shown in readable form while the last 10 characters are replaced by asterisks (***** *****). The correct serial number then has to be entered manually. As a result of this, the administrator needs to keep record of the serial numbers; copying and pasting them from the License Status page is not possible. On the License Unregister page, the license number can not be looked up anymore by using the Inspect option of the web browser. A Serial Number field is shown, which is empty and editable. Below the field, a note is shown in which the start of the serial number is given in readable form while the last 10 characters are replaced by asterisks (***** *****). The correct serial number has to be entered manually. When the field is left empty or when an incorrect serial number is entered, clicking the Next button will result in the unregistration process failing with an error. As a result of this, the administrator needs to keep record of the serial numbers; copying and pasting them from the License Status page is not possible.

Info: Use the filter to only show information for one topic. All topics Activating the Studio Server license for the first time Activating client licenses Activating additional licenses Deactivating licenses Removing connections Removing licenses Manually renewing licenses Various issues when (de-)activating licenses

Activating the Studio Server license for the first time

Note: Activating licenses offline is not available anymore since 2023.

Step 1. Log in to Studio Server.

Since no licenses are activated yet, the License Status page automatically appears, informing you that licenses need to be activated.

Step 2. Click the Get License link.

The Activate page appears.

Note: To continue with the automated process, a Web browser with Internet access is required. A browser connection status is displayed at the bottom of the page, indicating whether or not your current browser can be used for this process. If your browser cannot be used, check your Internet connection, such as your proxy settings, (software) firewalls, router configuration, and so on. Your browser needs to support Javascript, but you will see an error message in cases when Javascript support has been switched off.

The activated server license will be stored server-side, but the client system which runs the browser will actually make the connection to the WoodWing Activation server via Internet. This way, your server can be located in a subnetwork without internet-out access.

Step 3. Click Next.

Troubleshooting: "Error encrypting public key. (Error encrypting public key.)" appears Make sure that the Web server user has Write access to the file store. The Web server user can be: Unix: www / daemon / nobody Windows: IIS_<MachineName> and/or IIS_WPG

The Serial Number page appears.

Step 4. From the Product list, choose the required product.

Step 5. Enter the serial number and number of concurrent licenses (this makes it possible to divide your licenses among several application servers).

Step 6. (Optional) If you are unsure of the number of concurrent licenses available for this serial number, click the Check button.

Step 7. Select the check box to register Studio Server.

Note: Only registered copies of Studio Server are entitled to upgrades.

Step 8. Select the check box The Actual Server Time is... to confirm the time on the application server.

Step 9. Click Next.

The Contact Information page appears.

Step 10. Enter all required fields.

Step 11. Click Next.

The License Status page appears. If all has gone well, a message displays that the license has been activated successfully.

Step 12. Return to the License Status page by clicking License Status.

Activating client licenses

For Studio and Studio for InDesign and InCopy, the process of registering a license is dependent on the type of license used.

Notes: Licenses for Studio are always concurrent licenses; licenses for the Studio for InDesign and InCopy are always seat-based. Activating licenses offline is not available anymore since 2023.

Seat-based licenses are activated client side through the activation wizard or through an activation file to activate without user interference. No additional steps on the server are required. (For more information, see Activating Studio for InDesign and InCopy.)

Concurrent client licenses require an additional activation step on the server, using the same licensing screens as the server connections.

To activate a concurrent client license, follow these steps:

Step 1. Access the License Status page by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Click the link Add Additional Client Licenses.

The Activate page appears.

When no licenses are activated yet, the License Status page automatically appears, informing you that licenses need to be activated.

Step 3. Click the Get License link.

The Activate page appears.

Note: To continue with the automated process, a Web browser with Internet access is required. A browser connection status is displayed at the bottom of the page, indicating whether or not your current browser can be used for this process. If your browser cannot be used, check your Internet connection, such as your proxy settings, (software) firewalls, router configuration, and so on. Your browser needs to support Javascript, but you will see an error message in cases when Javascript support has been switched off.

The activated server license will be stored server-side, but the client system which runs the browser will actually make the connection to the WoodWing Activation server via Internet. This makes it possible for your server to be located in a subnetwork without internet-out access.

Step 4. Click Next.

Troubleshooting: "Error encrypting public key. (Error encrypting public key.)" appears Make sure that the Web server user has Write access to the file store. The Web server user can be: Unix: www / daemon / nobody Windows: IIS_<MachineName> and/or IIS_WPG

The Serial Number page appears.

Step 5. From the Product list, choose the required product.

Step 6. Enter the serial number and number of concurrent licenses (this makes it possible to divide your licenses among several application servers).

Step 7. (Optional) If you are unsure of the number of concurrent licenses available for this serial number, click the Check button.

Step 8. Select the check box to register Studio Server.

Note: Only registered copies of Studio Server are entitled to upgrades.

Step 9. Select the check box The Actual Server Time is... to confirm the time on the application server.

Step 10. Click Next.

The Contact Information page appears.

Step 11. Enter all required fields.

Step 12. Click Next.

The License Status page appears. If all has gone well, a message displays that the license has been activated successfully.

Step 13. Return to the License Status page by clicking License Status.

Activating additional licenses

Note: Activating licenses offline is not available anymore since 2023.

Once a license has been added for the first time, additional licenses can be added when needed.

Step 1. Access the License Status page in Studio Server by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Click the Activate More button for the application for which additional licenses need to be activated.

Step 3. Log in to Studio Server.

When no licenses are activated, the License Status page automatically appears, informing you that licenses need to be activated.

Step 4. Click the Get License link.

The Activate page appears.

Note: To continue with the automated process, a Web browser with Internet access is required. A browser connection status is displayed at the bottom of the page, indicating whether or not your current browser can be used for this process. If your browser cannot be used, check your Internet connection, such as your proxy settings, (software) firewalls, router configuration, and so on. Your browser needs to support Javascript, but you will see an error message in cases when Javascript support has been switched off.

The activated server license will be stored server-side, but the client system which runs the browser will actually make the connection to the WoodWing Activation server via Internet. This makes it possible for your server to be located in a subnetwork without internet-out access.

Step 5. Click Next.

Troubleshooting: "Error encrypting public key. (Error encrypting public key.)" appears Make sure that the Web server user has Write access to the file store. The Web server user can be: Unix: www / daemon / nobody Windows: IIS_<MachineName> and/or IIS_WPG

The Serial Number page appears.

Step 6. From the Product list, choose the required product.

Step 7. Enter the serial number and number of concurrent licenses (this makes it possible to divide your licenses among several application servers).

Step 8. (Optional) If you are unsure of the number of concurrent licenses available for this serial number, click the Check button.

Step 9. Select the check box to register Studio Server.

Note: Only registered copies of Studio Server are entitled to upgrades.

Step 10. Select the check box The Actual Server Time is... to confirm the time on the application server.

Step 11. Click Next.

The Contact Information page appears.

Step 12. Enter all required fields.

Step 13. Click Next.

The License Status page appears. If all has gone well, a message displays that the license has been activated successfully.

Step 14. Return to the License Status page by clicking License Status.

Deactivating licenses

Licenses can be deactivated on a system with the aim for instance to activate that same license on another system.

Note: Deactivating licenses requires an active Internet connection.

Step 1. Access the License Status page in Studio Server by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Click the Deactivate button for the license that needs to be deactivated.

The Deactivate page appears.

Step 3. (Optional, for Studio Server versions 10.35.0 or higher only) Enter the serial number of the license that needs to be adjusted. The start of the serial number is given below the field.

Step 4. Use one of the following methods:

• Enter a number that is fewer than the maximum connections to reduce the connections
• Enter the maximum number of connections to remove the license completely

Step 5. Click Next.

After the changes have been processed, a screen appears informing that the process has been completed successfully.

Note: After you have deactivated a license, it becomes available to be activated again on a different system.

Removing connections

When the maximum number of concurrent users has been reached, connections can be freed by forcefully removing tickets (one ticket equals one client application with which a user is logged in).

Step 1. Access the License Status page in Studio Server by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Click the Remove tickets to log-off users link.

Note: This link only appears when the concurrent users limit has been reached. Its functionality can only be used when logged in as administrator.

The License Usage page appears. This page is divided into two sections: the top half is used for removing connections, the bottom half is the regular License Status page.

Step 3. Choose the method to remove the connection:

By user

Step 3a. Choose the user for whom the connections need to be removed.

The number of active connections is displayed in brackets behind the user name, and can also be verified in the License Status section at the lower half of the page.

Step 3b. Click Delete.

The connections for the selected user are deleted and the page is updated to reflect this information.

By time

Step 3a. locate the connection which needs to be removed.

Step 3b. Click the Delete button for that connection.

The connection is deleted and the page is updated to reflect this information.

Removing licenses

When a license becomes invalid, Studio Server will prompt you through a message on the License Status page to remove the license completely.

Caution: When performing this action, you will remove all licenses on the system. Note that it is better to deactivate licenses first, if possible. If the license is not deactivated first, the WoodWing Activation Server will not be notified and activating the license later may result in a limited number of concurrent connections or users.

Step 1. Access the License Status page in Studio Server by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Sep 2. Click Remove License.

The Remove License page appears.

Step 3. Click Remove.

The license will be removed and on successful removal a confirmation message will display.

Manually renewing licenses

In case of a subscription license, it is required that Studio Server can access the WoodWing Activation server over the Internet.

After activation of a subscription license, Studio Server is typically activated for 60 days. When the end of this period is approaching, Studio Server will contact the WoodWing Activation server to obtain a renewal.

In case this fails — for example because no Internet connection is available or a payment has not been made ­— Studio Server will keep on trying once per day. If renewal has not been taken care of one week before expiration, users will get a message when logging in (this to prevent a sudden expiration).

The manual renew option makes it possible for a system admin to perform the renewal when the automatic renewal has failed.

Step 1. Access the License Status page in Studio Server by choosing Licensing in the Maintenance menu on the left side of the screen or on the Home page.

Step 2. Click the Deactivate button for the license that needs to be deactivated.

The Deactivate page appears.

Step 3. Use one of the following methods:

• Enter a number less than the maximum connections to reduce the connections
• Enter the maximum number of connections to remove the license completely

Note: In case of multiple concurrent users, it is sufficient to only deactivate one connection.

Step 4. Click Next.

After the changes have been processed, the Install License page appears with the message that the License is installed successfully.

Step 5. Return to the License Status page to verify that the remaining concurrent users are indeed renewed.

Various issues when (de-)activating licenses

When activating or de-activating licenses using the License Status page in Studio Server, various issues may occur ranging from incorrect error messages to licenses not being displayed.

We have found that these issues can be caused by specific Web browsers.

When coming across such errors therefore, first try using the License Status page by using a different Web browser.