How do I activate a standalone license for Altium Designer Winter 09?

Note: The following procedure only applies to customers who have purchased Altium Designer directly from Altium. If the software has been purchased from an Altium VAR or reseller, contact the VAR/reseller for activation.

The activation process for the next release changed. The information in this solution can not be used for Summer09 activation.

Introduction

To activate Altium Designer, it is necessary to have a customer number and an activation code. The customer number appears at the top of the invoice for the software. The activation code is supplied in the software packaging.

Once this information has been located, open Altium Designer, and select DXP » Licensing (or DXP » My Account... if using Altium Designer Winter 09 or later) from the menus. Under Licensing Mode, make sure that Standalone is selected.

Under the Available Licenses section, there are two methods of activation available - using the web, and by email. Both methods will need to collect some information about the PC that is being activated. A list of MAC addresses, which identify network hardware, is needed by the activation procedure to identify machines using nodelocked licenses.

Activation over the Web

To activate Altium Designer over the web, click on Activate license using the web. A dialog box will appear to inform you that some information about the PC will be collected, as explained above. Tick the checkbox to acknowledge, and click OK. Altium Designer will then bring up a screen where it is possible to enter the activation code and customer number. Enter these details, and, if necessary, check the box underneath if an evaluation copy of the software is being activated.

Press the Retrieve License button - Altium Designer will check license details over the web. This information will be displayed, and a box will appear below, asking for an email address to send the license file to. Check that the email address is correct, then click the Activate License button. An email containing the license file will be sent to the supplied address. To use the license file, refer to the section below, Adding a License File.

Activation by E-mail

Activation by email works through generating an email attachment, which is then sent to Altium. To activate Altium Designer by email, click on Activate license via email. A screen will appear, where it is possible to enter the customer number and activation code. It is also necessary to tick the box above, to consent to the collection of information about the PC. Once this has been done, the link below, labeled Generate e-mail attachment, should become active. Click this link, and Altium Designer will ask where the e-mail attachment should be saved to. Give the file a name, and save it.

Now open an e-mail client, and compose a mail to activation@altium.com . Attach the file generated by Altium Designer, and send the mail. Provided that the activation is successful, Altium will reply with an email containing the license file.

Adding a License File

Once the license file has been received by email, save it to the hard disk. It is best to save it to the following directory (though this is not a requirement):

C:\Documents and Settings\( UserLogin -or "AllUsers" )\Application Data\AltiumDesignerSummer( Version )_Security

Open Altium Designer, and return to the Licensing screen through DXP » Licensing (or DXP » My Account... if using Altium Designer Winter 09 or later). Click the link Add license file, under the heading Available Licenses. Select the file that was received in the email, and press the Open button. Altium Designer should now be licensed.