Autoform DM Licensing

Introduction

Autoform DM requires an activated license for use in a production environment.

If an activated licence is not available, Autoform DM can be put into Evaluation Mode, where it will continue to work for 30 days before requiring an activated licence to function. We recommend using Evaluation Mode for out-of-hours upgrades where a new licence has not been requested in advance from Formpipe Support staff, or for test environments that are cleared down on a regular basis.

For standalone and clustered installs, only a single activated license is needed. The license is tied to the database used by Autoform DM and is perpetual. However, if any of the following changes are made, the license will become invalidated and you will have to contact Formpipe Support:

• Upgrading Autoform DM to a newer version

• Switching database provider

• Renaming the database

• Moving the database to another server

If you have been provided with a demo license, it will normally have a fixed expiry date built into it. After this date, Autoform DM will cease to function until either an additional demo license is obtained or a fully activated license is installed.

Note

The invalidation conditions above also apply to demo licenses.

In the case of an invalidated or expired license, Evaluation Mode can still be activated to give you enough time to request a new license from Formpipe Support.

Evaluation Mode

Evaluation mode can only be triggered once per license activation. This means that after an evaluation period has ended, the only way to continue using the software is to obtain an activated license. Upon installation of an activated license, the evaluation mode will be reset and will be available again for use at another time.

Using evaluation mode on a new install of Autoform DM will temporarily activate all common components and features (see the Default Licence Values table). Using evaluation mode on a previously activated version of Autoform DM will temporarily activate only those components and features that were originally available on the old license.

Default License Values (New Install)

To enable evaluation mode, first log in to Autoform DM. For new builds, the step can only be performed using the admin account. If you do not currently have a valid license, you will be automatically redirected to the licensing page.

If evaluation mode is available for your copy of Autoform DM you can click Evaluate.

Evaluation Mode Expiry

Autoform DM will be fully functional for 30 days following successful activation of the evaluation mode. The license expiry date and time will be displayed on-screen in the Licence Activation section so you can monitor how long you have remaining in the evaluation period. When the evaluation mode expires, you will no longer be able to use the instance of Autoform DM without a valid license.

Note

In evaluation mode, the login screen will display a notification until either the evaluation mode expires or a valid license is installed.

Get a License

Contact Formpipe Support if you do not have a license, if you need to update your license, or if your evaluation copy of Autoform DM has expired and you want to keep using it.

Install a License

On the Licence Activation page you can add a licence to your Autoform DM installation by either:

• Copying and pasting the contents of the license into the text area.

• Loading it from a license file.

Automatically Activate a License

Click Activate to activate the license automatically. This will contact the Formpipe licensing server and, if successful, show a license activated message with the license details.

Manually Activate a License

In the unlikely scenario that the license does not successfully activate automatically (for example, if your Autoform DM installation is unable to contact the Formpipe licensing server) the activation can be done manually.

You may also want to enable evaluation mode at this point (if available) so that you can begin using Autoform DM immediately.

The manual activation process is:

1. Copy the license activation code displayed and send it to Formpipe Support.

2. Formpipe support can manually activate the license and will send you a new activated license.

3. Install the new activated licence on your local Autoform DM instance as described in Install a License. Note: In this scenario, it is not necessary for Autoform DM to contact the Formpipe licensing server.

As soon as a valid license is entered into the system, the evaluation mode will be re-armed and your software will be fully licensed.

Update a License

To update your Autoform DM license, log in to Autoform DM as an administrator, then (on the Administration page) click Licence Activation.

On the Licence Activation page, you can see the details of your currently installed license, and you can upload a new one.

Updating the license works the same way as installing a new license, except it will replace any existing license.