Standalone Licensing

Created: July 21, 2020 | Updated: September 11, 2020 | Applies to versions: 3.2 and 4

Now reading version 4.0. For the latest, read: Standalone Licensing for version 5

This documentation page references Altium NEXUS/NEXUS Client (part of the deployed NEXUS solution), which has been discontinued. All your PCB design, data management and collaboration needs can now be delivered by Altium Designer and a connected Altium 365 Workspace. Check out the FAQs page for more information.

Altium NEXUS'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) 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 that license through Altium NEXUS. 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.

A Group Administrator for your Altium Account can also activate Standalone licensing directly through a Web browser, using the Altium Dashboard. This is especially useful where client computers cannot access the internet for whatever reason. An Admin user - who does have connection to the internet - simply accesses and activates the licenses, then passes the relevant .alf file to each client user in the organization.

The following sections take a look at the various options and commands available to you as a user of a Standalone license, and from the perspective of license activation through Altium NEXUS.

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 through the secure Altium portal, 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 access are presented at the top of the License Management page (accessed by clicking the control at the top-right of the workspace then choosing the Licenses command from the menu). Click the Sign in link to access the Sign in dialog. Use this dialog to enter your AltiumLive Account Credentials then click OK.

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.

Account Management

The Connection, Sign in and portal Server details are all available on the System - Account Management page of the Preferences dialog. This page can be quickly accessed by clicking the Account Preferences link in the License Management view. Alternatively, access the Preferences dialog (click on the control at the top-right of the workspace) and browse to the page within the System folder.

Manage connection and sign-in credentials as part of your Altium NEXUS preferences.

If you prefer to work offline, switching Altium NEXUS to an offline mode, and essentially severing the connection to Altium - enable the No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium option. By enabling this option, your installation of Altium NEXUS will stay completely disconnected from Altium. While disconnected, you will not be able to access or use any of the on-demand services that require a connection with Altium. In essence, this option is a 'full offline' switch.

License Availability

Once signed in, the Available Licenses region of the page will automatically present the specific licenses - On-Demand and Standalone - available to you for use.

All purchased licenses associated to your account, and that are allocated to you for use, will be presented here. This includes Altium NEXUS licenses and any licensing associated with certain paid/licensed extension-delivered functionality.

In the example image below, Standalone licenses are listed and are available for the currently signed-in user.

For each Standalone license, the following information is presented:

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 display Activated. When in use by your installation of Altium NEXUS, the entry will display Used 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

From within Altium NEXUS, the easiest way to activate a Standalone license that has not been previously activated, is to:

Ensure you are signed in to your Altium Account.
Select the license you wish to use in the Available Licenses grid.
Click on the Activate link in the area below the grid, or right-click and choose the Activate command from the context menu.

With a license in use, the following changes will occur:

The Activated field for the license will change to Used by me.
The 'banner' for the Available Licenses region will change from Available Licenses - Unlicensed to Available Licenses - Licensed to <AccountName>. License subscription valid to <SubscriptionExpiryDate>. - reflecting the account to which the license is associated, and the expiry of the current subscription associated to, and purchased for, that license.
The text in the lower-left of the region will also update to reflect your license usage.

Remember that activation of Standalone licenses can also be performed directly from your web browser using the Altium Dashboard. Note that only Group Administrators for the Altium Account can access and use the Dashboard. For more detail, see License Activation.

Working Offline

Having activated 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 completely work with Altium NEXUS in offline mode - with no connection whatsoever to Altium's cloud-based, on-demand services - ensure that the connection option No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium is enabled, on the System - Account Management page of the Preferences dialog.

When you sign out, the grid in the Available Licenses region of the License Management page will change from showing available Standalone license(s), to showing the Standalone – Offline license that you are currently using.

You can of course sign in to your account at any time while using your Standalone license, for example, to make use of non-licensing features offered through the Altium Portal, such as the Support Center, and to access updates.

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 NEXUS 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, select the Standalone license in the Available Licenses region then click on the Save standalone license file link. Use the subsequent dialog to determine where to save the file.

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 link, located below the Available Licenses grid.

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. The license will appear listed in the Available Licenses region as a Standalone – Offline license.

Adding a Standalone license file in this way is the simplest method to reuse a Standalone license that you have deleted from the computer. If you do not have a license file (*.alf), you will have to sign in to your account and reactivate the Standalone license from within Altium NEXUS, or activate it via a browser using the Altium Dashboard.

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 Licenses grid, then click on the Delete link in the area below the grid, or right-click and choose the Delete command from the context menu. A confirmation dialog will appear - click Yes to proceed.

If you want to use the Standalone license again, add it back in using the Add standalone license file link, and locating your back-up of the .alf file.

Reactivation

If you delete your Standalone license, then sign-in to your Altium 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 back-up of the file, simply reactivate the license, using one of the following methods:

From Altium NEXUS's License Management page, select the license in the Available Licenses grid, then click the Reactivate link below the grid, or right-click and choose the Reactivate command from the context menu. The method is faster since it reactivates, procures AND adds the license file in a single action.
Activate through the Altium Dashboard. While slower, this method is better when you wish to stay disconnected from Altium (keeping a purely offline working environment). The license file is acquired (by a Group Administrator for your Altium Account) and then needs to be added in to the installation using the Add standalone license file link on the License Management page.

When reactivating a Standalone license within Altium NEXUS, and that license 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.

The Activated field will change to Used by me. In addition, a history of activation can be viewed by clicking on the arrow () 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.

Activation history for a Standalone license is only available when you are signed in to your Altium account.

Reactivation when Disconnected from Altium

If you are actively using a Standalone license, disconnecting from Altium will not affect the license, in the sense that it is already activated and in use. Remember that being totally disconnected from Altium means having enabled the connection option No, I wish to remain disconnected from Altium, on the System - Account Management page of the Preferences dialog.

Irrespective of whether you are signed in or working offline with the license, simply disconnect and carry on working in true standalone fashion. However, if 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 activate (reactivate) the license. This can be done, while disconnected from Altium, in the following two ways:

Within Altium NEXUS, from the License Management page. This method does entail a temporary connection to Altium, in order to obtain the license.
Through the Altium Dashboard. This method allows you to remain disconnected from Altium (keeping a purely offline working environment). The license file is acquired (by a Group Administrator for your Altium Account) and then needs to be added in to the installation using the Add standalone license file link on the License Management page.

To activate/reactivate your Standalone license from within Altium NEXUS:

Click on the Activate license link. The Activate Standalone License dialog will appear. By using this dialog a temporary connection with Altium will be enabled, allowing you to sign in to your Altium account and activate/reactivate your Standalone license. Once successfully activated/reactivated, closing the dialog will place you back in a disconnected state.

Use the Activate Standalone License dialog to create a temporary connection to Altium, with which you can quickly activate your Standalone license.

To proceed with activation, enable the checkbox to confirm that you have read and understood the warning - regarding a connection to Altium and the gathering of information about your PC hardware over the secure Altium portal. Ensure that your Altium Account credentials (Username and Password) are filled in, then click the Sign In button.
The connection to Altium will be made and the Standalone license(s) that are available to you will be presented within the dialog. Select your license and click the Activate License link. Once activated, a confirmation dialog will appear to reflect successful activation.

Successful activation of a Standalone license!

Click OK out of the confirmation dialog, then click the Close & Sign Out button at the bottom of the Activate Standalone License dialog.
Back in the Available Licenses region of the License Management page, click the Refresh link - the page will update to reflect your use of the Standalone license.

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