Setup and Licensing

Software licenses can be activated electronically. We will send you an URL to activate your license online.
If your machine is not connectable to the internet, skip this section and proceed to the offline activation chapter.

Workstation Licenses

First of all, download and install KeepTool software on your workstation.
Then open the URL we sent you by email to open our WebDepot application.
It displays your license represented by a ticked ID as passed by the URL.

Click the button “I would like to transfer my licenses to a computer” (CmActLicense) to show the following dialog:

Important note: When renewing maintenance, the container containing the basic license must be selected from the list box.

Click the “Activate Selected Licenses Now” button.
After a couple of seconds your software has been activated. You will get a confirmation like this:

As of now, you can use the software on your workstation for an unlimited time.
‍You can reinstall our software or upgrade to a newer KeepTool version if it has been released prior to the expiration date of your maintenance period. Please contact us for a renewal of your update subscription.

Network Licenses

The activation of a network license is similar to the activation of a workstation license, except that it should be performed on the license server. First of all,

• Download and install the CodeMeter user runtime from Wibu.com.
  It is available for Windows, MaxOS X, Linux and Solaris.
• During installation, please check in “Custom Setup” whether the server functionality is enabled. If not, please change the corresponding setting:
  
• Download and unzip an empty KeepTool license container file WibuCmLif
  On Windows 10, drag-drop the downloaded file into the CodeMeter Control Center. For other operating systems, follow instructions provided by WIBU.

Open the URL we sent you by email to open our WebDepot application.
It displays your license represented by a ticked ID as passed by the URL.

Then select container type. Choose CmActLicense, if you do not have a dongle:

In the next step your license appears. Click “Activate Selected Licenses Now”:

If there is no KeepTool container a new container will be created automatically. Otherwise you can select one of the existing KeepTool containers.

Important note: When renewing maintenance, the container containing the basic license must be selected from the list box.

Click the “Activate Selected Licenses Now” button. After a couple of seconds your software has been activated. You will get a confirmation like this:

As of now, the license server has been activated.

To start the license server, open the local WebAdmin‍ tool using the following URL:

http://localhost:22352/configuration/server_access.html

Proceed to Settings > Server Configuration > Server Access.
In the “Network Server” group, click the “Enable” option and confirm using the “Apply” button to start the server.

Now the license can be used by workstations within your network.

For subsequent license server software updates, you can uninstall the runtime software for later re-installation without worrying about your installed license container.

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On the workstation, you can locally start WebAdmin using the same URL to either enable automatic license server search or enter your license server manually.

If your machine cannot be connected to the internet, you still can perform an offline activation. Therefore, create a license request file that allows you to perform the license activation on another machine that is connected to the internet. Copy back the resulting license update file to activate your license offline.
See the following step-by-step instructions for a detailed description of the process:

1. Create a license request file
Important note: If you perform a maintenance renewal, do not import a new container, but use the exisiting container that contains your active license and create the license request file based on the existing license.

Download  KeepTool.WibuCmLif.zip , copy it to the target computer (the license server) and unzip the KeepTool.WibuCmLif file.

From the Windows system tray, run CodeMeter Control Center and drag-drop the KeepTool.WibuCmLif file into the CodeMeter Control Center window.

This creates a new empty “KeepTool” license container.

Select the “KeepTool” container and click “License Update“ . That runs the CmFAS wizard. Click “Continue” to show this dialog:

Select the first item “Create license request” and click “Next” to create the license request file.
After that, the system shows a confirmation dialog:

2. Copy license request file to another computer

Copy the license request file to a another computer that is connected to the internet.

3. Create a license update file

This step is similar to the online licensing process. Open WebDepot using the URL we sent you by email.
Click the button “CmActLicense”. This shows the following dialog:

Click the “File-based license transfer” hyperlink in the lower right of the dialog. It opens a dialog wizard showing information about the next steps.

Fortunately, steps 1 to 3 already have been performed. Just upload the license request file and click the button “Request now and continue”. As a result, WebDepot generates a license update file (*.WibuCmRaU).

Click the “Finish” button and download the file.

4. Copy back license update file

Copy back the license update file to your original machine that cannot be connected to the internet.

5. Perform license update by file

Run again the CodeMeter Control Center from the system tray, select the “KeepTool” license container, and click “License Update”.
In the CmFAS Assistant, select the second option “Import license update”.

Click “Next”. Now you are prompted for uploading the license update file.

Finally, click “Commit” to activate the license.

6. License update acknowledgement

Now you can run KeepTool software on the computer. To confirm the success of the license transfer to WebDepot, run again CodeMeter Control Center.
Select the “KeepTool” license container and click “License Update”. Choose the “Generate Receipt” option to create a *.WibuCmRac file. Copy the file to a computer that is connected to the internet and run again WebDepot. Click “Upload receipt now”. This completes the offline licensing process.

For renewing your update subscription, we send you an URL that contains a ticket ID for extending your maintenance period, usually by another year.

Activation is similar to the initial software activation. Open the URL on your workstation, or respectively license server, to open WebDepot. Click the “Activate Selected Licenses Now” button.

Please contact KeepTool Customer support if you want to renew your update subscription.

You can transfer your workstation or network license from one machine to another hardware during your maintenance period. This is a two-step process.

1.     Return your license to WebDepot

Please make sure to return your license before commissioning hardware.

Open WebDepot using the URL we sent you or go to https://lc.codemeter.com/67053/depot/index.php and enter the Ticket-ID of the license manually. Click the “Continue” button to show a screen like this:

Click “Re-Host Licenses”. WebDepot responds with a page like this:

Click “Deactivate Selected Licenses Now” to return your license.

2.    Activate the license on another machine.

On the new hardware, perform the steps described in the section “Online license activation” or “Offline License Activation” on the new hardware.

The license is bound to your machine using a vector of hardware properties. Small changes to your hardware such as replacing a hard disk drive do not affect your license. However, there may be too much changes and the license gets disabled.

During your maintenance period you can use WebDepot to restore your license. Open he URL we sent you or go to https://lc.codemeter.com/67053/depot/index.php and enter the Ticket-ID of the license manually. Click the “Continue” button to show a screen like this:

Click “Restore licenses”. In most cases, this enables the license again.
Please contact our customer support if restoring failed.

The downside of using a network license is it is not available while you are disconnected from the network, for example on a business trip or at your home office. Here helps license borrowing. You can temporarily move one seat from your network license server down to your workstation. It decrements the number of network licenses available on the server. The borrowed license will be stored in a local license container on your workstation.

When not needed any more, you can return the license. After the maximum borrowing time of 60 days the license will be returned automatically.

For borrowing a license run the License Manager app on your workstation:

It shows both your local and remote network licenses including the number of seats, provided the checkbox “Include Remote Server” keeps checked.

Select the record you want to borrow a license from. After that, click the “Borrow License” button. That transfers one seat down to your workstation.

The “Borrowed” number is incremented by one, and in return, the “Free” entry is decremented by one. Another new record shows your local container that stores the borrowed license. Now you can use the license even when disconnected from your network.
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When your offline work is done and you are re-connected to your corporate network, the license can be returned. Run again the License Manager app. Select your local container and the borrowed license, then click “Return License”. It transfers the borrowed license from your workstation back to the server. Your local license container is now empty. On the server, the number of borrowed licenses is decremented by one and the number of free licenses is incremented, respectively.

KeepTool licensing is based on CodeMeter by WIBU Systems AG. It provides a bundle of four tools for license management:

1. WebDepot.

We will send you an URL that includes a ticket ID to activate your license using WebDepot. Furthermore, you can use WebDepot to transfer a license to another machine, and to restore a disabled license.

2. Codemeter Control Center.

The Windows system tray application gives access to local license containers. Furthermore, it allows you to restart the CodeMeter Windows service.

3. WebAdmin.

WebAdmin runs as a local web application for managing licenses. It can be started using a button in the CodeMeter Control Center.

4. LicenseManager.

The Windows app manages borrowing of network licenses.