Licence and activation
A licence covers one workstation and is bound to its hardware ID. Activation happens online, once; after that the application checks purely locally at every start.
The sequence
Section titled “The sequence”| Once, online | Every start, offline |
|---|---|
| “Try for 7 days” → a trial licence | signature against the embedded certificate |
| “Activate licence” → a full licence | edition “Desktop”? |
→ stored in settings.json |
ID = this machine? expiry against the time anchor? |
The hardware ID
Section titled “The hardware ID”It is shown in the licence dialogue — even without a licence. Without it nobody could activate, and it is the first thing support asks for.
It is derived from characteristics of the installed operating system and of the (virtual) mainboard, not from a host MAC address or host CPU.
Two routes to activation
Section titled “Two routes to activation”Both online and both once per workstation:
| Route | Result |
|---|---|
| Paste a licence key | a signed full licence, bound to the hardware |
| Request a trial licence | a signed licence with a 7-day term, fully functional for that term |
A pasted key is checked first and stored afterwards: a rejected key names its reason and does not overwrite an existing, possibly valid licence.
The reasons for refusal
Section titled “The reasons for refusal”| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no licence | nothing is stored |
| not readable | truncated or altered |
| invalid signature | not verifiable against the embedded public key |
| wrong edition | signed, but not a Desktop licence |
| not for this product | the licence expressly excludes it |
| wrong hardware | the ID belongs to a different machine (volume licences are exempt) |
| expired | the licence or maintenance expiry lies in the past |
What works offline and what does not
Section titled “What works offline and what does not”| Possible offline | |
|---|---|
| All seven tools, folder sync, settings | yes |
| Checking the stored licence at every start | yes, purely locally |
| Pasting a key, requesting a trial licence | no — this needs the licence server |
The time anchor
Section titled “The time anchor”A time anchor guards against a system clock turned back: the highest point in time ever seen is remembered, and the later of the two is used for the calculation. An expired licence therefore does not become valid again by winding the clock back.
Two products, two keys
Section titled “Two products, two keys”The Invoice Desktop product key is its own. A machine can therefore license Docuflair Desktop and Invoiceflair Desktop independently, and the demo lock on one does not apply to the other.
Still open
Section titled “Still open”The licence server currently cannot distinguish Invoice workstations from other Desktop workstations; a dedicated marker is provided for. There is no document quota — at this stage volume is not limited.