DBC Internet license FAQ
General
Off-line licenses - running DBC without an Internet connection
Automatic off-line license checkout
Grace licenses - running DBC after losing an Internet connection
Prioritizing multiple licenses
Technical
General
Q: What is an Internet license?
Q: How is an Internet license different from what I already use? If you use a network license key, users may not notice any difference. However, you no longer need to connect to your network in order to use the network license when you travel. IT people will no longer need to manage the network license key.
Q: What happens if I turn off or crash (or hibernate or standby) the PC while I'm in the DBC program? Or just leave the DBC program running without using it ? Even if the DBC program happens to crash, the license is still in use by you. Another user can't just start the DBC program and take the license, you get the chance to restart and continue to use the license. Meanwhile, no one will be able to use that license unless it is considered stale. Then when another user tries to start the DBC program, any stale licenses will be freed.
An idle license is considered to be stale after 48 hours.
Q: Do I have to be on the Internet all the time?
Q: What if I use an HTTP proxy to access the Internet?
Q: What about my firewall or router?
Q: How is my PC identified? If you run DBC Finance in a virtual environment (with possibly different hardware profiles), you'll have to reinstall the license for each profile.
The Internet license will keep track of each profile.
Q: How do I install an Internet license? How long does it take to install? You must be logged on as the person that will be using the DBC program. If multiple people will be using the same PC, install the license multiple times while each user is logged on.
Q: Can I install the Internet license apart from the DBC program? Then you could copy the setup program to another PC. Or package the installed DBC program files.
Then on the user's PC (with Internet access), install the Internet license.
Q: Can the license be installed from a command line?
Q: What is the License Server?
Q: What is the Internet License Manager?
Q: What happens if all the licenses for the DBC program are already in use?
Q: What happens if I can't run the DBC program? It can collect information to help determine why you cannot run. Select Don't know and hit Diagnose. You will be prompted to send an e-mail of the results to DBC, fill in your contact information and hit Send e-mail. We will review the results and contact you.
Q: How do I know which modules are available in my license?
Q: What is an on-line license?
Q: What is an off-line license?
Q: What is a dual license? In both cases you have a dual license until you have exit the DBC program. Once you exit, the next time you run the DBC program it will be using only an off-line license. A dual license is not using 2 licenses of the same DBC program or module.
Q: How do I find out how many licenses are available overall?
Q: How can I find out the status of the license if I'm not in the DBC program?
Q: What are modules?
Q: How do I acquire a license for module?
Q: Why do I get the message " [module] is not available." ?
Q: How do I find out who else is using the DBC program? And which modules? This information includes a last ping column which indicates the date/time when the DBC program last pinged our website to show it is still active.
This information can be copy/pasted to Excel. The user can hit the Webpage button which will generate a web page that is the similar to the one that pops up if all the licenses are in use.
Q: What happens if I have lost my Internet connection?
Q: If I have an Internet license for a trial, do I need another license once we buy DBC? What if we buy a new module or more licenses of a module?
Off-line licenses - running DBC without an Internet connection
Q: How can I run the DBC program when I'm not connected to the Internet?
Q: How do I get an off-line license?
Q: Does the off-line license still work even if I am connected to the Internet?
Q: What happens after the off-line license expires?
Q: How long does an off-line license last?
Q: Can I get an off-line license for a module without first opening the corresponding document?
Q: I had modules A, B and C. But I only have off-line licenses for modules A and B. Why? When checking out an off-line license, the modules for which you have an on-line license will be listed. After the requested has been made, the modules for which you have an off-line license will be checked. Afterwards, the General tab will list the modules for which you have an off-line license.
See Automatic checkout to avoid this problem.
Q: How do I get an off-line license for module ______ ?
Q: How do I know how much time is left on my off-line?
Q: Can I continually keep an off-line license? After the license expires, you must get an on-license and check out an off-line license again.
Or see Automatic checkout.
Q: How do I give up my off-line license so someone else can run the DBC program? You must exit the DBC program to give up your license.
Q: If my Internet license has an expiration date, can I set the term of the off-line license so it ends after the expiration date?
Q: What happens after my off-line license expires?
Automatic off-line license checkout
Q: What is the purpose of automatic checkout?
Q: What does the "For all modules at startup" option do??
Q: What does the "For modules as they are used" option do??
Q: What is the duration of the off-line license if I use automatic checkout?
Q: Can I continually checkout an off-line license automatically? If you have an off-line license, you can run the DBC program without a connection to the License Server. The License Server cannot maintain an off-line license indefinitely.
Q: How can I stop using automatic checkout?
Q: Can the automatic off-line checkout try to keep my off-line license indefinitely?
Q: Is automatic off-line checkout better than using an off-line license?
Grace licenses - running DBC after losing an Internet connection
Q: What happens if I lose my Internet connection or cannot get to dbcinc.com?
Q: How do I know if I'm using a grace license?
Q: What happens after the grace license has expired?
Q: Wow, so what's to stop me from never having an Internet connection if I can always run?
Q: What happens if my Internet connection works now?
Q: How would I know how many grace licenses I've used?
Prioritizing multiple licenses
Q: If there are multiple licenses installed, how does the DBC program know which one to use?
Q: Can I manually prioritize the licenses from within the DBC program?
Q: Can I manually prioritize the licenses outside of the DBC program?
For example, to use license B before license A, the finance.set file should look like:
Q: Does changing the order mean I can switch to another license while the DBC program is still running?
Q: How come the same license appears in the list multiple times?
Q: How can I delete a license from the list?
Q: We already own the DBC program but I'm doing a trial for a new module. I have to get numbers out but my reports say "TRIAL". How can I fix that?
Q: Is it possible to have multiple off-line or grace licenses?
Technical
Q: Where is the license information saved? If 2 people use the same PC and they have different logins, install the license for each user.
Q: Can I install the license once and clone it ??
Q: What about roaming profiles?
Q: What about virtual machines??
A: You install an Internet license in order to run the DBC program. The Internet license specifies the maximum number of licenses of a DBC program that can be running at any one time. The license also specifies which modules are available and the maximum number of licenses for each module. When the Internet license is installed, the DBC program will request permission to run from the License Server.
A: In general, by converting single user license keys into a pool of Internet licenses, there is the potential of having even more users running the DBC program. But it is more convenient than having to pass around license keys or find out who has them. It will be easier to share licenses with people in other offices. If you don't need to share then you don't have to remember to bring the license key when you travel.
A: In all of those cases, the license is still in use by you. When you start the DBC program, you take a license. When you exit the DBC program, you free the license.
A: No, if you have a poor Internet connection or need to run the DBC program while not connected to the Internet, use an off-line license.
A: When you install the Internet license, you may specify your HTTP proxy user name and password. If your user name or password changes and you cannot run the DBC program, the installation diagnostics tool will start. Hit the Set HTTP Proxy button and fill in your HTTP proxy information. Then try to run the DBC program again.
A: You'll need to make sure your firewall or router does not block access to dbcinc.com. The Internet license uses HTTP port 80 to access the Internet.
A: We use WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) to generate a unique ID based on certain hardware characteristics and your user ID.
A: It should only take a few minutes. These are the steps to install and activate an Internet license:
A: Yes. After downloading the setup program, you could copy the setup program to any PC. Internet access is not required to install the DBC program.
A: Yes. See this link:
https://www.dbcinc.com/dbcsupport/inetliccmdline.php
A: The License Server is a program running on dbcinc.com that controls and monitors all Internet licenses.
A: You can access the Internet License Manager by hitting the License button on the Toolbar in the DBC program. The button is active whenever you use an Internet license. The Internet License Manager displays general license, usage information and processes requests for off-line licenses.
A: The diagnostics tool will indicate all licenses are in use and provide
the license information and e-mail addresses (if available) of the current users.
You can contact the users and ask them to free their license.
A: The installation diagnostics tool will pop up.
A: To see the modules included in your license, go to the Internet License Manager. If a module is checked then you are using that module. If a module is not checked, you may be able to acquire a license if there is one available. To acquire a license for a module, try to open or create a document associated with that module.
A: You have an on-line license when the License Server allows you to run the DBC program and/or modules.
A: An off-line license allows you to run the DBC program when you are not connected to the Internet. You can also have an off-line license for modules. To acquire an off-line license, hit the Off-line button in the Internet License Manager. See Off-line licenses.
A: A dual license indicates one of the following:
A: If you have an on-line license, to see the license configuration:
A: Make sure you have installed and activated the Internet license(s) you would investigate. Run help.exe (found in the same directory as the DBC program). Hit Status, a web page will be opened for each license installed.
A: Refund is an example of a module in DBC Finance. Consolidation is an example of a module in DBC Housing. Template Manager is an example of a module in DBC Student Loan. Interface is a module in DBC Debt Manager.
A: When you open a document, you are trying to a license for that module. In DBC Finance, when you open a Financing document, you're acquiring a license for the Project Finance module. If you can't open a Financing document it is because all the licenses for Project Finance are in use.
A: Since the license specifies a limited number of modules, all the licenses of that particular module are already in use.
A: If you have an on-line license, to see the users and which modules they are using:
A: See Grace licenses.
A: No, we will update the License Server to reflect this.
A: If you'll need to run the DBC program when you're not on the Internet, check out an off-line license.
A: While you're running the DBC program (while connected to the Internet), request an off-line license:
A: Yes. But you can only use those modules for which you already have an off-line license. If you wish to use a module for which you do not have an off-line license, you must hit the Connect button to re-establish a link with the License Server so you can get the new module.
A: While you have the off-line license, no one can use that instance of the license of the DBC program or any of the modules. After the license expires, the program and the modules become available to anyone who acquires an on-line license. You will not be able to use the DBC program without getting an on-line license.
A: You can set the duration of the off-line license from one hour up to 14 days (336 hours) in one hour increments.
A: It depends on the quantity of each module included in the license:
A: This can happen if you requested the off-line license after you had modules A and B but before you had module C. Once you exited the DBC program, module C became available to other users.
A: You have 2 options:
A: The Internet License Manager will display how much time is remaining. When there is less than 24 hours remaining, you will see a message every time you start the DBC program.
A: You can keep an off-line license until it expires. After the license expires, that license for the DBC program and the modules become available to any user. Before the license expires you can renew the off-line license:
A: To begin, you must have a working Internet connection. Then:
A: No matter how long the off-line license, it ends on the expiration date.
A: The DBC program will automatically try to run using an on-line license. If that fails, the DBC program will try to run using a grace license.
A: If you frequently want to use the DBC program when you do not have an Internet connection, you can use the automatic checkout as a convenience.
A: This option will try to check out a license for the DBC program and all the modules allowed by the license and check them out as an off-line license as soon as you start the DBC program. This does not guarantee you can get all the modules because the modules may already be in use. You can confirm whether or not you have off-line licenses in the Internet License Manager.
A: This option will try to check out a license for the DBC program as soon as you start. And then it will try to check out modules as off-line licenses as soon as you open a document that corresponds to that module. You can confirm whether or not you have off-line licenses in the Internet License Manager.
A: The duration of the off-license is the same whether or not you use automatic checkout.
A: You can keep an off-line license until it expires. After the license expires, the license for the DBC program and the modules become available to any user. Before the license expires you can always renew the off-line license:
A: You can stop automatically checking out off-line licenses if you change Automatically request an off-line license to Never. You will still have your current off-line license until it expires or you hit Release and exit the DBC program.
A: No. When you have an off-line license, the DBC program does not check for an Internet connection. You can renew the off-line license only by hitting the Connect button to connect to the License Server and requesting an off-line license again. See here.
A: The off-line licenses are the same. Automatic off-line checkout is a convenience.
A: A grace license allows you to run the DBC program if you lose your Internet connection. The grace license is installed when you start or exit the DBC program. The duration of the grace license is 10 days (240 hours). The grace license starts immediately from the time it is installed. The grace license will give you access to all modules included in the license without regard to the limits for each module.
A: The Internet License Manager will indicate that you are using a grace license and how much time is remaining.
A: When you are using a grace license, you must work to re-establish your Internet connection. After the grace license has expired, you cannot get another grace license until you can connect to the License Server again.
A: There is a fixed limit to how many grace licenses you can use within a certain window of time. DBC is notified that you used a grace license. Once you've exceeded the limit, you will no longer be able to install grace licenses. You will have to connect to the License Server and get an on-line license.
A: The next time you run the DBC program, it will start using an on-line license. The fact that you used a grace license will be recorded by the License Server.
A: When you have an on-line license, the Internet License Manager will indicate how many grace licenses you have used. The Grace tab will display the limits on using grace licenses. If the Grace tab does not appear, you have not used any grace licenses.
A: By default, the DBC program will try to use licenses in the order they were installed. If one license fails, it will try the next and so on.
A: Yes, to manually re-order the list:
A: Yes, to manually re-order the list:
Note, the priorities indicated in the .set file will override the priorites indicates in the Internet License Manager.
INET_LICENSE use [license]
INET_LICENSE use B
INET_LICENSE use A
A: No, the new order goes into effect the next time you start the DBC program.
A: This indicates the same license was installed over and over.
A: Enter 0 (zero) for any license you want to delete. Hit Save.
A: "TRIAL" is a function of the trial license that cannot be changed. You have to change the order of the licenses so your original license (without the trial module) has a higher priority than the trial license. Then exit the DBC program and start it again.
A: No, you can only have one off-line and one grace license at a time. The license must appear somewhere in the list. If you delete the license from the priority list, you lose your license.
A: The license is installed in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER branch of the Registry.
If the same person uses different PCs, install the license on each PC.
A: No. When installing the license, a unique ID is generated using WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation). The ID is based on certain hardware information, the PC name and user name
A: More recent versions of DBC Finance will manage multiple hardware profiles. However, the Internet license must be installed whenever a new hardware profile is encountered. Other DBC programs support roaming profiles depending on when they were released.
A: Virtual machines are OK as long as the DBC program can generate an ID that matches the ID from when the license was installed.