Problems with activation

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Marc Iser
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Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:01 pm

Problems with activation

Unread post by Marc Iser »

Hello,

I took over a Help+Manual 7.xxx project (from a colleague) a few months ago. For this he gave me
- a Serial No (XXX-XXXXX-XXXX-XXXXXX)
- an Activation Code (XXXXXX)
That worked. :-)

Now, I have just installed Help+Manual 8.
When I open the program, Help+Manual asks me for a "license key".
If I enter my serial number there, I get the message "The license key is not complete. Also the Activation Code is not accepted. :-(

Sorry, I have not worked with H+M for some time. How do I get this "License Key" now?

Many thanks for a reaction.

KR - Marc
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Tim Green
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Marc,

You need a Help+Manual 8 license key to work with version 8. The version 7 key won't work. If the owner of the license purchased within the last 12 months they should have received a free upgrade key already. Ask them. Otherwise you need to purchase an upgrade. We currently have some nice offers for this:

Release notes:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/news/2020 ... -released/

Special offers:
https://www.helpandmanual.com/order.htm ... on=upgrade
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Marc Iser
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Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:01 pm

Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Marc Iser »

Thanks a lot, Tim :-)

If I understand it correctly, the "floating license" is an option!?
At first I thought that H+M would always be equipped with Floating-Licenses?

KR - Marc
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Tim Green
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Tim Green »

Marc Iser wrote: Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:09 am If I understand it correctly, the "floating license" is an option!?
At first I thought that H+M would always be equipped with Floating-Licenses?
Floating/Server licenses are for shared use in larger teams, or when you have external workers who need to use the program for a while -- for example translators.

The floating licenses are now used in almost exactly the same way as normal licenses. Each user installs Help+Manual 8 on their own computer. There is no more server with a copy of the program, just our online license server. You give each of your users any one of your floating license keys and they just enter the key once when they start the program the first time. After that, the key is checked out when they are running the program and automatically checked back in again when they exit, freeing up that license slot for other users. They need to have an Internet connection when working like this.

Users who need to work offline with floating licenses can do that too. They just need to remember to "pin" their license before they go offline, with the Pin tool that appears in the Help tab when you have a floating license. Then the license remains checked out to them until they unpin it, or after 8 days automatically if they don't do anything. This allows work on planes and trains and anywhere else without an active net connection.

So, to summarize: You give each of your users any one of your purchased license keys and they all activate with the license you give them. Then when they start the program up to two of them will be able to work at the same time.

Also, note that it doesn't really matter which license key each user is using. Your licenses are managed in a pool and the server knows how many are in use. If you have ten keys it's quite possible for ten users to use the same key, since the server knows that many slots are available.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Marc Iser
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Marc Iser »

Hello, Tim,

Okay. I got that so far. :D
Sorry, but I still lack some general understanding regarding the actual cooperation. I think I got confused...

For our project I work together with a colleague (who works at another location).

How can I make sure that both my colleague and I are always working on the latest version? This is not guaranteed by the Floating License, is it?

I have read in the manual:
Work in a team
With Help+Manual you and your co-authors can all work on the same project at the same time. Just put your project on server where all team members can access it and get to work. Help+Manual makes sure that no two team members can try to change the same topic at the same time.

So the project must be put on an in-house server? And you can actually work on it at the same time without overwriting each other?
Are there perhaps still existing explanations for this?

Thank you for a response, Tim.
Sorry about all my questions. :?

KR - Marc
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Tim Green
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Marc,

For remote collaboration you need to use version control. Here is some detailed information on this:


MULTI-USER EDITING AND REMOTE EDITING

If all your users are on your local network you can use Help+Manual's own native multi-user editing. For this you just need to store your project in the uncompressed .hmxp format in a folder to which all users have read and write access via the network. Then all your users edit the program at the same time and Help & Manual manages access to the topics. When a topic is being edited by one user it is read-only for the other users until the first users saves and moves on. All other topics are accessible to the other users. See this topic in the help for instructions:

https://www.helpandmanual.com/help/inde ... diting.htm

Server licenses are not required for local multi-user editing on the same local network (LAN). That is also supported natively by the Professional version, but not by the Basic version.

If you wish to do multi-user editing remotely and offline (users in different locations, also needing to edit without a network connection), or if your network is too slow for acceptable performance when working on projects in the network directly, you need to store a copy of your project in a Subversion (SVN) or Team Foundation Server (TFS) version control system, which is actively supported by Help & Manual Pro and Server editions. Then each user works on a linked copy of the project on their own computers, which they synchronize via the SVN or TFS server. This provides all the advantages of direct remote editing, but each author is still working on their own local (but linked) copy rather than directly via an Internet connection.

If you have not already deployed TFS in your company we strongly recommend using SVN rather than TFS. SVN is more flexible, easier to manage and configure and interfaces better with tools like Help & Manual. It is an open-source system and all the components you need for it are completely free.

Working with a version control system gives you the advantage that your remote authors can work on their projects offline. They only need to connect to the copy on your server to synchronize their work with the master copy. Before starting work they open the project and select "Synchronize SVN/TFS" in the Help & Manual toolbar to update their local copy with any new changes that other authors have made in the meantime. Then when they have finished their session they select Synchronize SVN/TFS again to merge their own changes with your master copy.

This works even if two people have worked on the same topics. If they have edited different parts of the topics the changes are just merged silently, because there are no conflicts. If they have both edited the same text you get a dialog asking you which versions of each change you want to keep ("mine" or "theirs"). Agreements between team members on which topics to work on can keep these conflicts to a minimum.

Once you have stored your project in your version control repository, which can also be made available online, each author downloads a local working copy of the project from the repository. This working copy is what they edit, but it remains linked to the "master" copy in the repository. Only changes need to be transferred in either direction, which means that once each author has their own local copy of the project only very small amounts of data need to be transferred when they synchronize their work with the master copy. This makes the solution extremely efficient and also very robust -- you have none of the data integrity and speed nightmares involved in live editing via an open connection.

For information on setting up and using Help & Manual with version control systems please see this chapter in the HM help:

https://www.helpandmanual.com/help/inde ... ed_vcs.htm
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Marc Iser
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Marc Iser »

Tim - thank you very much for your good support. :D
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Tim Green
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Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Marc,

PS: Note that the paragraph on the server version being LAN only no longer applies and I have removed it. Server licenses are now genuine floating licenses and they work in any location. The user installs Help+Manual on their own computer and activates it with their floating license. The license is checked out from our license server when they are working with the program and checked back in when they close it.

This makes it possible for more people to use the same licenses. For example, if you have 10 authors but no more than 3 need to work at the same time, then you only need 3 floating licenses. It also doesn't matter which key each user uses. The license server manages your license in a pool and knows how many are checked out.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

Private support:
Please do not email or PM me with private support requests -- post to the forum directly.
Marc Iser
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2019 2:01 pm

Re: Problems with activation

Unread post by Marc Iser »

ok - thanks Tim for the addition.

:)

KR - Marc
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