How licensing works

How Licensing Works in Connector

You can purchase multiple licenses, but will get one key that is good for activating as many systems as licenses you purchased. To prevent confusion, we’ll call the license key (or code) a “key”, and a license (or seat or activation) an “activation”. Until your key’s expiration date has been reached, your product will behave as licensed software, and will have access to any updates made in that period.

LICENSE QUANTITY

The keys are good for the number of activations purchased. If you purchased three activations, you’ll use the same key on all three systems. Note that these keys are attached to a system, not a user. That means if a single user uses two computers, they will need to purchase two licenses in order to activate Connector on both systems. If you have multiple users logging in to one computer, they can each activate Silicon Connector using the same key without using up another license.

GOOD ON ALL PLATFORMS & CC VERSIONS

The keys are specific only to the product. They can be used on Mac or Windows, in any supported CC version. This way, if an organization has users on Mac and Windows as well as different versions of Adobe CC, they can still share the same key. This also allows users to upgrade or switch operating systems without having to order a new license. Connectors for different DAMs require separate licenses, meaning a key for Silicon Connector for Box will not work for Silicon Connector for Dropbox, etc.

LICENSE REQUIRED

For technical reasons, using Silicon Connector with Adobe InDesign CC requires activation of a license key, unlocking the true http-based links that are only possible for InDesign with Silicon Connector.
However, in other Adobe CC applications (such as Photoshop & Illustrator), limited Connector functionality remains available through the extension panel, such as browsing and downloading individual files from the DAM. In certain applications, it may be possible (but not legal) to use Silicon Connector without license activation. No matter which Adobe CC application is being used, your Silicon Connector may only be used under an activated and unexpired license.

ACTIVATION

To use Connector in InDesign with unlimited linked assets, you need to activate Connector with the key you were provided after your purchase. Use InDesign’s main menu Connector > Activate… menu option to bring up a dialog where you can enter your license key.

To deactivate, you’ll find the option in the same menu (see screenshot).

MOVING A LICENSE

If Connector is activated on a system and then at some point needs to be moved to another system, there is a menu option to Deactivate. This will free up a license so you can then activate Connector on another system.

If for any reason you’re unable to deactivate, because of a system crash or a computer is thrown away without deactivating it, contact us and we will deactivate it manually.

LICENSE RENEWAL

If you purchased Connector through our online store, you will be re-billed automatically each year unless you cancel. This will extend the expiration date of your key. You will not receive a new key. If Connector was purchased through one of our partner DAMs, they will extend your license when you renew each year.

LOST LICENSE KEYS

If a license key is lost, contact us. We will find the license key in our system using information about the purchaser.

EXPIRATION

If you purchased Connector through our online store, the expiration date is 1 year from the date you made the purchase and applies to the key you receive. The expiration date is specific to a license key. If you purchase additional licenses with a different billing cycle, you will receive an additional key which will expire 1 year from when you purchased the additional licenses.

When your license expires, Connector will show a dialog in InDesign telling you it has expired and will change to link-limited mode (see below).

See LICENSE RENEWAL above for details of the expiration regarding renewals.

LIMITED (TRIAL) MODE

Before you activate and after your expiration date, Connector will revert to a link-limited mode, allowing only up to three linked assets. Documents you’ve already created that have more than three linked assets will continue to work and show properly. It’s important to understand that if you delete an asset, you won’t be able to add it back if you’ve exceeded the three asset limit. The three asset limit applies to unique assets. You can place the same image more than three times when in limited mode but you won’t be able to place more than three different images.

In some cases, resellers will provide a trial key that will give you unlimited asset links for 30 days before reverting to limited mode. Once you’ve purchased a license, the expiration date will be set accordingly. After it has been extended, you’ll be able to use Connector with full functionality after restarting InDesign.