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The AVLockManager utility, added in this new version 5.0, allow you to centralize all tasks implicated in the process of administrate your applications.
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| · | Manage and configure the component into your application. |
| · | Run the application to evaluate the result of your settings. |
| · | Unregister the application in order to try again with another configuration. |
| · | Manage all users for each application. |
| · | Generate Keys and ship it to your users. |
Below you can see the basic interaction between the AVLockManager utility and the managed application. At design time, through this utility you will create two files; "avusers.ini" and "avconfig.ini" into the application directory and two files into the AVLockManager directory; "applications.ini" and "config.ini". The two first ones to hold the configuration data for the managed application and his users, and the two last ones to hold the list of managed applications.
The avconfig.ini file holds in a strong encrypted way (Rijndael algorithm 128 key length) the information needed to configure all properties into the AVLockGold component. These information are managed into two tabsheets of the AVLockManager utility, namely: "Settings" and "Modules". Avconfig.ini must be shipped together with the application and must to reside into the same directory where is the application exe file.
The avusers.ini.file holds information about your users and the Keys generated for them.
Below is a screenshot of the AVLockManager utility with the "Settings" tabsheet displayed.
In the top of the form is the "Applications" section, there you will add all yours Delphi projects managed with AVLockGold.
With the "Select" combobox you can change anytime the selected application.
With the [Add], [Edit] and [Delete] buttons you add, edit and delete applications to/from the list of managed applications.
The [Run] button allow you to execute your application in order to see the effect caused for the changes done into the "Settings" and "Modules" tabsheets.
The [Unregister] button allow you to remove all registration data for the selected application, so you may try again with another configuration.
Below the "Applications" section you can see three tabsheets, namely: "Settings", "Modules" and "Users & Keys".
All data from the "Settings" and "Modules" tabsheets are saved (in a strong encrypted mode) into the avconfig.ini file.
 The "Settings" tabsheet.
Each item in this window correspond to a property of the AVLockGold component, below are a list of these equivalences.
Item
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Property equivalence
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What mean
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Version ID
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VersionID
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Set up the VersionID property into the component. Enter here a number between 1 to 255 to identify the version of your application. If you generates Generic Keys then you will be able to register all applications with the same VersionID value with anly one Registration Key.
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App ID
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AppID
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Set up the AppID property into the component. Enter here a number between 1 and 999999999 as a identification of your application. When you add a new application to the application list this field take a value randomly, you may conserve this avlue or change it for another, but take care of chose a different value for each application.
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Registration data stored in:
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DataStoredIn
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Set up the DataStoredIn property into the component. If you chose "Local Registry" then the registration data will be stored in the local registry, otherwise if you chose "Registration file" then the registration data will be saved into a file (the RegFile) located in the application directory.
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Registry RootKey
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RegistryRootKey
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Set up the RegistryRootKey property into the component. You can chose between HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
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Max allowed users while
the trial period
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MaxUsers
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Set up the MaxUsers property into the component. This value limit the number of simultaneous users (instances of the program) while the trial period. Later, after the program has been registered the number of users is limited with the MaxUsers value embeded into the RegKey for the module 0. You enter this value into the users data into the "Users & Keys" tabsheet.
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Days left to warning
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DaysLeftToWarning
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Set up the DaysLeftToWarning property into the component. This value manage the number of days where you want to show the TextWarning message just before expiration. The default value is 15.
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Lock strategy group box
UserName based
InstallCode based
Bios Serial Number
CPU-ID
HD Serial Number
Random Number
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InstallCodeSources
= [User_Name]
InstallCodeSources = []
+[BIOS_SN]
+[CPU_ID]
+[HD_SN]
+[Random_Number]
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Set up the InstallCodeSources property into the component which establish the Lock strategy, based in the UserName or in a set of values comming from the machine. If you chose UserName based, the InstallCode value is not displayed in the registration form since this is replaced by the user name. See in the "How Works AVLockGold" topic more information about this theme.
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Trial mode groupbox
Relative radiobutton
Absolute radiobutton
None radiobutton
Trial days
Start date
Include modules in
the trial period
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TrialMode
TrialMode = tmRelative
TrialMode = tmAbsolute
TrialMode = tmNone
TrialDays
TrialBeginDate
TrialIncludeModules
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Set up the TrialMode property into the component. This property determine the type of trial to be started when the program run the first time. For tmRelative the trial starts in the current system date, for tmAbsolute the trial starts in te fixed startdate value. For tmNone the trial starts expired but the user is prompted to request from the user a free temporary registration period. See more information in the "Hacking cautions" topic.
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Registration ways groupbox
On line checkbox
Via email checkbox
Other checkbox
Your online link
Your email address
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RegistrationWays = []
+[rwOnline]
+[rwViaEmail]
+[rwOther]
OnlineLink
EmailAddress
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Set up the RegistrationWays property which allow you to expose in the registration form the selling method more suitable to your needs. The options can be: rwOnline: Show on the registration form the online link to your seller website according with the value assigned to the OnlineLink property. rwEmail: Show on the registration form a link to the email address assigned to the EmailAddress property. rwOther: Show on the registration form a text for another method to purchase your product. The default text say "Another way" but you can change it assigning at runtime the property PromptAnotherWay or editing the *.rc resource file and recompile it with Brcc32.exe.
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Options for the registration form
Show top panel checkbox
Show modules checkbox
Show progress checkbox
Show expire text
Show load button
Options for regular computers
Get Local Name
Get Local Trial
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Options = []
+[ShowTopPanel]
+[ShowModules]
+[ShowProgress]
+[ShowExpireText]
+[ShowLoadButton]
+[GetLocalName]
+[GetLocalTrial]
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Set up the Options property wich manage the parts of the registration form to be displayed and how will start the program into regular computers.
See in the "Step by Step samples | Running on a network"
more information about this theme.
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Action to take when a Module-ID changes groupbox
Disable the module
Start a trial period for the module
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RestartModulesAsTrial
RestartModulesAsTrial
= False
RestartModulesAsTrial
= True
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Occasionally you would like to disable in a new version some improved modules from registered users forcing them to register again these modules. You can accomplish it changing the ModuleID value for these modules.
If RestartModulesAsTrial is True then these modules becomes trial otherwise disabled.
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The username is requested
at first time
The UserName is requested
in the registration process
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RequestName = []
+[AtFirstTime]
+[WhenRegister]
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When AtFirstTime is True then when your program run by first time on a computer, the program will request to the user to enter his name and company then store its values into the RegFile or into the local registry depending on the DataStoredIn value.
If WhenRegister is True, then, at the registration moment the user is prompted to enter his name and company.
If both, AtFirstTime and WhenRegister are False, then the program never will request to the user to enter his name and company, instead get the user name from Windows and fill the company field with the value ŽUnknownŽ.
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The program expires when the
user turn back the system date
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AllowBackDate
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Setup the AllowBackDate property. When this value is True then the user is able to backward the system date to reuse an expired period, otherwise the application become expired when the user turn back the system date.
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The "Modules" tabsheet
Below is the "Modules" tabsheet with his grid holding all modules for your application.
The module 0 in the first row correspond to the main application. This line is automatically added and cann't be edited. The Module-ID for this line is the AppID entered in the "Settings" tabsheet.
All next modules are the 'extra modules' managed in some way as independent applications since these have his own registration data and can be registered independently of the main application, with the limitation that if the main app expires then all extra modules expires too..
The Module-ID is a number to identify the module. if in a new version of your application a module has changed substantially and you want that current users pay again for this module, then you can to change the Module-ID, then the module will become disabled or a trial period will be initiated giving to the user the chance of evaluate it. This behavior depend of the option selected in the "Settings" tabseet in the "Action to take when a Module-ID changes" groupbox.
If you change a Module-ID it is very convenient to change too the encryption key value in order to avoid the user can reuse the old avconfig.ini file to gain access to the disabled modules.
The Module-Name value is to identify the module with a name, more suitable that only with a number. These names are displayed in the registration form and can be retrieved anytime in your app with the modulename method. See the Demo2 source.
The modules data haven't a equivalent property into the component. This data is retrieved from the avconfig.ini file and managed at run time into appropriate data variables.
At the bottom edge, three buttons "Insert", "Append" and "Delete" allow you to manage the modules data.
The "Users & Keys" tabsheet
This tabsheet is intended to manage the users of your application and the Keys that you send them. At the top of this windows is the Users section. With the "Select" combobox you can change anytime the selected user.
With the [Add], [Edit] and [Delete] buttons you add, edit and delete users to/from the list of managed users.
With the [Add] or [Edit] buttons you access to the user data form.
The "InstallCode" value (machine dependent) is received from your user. This value is displayed into the registration form.
The "MaxUsers" value is intended to manage the max simultaneous users allowed after registration.
Both values, "InstallCode" and "MaxUsers" will be embedded into the generated Keys.
The [InstallCode report] button displays a form with information about the received InstallCodes;
for the current Installcode and for the new entered. This information is the following:
CPU ID, BIOS SN and HD SN: Values comming from the machine.
Moved: (YES/NO) : Is YES when the registration keys have been moved to another machine with the [Move registration] button from the Registration form.
These values can help you to determine when the new InstallCode come from another machine or the registration keys was moved to another machine.
Below of the "Users" section is the Modules and Keys grid. There are a line for each module and alike in the "Modules" tabsheet, the first one (module 0) correspond to the main application.
In the "Key type" column you can select the type of key between (Permanent, Temporary or Unregister). If you select Permanant or Unregister, the two following columns will be cleared, otherwise these columns will hold the number of days and the start date for the authorized period.
The "Gen" column allow you select for which modules the Key will be calculated, and the "Generated key" column hold the generated keys.
If you check the "Generic keys" checkbox then the keys generated will be of the generic kind (only one key to register all users).
Clicking the [Copy current key] button, the current key will be copied to the clipboard.
Clicking the [Save keys to file] button, all keys in the grid will be copied to a RegFile (*.avk).
Clicking the [Send keys by email] button, a email will be shipped with all keys in the grid included into the message body and into a attached RegFile.
Clicking the [Verify moved keys] button you access to the "Verify moved keys" form. This was made for the special cases when the
user moved the registration keys to another machine one or more times and then the machine crashes and he ask you for a new set of keys. This feature help you to determine the authenticity of these demands.
If you have any questions not answered by this help file, please don't hesitate to contact me at http://valega.com/contacto.php.
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