Activation doesn't "stick"

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rumplestiltskin
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Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by rumplestiltskin » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:44 pm

I've got a University classroom license of LiveCode 5. The IT people installed the app on all 20 machines. They insist they activated the app using the activation file I generated. However, when anyone logs into the machines, all are prompted -once- for activation. Specifically: If I log in and launch LiveCode, I'm prompted to activate the app. I do so. Next time I log in, I'm not prompted. However, if someone else logs into the machine (a student, for example), he or she is prompted to activate the LiveCode app. Obviously, something has been installed incorrectly but what is it? All users of these machines have to log in using their own credentials but this is all of the Active Directory nonsense we are using. The user's files are kept on that specific machine (in his/her private folder); they don't follow that user around.

So what do I have to do to make the LiveCode activation on each machine "stick" so any student who logs into any machine in that classroom isn't prompted to activate?

Thanks,
Barry

sturgis
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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by sturgis » Fri Feb 24, 2012 11:23 pm

Assuming this is on windows, the licenses are held in c:\users\username\appdata\roaming\runrev\licenses\ (on windows 7)

This means that the license is only set for the account that licenses it. Hence having to re-license once for each new account that runs it.

I don't recall at the moment if runrev offers a per-user installation as well as an "all users" option, but I suspect that even if an all users install is done that the license file will STILL end up in the directory set for the user that is active for the activation. Most likely it would be possible to manually copy the file into place for all accounts that need it using an admin account.

If I understand the other part of this, if your students log in to 1 machine then switch it asks them again to activate? 1 time for each and every machine? If this is the case, it sounds like the users directories are not stored on a domain server, but instead are stored locally on each machine. If the user directories were shifted to the domain server then each student should only have to have livecode activated one time then all the support files should be available from whatever machine they're working on.


It's been long time since i've been on the admin side of life so hopefully someone with more recent, in-depth experience will chime in.

rumplestiltskin
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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by rumplestiltskin » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:00 am

No domain server. Too much overhead; they would never use it here.

The problem with copying the file into every user's account is that each semester there are about 40 new students taking my classes (two classes of 20) and the IT folks would have to create all 40 users' accounts on all the machines in the classroom (and copy that file to each account) so that no matter which computer the student used, an account for him/her would already be there and the file would already be in place. So that's 40 users x 20 machines = 800 logins. Maybe I could get them to create the user accounts on a "master machine" and then have them dupe that installation out to the 20 machines in my classroom; then there would only have to be 40 accounts created. Still, this is a PITA so perhaps there's a RunRev admin looking at this thread and I'll get a more workable answer.

Thanks, however, for identifying the problem!

Regards,
Barry

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by sturgis » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:16 am

Don't recall enough about how this works, but for your creation of new accounts each semester, might check to see if placing the files in the "default" folder tree might lead to them being auto populated into new user accounts. (similar to the skeleton files on *nix*)

If this is the case, while it won't help you THIS semester, things might easy for the next. Of course then a livecode update would put you back where you started having to update each and every user account.

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by mwieder » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:25 am

I don't know enough about this either, but doesn't placing the registration in the roaming account defer to a domain server? I thought the way this was supposed to work is that the roaming accounts would log in to the domain server and pick up the local settings from there and apply them to the machine where the user logged in. Setting up roaming accounts with no domain server seems nonsensical and would leave you with the situation you're describing.

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by sturgis » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:34 am

Does seem like that would be the logical way, but I have a default install of win 7, no domain server (just a home style network) and my license files are there in roaming on the local machine. The roaming folder is within the user folder (which makes sense, seems like roaming should be amounted folder from a domain server) But I don't have and never did have a domain server so i'm as bumfuzzled as the next guy.

mwieder wrote:I don't know enough about this either, but doesn't placing the registration in the roaming account defer to a domain server? I thought the way this was supposed to work is that the roaming accounts would log in to the domain server and pick up the local settings from there and apply them to the machine where the user logged in. Setting up roaming accounts with no domain server seems nonsensical and would leave you with the situation you're describing.

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by rumplestiltskin » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:11 am

No domain server (except what is necessary to permit authorized users - students and faculty - to log in). When a logged-in user saves a file, it's saved to the local machine into that user's data folder. If that user then logs into another machine, the data does NOT follow him around. This is not "Active Directory". All that the server checks is the user's ID and password and, if the user is logging back into the SAME machine he/she had saved stuff on yesterday, that stuff will be there. This is why activation on my -usual- machine in the classroom sticks as long as I am the person logging back in to the SAME machine.

I just tried installing LiveCode into a Windows VM on my Mac. I am the admin in that VM and installed it "for all users" I then launched and activated successfully. Then I created a "student" (non-admin) account, logged out and logged back in as that student. Launching LiveCode prompted me for activation so it's apparent that there's a real problem using LiveCode in a university environment where many different students may log in at many different machines.

There has got to be a workaround for this. I'll contact Heather and ask her to look into this thread.

Thanks to all who are trying to help me!

Barry

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by rumplestiltskin » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:21 am

sturgis wrote:Don't recall enough about how this works, but for your creation of new accounts each semester, might check to see if placing the files in the "default" folder tree might lead to them being auto populated into new user accounts. (similar to the skeleton files on *nix*){snip}
Nope; just tried that and it didn't work. I copied the RunRev folder (in AppData) over to the AppData folder inside Default. If that had worked, it would have been a fairly simple fix. *darn*

Barry

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by sturgis » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:28 am

Yeah, if it works the way I think it does it would only help during the creation of new accounts on a system.

Set up default the way you want it to be..
create a new account and the stuff in default gets populated. (again, not sure if it works this way, but this is how the skel folders on *nix* work) So, any old accounts would be unaffected, new accounts would (if my understanding is correct. Not sure of this stuff anymore though)

So, next semester if the license file is in default before the new accounts are created, the new accounts might be created with already populated license folders. Then if rev comes out with an update, all the accounts on every machine would have to be individually updated again. *sigh*

I'll think on this for a bit, but as you surmise this will probably take runrev intervention to solve.

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Re: Activation doesn't "stick"

Post by rumplestiltskin » Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:29 am

sturgis wrote:Yeah, if it works the way I think it does it would only help during the creation of new accounts on a system.

Set up default the way you want it to be..
create a new account and the stuff in default gets populated. (again, not sure if it works this way, but this is how the skel folders on *nix* work) So, any old accounts would be unaffected, new accounts would (if my understanding is correct. Not sure of this stuff anymore though)

So, next semester if the license file is in default before the new accounts are created, the new accounts might be created with already populated license folders. Then if rev comes out with an update, all the accounts on every machine would have to be individually updated again. *sigh*

I'll think on this for a bit, but as you surmise this will probably take runrev intervention to solve.
Okay; I tried your method and, sure enough, the RunRev folder with the licenses was copied into "Roaming" but, when I launched LiveCode, the Activate dialog came up already populated with my eMail and {hidden} password but the app complained about the license having been corrupted. I clicked the "Activate" button and it did so; now it was activated even when I re-launched the app in the same user account.

I found my password (already in the password field) could not be copied and pasted elsewhere so that should be safe. So this may be an okay workaround if I have the IT people blow out all the user accounts in the student workstations in the classroom and then, when they log in, the license files get copied into their user accounts and, when they launch LiveCode, all they have to do is click the "Activate" button with the information already pre-populated into the dialog. I'd love to see it licensed properly, however, as a "per machine" activation rather than a "per user on this machine only".

Barry

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