I’m curious about licenses for extensions in the EW. In particular, Eneroth Auto Weld. I bought the license for it awhile back. Actually bought it twice so I could get it to work on two different computers. I’ve uninstalled it from SU2018 using the Extension Manager on the two computers I have running SketchUp. I’ve installed it in SU2019 on both computers but on the second one I continue to get a message indicating it isn’t licensed and prompting me to buy a license. When I click OK, I’m given the option to uninstall it but not to license it.
Questions:
How many computers or SketchUp installs does a single extension license cover?
How does one release an extension license from a SketchUp installation or computer?
Assuming one has used up all of their available “seats” for an extension license, how does one manage to buy another license without creating a new user ID?
Ah, I thought you needed to create a new ID to buy the extension a second time.
Most extensions let you install on two devices and even are not version specific, at least I always presumed, so I found it odd that you needed to uninstall them in version 2018.
I didn’t even know it was possible to buy the same extension more than once. Extension Warehouse sure works in mysterious ways. I can’t remember where but I’ve also read somewhere than an EW license allows for installations on two machines/versions. Possible the EW staff can release a license, I don’t know.
Here is an Extension Warehouse Help’s chapter called “Handling Extension License Issues”. Looks like there was no need to buy the second license for another computer according to a mentioned chapter. Here is a quote:
License Limit Exceeded: You can install a purchased extension on two different computers. If you installed the extension on more than the allowed number of computers, you see this error. If you uninstall the extension on one of the other two computers, you can then install the extension on your current machine.
I suppose it should be fine to contact Extension Warehouse support in case of problems with a purchased license.
I’ve signed out and signed back in, made sure the extension is not installed anywhere but in the two SU2019 installations. I’ve even removed SU2018 from the computer which has the “unlicensed” copy of Autoweld.
I know my way around the Extension Manager well enough that this shouldn’t be a problem. Imagine what a newer user would be going through.
Have you tried to uninstall the extension, then to restart SketchUp, and then to re-install the extension as suggested in a mentioned chapter? I’m not sure if “isn’t licensed” message on a screenshot is the same as “Not Licensed” error type mentioned in a help article, anyway here is a quote from a mentioned chapter about “Not Licensed” error (not sure if will solve the problem):
Not Licensed: This message means SketchUp couldn’t locate a license for the extension. If you installed the extension from Extension Warehouse, uninstall the extension, restart SketchUp, and then re-install the extension. If you installed the extension some other way, remove the extension manually and reinstall it from the Extension Warehouse.
I’ve mentioned about a license limit only because I haven’t seen any answers on this particular question in this thread:
As a side note, I totally agree that any new user may become confused and maybe even frustrated in case of similar problems.
This extension always shows the same message when an extension is unlicensed, regardless of for what reason. The licensing API has a very bare bone documentation and it was unclear what the different statuses meant when I coded this, and frankly still is. For instance expired and trial_expired are two separate statuses, even though there are no subscription licenses and trials are the only licenses that can expire. The documentation for ExtensionLicense#error_description says it’s meant for debugging only, but I’ve noticed other developers are exposing it to the end user. I’m not sure if there has been any updates to the documentation with clear code examples, but when I started selling extensions I had to guess how the API was intended to be used.
Speaking of how many SketchUp installs (on the same machine I assume) a single extension license covers. I believe there shouldn’t be any limitation in this regard (from a logical point of view). Because I suppose it’s highly unlikely that a user would be able to gain more profit from an ability to use one extension license on different SketchUp installs. So I believe that license is linked somehow to a computer (not to an installation of SketchUp). But it is only my assumption.
I agree with you. It shouldn’t really matter if the same extension is installed in different SketchUp versions on the same machine.
Currently I have it installed on only one machine in SketchUp 2019. It seems to me if the SketchUp on the other machine is pinging the EW servers to find out if an extension is licensed, the server ought to have record of the extension being uninstalled view the Extension Manager, too.
I’ll see if I can raise anyone in EW Support who can help. Maybe it will just take some time for the servers to catch up.
So another assumption about an ability to buy more than one license for the same user ID: maybe this action is technically allowed indeed and it just increments an allowed number of computers for this particular extension and this particular user ID (for example 2 licenses = 4 allowed computers). But it is even more brave assumption.
I think it has more to do with a technical implementation than business logic. The simplest implementation is that each install counts up to the cap, and no checks are done to see if it was already installed on the same machine but for another SU version.
I deleted the entire Web Cache folder from User/App Data/…/SketchUp 2019 for a second time and then started SketchUp again. It now seems to show that it is licensed when I look at the Extension Manager. When I try to run it, though, I get the same message as before saying it isn’t licensed. When I click on the Yes button, I get the EW window and it shows I can buy it for $10. Maybe clearing the Web Cache is what allowed me to pay for it twice before. I don’t mind so much that I paid Christina twice for the extension. It’s something I’ve wanted for years and I’m happy to have it. But darn it! If I should get two installs for $10 and I’ve paid $20, I should sure as heck be able to get at least the two.
As usually when purchasing extensions from the Extension Warehouse there isn’t much I can do as a developer. I can’t see how many computers someone has installed an extension on, release a license or even refund a purchase.
Strangely I can see a few operations for trials, but nothing on actual purchased licenses. Also my tests indicate these operations don’t do anything, at least not Renew license.
I’d recommend to contact SketchUp directly about issues with Extension Warehouse license.
For the record I’ve never ever managed to activate a license from EW myself, not even trial licenses. Last thing I heard is that there is some sort of bug preventing registered extension developers from activating licenses, but I’ve waited maybe a year to get a tracking number for that bug so I can easily reference it when communicating with SketchUp staff. I’m not sure if it was ever confirmed or just something they suspected.
My first commercial extension in the warehouse, Eneroth Slicer, was intended to be open source but I gave the EW licensing system one last chance and tried to slap on the licensing API, despite never have been able to use it myself and despite the lacking documentation. To my surprise it actually worked, and someone even reported a bug that could never have been found if the extension wasn’t licensed to run.
Until SU 2019 it seems licenses have worked for everyone but me, except for a few times when the EW has been malfunctioning and every single license failed to activate. With SU 2019 license issues exploded and every other day I forward users to the SketchUp support.
