Updating License 2021

SketchUp
1

Hi All,

I have a network license installed on a number of systems. These are well within my limited license. I have received a license with a new expiration date. I would like to deploy this license to the machines that are currently licensed.

I have used the script to license my machines:
taken from here Administering a Network License | SketchUp Help, I have used these steps:

In that file, add your network serial number and authorization code in the following format:
{
“serial_number”:“YOUR SERIAL NUMBER”,
“auth_code”:“YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE”
}
Tip: Be sure to include the quotation marks in the file as well as the commas. For example, the activation_info.txt file could look something like this:
{
“serial_number”:“VA-99999999-ALR”,
“auth_code”:“ab3de21fgh”
}

Can someone tell me how to force the app to activate with the updated file in place and to do this without touching every machine. Any insight would be really appreciated.

2

Have you put it in the correct folder ( C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp 2021)
It might be needed to create it, first.

3

Hi Mike,

I have dropped the file in the correct folder, C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp (YEAR), verified it was there prior to launch, launched to then see the old code in use.

If I deactivate, close and relaunch, the app updates with the right code.

This is why I ask if there is a command to reactivate without touching each machine

4

Is there a (old) sketchup.lic file in the user appdata?
Maybe, it uses that first.
Are these educational licenses?
Might get better support from the reseller where you bought it?

5

Thanks for the convo on this…

Is there a (old) sketchup.lic file in the user appdata? There is an old sketchup file but its being over written.. i havent se

Are these educational licenses? These are edu licenses

Does updating the file just work for you?

This is concerning as I cannot update serial numbers on many machines at once. The deactivating works but for one at a time.

6

You can’t embed the license info in the app itself, but normally, you should be able to get the updated activation_info.txt file on the other macs and it should work.
Make sure that it’s plain text and check the extension (activation_info.txt.txt won’t work:)

7

I have done what you suggested, copied the file from a known good source, again verified the file was in place prior to launching the app, to find that it using the older licensing…

again, if i, in the software remove the license, then add back, it works…but i need to do this for 50 machines…

8

Update:
Here is what I have found if you need to deploy a license update in mass without the luxury of a fresh install or touching each machine.

On the client the key is stored in C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp (year) version… In this case C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp 2022

Look for the file activation_info.txt
Formatted like:
{
“serial_number”:“XH-22162583-ABC”,
“auth_code”:“aa5da070048888”
}

Sketchup also uses EW.lic and SketchUp.lic to hold old licensing info. If these files and the activation_info.txt are removed from the directory the app will become unregistered. The *.lic files are recreated when the app is launched.

The task to update the key for a mass deployment is to
-delete the *.lic files
-copy over an updated activation_info.txt to overwrite the previous file

Create a batch file sketchuplic.bat, which contains:

del %programdata%\SketchUp\SketchUp 2022*.lic
xcopy activation_info.txt %programdata%\SketchUp\SketchUp 2022 /Y

This should delete the files and copy over a new file. Upon next launch, the app should be updated.

@MikeWayzovski thanks for the convo about this topic.