Elementi license

Introduction

Elementi software is licensed, not sold. SpinetiX uses a node-locked licensing model with a centralized license server that provides activation codes to computers running Elementi. SpinetiX grants to you a license, that is non-exclusive and non-sub-licensable, to use the Elementi software indefinitely (subject to license revalidation) for your own use and only on a single node (computer / virtual machine) at any given time. For more details on this subject, see the End User License Agreement page.

Elementi software can be evaluated as a free trial for 30 days - during the trial period, all the features of Elementi S are available, so you could consciously decide if you want to purchase an Elementi license at the end of the trial. This is a one-time, time-limited evaluation - at the end of the evaluation period, you need to activate a commercial Elementi license (S, M, or X) in order to keep using Elementi on that computer.

To purchase an Elementi license please contact a SpinetiX partner near you or SpinetiX Store.

An Elementi license can be assigned to a single computer / virtual machine at any given time and is tightly bonded to the hardware profile of the PC running Elementi. Elementi can be used under any account present on that computer, each user having its "private" instance of Elementi.

To be able to migrate the license onto another computer, you must first release the license from the current computer. It is highly recommended to register the Elementi license under your Cockpit account to be able to release the license from a PC in emergency cases, to extend the Update Plan associated with the licence, and for easier tracking and reference.

License card

The Elementi license is available as a plastic card within a carton package, as shown in the images below. Each card has a unique ID, composed of nine alphanumeric characters, that can be useful in case of license loss.

There are three types of license cards available, corresponding to the three Elementi user editions:

Elementi S license card

Elementi M license card

Elementi X license card

License key

License dialog

Each card contains a single license key, printed on its back and covered by a protective layer. Some time ago, SpinetiX also offered an Elementi M license card with three license keys to be used on three computers within the same organisation.

The Elementi license key is composed of five groups, each of five alphanumeric characters in upper-case, separated by dashes (e.g., XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) and is always associated to a license card.

Any license key (also referred to as license code) is unique and is used to activate the Elementi license on a computer.

Once activated, you can always retrieve the license key from the License dialog ("Menu" > "Help" > "License..."). It's highly recommended to have the license registered as well, to be able to retrieve the license key regardless of having access to Elementi instance.

License activation

Elementi can be used only if a license is currently activated on that computer; a check for a valid license is performed each time Elementi software is executed. If the result is negative, you will be requested to activate an Elementi license in order to continue using the application. The activation can be done directly from Elementi or manually from Cockpit, as detailed below.

Any Elementi license can be active on a single physical computer at any given time, as specified in the Elementi End User License Agreement. While the EULA limits the number of computers on which it can be activated concurrently to a single one, it doesn't limit the number of users that can use the Elementi software on that computer. Note that the same license must be activated under each user account upon first usage and each user has a "private" instance of Elementi.

Direct activation

Elementi license activation

To activate your Elementi license (S, M, or X), follow these steps:

1. Open Elementi. If a valid license is not detected, the "License" dialog is automatically displayed.
   • This dialog can be opened from Menu > Help > License... menu item.
2. If an Elementi license was previously activated on that computer, its key is automatically displayed.
   • If you need to activate a new license, you need to release the current one first.
3. Otherwise, select "Enter a license key" option and enter your license key (five groups of five alphanumeric characters in upper-case separated by dashes).
4. Click the "OK" button.
   • In case you get an error message saying "License Key is not valid", then double-check that the key you entered is correct (look especially for similar characters like 0 and O, 1 and I, 5 and S etc.).
5. A dialog is displayed confirming that the license has been activated. Click "Close" button to restart Elementi.

Notes:

• During the automatic license activation process, Elementi securely connects to SpinetiX's centralized license server to verify and activate the license.
• In case of connection failure, the manual activation procedure is triggered automatically.
• In network restrictive environments, the HTTPS access to *.spinetix.com on port 443 should be allowed for the automatic activation to work.

Revalidation of the license

License dialog

A regular check of the license activation must be done because of the fact that any Elementi license can be remotely released in case of emergency - this is usually done by Elementi in the background and involves only one click from the user. This process requires Internet access to our servers - if that's not possible, you will be guided through the manual reactivation.

To check the license activation details, follow these steps:

1. Open the License dialog from "Menu" > "Help" > "License...".
2. It is recommended to keep enabled the option to automatically check license activation.
3. Click on the "Check now" button.
   • In older versions, you need to click on the "Validate Now" button to confirm the license reactivation.
4. A message confirming the license revalidation is displayed.

License validation

Note:

If the option to automatically check license activation is disabled, Elementi displays license notifications starting 15 days before the limit date. The license revalidation can be postponed by clicking on the "Later" button, until the expiration date - after that, you must revalidate the license to continue using Elementi.

Manual activation

If the direct activation or revalidation of a license fails for any reason (e.g., computer does not have access to the Internet / our servers, proxy server requiring credentials etc.), Elementi offers the possibility to activate your license manually using Cockpit.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Click "Copy to clipboard" button to copy the activation string generated by Elementi.
2. Click the "Next" button.
3. In the second window, you are prompted to paste in an activation key.
   • The activation key must be generated from Cockpit - the steps to follow are detailed below.
   • The activation key is shorter than the code generated by Elementi!
   • If you don't have Internet access on that PC, then send the activation code to someone who does and can assist you.
4. Once you have the activation key, paste it in.
5. Click the "Activate" button to finalize the procedure.
6. A dialog is displayed confirming that the license has been activated.
7. Click "Close" button to restart Elementi.

Here are the steps to generate the activation key in Cockpit:

1. Open Cockpit web portal (https://cockpit.spinetix.com) in a browser.
2. Log into your Cockpit account. If you don't have one, sign up for a Cockpit account.
   • Note that accounts from spinetix.com website are not valid on Cockpit.
3. Once logged in, click on "Elementi" link on the top menu.
4. Click the "Manual Activation" menu link.
5. Paste the activation string generated by Elementi into the text area at the bottom of the page.
6. Click on the "Activate" button.
7. Cockpit generates an encrypted activation key, which is similar, but shorter than the code generated initially by Elementi.
8. Use this activation key in Elementi to finish the manual activation.

License registration

See the benefits of registering your Elementi license(s) under your Cockpit account.

Register Elementi licenses into Cockpit

To register one or more Elementi licenses in Cockpit, follow these steps:

1. Open Cockpit web portal (https://cockpit.spinetix.com) in your browser.
2. Log into your Cockpit account. If you don't have one, sign up for a Cockpit account.
   • Note that accounts from spinetix.com website are not valid on Cockpit.
3. Once logged in, click on "Elementi" link on the top menu.
4. Click on "Register license" button on the top-right side.
5. Enter the license key(s). A new line is automatically added after entering a license.
6. Press the "Register" button.
   • If you get an error message saying "License key is not recognized ...", then double-check that the license key is correct - look especially for similar characters like 0 and O, 1 and I, 5 and S, etc.
   • If you get an error message saying "License key already registered by ...", then another person has registered the license before - if you know who that is, ask that person to deregister it from his / her account before trying again; otherwise, ask for support.

Done! The license is added to your account and can be found on the list of all your registered licenses.

Update Plan

The Elementi Update Plan is a new service tailored to Elementi software users. This service grants users access to all major and minor commercial updates for a period of between 1 and 3 years. The purchase of a new Elementi license comes with 1-year Update Plan included.

The Elementi Update Plan subscription service was introduced at the launch of Elementi 2015, as a convenient way for our long-supporting customers to be able to update their existing Elementi 3.x deployments to the latest product version at a lower cost than buying new licenses for that purpose. In the same manner, new customers benefit of the same convenience for updating to future Elementi products.

Why do I need a valid Elementi Update Plan?

SpinetiX is committed to keeping its Elementi software at the forefront of digital signage innovation. Elementi users can expect on-going evolution and improvements for an ultimate experience bringing digital signage to the next level. Therefore, the Elementi Update Plan offers many user benefits which could be summarized as follows:

• Up-to-date software

  Gain unlimited access to the latest software features with Elementi Update Plan. Elementi is now in its sixth generation and features more than 250 wonderfully handy widgets, all available right from the start. As we improve and optimize the software, the list of features is constantly growing.

• Maximum security

  Security is a fundamental element to consider when deploying and operating your digital signage installation. Important cybersecurity attacks have recently caused severe disruption of IT services and costly remediation for those affected across many sectors in numerous industries. As the prevalence of connected digital signage systems increases, it is important to have security as a core requirement when planning, deploying and operating digital signage solutions. Going for the Elementi Update Plan helps you benefit from the latest security patches for your Elementi software and HMP players. Peace of mind has never been more streamlined.

• Best in class support

  Go for the Elementi Update Plan today and get best in class support that is local, personalized and speaks your language, on top of our freely-accessible Support Wiki. Already used the three emergency license releases? Buy the Elementi Update Plan and have the counter reset.

• Unlimited flexibility

  Getting started with Elementi Update Plan is easy. Simply log into Cockpit web platform at anytime and buy the Elementi Update Plan via the streamlined online purchase. Elementi will notify you when a new version is out so you can test it and when the Update Plan it's close to ending so you can benefit of the early-bird offers!

How does it work?

Update Plan timeline, initial year

Update Plan timeline, second year

It's simple - the purchase of a new Elementi license comes with one-year Update Plan subscription included, which starts when the license is activated for the first time on a PC. See Elementi EULA for more details.

Any new Elementi version released within this one-year period can be installed and used for free. With other words, not only that you will get minor bug-fixing releases for the Elementi version you purchased, but might also be getting the next Elementi product for free!

Will Elementi stop working at the end of Update Plan subscription?

Of course not! You can continue to use the Elementi version downloaded and installed during its Update Plan period for as long as you like.

What changes at the end of the subscription period, is that are you are no longer entitled to free software updates. When a new Elementi version is released, you'll be notified that your Elementi Update Plan has expired and that you need to extend your Update Plan to get access to the latest version of Elementi. This is a premium service accessible through Cockpit.

Can I test the the lastest available Elementi version?

Yes, Elementi versions released after the Update Plan end-date, can be installed and tested for 30 days. After this trial period, you need to decide whether you want to keep using the newer version by purchasing the Elementi Update Plan or downgrading Elementi to the previous version.

When can I buy the Elementi Update Plan?

At any time! Simply log into your Cockpit account and purchase your Elementi Update Plan for 1 or for 3 years to benefit from all major and minor commercial updates that SpinetiX is making available to Elementi software users during the contracted subscription period.

Note:

Buying an Elementi Update Plan associated with a license is much lower than purchasing a new Elementi license.

Buy Elementi Update Plan

Elementi licenses registered under Cockpit

To buy the Elementi Update Plan service, you need to have your Elementi license registered into your Cockpit account. You can purchase the Elementi Update Plan for 1 or 3 years and if you choose to buy an Elementi Update Plan in advance, you can take advantage of the "Early Bird" offer

To buy the Elementi Update Plan for one or more registered licenses, follow these steps:

1. Once notified in Elementi, click "Extend Update Plan".
2. You'll get redirected to Cockpit. Log into your Cockpit account.
3. Click the "Elementi" page link on the top-bar menu.
4. Find the license for which you want to extend the Update Plan.
5. Click "Buy" or "Early Bird Offer" (if available).
6. Choose the duration of your plan (1 or 3 years) and hit the "Buy" button again.
7. On the "Order Summary" page, enter any missing details or change them in case they are not correct. By default, your Cockpit account details are used for your order.
8. Verify the order details and click the "Buy" button to purchase via a credit card - your Update Plan is directly activated after the purchase.
9. If you want to pay by other means, click the "Request Offer" button and our Sales Team will contact you with further details.

License release

According to Elementi's End User License Agreement, an Elementi license can only be activated on a single computer/virtual machine at any given time. To allow for equipment becoming obsolete, SpinetiX is providing two different ways of releasing the license from the current PC, so that it can be activated on a new PC – you can either:

• Release the license directly within the Elementi software (recommended, unlimited)
• Use the "Emergency license release procedure" from Cockpit (limited to three times)

Release the license from Elementi

Warning:

Although there's no limit set for the total number of releases that can be done using this procedure, this process is tracked and releasing an Elementi license in an abusive manner might block that license and prevent it from be installed on another computer.

To release the Elementi license from your current computer, please follow these steps:

1. In Elementi, open the License dialog using "Menu" → "Help" → "License...".
2. Click on the "Release" button.
3. Within the pop-up confirmation dialog, click "Yes".
4. If Elementi can contact the SpinetiX server, the license is successfully released and the software exits automatically.
   • You can now uninstall the Elementi software from this PC.
   • If you run Elementi again on this computer, you'll be asked to enter a license key.
   • You can install Elementi on another computer and activate the license on that computer. It is recommended to first test that the computer is compatible with Elementi requirements using the Elementi 30-day free trial.
5. 
   Otherwise, a dialog is shown containing an error message (such as "Elementi could not contact the activation server") and three buttons:
   • "Proxy Settings..." – allows you to change the HTTP proxy settings used by Elementi and eventually retry the connection.
   • "Retry"
   • "Manual..." – allows you to perform a manual release. See details below.

Manual release procedure

This license release procedure is employed when Elementi software cannot contact the SpinetiX server – it consists of two parts, one in Elementi and the other in Cockpit, similar to the Manual Activation procedure.

Part 1 – Elementi

1. Once you have clicked the "Manual..." button above, you get a release dialog containing a long string, as pictured on the right.
2. Copy your license's release string – you can use the "Copy to Clipboard" button for this.
3. Click the "OK" button to remove the license from your Elementi.
4. Click the "Close" button to exit Elementi.

Note:

The next part requires Internet access – if that's not permitted on the current PC, you should send the license release string over email or chat to someone who has access to Internet.

Part 2 – Cockpit

1. Enter https://spinetix.com/go/activation within a web browser.
2. You are being redirected to Cockpit site, on the "Manual Activation" page, if you are already logged in.
   • If you get prompted to log in, either enter your Cockpit account credentials or sign up for a new account.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find an input field.
4. Paste the license release string provided by Elementi into that field.
5. Click the "Activate" button to finalize the release of your license.

Note:

Doing the procedure above halfway, will only remove the license from your PC, but not from SpinetiX server, meaning that you won't be able to activate the license on another PC.

Emergency license release from Cockpit

Elementi license details page

In case it is not possible to follow the above procedure (for instance, the original PC is no longer available / accessible), then you can use the emergency release procedure up to three times. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open https://cockpit.spinetix.com and log into your Cockpit account.
   • If you don't have an account, then sign up for one.
2. Click on the "Elementi" link on the top menu to get the list of all your registered licenses.
3. If your license is not on the list, then register your Elementi license under your account.
4. Click on the license key you want to release to open the license details page (as shown on the right).
5. Click on the "Emergency Release" orange button on top of the page to force the release of that license within our system.

Notes:

• The emergency license release procedure is strictly limited to 3 attempts, therefore it must only be used in real cases of emergency!
• Already used the three emergency license releases? Buy the Elementi Update Plan and have the counter reset.

Troubleshooting

Known issues

You get the following message:

• License key already in use

  You get this error message because that license key has been activated on another PC. To be able to activate the license on your PC, you first need to release the license from the other one. Once you have released your license, you can activate it on the new PC.

Advanced

In some cases, it may be necessary to manually remove the license information from Elementi - for that, follow these steps:

1. Close Elementi.
2. Open Windows "Run" utility (press window + R keys).
3. Enter the following command: shell:Local AppData\SpinetiX\Elementi
4. Click the OK button to open Elementi application data folder.
5. Delete the license.txt file.
6. Restart Elementi.

If the problem persists, then delete the profile.xml file as well, using the same procedure as above.