


	Version 1.24 © 2010 by CapeSoft Software (Pty) Ltd http://www.capesoft.com/ Updated 9 February 2010

Contents

This section allows access to maintain and create activation codes, customers and products by selecting the applicable tab.

Customers

The customers database can be maintained by inserting, changing and removing customers. Please note that the customers must be added to this database before a product activation code can be created. The sort order by column in ascending or descending order can be selected by a left mouse click on the applicable column header. Selecting an update button calls the following update screen.

Owner - If you have enabled multiple web users and creating this records for a specific dealership, then you must select the dealership as this records owner. The will ensure that the web operator can see the records created via the windows interface.
The email address entered here, will be used to email the activation code to the client if the product's email activation codes to customers is selected. Select Ok to accept changes or cancel to go back to the customer list.
Discard Registrations - All registrations requested for this customer will not be saved and discarded. This is useful in cases where a demo copy of your application is downloaded and used with demo registration i.e. Demo Customer. *

Registrations

The registrations database can be maintained by inserting, changing and removing registrations. The sort order by column in ascending or descending order can be selected by a left mouse click on the applicable column header. Selecting an update button calls the following update screen.

Enter the registration details for which the activation code must be generated. A expiry date of 31/12/2099 represents an permanent activation code. The modules become available when the product has been selected. This in turn is dependant of the modules how have filled in for the product. By selecting the GENERATE button, the activation code will be generated and details will be filled in for cutting & pasting, emailing or printing.

The Rental option field enables the ability to fix the registration code's copies, product level, counter and modules' fields as unchangeable. This is typically used in scenario's where clients rent the software, but are allowed to add or remove options from the original registration (if the "rental update is not allowed" option is not set).

The product registration's expiry date cannot be changed by the client and represents the date when the rental of the product expires. When this date is reached, the features of the product, as set by Secwin will be disabled. The SOS operator has the option to extend this rental period by changing the expiry date via SOS's user or web interface. After the date has been changed, the client can simply request the new activation code from SOS via their product registration window.

The ability to allow the client to change certain product features (or not), provides the flexibility in the rental to charge the client for the features used (or not used). An example would be where the rental agreement is based on the total customers on the client's database. The client can change the counter (customer limit) to the total required, but will be billed on the highest amount of customers in a given month. SOS keeps a record of each activation code request, allowing for appropriate reports to be generated.

On the limits and Counter tab, you may change the value of you limiter for Secwin 4 products only. The Limits and Counter Descriptions are defined in your product.

On the Optional Modules tab, you may select the modules ofr the product registration you want to create. The modules are defined in your product.

Installer S/No - A field that can be used with your installer to validate the license
Additional String 1 - String for use in Secwin4 Registration Codes
Additional String 2 - String for use in Secwin4 Registration Codes
Additional String 3 - String for use in Secwin4 Registration Codes
Additional Long 1 - Long for use in Secwin4 Registration Codes
Additional Long 2 - Long for use in Secwin4 Registration Codes
Comment - This is a free form field which any comments or additional information can be entered

The activation code will be emailed to the customer's email address. If the product has been configured to send the email to the dealer on behalf of the client, the the dealer's email address will be used. This email address can be changed before sending the activation code. A progress bar will indicate current progress in sending the activation code.

Products

The products database can be maintained by inserting, changing and removing customers. The sort order by column in ascending or descending order can be selected by a left mouse click on the applicable column header. Selecting the relevant update button calls the following update screen.

Basic Tab

Owner ID - Is defined when hosting multiple dealers via the web interface. This allows you to separate the data between dealers.

The product name and seed code is required in order for SOS the create an activation code.

The product retail name allows you to enter a default name used in correspondence by SOS, other than the product names defined in Secwin, which is sometime too short for marketing puposes. Left blank, the product name will be used.

Limits and Counter Tab

You can specify the table, the licence level range that the limit applies to. Levels below the limit will not allow any records, and licenses above the MaxLevel limit will not apply any limits to the table. The Default limit is the limit that is applied for a Default temporary initial activation licence - as well as what is initially set in the manual registration screen.

Defaults Tab

A company must be pre-registered - If this option is selected, a company must be already registered as a customer. The string returned will be "Customer not found". If not selected, the company will automatically be added as a customer.
An unique ID must be pre-registered - If this option is selected, an unique id must be already added to the unique ID list. The string returned will be "Unique ID not found". If not selected, the existence of the unique ID in the dataset will not be a pre-requisite for SOS to create a registration code.
Security Format - Select if the code is a Secwin3 or Secwin4 registration code.
Default License Period - The first License issued for a customer will get a license which will be valid for this period. Leaving this field to zero, will return demo not allowed if a registration was not already created.
Renew Temp Activation Code Period - If a customer's product is on a demo license, then the customer will not get a new demo license if they request a new code which falls outside the amount of days before their existing code expires.
Default Code Expiry Days - The activation code generated must be entered before this amount of days elapse. This prevents codes "floating out there" which can be used indefinitely.

Emailing Tab

Email product activation code to customer - Tick this selection on, if you would the customer to receive an emailed copy of the product registration details.
Please note, that the dealer setting, "This dealer receives registration emails on behalf of the client" will override this setting if the dealer has been selected in the request for registration.
Email Format - here you can select if emails send to customers should be in text, html or both formats. If text or HTML is selected, the email client will determine which format will be displayed.
Product support email address - this email address will be displayed as the contact email address for product support on emailed activation codes and web pages
Product Website - this email address will be displayed as the contact email address for product support on emailed activation codes and web pages
Email Sender - This is the name which will appear in the email's from field received by the customer
Activation Mail HTML Template - The location of the HTML format mail template used to notify customers about their product registration details.
Activation Mail Text Template - The location of the Text format mail template used to notify customers about their product registration details.

Optional Modules Tab

The optional modules entered here, will be available in the update registrations screen, once the product has been selected. This allows you to create a generic product i.e. Telephone Index with an additional module for example PINs. Press Ok to accept changes or cancel to go back to the products list.

Restrictions Tab

Do not limit codes issued - Unlimited valid registrations will be issued for the same request
Limit registrations codes issued per unique identifier - limit the number of registration codes (as set in the "Limit codes issued field") that will be issued with the same unique identifier.
Limit registrations codes issued per serial number - limit the number of registration codes (as set in the "Limit codes issued field") that will be issued with the same serial number.
Limit registrations codes issued per unique id and s/no (both totals combined) - limit the number of registration codes (as set in the "Limit codes issued field") that will be issued with the same unique identifier and serial number. These two totals are combined and may not exceed the limit set. (Only one request will be counted, where a registration has a matching serial number and unique id as per the registration request)
Limit codes issued to - Enter the number of registrations that may be requested based on the type of restrictions selected above. If the registration request based on the unique id, serial number or both, exceeds the total set here, then the last registration code with the original expiry date will be issued. I.e. if someone repeatedly requests a demo code in an effort to prolong his demo period, you can restrict the requests here.
and exclude codes older than (days) - Setting this option will count all the registrations issued per unique id or s/no or both, but exclude registrations older that the total of days entered here.
Auto Black List allows you to automatically add a registration to the blacklist list after the first code was issued, which means only one code can be issued.

Serial Numbers Tab

Issuing of serial numbers - When one of the following options are selected and the registration code request is defined as version 3, a registration code with a serial number will be issued. See the example for more details.

Do not allow the allocation of serial numbers - no serial number will be issued for this product by SOS
Use the address field as the serial number - The first 20 characters will be issued as a serial number for this product by SOS
Use registration server serial number range - The next serial number in the range for the registration server will be issued as a serial number for this product by SOS
Use dealer code and serial number range - The next serial number in the range for the dealer will be issued as a serial number for this product by SOS
Use product serial number range - The next serial number in the range for this product will be issued as a serial number for this product by SOS
Product serial number starts on - This is the first serial number issued for a registration in the number range for this product. The next serial number will be incremented by one.
- The last product serial numbers issued was - This is the last serial number issued for a registration in the number range for this product. The next serial number will be incremented by one.
Use randomised 20 digit numeric serial number - A random 20 digit serial number generated by SOS will be issued for this product.
Use serial number from from products list - On the products browse is a Serial Number button. This browse holds a list of all valid serial numbers for your product. SOS uses this number to verify the customer name against the captured serial number and send this information to the customer with the registration code information.
Issue installer number from products list - On the products browse is an Installer Number button. This browse holds a list of all valid installer serial numbers for your product. SOS uses this number to verify the customer name against the captured installer number and send this information to the customer with the registration code information. Typically used with Setup Builder and maintenance plans ID's.

Serial Numbers Tab

Allow Web Activation - This option allows this product to be registered to a customer and an activation code emailed to the customer from a web page. An example of this procedure is available in SOS Client Demo Example.
The address field is required for web registration and activation - By selecting this option, you will force the customer to enter their address information from a web page. This is normally used in conjunction with serial numbers when the are issued by using the first 20 characters of the address information
Error Page - if web activation encounters and error, this page will be loaded, otherwise the generic errors page will be loaded
Download Page - if web activation is successful, this download page will be loaded, otherwise the generic download page will be loaded
Authorization Code - this code validates the authenticity of the client example update program setregistration when it updated or adds registration codes to SOS .

The product notes field is a free format field in which general product information can be entered.

Dealers

The dealers database can be maintained by inserting, changing and removing dealers. The sort order by column in ascending or descending order can be selected by a left mouse click on the applicable column header. Dealer information can be entered in the product activation codes and allows for product activation codes generated per dealer grouping. Selecting the relevant update button calls the following update screen.

General Tab

Registration Emails -
- No Emails - No activation code emails will automatically be send
- Email Dealer- selecting this option will default the activation code email address for the customer to the dealer's email address. This allows the dealer to control the registration codes on behalf of his customers.
- Email Customer- selecting this option will default the activation code email address for the customer to the customer's email address.
- Email Dealer and Customer- selecting this option will default the activation code email address for the customer to the dealer's and customer's email address.
Dealer Name - the dealers name
First and Last Name - are entered for reference purposes.
Email - Dealer's email address
Phone - Dealer's phone number
Fax - Dealer's fax number

Address Tab

Address - Dealer's address
City - Dealer's City
Post Code - Dealer's postal code
State - Dealer's state
Country - Dealer's country

Serial Number Ranges Tab

Serial Number Code - A three digit dealer code which is placed in front of the serial number when created by SOS fir example Dem/007. This options is used by SOS, if the product is configured to use dealer code and serial number range.
Serial Number Range - The start serial number for this dealer issued by SOS
Last Serial Number Issued - The last serial number issued for a registration with this dealer. The next serial number will be incremented by one.

Phone, fax, and other address details are entered for reference purposes.

Database Options Tab

This option allows the latest SOS registration data relevant to the dealer and for the selected product to be emailed to the dealer. Data is send for customers and registrations separately in a comma delimited text file.

The recipient name is the name of the person receiving the emailed data.

Enter the Emails Address of the recipient above.

The Data send up to field is a system updated field. This field is updated with the current date once a day just after midnight when the latest data is email to the dealer. Only registrations data newer than this date will be emailed to the dealer. This date can be manually changed.

A forced export can be scheduled from SOS's File menu as shown below.

Press Ok to accept changes or cancel to go back to the dealers list.

Blacklisted

Companies, Unique ID's, products, serial numbers and dealers can and be blacklisted. As soon as a the blacklist date is reached, a product activation code will not be generated any more. The production activation code field will receive a message from the server "Code Denied". The blacklisted database can be maintained by inserting, changing and removing listings. The sort order by column in ascending or descending order can be selected by a left mouse click on the applicable column header. Selecting the relevant update button calls the following update screen.

By adding a blacklist, you will effectively prevent further codes being issued. This can be used in a case where a customer keeps requesting an unreasonable amount of "demo" or "temporary" codes.

The Unique ID identifies the customers and prevents Secwin Online Server from issuing new codes, if the customer makes subtle changes in the name or registration details and the customer has been blacklisted. Press Ok to accept changes or cancel to go back to the blacklists.

Exporting data in XML format

SOS data can be manually exported from the File menu either using the menu items Export to XML or Import from XML.

Selecting either XML options allows you to export or import to or from XML. Export files are exported to and imported from SOS's current directory.

Creating temporary and permanent product activation codes

Secwin Online Server will create a default temporary activation code for any product activation code request if:

The product code request is a new request or the first request for the specific company and product combination
If an existing activation code has expired and the client or dataset is not blacklisted
A demo activation code will be issued if any of the following registration details changes in the product activation code request:
- Company Name
- Serial Number
- Product Level
- Product modules
- Product Counter
- Product High Word

The expiry date of a temporary code is dependent on the "demo expires days" entered for the product in the update product's form. A temporary code expires after the date of issue plus the days entered in the field "Demo expires after (entered days)"

A permanent product code can be created by:

Changing the expiry date of the last issued product registration temporary activation code to a date in the future. For example, use the date 31/12/2099. When the product requests a registration code again, Secwin Online Server will issue the permanent registration code
Creating a new registration code for the product and customer with an expiry date of for example 31/12/2099.
A product activation code emailed directly from Secwin Online Server or faxing the registration to the client and having the client manually enter the registration code.

Note : Registration codes can be created via the user and or web interface

Web Interface

The web interface provides accessibility to Secwin Online Server in instances where it is not feasible to use the program user interface. The web interface replicates the windows user interface. All features of SOS are thus available in both interfaces.

A case in example might be when SOS is installed in a locked server room or on a web server. By using the IP address of the machine on which SOS is installed and the port defined under Settings, you can access the web interface by typing the following address in explorer as follows: http://192.168.1.1:6000

This will bring up the following screen:

After a successful login, the options will become available on the following screen:

From this screen product registrations can be added and changed and all the user options can be accessed.

Adding, changing and creating customers, dealers and registrations is similar to the applications interface options.

Secwin Online Server Client

Requirements

The Secwin Online Server Client in this example require the following accessories and development tools.

The Secwin Online Server Client example has been installed in the Program Files\CapeSoft\Secwin Online Server directory.

Introduction

This example has been built for users who own both Secwin and NetTalk. It shows you how to build a registration screen in your application, which fetches the Activation Code required from your Secwin Online Server. The server is typically on the internet. The server itself is also provided as part of Secwin Secwin Online Server and is discussed in the start of this manual. This example deals with the Client side of the activation.

There are six examples and they are available in for Secwin 3 and Secwin 4.

Register your product via SOS using port 80
Register product and get a serial number from SOS using port 80
Register customer details and your product via a web page on the Internet
Register customer details from a product and customer registration wizard
Register customer details from a product and customer registration wizard and get a serial number from SOS
Create registrations and or licenses on SOS using a windows client application from your workstation

This technique does not in anyway remove from the existing registration functionality. But it does add a powerful online way for users to get activation codes when required.

A.	Register a product using port 80 ( allows your request to go through proxy servers and firewalls - recommended procedures)

Preparation

Firewalls can sometimes get in the way of registering your product using a dedicated port. To overcome this is we can use port 80. Using port 80 will allow traffic to pass though proxy servers and firewalls, but requires specific header information. This example shows you how to achieve this. This example uses the control, GetWebActivation, which is available in Secwin 3.37.

Steps to convert an existing custom registration window

The setup and configuration is exactly as described in the previous example, except on the actions tab of the GetWebActivation tab, use port number 80 and tick "Use HTTP protocol".

By selecting the "Use HTTP protocol" options, the request packet is formatted as shown below. This allows the packet to pass through firewalls and proxy server as a normal internet web page request.

ThisReg.packet.bindata = 'POST /GetActivation HTTP/1.1<13,10>' & |
'Accept: */*<13,10>' & |
'Referer: http://sos.tna4.com/Get.htm<13,10>' & |
'Accept-Language: en-us<13,10>' & |
'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded<13,10>' & |
'Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate<13,10>' & |
'User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1)<13,10>' & |
'Host: sos.tna4.com<13,10>' & |
'Connection: Keep-Alive<13,10>' & |
'Content-Length: ' & x & '<13,10>Cache-Control: no-cache<13,10><13,10>' & |
sub(ThisReg.packet.bindata,1,x)&'<13,10><13,10>'

B.	Register product and get a serial number using port 80

Preparation

This example is based on the example in C.

Steps to convert an existing custom registration window

The setup and configuration is exactly as described in the example C, except on the actions tab of the GetWebActivation tab, use port number 80 and tick "Use HTTP protocol".

This selection enables the option to assign the field where SOS must store the serial number. This field is typically the field on the product registration screen where the product user typed in the product serial number, as shown below.

You now have the option to make the serial number fields read only or even hide it. The benefit in having SOS assign the serial number is that the sequence of serial numbers is in the control of the supplier. By selecting the "Use HTTP protocol" options, the request packet is formatted to pass through firewalls and proxy server as a normal internet web page request.

C.	Register customer details and product via a web page on the inetrnet

This demonstrates the ability to choose a product from a webpage and register a customer. When successfully registered, SOS will email the new or existing customer a product activation code. Please note that their are several ways to format these web pages. This is an example of one.

The choose products web page is a normal link to a customer registration webpage as shown below.

This product page has the following hidden fields:

Secwin Online Server collects the information from the hidden fields, and with the customer registrations details, will create a product activation code, which will emailed to the customers email address. If the customer registration was successful, the download page entered in the products field will be loaded. If no page is specified here, the generic download page genericdownload.htm will be loaded.

D.	Register customer details using a product registration wizard

This demonstrates the ability to register a customer's details and your products from a custom product registration window. An existing example is changed into a wizard which will basically have two phases. This first phase will request that the customers' details must be registered or amended, and the second phase will register your product after receiving an activation code from SOS.

Create a wizard with four tabs. (The wizard attribute has been switched off for this example.) The first tab acts as a introduction page.

The second tab collects all the customers details. Next will send a request to SOS to add or amend the customer details. This request is different to the normal activation code request and is defined in the send request routine.

The third tab sends the applicable information to SOS. SOS will updates it's customer database with this new entry, or update existing records. The text box will confirm if the customer's details were added or updated successfully. The product activation code is displayed for demonstration purposes and can be suppressed.

The fourth tab gives you an example of an option to register the product later. The customer would have to remember the activation code however.

E.	Register customer details using a product registration wizard and get a serial number

Create a wizard with four tabs. (The wizard attribute has been switched off for this example.) The first tab acts as a introduction page.

The second tab collects all the customers details. Next will send a request to SOS to add or amend the customer details. This request is different to the normal activation code request and is defined in the send request routine.

The third tab sends the applicable information to SOS. SOS will updates it's customer database with this new entry, or update existing records. The text box will confirm if the customer's details were added or updated successfully. The product activation code and serial number is displayed for demonstration purposes and can be suppressed.

The fourth tab gives you an example of an option to register the product later. The customer would have to remember the activation code however.

F.	Create registrations and or licenses using a windows client application from your workstation

Secwin Online Server ships with an example application and source code called SetRegistration. SetRegistration is only available for Secwin 4 product registratsions.

SetRegistration allows you to add product and customer licenses directly on SOS without having to use the Web Interface or having to remote onto the server workstation.

SetRegistration takes the format of the update registration window in the windows interface. Added to this window id the ability to enter more specific company information as shown below.

Customer Details Tab

Authorization Code - This code must match the authorization code entered in your products' profile.
Update Action
- Don't Update Details - Customer details will not be updated on SOS
- Update all details - All customer details will be updated. Irrespective if teh fields are left blank or not.
- Only update fields with data - incremental update of customer details where fields are not left blank.
Customer Fields - these fields match the customer record on SOS

Customer Details Tab

Update Action
- Don't Update - This is helpful in cases where you just want to update customer details
- Update / Create Registration - Creates product registration according to the fields entered below
Registration Fields - these fields match the registratsion records on SOS

Registration Limits Tab

Connection Options
- Server - The IP address or url the server where SOS is hosted
- Port - The port used by SOS as defined in the Client Application to Server Options (Web Server Port option) Tab of SOS.
- Use Secure Connection - Tick this option if you want to use a secure connection to SOS. You must remember to change the port above to the port used by SOS as defined in the Client Application to Server Options (Web Secure Server Port option) Tab of SOS.
Registration Fields - these fields match the registration records on SOS

Register a product using port 5984 (a dedicated port on the server where SOS is installed - (no longer supported - available only for backward compatibility)

Preparation

This document assumes you are starting from a position of having an existing custom registration screen (using Secwin) already in your application. I will call this procedure myProductRegistration in this document. You can call it anything you like. If you don't have one then you can skip this section and import from the example given.

Steps to Convert an existing custom registration window

If you haven't already done so, add the Global Activate NetTalk Extension to the App

Go to the myRegisterProduct procedure. Click on the Extensions button.
Add a NetTalk object to the window using the IncludeNetTalkObject extension.
Set the Object Name to ThisReg
Set the Base Class to NetSimple

Go to the window formatter for the following procedure
Select the Populate menu, Control Template option. Select GetWebActivation from the Secwin section.
Move the cursor to the desired place on the window, and click. The 3 controls will appear. They include a button, progress bar, and string control.

Right click on the button and select Actions.

Set NetTalk Object Name to ThisReg (This must match the name of Nettalk's object name entered in the paragraph above)
Set the Server to the IP name of your server. For testing set it to 'LocalHost'. "localhost will point to the PC on which SOS is running. NOTE: If you are using a server name omit the "http://" from the name, for example use the name in the following format: sos.demo.com
Leave the Port set as the default 5984 for testing purposes
Selecting the "Use HTTP protocol" option, encodes the request into HTTP protocol. This allows the request to be used on port 80, which should be open in most firewalls and will not be rejected by proxy servers.

NOTE: When selecting the HTTP protocol option, the client will use SOS Web Server port - remember to set the port of this client to SOS's Web Server port number. This is normally port 80.

The unique identifier option allows you to distinguish the product by installation and PC. This identifier is send with the activation code request to SOS. The value should be unique and must preferably be a combination of a product dataset identifier and or a PC identifier (Registry key entry will do). By keeping the unique identifier in the products dataset, you will ensure that the number gets carried across during restores etc. By looking at the unique identifier fields, multiple requests for the same dataset, workstation can be monitored. Using a combination of pc and data identifier – makes it easier to verify if a user is moving data or updating expired codes. If a variable is used for the identifier, assign the value at the embed point ?GetActivationFromWeb.Accepted.
Selecting the "Allow SOS to assign the serial number" option, request a serial number from SOS with the activation code request. The serial number will be placed in the field assigned. This allows SOS to control the sequence of serial numbers.

How it works at Runtime

If you click on the button it calls a (template generated) routine called GetActivation. This connects to the server, and requests the code. When the code arrives (asynchronously) it is filled into the Activation Code field. The user then needs to click "register" as normal.

Register product and get a serial number using port 5984 - (no longer supported - available only for backward compatibility)

Preparation

This example is based on the example in A.

Steps to convert an existing custom registration window

The setup and configuration is exactly as described in the example A, except on the actions tab of the GetWebActivation tab, tick "Allow SOS to assign the serial number".

You now have the option to make the serial number fields read only or even hide it. The benefit in having SOS assign the serial number is that the sequence of serial numbers is in the control of the supplier. The supplier can now use this serial number against orders or validate activation code request by serial number.

Keen to get started? Then this section is just for you - the basics on how to get SOS up and running with your application as quickly and simply as possible.

Install SOS

For the initial setup and testing purposes, I would recommend that you install SOS on your development PC. Run the SOS Setup file. When the installation process is completed, select the option "Run Secwin Online Server" or run the server from the Start Menu / CapeSoft/ Secwin Online Server folder.

SOS starts with default settings which includes setting for the web server (port 80) and registration server (port 5984). Do not change any of these settings initially. Now proceed to the following section.

Add your product to SOS

Before SOS will generate a registration code for your product, your product information must be added to SOS via the manager' products tab.

Basic Tab

The product name and seed code is required in order for SOS the create an activation code.

Demo Expires - the number of days entered here will be the default demo expiry date calculated from the date of request plus the days entered here. If zero is entered, no demo activation codes will be issued. The string returned will be "No Demo Allowed".

Reissues a new temporary code - This option allows you to set the period before an issued demo activation code expires, in which a new demo activation code will be issued. All code requests outside this period will be issued to original activation code.

The above options is the minimum required for SOS to be able to issue a registration code.

Add Secwin "MyRegister Product Window" to your application

The quickest manner to create a customized registration window for your product, would be to import the Register a product using port 80 SOS client example from the example directory.

This window is setup to request a registration from SOS on your local PC. Compile you program (remember that you need NetTalk and Secwin).

You are now ready to test.

Test

Open your product's registration window and enter the company details, serial number product level etc. You do not have to create to company name in SOS. This will be done for you by SOS.

Now click on the "Get Activation Code From SOS" button. In a few seconds, registration code will be displayed in the activation code field. You can now select the register button to register your product.

Other Information

Case Studies

Case Study A

Requirement: The client must request an activation code every fifteen days during a sixty day trail period.

Reason for implementation: This method reminds the client that he has not purchased your product every fifteen days and forces the client to reregister the product. It creates a subtle reminder with a bit of effort for the client, but still allows the client to use the program. If the client wants this reminder to go away, he can simply buy it and get a permanent registration.

SOS Implementation plan: Configure SOS to issue a one temporary activation code every fifteen days, but allow the client to request a new activation code if the code expires within two days. The client is not allowed to request more than four temporary codes (The four times fifteen makes up your sixty day trial period)

SOS Configuration:

In SOS Manager Registrations section, select your product which you want to setup the specified trial period for.

To setup the product's 15 day demo expiry period, enter the value of fifteen in the "Demo expires after" field. You might want to set your products demo period in Secwin's extention template to 15 days as well, if you do not want to force the client to register a code for the initial fifteen day trial)

Only allow the client to get a new activation code, if the current demo code is within two days of expiry by entering the value of two in the "Reissue a new temporary activation code if the code falls within x day(s) of the product demo expiry date" field.

Limit the trial period to sixty days by entering the value of four in the "limit the codes issued to x field" and enter the value of 999 in the "exclude codes older than x days" field.

Client Configuration

Summary: By forcing the client to get an activation code every fifteen days, it allows the SOS user to monitor which companies have downloaded and are using your product. By reporting on the repetitive requests for registrations, the SOS user can also determine how long the client used the product in the demo period, before buying it or not at all.

Case Study B

Requirement: The client must register his contact details via the program and and will receive his activation code via email.

Reason for implementation: It forces the client to provide at a minimum a legitimate email address which the supplier (SOS User) can use to track the progress of the potential client.

SOS Implementation plan: Import the customer registration wizard as per the example into your application and configure the product settings of SOS to email the activation code to the client.

SOS Configuration:

In SOS Manager Registrations section, select your product which you want to setup. This product name and seed code must match your application.

Setup the product's trial demo expiry period, enter the value in the "Demo expires after" field.

Only allow the client to get a new activation code, if the current demo code is within two days of expiry by entering the value of two in the "Reissue a new temporary activation code if the code falls within x day(s) of the product demo expiry date" field.

Set the "Optional Settings" Email product activation code to customer. This options will email the customer their activation code to the email address entered in the wizard.

Here is a nice bonus. The dealer or supplier can also get a copy of the email generated, send to him by selecting the option, "Export database" in the update dealers form and adding your product to the list provided.

Client Configuration

Import the customer registration window procedure form SOS's client demo app (in your clarion examples directory).

Open the procedure's embeds at the Procedure Routines and select "!!Set your server ip or name and port here!!". Enter SOS's port as set on the web server tab of SOS and the IP address or name of the pc which SOS is running ('localhost" if you are testing on the same Pc).

Open the procedure's embeds at the Procedure Routines and select "!!Set your products license details here!!". This section allows you to set the products licensed copies, counter details, optional modules and level. If these variables are left blank, the product's default values as setup in SOS will be used.

Open the procedure's embeds at the Procedure Routines and select "!!Set option here if SOS must provide the serial number!!". Change the variable to 1, if you want SOS to allocate the serial number. Remember to set you product options for this feature as well.

Open the procedure's embeds at the Procedure Routines and select "!!Load customer and company information here!!". Change the set values of the company and customer information to variables you have declared or fetch the values from i.e. an ini file, registry entries etc (where you stored the customer details).

Open the procedure's embeds at the Procedure Routines and select "!!Save customer and company information here!!". Change the set values of the company and customer information to variables you have declared or save the values to i.e. an ini file, registry entries etc (where you normally save the customer details).

Tab4 of the wizard is for testing purposes. The next button will automatically get the activation code, so you can hide or customise the controls on this tab if required.

Customize the wizard and give it a little makeover to fit with your product's look and feel.

Summary: .This registrations method allows to capture more than jus the customer name and ensures that you can build a contact database for your product.

Case Study C

Requirement: The client must register his contact details via the internet and and will receive his activation code via email. The email will provide the download link and product activation code for the product

Reason for implementation: It forces the client to provide at a minimum a legitimate email address which the supplier (SOS User) can use to track the progress of the potential client.

SOS Implementation plan: Provide a hyperlink in you application which will open the web browser to your products registration web page.

SOS Configuration:

In SOS Manager Registrations section, select your product which you want to setup. This product name and seed code must match your application.

Setup the product's trial demo expiry period, enter the value in the "Demo expires after" field.

Only allow the client to get a new activation code, if the current demo code is within two days of expiry by entering the value of two in the "Reissue a new temporary activation code if the code falls within x day(s) of the product demo expiry date" field.

Set the "Optional Settings" Email product activation code to customer. This options will email the customer their activation code to the email address entered in the wizard.

Select the option "Allow Web Activation". This option enables Web Page and Activation Mail templates. If none are entered the default shipped will be used or customise your pages from the examples provided.

Force the customer to the enter the address field in the web by selecting the ''The address field is required for Web registrations and activation"

Client Configuration

The client requires a hyperlink (CapeSoft's Hyperactive can do this for you) on the products registration page. This will open the registration web page as per the client example shipped with this install. Please customise the "register.htm" page to fit in with your product web site's look and feel.

Summary: .This registrations method allows to capture more than jus the customer name and ensures that you can build a contact database for your product from the internet. This will also guarantee by default that the client will be connected to the internet to register.

Case Study D

Requirement: The client must register the product using a customised product registration window, but does not have to enter details such as the product's level, modules, counter.

Reason for implementation: This options is used where you product must simply be registered and does not have and level or counter restriction. By having the client only fill in their company details, it also simplifies the registrations process

SOS Implementation plan: No additional settings are required (but ensure the default settings for the product is set in SOS.)

SOS Configuration:

No additional settings are required (but ensure the default settings for the product is set in SOS.)

Client Configuration

In your customised registration window, hide the level, counter, copies and module fields, but set default values.

Summary: .This registrations method allows to capture more than jus the customer name and ensures that you can build a contact database for your product from the internet. This will also guarantee by default that the client will be connected to the internet to register.

FAQ

1) What is unique ID's ?

By assigning a value to the field iunique (LONG) at the embed point ?GetActivationFromWeb.Accepted (myRegisterProduct) in the client example, a unique identifier can be created which is send to the server. The value must preferably be a combination of a dataset identifier and or a PC identifier (Registry key entry will do). By keeping the unique identifier in the programs dataset, you will ensure that the number gets carried across during restores etc. By looking at the unique identifier fields, multiple requests for the same dataset, workstation can be monitored. I like using the combination of pc and data identifier – makes it easier to verify if a user is moving data or updating expired codes.

2) There is a second counter (highword) option. What can it be used for?

This option can be used within your apps and is compatible with your existing applications. It allows you to use a second counter with a different value in say on of your applications modules.

3) Must the SOS client be added as a product for SOS to issue an activation code?

No, SOS will generate an activation code for any product on condition that the seed code is added to the activation code request. (The option to turn this off will be added to SOS when blacklisting rules are added). Please note that transmitting the seed code of your product is note ideal and not secure! The seed code can be transmitted by assigning a value to the field iseed (LONG) at the embed point ?GetActivationFromWeb.Accepted (myRegisterProduct) in the client example.

4) What is the difference between selecting "http protocol" and not selecting "http protocol" in the client?

Selecting the "Use http protocol" wraps the request in a http (web browser) formatted packet, which will go through most firewalls and proxy servers (assuming that those firewalls and proxy server allow web traffic). This setting should be used as default. Note that this option selected uses SOS web server port, so remember to make sure the client's port matches.

5) I am using "http protocol" to request activation codes, but the client only receives " HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/1.0"

The request from the client application to get a registration code from SOS, is being 'hijacked' by a web server. Check your server name or ip address in the product's registration window. Ensure that you are not running SOS with another web server on the the same PC using the same port.

6) I am using no modules in my application, but the registration code request received by SOS has a value under modules or highword

If your application uses Secwin's demo level, all modules will by default be enabled. The modules have to be cleared before sending the activation code request to SOS in your customised registration window. See the client demo example app for an example.

7) Do I need to add a company's details to SOS, before the client can request a registration code?

No. SOS will create the Company name for your if it does not exist, as long as the matching product has been added to SOS.

8) When will SOS issue temporary registration code or permanent registration code from a client request?

If no matching permanent registration exists for the customer and product combination (i.e. no product license exists for this client), then a temporary registration code will be issued. The expiry date of the temporary registration code depends on the basic settings of the product. If a matching permanent registration exists on SOS, for the product and customer combination, the the permanent registration code will be issued.

9) The client has requested a registration code from SOS and a temporary code was issued. How do I make this registration a permanent registration?

A temporary registration can be changed to a permanent registration by changing the expiry date of the registration to 31 December 2099. After thsi was completed on SOS, you can email the code from SOS to the client or the client can simply request the registration code again and the permanent registration will be issued.

10) I am running Skype on a PC with SOS Server, but cannot access SOS's web interface

Skype has a connection option to use port 80 and 443 as alternatives for incoming connections. This option set will prohibit you from accessing SOS's web interface on port 80. Untick this option in Skype in the Tools / Options/ Connections menu. Restart SOS and Skype.

11) Can SOS run as a service?

Yes. Install SOS as a service from the Server Options Tab.

Version History

Version 1.24 Beta (9 February 2010)

Mayor release. Make backups before upgrading.
Web interface has been updated to use NetTalk 4 Web Server.
Added Secure Server support to the web interface
Downscaled support for the old net simple registration server and moved this functionality over to the web server.
Improved support for SecWin4 and fixed various related bugs.
Added support for pre-registered unique ID validation on registration code request
Added support for pre-registered serial numbers validation on registration code request
Added support for installer serial numbers validation on registration code request
Added SMTP Authentication and SSL support for email client settings
Added support for filtering of SOS records per operator depending on the dealer code assigned to the operator. This is helpful to limit records when more than one dealer may access your SOS.
Added a discard registrations option for a customer with a particular company name - Did company Demo come to mind?
Added support to products to force a unique ID and or Company name to be pre-registered on SOS before SOS will generate a registration.
Added support to products to auto blacklist a Unique ID, Company Name or Serial Number after the first registration was issued.
Added product list serial number range and an installer serial number range option to the products Serial Number Options
Dealer registration email options were extended to send emails to the dealer only, customer only or both.
Data (daily incremental) can now be automatically exported and emailed to the dealer for backup purposes in Text or XML format
Blacklisting options for dealer is now supported

Version 1.23 Beta (18 December 2007)

Fixed the login page which was displayed inside the frame contents page as a duplicated login page when the server session expired.
Fixed the installer which overwrote existing data with the sample set shipped. This is a critical update.

Version 1.22 Beta (14 December 2007)

Recompiled with Secwin4 Version 4.37
Fixed web pages which displayed duplicate records for registrations per product, dealer and customer
Updated email registration web and windows interface
Fine tuned support for Secwin4
Fixed update registration web page which cleared current registration information when selection new customers and dealers
Updates client demo's and split the Secwin3 and Secwin4 client demo
Added support for secure registration update from a client application and included an example client called SetRegistration in the install
Updated product and registration web forms layout
Fixed register by webpage example which did not call the downloads page
Added a product option to force a client to be pre-registered before the client is allowed to get a product registration
Added the ability in the web interface to import customers and registrations via an excel file

Version 1.21 Beta (19 September 2007)

Updated the site limiter which was coded in the web form and exposed it in the web interface.
Fixed the product limited and registration limits' web browses which inconsistently duplicated rows or displayed no information
Fixed discrepancy between the web interface activation code generation and the code generated when a xml file is created when the code expiry date was changed
Fixed discrepancy between the web interface activation code generation and the code generated when a xml file is created when the dealer status or inclusion was changed
Fixed the the formatting of the xml file generated by SOS in that the company name field was incorrect, causing the drag and drop client registration to fail
Added support for pre-defined installer serial numbers for products which can be included in the emails to clients or dealers
Added support for pre-defined registration serial numbers for products
Added options on the products, dealers and products' web browses to view issued registrations
Customers, dealers and products' web browse forms are now primed with the relevant dealer, product or customer's information
Fixed the registrations browse of Customers, dealers and products, which inconsistently omitted registrations
SMTP password on the windows interface is now masked
Fixed the incorrect display of user levels in the web browse
Added back support for user and administrator privileges in the web interface
Added back support for user product and dealer filtering according to the user's access area in the web interface

Version 1.20 Beta (22 August 2007)

Added lookup buttons to the update registration form
Updated client example for Clarion 5
Added serial numbers per product and an option to the product settings to allocate serial numbers from the product's available serial numbers
Added the ability to import serial numbers for a product
Fixed auto allocation of serial number according to product settings, in the registrations form which did not work
Fixed product, customer and dealer registrations list which did not display all the records in the web interface
Changed registration fields name for the additional longs and strings which were not named correctly. This could result in xml registrations failing.

Version 1.19 Beta (3 August 2007)

Fixed possible protection fault caused when creating an activation code and the registration's product level was not set
Fixed product file's ID which did not auto increment when adding a product via the web interface
Fixed install which reset the operator login for the web interface

Version 1.18 Beta (2 August 2007)

Update registrations window now defaults the license type to 'Temporary' if the license type was not previously set
When toggling between a Secwin 3 and Secwin 4 security format in the update registration window, the appropriate security format controls are enabled and disabled
When toggling between a Secwin 3 and Secwin 4 security format and selecting a new product in the update registration window, the limits and counter queue for Secwin 4 registration will now be correctly re-loaded from the current selected product's limits and counter's list.
Fixed CRC and Length display which did not work correctly on the update registrations window
Fixed the limits and counters tab which did not always display on the update registrations window for Secwin 4

Version 1.17 Beta (30 July 2007)

Moved Secwin Online Server web interface over to Nettalk Web Server generated pages
Fixes Secwin4 emails which did not include the registration xml file

Version 1.16 Beta (12 July 2007)

Added support to blacklist dealers
Added support to product options to issue registrations if the customer has been pre-registered on SOS
Fixed display of blacklisted browses
Added support for Secwin 4. File structures are upgraded for this purpose. Older registrations are still backward compatible with Secwin 3.
It is recommended that you run the File Menu option called "Upgrade Default Counters" after files have been upgraded. This ports the old registrations counters into the same format as the Limits and Counters supported by Secwin 4. This process is optional, and will not affect Secwin 3 compatibility.

Version 1.15 Beta (16 May 2007)

Fixed cosmetic bugs in the send to log
Fixed cosmetic bugs in the select registrations or logs options in the options panel
Updated FAQ in the docs
Added Jump Start and Case Studies in the docs
Updated and simplified the client demo examples

Version 1.14 Beta (26 January 2007)

Added support to bind the SOS server to an IP address
Added support to set the session timeouts of the web server
Fixed a bug where no registrations were displayed for a customer in the customer's list, if a page was previously selected in the registrations list
Added logout button to user web pages
List now displays if the current user's session has expired

Version 1.13 Beta (20 October 2006)

Fixed the broken products link in the web interface
Fixed the file access error when registering a customer, using the client wizards

Version 1.12 Beta (17 October 2006)

Upgraded web server engine from Nettalk 3 to Nettalk 4
Product seed codes in logs are now hidden from operators using the web interface
Products views and maintenance are now not available to operators using the web interface
Fixed install which did not place examples file in the selected directory
Split the web servers and registrations window into two separate windows
Updated examples

Version 1.11 Beta (10 August 2006)

Added support for multiple SOS web interface users with their own login and password
Web interface users can be limited access to data by dealership and or products
Added support to export and import SOS data in XML format
Added support to SOS to email the latest company and registrations data daily to the dealer in comma delimited format
Registrations emails to dealers and client can now be set as text or html only.
Fixed regression which prevented product web page and email templates from working
Fixed regression which prevented the webpage customer and product registration from working

Version 1.10 Beta (8 May 2006)

Added the ability to make a current registration a product rental.
Added locators to all SOS's web interface lists
Fixed incremental locator on all browses
Fixed Web Server and Registration Server settings, which were not automatically reloaded when changes were saved
Added server "Serial Number Range Start" and "Last Serial Number Issued" fields to Registration Server web interface
Added the ability to Edit a Copy of a product registration

Version 1.09 Beta (9 February 2006)

Added product retail name to products database. This is a "friendly" product name which will used in emails to customers and is normally the products retails name.
Added page loaded lists to the web interface for all lists.
Fixed bug which where a customer details was not to be saved using the customer registration wizard.
Enlarged all company name fields to 255 characters
Enabled the use of Html and Text email templates for each product, which can be used in lieu of the default wording for emails send to customers by SOS. Two samples were added to the install called democustomhtml.htm and democustomtext.txt
Fixed dealer name which could not be changed when using customer registration
Added more spaces between registrations details and crc codes to avoid random characters been copied and pasted

Version 1.08 Beta (15 December 2005)

Fixed customer and dealer registration emails which was not emailed
Changed emailing of registration codes to email customers if the registration request dealer was invalid. Note that the product must still be set to email registration codes to customers
Fixed client request for product serial number which only returned five digits
Updated client demo to include customer and serial number registration wizard
Added support for 30 modules per product
Changed request for serial number option to return the original serial number issued, if the unique identifier in the activation code request matches that of the original activation code issued
Added alphabetical index to web page lookup lists
Made web page index case insensitive

Version 1.07 Beta (2 December 2005)

Fixed session management which failed under certain server environments
Alphabetical index to web page lists added
Cancel and save button to SOS's system settings added
Implemented a free product option in products
Fixed client customer details update which only updated the company name and ignored other fields
Fixed time display in lists which were blank

Version 1.06 Beta (14 November 2005)

Enforced the use of sessions in the web interface
Fixed web interface session timeout which did not work
Synchronised the web interface update forms with the application update forms
Added display of log information to the web interface
Added an option for SOS to assign a serial numbers to activation codes requested
Fixed emailing of activation codes
Added an option for activations codes to be emailed to the customer's dealer/reseller
Added an order number and order date field to registrations
The limitation on the number of registration codes issued to one customer, can now be limited by the total registrations issued to the unique identifier, to a serial number or by both the unique identifier and serial number combined.
Added support in SOS to create and issue activation codes via the web server address and port
Fixed online customer registration error page where the tags were lost after an error
Fixed install which did not preserve newer SOS system settings

Version 1.05 Beta (3 August 2005)

Expanded error log information
Expanded the use of "Only allow one registration code issue per unique identifier" to limit number of codes to be issued within a set number of days
Changed product's "Demo expires after" option not to issue demo codes if set to zero.
Dropped the background graphics in favour of a background colour to provide a uniform display on all graphic cards

Version 1.04 Beta (23 June 2005)

Support to automatically email product activation codes to dealer of customers was added
A new log displaying customer database related events was added
The demo expiry period was tweaked not to issue a product demo code if the product's demo expires days are set to zero. The last valid registration code will however be returned to the application
Added a new parameter for products called "Only allow one registration code issue per unique identifier". This only allow one registration code to be created per unique identifier.

Version 1.03 Beta (15 April 2005)

Added support for customer contact details and address information
Added support for customer registrations from SOS clients or Web Pages
Improved log file layouts
Log history is now saved
Created new examples for SOS's Client demo, which now includes an example to register a customer and or application from a wizard and an example to register a customer from a web page
Added support to automatically email product activation codes to customers
Added support for customer details to be updated from a SOS client or Web Page
Original demo activation codes are now re-issued on request if they fall outside a specified period from the product's demo expiry date
Added support for product demo expiry period per product
Updated the send log to provide specific information relating to new codes issued or old codes re-issued
Added a blacklist log

Version 1.02 Beta (19 January 2005)

Updated SOS Client Demo application
Updated the install demo with default data as an example
Fixed web interface which did not save selected modules when adding and updating registrations
Changed the default expiry date when receiving activation code requests for non registered products to 30 days. Note : this requires the client to send the seed code for the activation code to work. See the FAQ for more details.
Changed the default behaviour of SOS to reissue a temporary activation code when receiving an activation code request for an existing, but expired registration.

Version 1.01 Beta (18 January 2005)

Added option to set font, style and size in the file menu
Added option to set program dates to European date format or us date format
Added options to blacklist companies, products and serial numbers
Added demo default days option to products
Added blacklist web pages to web interface
Added issued registrations lookups to customers, products and dealers
Fixed display of login password on web interface's system options
Split program user and web interface systems options into categories
Changed the transaction descriptions in the Send Log

Version 1.00 Beta (20 December 2004)

Base release for Secwin Online Server Beta

License, Copyright, & Disclaimer

Copyright

License

Each Developer needs his own license to use Secwin Online Server.
Secwin Online Server license authorizes the use the program on one server or workstation per licensed site
You are not allowed to copy, reproduce, or distribute any of the other files shipped with SOS, including but not limited to:
- Template files (.tpl)
- Library files (.lib)
- Resource files (.rsc)
- Documentation files (.htm, .chm, .hlp)

Disclaimer

CapeSoft Software (Pty) Ltd, employees of CapeSoft Software, and Dealers of CapeSoft Software products, explicitly accept no liability for any loss or damages which occur from using this package. This product is used entirely at your own risk. Use of this package constitutes agreement with the above license.

Purchasing Secwin Online Server

Remember: Upgrades are, at the moment, FREE! Please make sure you keep up to date with the latest version of SOS. To update now, go to the SOS Download page.

The full working version of SOS (Each developer needs his own license to use SOS), is available from:

Download SOS Demo
	SOS has a fully functional 30 day demo, which can be download from here

Buy Online
	Secwin Online Server is currently in Beta and is available for purchase at $199 from:	www.clarionshop.com

Hosting Subscription
	A Secwin Online Server is hosted by CapeSoft on our server in the USA. Developers who want access to SOS, but do not want to host SOS themselves, can subscribe to our hosted SOS for $69 per annum. The annual subscription will give the developer a login and password for the web interface, which will allow you full access to all your products, registrations and related data. In addition, new registrations and daily backups of data can be emailed to you.	www.clarionshop.com

CapeSoft Contact Details
	Email:
	Support:	click here
	Web:	www.capesoft.com
	Telephone:	+27 21 715 4000
	Fax:	+27 21 715 2535
	Mail:	PO Box 511, Plumstead, 7801, Cape Town, South Africa

[End of document]

	Register a customer online and email product activation code
	Creates Secwin Activation codes for any product
	Register customers before issuing activations codes from your application or directly from the web using SOS
	Products activations codes can automatically be emailed to customers or their dealers/resellers
	Product activation codes requests can automatically be assigned a serial number
	Datasets, companies, serial numbers and products can be blacklisted, preventing any further issues of activation codes
	Limit the number of registration codes issued to one customer by unique identifier, by serial number or by both unique identifier and serial number
	Runs on Windows XP and and higher operating systems
	Can be installed as a service
	Maintain and update SOS via a web user interface
	Add licensed directly on Secwin Online Server using a client Set Registration Application *

		Secwin Online Web Server	This section contains all the configurable server settings and web logs.
		Secwin Online Manager	This section contains al the relevant options used to create and issue product registrations, maintain product and customer information and has logs containing the latest transaction information requested from the server and issued by the server.