Randomly getting "DEMO" banner in print previews

[QuadraQ]

We are using the Enterprise edition of VPE (which is being called the "Enhanced" version now apparently), and we have a program that is run on peer to peer networks and sometimes on terminal services.

Occasionally our users are getting the "DEMO" banner in their prints. Why would this be occuring? We have a seperate EXE on each of their machines, with the data being on one machine locally and mapped to a drive for the rest. For terminal services the app is run multiple times on the same machine over terminal services.

[IDEAL Software Support]

You are violating our License Agreement. VPE is tracking the use on servers and turns documents into trial versions, if it detects a violation.

For use on servers, server licenses are required. Please acquire server licenses separately for each server on which VPE is executed.

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH

[QuadraQ]

OK, I could understand that for Terminal services, which really is run on a server, but what about peer to peer networks (the majority of users). Do they also require a server license? If so why?

[IDEAL Software Support]

Please describe the scenario in more detail. What does peer-to-peer network mean in you case? How is VPE exactly used?

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH

[QuadraQ]

Each machine using the program has it's own exe and it's own set of VPE dll's. The PC's are networked together using Windows NetBIOS. The data the program uses resides physically on one machine in a directory. That directory is mapped to a network drive on all the other machines, so that all the programs are using the same data.

[IDEAL Software Support]

From your description it is not clear to me what might cause that VPE switches to trial-mode.

The conditions for a fallback to trial-mode are:
a) VPE is executed as a service or as a child of a service (for example IIS)
b) More than 3 processes or threads (!) have simultaneously an open document using an identical license key.

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH

[QuadraQ]

Well we're using the VPE VCL control. Each program has a maximum of two reports open at once (most of the time only one). Each program is on a seperate PC networked together as previously described.

So say there are 20 machines each running our program using your VPE VCL contol to display a report at the same time. From what I can tell that shouldn't be a problem.

[IDEAL Software Support]

Please contact us by e-mail at our normal support address (it ends up on my desk as a reminder). We will send you on Monday (it is already 7:40pm here in Germany and I will leave the office right now) a special Debug-Build, which will generate a log file. From the file we will be able to tell you exactly the reason for the fallback.

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH

[starzen]

We are having similar issues where at some times a demo banner is printed.

Terminal Server is not in use and i was unable to reproduce the issue. It is a standard network with mutliple users running applications on workstations connected to a Win2k server. Nothing runs on the server at all.

Running more than 3 different EXE's on the same workstation didnt make it happen either and should not be a problem with the license agreement.

Tomorrow we will try again to look at this but this is very annoying. A customer printing a check run had to throw away a few hundred preprinted checks because of this already.

If there is any new development please let us know also. We will post back anything we find tomorrow.

Mike

[IDEAL Software Support]

After communicating via direct e-mail with both of you, it turned out that starzen is creating a software package with 6 different applications and QuadraQ with 10 different applications, where all applications are using the same license key.

It is hard to believe that only one programmer is developing and maintaining 6 or 10 apps at a time. Therefore it would be a good idea to respect our License Agreement, which you signed with your orders, and to acquire as many SDK's as developers are using it. With v3.60 we introduced multi-license discounts.

Regarding the problem: as explained before, VPE is falling back to demo mode, if more than three processes (EXE's) with the same license key open simultaneously a document. Single processes may open simultaneously an unlimited number of documents. Not the number of documents is counted, but the number of processes.

We released just a few minutes ago VPE v3.60 R3, which does a better checking against server environments, so the problems with your many executables are gone.

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH

[starzen]

Just to clear up some things here.

After communicating via direct e-mail with both of you, it turned out that starzen is creating a software package with 6 different applications and QuadraQ with 10 different applications

First starzen is only indirectly involved in this. One of Ideal SOftwares customers developes ONE application that is made out of 6 different EXE's.

Suddenly without any reason even without running multiple EXE's because of a bug in the first version of the 3.6 DLL demo banners where printed over their checks and such.

It is hard to believe that only one programmer is developing and maintaining 6 or 10 apps at a time. Therefore it would be a good idea to respect our License Agreement, which you signed with your orders, and to acquire as many SDK's as developers are using it. With v3.60 we introduced multi-license discounts.

The company in question has one programmer and one VPE SDK license which seems to be in line with IDeal Software's licensing.

[IDEAL Software Support]

Before posting, we looked at the website of this customer and it says "Our development staff is highly skilled with more than 80 years of combined experience in the design and development of software."

Regards
Thorsten Radde
IDEAL Software GmbH