Installing Flex Licensing

[S3I Staff]

This process assumes that the License Server and Arbortext Editor (and/or Styler) are installed on the same machine.

Step 1. Go to PTC.com and assign a license to the mac address of the machine you want to license

Note the SON attached to that license

Step 2. Wait until that license arrives in your email

Create a new folder on the machine named: My Documents\License

Copy the license file that comes to you (not the *_standard one, the other one) into this folder. Do not rename it.

Note the fully-qualified path to this file; You will need this in Step 5.

Step 3. Install Flex Licensing Application, using the SON you noted in Step 1.

There are two methods:

1. Advanced method: You will log into PTC.com via the flex installer and it will fetch it for you.
2. Browse to the license file you put in My Documents\License

Note the name of the license server: It will say something like: 7788@machinename

You will need this in Step 5.

Step 4. Locate the installed Flex license

It will be in a folder like this: C:\Program Files\PTC\FLEXnet Admin License Server\bin\license.dat

You will need this in Step 5.

Step 5. Add environment variable, using the values captured in Steps 2, 3, and 4

Create a SYSTEM variable
Name: PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE
Value: 7788@machinename;C:\Program Files\PTC\FLEXnet Admin License Server\bin\license.dat

** Be sure to use the correct name and not “7788@machinename” and the correct path to the license.dat file in the Flexnet folder tree.

Step 6. Wait

Give it 5-10 minutes if you can for everything to come up and be established

Step 7. Install Arbortext Editor (and/or Styler)

Run the Installer (as an admin)

Only install those applications you licensed in Step 1.

Step 8. Wait

Give it 5-10 minutes if you can. This waiting can be essential whenever you reboot as well. Windows takes some time to load everything. It’s not instantaneous at boot time.

Step 9. Launch Editor (or Styler)

Depending on which application you installed and licensed, you should now be able to launch without issue.

Step 10

Keep a copy of the flex license installer software in your My Documents folder. Periodically you may need to use it to reactivate or reinstall the license in the future. This is a known bug but report it to PTC whenever it happens anyway. Maybe if enough people submit the bug they’re force Macromedia to fix it.

Problems?

Submit a bug report to PTC

Send us an email.

In a pinch, you can use the contact form: single-sourcing.com/contact/ or book time to have us work through it with you: single-sourcing.com/project/arbortext-implementation-audit/

Verify that Editor and Flex see the same Mac address

If you’re connected to a VPN you might see different mac addresses for FLEX. They should match.

What to do next?

Return to Installing Arbortext

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