Toolkit App Deployment Getting "Trial Period" Message Box

crancoder

When I try deploying my Toolkit app on a PC which doesn't have a Red Gate license, I get a message box "This is a 14 day trial.....", with options to either activate or initiate a trial period.

I've included the following files in the deployment (I cannot find the other files referenced in http://www.red-gate.com/products/SQL_To ... icense.htm):

SQLCompare.exe
SQLDataCompare.exe
SQLPackager.exe
RedGate.SQLCompare.CommandLine.dll
RedGate.SQLDataCompare.CommandLine.dll
RedGate.SQLPackager.CommandLine.dll
RedGate.Compression.ZLib.dll
zlib1.dll
SQL Packager Code Templates (directory)
RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine.dll
RedGate.SQLDataCompare.Engine.dll
RedGate.SQLPackager.Engine.dll
RedGate.SQL.Shared.dll

Can you please tell me a) does RedGate have a redistributable or if not, a white paper that tells us what files are required? b) if additional files are needed, where they are located and c) are there any specific procedures to be followed aside from simply copying these files (e.g., are any of these COM assemblies that need to be registered)?

Thank you.

Brian Donahue

Thanks for writing. When you get a trial message from a deployed Toolkit application, it has nothing at all to do with the files you have distributed. If there were a missing reference, a failure to bind to the assembly would be reported, rather than a licensing problem.

The trial dialogue comes into play when the project had not been compiled properly on the development machine because the licence would have been compiled into your executable as an embedded resource. You can use a tool like .NET Reflector to look for a .licenses resource in the Toolkit assembly you've built, or you can simply open it in notepad and look for your Toolkit serial number, which is messy but effective.

You may also like to know that the licensing model makes it impossible to rename assemblies after they had been built because the licensing is voided if the assembly name and resource name do not match up. If you want to create a Toolkit assembly (exe or dll) with a different name, your only option is to build it under that name.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.

crancoder

Hello Brian,

Can you please provide instructions on the proper compilation of the project in VS2005? I did a search in the .pdb file for the license number (format is XXX-XXX-XXXXXX-XXXX) but could not find the number.

Thank you.

Brian Donahue

The instructions are in the SQL Toolkit help file:

Add a licenses.licx file to your C# or Visual Basic .NET project in Visual Studio.
If a licenses.licx file does not exist in your Visual Studio 2005 project, you must create one with the following entries in it:

RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine.Database, RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine

It may also be important to note that the compile action for the licenses.licx is 'embedded resource', otherwise the licensing will not be embedded into your assembly.

crancoder

Thanks, Brian, that suggestion worked perfectly.

Brian Donahue

You're welcome!

There are lots of other tips in the support area of our Red Gate website, such as how to licence Toolkit on a build server and how to do it manually without Visual Studio. If you get stuck again, that would be a good starting point.