Activation Keys and Serial Numbers

Manifold System requires a serial number and an Activation key when permanently installed to a computer system. To make life easier, a serial number alone will allow Manifold System to function for a limited period of time until you obtain your Activation key.

After the limited period of time expires, an Activation key will be required in addition to the serial number for Manifold to continue functioning. Entering an Activation key permanently installs Manifold System to your computer and will enable Manifold to function without any time limits.

Your serial number turns on whatever product level you have licensed. For example, a Professional Edition serial number will configure Manifold with all Professional Edition features. An Enterprise Edition serial number will configure Manifold with all Enterprise features.

Serial numbers and Activation keys are also used to "turn on" optional extensions to Manifold, either as separate installations or as part of a product bundle such as Universal Edition. For example, the Business Tools and Surface Tools extensions are turned on using serial numbers that enable use of these extensions. If you acquire Business Tools or Surface Tools as a separate product you will receive a serial number for the extension. If you license Universal Edition, then one serial number will turn on all Universal features, including both Business Tools and Surface Tools.

Serial numbers also control the operation mode of Manifold System: Using a serial number and/or Activation key for Professional Runtime or Universal Runtime editions will configure Manifold for runtime operation mode. In runtime mode, Manifold does not provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for interactive use. In runtime mode, Manifold can only function as Manifold IMS or under programmatic control of another application.

Runtime editions of Manifold System make it possible for people to license Manifold at reduced cost for IMS use only or for embedded use of Manifold System within programs they create. Runtime editions may be licensed at a discount from regular pricing charged for non-runtime editions.

Very Important

Serial numbers and Activation keys are confidential information. Keep them secret to prevent other people from stealing your license rights from you. Your serial number is like a PIN code to your bank account. Keep it secret.
You must have Administrator privileges in Windows XP, 2000 or NT when entering a serial number or Activation key.

Installation

Install Manifold from the CD using the directions in the Setup folder on the CD. You must have Administrator privileges in Windows XP, 2000 or NT to install Manifold System.

The Activation Dialog

The first time that Manifold launches after installation, the Activation dialog will open to allow you to enter the serial number for your license and, optionally, an Activation key. If you enter both a serial number and an Activation key, Manifold will be permanently installed.

If you enter only a serial number and the preliminary installation period for that serial number has not yet expired, Manifold will continue to function without an Activation key until the preliminary installation period expires. Each time Manifold launches, the system will pop open the Activation dialog to let you know how many days remain in the preliminary installation period and to give you the opportunity to enter an Activation key should you choose to do so.

When the preliminary installation period expires, Manifold will not launch unless a valid Activation key is provided to permanently install Manifold to the computer system. Because Activation keys are a limited resource, the purpose of the preliminary installation period is to allow users to try out different hardware configurations before they commit their license to installation on a particular computer system. The preliminary installation period also allows users to get started with Manifold until it is convenient to access the Internet to obtain an Activation key.

Take your time and resolve all hardware issues during the preliminary installation period. When ready, you can obtain an Activation key and permanently install Manifold System to the computer you intend to use for Manifold.

When entering a serial number or an Activation key into the Activation dialog you must have Administrator privileges. When an Administrator enters a serial number or Activation key into the Activation dialog, Manifold will be activated for all users on that machine. To make sure you have Administrator privileges login as "Administrator." Don't assume your login has full Administrator privileges.

When running the Activation dialog, make sure no other programs are running in background except standard Microsoft Windows processes and services. Do not run anti-virus checkers, uninstallers, registry "protectors," network checkers, special administrative protection programs or other such programs. These may interfere with the activation and permanent installation process.

If desired, the Activation dialog also may be launched via the Help - Activate command.

About Serial Numbers

Every Manifold System license is identified by a unique, permanent serial number. The serial number encodes the Manifold System edition that is licensed and the date and time the serial number was issued. Serial numbers are long alphanumeric strings that look like:

384C86E77919-4DAEA5A0-2BC41719A85FC5F1EA49A6243055

For a serial number to be valid, it must be reproduced exactly as it was issued by manifold.net. Do not change upper case to lower case, remove hyphens, add space characters or make any other changes. A serial number must be entered as a single line without any paragraph breaks. If your email system splits long lines into two lines, make sure to reassemble the serial number as a single line when entering it into the activation web site or into the Activation dialog.

When a Manifold license is acquired from manifold.net, a new unique serial number is generated and recorded in the manifold.net central registry of licensees. The serial number will be sent to the licensee by email using the email address provided at the time of purchase. If you acquired your license directly from manifold.net, you have been emailed the serial number for your license. If you have not received the serial number by email, please see the Tech Tip below to determine what problems in your email system may be preventing you from receiving your serial number email message.

Serial numbers have four functions:

To provide a permanent, unique identification for each Manifold license.
To specify the Manifold System edition (Professional Edition, Professional + Debugger, Enterprise or Universal Edition) that is launched, or to authorize use of an optional extension.
To obtain up to five Activation keys from the Manifold Activation key server.
To allow for temporary operation on any computer system during a limited time period without needing an Activation key. This limited time period is called the preliminary installation period.

Your serial number specifies which edition of Manifold System has been licensed. Professional Edition licensees will have been issued a serial number that specifies Professional Edition, while Enterprise Edition licensees will have been issued a serial number that specifies Enterprise Edition.

There is only one installation file on the Manifold multi-edition CD. All licensees use this same installation file. After installing Manifold System the type of serial number provided to the Activation dialog will control which Manifold System edition will be launched.

Providing a Professional Edition serial number in the Activation dialog will cause Manifold to launch in Professional Edition mode. Providing a Professional Edition with Debugger serial number will cause Manifold to launch in Professional Edition mode with the Debugger features enabled. Providing an Enterprise Edition serial number will cause Manifold to launch with all Enterprise Edition features enabled. Providing a Universal Edition serial number will launch Manifold with all Enterprise Edition features and also with Business Tools and Surface Tools extensions enabled as well.

Serial numbers may be revoked by manifold.net if the terms of the License are violated. In particular, disclosing your serial number to any third party (except for the sole purpose of a one-time transfer of your license to someone else) will result in the cancellation of a serial number. If your serial number appears in any hacker lists or hacker web sites for unauthorized use of Manifold System it will be cancelled immediately. Therefore, please take care to keep your serial number secret.

Serial numbers are very important so do not lose your serial number. You cannot use Manifold without your serial number. When you receive your serial number by email, save a copy of the email in a safe place.

Preliminary Installation

Each serial number encodes the date it was issued as well as the period of time after that date during which Manifold System will function without an Activation key. The limited period of time during which Manifold will function with a serial number alone is called the preliminary installation period.

A typical preliminary installation period might be 30 days from the date the serial number was issued. Depending on the precise circumstances of your purchase from manifold.net the preliminary installation period allowed for your serial number may be set to a shorter or longer time from the date the serial number was issued. The purpose of the preliminary installation period is to allow users to get going with Manifold System while they decide what they want to do about Activation keys.

For example, if you acquired your Manifold license from manifold.net on July 8, a serial number will have been generated on that date and sent to you. When entered into the Activation dialog, that serial number will allow Manifold to launch without an Activation key until August 8. After August 8, the preliminary installation period will have ended and an Activation key will be required to allow Manifold to launch.

Because serial numbers are very long, to avoid typographical errors use Windows Copy and Paste to transfer them to the Activation dialog as follows: Open the original email in which you received notice of your serial number. Highlight the serial number and choose Edit - Copy (or press CTRL-C, the Windows keyboard shortcut for "copy"). Launch Manifold and right-click into the Serial number box in the Activation dialog and choose Paste from the context menu (or, click into the box and press CTRL-V, the standard Windows keyboard shortcut for "paste"). This procedure will copy the serial number from the email and paste it into the Activation dialog without the need to manually type a long serial number.

Display of Serial Numbers in the Activation Dialog

During the preliminary installation period whenever Manifold is launched it will display the Activation dialog to remind you that Manifold has not yet been permanently activated.

The Activation dialog will display the serial number used for preliminary installation, but the last few characters will be replaced with "X" characters to keep your full serial number secret. This is similar to how credit card numbers are often partially masked with * or other characters on receipts so that the receipt cannot be used to steal the credit card number, yet the credit card owner can see enough digits of the actual number to determine which credit card was used for the transaction.

If your serial number was not masked with X characters, anyone who had physical access to your machine could launch Manifold, copy the serial number and then steal it. The version masked with X characters is useless for Activation purposes, but it still contains enough unique digits to determine which serial number is in use. Manifold licensees who have many serial numbers can thus easily determine which serial number was used on which machine.

However, do not let this simple privacy measure cause confusion when later activating your license. Just as the masked version of a credit card number printed on a receipt cannot be expected to work if you copy the * asterisk characters and attempt to use that number to buy something, just so the masked version of the serial number will not be able to fetch an Activation key.

Accordingly, when copying and pasting the serial number to fetch an Activation key make sure to use the full serial number as originally emailed to you. Do not use the masked version of the serial number that appears in the Activation dialog.

About Activation Keys

An Activation key is required to permanently install Manifold to your computer system. Each Activation key is unique and matches only the one serial number used to obtain it. Activation keys are very long alphanumeric strings that look like:

B8384D8A1C6B-4942B549-2911DE16722F3727080800EE2D2B274EC02CC5F1EA6025FECEAE

[Activation keys do not include returns. The Activation key shown above is too long to fit into the margins of this page without a line wrap.]

Any user with a valid Manifold System serial number may obtain an Activation key from manifold.net subject to the following conditions:

When an Activation key is issued, it remains valid for only 72 hours after it is issued. If it is not used in the Activation dialog to permanently install Manifold within that 72 hour time period, it becomes useless and will no longer function to install Manifold System.
Each serial number can have a maximum of five (5) Activation keys issued for it. The Manifold key server keeps track of how many Activation keys have been issued for each serial number. After five Activation keys are issued for a serial number, no more Activation keys will be issued. Five Activation keys are allotted per serial number in case you need to re-install Manifold at a future date as a result of system upgrades or other changes.
You must have Administrator privileges in Windows XP, 2000 or NT when launching Manifold to provide an Activation key via the Activation dialog.

To obtain an Activation key, visit the Manifold Activation key web site at

http://www.manifold.net/activation

This website requires a modern browser that can correctly handle JavaScript. If you have any difficulties using this website, please visit it using Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6. Since you must have IE installed on your computer (even if you do not use it as your default browser) to run Manifold, you will have an IE installation available to use even if you normally use some other browser.

Visit the above web page and provide a valid Manifold System serial number. If the serial number has not yet been used to generate the five Activation keys it is allowed, the key server will provide an Activation key. Write down the Activation key in a safe place. Because the key is very long, the safest way of writing it down is to use Windows Copy and Paste to save it in a text file.

To do so, after the key server provides an Activation key, highlight the Activation key on the web page with your mouse and choose Edit - Copy in Internet Explorer (or press CTRL-C on the keyboard) to Copy the key. Next, open a text file on your computer using Notepad or Microsoft Word or any other convenient text editor and choose Edit - Paste (or press CTRL-V on the keyboard) to Paste the key into the text document. Save the document. Save a copy of the document in a safe place.

Once you have obtained an Activation key you can launch Manifold and provide the Activation key to the Activation dialog to permanently install Manifold System. Since the Activation key is very long, the best way to avoid typographic errors is to use Windows Copy and Paste to enter the Activation key into the Activation dialog. Open the document in which you saved the Activation key. Highlight the key and Copy it. Click on the Activation dialog and right-click into the Activation key box and Paste the key.

Because Activation keys have a limited life of only 72 hours, do not obtain an Activation key until you are ready to use it to permanently install Manifold System. Once you have obtained an Activation key, you must use it within 72 hours.

You must have Administrator privileges in Windows XP, 2000 or NT to use an Activation key to permanently install Manifold System. If you do not have Administrator privileges the Activation dialog will accept the Activation key and will allow you to run for that session, but the installation will not be permanently accomplished. If you do not remember to use the Activation key with an Administrator login during the 72 hour life of the Activation key you will have wasted that Activation key. To repeat: when using Activation keys to permanently install Manifold you must be logged in with Administrator privileges in Windows XP, 2000 or NT.

Do Not Waste Activation Keys

Five Activation keys may seem like a lot, but they are not so many that you can afford to waste Activation keys.

Over the course of two or three years it is quite possible that you might want to upgrade your computer's hard disk, the operating system, or otherwise have to re-install Manifold System. Each installation requires the use of an Activation key. Because each Activation key works for only 72 hours, when you need to reinstall Manifold over the course of months or years you will have to go to the Manifold Activation key web site and use up one of your five Activation keys for each installation.

If you upgrade the hard disk once and upgrade Windows once, you will use a total of three Activation keys (one for the original installation and one each for the disk and Windows re-installations). That will leave you with only two Activation keys available should you ever need to re-install Manifold due to unforeseen circumstances, such as a disk crash, lightning strike, power spike or other calamity.

Five Activation keys are plenty for even very active computer users but they are not enough to waste Activation keys thoughtlessly or to give out free copies of Manifold to friends. If you are not careful with Activation keys, you might not have any left when you really need one.

Note that since every serial number can be used to obtain only five Activation keys it is important to keep your serial number a secret. If anyone else learns your serial number, they could visit the manifold.net website and use your serial number to obtain Activation keys for their own use in installing Manifold. If your serial number ever gets out to a hacker your five Activation keys will be gone overnight.

Administrator Privileges are Required

As mentioned earlier, you must have Administrator privileges to use the Activation dialog. "Administrator" privileges are special rights granted to the Administrator user and to members of the Administrators group in Windows operating systems such as Windows NT, 2000 and XP that provide user logins. Administrator privileges allow users to change anything in the system. Ordinary users do not normally have the required rights to make important changes to the system such as may be required when installing new software.

If you work in an organization where someone else configures and administers your computer, the login name you use might not have Administrator privileges on your computer. In such cases you should ask someone with Administrator privileges to login to your computer and to use their Administrator account to install Manifold System, including either preliminary installation with a serial number or permanent installation using both a serial number and an Activation key.

As an emergency measure, a user who does not have Administrator privileges may enter a serial number or a serial number and Activation key to allow Manifold to launch. However, this will allow Manifold to launch just once and the serial number and Activation key will be required again the next time Manifold launches. Since Activation keys expire 72 hours after they are issued, if you must provide an Activation key each time Manifold launches you will only be able to use Manifold for 72 hours on each Activation key. This is obviously an inefficient way to configure your Manifold installation. Instead, get someone with Administrator privileges on your machine to permanently install Manifold for you.

System Date Must be Accurate

Serial numbers and activation keys encode the date they were issued. They will not work with system dates that are obviously wrong such as a system date before the date of issue of the serial number or Activation key. Permanent installation also encodes the date as well. Your system date and time must be reasonably accurate for Activation to work.

Internet Map Server

When Manifold is running as a map server it will not raise the Activation dialog. Before attempting to use the map server within Manifold you must launch Manifold interactively at least once to provide a serial number for preliminary installation, or a serial number and Activation key for permanent installation. Alternately, you may use command line activation (see below) to provide a serial number and Activation key.

Manifold Removal and Re-Installation

Once your Manifold System license is permanently installed, you may uninstall Manifold System using the Windows Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs applet and then later re-install Manifold System without requiring any new Activation keys. The computer system will "remember" that Manifold System has been permanently installed. For example, if you installed Manifold System from the original Manifold CD first issued for Manifold System Release 5.50 you could download and install a Service Pack for Release 5.50 without needing to fetch a new Activation key.

Activating an Extension

Manifold System contains optional extensions, such as the Surface Tools and Business Tools packages, which extend the functionality of Manifold by adding new commands and capabilities. These additional capabilities are part of the code that is already installed on your computer, but they must be turned on by supplying a serial number and Activation key that has been provided by manifold.net for the extension that is to be enabled. The serial number / Activation key method used is similar to that used for Manifold System itself.

The Help - Activate Extension dialog is used to turn on a desired extension. When Help - Activate Extension is launched, the system will close any open projects and raise the Extension Activation dialog to allow entry of a serial number or a serial number and an Activation key. The system will then shut down Manifold so that Manifold may be re-launched with fresh activation information. When Manifold is re-launched it will automatically be reconfigured so that the activated extension will be fully enabled.

There is no need to specify which extension is being turned on, since each serial number is specific to the extension that it activates. For example, if you license the Surface Tools package from manifold.net you will receive a Surface Tools serial number. Entering that serial number into the Extension Activation dialog will automatically turn on Surface Tools.

Just like the serial number used to enable Manifold, serial numbers for extensions typically allow a temporary period of usage, normally 30 days, without requiring an Activation key. This preliminary operation period allows time for users in remote areas to acquire an Activation key while still being able to use the extension. While an extension is operating on serial number alone the Help - About dialog will report how many days are left on that serial number before an Activation key is required.

Note that some product bundles licensed by manifold.net may use a single serial number both for Manifold and for any Manifold extensions. For example, the Universal Edition Manifold System product configuration provides a single serial number that turns on Enterprise Edition features and also turns on Business Tools and Surface Tools features.

Example 1

John Doe orders Manifold System via the Manifold Online Store on July 8. He receives an email with his serial number the same day. The email tells him his serial number will be valid for preliminary installations for 30 days from the date it is issued. A few days later he receives his Manifold System CD. He is away on a business trip when the CD arrives. He is not able to install Manifold System until 22 July. John logs in as Administrator for all of his installation and configuration activity with Manifold.

When he launches Manifold for the first time on 22 July he is not sure exactly what to do about his Activation key so he copies the serial number from the email sent to him and uses it to launch Manifold without an Activation key. He feels he has plenty of time until August 8 to figure out what he wants to do before he needs an Activation key.

John works with several different computers. He installs Manifold on several different machines during the preliminary installation period to see if he needs to make any performance upgrades. He installs Manifold on his notebook computer as well. All of his machines run Windows XP except his notebook computer, which still runs Windows 2000.

After a few days he decides to upgrade his notebook (finally) to Windows XP. To assure a clean install of Windows he reformats the hard disk and installs Windows XP and then he begins reloading his software. He re-installs Manifold, using his serial number. Because it is not yet August 8, John can continue using his serial number to make as many preliminary installations as he wants without needing an Activation key.

As August 8 draws near, John decides that he will use Manifold on his notebook computer and on his new desktop machine at the office. Every day that he launches Manifold the Activation dialog reminds him that he has only a few days left before he must fetch an Activation key. However, John is a procrastinator and gets involved in another project for a few days.

The next time he works with Manifold is on August 12, a few days after the preliminary installation has expired. When Manifold launches it tells John the preliminary installation period has expired and asks him to provide a serial number and Activation key. John realizes it is time to stop procrastinating and to get an Activation key.

John visits the Manifold Activation key web site and uses his serial number to obtain an Activation key. John knows the Activation key is good for only 72 hours so he does not procrastinate this time. He makes use of it right away. John launches Manifold on his notebook computer and enters the Activation key to permanently install Manifold on the notebook. He then launches Manifold on his desktop and enters the Activation key to permanently install Manifold on the desktop. He now has a permanent installation on the two machines (a primary desktop machine and an optional portable computer) allowed him by the Manifold License. After all this he has used only one Activation key. He still has four Activation keys left on his serial number should he ever need to reinstall Manifold.

Because John doesn't want to get confused about where his licensed software is residing (and because he's straight about honoring his software licenses) he takes a moment to uninstall Manifold from all the different systems he installed it to while experimenting during the preliminary installation period. No serial number or key is required to install or to uninstall Manifold System: only to launch it.

After a year, a wonderful new version of Windows is released. John installs it on his desktop computer and then re-installs Manifold System as well. He needs another Activation key so he visits the Manifold Activation key web site one more time to get another Activation key. He still has three more Activation keys in case he ever needs to install Manifold again.

After another year, John purchases a new notebook computer. He gets one more Activation key from the Manifold web site and installs Manifold to the new computer. He now has two Activation keys left on his serial number. John's not worried because he knows he will soon upgrade to the next edition of Manifold System, which will get him a new serial number and yet more Activation keys.

Finally, after a few more months John decides to acquire a Surface Tools license. He orders Surface Tools via the Online Store and the next day receives an email giving him a serial number for Surface Tools. Because John already has decided the computer on which he will run Surface Tools he decides to activate the package right away. He visits the Manifold Activation web site, copies and pastes his Surface Tools serial number into the web site's form and fetches an Activation key for the serial number. He then logs in as Administrator, launches Manifold, launches the Help - Activate Extension dialog and copies and pastes both the Surface Tools serial number and the Surface Tools Activation key into the dialog to activate Surface Tools. After restarting Manifold he is pleased to see the new Surface Tools features have been enabled.

Example 2

Henry Doe, John's younger brother, a student, also acquires a copy of Manifold via the Online Store. He pays no attention to the email he receives except to note the serial number. When Manifold arrives he installs it and then copies and pastes the serial number. He does not get an Activation key.

After a few weeks he decides it is time to get an Activation key so when the Activation dialog pops up he copies the serial number from the dialog and attempts to get an Activation key. This does not work because Henry has copied the masked version of the serial number from the dialog, which has X characters substituted at the end. He is not using the original serial number sent to him by email. Henry, of course, has not read this topic so he thinks it is just fine to copy the masked version of the serial number from the Activation dialog.

Henry emails tech support and swears he is copying and pasting the serial number accurately. Tech support responds by asking Henry a series of detailed questions, some of which check up on typical errors (one question asks if Henry copied the serial number from the original email or from the Activation dialog). Henry is offended that they would ask him to confirm such simple things so instead of reading the questions and responding accurately, Henry just skims the questions and emails a testy reply, "Yes, I'm doing all that."

Manifold's experienced support personnel can tell right away that Henry isn't very good with details, so they ask him each question individually again in a different way and they ask him to give the exact serial number he is using. As soon as they see the X characters at the end of the serial number they solve the problem. Henry copies the serial number from the original email, gets an Activation key and activates Manifold.

Henry realizes that perhaps things will go better if he reads the manual instead of trying to "wing it" all the time. He reads Manifold documentation every night and becomes an expert. His grades soar from C's to A's. He uses his newfound Manifold expertise to invent a new method for finding diamond-bearing Kimberlite pipes, stakes claims on fabulously rich diamond properties and becomes very wealthy. He marries a beautiful Hollywood actress who is entranced by his continued hobby of reading Manifold documentation in depth. His friends admire his ability to cite any Manifold Help topic from memory. [This paragraph contributed by Manifold tech support].

Example 3

Jane Doe orders Manifold System via the Online Store. She receives an email providing her with a serial number. A few days later her Manifold CD arrives and she installs from the CD. The first time she launches the product, the Activation dialog pops up asking her for a serial number and Activation key. She has forgotten about the serial number, but quickly finds it in her email inbox and pastes it into the Activation dialog. After a few more days she decides to permanently install the package so she gets an Activation key and provides that.

After a few weeks of work, Jane encounters problems with her Windows system where an application she recently installed is not working properly. She decides to simplify her system to see what could be causing the problem by uninstalling some of the applications she has installed recently. She uninstalls Manifold using the Windows Control Panel Add / Remove Programs dialog. She traces the problem to a freeware screen saver utility.��

To re-install Manifold she installs it again from the Manifold CD. When she launches it, it automatically launches without the need to enter a serial number or an Activation key since Manifold has already been permanently installed on this computer system. If Jane had re-installed Windows or made other substantial changes (such as rolling back her registry or other major alterations), she would have had to get a new Activation key to re-install Manifold System.

A month or two later Jane notices that a Service Pack (SP) has been published for Manifold System. She downloads the SP, uninstalls the previous version of Manifold and then installs the SP following the SP's instructions. Once again there is no need for Jane to enter a new serial number or Activation key.

Command Line Activation

Manifold may be activated from a Windows command line. Command line activation allows some administrative tasks to be accomplished more easily:

IT administrators may deploy Manifold using automated tools and do activation remotely.
Manifold IMS administrators may activate IMS installations without the need to launch Manifold interactively.
Applications developers using Manifold to take advantage of Runtime editions may write batch files or other routines to install Manifold at customer sites without requiring the customer to activate the product.

There are two command line switches for activation: one switch is for activation of Manifold System itself and the other switch is used to activate an extension:

/activate:serial,key Activate Manifold System.

/activateExt:serial,key Activate an extension.

In the above, serial is the serial number and key is the Activation key.

If you are using a runtime license such as Professional Runtime or Universal Runtime, you must activate Manifold through the command line interface since there is no interactive GUI providing a Help - Activate or Help - Activate Extension dialog.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I acquired my license and received a serial number more than thirty days ago. Can I still install Manifold System? Yes. You can run Manifold System but you will need both an Activation key and a serial number since the time period available for preliminary installation has already expired.

I received my serial number a long time ago and never got around to installing Manifold. Can I still get an Activation key? Yes. For the purpose of obtaining an Activation key and permanently installing Manifold, serial numbers never expire. As long as you haven't used up the five Activation keys allotted to your serial number, you can always get an Activation key using your serial number.

I tried to get an Activation key with my serial number and the web site would not give me one. Check the obvious first:

Did you correctly enter the serial number? Use Copy and Paste to avoid typographic errors. Include the hyphens, do not change upper case to lower case and make sure to otherwise enter the serial number exactly as it was given to you.
Copy the serial number from the original email. Don't copy it from the Activation dialog where it is masked off by XXX characters at the end so that it cannot be stolen.
Has the serial number been used up? You can only get five Activation keys for each serial number at the automated web site. If you or anyone else has been getting Activation keys with that serial number, it could be used up.
Has the serial number been cancelled? If you did not pay your purchase order or have reversed ("charged back") your credit card payment to Manifold, your serial number has been cancelled. As they say, "no pay, no play!" If your serial number has been published on Internet or has appeared in hacker lists of serial numbers used to steal software, it has also been cancelled.
Some serial numbers allow a limited period of operation without the ability to obtain an Activation key. Such serial numbers are issued for trial editions or to journalists or other reviewers to allow a limited period of operation. If you have such a serial number the key server will not give you an Activation key. The email granting you the serial number will disclose any such limitations on the serial number.
Try using Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 as your browser. Some other browsers have JavaScript errors without reporting those errors.
Make sure scripting is enabled in your browser. Some people turn off scripting for security reasons, but that prevents the Activation web site from working.
Make sure you are using a PC. If you are using a Mac, make sure your browser settings are the same as would be used on Windows.

I tried to visit the Activation web site and got a Javascript error.� Use a browser that functions correctly with Javascript. Just about any recent edition browser will work. Since you must have IE6 installed for Manifold, we suggest using that.

If I accidentally press the "Create New Activation Key" button twice on the Activation Keys web page, will I waste an Activation key? No. Once an Activation key is generated the web site will return that same Activation key throughout the first 24 hours of the 72 hour life of that Activation key. If you press the button several times you will get the same key back several times. This is a safety measure to avoid wasting keys.

I entered my serial number into the Activation dialog but Manifold will not launch or reports that the serial number is invalid. Check the obvious first:

Did you correctly enter the serial number? Use Copy and Paste to avoid typographic errors.
Did you obtain the serial number from Manifold? If you obtained your license and serial number from a third party it might not be a valid serial number.
Has the preliminary installation period expired? If it is after 30 days from the date the serial number was created you will also need an Activation key to activate Manifold.
Is your system date set accurately?
Are you trying to use a serial number issued for an extension (such as Business Tools or Surface Tools) to activate Manifold System itself, or vice versa are you trying to use a Manifold System serial number to activate an extension?
If you are entering both a serial number and an Activation key, have you mixed up a serial number for one license with an Activation key that was fetched using a different serial number? Activation keys only work with the serial number with which they were fetched.

I entered a serial number and Activation key and Manifold worked OK, but now it does not.� It is most likely that you did not have Administrator privileges in Windows 2003, XP, 2000 or NT when you used the Activation dialog to permanently install Manifold from the CD. The usual scenario is as follows:�

The user has a non-Administrator account that they use for daily operation.
When first installing Manifold, the user reads all the material, logs in as Administrator and installs the product. When the Activation dialog launches, the user provides a serial number (only) and the product launches OK.
Over the next few days and weeks the user logs in via the non-Administrator account and continues using the system in a routine way, including launching and using Manifold.
One day when launching Manifold, the Activation dialog launches and announces to the user that an activation key is required. This happens because it has been 30 days since the serial number has been issued so now it is time to get an Activation key for permanent installation.
Right away, the user goes off to the Manifold web site and fetches an activation key, provides it to the dialog and now Manifold launches OK.
However, that previous step was an error because the user was logged in using his or her routine non-Administrator account. What has happened is that because it was several days or weeks after the initial installation, the user has forgotten the warnings to log in as Administrator when either a) installing Manifold or b) providing keys to the Activation dialog.
Manifold will accept an Activation key in non-Administrator mode, but it only does so for that session as an emergency way of allowing Manifold to function even if the user cannot find someone right away with Administrator privileges.
If you are sure it is not an Administrator privileges issue, something was changed in your system (Windows re-installation, restore from pre-installation image, hard disk changed, etc.).

I have several Manifold System licenses and serial numbers. Can I freely mix Activation keys? No. Each Activation key will work only with the serial number that was used to obtain it from the Manifold Activation key server.

I entered my serial number and Activation key into the Activation dialog but Manifold will not launch. Check the obvious first:

Did you correctly enter the serial number and the Activation key? Use Copy and Paste to avoid typographic errors. Be sure you are copying the entire string and pasting correctly without any errors. Do not make any changes, such as removing hyphens or changing from upper to lower case. Use the original serial number, not the version masked off with XXX characters at the end.
If you own multiple Manifold licenses, have you mixed up a serial number for one license with an Activation key that was fetched using a different serial number? Activation keys only work with the serial number with which they were fetched.
Did you obtain the Activation key from the Manifold Activation key web page? If you obtained your serial number or Activation key from a third party it may not be valid.
Have 72 hours passed since the time the Activation key was created by the Manifold Activation key web page? If so, the Activation key has expired. You will need to get another Activation key.
Are you trying to use a serial number and Activation key issued for an extension (such as Business Tools or Surface Tools) to activate Manifold System itself, or vice versa are you trying to use a Manifold System serial number to activate an extension?
Are you using a serial number for a Runtime edition? Runtime editions cannot launch interactively - they can be used only as Manifold IMS or called from other programs.
Is the system date reasonably accurate? Serial numbers and activation keys encode the date they were issued and will not work with system dates that are obviously wrong such as a system date before the date of issue of the serial number or Activation key.
Are you using a nonstandard program that replaces or modifies the standard Windows interface so that Copy and Paste operations are modified?
Are you running any programs in background other than standard Windows processes and services? When running the Activation dialog, make sure no other programs are running in background except standard Microsoft Windows processes and services. Do not run anti-virus checkers, uninstallers, registry "protectors," network checkers, special administrative protection programs or other such programs. These may interfere with the activation and permanent installation process.

I lost my serial number. Can you help? Yes. manifold.net keeps track of all serial numbers issued to licensees and probably can fetch a copy of your serial number from the archives. However, a serial number recovery fee may be charged for this service.

Can I transfer a Manifold System license from one computer to another? During the preliminary installation period you can install Manifold System on any computer system using only the serial number. After the preliminary installation period has expired, a license transfer will require normally require reinstalling Manifold System and using an Activation key.

Can I upgrade my computer system without re-installing Manifold? As long as you don't change your hard disk configuration or re-install Windows, probably yes. Simple upgrades where you change the motherboard (without making changes in hard disks), change a graphics card or other simple changes will normally not require a re-installation of Manifold. Some changes in hard disk structure will require re-installation of Manifold and the use of an Activation key. The only way to know for sure is to try. Accordingly, be sure to make any arrangements necessary for getting an Activation key before you commence system upgrades.

Can I upgrade Windows without re-installing Manifold? In most cases, no. Installing a new version of Windows will usually require a re-installation of Manifold and use of an Activation key. Accordingly, be sure to make any arrangements necessary for getting an Activation key before you commence installing a new Windows system.

Can I remove and re-install Manifold without a new Activation key? Yes. Even if you remove Manifold, on the next installation Manifold will know that you have already permanently installed a license to this system, so it will not require a new Activation key. If Manifold is launching before you remove it (using the Windows Control Panel - Add / Remove Programs dialog), there will be no need for a new Activation key unless you substantially modify Windows (re-installation of Windows, etc.) in the interim.

Can I install a Manifold Service Pack without a new Activation key? Yes. Most Service Packs (SPs) will automatically uninstall the previous release, or they may require you to uninstall the previous Manifold installation and to then install the SP. You can do this without requiring a new Activation key. The system will "remember" the previous permanent installation even though Manifold was uninstalled. There will be no need for a new Activation key unless you substantially modify Windows (re-installation of Windows, etc.) before re-installing Manifold or installing the Service Pack.

Can I use a Manifold 5.50 Serial number with Manifold 6.00? No. Each new major release of Manifold requires a new serial number. Manifold provides low cost, limited time upgrade offers to licensees of the previous release whenever a major new release is issued.

What is a "substantial" change in Windows that requires a new Activation key? Any re-installation of Windows or upgrade to a different edition of Windows will require a new Activation key. Other major configuration changes (such as Registry configuration) may require a new Activation key.�

Why do serial numbers allow only a limited time period of preliminary installation? This is a measure against software piracy that is designed to allow legitimate licensees to experiment with different machine configurations before they commit to a permanent installation. If you are a legitimate Manifold licensee and you do not procrastinate about using your serial number to experiment with Manifold, you will have plenty of time to sort out your hardware configuration before needing to use an Activation key.

Why do Activation keys have a limited life of 72 hours? Activation keys have a limited life of 72 hours from the time they are issued in order to prevent software piracy. Otherwise, someone could publish a copy of Manifold to the web and provide a serial number and Activation key that would install that package forever. Since an Activation key has a life of 72 hours it is not practical for casual software pirates to publish such a key on a counterfeit Manifold CD or to a hacker web site. By the time the counterfeit CDs are distributed the Activation key will no longer work.

Why are serial numbers limited to five Activation keys? This is an anti-piracy measure. The preliminary installation period allows time to sort out the initial Manifold installation before the first Activation key must be used. After that, four additional keys will allow users to get new keys as they need them should Manifold ever need to be re-installed in the future. Five keys are plenty to allow users to deal with changing system configurations for a single license, but they are not so many that people can afford to be careless with them or to give them away to enable piracy.

Do I get a new serial number and more Activation keys when I upgrade to a new Release? Yes. For example, licensees upgrading from 5.50 to 6.00 received a new 6.00 serial number and five new Activation keys. Manifold issues a major new release every year or so and upgrading to a new release is very inexpensive if one takes advantage of the upgrade offer when a new release first comes out. Most Manifold licensees therefore have little risk of ever running out of Activation keys, even if they rebuild their computers every three or four months.

I upgrade my computer system frequently and I need more than five Activation keys. What do I do? If you need more than five Activation keys for your serial number, manifold.net is willing to grant you additional keys as reasonably necessary; however, special conditions will apply and the automated key server may not be used. Such special conditions may require you to certify in writing to manifold.net the nature of the circumstances that require so many new installations and to grant manifold.net or its agents the right to audit your compliance with the license provisions. In addition, a service fee may be charged to process additional Activation keys.

What is to prevent me from giving my serial number to four friends who each then obtain an Activation key? If you are willing to break the law, nothing prevents you from doing so except your own self-interest. From a legal perspective, that is a crime and a violation of the License agreement. Engaging in software piracy risks criminal and civil penalties. As a practical matter, it is risky to do because your friends may use up the Activation keys you need yourself. If you ever need an Activation key to re-install Manifold (if case your hard disk blows up or if you must re-install Windows), you might not be able to get an Activation key from the key server when you need it most. In addition, whenever you disclose your serial number to anyone else you take the risk that they will not keep it secret. The sort of person who trades serial numbers to commit software piracy is often the sort of person who cannot resist passing on the serial number to yet another friend. Before you know it, your Activation keys could be used up. Your serial number might even be published on a hacker web site and your serial number could be cancelled by manifold.net, permanently denying you the ability to use Manifold System.

Can I use the same Activation key to install Manifold to more than one system during the 72-hour period the key is enabled? Yes, although it is a violation of your License to simultaneously use the same Manifold license on more than one system at the same time. The License does allow you to install Manifold on both a fixed office machine as well as on a portable computer that is used by you so long as you do not use the license on both machines at the same time. Except for installation on one fixed computer system and one portable machine you may not install Manifold on more than one computer system.

What happens if I run the same license on more than one machine at the same time? Do not violate the License by using the same license on more than one machine at the same time. Manifold System can detect when other instances of the same license are running on machines that are accessible to it. If you use the same license on multiple machines at once, sooner or later Manifold will automatically cancel that serial number and will cease functioning. To foil software pirates who attempt to find and disable such protective measures, this auto-detection function is set to a very long trigger: it could be many weeks or months of simultaneous usage before Manifold decides that "enough is enough" and permanently stops functioning. The only exception to this provision is that when Manifold runs in IMS (map serving) mode and not interactively, it is not considered a "simultaneous" interactive use of Manifold. You could therefore run Manifold at the same time on a portable computer interactively and on a server machine in IMS mode and no detection of simultaneous use will happen. However, you could not run Manifold on several servers in IMS mode at the same time or on several machines interactively at the same time using the same serial number.

My organization needs to use many Manifold licenses. How should I install them? Acquire a license for each machine on which Manifold will run. Because Manifold can be installed without need of an activation key you can install Manifold on all the machines on an assembly line basis. You can then obtain an Activation key for each machine and use it together with the Manifold license serial number for that machine to permanently install Manifold on that machine.

I acquired my Manifold license from a reseller and have not received a serial number. Can manifold.net help me? No. If you acquired your Manifold license from a third party and have not received your serial number you must contact the third party to resolve the difficulty. manifold.net will not intervene in a dispute between you and a third party. manifold.net does not enter into any special agreements with any dealers or distributors to represent the company so any third party who offers to transfer a Manifold license to you is acting on their own.

What happens if my serial number is cancelled? If your serial number is cancelled or revoked you will not be able to obtain an Activation key with that serial number. In addition, sooner or later your Manifold System license will cease operating.

How might my serial number be cancelled? Serial numbers may be cancelled for three reasons: non-payment, such as failure to pay a purchase order or a charge-back on a credit card transaction; automatic cancellation when Manifold itself detects multiple simultaneous usage of the same serial number on a different machine; cancellation for violation of the EULA, for example, cancellation by manifold.net if your serial number appears in a public forum such as an Internet posting.

Tech Tip

If you have not received your serial number email from manifold.net check your email system for obvious errors. Typical errors include:

You did not provide an email address when you acquired your Manifold license. This happens occasionally when purchasing groups neglect to provide an email address on a Purchase Order. If so, manifold.net is waiting to hear from you to learn what email address you wish to use.
A nonexistent email address (typographical error or otherwise invalid email address) was supplied to manifold.net.
You have forgotten to check the inbox for the email address you supplied.
You accidentally deleted the email without realizing it contained your serial number.
Your mailbox is over quota and so your ISP is rejecting inbound emails.
You have not used the email address provided to manifold.net for a long time and so your email provider has suspended it as inactive.
The email address supplied to manifold.net has been forwarded to a different email address and the forwarding is not working.
You have changed your email system recently and it is not working (relaying not permitted, etc.) in the new configuration.
You or your ISP have installed a "spam" filter that is too aggressive and is blocking the emails being sent to you by manifold.net.
Your or your ISP have installed a virus or other filter that is too aggressive and is blocking manifold.net emails because it thinks they contain scripts or executables (they don't).
You use Outlook and have applied some mail-handling rules that are deleting inbound messages from manifold.net or moving them to a folder that you do not view.

Notes

Professionally produced counterfeit or pirated software is widely available in some countries. However, the use of such software poses risks for the unwary, including the risk that the pirated software package is actually transmitting your location to police authorities. See the Beware of Counterfeit Software essay for a discussion of some of the little-known risks of using such software.

See Also

Help - Activate

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