Activating the product

ViewerFX for Crystal Reports starts as a 45-day trial with every feature enabled. When the trial ends, the software continues in Free Mode with a registered free key, or you can activate a paid license — Standard or Site — to unlock the full feature set. You can activate online, or offline by email.

The 45-day trial

When you install ViewerFX for Crystal Reports and run it for the first time, a 45-day trial begins automatically with all features enabled. During the trial you can evaluate every capability of the product, including the features that are otherwise reserved for a paid license.

Free Mode

When the 45-day trial ends, ViewerFX continues in Free Mode. Free Mode requires a free key — register to obtain one — and keeps the core viewing, printing, and export capabilities available. Certain features are disabled until you activate a paid license; when you try to use one, ViewerFX shows a notification.

The following are disabled in Free Mode:

Opening and refreshing live report data (Free Mode views saved report data)
The record selection formula
Saved custom parameters
Favorites and run history
FTP delivery, and managing FTP and SMTP bookmarks
Outlook contacts and SMTP email transport
AES encryption for ZIP packaging
Command-line integration
The XML, Text, Character Separated Values (CSV), Tab Separated Text, HTML 3.2, and HTML 4.0 export formats

Activating a paid license

A paid license — Standard or Site — unlocks the full feature set. To activate at any time, open the ribbon and choose Report Viewer › Support › Activate to start the Activation Wizard. You can activate online or offline.

Activate online

The Activation Wizard contacts Origin Software’s licensing server over your Internet connection. If your license key has activations remaining, your product is activated immediately: your installation sends an identifier to Origin over an encrypted connection and receives a confirmation that activates the product on your computer. If you are not connected to the Internet, the wizard tells you there is no connection.

For what activation transmits and how that information is handled, see the Privacy Policy.

Activate offline

If the computer running ViewerFX has no Internet access, you can activate offline. The Activation Wizard displays a machine code — a randomly generated, pseudonymous identifier that contains no personally identifiable information. Email the machine code to Origin Software using the address shown in the wizard; Origin returns an activation key that you enter to complete activation.

Checking your activation status

To check whether your software is already activated, open Report Viewer › Support › Activate. If your software is activated, ViewerFX confirms it. If it is not yet activated, the Activation Wizard starts so you can complete activation.

Moving ViewerFX to a replacement computer? See Transferring a license to a new computer.