Stonefield Query is licensed on a per-user basis. That means each user who wants to create and/or run reports in Stonefield Query requires a license. Here's how licensing works:

• Until Stonefield Query has been activated, it runs in "unactivated" mode. The user is prompted each time they run Stonefield Query if they want to activate it. If they choose to do so, a Registration dialog appears. On the last page of this dialog, a registration number appears. This registration number is based on several factors, one of which is information about the system where Stonefield Query is installed (not necessarily the workstation it's running on, but the system where the Stonefield Query executable resides). When given the registration number, Stonefield Software Inc. provides an activation code to register Stonefield Query. The activation code is also based on several factors, including the registration number, serial number, and number of licenses purchased. Licensing information is stored in a file named SFQUERY.LIC, in the Data subdirectory of the Stonefield Query program folder.

• The same holds true for the Configuration Utility; the only difference is the name of the license file, SQCONFIG.LIC.

• Users in the Administrators user group (such as the ADMIN user) are the only ones who have access to the Maintain Users and Groups dialog in Stonefield Query. In that dialog, an administrative user can only define as many user names as there are licenses. They can also specify which users use which licenses if more than one type of license is installed. For example, if there are two Report Designer and five Runtime licenses, they can define up to two users as Report Designers and five users as Runtime.

• When a user logs in, Stonefield Query does two checks. The first is how many users are currently running Stonefield Query. If all of the licenses are currently in use (for example, five users are currently in Stonefield Query and there are five licenses in total), the user is informed of this and Stonefield Query terminates. The second check is whether another user is logged in with the same user name. If so, the user is informed of this and Stonefield Query terminates. So, Stonefield Query licensing is a combination of named users (you can only define as many user names as there are licenses) and concurrent use (only as many users as there are licenses can be logged in at the same time).
  

Note that since the activation code is based on the registration number, which is based on information about the system where Stonefield Query is installed, if Stonefield Query is moved to a new system, the activation code is no longer valid and the user is requested to enter a new one. Contact Stonefield Software Inc. to obtain a new activation code.

Type of Licenses

There are three types of licenses available for Stonefield Query. A Report Designer license provides complete access to all features within the program. A Runtime license allows the user to run a report but not create a new report or copy or edit an existing report. This is a less expensive license for those users who don't need to create their own reports. An Unlimited Runtime license allows an unlimited number of users to run reports but not create a new report or copy or edit an existing report. This license allows you to distribute runtime versions to as many clients at as many sites as you wish without paying individual license fees.

Managing Licenses

The License Manager in the Tools menu, which is only available for users in the Administrators user group, can be used to add or remove Stonefield Query licenses or see the currently installed licenses.

Licensing Reports

You can license certain reports so only authorized users can import them. This allows you to protect reports that you charge customers for so only those customers who've paid for the report can use it.