Help
Website Version: License and Updates
How the license key works, what Archydes sends to the internet for it and how updates arrive if you didn’t get Archydes from the App Store.
You can get Archydes in two ways: from the Mac App Store and from the website. Both versions can do the same things. The only differences are how you unlock Archydes Pro and how updates arrive.
| App Store | Website | |
|---|---|---|
| Unlock Archydes Pro | Purchase with your Apple Account | License key from your purchase email |
| On another Mac | Restore Purchases | Enter the license key again |
| Updates | through the App Store | in Archydes itself; see Updates |
How the license key works
After buying, you receive an email with your license key. The key is tied to your name and your email address: It only works together with exactly these details. This makes passing it on unattractive, without you having to sign in anywhere.
Archydes checks whether a key is genuine on your Mac, without the internet. The key is digitally signed by SOLIT, and Archydes knows the matching public key. There’s no online activation. Archydes checks the key again every time it starts, so tampering with the stored data doesn’t unlock anything.
Enter the license key
The easiest way: Click the link in your purchase email. Archydes opens with the License for Archydes Pro window, with everything already filled in. Click Unlock.
By hand:
- Open Archydes › Settings… and choose Enter License Key….
- Enter Name, E-mail and License key exactly as they appear in the email. The safest way is to copy each value from the email and paste it.
- Click Unlock.
Settings then shows Licensed to and your name.
If it doesn’t work
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| This is not a valid license key. | A character got lost while typing. Copy the key from the email and paste it. |
| The key doesn’t match this name and e-mail address. | Write your name and email exactly as in the purchase email, including uppercase and lowercase letters and umlauts. |
Lost your key? Write to support@solit.com.do from the email address you used to buy it.
Remove the license
If you pass your Mac on to someone else, remove the license first: Archydes › Settings…, Remove License. Archydes then continues as Archydes Free. You can enter the license again at any time with the key from your email.
The monthly check
Once a month, and right after you enter a key, the website version asks SOLIT’s license service whether the license is still valid. This makes it possible to block refunded purchases and misused keys.
What’s sent:
- an identifier of the license: a checksum of the key, not the key itself,
- an identifier of this Mac: a checksum from which the Mac’s hardware identifier can’t be calculated back,
- the version number of Archydes.
What’s not sent: your name, your email address, your files or archives, or anything about what you do with Archydes. The license service doesn’t store IP addresses.
What the response does:
- Archydes turns off Pro only if the service explicitly responds that the license is blocked.
- No internet connection, an error or a service that no longer exists change nothing. Archydes Pro keeps working, even if you stay offline permanently. After a failed check, Archydes asks again the next day at the earliest.
If a license is blocked, for example after a refund, Archydes shows the message The license for Archydes Pro is no longer valid once and continues as Archydes Free. Your files and settings aren’t affected. If you think this is a mistake, reply to the email with your license key.
Updates
The website version brings its own updates. Every update is signed by SOLIT, and Archydes installs only updates with a valid signature.
The second time you open Archydes, it asks once whether it should automatically check for updates. You can change this later in Settings under Updates:
- Automatically check for updates: Archydes regularly checks whether there’s a new version and lets you know.
- Automatically download and install updates: New versions are downloaded in the background and installed the next time you quit, without asking. You can turn this on only if automatic checking is on.
- Check Now…: checks right away. You can also choose Archydes › Check for Updates….
- Below this, you see when the last check was (Last checked: …) or Not checked yet.
When checking, Archydes only downloads a list of available versions from the website. Nothing about you or your Mac is sent beyond what any web browser sends when it loads a page.
Refund
Within 14 days of purchase, no reason needed: a short email with your order number to support@solit.com.do. The license is then blocked, and Archydes continues as Archydes Free.