License Borrowing - Frequently Asked Questions
The License Options page of License Manager allows you borrow a license from a server-based floating license. After borrowing a license, you can work locally without being connected to the license server.
Permanent, incremental (which are permanent) and upgrade licenses can be borrowable or non-borrowable. You can borrow a borrowable license from a server-based floating license and then work locally without being connected to the license server. You can borrow a license for up to 10 days and License Manager will automatically use the borrowed license until it expires. After a borrowed license expires, that license becomes available on the license server.
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You cannot extend the period for which you borrow a license, but you can return a borrowed license before it has expired and then borrow that license again.
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These are the frequently asked questions that relate to license borrowing.
What is the maximum amount of time for which a license can be borrowed?
The maximum is 10 days; the minimum is 5 minutes.
Can I set predefined borrowing time for all users?
This is not a feature that is available for PTC Modeler, however Flexlm allows you to limit the time of borrowing a feature using the Flexlm Options file. For more information see The Options File section of the Flexlm End User Guide.
Can an incremental license be borrowable if the permanent license isn't?
Yes, it can. The number of licenses available for borrowing is determined by the number of borrowable incremental license. For example, if you have four non-borrowable permanent licenses and one borrowable incremental license, only one license can be borrowed. If you try to borrow more than one license then an error will occur.
Note that the order licenses are checked out does have an effect. For example, if a server has one borrowable license and one non-borrowable license, it is possible for a user to perform a normal checkout that takes the borrowable license. This means that when another user tries to borrow a license they get an error stating that borrowing is not supported. The order that licenses get checked out is the same as the order they appear in the license file. With this in mind we recommend putting additional, borrowable licenses at the end of the license file.
Can an evaluation license be borrowed?
No, only permanent licenses can be borrowed.
If a license is borrowable then do incremental license for the same product have to be borrowable as well, are they automatically borrowable, or is it optional?
Each entry in the license file is treated individually. This means different combinations of licenses for the same product can have different Borrow settings. The number of borrowable licenses that are available is dependent on how many Modeler licenses have borrowing enabled.
Can an upgrade license be borrowable independently of whether the license it upgrades is borrowable?
Upgrade licenses can be used to upgrade a previous version of a permanent or incremental license to a newer version and enable borrowing at the same time. It's also worth noting that if a license is marked as borrowable then any upgrade licenses must be borrowable too. You do not have to upgrade all of the borrowable licenses, but any you do upgrade cannot be made non-borrowable. Failure to maintain this consistency will cause the license file to be unusable.
Is there any way to check a borrowed license back in before it expires?
Yes. From License Manager, click Borrow/Return, click the Borrowed Features tab, select the licenses you want to return, and then click Return Selected Features.
Is there any way to extend the period of a borrowed license before it has expired?
No, but you can return a borrowed license before it has expired and then borrow that license again.
If I want to upgrade licenses with one or more licenses marked for borrowing, what do I do?
Add two upgrade licenses to the license file. One upgrade license should be marked as borrowable and the other as non-borrowable. The total number of licenses between the two upgrade licenses should add up to the number of licenses you have maintenance cover for. The order of the upgrade licenses in the license file does not make any difference. For example, if the borrowable upgrade license comes before the non-borrowable upgrade license, the non-borrowable licenses will still be used first.
Is there a way to report or show how many licenses are being borrowed from a server?
It is possible to view the floating license status on the server - from Modeler, on the Tools menu, click Floating License Server. The dialog shows you the details of the licenses that are checked out.
Can I borrow a license whilst I have Modeler open?
Yes, but there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, to borrow a license you'll need to have one unused license on the server. Even though this license will not actually be borrowed, it must be there for the borrow to succeed (the borrowed license is actually merged with the original checked out license). Secondly, Modeler will not automatically switch to the borrowed license if it's already open, so you'll have to close Modeler and reopen it.
Is there a way to terminate a license on an idle workstation?
Yes, by using the TIMEOUTALL option. The TIMEOUTALL option allows the license administrator to terminate a license that is being used on an idle workstation.
1. Create a text file named artsansw.opt in the same folder as the artisan.lic file. (This location can be found in the Options page of the License Manager.
2. Add the following line to the file and save:
TIMEOUTALL 1800
3. Copy the artisan.lic file to a temporary location.
4. Open the License Manager and click Replace.
5. Navigate to the temporary location, select artisan.lic, click Open and answer Yes to restart the service.
6. Exit the License Manager.