| Product(s): | WaterCAD, WaterGEMS, HAMMER, SewerCAD, SewerGEMS, StormCAD, CivilStorm, PondPack | ||
| Version(s): | 10.02.XX.XX and higher | ||
| Area: | Licensing |
Introduction
The OpenFlows products are licensed by feature levels, for example number of pipes, ponds, inlets, and whether or not AutoCAD integration is possible. See more about feature levels here: How do OpenFlows product licenses work with element limits? (feature levels)
When installing the software and using it for the first time, the user must select the Feature Level that they would like to use (and record usage against). If only one feature level is owned (perpetual license), the feature level will automatically be selected and you will not be prompted to select one.
However, if you own multiple feature levels or if you have a subscription (such as SELECT OpenAccess, ELS or E365) which gives you access to multiple or all feature levels, you may have a desire to set a certain feature level during the process of installation. For example your software administrator may want to "push" out software to client computers using a script and may want to include a step in the script to select a certain feature level. That way when an end user opens the software it will not prompt them and instead will use the desired feature level. This can help for example if you want to help prevent users from accidentally selecting a feature level that is too high. (for example selecting unlimited pipes and getting billed for it when the user only needs to work on models with a small number of pipes).
Note that users can still manually select a feature level in the Feature Level Selector, so you may want to consider other methods of controlling usage. See: Controlling license access to prevent unintended usage
Note: this article applies to our latest versions of the OpenFlows products which use the Subscription Entitlement Services (SES) licensing method - version 10.02.XX.XX and higher.
Solution
Starting with version 11.00.05.34 (and greater) of the CONNECTION Client, (this is a separate program that runs in your Windows System Tray) the ability to set the feature level via a command line argument is available. This can be used by administrators to incorporate into their installation script. These commands can be run using the Command line or in a Batch file for example. If you are using version 11.00.04.15 or earlier of the CONNECTION Client you will need to upgrade to a newer version in order to take advantage of the ability to set the feature level via command line.
To see the syntax for using these command line arguments, run the following:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Bentley Shared\CONNECTION Client\LicService\Bentley.Licensing.FeatureLevelSelector.exe -help
Single Product: -fs:<product_id>,"feature_string"
Multiple Products: -fs:<product_id>,"feature_string".<product_id>,"feature_string"
Single Product with Overwrite: -fs:<product_id>,"feature_string" -o
Multiple Products with Overwrite: -fs:<product_id>,"feature_string".<product_id>,"feature_string" -o
With Overwrite flag, any existing data/selection will be replaced.
For reference, here are the Product IDs to use for each OpenFlows product that uses feature levels:
WaterCAD: 1248
WaterGEMS: 1249
HAMMER: 1225
SewerGEMS: 1244
CivilStorm: 1207
StormCAD: 1246
SewerCAD: 1243
PondPack: 1233
A typical feature string looks similar to this (using WaterGEMS as an example): acad=yes|agis=yes|mstn=yes|pipe=250. Care must be taken to set the correct feature string with the items in the order that matches what is in your entitlements. To confirm, open the License Tool (from the menu in the CONNECTION Client) and check the tabs at the bottom such as the "Checkout License".
For example if you would like to set StormCAD to use the 25 inlet license without AutoCAD (see screenshot above), regardless of any previous setting, the syntax would be:
Bentley.Licensing.FeatureLevelSelector.exe -fs:1246,"mstn=yes|inlt=25" -o
When this command is run, the license database file will be updated to the desired feature level and when the product is open on the same user account. This can be confirmed by opening the Feature Level Selector.
What if different Windows user accounts are involved?
In some cases you might be installing the software as an Administrator account, whereas the actual users of the software would be signed in under their user account. Or, you may need to set the feature level for multiple users who use the same computer.
For this situation, it is important to note that the command line option explained above will only set the feature level for the current Windows user account. The feature level is stored in a special database file (LicenseService.db) located in the user profile: %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Bentley\Licensing\
So, if you would like your installation script to set the feature level for other/multiple user accounts, you may need to use "RUNAS" in the script to ensure that the command is run as a specific user account.
Execute the following command for instructions on utilizing the runas command:runas /?
This is commonly done by executing the following command, replacing some_user with the name of the user account to use:runas /user:some_user "%CommonProgramFiles%\Bentley Shared\CONNECTION Client\LicService\Bentley.Licensing.FeatureLevelSelector.exe"
Once prompted for a password, enter it for the specified user, and the Feature Level Selector will be opened as the specified user account.
Consolidation of Feature Levels
Note: starting July 1st, 2024, OpenFlows product licenses have been consolidated to a smaller number of packages, simplifying licensing and installation. Please see the following link for more information:
OpenFlows Product Licensing and Feature Levels (New for 2024)
As noted in the above article, the installation files include a suite of applications. For example, OpenFlows Water includes WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, and HAMMER; OpenFlows Sewer includes SewerGEMS and SewerCAD; OpenFlows Storm includes StormCAD and CivilStorm; and OpenFlows Hydraulic Toolset includes FlowMaster and CulvertMaster. How the applications are installed will depend on what you are licensed to use. The section called "OpenFlows 24.00.01.05 and higher Product Installation" in the link above has details on this workflow.
This will not have a significant impact on the license activation through the Feature Level Selector. You will still select the feature level that you own in the Feature Level Selector to activate the license. The chart in the article above, and in the FAQs linked to from the bottom of the next article, explain which feature levels are granted for each tier of the new products.
Note: If you created an entitlement group as a way to limit usage for some feature levels (such as deny access to all un-owned products), you will need to adjust these entitlement groups to use the new packaged OpenFlows product names (OpenFlows Water, OpenFlows Storm, OpenFlows Sewer, or OpenFlows Hydraulic Toolset). You will also need to adjust concurrent use alerts, making note that multiple previous feature levels and products may roll up to a single new OpenFlows product (see the mapping charts in the FAQ articles at the bottom of the following article).
Additional information can also be found here: Simplification of Bentley's Water Software Licenses