We have standalone licenses for each of our Engineering workstations that use Solidworks 2017 to create/edit drawings/parts/assemblies. We have PDM Enterprise installed on a dedicated Windows 2012 server. During the implementation, the project leader from our reseller had us install Solidworks (2014 or 2015) on the server. No one physically uses this server to run Solidworks but I have seen when something gets "stuck" in the workflow, SW will be open on the server. We simply cancel whatever window is open (usually the save dialog box) and all is well. Now we have upgraded all of our workstations to SW 2017 and are running into licensing issues because one of the licenses was installed on the server. Do I really need to pay for a license to sit on the server?
Also, we hae a shared engineering laptop. Previously, we were allowed to install the same license on two computers if it was the same user. Now we have to deactivate the license on the desktop before activating it on the laptop. The problem is that here are several users who share this laptop and we haven't found a way to change the license without uninstalling and re-installing. This is VERY time consuming. Does anyone else have a similar situation? Have they found a solutions?
Hi Rose,
I am very surprised that your reseller advised you to install SW on your server. It is certainly not needed on there and I can see no benefit. eDrawings is a perfectly good enough package if viewing files on the server is necessary. So to answer your question you do not need to pay for a license to sit on the server.
I understand your situation with this "shared" laptop. In an ideal world each user would have a laptop of their own which would make the deactiving and reactivating of license work blissfully. However many people like yourself work in a real world where a "shared" laptop is used by multiple users. In this case you have two options, you can either modify the installation and enter the relevant serial number manually. (I assume you meant modify the install rather than uninstall/reinstall - as you can change the serial number there). Or you can create a batch file to alter the serial number for you (essentially what this does is alter the relevant locations within the regsitry that contain the serial number that you want to use. So for example if John Smith were to use the laptop he would select a file on the desktop for example that says "John Smith" and providing his license has been deactivated on his workstation then he can use SW as it now is using his serial number and so on for the next person). this is easier than it sounds don't worry! I can help depending on what you choose. I hope this helps.
Phil.