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Using TurboActivate with VB.NET

Before you can do anything you need to login to your LimeLM account (or sign up) and download the TurboActivate.zip. This zip contains the TurboActivate.dll & TurboActivate.exe along with source code examples.

Adding licensing & online activation to your appTurboActivate.dat and Version GUID

After you've created a new product, go to the version page of the product you will be adding licensing to. You will need to do 2 things:

  1. Download the TurboActivate.dat file for the product version.
  2. Make a note of the Version GUID.

You'll be including the TurboActivate.dat file in the same folder as the TurboActivate.dll and TurboActivate.exe files and you'll use the Version GUID in your code as part of integrating TurboActivate within your app.

Set the "Target CPU" to x86

For VB.NET projects we recommend you set the "Target CPU" to x86. If you do this, your app will be able to run on both 32-bit and 64-bit machines without having to do complex installation scripts.

To set the target CPU to x86 first click the "Project -> [Project Name] Properties" menu in Visual Studio. Click the "Compile" tab on the right hand side. Click the "Advanced Compile Options..." button. Then choose x86 from the "Target CPU" dropdown:

Target CPU x86

Make sure you set this for both your "Release" and "Debug" configurations.

Example project

Included in TurboActivate.zip is a simple example project. The TurboActivate.vb file contains all the functions you'll be using to add licensing, online-activation, and trial functionality to your app.

VersionGUID

You must set the TurboActivate.VersionGUID property before you use any TurboActivate functions. We recommend you set the VersionGUID property when your application first loads. You only need to set it once:

TurboActivate.VersionGUID = "Version GUID you copied earlier"

IsActivated()

The IsActivated() function simply checks if the user is activated and returns a boolean value.

UseTrial(), TrialDaysRemaining()

The UseTrial() function starts and/or revalidates the trial. The TrialDaysRemaining() function returns the number of days remaining in the trial. When TrialDaysRemaining() returns 0 you should disable your apps features and require them to activate. See the example project.

Note: Always call UseTrial() before calling TrialDaysRemaining().

If TurboActivate.IsActivated Then
    Me.mnuActDeact.Text = "Deactivate"
Else
    Me.mnuActDeact.Text = "Activate..."

    TurboActivate.UseTrial()

    If (TurboActivate.TrialDaysRemaining = 0) Then
        'TODO: disable the features of your app
    End If
End If

Learn more about using trials & trial extensions to win over prospective customers.

TurboActivate wizardActivating your product

We recommend you use the TurboActivate.exe for entering product keys and activating your product. In the example project we show how to launch TurboActivate.exe and then check if the user is activated after it closes.

If you want to build your own interface then just use the CheckAndSavePKey(string pkey) and Activate() functions.

IsGenuine()

The IsGenuine() function connects to the LimeLM servers and reconfirms that your user's activation is valid. Using this function lets you retroactively revoke product keys. You do not need to (and should not) call IsGenuine() every time your application runs.

We recommend you call this function about every 90 days.

Also, if IsGenuine() throws an exception (particularly InternetException) it might be a result of the user blocking TurboActivate from checking with the servers. We recommend you handle this case by first warning the user that the genuine check failed, then disabling the features of your app after X failures.