Activating Your Software

How Do I Activate My Software?

Before using your product, you must activate it in accordance with its license agreement. To activate a product, you must first purchase a license. For information on purchasing licenses, contact your local NI sales representative or visit ni.com/niglobal.

Complete the following steps to activate your NI products:

1. Open NI License Manager from the following location:
   • (Windows 7) Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»License Manager»NI License Manager
   • (Windows 8) Click NI Launcher and select NI License Manager
   • (Windows 10) Select Start»National Instruments»NI License Manager
2. Select one of the following methods to launch the Activate Software window:
   • Click Activate Software on the ribbon.
   • When in the Local Licenses view, right-click the product in the License tree and select Activate.

   Note  The first time you open NI software, the license activation window launches automatically.

3. If requested, log in to your NI User Account. If you do not have a User Account, you must create one.
4. Select one of the following methods to activate your products.
   • Check my account for licenses

     Licenses associated with your account are verified successfully, activation completes. If your account lacks the appropriate licenses for a particular product, proceed to activate the product using either a activation code or a serial number.

   • Enter a serial number

     You can find your serial numbers in the following locations:

     • On the Certificate of Ownership included in your software kit
     • On the product packing slip or shipping label
     • Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code SerialNumbers_en.
     • If you have installed a previous version of your application software using your serial number, you can find the serial number by selecting Help»About within the application.
     • Contact your local NI branch.
   • Enter activation codes

     Click on Generate an activation code or visit ni.com/activate to obtain an activation code.

   • Connect to a volume license server

     Enter the name of the volume license server on which your NI products should check for licenses.

5. Follow the prompts in the Activate Software window to complete activation.

If you activated through your NI software, you can use the product immediately after successful activation.

Notes   If you were using NI software before you began the activation process, you may need to restart the software for the change to take effect. If your NI software is licensed through a volume license agreement, you do not need to activate your product. Instead, you need to point NI License Manager to a volume license server. For more information, refer to the Using a Volume License Server topic of the NI License Manager Help.

What Is Activation?

Activation is the process of obtaining an activation code to enable your software to run on your computer. An activation code is an alphanumeric string that verifies the software, version, and computer ID to enable features on your computer. Activation codes are unique and are valid on only one computer.

What Information Do I Need to Activate My NI Software?

You need your NI User account log-in, the product version and serial number, and a computer ID that uniquely identifies your computer. Certain activation methods may require additional information for delivery. This information is used only to activate your product. Complete disclosure of the NI software licensing information privacy policy is available at ni.com/activate/privacy. If you optionally choose to register your software, your information is protected under the NI privacy policy, available at ni.com/privacy.

How Do I Find My Product Serial Number?

Your serial number uniquely identifies your purchase of NI software. You can find your serial number on the Certificate of Ownership included in your software kit, or you can visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code SerialNumbers_en.

If you have installed a previous version using your serial number, you can find the serial number by selecting Help»About within the application. You can also contact your local NI branch at ni.com/contact.

What Is a Computer ID?

The computer ID is a 16-character value that uniquely identifies your computer. NI requires this information to enable your software. You can find your computer ID through the NI Licensing Wizard or by using NI License Manager, as follows:

1. Launch the NI License Manager.
2. Click Computer Information in the ribbon.

For more information about product activation and licensing, refer to ni.com/activate.

How Can I Evaluate NI Software?

You can evaluate most NI products, in accordance with the license agreement. Evaluation terms vary, depending on which product you want to evaluate. Refer to your product documentation for specific information on the product's evaluation mode.

Moving Software after Activation

To transfer your software to another computer, uninstall the software on the first computer, then install and activate it on the second computer. You can transfer your software from one computer to another; you do not need to contact or inform NI of the transfer. Because activation codes are unique to each computer, you will need a new activation code. Refer to the How do I Activate my Software? section of this topic to learn how to acquire a new activation code and reactivate your software.

Deactivating a Product

To deactivate a product and return it to its preactivation state, navigate to the Local Licenses view, select the product to be deactivated, and click Deactivate from the ribbon. Alternatively, navigate to the Local Licenses view, right-click the product in the License tree, and click Deactivate. If the product was in evaluation mode before you activated it, the properties of the evaluation mode may not be restored.

Using Windows Guest Accounts

NI License Manager does not support Microsoft Windows Guest accounts. You must log in to a non-Guest account to run licensed NI application software.