A Change Expiration Date Authorization Definition changes the hard expire date for an expiring license to a new specific Universal Time Coordinated date [UTC]. The hard expire date is an absolute UTC date after which the license will expire.

Once activated, the hard expire date in the license is set to a new absolute value passed as a parameter. For example: If you define an expiring license that uses a hard expire date of June 1, 2004 [UTC] and the user tries to use the program on June 2nd, it will be expired and will not execute. If you then issue a Change Expire Date Activation Code to that customer with a date parameter of Nov 1, 2004 - as soon as they enter it and the ClientProtector processes it as valid, the hard expire date for the license will be set to Nov 1, 2004. The customer will then be able to use the program up to and including that date.

Note that all three types of expiration can be active at the same time (Hard Date, Expire Period, Execution Limit). A license expires whichever comes soonest. Be careful that you only use the type(s) of expiration you need, or else you will find that your licenses expire when you do not expect them to.

The Activation Code that is generated for a Change Expire Date Authorization Definition does not expire (they have an indefinite "shelf-life"). The resulting Activation Code may be used any time after it has been issued.

The Activation Code that is generated for a Change Expire Date Authorization Definition is not a "single-use" code. They could be used more than once. However, since the code changes the hard expire date to an absolute date, after activating it once, subsequent activation's have no net effect.

Change Expiration Date Authorization Definitions do require a parameter to be sent (implicitly). This parameter will be the new hard expire date.

Change Expiration Date Authorization Definitions can be used as a payload for both types of Composite Authorization Definitions.

When To Use A Change Expiration Date Authorization Definition

Create a Change Expiration Date Authorization Definition if you have a license that you want to absolutely expire past a given date. This is the best way to tailor the licensed period of a piece of software for a specific customer. Note that doing so will require much more maintenance for your customers as you will have to manage creating a new license for every customer at the moment they get it. You may also have to carefully manage whose license expires when and what period they may have paid for.

Use a hard expire date and create a Change Expiration Date Authorization Definition if you wish to implement a "poison-pill" in your software. This is an effective way to ensure that your software will not run at some point in the future, as a sort of insurance policy. For custom work where you anticipate a customer may take advantage of your software in the future, use a hard-date that is far enough away so as not to impede their immediate use of the product, but such that it will not function at some point substantially past the completion of the project but at a time when they should have completely paid you for your software/services. If they have not paid in full, simply do not issue the code until they have. Note you could use the same scheme but use a Release All Expiration Code if you wish to permanently release them.

Using a hard expire date is not the best way to implement trial versions of your software. To implement trial versions of your software, instead use an expire period or an execution limit.

More Information

For help in understanding expiring license features, see Expiring Licenses in this feature reference.

For help in actually creating a Change Expiration Date Authorization Definition, please see Authorization Definition Dialog in the SoftwareShield License Manager Reference.

For help in actually setting expiration in your licenses, see Expiration Tab in the SoftwareShield License Manager Reference.