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The appropriate license files must be purchased and installed before Forsta Plus can be used.
Licensing Concepts
Forsta Plus requires a valid license file to function. The concept of license keys was introduced to protect the software against piracy. By default, Forsta Plus is not installed with a license.
Note that major changes to your SQL Server (such as migrating to a new server) might warrant having to issue a new license file for your site.
Add-ons
Forsta Plus functionality can be expanded with add-ons. Access to add-ons is controlled by the license file. Some add-ons are free of charge, while others are chargeable. Currently available add-ons include:
| Add-on | Chargeable | Requires 3rd-party software |
Spell Checker | Yes | No |
Basic Panel | No | No |
Translator | Yes | No |
FTP for file transfer | Yes (included in Security Package) | Yes |
PGP Encryption | Yes (included in Security Package) | Yes (included) |
Reportal | Yes | Yes |
CAPI | Yes | No |
File Library | Yes | No |
Reportal PDF Export | Yes | Yes |
Kiosk | Yes | No |
DomainKeys | Yes (included in Premium Emailing) | No |
Dedicated IP | Yes (included in Premium Emailing) | No |
Email Delivery Report | Yes (included in Premium Emailing) | No |
Fixed Sender Domain | Yes (included in Premium Emailing) | No |
Community Panels | Yes | No |
Questionnaire Reviewer | Yes | No |
ConcurrentSampling | Yes (included with Community Panels) | No |
Community Snapshot Panel | Yes (included with Community Panels) | No |
Data Processing | Yes | Yes |
Sample Only | Yes | Yes |
CATI Call Centers | Yes | Yes |
Database Encryption | Yes | No |
| Flex Framework | Yes | No |
| SSO | Yes | Yes |
| Single Sign-On | Yes | Yes |
Finding the Site ID for the License
Once the installation has completed, log on to Forsta Authoring using the local machine: http://localhost/confirm.
- Once logged on, go to Admin > System Configuration and open the License tab.
- Beside Activation Info, click the Copy to Clipboard link.
- Allow access to the Clipboard if prompted by the browser.
The Activation Info
Save the information from the clipboard and send it to support@forsta.com. Support will confirm that the request has been received and will issue a valid license file as soon as possible, and within two working days after receiving the request (if Forsta is notified about the installation in advance, this step will typically be performed a lot faster). Once generated, the license file will be issued to the contact who initiated the request, provided this user is a designated support contact. Support will confirm delivery of the license file and follow up any requests for installation assistance if required. Note that the license file is valid for all servers within the same site, so it is not necessary to repeat the process for all servers.
Installing/Updating the Forsta License
Note: The license file handling has been changed from v17.5 onward. Licenses must now be installed using the Authoring GUI. Licenses can no longer be manually copied out to Forsta servers
When the license file has been obtained from Support, log on to Authoring:
- Once logged on, go to Admin > System Configuration and open the License tab.
- Click the Install License link.
- Click Browse and locate the file obtained from Forsta support.
- Click the Install license button.
- Examine the license overview and ensure it is correct, then click the Close button at the bottom of the page.
All issued license files have a specified expiry date. 30 days prior to the license expiry date, system administrators will receive a notification when logging on to Forsta Plus explaining that the license is about to expire. Forsta maintains an updated list of license expiration dates, and will proactively provide new license files with extended expiry periods as long as the contract is not terminated. Renewed license files will be delivered to registered technical contacts no later than two weeks before the actual expiry date.
Forsta SDK License
Customers using the Forsta Web Services must install an additional license for the SDK if this has not been included in the regular license file. The procedure for installing the license file is the same, but the license is only required on servers where the Forsta SDK is installed.