Together with the NIS-Elements software package you received a hardware USB key - so called hardware licence (HL) or HASP. This key contains information about your software licences. If the USB key is not inserted into the computer USB port or if the key does not contain the appropriate licence NIS-Elements cannot be executed.
Figure 17. Hardware USB key
Note
Formerly the USB key was called “HASP key” often abbreviated to “HASP”.
To verify the contents of the licence recorded on your USB key, service tool called HASP Info is installed together with NIS-Elements.
Insert the USB key into your PC.
Go to the Start menu of your operation system and search for the installed NIS-Elements folder.
Click on HASP Info inside this folder. Window containing information about your key (modules which can be executed using this key) is shown. See also Additional Modules Available in NIS-Elements D.
Note
Displayed information can be saved into a text file (*.txt) using the button. Sending this text file (e.g. to the technical support) is the easiest way of conveying the full information about your USB key. This can be useful for verifying whether a specific function is available with your current licence.
New updates of NIS-Elements are released to serve as a tool for:
expanding the software functionality
adding the support of new devices (cameras, microscopes, etc.)
bug fixes
You can easily find out whether an update is ready for your NIS-Elements version:
If the computer running NIS-Elements is connected to the Internet, execute Help > Check Version Update from the program main menu. A web page with information about your USB key is automatically loaded inside your browser.
Frequently the laboratory computes are not connected to the Internet. In such case write down your licence number (USB key), find a computer having Internet connection, go to this web page: http://www.nis-elements.cz/version and fill in the form using your licence number.
List of released program versions compatible with the USB key.
Release date of the particular version.
Is the software update available for free? If so, “Yes” is shown in the column.
For updates not available for your original licence, “Software Upgrade Agreement” (SUA) has to be ordered.
SUA - “Software Upgrade Agreement” is a time limited agreement enabling the owner of the NIS-Elements licence to update the software during the next 12 months for free. The business model works as follows:
After buying the licence to NIS-Elements it needs to be activated. Once activated the activation date is recorded into the manufacturer's database.
From this activation date you get a 13 months period during which all updates (even updates to new software versions) are available for free.
After the expiry of the 13 month period from the activation date, all new updates are available only after buying a SUA. 1× SUA = free updates for the next 12 months.