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Trial and read-only mode

See how the 14-day trial is counted, why it needs the internet at least every 72 hours, and what keeps working in read-only mode.

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Checked against Pop Dispatch 0.1.0

The free trial lasts 14 days from the moment the licence server issued your trial key. You will be able to see how many days are left, keep the trial running with a regular internet connection, and know what still works when it moves to read-only mode.

Before you start #

  • A trial licence key, which starts with PSDP.
  • A server that can reach the internet when it first starts. A trial starts online.

How the 14 days are counted #

  1. The licence server issues your trial key and signs the end date: its own clock at that moment plus 14 days.
  2. When the server first starts with the key, it asks the licence service to activate the trial. The answer carries the licence service's signed time.
  3. From then on, the end date comes only from that signed answer. The date and time on your computer have no effect on it. Turning the clock back adds no days, and turning it forward ends nothing early.
  4. The Settings licence page shows the days left.

Keep the trial running #

  • The server checks the licence every 6 hours while it is online.
  • A trial needs a successful check at least every 72 hours. Past 72 hours without one, the trial moves to read-only mode and shows "Reconnect to the internet to keep using your trial."
  • The next successful check brings the trial back to full use straight away, as long as day 14 has not passed.

A paid licence keeps its longer allowance of 45 days between checks.

What read-only mode allows #

  • Reading every record.
  • Export and backup, in full.
  • Sign-in and sign-out.

Adding or changing records answers licence_read_only (HTTP 403) with the licence message, and new connections are paused.

When the trial has ended #

After day 14 the trial moves to read-only mode and shows "Your trial has ended." There are no grace days. Your records stay open to read and export. Enter a purchased licence key to start adding to them again.

Technical details
  • The trial licence file carries trial, expires and server_time, all signed. The server refuses a trial file that lacks expires or server_time.
  • The newest time the server has seen is kept in three places: licence-state.json, a row in the database, and the operating system key store (Keychain on Mac, DPAPI on Windows). At start the newest of the three is used.
  • Each successful check replaces that mark with the signed server time. When the computer's clock differs from the server's time by more than 10 minutes, the server logs it and decides from the server's time.
  • While the server runs, elapsed real time moves the mark forward, so changing the clock while the server is running changes nothing.
  • A server started with PSD_LICENCE_CHECK=off in a development build skips checks. A release build ignores that setting and logs a warning.

If something goes wrong #

  • The message says "Reconnect to the internet to keep using your trial.": see "Clock and offline troubleshooting".
  • The licence service refuses a second trial key with trial_used: this installation already runs one trial key. Buy a licence to continue.
  • The trial ended earlier than you expected: the end date is 14 days after the licence server issued the key, which can be earlier than the day you first started the server.