Your Essential Guide to the Student Edition Software License Activation
Altair Employee- The Altair Student Edition license is a node-locked license - a license that will work only on one machine whose Ethernet ID was entered while requesting.
- By downloading the software and the license file from the license email sent to you, you agree to not use the software for commercial purposes and to not install the software on any corporate machines.
Once you have downloaded and installed the software, the final step is to activate your license. Follow these steps to activate the student license:
[A] Download the license file from the license email.
The license file, named "altair_lic.dat" is attached to the license email you received.
- Open the license email and locate the license file attachment.
- Click on the arrow next to the license file name
. A drop-down list will appear. From the list, select "Save As". Choose a location to save the license file.
[B] Placing the license file in the security folder.
- Go to the Altair software installation directory on your system. Navigate to the "security" folder within the installation directory.
On Windows: Usually located at [OS (C:)/Program Files/Altair/2022.3/security].
Save the downloaded license file, "altair_lic.dat," into this "security" folder (as shown in the image below).
- If you lack permission to save the license file in the "security" folder, save it in a location where you have full read and write permissions.
Note: Ensure only one copy of the license file is saved on your computer.
[C] Creating environment variables:
For windows:
- Type “control panel” into your computer’s search bar.
- Browse to: Control Panel\System and Security\System and click “Advanced System Settings”. The below dialogue box will appear. Click “Environment Variables.”
- Under “System Variables”, click “New”.
- Name the variable as shown in the below image:
In the Variable value box, use the “Browse for File” button to locate your license file.
Click “OK” to save this variable.
- Create one more variable by clicking “New” under “System Variables”. Create the variable as below and click “OK”.
This system variable will make sure that your system is not connected to the Altair Cloud Managed licenses if you have used this before.
[D] Activating the license:
- Open the installed software. Go to Files > Licensing.
- The below license setup window will open. Click on this icon located under “Local File” section (refer the below image) to locate your license file. Browse and select your saved license file, then click "Activate."
- You should be able to see “activated” with a blue tick beside the local file option.
The student edition license is successfully activated.
TROUBLESHOOTING LICENSE ERRORS:
[1] The file extension should be named: .dat
Always make sure that the license file is named as “altair_lic.dat” and not altair_lic.dat.dat.
- You can turn on “View > file name extensions” to verify the name is correct.
[2] The next most common error is that the host ID (Ethernet ID) used has a typo or was the wrong one.
- You need to confirm if the Ethernet address in the license file is the correct one and matches the one in your machine.
[a] Open the license file in a text editor to see the Ethernet address that is mentioned in a line that says “ETHERNET =”
[The Ethernet ID is the ID of your machine which is exactly 12 hexadecimal numbers. For example, D4WRF478F398]
[b] Run ipconfig/all in command window and check for physical address under Ethernet adapter local area connection. This physical address should match the one in the license file.
If there is an error despite following all the steps here, the address under Wireless Adapter LAN Wi-Fi must be used to request another license file. [Refer point (3) to identify the correct Ethernet ID of your machine]
That means if the address provided as above does not match the one in the license file, please request for the license file again with the correct Ethernet ID here https://studentedition.altair.com/
Students can submit up to 5 requests, in special cases this limit can be increased.
[3] How to find the correct Host ID or Ethernet ID?
To find the correct Host ID or Ethernet ID, follow these steps:
- Type "cmd" (without the parentheses) in the search bar at the bottom left of your screen. Click "Open" to launch the Command Prompt.
- Command Prompt Window will look like this:
- Type “ipconfig/all” in the command prompt and press Enter.
- The command will generate a list of network hardware information, similar to the image displayed below. If the Command Prompt window is small, you might need to scroll up to view all the details.
Look for the heading labeled "Ethernet adapter Ethernet." The "Physical Address" listed under this heading is your Host ID.
- Alternatively, you can use the "Physical Address" listed under "Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi" to request the student edition license.
If you have any questions or encounter issues, please write to us at Altair Community (https://community.altair.com/community).