License Manager Guide
At LicenseSpring, we provide an end-user portal designed to improve the interaction between software vendors and their customers. This portal allows authorized users, known as License Managers, to manage licenses and devices effectively. Whether you are managing licenses for a team or distributing them across different users, this guide will walk you through the essential functions of the LicenseSpring user portal.
The user portal is designed with distinct roles in mind, ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to specific features:
- License Managers: Users who manage licenses for a group or organization. They have access to the end-user portal which allows them to perform the actions stated below, depending on the permissions enabled.
- End-Users: These are the customers or employees using the software. They do not have access to the portal, they typically have the ability to activate licenses and view license details but not any administrative actions.
Permissions in the LicenseSpring portal can vary depending on your role, but here are some of the key functions available based on your access level:
- Assign/Unassign users: This allows License Managers to assign or remove end-users from user-based licenses. Useful for organizations managing multiple users and needing to quickly transfer access between individuals.
- Reset Licenses or Devices: Resetting a license or device allows a License Manager to reissue the license or free up activations tied to specific hardware, helping ensure compliance with license terms.
- Borrow Licenses: This feature allows users to take a license offline temporarily, ideal for situations where internet access is unavailable. The borrow functionality is configurable and can be set by the License Manager based on need.
- Issue Licenses: This is typically used by resellers or distributors who need to generate licenses on behalf of end-users. The License Manager can create and allocate licenses as per customer demand.
- Revoke Devices: This allows a License Manager to remotely revoke access for devices that are no longer authorized to use the software.
- Reset End-User Credentials: Gives License Managers the authority to reset passwords or other login credentials for end-users, allowing seamless access to the software if users are locked out.
- Create Bundle Orders: For organizations offering bundled products or services, this permission gives License Managers the ability to create orders containing multiple licenses in one transaction.
- Create Orders: This permission allows License Managers or authorized end-users to generate new orders directly from the portal, which includes configuring licenses for new or existing users.
By default, as an end-user you are able to perform the following actions through the user portal:
- Add License Managers to an Order
- Assign/Unassign License Users
- Change License User’s Passwords
- Reset Licenses and Devices
Some Vendors may change the default permissions granted to License Managers by adding or removing certain permissions. Additional permissions include:
- Borrow Licenses
- Create Bundle Orders
- Create Orders
- Revoke Devices
- Issue Licenses
The LicenseSpring user portal is designed to be intuitive, allowing License Managers to perform essential actions related to licenses, orders, and users. Below is a detailed guide on how to use the core functionalities of the portal effectively.
To login, License Managers must enter their email/password combination and company ID in order to log in, but if the user portal URL has been customized to a vendor’s subdomain then there will be no need to enter this company ID. The login screen for a non-whitelisted URL is shown below:
The company code, email and password will all be provided to you by the software vendor, as it is set through their portal.
Licenses can be looked up on the end-user portal in a variety of ways, including by:
- License user email
- License key
- Order ID
- Product name
- Device hostname
To do so, click `Licenses` on the left-hand side of the portal then use the search bar at the top of the page as shown below:
LicenseSpring supports key-based and user-based licenses, visit Key-Based and User-Based for more information on the differences between the two
The workflow for looking up an order is very similar to looking up a license and can be searched only by order ID. First, get to the `Orders` page on the left-hand side then use the search bar, as seen in the following screenshot:
To assign a user to a license, click on the specific license on the `Licenses` page, then go to the `License users` tab on the license details page. From here you can assign the user by clicking the blue `Assign license user` button, shown below:
Once this user has been assigned to a license, you can then remove them by clicking on the button on the far right under `Actions`, then clicking remove:
License Managers can change a license user’s password under the same `Actions` button that is shown above, then by clicking the `Change password` button:
To reset a device, head to the `Licenses` page then select the license that the device has been activated on. Click the `Devices` tab then the `Actions` three-dot button, then click `Reset` as shown below:
Resetting a license includes navigating to the `Licenses` page, then clicking the red `Reset license` button:
Resetting a license refers to adjusting the license values back to their defaults (i.e. resetting consumptions, activations, etc).
To issue additional licenses, navigate to the `Orders` page on the left-hand side, select an individual order then click on the `Licenses` tab. From here, click `Issue new Licenses` as shown below, then select more licenses to issue within this order.
To borrow a license, the license must first be activated on a device then it can be borrowed by going to the `Devices` tab on the `Licenses` page. After clicking on the `Actions` button on the far right you will see the opportunity to `Borrow` the license, as shown below:
To create an order, click the `Create order` button on the left-hand side, then provide the order ID, order reference, and customer details on the following page:
On the next page, you will be prompted to select the product(s) to add to the order. First, you have the option to select an individual product, or a product bundle (which is a package consisting of multiple products).
You will next select the product or product bundle (as well as the license policy, which is how different values for a license are set, such as max activations, max license users, whether it is a trial, etc.). These license policies are all created by the software vendor and are not your responsibility, as the License Manager. After confirming the order details, the order will be created.
To revoke a device, go to the `Licenses` page on the left-hand side then click on the `Devices` tab to see devices associated with the license. Then click the `Revoke` button as seen in the following screenshot.
