Question: What is product activation?

Answer: Product activation is an anonymous, secure, and hassle free process that authenticates licensed users.

Question: How can I learn more about product activation in general?

Answer: Please visit the following website: www.solidworks.com/productactivation

Question: What is different about COSMOS single-user (standalone) licensing beginning with SolidWorks® 2006 SP3.3?

Answer: Like SolidWorks single-user products in certain regions (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand), COSMOS single user products will employ the same product activation licensing. COSMOSWorks®, COSMOSMotion™, and COSMOSFloWorks™ will have separate serial numbers respectively.

Question: Will COSMOS network versions use product activation licensing beginning with 2006 SP3.3?

Answer: No they will continue to use FLEXlm™ based licensing.

Question: Why do standalone versions of COSMOSWorks, COSMOSMotion, and COSMOSFloWorks each have its own serial number?

Answer: A separate serial number is essential to enable separate activations for these products. For example, COSMOSFloWorks can be activated on one machine and COSMOSMotion can be activated on a different machine.

Question: What do the COSMOS serial numbers look like?

Answer: COSMOS serial numbers have 24-digits.

Question: How do I obtain the new Serial Number(s) for my COSMOS product(s)?

Answer: Existing customers, for whom we have a valid email address in our system, will automatically receive COSMOS serial numbers via email. You can also obtain your COSMOS serial number(s), directly by visiting: www.solidworks.com/COSMOS-SN.

Question: After activation do I still need a ‘license.dat’ file or a dongle to use my COSMOS standalone product?

Answer: No if you are in regions listed above and plan to use COSMOS 2006-SP3.3 or later.

Question: After I activate 2006-based COSMOS products can I still run my older versions of COSMOS?

Answer: Yes, provided you use only one license at a time (as per the End User License Agreement). This requires you have your dongle/license file on your machine.

Question: Do I still need a ‘license.dat’ file for my COSMOS network product license?

Answer: Yes, the new product activation process does not affect network licenses of COSMOS in SolidWorks/COSMOS 2006).

Question: If SolidWorks products are licensed using product activation, can I still use my floating COSMOS licenses with the SolidWorks licenses?

Answer: Yes.

Question: I own SolidWorks Office Premium—do I need to activate COSMOSWorks Designer (that is included with SolidWorks Office Premium) and COSMOSMotion separately?

Answer: No, SolidWorks Office Premium licensing will automatically activate COSMOSWorks Designer and COSMOSMotion (COSMOSMotion beginning with SP4).

Question: How do I obtain a COSMOS Product Serial Number if I don’t already have one?

Answer: Please visit the following website: www.solidworks.com/COSMOS-SN (before you visit this site, please have your COSMOS Seat ID available – this is available from your COSMOS License Administrator tool associated with your installation.)

Question: I have already activated COSMOSWorks Professional. Subsequently if I purchase an upgrade to COSMOSWorks Advanced Professional what should I do to start using it?

Answer: No new serial number is required, just re-activate your COSMOSWorks.

Question: I’m running SolidWorks 2006 SP3.2 or earlier. Can I run COSMOS 2006 SP3.3 or newer?

Answer: No—you must be on the same service pack versions to run properly. Please update SolidWorks 2006 to SP3.3 before installing COSMOS 2006 SP3.3.

Question: How can I use COSMOSDesignStar™ 4.5 (included with COSMOSWorks Advanced Professional) after I upgrade to Sp3.3?

Answer: All the features that were available in COSMOSDesignStar 4.5 such as Nonlinear, are already available in COSMOSWorks 2006. If you still want to work with COSMOSDesignStar 4.5 please use your COSMOS 2006 SP0-SP3.2 license.

Question: How can I use COSMOSM (Geostar) (included with COSMOSWorks Advanced Professional) after I upgrade to Sp3.3?

Answer: Some of the features that were available in COSMOSM® such as Nonlinear, are already available in COSMOSWorks 2006. If you still want to work with COSMOSM please use your COSMOS 2006 SP0 – SP3.2 license.

Question: I have COSMOSEMS does this require a new serial number to activate the product?

Answer: No. You can still work with COSMOSEMS with the license you have for COSMOSDesignStar 4.5.

Question: What information is collected and transmitted in the product activation process?

Answer: We collect the minimum information required to successfully verify the product license for each product installation, which includes: the product serial number, name, version, and language; the operating system name, version, and language; and your computer’s processor and hard-disk type. This information is combined, encrypted, and then sent to SolidWorks for verification.

Question: Does the activation process ever send data to SolidWorks after I activate my product?

Answer: No. Activation is a secure and anonymous one-time process. After activation is complete, the license manager runs alongside the product for the sole purpose of verifying the integrity of the license file and the validity of the product license. The activation technology in the product never contacts SolidWorks except with your express knowledge and consent.

Question: How does SolidWorks keep this information secure?

Answer: We use the industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to transmit data to product activation servers that are both physically secure and have limited employee access.