When starting Prism on a network, I get an incorrect message that says "all licenses are in use".

Prism 4 - 6 (we no longer sell network licenses)

The .lic file that tells other instances of Prism that one of the concurrent licenses is in use will remain "checked out" if Prism.exe doesn't quit completely. We can think of two scenarios where Prism might appear to quit, but actually stay in memory and keep its license checked out:

• Prism was launched from the command line (or using any shell function) like this: prism.exe @script.pzc]
  If Prism script contains the command "close" and script ends without errors, then Prism will completely quit and give back its license.In other situations, Prism might stay in memory and keep its license.
• Prism was launched using a VBA macro. If that macro includes a Prism.quit command, then Prism will quit properly and release its license. Otherwise Prism might stay in memory and keep its license.

A new instance of Prism will use any existing .lic file, but only if it is not protected. If the .lic file is protected, then Windows and the new instance of Prism "thinks" that that .lic file is opened by another instance of Prism. In this case, use  Window Task Manager to kill the prism.exe process.

StatMate 2 for Mac

If you are trying to run StatMate 2.0a for Mac over a network from a computer running Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6), you'll often get this message. This is a bug in StatMate we learned about in May 2010. StatMate 2.0b (available July 2010) will fix this problem. 

Prism 3

The first time Prism (version 3, Windows or Mac) runs on a network, it must create a folder named "licenses" within the Prism program folder. If it cannot, it displays a misleading message about too many licenses in use. To solve this problem, create a folder named "licenses" manually, within the Prism folder, and make this folder shared and not read-only. Prism should now work fine.

If the problem persists (or Prism created the licenses folder automatically), adjust the permissions. Every time Prism runs, it must create a file within the "licenses" folder. Therefore, each user must have full permission to write into that folder. Otherwise, Prism can't run and gives the error message about too many users. To fix the permissions with Windows, open the Licenses folder Properties, go to Sharing tab, click Permissions button, and make sure "Full Control", "Change", "Read" are checked to "Allow". Since Windows does not allow a folder to have more rights than the folder it is within, you'll also need to adjust the rights of the the Prism folder, and the folder containing that folder...

Note the following, which is specific to your operating system:

• With Prism 3 (Windows), you can have the license information placed in a folder anywhere you want (but must not write-protect this folder). Create a file named "licenses.txt" inside the Prism program folder, and enter the disk and folder to use for license information into this file. For example, place this single line in "licenses.txt":

   

  			\\[sever name]\LicenseInfo\Prism3

  The folder referred to in the relocation file must not be write-protected. The Prism folder itself may be write-protected.
   

• With Prism 3 for Mac, the licenses folder must be within the Prism folder. With the Mac, it is possible to write-protect the main Prism folder but not protect the licenses folder within.

Prism 3.03 sometimes gets confused when Prism quits unusually, so the license remains "checked out" even though the user is no longer using Prism. If this happens, simply delete all .lic files in the licenses folder. Prism will recreate them as needed.

If this problem persists, follow these instructions so Windows will purge the extra .lic files daily.

1. Create a file named "cleanlic.bat" in the Prism license folder, containing a single line:
   del *.lic
2. Configure Task Manager to run the file "cleanlic.bat", say, every night if computer is always ON or when computer starts if computer regularly turned off. Or you could run it every few hours. To do this open Start menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Scheduled Tasks -> Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard will pop up. Follow the instructions. (Make sure on the second step to click Browse button and find "cleanlic.bat".)

Deleting the .lic license files will not affect the operation of Prism.

If your message is about a "zero user license", the problem is different. When you startup Prism, it asks for a serial number. If you are installing a network license, you must also install your network code at this time. If you fail to do so, Prism won't start and will give a message about a zero user license.