Licensing Process

Licensing Process

The ComponentOne licensing process is straightforward. For most licensing scenarios, all that is required is to activate a valid serial key.

After a license is activated, applications that use ComponentOne controls can be built and distributed. For step-by-step instructions, see Activating a Serial Key.

License Activation and Machine Limits

A standard ComponentOne developer serial key can be activated on up to two machines at the same time.

These activations may include:

• A primary development machine

• A secondary development machine, such as laptop or build machine

A license activation can be moved between machines by deactivating the license on one machine and activating it on another.

Reactivation limits

To prevent abuse, license activation is subject to a daily reactivation limit.

• Up to nine reactivations per day are allowed.

• A reactivation is the process of deactivating and then reactivating the same serial key.

If this limit is exceeded, further activation attempts may be temporarily blocked.

Dynamic build environments

If you use a dynamic build agent such as CI/CD pipelines where machines are frequently reset, a standard developer license may not be suitable.

In these scenarios, consider purchasing a pipeline license, which is designed for automated and ephemeral build environments. For more information, see Pipeline Licensing.

Application Licensing at Design Time and Build Time

Application licensing is handled automatically by Visual Studio.

Visual Studio obtains version and licensing information:

• At design time, when a ComponentOne control is added from the Toolbox

• At build time, through the NuGet package build scripts

When queried, the ComponentOne control:

1. Locates the activated license information stored on the system

2. Generates the appropriate run-time license and version information

3. Saves this information into one of the following files added to the project:

• An embedded resource file containing the run-time license

  • *.sa3licx (or *.gclicx)

• A licenses.licx file containing licensed component strong name and version information

  • (.NET Framework only)

Runtime License Files

During design time or build time, Visual Studio generates runtime licensing information in one of the following formats:

For current ComponentOne versions, the runtime license file is generated with the.sa3licx extension.

• The .sa3licx file may:

  • Be embedded as a resource in the project, or

  • Appear only in the build output

• In all cases, the .sa3licx file must be distributed with the application.

• The runtime license file is generated specifically for the application being built.

For previous ComponentOne versions (2025 v1 and earlier), the runtime license file is named .gclicx.

• The .gclicx file may be embedded as a resource in the project or appear only in the build output.

• In all cases, the .gclicx file must be distributed with the application.

For more information, see Licensing Applications.

Application Binding Rules

The runtime license file is application-specific:

• The calling application name is embedded in the license file.

• The application name must match at runtime.

If you are building:

• A user control

• A plugin

• A component intended to be used by a differently named host application

You may need a plugin license. For more information, see License User Controls.