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Disguise User Guide

Designer Licenses and Activation Process

An activation process is required for Designer Pro, however it is not necessary for Designer Starter. Designer Pro requires a license to complete the installation, whereas Designer Starter only requires a Cloud log in to authenticate the user when using Designer.

Designer has two different installers and so it is important that you use the correct one, either Designer Full, or Designer Starter.

With Designer Full, there are two Designer license mechanisms, USB dongle-based licenses and software-based licenses. Each requires a slightly different activation process.

1. USB dongle-based licenses

The physical dongle is USB-based and can also host other supported licenses such as Notch and TouchDesigner, as well as Designer. The Disguise USB Dongle can be purchased through the Disguise Store.

Using a dongle may be preferable if the license is to be shared in the same physical location.

2. Software-based licenses

The software-based option is tied to your physical machine. It can be moved between machines by following license transfer process. The software-based option is ideal for customers who do not often switch machines or are looking to share a license between geographically separate locations.

Software-based licenses (dongle-less) do not require a physical USB dongle and can be activated on a computer as soon as they are generated in Disguise Cloud. No purchase of the physical dongle is necessary.

Once you have your activation code, you can proceed to activate your license.

If you are unsure which license is best for you, the table below compares the two license types.

USB Dongle-based LicenseSoftware-based License
PortabilityYesYes
Notch pre-visualisationYesNo
License activates immediatelyNoYes
Time block licensesYesNo
Run Designer without a dongleNoYes

Other types of Disguise Licenses

Usage Period licenses, such as RenderStream or Designer TimeBlocks, cannot be moved to other machines once the license period has started. This is a technical limitation of the licensing system.

Obtaining a Designer license

Designer licenses are available from Disguise Cloud, and can be stored on your dongle or on your physical machine.

Sign up or sign in to Disguise Cloud to obtain your license here.

Generate License Token Generate your License Token

To use a Disguise USB dongle, you will need to buy the USB dongle from the Disguise Store

Dongle-based licenses come in two parts

  1. Firstly, the license itself, after generation from the Cloud site, can be activated through Codemeter on your chosen container, this applies for both license types, physical machine (PC) or USB dongle.
  2. Secondly, the physical Codemeter dongle is required. This can either be purchased from Disguise, or users can add the license to another Codemeter dongle such as one for Notch, or TouchDesigner. The Designer license can then be activated on your dongle by following the steps below.

USB Dongle
Disguise USB Dongle

Once you have one or both items, you can proceed to activate your license. Follow the activation instructions below for each license type.

Activation

The activation method is very similar for each license type. However, the important difference is how the license binding is applied, whether you want your license in a dongle, or on one computer.

Selecting the binding type for your license Selecting the binding type for your license

1. Activating a license on a USB dongle

  1. Ensure you have the latest version of Designer downloaded and installed on your machine.
  2. Ensure your USB dongle is plugged in.
  3. Go to Disguise Cloud and navigate to Designer > Designer licenses and Generate your license Token.
  4. Once the token has been generated in Disguise Cloud, click Redeem your token. The ticket ID format will be XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
  5. Click Retrieve, then on the next page click Activate Licenses. This will bring you to a Codemeter management.
  6. Select the binding for your license. To bind it to a USB dongle, select “I want my licenses in a dongle”.
  7. Click Activate Selected Licenses to begin Online License Transfer.
  8. When your license transfer has been completed successfully click OK.
  9. Your license is now activated.

⏱️ Your Designer license is now on the USB dongle and will begin counting down usage time when Designer is launched for the first time.

2. Activating a license on your physical machine

  1. Download and install the latest version of the Designer software here.
  2. Click here to activate your license.
  3. Enter the web depot ticket. The ticket ID format will be XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.
  4. Click Retrieve, then on the next page click Activate Licenses.
  5. Select the binding for your license. To add it to your physical machine, select Physical Machine (CmAt).
  6. Click Activate Selected Licenses to begin Online License Transfer.
  7. When your license transfer has been completed successfully click OK.
  8. Your license is now activated.

⏱️ Your Designer license is now attached to your local machine and will begin counting down usage time when Designer is launched for the first time.

Launching Designer

Once your license is activated, you can proceed to launch or create a project to load Designer.

Viewing your license information

License information is available in d3Manager by navigating to Help > d3 licenses.

Troubleshooting

Contact the Disguise Support Team team if you are experiencing any licensing issues.

Further information