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How Do I Activate The Software

How Do I Activate The Software — APG vNext Guide

How Do I Activate The Software

Answer

This question was discussed in the APG vNext support community. For a complete answer, browse the Knowledge Base or search the support forum.

Quick Reference

Activating APG vNext After Purchase

No internet call needed - add your licence key to web.config and recycle the app pool.

Steps

  1. Purchase - receive key by email
  2. Deploy to IIS, run DB setup script
  3. Add to web.config: <add key="APG.LicenseKey" value="XXXX" />
  4. Recycle app pool - trial watermark removed

Verify

Admin Panel -> System -> Licence -- Shows: Valid

Related Resources

APG vNext Licence Activation Process

Activating APG vNext requires entering the licence key received after purchase into the web.config file on the server where APG vNext is installed. The licence key is provided in the purchase confirmation email and is also accessible in the customer portal at aspplayground.net. Enter the licence key in web.config as follows:

<add key="APG.LicenseKey" value="XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" />

After saving the web.config change, restart the IIS Application Pool to apply the licence. The APG vNext admin panel displays the licence status (Trial, Active, Expired) and the licensed domain name in Admin Panel → System → Licence. If the licence shows as invalid after entering the correct key, verify that the key was copied without extra spaces or line breaks, and that the domain the forum is running on matches the licensed domain.

Moving the Licence to a New Server

APG vNext licences are per-server (per-domain). When moving the forum to a new server with a different IP address (but the same domain), the existing licence key continues to work without any changes — the licence is validated against the domain name, not the server IP. When moving to a different domain (e.g., from staging.yourforum.com to yourforum.com), contact APG support to transfer the licence to the new domain. Transferring a licence is a standard support request and is covered under the active maintenance subscription at no additional cost. Development and staging environments on non-public domains (e.g., localhost, .local, or IP addresses) do not consume a licence slot.

Licence Expiry and Renewal

APG vNext uses perpetual licences with an optional annual maintenance subscription. The forum continues to operate after the maintenance subscription expires — the licence does not deactivate. Without a current maintenance subscription, the forum does not receive software updates (including security patches) and priority support access is removed. Renew the maintenance subscription before it expires to maintain uninterrupted access to updates and support. The customer portal sends renewal reminder emails 60, 30, and 7 days before expiry. Configure the renewal email address in the customer portal to ensure reminders reach the technical administrator who manages the server rather than being lost in a general inbox.

Troubleshooting Activation Errors

Common licence activation errors and their causes: "Licence key not found" means the key is not in web.config or the application pool has not been restarted since the key was added. "Licence key invalid" means the key does not match any active licence in the APG system — verify the key is copied exactly from the purchase email, including hyphens. "Domain mismatch" means the forum is running on a domain different from the one the licence was issued for — contact support to transfer or add the domain to the licence. "Licence expired" means the trial period has ended — purchase a licence or contact support to extend the trial if more evaluation time is needed.

Managing Multiple APG vNext Installations

Organisations that deploy APG vNext for multiple internal communities or as a product for their customers need to manage multiple licence keys and activation records. Each APG vNext installation requires its own licence key configured in its web.config. The APG customer portal displays all licence keys associated with the account, their activation status, the domain each key is activated for, and the maintenance subscription status. Keep the customer portal account credentials in a secure shared credential store accessible to all members of the infrastructure team, so that licence information is accessible during emergencies without depending on one specific team member having access.

Licence Key Security

APG vNext licence keys are sensitive credentials that should be protected with the same care as database passwords and API keys. Do not commit licence keys to public source code repositories, share them in unencrypted emails, or include them in documentation that is accessible to unauthorised parties. Store licence keys in your organisation's secrets management system (Azure Key Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or a password manager like 1Password or Bitwarden) and reference them from the APG vNext web.config using environment variables or encrypted configuration sections. When a team member with access to licence keys leaves the organisation, contact APG support to rotate the licence key as a precautionary measure.

Activating APG vNext in a Containerised Environment

When deploying APG vNext in Docker containers or Windows containers on Azure Container Instances, the licence key should be injected as an environment variable at container start rather than hardcoded in the Docker image. Configure APG vNext to read the licence key from the ASPG_LICENSE_KEY environment variable in addition to the web.config setting, by adding the environment variable fallback in the startup configuration. This approach follows the twelve-factor application principles for configuration management and allows the same container image to be deployed to development, staging, and production environments with different licence keys injected by the orchestration platform rather than baked into the image.

Looking for more help? Browse the support forum or check the Knowledge Base.