Licensing

This chapter explains the licensing mechanism of yFiles for HTML. It describes

the steps to successfully include a valid license into a yFiles for HTML-based application,
the different license types, and
how to resolve license errors.

See the section Redistributables to learn about the Redistributables of yFiles for HTML.

General Concept

In order to run, a yFiles for HTML-based application needs a valid license that contains information about:

the domains from which the application can be served
the yFiles for HTML versions for which the license is valid
the type of the license
information about the licensee

The following example shows a (non-functional single developer) development license:

Example License File

{
  "company": "yWorks GmbH",
  "date": "05/08/2020",
  "developer": "Joe Average",
  "distribution": false,
  "domains": [ "*" ],
  "fileSystemAllowed": true,
  "licensefileversion": "1.1",
  "localhost": true,
  "oobAllowed": true,
  "package": "complete",
  "product": "yFiles for HTML",
  "type": "singledeveloper",
  "version": "3.0",
  "watermark": "yFiles for HTML Development License",
  "key": "90b9a98e11c9923878b2c6403ac60efc60fbacdc"
}

Registering the License

Although yFiles for HTML licenses are usually provided as separate files, and the demos and tutorials load the license data from a separate license file (license.json), you don’t have to use a separate license file in your yFiles for HTML application. Instead, you can include the license data directly in one of your source code files.

Add the license data to the value property of the License object before calling any other yFiles for HTML API.

Registering the license data

import { License } from '@yfiles/yfiles';

License.value = {
  company: 'yWorks GmbH',
  date: '05/08/2020',
  developer: 'Joe Average',
  ...
}

Development vs. Distribution License

There are two different kinds of yFiles for HTML licenses that are strictly intended for one of two different situations:

Development: A development license is used during application development. It provides unrestricted access to yFiles for HTML features. However, each CanvasComponent will display a watermark, indicating that a development license is in use. In development licenses, the distribution property is false.
Deployment: A distribution license is required for the final deployment of your application.

It is most important that for final deployment of a yFiles for HTML-based application, the development license must not be included. Instead, the distribution license must be included.

Licenses in Evaluation Packages

yFiles for HTML evaluation packages contain a development license that is valid for the evaluation period.

This license is located in the file lib\license.json within the yFiles for HTML installation directory. For example, if the yFiles for HTML directory is located at C:\Users\Me\My Files\yFiles for HTML 3.x, the license file will be at C:\Users\Me\My Files\yFiles for HTML 3.x\lib\license.json.

All programming samples and tutorials load the license file using the relative path to this location.

Licenses for Purchased Packages

Non-evaluation packages of yFiles for HTML do not contain a license file. Instead, a development license and a distribution license are provided directly to you.

Still, the programming samples and tutorials use the same relative path in the yFiles for HTML installation directory to reference the license file. Therefore, if you copy the development license to the .\lib\license.json location, all samples and tutorials will be properly configured.

A non-evaluation license cannot be used to activate an evaluation version of yFiles for HTML.

Resolving License Errors

If validating the license fails, yFiles for HTML logs an error to the developer’s console of the browser and displays an error dialog on top of the CanvasComponent. In both cases, the message describes the specific problem.

The most common license errors and possible solutions are listed below. If you are unsure, please contact our support team.

Keep in mind that after updating the license, the old data might still be cached by the server or the browser, and you might get an unexpected error due to this.

Not valid for this version, subscription too old

If, after updating to a new major version, you see a license error like “license is not valid for this version” or “subscription date is too old”, update to the latest license provided to you.