The Security tab in the Publication Properties dialog allows you to add simple CD protection to your publication to prevent unauthorised access to your publication. This tab also allows you to create evaluation copies of your publication.
The Security tab provides two methods of protecting your published version of your publication from unauthorised access:
The first method checks that the CD containing the publication is in the CD drive before the publication is allowed to run.
The second method checks for the presence of a CD with the correct Disk name in the CD drive before the publication will run. You can use either, or both, of these methods to provide a simple level of protection.
Often you may want to create evaluation copies of your publication, either for people to try-before-they-buy or as a control method for publications that should be updated on a regular basis, such as documentation.
Evaluation copies normally include an expiry date or timeout facility, that is, the publication can no longer be opened after a specific number of days from the time they were first run. The Security tab allows you to set a timeout period, as well as the ability to reset the timeout so users can either extend their evaluation copy or turn an evaluation copy into a full version.
The evaluation period can be set as one of several types of method:
| Expiry date | The number of days to expire after the publication is first run. The first time the publication is launched a counter is set and when the number of permitted days is reached, the publication will expire. |
| Number of executions | Specific number of times to run before expiring. Each time the publication is launched a counter is updated and when the number of permitted launches is reached, the publication will expire. |
| Run time in minutes | The number of minutes to expire after the publication is first run. This option keeps track of the total time the publication has been running; for example, setting 60 as the expiry period will allow the user to run the publication for a total of 60 minutes, irrespective of how many times it is launched or how many days it takes to use up the allowed time. |
Note:
If you are using the Minutes expiry option and want to enforce it strictly it is up to you to get the expiry state occasionally and react accordingly (e.g. by going to your expiry page or perhaps playing a sound). If you do not do this then the publication will continue to run until it is closed, then the next time the user runs it, the publication will start up as expired.
Through the use of a Publication Registration ID a publisher can set a publication to be unlocked only via a unique Key for the client computer. The purpose of the Registration ID is to set a code that is unique to the publication. The publisher should keep a personal record of the code for the purpose of generating an unlock code. If the publisher losses this code (i.e. forgets it, doesn't keep a record, loses the source publication file, etc) then the no unlock code can be generated.
Using the Publication Registration ID the publication generates an 'Unlock Request ID' that is unique to the computer the publication is running on.
The key generator utility uses the original Registration ID and the an 'Unlock Request ID' generated by the publication to create an 'unlock code' which can be passed back to the client allowing the evaluation version of the software to be unlocked.
The resulting 'Unlock code' is unique to the PC that generated the 'Unlock Request ID'. It will not unlock evaluation versions of the same publication running on other computers.
The use of a Publication Registration ID ensures that in order to unlock evaluation versions a client would need both the original 'Publication Registration ID' and the Key Generator Utility in order to access a publication. We advise you keep the 'Original Publication Registration ID' a secret unless you are aware of the consequences.
Use the CD Protection panel if you want to protect your published version of your publication from unauthorised access.
Tick the Run publication from CD-ROM only option if the user can only run the publication if the CD-ROM containing the publication is currently in the CD drive.
If the user attempts to run the publication without the correct CD-ROM in the drive, Opus will display an Error Message.
Tick the Check for CD-ROM name option if the system should check for the presence of a CD with the correct disk name in the CD drive before the publication will be run. Ticking this option will highlight the box under the option in which you should type the name of the Disk containing your publication.
If the user attempts to run the publication without the correctly named CD-ROM in the drive, Opus will display an Error Message.
Remember, when you record your final Master CD, make sure that the Disk name you give the disk in the CD-burning software is the same name as you entered in the Check for CD-ROM name box.
Use the Evaluation panel if you want to make this publication an evaluation copy. This will enable the other options in the Evaluation panel.
Use the Days to timeout after publication is first run option to set the number of days before expiry. Click on the spin buttons to increase or decrease the number of days required.
When you next run the publish process, the published version of your publication file will include the evaluation details entered here. Please note, the evaluation mode only applies to the published version and not the editable version. In other words, you can still edit your publication as often as you like.
When you attempt to run a publication that has timed out, an Expiry dialog will appear on the users screen. The user should click on the OK button to close the Expiry dialog. Once the timeout period has been passed, the publication is no longer available to the user and a Warning dialog will appear instead. Alternatively, you can create a page in your publication – see point 6 below.
Use the Go to this page if evaluation expired option if you want the user to be re-directed to a specific page in your publication when a publication has expired. Click on the down arrow next to this option to list all of the pages in your current publication. Select the page you want to appear when the publication expires.
Note:
This option provides a lot more flexibility than the automatic Expiry dialog described above because you can provide the user with more information. For example, your page can include your logo, contact details and purchase information for a full version. Furthermore, if the page contains the Change Publication Evaluation action, you can even use this page to extend the expiry time of the evaluation copy or make it a full version.
Use the Registration ID option to allow the evaluation publication to be "unlocked" – that is, the evaluation period is removed and the publication can be run for an unlimited period.
Use the Display standard evaluation dialog option to use a standard dialog to handle the publication evaluation features. If this option is not set it is up to the publication author to provide a mechanism for entering and validating the unlock codes.
Note:
Script functions are available to get the publication unlock code and perform the test. By combining these with the evaluation script functions you can implement your own unlock pages.
Publications can make use of the PUBLICATION_EVALUATION variable to enable different pages/functionality depending on the evaluation state of the publication. See Publication Information section of the System Variables Glossary for more information.
Click the New ID button if you want to reset the identifier (use by Opus to differentiate different publications and thereby record and process the evaluation appropriately. if you wish to update your evaluation product you will need to give it a New ID by clicking this button. Otherwise anyone who had a previous evaluation of the product and it expired will be unable to evaluate the new version. Less obviously you will also need to use this option if you create a publication that is a variation on an existing one, including the samples and templates supplied with Opus.
Note:
You will rarely need to use this option but you will need it whenever you create a new version from an existing publication.
Click on the Apply button to save your changes.