Floating licenses can be shared between anyone within a company, with the limit of one person per purchased license using it at the same time.

Floating license server

A floating license server is required to enforce this rule. It can be installed on any Windows, Linux or MacOS computer which is accessible from running instances of HelpNDoc (same network). The floating license server directory includes a file named UserManual.html which contains the latest information about how to operate the floating license server. The following resources are also useful:

Warning: Activating the floating license server requires an Internet access to connect to the license server. Once activated, the floating license server will check the license server from time to time. If it can't connect to the license server, it will keep working for a certain period of time (configurable with a maximum of 90 days). Once this period is over, it won't run anymore and will require access to the license server.
If an online activation is not possible, it is possible to proceed with an offline activation by exchanging XML activation files with HelpNDoc's support team.
The HelpNDoc software (the client) will only need to connect to the floating license server, it won't need to be connected to the Internet.

Configuring the floating license server

The file TurboFloatServer-config.xml is used to configure the floating license server. It must be edited before the floating license server is run and contains many comments to explain all available configuration options.

Using the log file

While troubleshooting the floating license server, the file tfs-log.txt can be used to get useful information about what happens while it is running. Make sure that you set the log level to "notification" in the TurboFloatServer-config.xml file to get as much information as possible:

<log file="tfs-log.txt" level="notification"/>

From the HelpNDoc instance

Floating licenses of HelpNDoc can be installed anywhere as long as it has network access to the floating license server. When first run, it will request for the floating license server address and port:

This configuration will be saved for later use. If for some reason the server is not accessible, HelpNDoc will display a message with options to try again or change the server address or port:

Once connected to the server, it is possible that all leases are already taken: if for example you have purchased 3 floating licenses of HelpNDoc and you are trying to launch a 4th instance. When that happens, an error message will be shown. You'll need to close another instance of HelpNDoc or purchase additional floating licenses to launch another instance of HelpNDoc:

Troubleshooting

See the following step-by-step guides:
How to install and activate the floating license server
How to connect HelpNDoc to the floating license server