A SQL Comparison SDK license entitles you to distribute up to ten copies of an application created using the SDK.

When you buy a SQL Comparison SDK license, you will receive an invoice that contains your serial number. Your invoice shows how many instances of a product the serial number can be used to activate. For information on how to activate a SQL Comparison SDK license, see Example: licensing a project.

Licensing requirements

To create licensed applications using the SQL Comparison SDK, you must:

• have a valid SQL Comparison SDK, or SQL Toolbelt serial number
• include a valid licenses.licx file in your .NET project

For each project you create using the SQL Comparison SDK, the first time it is compiled, you are prompted for a serial number. Once you have entered a serial number, the project is licensed, and subsequent builds will succeed silently.

SQL Comparison SDK applications that are not licensed with a valid serial number display a trial expiry dialog box when compiled, and will not work after the trial period has expired.

Licenses.licx

When setting up your .NET project in Visual Studio, note that the licenses.licx file:

• is case sensitive
• must have a build action of Embedded resource

• must contain one or more of the following entries, on separate lines:

  RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine.Database, RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine
  RedGate.SQLDataCompare.Engine.ComparisonSession, RedGate.SQLDataCompare.Engine
  RedGate.SQLPackager.Engine.PackagerEngine, RedGate.SQLPackager.Engine

  If you are using only the SQL Compare API in your application, include only the first line. To use the SQL Data Compare API, you must include the first two lines. To use the SQL Packager API, include all three lines in the file.

Example: licensing a project

To set up licensing for a project using only the SQL Compare API:

1. In the Solution Explorer pane of Visual Studio, right-click the project, click Add, and then click New Item.
   The Add New Item dialog box is displayed.
2. On the Add New Item dialog box, select Text File, and specify the name licenses.licx
   If the file already exists, you will be prompted to overwrite it.
   The licenses.licx file is displayed.

3. Add the following to licenses.licx, and save the file:

   RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine.Database,RedGate.SQLCompare.Engine

   Entries in licenses.licx are case sensitive.

4. Right click licenses.licx, and click Properties. Ensure the Build action is set to Embedded resource.
   Licensing is now set up for the project. If this is the first time you have licensed the SQL Comparison SDK, you will be prompted for a serial number when you compile the project.