Maintenance Contract
Must you have a maintenance contract to UPDATE and UPGRADE?
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I found this Bricsys web page that answers my question. Without the contract you can update but you need the contract to upgrade.
https://www.bricsys.com/en-eu/maintenance?srsltid=AfmBOorvtIyGrh-Xq973BtVaelv6-e5wEOeRf6oNSi9AmpT-42QmE7d4
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That Maintenance web page is hard to understand. But yes, it does seem to say that if you have a perpetual license that's no more than 3 years old then you can purchase an upgrade to the newest version, even if you don't have a maintenance contract. And it says that a year of maintenance will be included with the purchase. So it won't be cheap.
It also seems to say that if you DO have a maintenance contract, then you don't need to buy an upgrade. Apparently the maintenance contract gives you not only the minor upgrades, such as 25.2.09, but also the major upgrades, i.e. 25, 26, 27 etc. It says "including all major and minor updates during the contract period." That makes the maintenance contract seem very similar to a subscription.
And apparently a maintenance contract is cheaper than buying just the upgrade -- 60% cheaper than buying an upgrade each year, and cheaper "even if you upgrade to the latest version every 3 years." And if you don't upgrade at least every 3 years, then you'll have to buy a new license.
The prices of new licenses are already high enough to make contracts and subscriptions the only sensible choices. So from now on, the only reason to buy an upgrade for a perpetual license is if it's the last upgrade you'll ever buy.
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"the only reason to buy an upgrade for a perpetual license is if it's the last upgrade you'll ever buy" that's the route we've taken. We actually have perpetual for v25, but stay on the last build of v24 as it's much faster.
The whole reason we moved to BricsCAD was to get away from being milked by Autodesk. Now they keep jacking up the cost which is getting close to the point of why bother, stay on the industry standard with Autodesk.
Its always the same story when a new challenger comes along. Hey, tired of being ripped off? we offer a perpetual license. Product get popular, then gets bought out. Price of perpetual upkeep goes up and up to get you onto a subscription, or is removed entirely. Product user base stagnates.
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I'm on v14. So, perpetual is what I am banking on, even if computer failures over the years have created significant challenges to that. (I've created a batch file to register, and then immediately unregister BricsCAD, to avoid a computer's death from preventing me from reinstalling on another computer).
And I agree with you, Just_Me that Bricsys is loosing some of its cost advantage over AutoCAD. And in the AutoCAD class I teach, I have dropped BricsCAD as a recommendation for a low-cost CAD program if the students want to continue to do drawings on their own after their student license expires. For them, price is the most important aspect to consider for a .dwg editor, even if they have to give up on certain features.
-Joe
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quote: So, perpetual is what I am banking on, even if computer failures over the years have created significant challenges to that. (I've created a batch file to register, and then immediately unregister BricsCAD, to avoid a computer's death from preventing me from reinstalling on another computer).
Joe, great idea! Can you share that batch file? I should be doing the same thing.
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Below is the batch file I created. Note that you may need to customize some directory paths. Everything in my v14 Pro install works after the deactivation utility is run, except for the publish tool. It must use a separate program that checks if your license is current.
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Echo Off
REM * This batch file will run the BricsCAD Licensing utility from Bricsys. It must already be
REM * installed in the directory shown below, before this batch file will work. An alternative method
REM * to using the CD (Change Directory) command, is to use the full path to the .exe program.CD C:\Program Files (x86)\Bricsys\BricsCAD V14 en_US\Bricscad Licensing Tool
REM * I start Lictool.exe without using the START command, so that the batch file will wait until
REM * the Lictool.exe has finsihed. This can take up to 30 seconds, because the Lictoo.exe program
REM * has to wait until Bricsys servers respond.
Echo On
Lictool.exe activate -p=bricscad -k=[put the license key here without the brackets]CD C:\Program Files (x86)\Bricsys\BricsCAD V14 en_US
REM * Using "Start" to run BricsCAD will allow the batch to continue after starting BricsCAD
Echo "Starting BricsCAD"
Echo On
Start BricsCAD.exeEcho Off
REM Timeout will cause the batch file to wait a bit, so that BricsCAD can start before deactivating it.
Timeout 3CD C:\Program Files (x86)\Bricsys\BricsCAD V14 en_US\Bricscad Licensing Tool
Echo On
Ecao "Deactivating BricsCAD. Note that the Publish command will not work"
Lictool.exe deactivate -p=bricscadExit
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Thanks, Joe. I've already had one computer die while Bricscad was activated on it. The computer I'm using now is pretty old, so I have to be careful.
I had v17 on the computer that died. But I bought an upgrade to v26, and now the Bricscad web site says I only have a v26 license. It used to say I had v13 and v17 licenses, so I thought this upgrade would give me a new license that could be activated on two computers. But apparently not — the upgrade wiped out my v13 and v17 perpetual licenses.
What I had on the dead computer is now considered one of the two installations of my v26 license, even though it was activated under the v17 license. So I'm only ever going to be able to activate Bricscad on one other computer. And if that one dies, then none. Even if I buy another upgrade, it will just take over my old record of activations.
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This is horrifying. I'd appreciate if someone could write an idiot's explanation of the issue, and exactly what such a batch file would do and why (and when to activate it).
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Tom,
Joe explained it above, and the REM (remarks) lines in the code give more information.
Bricscad allows a license to be activated on two computers. If one of those computers dies while Bricscad is activated, that dead computer still counts as one of the two. If another computer dies while Bricscad is activated, your license is dead too. You won't be able to activate it on any other computer.
Joe's batch program:
- activates your Bricscad license so that the software will be able to start up;
- then it starts Bricscad;
- then it immediately de-activates Briicscad.
So if the computer suddenly dies, it will die without Bricscad activated, and it won't prevent you from using your license on a different computer.
When I bought an upgrade from v13 to v17, they gave me a new license number for v17. I assume that v17 license could have been activated on two computers regardless of what the old v13 license was activated on. I never tried it, but I assumed that because they were different license numbers.
But when I bought the upgrade to v25, they took away my v13 and v17 perpetual licenses. And they counted the one activation I had (originally of v17, and on a computer that is now dead) as one of the two activations of my v26 license.
——————-—— A batch program can be run under MS-DOS. Paste the code Joe gave us into a plain text file (using Notepad or something similar), and save it as "BCgo.bat" (or anything ending in .bat).Then press the Windows Start key and type CMD<enter> to get a DOS prompt. Then navigate to the folder the batch file is in, and enter the full name of the batch file, including the .bat extension. You might have to alter the paths and filenames in the code Joe provided.
Joe pointed out that the Publish command won't work while your license is not activated. And he's talking about v14. In newer versions, maybe nothing works while your license is not activated.
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I am sure many will appreciate the details you added, since batch files have not been used by people to any extent for decades. So many are inexperienced using them.
One more step that I will add, is that you can create a Windows shortcut that will run the batch file. Or you can even have the batch file itself on your desktop. I removed the normal BricsCAD icon on my Windows taskbar, and put that shortcut to run the batch file.
Re the dual-install policy, as I understand it, the dual install is a policy that was ended, and no longer permitted even for the licenses that were purchased when it was permitted. I do have an old laptop, and would love to just have that as my backup so I can deactivate a license on a dead computer. Then I could give up on this constant activate/deactivate process.
-Joe
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Regarding the issue that the batch file addresses… Bricsys permits you to activate and deactivate a license. And while you can do it from inside the app, they also provide a separate program to do it.
If you purchased a new computer, you might deactivate the seat on the old computer if it is still working. Likewise, you do this if you want to take your laptop to visit a client, and use BricsCAD. This can be done every day if you want. As I understand it, the old policy of permitting two installs of a license at once (your desktop and laptop) is no longer allowed.
Of course, if you are using an older version, you are more likely to be using an older computer, which is prone to dying on you. That means you cannot use that computer to deactivate the license. You are permitted to log onto Bricsys' web page, and deactivate that license on the dead computer. But the newer policy is that only twice is permitted. Formerly, such as when I purchased v14, you spoke with your dealer to handle this, and I don't think there was a specific number of times it was permitted. But, Bricsys now only permits two chances to deactivate a license using their web page. Consequently, it is important to protect those two chances. Thus the activate/deactivate batch file solves that, and BricsCAD will continue to run without a current activation until you exit it. But, I don't know if more current versions will continue to operate if that license is deactivated.
-Joe
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I was alerted that I inadvertently left my license key in the batch file I posed. I removed it now, but thought people who are not familiar the process would need to know that they must put their own license key where I commented.
-Joe
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Woah, thanks guys.
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quote: As I understand it, the old policy of permitting two installs of a license at once is no longer allowed.
If so, then I'm really screwed. I'll never be able to use the v25 upgrade I bought. Unless I can find the "separate program" that you said allows de-activation of a license.
Can you tell me where to find that separate program? Does it allow you to de-activate from a different computer? The one my license was activated on is now dead.
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My memory is vague on how I originally obtained it. Below is the help file page about the utility. Though, I don't see a link where it can be downloaded. And in my computer it is an .exe file, not a .dll like the page discusses.
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Last August I made a post bragging about what a good deal I got by upgrading to v25, and encouraging everyone to do the same. But apparently all I got for that price was the loss of my Bricscad license entirely. How stupid am I?
I could have kept using that v17 perpetual license as long as I wanted to, since v17 allowed me to install it on two machines. I could have installed v17 on another computer besides the one that died. I wasn't actually planning to install anything newer than v17, which works fine for my purposes. I just bought the v25 upgrade in case I need it later.
But now I have only a v26 license, on that dead computer, even though it was originally activated as v17. And that v26 license won't allow me to install it on any non-dead machine.
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You should still be a able to activate V17 on a new computer because that license is from before the new licensing conditions, all you need is the license key of that version assuming it hasn't been installed on a second computer yet. Contact support or your local BricsCAD supplier and they may be able to help you.
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RSW,
It was activated using my v17 license key, but they've changed that. The Bricscad web site now says I have v26 activated on that dead computer. It was an upgrade rather than a new license, and apparently that means the new license replaces the old, everywhere.
I don't have support. It came with the v25 upgrade, but that has expired now and I didn't renew it.
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Hi @Anthony Apostolaros , did you use two revocations already?
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I have a lifetime perpetual license that I purchase last year when Briscad offered their special price.
I Have just received a bill of $699 AUD for a all in maintenance contract from my Bricscad dealer.
Reading the website it appears to me that the maintenance is optional after the first year and its up to me whether I upgrade or not.
Is this correct?
thx
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Hello,
Indeed, on our website it is mentioned:
"One year of BricsCAD Maintenance is included for every new license. You are free to renew your Maintenance from the second year onwards. For BricsCAD Subscriptions: Maintenance is always included during the subscription period."The reseller may be able to provide further clarification, as the conditions might vary in this case.
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I wrote support to make sure I was remembering things correctly. But I don't have a reply. If my memory is correct, then YES you are permitted to install some older versions on both the desktop and laptop. BUT the newer policy is that you cannot have both activated. So, this method of ensuing you don't loose your permanent license because computers break won't work anymore.
-Joe
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As mentioned in EULA:
For single licenses purchased before 17 March 2025: you keep the right to have a copy of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT on a second computer used by you, as the primary user. This additional copy is for backup purposes only and may not be used concurrently. This right applies to versions purchased before 17 March 2025 only and not to any new licenses purchased. Any licenses purchased from 17 March 2025 may only be installed on a single computer.
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While you can install the software on a secondary computer, you can't necessarily activate it. And you cannot remotely deactivate an install on the 1st computer from the 2nd. So this cannot be used as a strategy to protect a license when computer break.
That is why it is so important to use the Lictool.exe program to activate and then immediately deactivate your license for older versions that permit BricsCAD to continue to run. And for newer versions, the best you can do is to perhaps create a macro to close BricsCAD, after it first deactivates BricsCAD Then, be faithful to use it if you are not actively using BricsCAD.
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