Unless activated, Data Compare for SQL Server works on the trial basis for 30 days. When this period expires, the tool must be activated with the purchased activation key.
How to check how much time is left in a trial period?
Each time the tool is launched in trial mode, the Activation dialog appears, showing the number of days left in the trial period. The remaining trial days are also displayed in the upper-right corner of the tool. The trial expiry date can also be checked by going to the Help menu at the top and selecting About.
Data Compare for SQL Server can be activated either online or offline.
This activation method requires an active Internet connection.
1. If you have not purchased Data Compare for SQL Server, click Buy Now on the pop-up window that appears at the start of Data Compare. If you already have your activation key, click Activate. Alternatively, on the Help menu, click Activate Product.
2. The Activation window opens. You should input the long activation key from your email that was sent to you after the purchase, but not the license number in the format: XXXX-XXX-XXX.
3. Click Activate.
Note
If you do not see the e-mail with the activation key, check your Junk/ Spam/Bulk folders. You can always retrieve your activation key at your Customer Portal.
Offline activation allows activating dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server right from the Devart website. This activation method helps activate the product when the online activation fails.
1. On the Activation window, click Manual Activation. It opens when online activation fails.
2. Copy the activation request text with Copy to Clipboard or save it to a text file with Save to File.
3. Open the Activate Product page of the Devart website and paste the copied text in the text box. Click Download license. The license file with the .lic extension is downloaded to your computer.
4. Return to the Activation window of dbForge Data Compare for SQL Server and click Load license. Specify the location of the downloaded .lic file and click Open.
It is also possible to activate Schema Compare via the command line:
Open the command prompt.
Navigate to the folder where your product executable file is located.
Run a command with the following syntax:
datacompare /activate /key:<activation_key>
Note
You need to enter or paste your activation key after the colon symbol.