How to Install and Use a Transferable License

Get started using Q! The first step is to gain access to Q and if your organization has a transferrable license, it's a little different than just downloading Q onto your machine. Using a transferable license lets you share licenses among others in your organization. We like to think of it as checking out a book at the library - you can check out a license if one is available and you return it when you're not using it to make it available to others.

Setting up

You need to be an Administrator on your computer (or contact your IT administrator) to install Q. However, if you already have Q installed, you can install the license yourself without being an Administrator.

Installing on a new computer

If Q is not already installed on your computer then you should use the following instructions. Please ensure that you follow all the steps.

1. You need to have Administrator permissions on your computer. Otherwise, contact your IT support.
2. Visit your Customer Page in your web browser.
3. Click Check out Q Professional.
   If you cannot see this link, it means the license is currently in use and you will first need to deactivate it on the computer which is using it (by selecting Help > Deactivate Q).
4. Click on the Install Q Professional link. This will begin the download of the setup file.
5. Run the setup file once the download is complete.
6. Read and, if appropriate, Accept the license agreement (if you do not accept then you cannot use Q).
7. Press Check out Q Professional (see Checking out Q Professional below for more information about the options shown on this dialog box).
8. A web form will open in your web browser. Fill in the details for your computer and press Confirm. These details are shown on your Customer Page. It is generally useful to fill in the details accurately as if you leave these details at their default it can cause a great deal of inconvenience to your colleagues if they need to contact you to get you to check in your license.

You can confirm the license has been successfully installed by looking at the title of the Q window. It will say No Project Loaded - Q Professional.

 

Installing on a computer with Q Reader or Q Professional (Standard license) already installed

If Q has already been installed on your computer, but you do not have a license, then you should use the following instructions. Please ensure that you follow all the steps.

1. Visit your Customer Page in your web browser.
2. Click Check out Q Professional.
   If you cannot see this link, it means the license is currently in use and you will first need to deactivate it on the computer which is using it (by selecting Help > Deactivate Q).
3. Do NOT click the Install Q Professional link, instead:
4. Click on Install License Only. This downloads a license file with your company name and ending in qreg).
5. Run the license file when it has finished downloading.
6. If you already had a Standard license installed, you will be asked to deactivate your existing license. Click Deactivate and Continue.
   
7. Press Check out Q Professional (see Checking out Q Professional below for more information about the options shown on this dialog box).

 

Adding Users to a Transferable License

The process for adding users is the same as above. If you cannot see the Check out Q Professional link this means that the license is currently in use and you will first need to deactivate it on the computer that has the license in use (either by closing Q, or, if it has been checked out for a specified time period, by selecting Help > Deactivate Q).

Swapping the license between users

When using a transferable license, Q Professional needs to be 'checked out' in order to use it and 'checked in' in order for somebody else to use it.

 

Checking out Q Professional

1. Start Q.
   Q then uses the internet to check to see if your company has any available licenses. You must have internet access in order to use a transferable license.
2. Select your preferred check-out method and press Check Out Q Professional. The two check-out methods are:

• Check out the license while Q is open, which will give you access to all of the features of Q Professional until you either close Q, or, select Help > Deactivate Q.
• Check out the license for a specified number of minutes, hours, or days. If you select this option, you will retain Q for the specified amount of time, even if you close Q and even if you do not have internet access.
  Please note: when you check out Q in this way you are preventing other people from using the license for the entire period for which you have checked it out.

Checking in Q Professional

How Q needs to be checked in is determined by how Q is checked out:

• If you have checked out Q for a specified time period, the license will automatically be checked in at the completion of this time period.
• If you have checked out Q for a specified time period and wish to check it in earlier, go to Help in Q and select Deactivate Q....
• If you used the check-out method of Check out the license while Q is open then the license will automatically be checked in when Q is closed.

What happens when there are no available licenses

If there is no license available, either because others are using it or because Q was checked out for a specified period and that period has expired, you can still view and perform some modifications to your project using Q Reader.

Troubleshooting

"The Q web server could not be contacted. An Internet connection is required for checking out licenses."

This message is shown because Q could not contact its web server because of a network problem on your computer or local network. Follow these steps to diagnose whether the issue is related to your Internet connection, or a problem with your network settings:

1. Confirm that you are connected to the Internet by accessing http://www.google.com in a web browser. If this works but Q is still having trouble connecting, then continue.
2. Q is a 64-bit program and uses the same settings as Internet Explorer (64-bit) to connect to the web. Once Internet Explorer (64-bit) can connect to the Q website, Q will work also.

1. Click the Windows/Start button at the bottom-left of your screen.
2. Type in "Internet Explorer" and then choose "Internet Explorer (64-bit)". If you do not see the "64-bit" version, you may be running Windows 32-bit. It is OK to proceed with "Internet Explorer".
3. Try to access the following URL: https://www.q-researchsoftware.com/support.aspx
4. If the site takes a very long time to load or causes an error message, also try this URL: https://www.google.com/
5. If both of these sites do not load, please contact your IT support to solve this issue. Once this has been solved, Q will be able to check out licenses also. The following Microsoft article has helped users in the past that have had these problems. It may assist your IT support to diagnose the problem: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357
6. If these sites did load successfully but Q is still not able to check out a license, please contact Q support.

"An error occurred while contacting the Q web server..."

This message is shown because there was a technical problem with Q's web server. There is nothing wrong with your Internet connection. Q will automatically grant you a license to use Q Professional with it encounters this type of problem, regardless of how many licenses you see checked out on your Customer Page.

1. Click Continue with Q Professional.
2. Q Professional will start as if you have checked out a license.
3. Once you close and re-open Q, Q will check for a transferable license again. If the technical problem has been resolved by Q Support, then you will need to check out a license again. If the problem is still ongoing, simply repeat step 1 and you will continue to have access to Q Professional.

 

Next

How to Install a Standard License

How to Do Offline Activation of a Standard License

How to Move Q to Another Computer

How to Obtain Q for Another Organization