Can SOLO Server require customers to accept or re-accept my EULA?
Quick answer
SOLO Server can display your product's EULA and require acceptance at two points: when a customer purchases through the shopping cart, and when a customer downloads software through the Customer License Portal (download acceptance is tracked before the file is released).
There is no built-in feature to force a customer to re-accept a EULA on its own (for example, when you release a new version, on a schedule, or at activation) independent of a purchase or download. If you need to track or enforce acceptance beyond those two points, you can do it with custom license data plus logic in your own application, as described below.
Where SOLO Server shows a EULA today
- At online purchase. For a product with a EULA specified, the shopping cart shows the license agreement and requires the customer to accept it before the item is added to the cart. You set a product's EULA in SOLO Server under Configure / Products (Edit next to EULA; HTML formatting is supported). See Don't forget about the EULA!.
- At download. SOLO Server can track EULA acceptance before allowing a file download through the Customer License Portal.
- Recurring-billing terms (separate from your EULA). Payment plans have an optional "Require Customer to Accept Terms" checkbox at checkout for the recurring-billing terms. This is distinct from your product EULA.
What is not built in
SOLO Server does not natively force a customer to re-accept a EULA on a version change, on a schedule, or at activation, and it does not block the software from running until a new EULA is accepted. Any acceptance requirement beyond the purchase and download points above has to be enforced by your own application.
Pattern: track acceptance with custom license data
If you need to record or require EULA acceptance beyond purchase/download, the building blocks are the custom fields that SOLO Server delivers into the license file (during activation and license refreshes), which your application can read:
- License Custom Data (
LicenseCustomData) is a free-form field (XML recommended) you can populate with Custom Parameter Sets in the SOLO Server web interface, or programmatically with the UpdateLicenseCustomData web service. See Feature-based licensing and custom parameters. - User-Defined fields on a license are a fixed set (5 date, 5 number, 5 float, and 10 string fields) you can set on the License Details page and search from Customers / Advanced Search.
A typical approach: store the accepted EULA version (or an acceptance date) in a custom parameter or a User-Defined field; have your application read that value from the license file, compare it to your current EULA version, and if it does not match, present your EULA and record the new acceptance (updating the value through the web service). The decision to show the EULA and the enforcement of acceptance live in your application's logic; SOLO Server stores and delivers the value but does not itself gate on it.
Common Questions
Can SOLO Server make customers re-accept my EULA when I release a new version?
Not on its own. SOLO Server shows and accepts a EULA at purchase and download, but there is no built-in version-triggered re-acceptance. To require re-acceptance on a new version, store the accepted version in custom license data and have your application compare and prompt, as described above.
Where do I set my product's EULA?
In SOLO Server under Configure / Products: on the product, click Edit next to EULA and enter the agreement (HTML formatting supported). It will then be shown in the shopping cart for that product.
Is the EULA the same as the recurring-billing terms checkbox?
No. The "Require Customer to Accept Terms" checkbox on payment plans covers the recurring-billing terms at checkout. Your product EULA is configured separately per product and shown at purchase/download.