Source Insight version 4 requires initial activation over the Internet. The activation process is new to version 4 and we have designed it to have very low impact on users. Please understand that activation secures your license, validates your serial number, and allows us to continue developing Source Insight.

Note: the following information applies only to version 4 or newer.

How to Activate

When you launch Source Insight the first time, the Manage License window will appear. If not, select Help > Manage License. You will be prompted to either enter a serial number, or start a new Trial license. A Trial license runs for 30 days. You do not need a serial number to use a Trial license.

When prompted, please enter your name and email address. Your email address is optional but highly recommended so you will be able to retrieve your license if you should lose it. This also allows us to notify you if any important updates are available.

Source Insight will then activate your license using our licensing system. After a second or two, your license will be activated and you won't have to activate again.

When you activate a license, Source Insight sends the information you provided, plus a hardware fingerprint to our licensing system over a secure SSL connection so we can match the license to your computer. You can still make most hardware changes without invalidating the installation. We respect your privacy, and we specifically do not share your information with any third party.

Upgrade Licenses

If you purchased and entered a serial number for an upgrade license, you will be prompted for the old version 3.x serial number. If you already have v3.x installed on your computer, it will be detected automatically, and you will not be prompted.

Note that you do not need to provide your old serial number at the time of purchase – only when activating the upgrade license.

If you have any problems or questions about the activation process, please email us at activation@sourceinsight.com.

Licensing Questions

Q: Does the license require renewing, or a subscription?

No, the license is perpetual. You do not need to renew it.

Activation Questions

Q: Can I activate Source Insight more than once?
The Source Insight license allows you to activate Source Insight on up to 3 computers at the same time, for your exclusive use. You cannot share the license with other users. For example, you can install it on your two desktop computers at work, plus your laptop. Multiple people may not share a single-user license. If for some reason you activate Source Insight on the same computer more than once, it does not count against your 3-activation limit.

Q: What if I want to transfer a license to a new computer?
To transfer a license to a new computer, we recommend that you first deactivate Source Insight on the old computer if possible. On the old computer, run Source Insight and select Help > Manage License. Make note of the license serial number because you will need it to re-activate later. Next, select "Deactivate License". This reduces your activation count so that you can activate it on another computer. You can activate a single-user license on up to 3 different computers at the same time for the exclusive use of a single user. Please see this article for detailed instruction on deactivating the license.

Once you deactivate the old computer, you can activate the license on the new computer. When you activate on the new computer, you will need to provide your license serial number. Use the same serial number as before.

If the old computer is no longer available to perform the deactivation, then please try to install and activate on your new computer. We allow a certain number of activation-overages over a period of time to account for this scenario. If the activation fails because of too many activations, please contact activation@sourceinsight.com.

Q: How can I transfer a license to a new user?
Follow the instructions above for transferring to a new computer. When activating the license, the new user will have an opportunity to provide their user name and email details. This associates the license with the user.

Q: How do I get a serial number?
When you purchase a license, you will be provided with a valid license serial number. It is usually emailed to you.

Q: Do I need a serial number for a Trial license?
You do not need a serial number to begin a Trial license. A special Trial serial number will be automatically assigned to you when you begin a trial.

Q: How do I start a Trial license?
Launch Source Insight. When the Manage License window appears, select "Begin a Trial", and click Continue.

Q: What happens if I change my hardware?
It is very unlikely that changing your hardware will invalidate your license activation. If you replace your main drive, you will have to re-install and activate Source Insight again. Even then, the licensing system allows a certain number of changes over a period of time. We absolutely do not want you to be stuck if you have a valid license.

Q: What if I reformat my drive and re-install Source Insight?
When you re-install and run Source Insight, you will be prompted to activate again. However, that is mainly to refresh the license on your computer, and won’t count as a new activation.

Q: I want to transfer my license to a new computer, but don't have access to my old computer anymore to deactivate it.
First, please try to simply install and activate on your new computer. We allow a certain number of activation-overages over a period of time to account for this scenario. If the activation fails because of too many activations, please contact activation@sourceinsight.com.

Q: My computer is behind a Proxy or Firewall - What network ports does activation use?
We suggest your firewall or proxy server is changed to allow connections to the following URLs over port 443 (HTTPS): Note the final / slash must be included in the URL:

https://sls.sourceinsight.com/request_activation/
https://sls.sourceinsight.com/request_deactivation/
https://sls.sourceinsight.com/lsstatus/

You can test a connection with a web browser using https://sls.sourceinsight.com/lsstatus/. The web page will display "OK" to show that the license server is up.

Q: What if I don’t have an Internet connection?
The activation process will defer for a while until you have Internet connectivity, so you can still work with it. If your computer will never have an Internet connection, we can send you an activated license file via email. Please email a request to activation@sourceinsight.com and provide the following information about you or the intended end-user:

• User name
• Company or organization, if applicable
• Email address of the user
• The license serial number

We will email an offline license file that you can import into Source Insight.

Q: Why does Source Insight require activation?

We have given this long consideration and decided some form of license validation is helpful. Past versions of Source Insight did not have activation, and that resulted in many illegal licenses being used and even sold to unsuspecting customers.

In addition, many customers and companies using Source Insight want some help to know that their licenses are authentic, and want a way to automatically stay in compliance with the license agreement.

We designed the activation system to be very low impact, and to err on the side of legitimate users. The licensing system allows a certain number of activation overages over a period of time, so it is unlikely any valid license will fail to activate. We absolutely do not want anybody to be stuck if they have a valid license.

If you decide to stop using Source Insight, or want to transfer your license to a different PC, we recommend that you first deactivate your license on your old PC if possible. On the old PC, select Help > Manage License, and select "Deactivate License". This reduces your activation count so that you can activate it on another PC. You can activate a single license on up to 3 different PCs at the same time for the exclusive use of a single user.

Please see this article for step-by-step instruction to deactivate the license.

If the old PC no longer runs or you are unable to use the deactivation feature, please just skip the deactivation and try activating the license on a new PC. Our licensing system allows a certain number of additional activations over a period, so it is unlikely any valid license will fail to activate.

If you have any trouble, please email activation@sourceinsight.com and we can reset your license activations.

Version 3.5: This version does not require deactivation. It does not have a Manage License command. If you plan to stop using version 3.5 on a computer, please uninstall it. The version 3.5 license allows it to be installed on up to 2 computers at the same time, for the exclusive use of a single user.

Many new features have been added to version 4 of Source Insight. See this page for more information.

The font depends on the file type and extension. To change the font, select Options > File Type Options, then select the file type. Next, click the Screen Fonts... button to choose the font.

An alternative method is to select Options > Style Properties, and select the Default style. Then click the Font button to select the font. This font change will apply to the File Type Option of the current file.

Q: How can I tell if the Source Insight program and the included tools are free from malware and not tampered with?

All the program files included in the Source Insight installation are signed using the Authenticode code signing certificate for Source Dynamics. To see if a program file is signed correctly and not tampered with, right-click on the .exe file in Windows Explorer and select Properties. Click the Digital Signatures tab. You should see the Source Dynamics signature in the list. Select it and click Details to drill down and see the signature and certificate information.

The Source Insight setup program can be run silently, and license information can be specified on the command line.

For more information, see this article: Automated Installation and Licensing

Source Insight stores its project and configuration data files by default in the "Documents\Source Insight 4.0" folder, where "Documents" is the Windows user Documents folder. Each Windows user account has its own Documents folder.

If your Windows user Documents folder has been relocated to a remote drive, for example on OneDrive, we recommend that you move the Source Insight data folder to somewhere on your local drive.

Please see this article on how to change the data folder location.

 

If you open a file and it is read-only inside Source Insight, it can be for different reasons. Please see this article.

Symptom: Source Insight cannot see network drives that are mapped to drive letters.

Please see this article: Source Insight Cannot See Network Drives

Symptom: Typing into a text box field, such as in the New Project dialog or the Search dialog, causes Source Insight to freeze.

Please see this article: Freezing when Typing into Text Boxes