How to Use a BricsCAD Network Licence on a Client Computer

Quick answer: Once your network licence is activated on the server, connect a client computer by opening BricsCAD’s Activate BricsCAD dialog, selecting Network License, and entering the server’s name or IP address, plus its port, if it isn’t the default. If you’re behind a proxy, there’s a separate settings option for that.

Before You Start

The network licence needs to already be activated on the licence server before a client can connect to it. If that hasn’t happened yet, that’s a separate step to complete first.

How to Connect a Client to the Server

1. On the client computer, do one of the following:
   • Starting BricsCAD for the first time: click Activate license in the dialog that appears.
   • Replacing an existing licence: run the LICENSEMANAGER command, click Manage License, then Modify.
2. In the Activate BricsCAD dialog, select Network License.
3. Enter the server’s host name or IP address in the Server name or address field. Only change the port number if your server isn’t using the default.
4. Click OK.

If You’re Behind a Proxy

If the client reaches the licence server through a proxy, click Proxy Settings in the same dialog to configure it there, rather than looking for proxy options elsewhere. For scripted or mass deployment across many machines, BricsCAD also has dedicated system variables for proxy configuration, PROXYSERVERENABLED, PROXYSERVERHTTP, PROXYSERVERHTTPPORT, PROXYSERVERHTTPS, PROXYSERVERHTTPSPORT, PROXYSERVERUSER, and PROXYSERVERPASSWORD, worth looking into if you’re setting this up on more than one or two computers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to activate the licence on the server before connecting a client? Yes. Server-side activation has to happen first; a client can’t connect to a licence that hasn’t been activated yet.

What if I don’t know the server’s port number? Leave it as the default unless you’ve been told otherwise. Only change it if the server is specifically configured to use a non-standard port.

Can proxy settings be configured by script instead of through the dialog? Yes. BricsCAD has dedicated system variables for proxy configuration, useful for setting up many client machines at once rather than one by one.

What’s the difference between activating for the first time and replacing an existing licence? First-time activation starts from the dialog shown when BricsCAD first launches. Replacing an existing licence starts from the License Manager instead, via LICENSEMANAGER > Manage License > Modify.