Quickshow 5.0 remains the most used laser software in the world, and Quickshow 5.0
brings several software maturing features for the ecosystem.
One of those features is the new license and registration system.
Quickshow has traditionally required connection of Pangolin hardware (FB3 or FB4)
controllers connected for Quickshow to open. This is changing slightly and now Quickshow will open
without hardware connected in a “demo” state where laser output and saving of files is disabled.
For Quickshow to leave demo mode, to output and save, a piece of Pangolin
hardware must be connected and registered. This also means there is no longer a demo
version of Quickshow, and there is only one version to download and use for all purposes.
To register your setup, first make sure your control hardware,
FB3 or FB4 is connected to the PC. If you are connected to the internet,
then you are already set, and registration will happen automatically and in the background.
To see if your computer is registered properly go to the top bar of Quickshow
and click registration, registration manager. Here on the status tab, you can see the status
of Quickshow and its registration. First you can see that Quickshow
has output and saving enabled. Then you can see that the pc
is confirmed and working, the version is correct, and the date is correct.
Then you can see if registration is complete. Lastly you can see if your FB4 hardware is
registered properly and not reported missing, stolen or counterfeit.
If registration fails to complete automatically you may see any number of issues reported here,
like these examples. To solve basically all possible issues, you will need to register.
To register manually, go the registration tab. If your computer is connected to the internet,
then you can select register online and click “register online now”.
This will check your system and hardware with the server and confirm everything is working properly.
If you wish to keep this computer offline, then you can register by email instead.
Enter your name and email if you would like and click “register by email”.
Then save this file somewhere you can find it. You will want to send that file, likely on a
second computer, attached in an email to activate@pangolin.com
Within a minute you will get an automated response with a “registration” file attached.
Save this file and transfer it to your offline show computer.
Then select “open registration file” and open the registration file sent to
you by the Pangolin email server. This will register your system.
Quickshow then will be registered fully, and you will be good to go.
This registration will stay valid for this pc and hardware forever, if new hardware is
added to the system you have to re-register. There is a 7-day grace period to register,
so newly connected hardware will work for 7 days before registration is required.
So if you are on a short one off show with dry-hired equipment you wont need to worry.
It is recommended if you are using equipment for longer then the grace period, to register all this
equipment during pre-production if the show sites are not expected to have an internet connection.
Registration is very low bandwidth and a quick operation, so any basic connection or
Wi-Fi hotspot should not have any trouble with registration, if registration is required on a
show site. Check out our FAQ on registration if you still have questions about how to
register in different situations on our wiki. If after registering you still are having issues
with hardware that will not output, you may have a counterfeit piece of hardware, contact
support@pangolin.com and we will work to arrange a replacement genuine piece of Pangolin hardware.
In the bottom right corner of Quickshow you will see a new icon with 3 colored bars,
these are part of this new registration system and mean the following:
The top line indicates connection to the internet, specifically Pangolin servers, red means no
connection, yellow means connection problems, unlikely but possible if the server is busy and
green means service is connected and available. The middle line indicates registration status,
red means missing registration, yellow means registration found but incorrect in some way,
and green means registration found and correct, Quickshow is fully operational.
The bottom line is unused currently for Quickshow 5.0 and indicates a future server connection,
at release of 5.0 this status indicator being red is normal.
Thank you for watching this quick hints video on the new licensing and registration system in
Quickshow 5.0 and newer. If you still have questions about how Quickshow is licensed,
or if you are having trouble with a piece of hardware not registering, contact our support
line by emailing support@pangolin.com and we will help as soon as possible.