Timed Trials

Timed trials let customers evaluate your app for a limited period before buying. A trial activation is keyless, so the user starts one without entering a license key. Cryptlex trials are verified and node-locked, so a trial does not reset if the user reinstalls your app or reformats the machine. Each trial activation appears in the admin portal under Trials -> Trial Activations.

Before trials will work, create a trial policy on the Trials -> Trial Policies page and link it to your product on the Home -> Products page. Only one trial policy can be linked to a product.

How a trial works

Start the trial on first run with ActivateTrial(). Call it once, ideally on a button click, not on every start, since each call re-validates against the Cryptlex servers.
Verify on every start with IsTrialGenuine(), after your IsLicenseGenuine() check, and read the time left with GetTrialExpiryDate(). This works offline.
If verification returns any other status, the trial has either not been activated on this machine yet or could not be validated. Handle the returned status before deciding to call ActivateTrial().
When the trial expires, the functions return LA_TRIAL_EXPIRED; prompt the user to buy a license.

Only some of these calls need the network. ActivateTrial() and SyncTrialActivation() reach the Cryptlex servers, while IsTrialGenuine() and GetTrialExpiryDate() validate the stored trial locally and work offline, so a trial extension does not apply until the machine syncs. Offline trial activations cannot be handled through the customer portal; host the offline trial activation form instead.

Extending a trial

You can extend a trial to give a customer more time to evaluate your product:

Ask the customer for their trial ID. Your app gets it with GetTrialId().
In the admin portal, open Trials -> Trial Activations, search for the trial ID, and from the actions menu choose Update Expiration Date, pick the new date, and click Update.
In your app, call SyncTrialActivation() to pull the new expiry date to the client without reactivation. It also refreshes trial activation metadata if you have set any.

Sample code

For the full flow and per-language samples, see Using LexActivator.

// On every start, after the IsLicenseGenuine() check
status = IsTrialGenuine();
if (LA_OK == status) {
  // trial is active
  unsigned int trialExpiryDate = 0;
  GetTrialExpiryDate(&trialExpiryDate);
} else if (LA_TRIAL_EXPIRED == status) {
  // trial has expired, prompt the user to buy a license
} else {
  // trial has not started, start it (for example, on a button click)
  status = ActivateTrial();
}

Software Maintenance and Support Containers and Virtual Machines

Last updated: 8/5/2026