We now provide a range of flexible licensing options, ranging from perpetual personal licences, through multi-user group and classroom licenses, to all-embracing site licences, allowing virtually unrestricted usage of all products, on all platforms at the licensed site. Education and student pricing is also available (see "Education Licening Policy" box further down this page).

Please review the following table, in order to determine which option best suits your needs.

Choose an annual site licence for a veritable feast of all products on all platforms. Easy renewal with all-new software. The low-cost way to stay up-to-date, and with virtually-unrestricted access to three world-leading products on the two main software platforms: amazing value!

Off-Site Usage: Unlike some other companies' products, our site licences allow far more flexible use, including away from site (e.g., on your laptop at a convention or lab, or at home) - providing the software is only used by eligible personnel, and as part of their official duties.

Network Licence? If you wish to have the software installed on a server, for use across a network, you should purchase one of our site licences (Departmental, Campus or Corporate).

In contrast, our group licences are not suitable for network use, since they are designed for specific individuals, and are not concurrent-usage licences. The Classroom licence is also not suitable for network use, since it is designed for static installations "seats".)

Common Questions

1. I'm a professor and I want my post-doc to be able to use my licence. Is it ok to share my personal licence with him/her?

   No! The personal licence must only be used by yourself. If you need to share the software with other users you should purchase a multi-user group licence.

2. I need to use CrystalMaker for my research work, but also want my undergraduate students to be able to use the software in a teaching class. What should I buy?

   We'd recommend a Personal Licence for yourself (or possibly a group licence if you want to share the software with other researchers in your group), plus a Classroom licence for your teaching lab.

   For the best value, consider an annual departmental licence - this works particularly well if your department has an annual IT budget that you can "leverage". If, on the other hand you only have access to "one-off" funding, then a (perpetual) Classroom Licence might be more appropriate.

3. I'm in a small research group and am interested in a 5-user group licence. Can I split this across platforms, e.g., to allow 3 Windows users plus 2 Mac users?

   Sorry, no... To provide the lowest pricing, our Personal, Group and Classroom licences are single platform.

   We do provide the flexibility to add users for another platform, via our cross-platform upgrades. In your case you could purchase (say) a 5-user Group Licence for Windows, then get a second, 5-user Group Licence, this time for Mac, at approximately half price (our upgrade price).

4. Several of us academics are interested in using CrystalMaker, and we'd like our students to be able to access the software too. Since we don't expect more than 5 users to ever be using the software at any one time, can we purchase a 5-user group licence?

   No; the user limit in our group licences refers to the maximum number of named individuals licensed to use our software - and NOT the number of concurrent users (or "seats"). So, for example, if you had five specific people in mind: Joe, Sally, Marge, Fred and Eric, then they could install the software on their own machines, as part of a 5-user group licence. However, you couldn't have any other people using the software.

   For the maximum flexibility across an academic department, we recommend an annual Departmental or Campus licence. Alternatively, if your funding is of the one-off variety, you might wish to purchase a Group licence for research use, and perhaps a Classroom licence for teaching - both of which are "perpetual" licences.

5. I'd like my students to be able to access the software easily. Can I put the software on our server, so they can connect and use the software at any time?

   Only if you have purchased a Departmental or Campus site licence. You must not "share" Personal, Group or Classroom licences over a network.

6. I'm at a goverment research laboratory, but it's operated by a university. Do I therefore qualify for the education price?

   Sorry, no. In order to keep our education prices as low as possible, they are only available to students and faculty directly involved in teaching.

7. I'm considering a Site Licence, but need to be able to use the software at home, and on my laptop at conferences. Is this allowed?

   Yes.

8. I have a Group licence at my current institution, but am about to move to a new job at another university. Can I take my licence with me?

   Normally, Group and Classroom licences remain the property of the original department, and you would be expected to purchase a new licence for your new institution. However, in certain cases, it may be possible to transfer your licence to your new institution - please contact us for more information.

9. How do I add more users to an existing Group licence?

   You can upgrade from, say a 5-user to a 10-user group licence, simply by paying the difference in price (this assumes that your licence is up-to-date; if you have an older version of the software, you'll need to upgrade that to the current version first).

10. Is there a student price?

    We strongly recommend students to participate in an existing, or new multi-user or site licence. That way student supervisors can also use the software (!). Failing that, we do have a new pay-as-you-go scheme for students (this currently applies only to CrystalMaker). Terms & conditions apply. Please see the "Attention all Students" note further up this page.

11. What is your upgrade policy and how do I upgrade?

    We don't charge for upgrades until we release a major new version (i.e., with a higher first-digit version number). For example, upgrading from CrystalMaker 7.1 to 7.2 is free, whilst 7.x to 8.2 would require payment.

    Existing, registered users can download free incremental updates from the updates page on this site. To purchase a major upgrade, please refer to our education or standard order forms, or use the online sales links on this site.

12. I recently purchased the software; do I still have to pay for an upgrade?

    Major new versions of CrystalMaker for Mac (version 8) and Windows (version 2) were launched on 7 January 2008. Customers who purchased software within two months of that date, i.e., after 7 November 2007, may qualify for a free(*) upgrade, subject to the following conditions:

    • The customer must have provided full registration details, prior to requesting the upgrade.
    • Full - and timely - payment must have been received, for the earlier version.
    • (*) A shipping/handling charge of GBP 20 must be paid, in advance, by credit card only. Please contact our sales department to begin the upgrade process.

    Customers who purchased the software before 7 November 2007 are of course entitled to purchase an upgrade. You get great new features for a special, low price.