Overview
This one is built for the person who does not want to read a menu. It opens as a single window, it detects what is installed and what state it is in, and there is a button that handles the whole thing. For the large majority of machines that is the entire interaction, and it takes a few seconds.
Underneath the one button front there is a manual mode with the individual routes exposed separately, which is where you go when the automatic pass does not apply. It is portable rather than installed, so it runs from wherever you unpack it and leaves nothing behind when you delete the folder, other than the renewal task if you chose a route that needs one.
The automatic pass
On launch it reads what is present: which Windows edition, which Office versions, and what the current licence state of each is. That information is on screen before you touch anything, so a machine that is already licensed is obvious immediately and you can close the window without doing anything at all.
The single button then picks the appropriate route for what it found and applies it. On a normal desktop edition that means the digital route where the edition supports it and the key management route where it does not. The result is reported plainly rather than as a numeric code, and the licence state on screen updates so you can see it took.
Manual mode
Manual mode exposes the routes individually along with the pieces they use: the generic volume keys per edition, the local service settings, and the renewal interval. This is what you want on a server edition, on a machine with several Office versions installed at once, or when a previous tool left something half configured that has to be cleared first.
There is also a clean up option that removes what the tool has done: the installed key, the service pointer and the renewal task. Running that first is often the fastest fix on a machine where a different tool was used previously and left the licence state in a confused condition.
What it leaves behind
On the digital route, nothing. The licence is registered against the machine and the tool folder can be deleted immediately afterwards. A clean reinstall of the same edition on the same hardware comes up licensed without running anything a second time.
On the key management route it leaves a scheduled renewal task, which is required because that route licenses for a fixed period and renews. The tool tells you before it creates one, the task is visible in the normal task scheduler, and the clean up option removes it. Nothing else is added, no system files are patched and the update service is left alone.
What you get
- Single window with the detected licence state shown before any action
- One button automatic pass that picks the appropriate route
- Manual mode exposing each route, key and service setting separately
- Support for the desktop and server editions of Windows
- Handles several installed Office versions on one machine
- Clean up option that removes keys, service pointers and renewal tasks
- Portable, runs from any folder with nothing installed
- Results reported in plain language rather than numeric codes
- No system file patching and no change to the update service
Inside the archive
- Portable executable, 32 and 64 bit
- Readme covering automatic and manual mode
- Notes on the renewal task and how to remove it
- Error code reference for the manual route
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 7 or newer, or a supported Server edition |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any x86 or x64 processor |
| Memory | Whatever the operating system needs |
| Storage | 30 MB |
| Privileges | Administrator, required for licence changes |
| Network | Only needed for the digital route |
Installing it
- Unpack the archive to a folder. There is no installer to run.
- Add the folder as an antivirus exclusion. Licensing tools are flagged by category rather than by behaviour.
- Right click the executable and run it as administrator.
- Read the detected state on screen first. If the machine is already licensed, close the window.
- Use the single button unless you have a reason not to, then delete the folder when it reports success.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | Asia Pacific | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Not needed at this size | Online |
Release history
- Detection rewritten for machines with more than one Office version installed
- Clean up option now removes renewal tasks left by other tools
- Result messages replaced with plain language instead of numeric codes
- Added the current server editions to the automatic route table
- Fixed the window failing to refresh state after a successful pass
- Manual mode reorganised so each route is on its own panel
- Reduced the executable size by dropping unused language resources
Questions about this release
Do I have to install it?
No. It is portable. Unpack, run as administrator, and delete the folder afterwards if you want.
Why does the antivirus block it?
Every licensing tool is flagged by category. Add the folder as an exclusion before you unpack, or the executable will vanish partway through.
What is the scheduled task it created?
The renewal task for the key management route, which licenses for a fixed period. The clean up option removes it if you want to change routes.
Can it undo what it did?
Yes. The clean up option removes the key, the service pointer and the renewal task and puts the machine back.
Comments
Manual mode sorted out a server that another tool had half configured. Clean up first, then the proper route.
Portable is the selling point for me. Ran it, checked activation, deleted the folder.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
One button, done in about five seconds on a fresh 11 Pro. State showed on screen before and after.